The Final Days of Springborough
Chapter 8: The Kingdom's Knight

Where is everybody?! Thomas asked himself as he stormed out of Corson’s lesson, his body bruised and sore all over. Thomas was always the one in the castle who could be trusted upon to know where everyone was. If his father wanted a squire located, he’d just need to ask his son. If his mother needed a specific handmaiden to fashion her hair for an event, she sent for Thomas who could locate the handmaiden immediately. Thomas prided himself on the fact that if he was going to run the entire kingdom one day, (after his sister, of course, he had to keep reminding himself,) he was practicing with monitoring the castle.

As he left his sword lessons, Thomas felt a peculiar sensation that he hadn’t felt for quite some time. He was lonely, and he was only feeling lonely because as far as he knew, nobody was where they should be. Usually he could look out the castle windows toward the southernmost fields, and see his brother Patrick, but Patrick currently wasn’t there. If he passed by the rooms in the Hall of Studies, his sister Princess Kyrstin would be bent over a book, memorizing facts and dates, fitfully, as a tutor looked on, but there was no Kyrstin, and therefore, there were no tutors.

Even the simple fact that his parents, King Daniel and Queen Jenniffer were off on an adventure, which Thomas had no idea to where, for what, and for how long was always needling him in the back of his mind, but without Kyrstin and Patrick where they were supposed to be, Thomas’ blood was beginning to boil. So now, Thomas has lost his family and his sword, and it wasn’t even time for lunch, yet. The little Prince was so angry he was fit to be tied.

“Servants!” he bellowed as he marched down the hall. He didn’t have much weight to his foot, but he stomped it on the steps all the same, trying to get an emotional point across so he didn’t have to waste his words on it.

Doors opened and shut, he heard clatter throughout the castle as trays and cleaning equipment were dropped so his people could answer his call with haste. He beelined for the balcony that overlooked the kingdom so he could convene with his servants where they all could look out at the expanse of the Lishens land. The Kingdom of Springborough and the forests of Fortis would one day all be the children’s to rule, Kyrstin with her brain, Thomas with his words, and Patrick with his brawn.

“Your highness,” the first servant said as he arrived, curtsying to a knee to show Thomas respect. Thomas always felt taller when they did so, and so curtsying was a quick way to the young boy’s good graces. “You sound a-fright.”

“I’m not frightened, I’m disturbed,” Thomas started as more and more servants, housemaids, and soldiers arrived. Whoever was in the little Prince’s earshot when he hollered had come running. It was probably a welcome distraction from their boring days, Thomas thought to himself. “As we all know, the King and Queen are off on holiday, but as I emerged from my combat lessons, I have found that I cannot seem to put eyes on my brother and/or sister. This alarms me. Who can tell me where the princess and little prince are?”

“Well, your highness,” a housemaid spoke up in a mousy voice, careful to not incur any royal wrath, “I did see the royal giant Patrick, rounding the castle for the North Hill.”

“The North Hill?”

“Yes, my liege. Your brother Patrick likes the view from the North Hill. He feels he can see over everything.”

“Is he still there?” Thomas asked, feeling better already.

“As far as one knows, my grace,” the housemaid finished.

“What of my sister? Princess Kyrstin? Who can tell me about her?”

But, no one did. The maids and the servants and the soldiers looked to one another for an answer. Upon realizing no answers were coming, they looked to each other with more urgency, but nobody knew a thing. Thomas watched them all, now not hoping for an answer on where Kyrstin was, but rather an answer on what to do now that the castle had no clue as to her location. It wasn’t like Kyrstin to sneak away without telling anyone. Thomas’ first thought, that he tried to quickly block out as people might see his panic, was that the royal princess was kidnapped.

That can’t be, he thought to himself. Not when our parents are gone.

“Listen up,” Thomas declared, controlling the situation. “We are going to replace Princess Kyrstin quietly. Do not alert the rest of the castle she is missing. Do not tell any villagers. We must keep this between us. There’s no reason to alarm the kingdom if my sister decided to take a little walk, or visit my brother on the hillside.” Or my grandma in the woods, Thomas thought to himself, hoping that wasn’t the case. Could his sister be so bullheaded as to head out in the world alone?

