The Prince

They watched the scene unfold in front of him from behind the cover of the forest’s flora. Peter watched the subtle upkick of dirt that followed the slow-moving carriage, counting the seconds as it came closer. He jogged towards the carriage, relief lighting up his face. Naturally, with him obstructing the vehicle’s path, it slowed to a stop in front of him.

“Oh, thank you, thank you. I haven’t seen a carriage in hours. I got kicked off of my horse and I’ve been walking since then. It’s such a far way though, could I get a ride to the next town?” Peter asked, comfortably leaning up onto the carriage where the driver sat, a man who was visibly offended by the stranger’s presence.

“Sorry, there’s no room for another passenger,” The man said stiffly. He very well might have clicked the horses into a trot if Peter wasn’t physically leaning on the carriage.

“Oh but I could just sit up here with you, or I could even hang off of back just until the next town?” He said with a smile. Before the man could deny him again, the door to the carriage opened.

“What is going on out here? Can we get moving already? We don’t have all the time in the world.” A young man, one who had just entered adulthood, stepped out of the carriage, annoyance flickering across his face. His clean blond hair was tied back into a low ponytail with short black lace and his clothes, while seemingly average, were absent of even a single speck of dirt.

Peter’s attention was instantly drawn to the new man, a bright smile on his face, “I was just asking if I could get a ride to the next town. I got stranded out here after my horse ran off,” He said with a chuckle, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck.

The man seemed to look at Peter like one would look at a filthy rat that was walking just a little too close, “There’s no room, now kindly get out of our way,”

Peter scrunched up his nose a little bit and shook his head, “No thank you,” He said cheerfully, grinning arrows and daggers came out of the treeline along with his friends, surrounding the carriage.

“So who are you?” Peter asked. The overgrown child was hanging upside down from a low hanging branch by bent knees. His head was tilted to the side in a curious fashion but the fact that he was upside down almost ruined the effect.

“Trace,” He said begrudgingly, not interested in sharing any further information. He was sitting up against a tree, his hands lashed behind his back and a rope connecting his hands to one of the roots that protruded from the ground. The four men holding him captive scattered around the area.

“You know what I mean,” Peter said with a pout on his lips.

“Yeah, I do. You’re point?” Trace shot back with a glare. He wasn’t stupid, not in the least, and he knew better than to tell this band of thugs who he was.

“The point is,” Ace interjected, having been leaning against a tree and staring at their captive, “We have no use for you if we don’t know who you are,” Trace frown deeply, contemplating his choices. He would do no good if he were dead but these men would only cause trouble with the knowledge of his identity.

“Well since rich guy over here needs to decide whether or not he wants to die today,” Caleb said interjected, standing up from his recently kindled fire, “I’m gonna go see if there’s any meat out here we can trap for dinner. Will, I’m gonna need you and your arrow shooting skills,”

“Or you could just learn how to shoot,” William said sarcastically, rolling his eyes as he closed his book and slipped it into his bag. He stood up to follow the blonde through the trees, the wo quietly bickering with each other.

Ace kept staring for a short while before pushing off of the tree and turning around, “Well, I’m going to fill our water skins. Peter, please have your feet on the ground when I get back,” He teased lightly before picking up one of their bags and walking off to find running water.

Peter huffed, swinging off of the tree and landing on his feet flawlessly, “You some son of a lord or something?” He asked curiously, sitting in front of the fire and poking it with a stick.

Trace was glaring at him from his spot leaning against the tree, choosing not to respond.

“Oh come on, don’t give me that mean look, that’s boring!” Peter whined, standing up and facing the captive man again, “Even if we want to ransom you that doesn’t mean I can’t get to know you,” He argued.

Trace furrowed his brows, giving Peter a strange look, “You’re not exactly the most sophisticated kidnapper are you?”

Peter slapped a hand to his chest in mock offense, “I’m the bestest kidnapper ever and don’t you forget it,” He huffed.

