Don't Be Curious- A criminal who did the impossible

Chapter Seven

Days had passed and the group was travelling through the forest. They could see the castle now, just a short ride away. Zanders' horse suddenly reared up and let out a shriek as a fox ran past in a hurry. The prisoner gasped and grabbed onto Zanders waist in a panic, trying not to fall. Once he realised he was hugging him he quickly let go and shuffled back. The young prince started to laugh and Jaksa suddenly felt self conscious.

At the castle walls, people were taking down Jaksas and Kasss wanted posters. He thought he would be happy about that, but he was still going back to that castle. Was he going to become a slave? Maybe tortured?

"Prince Zander has returned!" someone called. There were servants rushing around the knights now. Zander swiftly jumped off his horse while Jaksa awkwardly slid off.

It felt strange to be back in the place they had almost died.

The servants took all the horses away as Jaksa and Kass were flanked back into the castle. With every step the boys felt more and more uneasy, and their footsteps echoed throughout the quiet halls. What could the king want? Whatever it was, Jaksa was sure he would hate it.

They walked down the now familiar corridor and once again stood at the large doors, except this time Jaksa felt completely numb. The boys were pushed into the large room, and it was obvious that they were expected. It was dead silent. The king sat on his throne with a cold expression, glaring at the boys as they entered. Zander walked to stand behind the king, there was something about the way he walked however that made it seem like he was excited about something. He knew something they didn't.

"You two have shown great skill, my knights and I were very surprised at how you escaped your death sentence. It has never been done before and certainly caused a commotion in our community." the king spoke through gritted teeth, like he was being forced to be kind. Jaksa puffed out his chest, proud. Kass however looked guilty. "However, you still broke the law." the king drew out. Jaksas face fell, and so did Zanders. "Therefore, it has been my decision to use your skill for our benefit. You will be tested by my son, who I'm sure you've already met, to see how useful you will be to me. If not, my dogs need feeding." Jaksa raised a brow. A test? Jaksa felt nothing but dread now. He spent his whole life avoiding work, now he had a choice, work or death.

Kass and Jaksa were led outside for their test. It was the knights training ground. One of the knights threw a spear for them both and realisation struck him. He could prove he was good enough to be a knight! Good news for Jaksa, not so much for Kass. He looked back at the blond boy, who was still struggling with his spear. He was bound to fail.

Soon the young prince was fully equipped with a spear and a helmet on his head. Jaksa was a little angry that the prince had put armour on, when all he had was ragged clothes. "Alright Kass, you're first." Zander commanded. The boy took a step forward, still holding his spear wrong. Zander pushed him with the blunt end of his spear with slight force and the boy fell back. The other knights laughed at how pathetic the young boy looked. "Uhh, ok.. In the nicest way possible, you're useless, with a spear anyway. Can you cook, clean and do what you're told?" Kass nodded his head aggressively, thankful that the prince didn't hurt him. "Ok, I'll convince my father to let you be a manservant so then you can stay with Jakks." Jaksa cringed at the nickname. "Jaksa, you're next."Jaksa sighed. He couldn't tell how strong the prince was, so he was slightly nervous. Kass scrambled out of the way as he stepped forward. As Jaksa stepped informant of Zander he could tell he was hesitant about something. Then, to his surprise, the prince took his helmet and threw it on the ground. "There, now it's a fair fight." he stated. Jaksa smirked.

"I'll enjoy kicking your ass." he taunted.

"Oh well see about that, Jakkie."

Zander made the first move, trying to hit Jaksa with his spear, but Jaksa grabbed it and pulled him forward so the traveller stood behind him. Before the prince could turn, Jaksa knocked him to the ground and held the tip of his spear at the back of his neck. Jaksa yelped as Zander grabbed his legs and threw him forward onto the floor. Zander rolled over to sit on Jaksa and hold the spear to his neck, looking down at him smirking. "Kicking MY ass huh?" Jaksa sat for a moment, thinking about his options. He then kicked his legs up and did a back roll while Zander hit his head on the floor. He groaned and held his head. Jaksa put a foot on his neck, holding him in place. "Yes, sire, kicking YOUR royal ass." he said smugly. The prince grunted, still holding his head.

