The Father's Wish.

Chapter 5

Tyler paced around the vast bedroom. He glanced out the window, where the rain still poured heavily down on the village. He was bored - and felt quite guilty, to be honest. He returned back to the messy pile of ripped papers and picked out one randomly. Charlie's calligraphy was pretty beautiful, considering the young boy hadn't gone to school.

A single word was written on it.

Hate.

Tyler frowned in confusion and picked another one up. Again, only a single word was written down. This time, it was a different word.

Granted.

The prince scoffed and grabbed a handful of those tiny papers and threw it around him. The carpet was soon turned into a dirty one and the prince chuckled as he continued until he quickly became bored again. The prince then proceeded to walk back down the stairs, where the main entrance was.

"Hey! Open the door!" Tyler commanded. The two guards glanced at each other nervously as they hesitantly bowed to the prince.

"My prince, I thought you didn't want that thief inside." The beard man muttered.

Tyler sighed out, annoyed, before he pointed at the door again.

"Will you please shut up and open that door?" The prince said, agitated.

Quickly, the guards obeyed without another word spoken and as soon as the entrance was open, Charlie jumped inside the castle, painfully landing on the cold floor. The young boy glanced up angrily at the prince before he sat up, shivering violently.

"Charlie, how do you feel?" Tyler said as he crouched down. The prince had finally got his bright smile back as he now isn't alone anymore. Charlie is here, and that only mattered now. All the anger and vexation suddenly vanished into thin air.

"William, give him a warm bath and after that, bring a new pair of clothes." The prince said and stood up. He silently watched the guards lift Charlie up by the armpits and dragged the young boy upstairs. Charlie, on the other hand, didn't protest back, which was frankly surprising. When they were out of sight, Tyler smiled softly and opened the door wide open.

Small droplets of rain tickled Tyler's face and the prince giggled. It felt good to finally have someone back by your side again.

***

"Let me go, you bastard! Don't touch me - Oi! Where do you think you're touching?" Charlie yelled and struggled violently under the guard's harsh grip.

"Damn, you're quite a fierce one, aren't you?" William commented with a sly smile before his partner chuckled darkly.

"I'm impressed at how strong you are despite being outside, under the cold rain, for nearly an hour." Oliver added before he grabbed Charlie by the neck and forced the young boy under the water.

Charlie widened his eyes in shock and desperately tried to free himself from the deadly tight grip. He scratched, punched, kicked carelessly, hoping it would help him for a bit, but in vain. Just when the thief thought he would lose conscious, he was brought back to the surface as he coughed and wheezed loudly.

"See, wasn't that bad, was it?" William chuckled and stood up. He grabbed a towel and threw it on Charlie who was currently being dragged out of the water. Oliver grinned and released the young boy with a final push.

"You're lucky the king is there to protect you, boy." He said before going out of the bathroom, leaving Charlie nearly unconscious.

The young boy grabbed the towel and wrapped it around his body. He isn't safe here - and he doubt he will ever be. One day, the king is going to lose interest and forget about him; Rosa won't be on his side forever, and the fact that he had insulted her son is already enough to make the queen mad again; Tyler, on the other hand, showed great appreciation of the boy's presence.

Charlie closed his eyes shut and leaned against the wooden tub. He felt tired, hopeless, confused, but mostly, miserable.

"Remember my son, home is where you will be loved and protected. Home is your shelter to every situations."

The young boy snapped his eyes open as the door was slammed open. Tyler was standing there, rigid and tense, and behind him was those two bastards. They looked down on their feet nervously when they saw Charlie's intense stare.

"Did they hurt you, Charlie?" The prince asked, his voice barely a whisper. The young boy shook softly under Tyler's menacing gaze and slowly nodded. The prince growled lowly and turned around, facing the two useless guards.

"I will deal with you two later, don't expect anything good. You are dismissed." Tyler whispered angrily and as quick as they came, the two men rushed out of the room and slammed the door shut, leaving the prince and Charlie alone.

Charlie lowered his eyes down on his lap and tightened the towel around his trembling body. He didn't dare look up when Tyler bended down beside him. There was a long pause before the prince forced Charlie to stare back at him.

"I am sorry for leaving you outside. I wanted to make you learn a lesson, but I guess I went too far." Tyler mumbled before he also sat next to Charlie who simply stared at him with a blank face.

"I won't force you to stay with me anymore. I am clingy and annoying, I know." Tyler continued with a low voice. No answer came and the prince felt his heart clenched painfully. He knew Charlie would hate him for what he had done, but Tyler was expecting the young boy to fear him.

Although it sounds insane and illogic, the prince thought it would be better to have Charlie fear him than being ignored or treated like a dog. Tyler swallowed bitterly and stood up, ignoring the boy's emotionless stare.

"Why don't we read a book together after?" Charlie spoke up before the prince had a chance to say anything. He had to resist the urge to chuckle when he saw Tyler's priceless reaction. The prince widened his eyes in astonishment and gaped at the young boy.

"Queen Rosa came and told me how hurt you were. My father died three years ago and I am still puzzled about everything." Charlie confessed before he lowered his head down.

Tyler smiled brightly before he forcefully pulled Charlie on his feet and gently took the towel. He helped the young boy get dried up and both boys walked out of the bathroom. None of them had spoke a word out until Charlie widened his eyes at the messy carpet. All of his ripped pieces of papers were scattered everywhere and he turned his attention to Tyler who chuckled softly.

"I made this mess. Don't worry, a maid will come clean it up." The prince calmly explained before he jumped on the bed and patted the empty spot beside him.

"I understand, Charlie. Form now on, I will be patient with you." Tyler continued before he smiled widely at the latter. Charlie flashed a small smile and took the book Tyler had preciously handed to him the very first day.

"Shall we begin?" Charlie asked.

Th prince eagerly nodded and flashed his usual charming smile.

"Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer."

-Quote by Sun Tzu.

(Not really since there is no predicted sources yet that tells who had truly said this quote, but hell, I found it on Wikipedia and it had put Sun Tzu.)

***

Hello!

So, here's a small update for you! I hope you like the story so far, feel free to comment your thoughts and vote! Thank you a lot for all the comments and support, it means a lot to me. As I said, this story isn't the original and revised version. Consider a first draft, so please, bear the grammar errors with me. Anyway, please do comment and vote! Thank you a lot!

See you in the next chapter ~ Ciao!