Thomas looked from face to face of his people who were looking back at him. He realized that they all had the same panic in their eyes that he felt. He also realized that these people loved to gossip, and that keeping the secret of the Princess missing was going to be an impossible task for them. He hoped upon hope that they found Kyrstin before the rumor mill began to churn out falsities. With that, Thomas also remembered the disappearance of the princess wasn’t his first question of the day.

“I need two soldiers to accompany me into the village,” Thomas said, turning to his men in armor.

“But, sir, if something did befall the princess, don’t you think it safer if you stayed inside the castle until we figured out what the threat is?”

“Safer, yes, but not as productive. I need to see the witch in the village and get some answers. I’ll ask her about Kyrstin while I’m there. But for now, I have royal business with her. I need two knights, two guards. Will you keep me safe?”

All five of the knights on the balcony nodded, but Thomas only wanted two.

As Thomas walked through the village, he shook the hands of the villagers that reached out for him. He never minded bonding with the people. Kyrstin was shyer than him, and so he always told her to never mind her fear that she would be considered rude, as he would do the socialization for the both of them. He shook hands, he comforted babies, he danced for children- Thomas, apart from being the royal watcher within the castle walls, was also the royal public relations outside of it. He could charm a crowd with a smile, he could make them feel like he cared, scrunching up his brow and showing a worried face, and all of the time, Thomas made sure he seemed like he was having a good time just being among them.

“If you’d only learn how to battle, you might be the greatest King this land has ever known” King Daniel would say to his son, knowing Thomas hated bloodshed.

So, Thomas politicked as he made his way, with his two weary guards, to the beautiful witch’s humble home. It was a one level hut, made out of sun-dried mud with a straw roof that probably hosted a wide array of bugs and rodents. Thomas ducked his head as he went through the doorway without a door into an establishment that only had rugs, a table, a pot over the stove, well-worn books, and spices. The attractive witch sat in the shade across from the open area.

“Leila,” Thomas spoke her name, holding his hand out behind him so his guards knew not to enter, “I have come-“

“I know why you have come,” Leila the Witch responded, her eyes opening so Thomas could see the whites in them through the dark shadows. “You don’t think I can hear the village rejoice as you grace them with your presence, your grace?”

“I need a favor.”

“Of course you do. Why else would you come if you didn’t need a favor. You never visit for my company.”

That’s not true. I’d always visit for your company, Thomas wanted to say, but couldn’t. Leila provoked a shyness in the boy.

The witch stood up to walk over to her table with no chairs as Thomas waited by the doorway. He didn’t move toward her until she beckoned him to. Leila’s twenty-year old frame always made Thomas sort of nervous. That, and because she did not believe that being royal gave one any sort of power. Sure, Thomas would one day rule a kingdom, but he’d never see the future, and to Leila, that would always make him weaker.

When Thomas got to the table, Leila poured him a cup of tea, making sure to not spill it. He thanked her, and sipped it, remarking mentally how much cooler she served her tea than the housemaids served theirs at the castle. It almost felt cold against his teeth, but still he sipped, to be kind, letting the taste of peppermint greet his tongue, lemon wash his mouth, and honey coat his throat when he swallowed.

“I need to replace my sword,” Thomas said, not yet trusting Leila with the news that the princess was missing as well, knowing full well she probably already knew about it, knowing her.

“What good is a knight without a sword?” Leila asked, that same wispy smile that Corson also showed. Thomas wondered if they knew of each other.

“I’m a lot of things, Leila. A knight is closer to the bottom of the list. But, I still need my sword.”

Leila looked at Thomas, staring through him. It wasn’t until a couple moments past that Thomas realized she wasn’t looking at him at all. Sure, her eyes were focused on his face, but she seemed to be looking past him at the wall, her cup of tea stopping right below her lips. Leila blinked, blinked again, and focused on Thomas, ”Your sword is in the forest.”

“The forest?” Thomas replied, not expecting such an answer. “What’s it doing in the forest?”

Leila then trained her colorful eyes on the young Prince, sending an immediate blush of blood to his cheeks and spoke forlornly-

“Hunting.”