You Tried

Chapter 10- Lava And Flowers

-Mitch's POV-
When I was positive everyone was awake, I walked with Preston inside. Ty somehow convinced the Prince and Princess to stay in a room away from everyone, so Ty got to meet Preston without a hassle. Mom nearly had a heart attack when she saw the lava that would occasionally drip down Preston's shirt. Then she near died when she saw how bad of a condition Preston was in. His suit was all torn and ripped apart, and when we were waiting for everyone to wake up, I found a burnt rock in his foot.
Mom rushed him to my room, asked me if he could temporarily wear some of my clothes, and I let him. It's rude to deny something to a guest in need. She took his suit to her friend in the city to repair its rips and tears. We colored on the living room floor together for an hour before Mom came home. She handed the suit to Preston, who thanked us, changed, and seemed more relaxed. Sky had woken up from the dart, and was laughing and joking about it. Preston saw my bow, and asked if he could try.
I shrugged, not wanting to say no. He, Sky and I went outside. He aimed for the midsection of the scarecrow, and when he let go of the string, the arrow flew at speeds I couldn't follow with my eyes. It impaled the heart of the scarecrow, and wedged itself in a tree 100 yards away. I stared at Preston, shocked into silence. He was smiling.
Sky was doing the same as I was, and snapped out of it faster. "Where'd you learn to use a bow like that out here?" His little high pitched voice was fun to listen to. "I don't know." Just then, another little high pitched voice carried through the woods. "Preston? LP? Where'd you go?" Preston called, "I found people, Rob! Nice people!" Then a little boy about Preston's age came out of the woods.

