The Runaway Prince - Quackbur

2

Earlier that day...
3rd Person POV
Quackity woke up early as he usually did. he wished he could stay asleep all day but he had to get up.

with a heavy sigh, Quackity stretched and got ready for the day. he dressed himself in his regular clothes, brown pants and a loose shirt. it used to be his father's, so it was a bit large on him. but it worked.

Quackity went outside, ignoring the need for breakfast, and went to the barn. he opened the large doors and let out his families cows.

"come on ladies, rise and shine!" Quackity said jokingly as he did everyday.

next on his list was to milk them all. all seven cows. yikes. it was annoying, but he got to sell it in town and it helped pay so.

with another heavy sigh, Quackity got to work.

Quackity selected his first cow and sat down on his small stool.

"ready, missy?"

"moooo."

"of course!"

Quackity began to milk the cow and repeated the process for each cow.

next on his list was to bring the milk in to the house and make it drinkable. during this part, Quackity went on auto pilot and before he knew it, he was onto his next chore.

bringing all the milk to the village. Quackity walked to his spot at the village center and waited for customers.

while Quackity waited, he liked to look at the castle. he liked to wonder what it would be like, to be rich. he wondered what never having to work would be like, being able to relax.

he spent his time fantasizing being royalty and not a commoner selling milk. instead of sitting here bored all day at a uncomfortable stand, he could be sitting in luxury all day and eat as he pleased.

as the hours passed by, few people bought milk from Quackity. he wasn't surprised at the slow day, but wished it could pick up soon.

he had been "working" this "job" since he was thirteen with his father. when he turned fifteen, his dad decided to become a trading merchant so he left the stand to Quackity.

Quackity is turning eighteen in about a month, and with that, maybe he could do something else. the way things work here is at eighteen, you can work any job you want that wasn't your family's.

and Quackity couldn't wait.

at about five in the afternoon, Quackity was rudely awaken by the sound of bells. they were the kingdoms alarm.

panicked, Quackity grabbed his money and ran as fast as he could home. was there an attacker? another war? what could be happening? everyone was running around and trying to prepare for the worst.

the royal guard that supervised the village was on the streets, looking for something. Quackity could only guess it was the reason why the bells were ringing.

Quackity had finally made it back to his barn and saw that he had never closed the doors.

"shit..."

"excuse me, sir. may we have a word?" a guard trotted over on his horse.

Quackitys heart raced, but he knew he couldn't say no to them or anything.

"sure, what is going on?" Quackity asked politely.

"we have a runaway situation that needs to be taken care of. we believe he is within the village." the tall guard explained.

"a criminal?"

"we are not permitted to share any information of the runaway except for his physical description."

The guard described the prince to Quackity. he described him as tall, brown hair, and wears glasses. but Quackity didn't know it was the prince.

"well, I didn't see anyone come in, sirs. but if I see anything, you will know." Quackity said. in all honesty, he just didn't feel comfortable letting them search his barn. he didn't know why though.

"well, keep a lookout. it is of up most importance we find him. farewell, then."

"farewell." the barn owner sighed as the guards left.

when the guards were finally gone, Quackity closed and locked up his barn for the night.

Quackity walked inside his small home and changed from his smelly day clothes into some night wear and pretty much passed out immediately.

through the dreamless night, Wilbur shivered in the barn. he didn't realize how cold it would have been. but he had to persist. he knew the guards were after him.

Wilbur blew into his hands to try and warm them up. the warmth was temporary though.

the cold night had passed and the morning sun had rose. Quackity repeated his morning routine and made his way out to the barn.

"come on ladies, rise and shine!" Quackity said again as he yawned.

he then realized he totally forgot to put the cows back in the barn yesterday. with all the commotion, it had slipped his mind.

"ugh!!"

Quackity grabbed his ~long fork tool~ to scoop up some hay.

the back corner of the barn seemed perfect. it had lots of good hay there that would be enough to get some cows back in so he can milk them and get on with his day.

step by step, he walked over to the hay pile and scooped right into it.

"OW!" Wilbur cried at the pain that had woken him up.

"AH!" Quackity yelled in fear and fell backwards.

on his back, he saw the tall figure stand up. dirty clothes, brown hair, and glasses.

this was the runaway the guards were talking about. could there be a criminal in Quackitys barn?

without hesitation, Quackity got up and grabbed his fancy fork and looked ready to fight for himself, despite not knowing how to fight.

"woah woah woah! friendly! friendly! I'm not here to hurt you!" Wilbur cried as he held his hands up in defense.

"who are you?!" Quackity asked scared. "why are you in my barn?!"

"look, I'm on the run, you can put that down now."

"nope, no way. how could I trust you? the guards are looking for you, you know!"

the taller lowered his arms and sighed.

"I know. please, I don't mean trouble. just let me stay here. I can work for you!"

Quackity slowly lowered his make-shift weapon and eyed the stranger. he really did look harmless. and some company could do him some good.

"Whats your name?"

"Wilbur..." Wilbur started but didn't finish. he can't say his true last lame and give away he is the prince. Wilbur searched the barn quickly for name inspiration and looked at Quackitys stained shirt. "Soot. Wilbur Soot. and you are?"

"Quackity. that's all I'm telling you."

silence filled the air as they stood there. hundreds of questions were waiting to be asked.

"So, can I stay here?" Wilbur asks.