The village of Nottingham is a peaceful and loving village. Sherwood forest only added to its beauty as well as its mysteries. They say a band of thieves known as the Guardians live in the forest. Their leaders have dedicated themselves to protec...
A steady hand handled a quill pen that wrote on the paper before it. The owner continued and continued to write until he had to stop. His hand could no longer endure the writing. If he continued then he would forever hate writing. He leaned back against his wooden chair to ease the pain in not only his hands, but his neck as well.
With a deep sigh, he closed his eyes, exhausted from his daily routine. He looked like he was about to fall asleep until a cup of cold water splashed his face.
He awoke immediately, wiping the chill water from his face.
"Your welcome," a voice said.
He looked toward the voice to see his best friend. The Duke of Nottingham and his right hand man.
"Hey, Nino."
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"Wake up, sleeping beauty. You almost fell into a deep sleep and without me here, who knows how long you would have slept. 10 years? 20 years? 100 years?" Nino asked over exaggerating.
"A few minutes?"
"Maybe. You looked pretty tired, Adrien."
Adrien was the name of the hand's owner. He got up to stretch hoping it would ease his body, but it only made him more weary and ready to collapse. Nino quickly grabbed hold of his friend and took him to his room.
"Nino, I still have work I need to finish. Father will be mad if I don't," pleaded Adrien.
"Won't he be furious if he finds out you collapsed while you were working?" Asked Nino smartly.
Adrien had no choice, but to subdue to his friend's reasoning. Even though, it wasn't his health he was worried about. Ever since his mother died, Adrien's father changed. He began to focus more on the kingdom and less of Adrien. He even kept Adrien locked up in the castle. The king forbade Adrien from going out into the 'cruel world' as he put it. The world his mother thought was once beautiful, was now deemed cruel by his grieving father.
Adrien's father was going to throw Nino out of the castle, but he remembered the promise he made to his son when he was a child. And although, he still saw Nino as a bad influence, he could think of no other who could keep an eye on his son.
The thing Adrien feared the most was Nino getting trouble if he got hurt. Thankfully, his father was merciful and left Nino's punishments to Adrien. But Nino would still be scolded if anything happened to Adrien on his watch.
As Nino carried Adrien to his room, they ran into one of the servants. The servant immediately went Adrien's side.
"My prince, are you alright?" Asked the servant.
"Yes, I'm fine. Just tired. Nino is helping me get to my room, so I can rest," answered Adrien.
The servant nodded, "Is there anything you need, your highness? Duke?"
"Bring some water in case he gets thirsty," requested Nino.
Before the servant left, Adrien called out to him. "Wait!"
The servant heard his prince and immediately turned to face him. "Was there something else?"
"Yes, please don't tell my father. I don't want him to worry."
"I understand, your highness, but we all are ordered to report if something happens to you," the servant argued.
"I know that, but please I'm just tired. All that is required is for me to sleep. I don't think that counts as anything dire."
"That may be true, but--"
"Please! It's all I ask," begged Adrien.
The servant realized how important this was to the prince and agreed. Adrien thanked the servant before he left to get the water. Nino helped Adrien into his room, then on his bed. Adrien's body was so relaxed that his eyes closed instantly. Adrien was in a deep sleep, one he would not mind staying in.
* Adrien's eyes fluttered open as he stared at the ceiling. With a yawn, he sat up as he rubbed his eyes. He wondered how long he had been asleep for, he thought it was only for a couple hours. But to his surprise it had been a whole day.
Upon this realization, Adrien knew his father would be questioning what happened and the only people who knew were...
Adrien jumped out of bed, put on his shoes, and ran out his bedroom door. He found guards stationed in front of the door and knew his father was the one who ordered them. Adrien ran as fast as he could to the throne room, the two guards who were stationed at his room door followed behind.
Adrien burst through the door with sweat dripping down his face and his breath heavy. His father sat on the throne, his eyes widened to see Adrien standing in front of him. Gabriel stood from his throne and walked over to his son. He examined Adrien from head to toe.
"Father," Adrien said with breath still heavy, "where are they?"
Gabriel's eyes narrowed, then closed. He looked his son in the eye. "That troublesome Duke is in his room, he's been confined to his quarters until further notice. As for the servant, he is in the dungeon awaiting a sentence."
"Sentence? For what?" Adrien asked.
"For disobeying my orders. I told everyone in this castle to report to me if something happened to you, but instead of reporting to me, he kept it to himself. I had to find out from the chambermaids that my son was not waking up."
"But father, I was just tired, so I decided to take a nap. I didn't realize how tired I was until just now when I woke up. Besides, I told the servant to not tell you."
"I found out about your exhaustion from the doctor and from the so called Duke I appointed. He was supposed to look after you, but it seems he can't do that. So he must be relieved of his title."
Adrien's eyes widened. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. His mother was gone and now he would lose his best friend, too.
"Father, no! If it wasn't for Nino, I wouldn't be standing here! Please let the servant go! He was only following orders. What's worse, following orders or defying them? And Nino's all I have left! Ever since mom died, Nino has always been by my side. So please," Adrien's eyes started to swell with tears as he begged his father to free the servant and let his best friend go.
The king watched as his son weeped for the servant and Duke. He could not bare to see his son suffer, so he agreed to Adrien's terms. The king released the servant and spared the Duke his title. As long as the Duke remained by his son's side, the king would have no reason to revoke his title.
Adrien thanked his father and returned to his room to get more rest. Adrien sat in his bed looking out his balcony window. He longed to see the outside world, or at the very least the small village that rested below his father's castle.
"Adrien!" An all too familiar voice exclaimed.
The prince looked toward the voice to see his best friend, the Duke, run to him. The two were happy to be reunited. The prince apologized to his friend, but the Duke just smiled. He told the prince that it wasn't his fault.
The Duke and prince talked the rest of the day, but even though he was happy in the outside. On the inside, the prince was consumed by sorrow, guilt, and most of all the desire to see the beautiful world his mother dreamed of.
I got my laptop!! And boy..DO I LOVE IT!! So now, I'll publish the chapters I have finished, just give me some time to get myself settled and they'll be up soon :)!