"Now I'm going to get a headache from you.." he grumbled, glaring up at his opponent. Jaksa laughed. He stood back and held his hand out to Zander. He gladly took it, suddenly feeling better.

The boys stood outside the throne room, awaiting their fate. The king and his son were discussing what they wanted done about the boys, or that's what Jaksa thought. Really, Zander was ranting about how great of a knight Jaksa would be. When the king asked about Kass, he simply responded with "manservant" then continued his rant. The king lifted a hand to silence Zander, then beckoned for the guards to let the two in.

The room was quieter now, with only a couple knights, Zander and the king. When the two walked in, all attention was on them, and Jaksa took note of how odd it felt to have no ropes around him.The king had an unreadable expression on him while Zander fidgeted excitedly.

"Jaksa, Zander tells me you have shown great skill in fighting, he speaks very highly of you. I shall appoint you a positing in the Royal House, as my son's personal protector. A guard that shall be by his side, and die for him.'' Jaksa cringed slightly. He wasn't THAT fond of the prince. Zander looked slightly annoyed. "Father i do not need a body gaur-"

" Kass." the king interrupts. "Zander tells me you have no experience in fighting, but are willing to follow orders?" Kass nods shyly. "You shall be prince Thomass manservant." then the king sighed. "Someone fetch the little ball of energy, I'm too tired to answer one thousand questions..." Jaksa and Kass looked at eachother, perplexed. There was another prince? Usually the name Thomas brings the image of a great warrior with scars and huge arms, but Jaksa couldn't help but snicker when the actual younger prince walked in. instead of a large, muscular warrior, he saw a young boy with white hair and sky blue eyes. He looked to be 14, possibly older, and carried a long cape that dragged along the floor behind him. "Thomas, you have your first manservant, he will be at your disposal.'' The small prince bounced over to Kass with large eyes. Now, standing next to each other, they looked fairly similar. Both had faces full of freckles and messy light hair. "We look so similar!" he gasped excitedly. "Come on, I will show you my chambers! We will have so many adventures, we can train together! Come on, come on!" he chanted, dragging Kass out the room. Kass looked back, a smile on his face. Jaksa shrugged, slightly envious. At least he would be happy.

The few people that stood around the edges of the room started to file out. Jaksa stood still, unsure of what to do. He wasn't a servant, nor a knight. What will I do? Stand outside the princes room all day? He thought. Zander walked past Jaksa and beconded for him to follow, not saying anything.

Zander led the green eyed man out to the garden. It was a large open space with trees towering over them. Birds sang loudly in the trees, and even though Jaksa was clueless he still felt strangely at ease. They walked over to a row of bushes that acted as a fence. It was almost 7 feet tall, and stretched as far as he could see all around the garden. He felt a sense of nostalgia wash over him. "Do you remember this place?" Zander asked softly, his voice full of admiration.

"Sort of, I'm not sure why though.." he responded. He thought really hard. Back to his childhood.

"One day, when I'm king, I'll look for you. I'll find you. I promise!" a high pitched voice rang in the traveller's head. It was the last thing Zander yelled to him, all those years ago.

He suddenly remembered where he was. His emerald eyes widened. "Oh my stars... I had a feeling but.. I didn't think you remembered!" he stuttered, not knowing what to say. "You remember!?" Zander exclaimed excitedly. Jaksa nodded eagerly. "Oh stars! HA I told you I'd find you! I wasn't sure at first, but I knew it was you when you started spitting your 'very creative' insults!" the prince laughed, then jumped to hug Jaksa. The hug didn't last long however. "Sorry!" he panicked and jumped back. "I got excited." he grinned while rubbing the back of his neck. Jaksa laughed. Perhaps this wasn't going to be so bad after all.