Trace rolled his eyes and shook his head, looking away from the enthusiastic man stubbornly. He would not converse with one of his kidnappers. It was probably a ruse anyway. He could feel the other man staring at him, it made him shift in discomfort. He could do without all the attention.

“I hope you know you’re not getting away with this.” Trace said bitterly. He looked at Peter who was still sitting uncomfortably close to him, “Why are you so chipper?” He asked, irritation dripping from his voice.

“Cause being depressing is kind of depressing,” Peter said with a shrug.

Trace could only look at him like he was stupid, “What kind of answer is that? It doesn’t make any sense,”

“Except that it makes perfect sense,” Peter argued with a grin, “Oh! I got an idea, how about a fair trade. I’ll tell you something about me and you tell me something about yourself,”

Trace raised a brow, “I fail to see the upside,” He said bluntly.

“It’s fun!” Peter said enthusiastically, “Fine, I’ll start. My parents died when I was six and this one asshole who was their boss decided he’d take care of me but he had a pretty funny definition of taking care of me since he hurt me and yelled at me a lot, but he owned a circus and made me perform and stuff but then the circus was attacked by a bunch of bandits, then Ace, Willy, and Cabe found me and we left the bandits to fight the world all by ourselves!”

Trace could only stare at Peter for a moment, dumbfounded by the sudden life story.

“Okay! Your turn!” Peter cheered, turning his body so he was facing their captive.

“You must be mental,” Trace said, pausing for a moment before speaking again, “If this is just you trying to figure out who I am then you can forget it,” He said stubbornly, shuffling away from the crazy man child.

“Well duh,” Peter said, giggling softly before standing up, “Okay then! I’m gonna go find Willy and bug him then!” He said as he turned on his heel and walked away.

“Whoa wait, you’re leaving me here alone?” Trace asked in a mild panic, looking around at the foreboding forest, “What if some wild animal tries to maul me?”

“Doesn’t matter, ransoms are for living people, not safe people,” He said with a giggle, turning around and walking backward, “That part is determined solely by the kidnapee,”

“Fine, fine!” Trace said quickly, “I’ll tell you something about myself!”

Peter grinned and ran back over, plopping down in front of him in anticipation for his story.

Trace leaned away a little bit, pursing his lips as he thought, “Well my dad is really busy all the time so he sent me here to find someone. And uh, I’m an only child I guess,” He said with a small shrug. He wanted to avoid saying enough to reveal who he was, that wouldn’t be good.

“What else?” Peter asked eagerly, his eyes wide with curiosity.

“What do you mean what else? What else do you need to know?” Trace asked in annoyance.

“Well, you’re entire life story of course!” Peter exclaimed as if it were obvious.

“Why would I tell you my life story?” Trace asked, his brows furrowed in frustration as he began to raise his voice, “I know you’re just trying to figure out who I am so you can sell me off so I’m not gonna do it!”

Peter pouted for a moment before sticking his tongue out at Trace, “Whatever, you’re boring.” He complained, standing up and walking over to a tree. He climbed up to a low branch and sat on it, playing with the chicks in a bird’s nest right next to him.

Trace didn’t know what to think about the sudden change of attitude. One moment he was the center of attention and now he was being ignored. Could he have been picked up by a stranger group of people?

“You’re never gonna get away with this, you know that right?” Trace said, glaring over his shoulder at Ace who was pushing him forward.

“Shut up,” Ace snapped, giving him a rough shove, gripping his shoulder tightly, “Just be happy you’re going home,”

“Can we go home after this, too?” Peter asked with bright eyes, looking up at William.

William shook his head and patted Peter’s shoulder gently, “You have to have a home to go back to it, you know that Pete,”

Peter pouted, crossing his arms, “Well can we buy a home?”

“If they hold up their end of the bargain, we can make a home where ever you want, Pete,” Ace said, a small smile on his lips, “Now keep down guys, we’re almost there.”

Trace frowned, glancing back at the group of boys, a contemplative look on his face. He was abruptly shoved forward again, into a small clearing with man waiting on the other side. The five of them walked towards the man, leaving a good twenty feet between them just in case. The proceeding silence was thick, not even the birds dared to break it. The thick silence was stretched for several infinite moments until Ace’s voice cut through the air, “Did you bring the gold?”

