The Unwanted Prince

Ch. 10 - Oliver

"So, yeah, I want to go exploring! Discover the magical world beyond the cities!"

I had just finished telling Mar and His Highness my reasoning behind wanting to join them.

I smiled my best, trying to come off as friendly as possible. I was gitty all over, my toes were tingling! Well, my toes always tingle when I'm excited.

There was silence.

A bad silence. It was awkward with a thick tension in the air. I felt my smile slip away.

His Highness, as expected, has said no.

You know, I heard Prince Adrian was handsome and I must say, he is. Well, for a prince I think. He's got golden hair, bright like the sun at its warmest. But it was way too long, has anyone ever told him that? His Highness needs a haircut. His eyes were the color of emeralds. Or maybe jades? No, emeralds.

His whole facial structure was straight as well, symmetrical too. That was a bonus.

Though, if he wants to get far in life he's gonna need to get rid of that constant scowl.

Mar sighed. I've met Mar a couple of times before.

Her actual name was Marlene but she hates it.

I don't think Mar likes me that much. I am, what many consider, a nerd after all. Though I can't be all that annoying, right? The only times I would see Mar would be when I'm running errands and I would spot the knights training. Aside from that, Mar and I were complete strangers.

Smiling widely, I patted my trusty satchel. It contained almost everything I knew, all of my studies and notes were in there. It could come in handy, who knows?

Mar slapped her forehead, groaning quietly to herself. She looked down at me from her horse, her eyebrows were scrunched up. "Oliver, turn your butt around and go back to your little library." She twirled her finger around, aiming it at the castle.

"Pfft," I rolled my eyes, a small grin on my face, "It's not a small library. It's actually huge, one of the biggest in the lands. Of course, you wouldn't know that because you, as a knight, don't read."

I caught a slight smirk from Adrian, the prince side-eyed Mar with amusement. Mar on the other hand blushed stuttering incoherent words. She crossed her arms, pouting bitterly at me.

"I can read!" She rebutted, without much reasoning behind it.

"Reports don't count, they don't require much thought to process. It's all about the story, the meaning, the emotion behind the author's words." I couldn't help the excited jump I did, oh just talking about reading makes me so lively! Books are truly a man's greatest gift.

Mar groaned, for the third time since I arrived, and she turned to Adrian. The prince quickly hid away his smirk, resting with a small scowl instead. The knight sighed, "Come on, he's not going to help at all on the journey. He's just a scholar, he can't fight nor can he even shut that trap of his." She glared at me, her beady dark eyes ready to cut me in half. Oh, how it hurt me.

Adrian looked at me, eyeing me up and down. He raised an eyebrow, asking, "You're from the city, right?"

"Uh, of course-"

"I could tell, your city accent is thick and posh," Adrian said, slowly putting a strand of his wavy blond hair back, "In fact, it's thicker than mine is, considering I'm a prince and all."

That was true. For a prince, Adrian spoke very... er, how would one say... very commonly. It was middle class if anything. It must've been from his travels, his accent must've toned down from the royalness.

Adrian pointed out the dreaded thought, "You're inexperienced in the outside world, just like any other city boy out there. How old are you anyway?"

"Um," I felt the heat rise up on my ears, "Twenty-six, Your Highness"

Adrian squinted his eyes, "Twenty-six and you've never left the city. Hm..."

Mar butted in, quickly saying, "We should just go, Your Highness."

Adrian turned his head for a moment, I couldn't see what expression was on his face. Just then, he looked back at me, "You can come with us, I guess."

I grinned widely, once again jumping excitedly.

I honestly wasn't sure if he'd let me come.

Oh, I was going to the Zedan Empire! This was so exciting! And I'll meet magical creatures of all sorts on the way there! Oh oh oh, I've heard of mystical plants in the empire, would I be one of the first humans to see them?

"Your Highness," Mar hissed at Adrian, glaring at him intently, "Oliver is going to slow us down!"

"Hm," Adrian shrugged, "So what? He seems to annoy you, that'll be entertaining." He grinned at Mar with a, excuse my language, "shit-eating-grin".

Mar's jaw dropped, she was left speechless.

Still grinning, probably like a mad-man, I said, "Hold on for just a few minutes! I'll go fetch my horse!"

I turned around, running off to get my horse.

My toes were tingling. Oh, this was going to be so much fun!

I could already imagine myself writing this adventure down in my journal.

Oliver Finn, the first human scholar to enter the Zedan Empire.