My loyal, royal subject - Kingbury

Chapter 12

Samuel was legitimately happy for once. He had a real friend, he wasn't hated by everyone, just most people, and best of all; the king actually shared his feelings. Things really couldn't get better.

At the moment, Sam was sitting on his bed doodling on a scrap of paper, while eating a sandwich. For once he didn't feel exhausted, since he had actually slept the night before. Getting bored of doodling, he decided to do something more productive. He picked up a rag, and an old stick that was, for some reason, in the corner of his hotel room, and tied the rag to the end.

He hummed along to a tune he remembered from his childhood as he used the makeshift mop/duster thing to clean around the room, dancing along to his humming as he sweeped cobwebs from the corner. Though, once he had cleaned everything twice, he didn't stop dancing. He gracefully twirled around, his humming being the only thing he could hear.

At least, until a loud knock on the door startled him out of his thoughts. Putting the duster down, he slowly walked to the door, hesitating with his hand on the doorknob. It could be someone who would hurt him, which was sadly not unlikely.

But he opened the door anyways, and found himself face to face with a very panicked Charles Lee.

"Charlie? What's wrong, what happened?" Sam said loudly, putting an arm around Charles and leading him inside.

"M-my house, it's g-gone! Th-they b-burned it, and I-I don't have proof of who did it, s-so the court won't care!" Charles stuttered, hiding his face in his hands. Rage bubbled up inside Samuel at the people who did this, but he tried to not show it. Patting Charles awkwardly on the back, the two sat in silence. The only sound was the occasional quiet hiccup from Charles.

"Who's 'they' Charlie? Who do you think did this?" Sam finally asked and the black-haired boy shook his head quickly, afraid to say their names. Sam understood. If he had been what Charles had been through, he wouldn't even be able to explain the situation.

"Do you have a place to stay? Like, a hotel?" Samuel asked, and Charles shook his head sadly, his eyes trained on one spot on the floor.

"I was thinking I could s-stay with you..but it's fine if not.." Charles mumbled, and it was almost inaudible, but Sam heard it. He smiled sympathetically.

"Well, be prepared to only eat sandwiches, 'cause I only buy bread and cheese, and meats." Sam tried to lighten the mood, like Charles always did when Sam was upset, but it wasn't the same.

Charles threw his arms around Sam, smiling gratefully, a few tears rolling down his face, and he couldn't tell if they were of sadness or of thankfulness.

"Thank you. Thank you, Sammy. I-I could never thank you enough, I-"

"It's fine. That's what friends do." Sam smiled, a real smile, not fake like usual, putting a reassuring hand on Charles' shoulder.

"Wait, where am I gonna sleep?" Charles asked, and Sam squinted as he considered it.

"You can sleep in the bed, and I'll take the floor!" He declared.

"No, no, Sammy you can't do that, I can sleep on the floor." Charles argued. Sam put his hands on his friend's shoulders, a serious look in his eyes.

"You're the closest friend I've got. I'm not letting you sleep on the floor, especially since you just got out of the hospital this morning." He said, looking Charles directly in the eye. The other boy nodded slowly, averting his eyes.

"I have a bit of work to do, so you can make yourself at home, I guess." Sam said, Charles nodding in response as he curled up on the bed under the thin blanket.

Sam sat down at his desk, doodling for a bit until he heard faint snores from his bed, and smiled softly. He wouldn't mind having another person around, especially one he legitimately cared about. Though he did wonder what he would do about Charles when he had to leave for Britain in about a month.

Well, he'd deal with that problem when it arose. But for now, he was content with just being there in the moment.

Because sometimes that's all you can do.