King ◇ Phan AU

C3

Memory, noun: the faculty by which the mind stores and remembers information or something remembered from the past.

"Off with his head!" They shouted. Then a large axe swooped down and cut his head straight off.
"Dad!" He shouted, tears flooding down his face.
"You're next,"

Dan awoke, sitting up straight immediately. It was just another nightmare, he thought, but why was it always the same? And why did it always scare me at the same parts? At least it was Sunday, the day where there were no rules, no expectations, and only fun. Dan thought out what he was gonna do today. He really fancied bacon for breakfast; a piece of warm, sizzling meat to heat him up on this cold morning. Then he would play football with Jim, the butler, who was an expert. He would also go outside and see his people, alone. After, finally, he would go indoors, get Tanya, Jim and Hannah, the cook, and they would play Dan's favourite board game, Pictionary.

But Dan still sighed as he slipped on his black dressing gown. If his brother was still alive, he would have done everything with Dan. But he's not. He died two years ago in a battle against Spain. Dan has always mourned his death, and he is starting to wear colourful clothing now, but only just. He needed to find friends his own age.

As Dan waddled towards the door, it suddenly burst open, his father on the other side. He was dancing and singing a non-existent song terribly.

"It's Choosing Day! It's Choosing Day! It's Choosing Day! It's Choosing Day!" He sang as he spun around, holding Dan up in the air. Dan wasn't amused. For those who don't know, Choosing Day is the day where the prince picks a new slave from the ones that have been captured over the last few weeks, if they've survived, that is. Prisoners are kept in the dungeons beneath the castle, and the dungeons were full of specials and Black Enigmas, no humans.

"Yay Dad, I can't wait to make an innocent person even more miserable by enforcing them to do tough work that'll make their fingers bleed." Dan said sarcastically.

"No Dan, this is your personal slave-"

"Can you not call them slaves, please?"

"Fine. This is your personal s-s-servant. You can use it like it's a brother to you, and if it doesn't do what you say, slap it!"

"Okay."

"You can come downstairs now, Hannah's bringing home the bacon!" King Arthur said before skipping out of the room, singing his terrible 'Choosing Day' song, and slamming the door shut.

Dan walked towards his dresser, where his stuffed llama sat. He picked it up and hugged it with passion. This was the only part of his brother left, he gave the llama to Dan when he came back from another village, a few months before he died. Now, Dan spoke to the llama like it was his brother.

"Okay, wish me luck with today, Adrian. This should be you; getting coronated, picking slaves, travelling the village, not me. I still don't understand why you went to battle in the first place, and that question will probably never be answered. Let's go get some bacon then, 'cause this prince is one hungry lion!" He said, before he hugged the llama even more, his eyes welling up in tears.

"Love you, Adrian. I miss you every day. Please come home."

Dan placed the llama back down, patting it on the head. Then he walked out of his room, wandering slowly down the spiral staircase and sat down in his chair at the dining table. Dan may have felt low, but the glorious smell of the bacon Hannah was bringing out in stacks made him instantly smile, the gorgeous scent making his mouth water.

"Today is a good day." He said to himself before grabbing a piece of bacon with his metal fork and taking a juicy bite.

***
"Off with his head!" They shouted. Then a large axe swooped down and cut his head straight off.
"Dad!" He shouted, tears flooding down his face.
"You're next,"

Phil awoke, shaking under his covers. Just another nightmare, he could handle it, he was Phil the Vice for Pete's sake. He just needed to breathe. Today was gonna be a long day anyway. Next to him were the clothes given to him by Caspar, which Ben had as well. He and Ben had to get caught on purpose, then hope that the Prince chooses one of the two of them to be his slave. If not, they had a plan B. He was lucky that it's Choosing Day today, 'cause he wouldn't be able to last a day in the rat-infested, worn-out, dirty cells. It was worse than the conditions he lived in now.

He would have walked to the village showers, but if you're chosen as the Prince's slave, you get higher quality showers (but not as good as the royal family's though, their showers were humongous). Instead, Phil washed himself, splashing water on his face, waking him up fully. He brushed his teeth with his worn-out toothbrush and gave himself a pep talk in the mirror.

"You are different, but you are special. You will succeed no matter how you get there." He muttered.

Once the clothes given to him were on, Phil saw he had everything he needed. Then he picked up his stuffed lion from next to his bed, giving it a big squeeze. His parents got it from the village market for him before they were killed. It was the last thing he had of them, and every time he hugged the lion, it brought tears to his eyes. He would talk to the lion like he would talk to them, and if he believed enough, he could hear their response.

"Love you mum, and yes, I have brushed my pearly whites and my hair. I'll do you proud dad, I'll do anything to avenge your death and kill the King. You never deserved this." He said, droplets of water streaming down his pale cheeks from his eyes.

"Wipe away your tears, son." Was what he could hear his dad say. "You're a big boy now, and a hero, and heroes like you never get scared." Phil giggled to himself, wiping away his tears like his father told him to. He then placed down the lion next to his bed and smiled. But maybe he wasn't a hero. He gets scared every day from the fear of being captured, but maybe his father was describing a different fear, one that Phil is yet to discover.
He ran back to the base of the Black Enigmas to see Ben standing outside the entrance dressed in the same clothes as him.

"Do you know the plan?" Phil asked, stopping as he was in front of Ben.

"Good morning to you too," he sassed back. "And I kinda do, Caspar wasn't very specific."

"Just follow my lead, and when I say go, use your powers. Our aim is to be caught, not to fight back, yet look like you are at the same time.

"When we are inside, we are hoping that I get picked, so you'll lay asleep in your cell when the King and the Prince enter, so they don't choose you. Your job, when I'm gone, is to try and escape. This is your test to see where you rank in the Black Enigmas; but Chris, Troye, and Tyler will be there to help you once my job is done, if you haven't already escaped. Okay?" Ben nodded at Phil's question, then they set off on their mission: to get information from Prince Daniel for the attack mission. But is it as easy as it seems?