Fit For a King <Lashton>

Three; Paisley

L U K E  

Ever since the announcement for the royal ball being held on the full moon, many wealthy lords and lady's, dukes and duchess's have been coming to town. Although the city of Solaris was basically the Capitol of the surrounding kingdom, there were never this many people around, let alone people with so much power. They looked down on us peasants and treated us like muck and pig-slop. One of the dukes called Lucinda (my twin sister) and I dalcops, since we couldn't read some of the signs properly in the blacksmith. 

I couldn't read the sign saying how much it would cost to father's axe sharpened and so I asked the owner and I was scorned upon. Lucinda wasn't pleased at all. Much like lots of other peasants we couldn't read or write since we couldn't afford the high amount of bits to attend school. 

She simply spat on the dukes shoe and stormed out. "You can't let them speak about you like that Lucifer!" She exclaimed. 

"Don't call me that Lucinda." I hissed. She rolled her eyes and we walked back home with the axe still at the blacksmith being sharpened. 

 • 

 It was later that night and Lucinda, Maria, Peyton, Bryce and me curled up together on a pile of dried straw under a thin scrap of cloth. The others (Alec, Arabella, Thea and Laurence) all curled up together on the other "bed". 

That's how we live, sleeping on straw with a scrap of sacking thrown over us. It was freezing most nights, even in the warmer months, so we slept in piles to attempt to keep warm. It worked sometimes, most sunrises we wake up shivering with our teeth chattering. And those dukes and dames think have the audacity to call us swine and dalcops. They don't. They're all cruel and mean just because they have bits and we don't. 

"Luke, you're glaring at the wall again." Peyton joked. 

"Stupid rich zoilists." I muttered. My younger brother simply sighed and curled into my side. I carefully wrapped an arm around him to attempt to keep him warm. 

 • 

 "Hello mother." I said and carefully sat next to her. 

"You feeling better now?" I asked. 

"A little. The medicine really helps." cough, "how did you pay for it?" her dull blue eyes looked straight through me and I could tell she already knew.  

I cleared my throat before whispering, "I stole it." 

 "Lucifer Robert Hemmings!" She snapped. 

"You know how I feel about you stealing!" 

 "I would rather end up in the dungeons then have you die like Jack did." I said firmly. 

"If you got caught stealing those herbs then I - I don't know what we would do... Luke you're my son I worry about you." Mother said. 

"I know, I'm sorry mother. I won't steal again unless I have to I promise." I told her. 

"Good." She coughed again, "Run along now Lucifer." She told me. 

I nodded my head slightly and darted out of the small cottage after grabbing the bow and quiver of arrows father made me when I was young. I made my way down the side of the house to the small pen where Sparrow stayed. 

"Hey girl." I said soothingly and held my hand up to the large palomino mare. Her velvety muzzle gently brushed against my hand as she sniffed it. 

"Shall we go for a ride Sparrow?" I asked her softly. She pressed her nose into my hand a little more firmly as if to agree. I smile slightly at her and stroke my hand down her face before leaning my bow against the wall grabbing her haphazardly made yarn bridle of a hook on the wall nearby. 

After gently slipping it on her, I step up onto the crooked fence rail and climb up and over her so I'm perched up on Sparrow's back. Gently digging my heels into her sides, I urge her on and eventually to jump over the fence. 

We head towards the woods at a steady canter, her long white mane and tail flowing behind us as we weave between the gnarled trees. The old leather quiver bouncing against my back as we cantered, I released the reins from my hands and notched an arrow. I drew back the bowstring and aimed at one of the small targets nailed to the trees along the trail. I released the arrow and quickly notched a second arrow and let that one fly too. 

We rode through the woods until we reached the base of a large cliff. There was a waterfall that gushed down the side of it into a clear blue pool at the bottom. I climbed off Sparrow's back and slid to the ground, where I placed my bow and arrows as well as my worn out boots. 

After rolling up my trouser legs I waded into the pool until I was knee deep. Sparrow followed me in slowly like the many other times we went there. 

"Hey girl." I smiled and rubbed my hands along her neck before splashing her. She looked at me almost in disbelief before letting out a snort and parading around the pool. The sand and grit that laid on the floor was stirred up in her wake. I laughed breathily and splashed her again. 

We played like that for a while before she climbed out and began to graze on the lush green grass around the water. I climbed out a bit after her and lay on the grass to let my damp trouser legs dry up a bit. 

 • 

Sparrow and I were riding back through the forest and I hoped to find some game so my family could eat okay that night. Slowing Sparrow down from her steady canter to a trot and then finally, a walk we made our way through the woods. 

The palomino mare walked slowly along the trail so I could focus on finding something. That's when I heard a rustle from the underbrush near by. On instinct I notched an arrow and drew it back waiting for whatever was there to come out. 

At that point Sparrow had stopped and was listening with her goldfish coloured ears pricked. There was another rustle, then another, then another, until finally, a rabbit came speeding across the path. 

I released the arrow as it ran in front of Sparrow and I. It was a clean kill, thank goodness, the arrow had gone through the brown rabbit's eye. I leaned down and fished up the rabbit with the end of my bow and laid the game over Sparrow's back behind me. 

Urging the mare on again, we continued to make our way back home when someone yelled, "Hey you!" I spun around from where I sat and saw two other people on horses with cloaks on, the hoods were up too and were hiding their faces. 

"You're not supposed to be hunting in these woods." One of them informed me. 

"I know." I replied with a slight shrug of one shoulder. "But, I have my family to help feed." "What do you mean?" the same one asked. "I mean, I have my mother and father and all eight other siblings to help feed since we have no bits." I said, my eyes were slightly narrowed at the pair. 

I recognised the voice of the one who was speaking but I simply couldn't place where from until, they took their hood off. It was prince Ashton Irwin. 

 // Hello all, it's paisley here with my chapter! :) I don't really have much to say, other than: MY SUMMER HOLIDAYS STARTED YESTERDAY AND I HAVE LIKE 8 WEEKS OF FREEDOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But yeah, the meanings of the words are below. 

<<MEANINGS>> 

 - Dalcop: dull-head, stupid. 

 - Zoilist: nit-picker, overly-critical. 

 And that's it for today so peace out Girl Scouts!!!!!