The Missing Piece

Chapter 4

With the loud commotion going on with the dragon, Jake knew he wasn't going to get any sleep, even if he was just pretending. He sniffled again to try to stay calm but the tears kept rolling down his face. 'They're probably dead but now...' he thought to himself, knowing that whoever was trying to get in the first place was eaten or burnt to a crisp thanks to the "guard dog". That's why when Jake suddenly sat up, he was immensely shocked as a knight crashed into his window, collapsing onto the wall nearby. Tightly holding onto his bed sheets, Jake nervously watched as the injured man slowly got up. And immediately when he did, the prince locked eyes with him, knowing that this was the figure from his dreams.

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'This was him, it has to be.' Nick thought to himself as he locked eyes with the spooked prince in bed. No words were passed, just utter silence. Unsure why he couldn't deliver anything from his mouth, Nick just looked at the prince, taking in every detail. Sure he wasn't looking much royalty, but how could he if lived in a place like this. But those eyes were saying something. Before Nick could even take a closer step, in the corner of his eye he saw his companion being thrown towards him and collapsing together back on the ground. The prince, who was still watching in awe, couldn't help but give out a little laugh at the performance. Both knights, still in pain got up and dusted themselves off as they took their time. Still, in shock, Jake wanted to say something but couldn't process the words. Once he cleared his throat, all focus came back to him.

"You're.. uh, not here to kidnap me, are you?" He wondered innocently. Both knights looked at each other. Voluntarily, Nick took a step forth to talk first.

"That depends. You wouldn't happen to be the 'lost' Prince of Cardiff, would you?" Nick asked in a presenting matter, hoping that he was in the right castle.

It took awhile for Jake to process the question, with his brows forward in confusion, but he slowly nodded to confirm.

"I... am." He replied, not in a very confident tone since he was still confused about this sudden introduction.

Both knights had different expressions. Mason, being in utter shock as he had heard news of the missing prince and figuring it out that this was the mission all along. Nick still stared into the prince's confusing, yet lonely eyes. He couldn't describe it but he could feel something light up in his chest as they shared eye contact.

The silence was interrupted by the sudden thunder holler of the dragon, who was still learning about. Both knights grabbed their weapons as they hurried towards the damaged window where they crashed into to look out. They could hear the stomping of feet and tumble of buildings nearby.

"Well, we finally found what we were looking for, time to go!" Mason, still terrified quickly ordered and dashed towards the door.

"Wait, don't-!" Jake tried to warn the knight, as he remembered about the trick.

But it was too late as Mason unnoticeably grabbed the doorknob, abruptly being thrown back towards Nick, making them crash into each other again. This time, Jake helplessly laughed out loud.

"That door has a spell on it. She wouldn't want me getting out the obvious way, or any way for that matter." The prince explained. Getting back up slowly, Nick's brows frown.

"Wait, 'she'?" he asked, unsure of who is responsible.

Jake glanced up at the knight. "Yeah, my caretaker. Well, she's supposedly a witch, but she's supposed to be my caretaker." He mumbled the last part, still upset about how protective how Sofie always is.