Friday Barnes, The Biggest Mystery Yet

Part 2: The Unusual Proposal

( Here's part 2! hopefully I'll have part 3 up soon as well. I will also release another one shot like the dessert one so keep an eye out. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT)

Friday

When the headmaster told me to wait outside his office, I all but scoffed. I could see that same pity on his face as I did with everyone else, my teachers, my primary school counsellors, even my own uncle. I hate it, I hate it so much. I didn’t need their pity, this was my normal, sure it wasn’t as nice as most people’s but it was mine. Sure my parents weren’t affectionate and sure they barely acknowledge my existence, but it was still there, just in a low form.

Then I felt something warm stream down both sides of my face. At first I thought it was something leaking from the roof, but as I went to rub it off, it was in fact a leak, but it came from me, from my own eyes. Irritated by this betrayal I grabbed the cuff of my beloved cardigan and went to clean the spill, but the leak intensified and soon it could no longer be classified as a leak but a tsunami. That tsunami wasn’t just limited to tears, I could feel the once nonchalant pool of emotions I easily subdue overflowing to the brim, create crashing waves inside me. I felt as if I was gonna drown in my own sorrows, and even though that wasn’t rational, neither was I at this moment.

Then I heard footsteps and there I saw the King and Magnus walking towards me. I decided to swallow this pathetic display of emotions with one last rub of my cardigan and decided to greet them. Sure mannerisms and politeness were not strong suit but unlike anyone at school, I’m sure the King would have me thrown in jail or even executed at the slightest suggestion of insolence, I only hope Magnus can survive whatever punishment the King had in store.

With a small curtsey, I said “Hva er det du ønsker å ikke snakke med meg, din majestet?”. Noting to call him your majesty instead of your highness which would be reserved to royalty of less stature than the King, such as his daughter.

He seemed taken aback by what I can only say was my accent, it wasn’t perfect but still better than most people who learn languages for fun instead of as a necessity. Even me, who finds social connections a bore, I realise it is important to communicate with others, and I do that by learning as many languages as possible. 

“Jeg har et forslag til deg”, he said with a goofy grin, the same my uncle gives when he suggests we buy pizza on the way back from any place we went, whether that be shopping or going to the movies, we always got pizza.

I almost physically shook myself out of my thoughts and instead distracted myself with this proposal. I wonder what a King could possibly want with me? Maybe Magnus told him about my intellect or deductive reasoning skills. Maybe he was grateful I took care of his daughter. It wasn’t difficult to find out Debbie was the real princess, she shouted at Magnus, the imposter hated fish and Debbie seemed to have this aura of authority no doubt thanks to hours of etiquette training drilled into over the years.

“I want you to train to be Ingrid’s escort, and Magnus will be the one to train you as his severance”

Both Magnus and I blinked at each other, shocked by this unusual proposal. Becoming an escort for royalty in Norway was a prestigious honour which came with great benefits both within Norway and internationally. And having to train an escort was an even bigger honour as that was a for sure promotion for anyone in the King’s army as it showed great trust and loyalty between the King himself and the guard in question. An unusual punishment indeed. 

Magnus looked like he was on the brink of tears, probably thinking the King was going to throw him in jail. As for me, I was shocked by the proposal. Becoming an escort would require great work, from advanced defence training to etiquettes. Normally something like that would be an immediate no from me however the prestige that came with it at least allowed for some consideration. In normal European high society, an escort was given a rank that was equal to a Countess, in Norway, because of the training and time required to be classified as an escort and that too of royalty, the stature was just below the royal family itself. Escortship was reserved for those in high society who wished to bring honour, wealth and status to their family and was normally a process which started at the age of 6. An escort was usually a male, though there is no rule that states that the one gender is allowed to proceed, it was simply because they were usually the ones who were physically stronger. But a female escort was also highly sought out, especially for female royalty, as they were able to form a closer connection, as well as having access to areas banned to men, such as bathrooms.