Shadowstruck

Chapter 4 Part 3

April walked down the street, led by Noah by her elbow. There was dust kicked up by the townspeople walking around the two of them.

"Come on!" He turned back to her and she could see a large smile on his face. His voice was a lot brighter and cheerier than it had been in the forest, and April smiled just to see him so happy. "I'm not gonna let you be late."

She laughed as she was pulled along. There were shouts of "Hey, it's the King's knight!" and "There they are!" while they quickly made their way through the streets. She turned and waved to some of them before glancing back at the castle. It was a large structure, made of stone and metal, and it has the flag of the kingdom: white in the top left corner and black in the bottom right, with the royal family's crest stitched into the center.

"You still haven't told me where we're going." She grinned as she turned her attention back to the boy.

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise, would it?"

"Fair point."

He nodded and turned back to face the way they were going. "This is retaliation."

"For your birthday?"

"Yes." He smirked. "I'm still mad."

"It's been three days!"

"And I've waited three days to get back at you. Be happy."

"I'm leaning towards scared or worried."

"Close enough." 

The two stopped quickly as a younger boy tripped nearby, sprawling onto the sidewalk face-first. He had a sword strapped to his back. Noah let go of April and knelt down. "Hey, are you okay?" The boy looked up. "That looked like it hurt."

April bent over Noah's shoulder. "It did."

He flipped onto his back, glaring at a taller person coming out of the crowd. "Fuck you, Sean."

The person came over and helped him stand up. "Language."

April noticed his hands were slightly covered in red scratches. "So are you okay?"

The boy turned to look back at Noah and April, who were both standing straight with slightly worried looks on their faces. He glanced at his hands, noting the small amount of blood. "I'll be fine." He wiped away some of it. "Just a few cuts."

"Alright. I'm Noah."

The boy laughed. "I'd shake your hand, but..." He grinned, looking towards Noah. "My name's Cooper. And this is my complete dumbass of an older brother," The boy behind him frowned but didn't say anything. "Sean."

April directed her gaze towards Sean. He was taller than her by a good few inches and had messy hair, along with a red leather-bound book under his arm. "Well, I'm April. Nice to meet you two."

"Sorry to interrupt you guys, you probably have some important knight-business to attend to." Cooper chuckled awkwardly.

"Actually, no. It's her seventeenth birthday and we're celebrating!" Noah grabbed April and spun her around, both giggling. "The king let both of us go for the day. Come with us!"

"It'll be fun!" April smiled towards the two brothers before glancing at Noah. "I think. He hasn't told me anything yet."

"Of course it'll be fun."

"Well, alright." Sean shrugged.

Cooper threw a fist in the air. "Happy birthday!"

Noah grabbed April's arm, who grabbed Cooper's, who grabbed Sean's, and the four of them wound their way through the streets.