The Prince Forth & The Pauper by ARIE78 (Completed)

6. Kit's latest prank...breaking into the castle?!

~One week later~

Beam sat slouched in his house, staring into space. He’d done this a lot lately, thinking of the disheartened back of Forth as he’d walked away without even a goodbye. He wondered if he was OK. He sat up straight, shaking his head. Of course he was OK, he was a prince, he had everything. He stood up and went to put another small piece of wood on his dwindling fire but paused again, remembering Forth's words as they had sat in this very room. He looked around, imagining Forth sitting where he had next to the table, playing with his glass as he wondered how to explain that having everything wasn’t the best thing in the world. Beam growled, starting to get a headache, he had enough to worry about, like looking after himself, without worrying about a prince. He stood up, grabbing a thin coat from the back of a chair and went to grab his hat. He mentally hit himself for doing that same movement for the tenth time that week. He never had got his hat back from Forth.

Without another glance around he walked out quickly, hoping the fresh air would dissipate his headache and his worries. He wandered into the market, wondering if anyone needed any help. Street performing may have been his favourite job, but it didn’t always pay, sometimes it was better to go around asking to do odd jobs for people. It also would give him something to focus his mind on, which was something he was eager to do at the moment. He let the crowd take him, assuming that wherever the market was busiest was the most likely to give him a job for the afternoon. As he wandered he caught sight of a squire uniform, his eyes automatically zoning in on the figure, hoping unrealistically that it was Forth again. He stopped, almost being bowled over by the crowd as he realised that it wasn’t Forth, but that he did recognise the figure. He started forward again, weaving in and out of the crush of people trying to get to the squire, even as the squire himself carried on walking. “Wait!” Beam tried to call above the babble of the crowd but it was unsuccessful in reaching the squire’s ears. He carried on pushing through, losing sight every so often of the squire before noticing him again, closing the gap inch by inch. He pushed through the last of the crowd, entering a slightly quieter part of the city, closer to the castle. Running, he grabbed the back of the squire’s tunic. “Wait...please.” Beam panted, having used a lot of energy trying to push through the crowds and keep up with the squire.

Ming jumped as someone grabbed him from behind, before frowning at the low voice he heard. “Eh?” He turned around, feeling the hand let go as he did. He blinked in shock. “Eh? You?”

Beam breathed in deeply, regaining his breath quickly. “You’re Forth’s personal squire, aren’t you?” He stopped for a second, thinking. “Or should that be friend? It’s what he called you and that other guy...” He frowned, wondering if he’d heard their names before shrugging.

Ming nodded. “I’m his squire, though he does also call me and Kit his friends.” He smiled. “I’m Ming, is there anything you want?”

Beam nodded, biting his lip, wondering what to say now that he’d got his attention. “Umm, I just wanted to know...how is he?”

Ming’s face dropped and he looked away, mumbling quietly so that Beam had to strain to hear him. “We should never have helped him escape.”

Beam blinked, shocked. “But, I thought it was a great idea. Sure he got lost, but he was happy to be free, even for a little while, wasn’t he?”

Ming turned back to him, frowning. “You’d think so but now...it’s like he had a taste of something before it got snatched away from him again. The king’s doubled security, there’s no way we’ll be able to use that trick again. But maybe we won’t have to for long.” He looked behind him at the castle, a sad look on his face. “It won’t be long before the king relents if this keeps up.”