Damien was riding his horse, Charm. He did this often, it was his time. His alone. He cherished it. He took a moment to think. He knew he could trust Charm. Suddenly out of the corner of his eye he saw a few birds in the middle of the trail. He panicked. Charm reared and threw him off. He felt his wrist turn strangely but that was the least of his concerns.
"Charm! Where'd you go?!" He yelled out.
He pushed himself up with his hand but quickly fell again, holding his wrist in pain. He closed his eyes waiting for the pain to subside, breathing through his teeth for a moment. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes, the world was bright and blurry. He closed them again. He heard a horse trot up quickly. He ignored it. He heard the rider dismount. He ignored it again.
"Prince?! Are you okay?!" A slightly accented voice said with a panic
The rider went to look for vitals on the prince, but Damien's eyes fluttered open before he could.
"I'm fine-" another misplaced hand motion and he collapsed again, "-maybe not"
The young noble helped Damien up, the prince shaking. He leaned on the horse of the other. After a minute or two of resting, he took the first real look at the rider who helped him. The boy's skin was olive, his eyes a bright teal, full of concern for the prince's well-being. His black hair was slightly tousled from riding. He wore simple riding clothes, which contrasted greatly with Damien's own.
"Thank you, my fine knight" Damien flirted jokingly, "may I know your name?"
"Who I am doesn't matter. I'll get someone to escort you to the campus medic." the rider explained
"You're very quick to rush me away"
"For your own good, you should be rushing. Ah, Czeslaw!" the rider called out
The stable boy came over with Charm. Damien thanked god he was safe. He never knew the stable boy's name. Czeslaw, that was it. He wondered why this rider knew this over himself.
"Can you escort the prince to the medic?" the rider asked
"I can escort myself to the medic" Damien interjected
"Are you sure? I'm able to, your highness" the stable boy- Czeslaw said
"I'm fine. Would you please put Charm back in his stall?" Damien asked, and when Czeslaw nodded, he continued, "Thank you to you both, have a good day."
With that, the prince walked off the track, and to the medic.
~
Before coming, he had taken off his helmet, but kept his riding clothes, deciding it would be too much of a hassle to change out of them as well. He sat in the medic's office, holding his wrist, which seemed to make the pain go away. He was seen and diagnosed quickly. A broken wrist. As the medic braced his wrist, they spewed out the same thing they had always told him when he ended up here. Lots of rest. Don't use the hurt part of his body often. Don't take off the brace. No horseplay. No riding. Come back in two weeks to check on it. Then they sent him on his way. The walk back to the stable was mostly quiet, him humming a tune to himself. But of course, comfortable silence never lasted long.
"Damien! What happened?!" A concerned voice shouted
He would recognize the voice anywhere. It was Anna.
"Hey Anna," Damien said
"What did you do to your wrist?! What happened?! Why are you in a brace?!"
His sister talked quickly and precisely. Her enunciation was better than anyone he knew. In her concerned manner, which he had become accustomed to, she checked his arm quickly, making sure not to hurt him, and spewing out questions at the speed of light.
"Anna, calm down, I just fell off my horse and broke it, I'll be okay" the price reassured
"You're hurt! That's never 'okay'!" the princess replied, using air quotes for the 'okay'
"I'll be okay, I promise"
"You know Ivan's coming right?! He's going to freak out too!"
The picture of his older brother flashed through his head. A regal figure, good for the prince first in line for the crown. A picture of perfection. The person who will be king in less than 2 years. He'd be turning 20 soon. Damien could always tell he silently dreaded that number.
"I know Ivan's coming, I'm going back to the stable so I can grab my things, then I'll go to my dorm to get ready," Damien told her
"No sir! You're going now!"
She pulled her brother to his dorm hallway and left him there. He chuckled quietly and went toward his room. Right in front of the room, lay the bag he was going to get. He opened it with his good wrist. Everything was there, and a new note was added too. He went inside his dorm room, shutting the door behind him. He slid the bag onto the couch and opened the note. The note was in neat handwriting. Some simple letters in script. It read:
'You left this in the stable and I assumed you'd be unable to bring it back with a hurt wrist so I brought it up myself. I apologize greatly for handling your things without permission. I handled them with the most care I could. I hope things are good and that you feel better very soon, your highness.
Best regards,
The rider'
He put the note down, smiling to himself. Somewhere in his head, he promised himself he'd find him again. He got up and stretched. He had to go get ready. It'd soon be time to see his brother.
YOU ARE READING
Mysteries & Royalty
General FictionA disgraced noble and a prince. Meant to be apart. One to be married. The other is to be secluded. Their want to be close battled by a social standard that forces them apart. They met by accident but would go farther than they'd ever expected. And i...
