The King's Secret

Chapter 8: Barbarian.

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Caspian.

Caspian let out a slow breath, watching as the cold made it into a white frost before his eyes. The sun was just peeking over the trees in the distance, and sleep still made his eyelids feel heavy. 

He glanced around to his friends, who rode alongside him, staring unseeingly as they too tried to fight off their sleep. He heard the gate closing behind them, and felt the pressure lift off his shoulders as professionalism was no longer expected of him, so long as they were alone. 

The morning dew was shiny on the grass, and he enjoyed the damp feeling of the early morning. As they crossed the field and entered the trees, he enjoyed the rare moments of silence, and allowed his mind to drift away...

"Hey barbarian! Why don't you just growl at her so she shuts up?" 

He clenched his jaw, trying to ignore the taunting voices behind him as he carefully tied the last knot and handed the make-shift doll to the little girl in front of him. Her small smile made it easier to ignore them, but after she ran back to play with her friends, he had no distraction left.

"Why don't you go back to prison where you belong?" One of the boys jeered.

"Yeah? Why don't you go back to your beast of a mother?" Another said, receiving hoots of approval from the others. 

Something in him snapped at this, and before he could think, Caspian was spinning around and grabbing the boy by the throat, punching him in the face. He got three hits in before the others grabbed him and dragged him off the boy.

He was dragged to the dirt, kicking, punching, clawing. Fury pumped through his veins, making the blows he received feel like nothing. Then he became aware of shouting, and the boys were being dragged apart.

He was dragged to his feet and a ways away from the others. Then he realized that they had been stopped not only by their caretakers, but also by several random men who'd been passing by. 

The women in charge of their care were screaming at him, and the grip on his arm tightened as the man spoke to them. Caspian's eyes widened as the master of the house came out and began speaking to the man holding him.

The grip on his arm tightened even more, and the other boys got smug looks on their faces as he was dragged away from the group. Caspian tried to break free of the man's grip, but it was just impossible. 

He caught a glimpse of a little girl crying and being stopped from following by one of the caretakers, then he was around a corner from the group. He was tossed into a dead end ally, and hurriedly turned to face the man approaching him.

The man picked up a large stick that was lying next to one of the buildings and slapped in against one hand as he approached. "You, boy, are going to learn some manners. We don't tolerate barbaric behavior here." He growled as he approached.

Caspian backed slowly away, eyes glued to the stick in his hand...

"Hey Caspian," A voice interrupted his thoughts. Caspian blinked away the scene in his mind and turned to Isidro, who was speaking. "-you've been spending an awful lot of time with the King lately, do you know if his daughter has had weapon's training?"

Hiram scoffed and Caspian instantly realized the source of the strange question. "If you're looking for an excuse for her getting the drop on you, you're out of luck. I don't know anything about her. I just read books and stuff." He replied, smirking.

"Told you." Hiram needled as Isidro shook his head in irritation.

"It makes no difference. I dropped my sword because you can't just threaten the Princess with it and expect to escape the King's wrath. I wanted to show her my story was true." He protested, but Hiram just snorted in disbelief again.