Princey's Unexpected Journey

CHAPTER VII

I went to the bar, followed by a herd of men. I sat down and stared at the drinks on the wall blankly. I was only introduced to fine wines. I wasn't exposed to the stuff that my father forced onto the peasants. I pointed at something unfamiliar, hoping that the drink could be swallowed easily.

The man grabbed the bottle and placed it on the counter. He then went and grabbed a large glass. He came back over and started to pour the contents into that glass. The bottle was empty by the time my glass was filled. The man threw the bottle on the ground behind him, in which created a loud crash. I looked at the glass with fearful eyes, not knowing what it would taste like. After a while of staring, the men around me started to notice my odd behavior. One of them grabbed the glass. I assumed that he was going to take it from me. But, instead, he pushed my head back with his other hand and placed the rim of the cup against my lips.

"Chug it," the man said, "chug it!"

Soon, I was practically inhaling the entire glass, talking large gulps of liquid in at a time. The entire glass was empty within a matter of mere moments.

It took me a while to even get a taste of the drink, and it was actually quite pleasant. It was not like anything that I have ever drank before, but it wasn't bad.

Everyone cheered when the man placed the glass back onto the bar and lifted my head. Christopher made his way through the crowd of men and came up to me, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Why did you wait to drink it, boy? Do you have refined taste buds or something? Were you born in a castle?"

"I actually was," I replied without thinking. The commotion in the room suddenly stopped. Oh, what have I done?

Christopher looked at me blankly. "Wait, you were born in a castle?"

"Yes! I mean, I mean no! I mean..." I sighed as I tried my best to figure out a way to fix my dilemma, but I knew that this was beyond fixing. I had messed up big time. And it was now time to explain myself.

"I was born in a castle," I started to explain before I was cut off by a plethora of questions.

"Wait," a man asked from the distance, "are you royalty?"

"Yes," I replied weakly.

"Are you a king?"

"No, I am a prince."

"Of which kingdom?"

I paused for a moment, hoping that they would not look for an answer. Yet, all of the men's faces were now on me. There was no way that I was escaping this one now. I held my breath. "The Lin Kingdom..."

Everyone backed away from me when I answered the last question. Everyone's eyes went wide as my heart started to beat faster. I waited for the response of the people.

George was the first one to call me out. "You little piece of shit," he yelled, "how can you just waltz on in here and act like you're someone entirely different? You lied to us!"

"Please, let me explain-"

"You have done enough, Princey. You have hurt your entire kingdom, so don't act like everything is fine here. Nothing is fine. Your kingdom is in shambles, so open your freaking eyes and look around. You know, I fought in the wars to win your precious freedom. I fought in every single one of those wars. Yet, what does the kingdom return to me? They return a slum in the middle of the town! They return a job with almost no pay! They return crap! You have only returned crap! So, before you go on and try to persuade me to apologize or some shit like that, think about what you have done to your kingdom."

Most of what George was saying only applied to my father. Wait, not most of it. All of it. All of the crap that my father had done was being blamed on me. I couldn't let that fly.

I felt my foot tapping the floor as I started to compile some words in my head. This rapping was addicting. I couldn't understand why my father banned it.

"George, sir, please listen to me. I had nothing to do with those laws and the fees. The king is a mess, the political system is trash, so open your ears before you start being brash. I am just the Kings son, with no penny to my name. I am trying to live with the man, please just give me a break. I want to help my kingdom, I want to make a stand, but how I believe is against the law and I can't stand that man. How I live, how I love, everything is under control. I am watched like a hawk, so that's why I walked out that door. You think the King is bad? Oh, live with him for a day! He turned away the man I loved, and destroyed my sister's wedding day. Please, just listen and hear me out: the King is an idiot, and there is no fault in me to be found."

Everyone was still silent as I finished my rap. George looked at me with solemn, sincere eyes, like he saw right through me. If he did see right through me, he would only see the truth. He would only see everything that I had just said. I could hear a sigh escape from the older man's mouth.

"Son, I am truly sorry that I yelled at you like that," George said quietly, "it was just...we have heard many rumors about the Lin family in general. I just figured that all of those rumors applied to all of the family, not just the king. Please, forgive me."

I walked over to George and extended my hand. He took it and we shook hands. "All has been forgiven, sir," I replied with a smile. George returned the smile as Christopher walked over to us.

"So, boy," Christopher asked, "is your name really 'Alexander'?"

"No, sir. My name is Manuel. Alexander is just an alias."

"Manuel. It is a pleasure to meet you."