-Sky's POV-
The small boy that came out of the woods looked very similar to Mitch. He had darker hair, but that's the main thing that was different. His eyes were the same color, and he has the same white shirt under a jacket of some kind, and jeans. His jacket was a blue hoodie. But this kid was different with one big factor. He has a wire crown on his head. The symbol on the side is a rose.
This isn't a fake crown. I've seen the same exact crown on an older gentleman when I was younger. I stiffen, afraid of this 6 year old boy. That's the crown of the Flower King. If this truly is the crown of the Flower King on this little boy, he carries true amounts of power.
At this point in time, I'm wondering how the boy got the crown. Was he the Flower Prince, and the King had passed? Had he stolen it? Was it stolen and given to an unexpected child? How did this little boy gain control of the crown of the Flower King?!
Preston runs to the boy, and the boy comes and hugs Preston. "Rob! I found these nice people! They helped me." "They did? Finally! Someone who can help! Thank you nice people!" I nod. "No problem. Umm..." I'm too afraid to ask, but I need to to clear my thoughts.
"Um... How did you get that? No offense intended, I'm just... curious." I point to his crown, and he flinches. "My daddy died. I don't know why I have this. A tall man in a white cape gave it to me." A white cape... A priest! The priest at the funeral of a king is the one who bestows the crown on the heir. This kid is the Flower King.
"What's your name?" He answers hesitantly, "Rob." "No no. Your full name." He answers cautiously. "Robert Aaron Latsky. Why?"
Latsky. That's my proof. This kid truly is the Flower King. His words carry weight on everything. And he doesn't know.
"Rob, do you know what the crown means?" "No." "Okay, Rob. Do you want to know what it means?" He nods his head eagerly.  "Well, Rob, you are a King. The Flower King, to be precise. That crown is the crown of the Flower King, and with it on you, it means-"
"I'm King." Rob looks bewildered, and I see a million questions flood into his head. "But...- I'm 6! I don't know what I'm doing!" He starts to panic, but I walk over and touch his shoulder, and he relaxes. Preston is excited, and doesn't know how to contain himself. He leaps about, making Mitch nervous, so he took his bow and arrows back.
Rob is still unsure, and shifts the crown on his head so it's straight again. The rose on it glows in the sunlight. Rob's eyes shine with confusion, and he stares at me. Then he realizes. "Wait! How do I know I can trust you then?" "If you couldn't trust us, I wouldn't have been so nice as to tell you who you were. I'd just assassinate you like any power hungry person would. But I'm not like that. None of us are."
He settles down, and grabs my hand for reassurance. Together we all walk back to the house. Ty had let the Prince and Princess loose, and the Prince was playing with Ty outside. I could see the Princess in the window, watching the boys roughhouse. She didn't seem to be too active herself, sitting in the window and watching.
Then the Princess saw Rob, and she collected herself, sitting tall and proud. The Prince stopped in his tracks, confusing Ty in the process. He didn't know about the Flower King's reign because he'd lived in the End at the time. The Price came over, and lowered his heads to Rob, showing respect. The Princess did the same from the window.
Ty was still confused. He asked, "Who are you?" pretty rudely. I gave Ty a warning face. He caught it, and backed down. Rob was still unsure of himself, so he gripped my hand, and kept his thoughts buried. I held his hand, and knelt next to him. "Ty, meet Rob. The Flower King. Be respectful, and be nice."
In that instant, I could hear hollering and shouting coming from the woods. It faintly sounded like, "King Robert! My liege! Where are you?!" Rob flinched, and dragged me with him as he headed toward the voices. I not only thought this was a bad idea, I knew it was, because the voices came with the clanking of metal- armor. These were soldiers.
Rob ran, dragging me along. He didn't see the problem, but I did. I wasn't welcome anywhere around people in the city or kingdom for that matter. The soldiers would see my eyes and unless Rob stopped them, they'd beat and arrest me. The soldiers found us, and several jumped back when they saw me. "Rob no-" and the soldiers were on top of me. I could hear him holler, "No! Leave him alone!" with authority.
The soldiers backed up, but they seemed very confused and conflicted about listening to a 6 year old King. Rob grabbed my hand again, and started walking the way the soldiers had come. It was already pretty dark, so I knew Rob was walking blind. I stopped Rob, and snapped my fingers, making a little yellow flame. I dropped my hand quickly, and the flame stayed in mid air.
I pushed outward behind it, and it lit up the woods in front of us. Rob was entranced by the flame, and kept walking. In no time, we were outside a big stone brick castle. It scared me, because its outside was built much like my father's castle here in the Aether. Rob walks in normally like he's home, which he most likely is.
As I pass under the gate, the whole castle seems to hold its breath, and everyone freezes when they see me. Several stare and point, but most just stand frozen in fear. I feel super awkward, and I realize I've left everyone at the house because Rob dragged me, and me alone. Once inside he castle walls, I shiver. It's built exactly, like, down to the last brick, like my home castle in the Aether.
I stumble, trying to keep my balance as a kid a third my height drags me around by my wrist. I see several maids and servants, and scowl as I remember my own. A woman in an elegant dress strides into the room, and I can see a similar wire crown on her head. This one has a lily on it, signaling that this is Rob's mother. The Flower Queen. I can see similarities between Rob and his mother. He has her dark brown eyes, dark brown hair, regal posture, and he looks like her exact mini me.
She stops mid stride when she spots me, and I can see alarms go off in her head. I can see she is on the verge of calling the guards, but then she sees Rob holding my hand, and his big toothy grin. "Hi Mommy! I found a friend!" She repositions herself, and stands with more regality.
"That's lovely Robert. Go head upstairs and get ready for bed. We have a long day ahead. There's a lot of people you need to meet." "Yes Mommy. Can my friend sleepover?" She tensed, clearly agitated enough with my presence even in the castle in the first place. "Fine. Make sure he doesn't touch anything. If I find anything missing after you leave young man, I will hunt you down to the ends of the earth and lock you up forever. Got it?" I nod, and promise myself to touch nothing, knowing I'll regret it.
Rob leads me up the steps to his room, which sends a chill up my spine. His room is in the exact spot mine is. It's built like mine, and it makes the whole thing creepy. I settle on the floor, with a pillow I'd been given by Rob. He tossed a blanket down, and he also gave me a bit of memory foam just in case I wanted it.
I fell asleep soon after I settled, and woke up to Rob bustling about. He looked miserable and tired, but I could hear his mother shouting orders to maids and servants and the occasional command to Rob. Rob was wearing a full gray and gold suit, a gold cloak, and black boots. His hair was brushed all nice, and he was just now settling his crown deep in his hair. He looked absolutely miserable, like he had no desire to do what they were already doing at all.
He saw I was awake, and grabbed some clothes that had been set out. He handed hem to me, and said, "Mommy thought you'd need these. She also put out a pair of sunglasses." I changed into the clothes Rob gave me, and I looked very similar to Rob, but with no cloak or crown. Easy. I settled my amulet over my jacket, and set the sunglasses on my face. I sighed in relief for the cover.
Rob's mother called for us, and Rob dragged me down the steps hurriedly. He stopped us both, and we walked over to his mother. "Well. Don't you act like us. Like you are one of us. But, you do clean up nicer than most." I stared at her, shocked by the attitude. "As a matter of fact Flower Queen, I am like you. I'm actually considered higher than you. My uncle is Notch. Don't test me."
Her expression changes in a millisecond, from snooty to fearful. She sweeps herself past us, and gestures for us to follow. She calls behind her, "I don't care who you are, but don't you dare say a word during this. Or the same rules apply as to if you steal from this house." Rob and I follow, Rob's little hand engulfed in mine.
We leave the front gate to find hundreds of people. My feathery, long hair floats in the breeze, and Rob's hair flutters under the crown's wire edges. This feels awkward, because I'd done something very similar to this when I was younger. My dad had called it, 'The raising of the heir'. Mine had been when I turned 10, seven years ago. It was the most miserable day of my entire life.
My dad had literally pushed me off the bed, and I'd hit the floor. I spent the day wandering through people, trying to avoid getting stepped on. Rob's grip on my hand tightened, and I heard him take a deep breath. I never heard him let the breath out. He was shy, and afraid.
I walked him through the crowds all day, and he avoided every person there was. He was so shy, he was practically antisocial. He whispered to me at lunchtime, "I miss Preston. Can we go tonight and get him?" I had to whisper back, "Rob, either we go back and you go home alone, or we all come, and that will only end with most of us in the cell block below the castle. Sorry man."
His face fell, but it rose almost immediately. "Could I stay there? Or do I have to stay here?" "I don't know Rob. Ask if you want, but I doubt you'll get clearance." "Okay!" And he dragged me to help find his mom.