The man stared at him for a moment, the distrust in his eyes as clear as day. His sharp snapped reverberating through the clearing, followed by two men coming out of the tree line, carrying a chest between them. They set it on the ground, opening it up to show the gold coins that filled the crevice.

“Pour the gold on the ground and then put the pieces back,” Ace ordered abruptly.

“What? Why?” The soldier asked, his hands balling into fists.

“Because I said so,” Ace snapped, the sharp ring of a blade against its sheath echoing in the field and the sight of a blade at the prince’s throat silenced any response. Said prince jolted when he felt the abrupt threat, tensing as the cool blade pressed against his skin.

The soldier frowned deeply, nodding at the two men on either side of the chest. They tipped it over and watched all the coins spill onto the ground. Ace saw what he needed to see.

“You built a false bottom in the chest.” Ace said plainly, “If we receive half of our money, you will receive half of your prince. Now since I assume you have a full chest of gold back there I would like for you to retrieve it and I’ll take both of them. If not, we’ll just take our leave,”

“Alright, alright,” The soldier said, sending the two men away into the tree line. Ace watched them return moments later with a second chest.

“Tip that one over as well,” Ace said, watching as the men pushed it over, spilling all the coins into the grass. He nodded when they sent him an expectant look, keeping his eyes on them as they slowly started scooping the gold back into the chest. He had been hoping for something like this to happen. Kings were greedy, he knew they would try to trick him. But now they would be leaving with more than what they asked for.

Trace glanced back at Ace, glaring at him, “You’re a hard ass, you know that right?”

Ace snickered, shaking his head slightly, “And you a royal dumbass,” He said, tightening his grip on Trace’s shoulder and sheathing his knife. “Now shut up,”

They all waited for the rest of the coins to be picked up, at which point the two men stood up again. “Let’s get this over with then,” The soldier said impatiently.

Ace nodded, pressing Trace forward and walking with him to the center of the field. The soldier did the same, each man carrying one of the chests behind him, “Take the gold,” Ace said over his shoulder.

“And how are we supposed to know that you will return the prince after you take the gold?” The soldier interrupted.

“Well some common logic may help someone to come to that conclusion, though you’re not to be blamed for lacking in that department,” Ace said calmly, “Frankly the act of keeping the prince would benefit me in no way aside from a constant migraine. I wouldn’t even gain any satisfaction from it since I harbor no true ill feelings towards the king personally. But if we don’t hurry up, I may become bored and decide to take my time other places with the prince by my side,”

The soldier frowned, waving the men forward to place the chests down in between them. Caleb and William walked forward, both of them picking up one of the chests and beginning to walk them back. Ace nodded slightly, giving Trace a small push and releasing his shoulder.

Rustling to the side caught his eye and he glanced to the side. The moment the soldier’s hand touched the Trace’s back, the prince was shoved to the ground. Ace heard whistling arrows cutting through the air and whipped around to shout at his friends. “Get to the trees!” He made to run but found himself frozen as he saw the first arrow strike Caleb in the chest.

“Caleb!” Peter ran over to the fallen boy, falling to his knees in front of him, “No, Caleb, get up,” He begged, grabbing Caleb’s shoulders and receiving no reaction, “Caleb, please, get up,” He cried, tears streaming down his cheeks.

“Peter, we have to go!” William shouted, pulling Peter to his feet, neglecting the chests of gold entirely, and dragging him to the tree line. “Ace! Come on!”

The next arrow made Ace’s breath hitch, it went straight through William’s neck. Peter tripped over him as William’s body fell to the ground, his eyes wide with horror as he stared at his friends. He slowly started backing away before scrambling up and running.

Ace watched. And watched. And watched. There was nothing else he could do, he was stuck, he couldn’t believe this was happening, and he watched Peter get shot in his shoulder. And his leg. And his head. Peter fell to the ground and Ace stood there watching.