Where the Purple Flowers Grow

Chapter 4: Hawthorn

Billy stayed trapped in both his mind and the cell for a week before his journey to the castle finally began. The young teen's weak physical and emotional state meant the two guards had to carry him out of the town prison. Once outside the jail doors, Rob and John dropped Billy to the ground and attached a rope to the chains on his wrists. John held the other rope tightly in his grip and yanked Billy up to his feet without warning.

"You listen here, kid. Us two will be riding horses to the kingdom while you have to run along behind us, got that?" John announced roughly.

"Rob here will be holding the rope that is attached to your chains. Don't even try to run cuz we'll catch ya." The older guard warned as he tugged on the rope for effect and turned his head to acknowledge Rob.

"Rob, hold the rope tight. This boy doesn't seem like a runner, but ya never know. Let's go. We got a schedule to follow." John ordered and promptly walked off to get his horse.

Rob stared at Billy and Billy stared back at Rob. Billy knew from the moment he met the two guards that Rob was the gentler one out of the two, even if he didn't really seem like it. Billy was happy to know that John wouldn't be the one dragging him to the castle, because he knew if he was, then his hands would be sawed off by the rope.

"C'mon. We got a journey ahead of us." Rob suddenly spoke with a comforting smile on his face.

Billy obediently followed Rob and watched silently as the two guards mounted their horses and started the trip. Now that Billy was finally free of his cell, he took the time to look around at his surroundings. Giant oak trees encompassed the dirt trail the three set forth on. No flowers were in sight and that disappointed Billy, but he was relieved that there were no big reminders of Toad. He turned his attention to the guards ahead of him and examined them to distract himself. They both wore matching silver armor with chainmail underneath. They wore red cloth with the kingdom's crest of a roaring black bear on its hind legs. Billy almost felt bad for the guards in this heavy armor and many layers in this humid weather, but his pity for them was restricted by the fact that he was currently tied up and running behind horses. Billy continued to watch the two men and concluded that Rob was in his 20s and John was at least 35. He could easily tell that John was the sterner of the two and felt he had more power than Rob because he was older. Billy just hoped that he would survive the journey unaffected by John's unpredictable temper. Turning his focus from John to Rob, Billy quickly became annoyed by Rob's constant swinging of the rope. Billy glared at Rob's back, but said nothing. Rob turned around and was surprised to see the boy staring him down. Robby gave him a nervous smile, hoping the boy wouldn't escape later and kill him. John would laugh at Rob's dead body if he did. Pushing his worrying thoughts away, Rob turned back around and tried to ignore the boy's glare.

The journey took a week, but it felt like an eternity to Billy. With nothing to do but run, Billy was left to think about how he was now left in a world without his Toad. When the trio arrived at the castle, Rob got down from his horse and started to untie the rope attached to Billy's chains.
"You got this kid. No matter what, don't give up. I thought you might want a flower for motivation." Rob spoke quietly, hoping John wouldn't catch him.

Billy looked at the flower that now lay in his hand. It was a hawthorn. It represented hope, Toad taught him that. Many years ago, when Billy had discovered Toad's obsession with flowers, he had stolen a book about flowers and their meanings as a birthday gift. Toad tried to scold Billy for stealing something unnecessary, but he could not stop the smile that appeared on his face. Toad read that book every chance he got and would teach Billy everything he learned. Hope, Rob was giving him hope. Billy smiled a little as he glanced down at the flower. He nodded to Rob in thanks.

As soon as the rope was untied, Billy was dragged away by a different set of guards. He was relieved to get away from John, but he had to admit that he would kinda miss Rob's annoying personality. Billy had no time to admire the glorious palace because it was time to be brought before the King. The grand set of wooden doors was pushed open and Billy was pulled into the throne room. A long red carpet lay before him and at the very end of it, sat the King on his throne. Tall windows lined the wall to his right and allowed the sunlight to fill the room. The left wall was covered with paintings of past rulers. Billy did not take the time to look over the paintings, he had a much bigger issue at hand. The two guards holding each of his wrists escorted him up to the King and pushed him down to kneel. Billy held on tight to the hawthorn, never wanting to let go.

"I'm glad you could make it." The King's deep voice echoed in the big room and Billy nervously stared down at the carpet in response.

A/N
Oooo the suspense! Thanks for reading!

Hawthorn= Hope