Castle on the Hill

Chapter 2

Ranboo followed behind Skeppy as the two descended the flights of stairs to the ground floor of the castle. Skeppy could tell the younger servant was nervous, but this would make good training and perhaps he could even become a knight if he did well enough. Skeppy continued thinking about it as he stepped out of the dark castle and into the sunlight of the courtyard. The sound of the horses in the stable was one of the only sounds he heard during the quiet morning.

The two approached the gate of the stables; Skeppy spotted his father standing beside one of the horses. "A servant? What's he doing here?" He asked, gesturing to Ranboo.

"He's coming with us," Skeppy said confidently. "He can help defend us if anything goes wrong."

"We already have two knights coming with us, Skeppy, we don't need a new servant coming with us," his father reasoned with him.

Skeppy wasn't sure why he felt so strongly about Ranboo coming with. "He's coming with, look, we've even got another horse right here."

His father glanced between him and Ranboo before sighing. "I won't be able to convince you, will I?"

"Nope," Skeppy said, leading the other horse out of the stall. "You know how to ride a horse, right?" He asked Ranboo, handing him the lead and saddling up the horse.

Ranboo's eyes had a glint of anxiety in them but Skeppy couldn't see his expression from behind the mask. "Yes, I think so."

"Great! Which kingdom are we visiting first?" Skeppy asked, mounting his horse and adjusting his saddle bags.

"That would be Albaya," his father announced. "They're always happy to see us, I'm not worried about them agreeing to the trade deal."

Secure on their horses, the group of five headed in the direction of the sunrise. His father led from the front of the group so Skeppy didn't have to put much effort into getting his horse to go in the right direction. Periodically, he'd glance back at Ranboo to see how the boy was getting on. "Aren't you hot in that mask?" He asked.

Ranboo looked up and realized Skeppy was talking to him. "No, no, I'm fine. Don't worry about me."

Skeppy nodded and returned his attention to the way they were going. After nearly an hour, the group reached the edge of the town of Katini, entering the plains that split their kingdom from the next. The day was hot and Skeppy felt tired, but knew he had to stay alert, as passing through to another kingdom could be viewed as an attack.

Skeppy stared down at his horse, a gray horse with white patches. This was his own horse, the horse he had been gifted as a young child by one of the farmers at the horse farm. He had named her Diamond. His father also rode a gray horse, but he had a layer of black speckles on his back, his name was Gunpowder. Ranboo and the other knights had three solid brown horses, save for the white spots on each of their foreheads. The three horses were Hans, Copper, and Norman.

Skeppy quickly grew bored of the long ride but was determined to mask his boredom with a confident expression. He fell into stride beside Ranboo, who seemed to finally have a grip on riding the horse. "Have you ever visited another kingdom?" He asked, surprising Ranboo who looked up and noticed he was talking to him.

"Er- no, this is my first time leaving the kingdom. I've heard stories about the other kingdoms though," Ranboo explained. "Is it true that Albaya borders the sea and all you can see is water for miles?"

"Yes!" Skeppy confirmed. "The first time I saw the ocean there was amazing! Oh, and when the sun rises, the whole sky turns orange and the colors reflect off the water!" Skeppy had forgotten how nice it was to talk to someone like a friend. He hadn't had a friend in many years, but Ranboo seemed like a promising kid, only maybe a few years younger than the prince himself.

The two chatted about the ocean and the differences between the two kingdoms, alleviating Skeppy's boredom until they arrived at the edge of the Albayan village. Upon arriving at the castle, the five dismounted their horses and tied them to the hitching post near the castle's own stable. "Come on Skeppy," his father said. "And your servant is staying out here with the knights, we don't need him following us inside."

Reluctantly, Skeppy didn't argue. He turned to Ranboo, "I'll be back in a little bit and then we can go visit the beach!" Ranboo nodded and stood in his place in between the two knights. Skeppy felt a bit better leaving him there knowing he had a sword Skeppy had given him and that he was protected by the other two knights.

Skeppy turned and followed his father to the entrance to the castle. Upon knocking on the castle door, the two were ushered in quickly by guards. None of them spoke, but they quickly brought Skeppy and his father into a large meeting room where the other royal family had gathered. Skeppy spotted Lya standing at the end of the table, looking concerned. She looked up and noticed him, quickly rushing over to talk to him.

"Skeppy!" She greeted, but he could hear a twinge of concern in her voice. "Is everything all right in Katini? Nothing's happened to you, has it?"

"No, no, Katini is fine, is everything okay here?" Skeppy asked, confused about her panic.

"There have been rumors-" She was cut off by her mother.

"We've heard news from Royami that Belansoa was planning an attack on one of the other kingdoms. We planned to warn you as soon as we heard, since you are, after all, the closest in vicinity to Belansoa." The queen masked her concern as best as she could, but it was obvious she was worried about the potential for war.

"Thank you for telling us," Skeppy's father nodded to her. "We'll take a trip to Belansoa ourselves and ensure there will be no war. No need for unprovoked bloodshed."

His father continued to speak with the queen for a few more moments. Skeppy turned back to Lya. "Aside from, well, all this," he gestured vaguely with his hands. "How has everything been going?"

Lya nodded to him. "Everything has been well here. We've recently harvested a good bit of fruits and we'll be exporting them to the other kingdoms who agree to our trade deals."

"I'll be looking forward to that," Skeppy said. "Shame we won't be able to visit the beach this time, I promised a friend that we'd go to the beach once I got out of here."

"A friend? Have I met them?" Lya asked.

"No, he's one of the servants from my castle."

"A servant? You're friends with your servant?" Lya seemed confused. "I always treat my own politely, but I'm not sure any of them would make particularly good friends." She looked back at the servants who stood against the wall of the room. They all wore the same gray clothing with masks, you could hardly tell any of them apart.

"Yes, his name is Ranboo and he's my friend," Skeppy confirmed.

Lya didn't question him further. "Ah, I see. Well tell him I said hello and that hopefully next time you visit, we can all go to the beach together! Under different circumstances, of course..." Her tone dropped with the end of her sentence. None of them were looking forward to trying to convince an agitated kingdom not to start a war.

"Skeppy, come on, we're leaving," his father stood beside him.

"See you next time," he said to Lya, turning to follow his father.

Lya waved goodbye as Skeppy returned the way they had come in, shouldered by guards who remained silent. Stepping back out into the sunlight, Skeppy felt almost blinded, but his eyes quickly adjusted and he rushed back to where Ranboo and the other two knights were standing.

"How did it-" Ranboo began.

"We won't be going to the beach this time," Skeppy told him. "We've got to go prevent a war from starting."

Ranboo's eyes widened, but he didn't question Skeppy at that moment. The five of them untied their horses and returned in the way of the setting sun, giving the two plenty of time to talk during the ride back.