The Law of the Prince Charming

Chapter 10.1

Thomas walks up the road leading away from the valley in which Prism is hidden. Nothing good had come from trying to change his role. He grips the hilt of his sword.

I am a prince.

The lies bind themselves tighter around him, tighter than they had ever been before. Thomas reaches into his tunic and pulls out his Storybook. All he needs to do is find a tale to complete as a Prince Charming. Then he can go home.

"Scriven Map: Goldfield." He opens the Storybook.

Instead of a map painting itself across the page, red words appeared: "Kingdom not found."

"What do you mean, kingdom not found?" He demands.

"This map is not currently accessible," the writing continues. "This is not a drill. If you are stranded and in need of extraction, please contact the Secretary. Any Storytellers with cartographer training, please reference the basic Beacon resetting guide."

"Not accessible ..." Thomas remembers what the Cartographer had said about the maps. "No wonder she was so angry."

Thomas closes the Storybook and tucks it away again. He can still complete a tale without it, as plenty of princes have done before him. Thomas closes his eyes, searching for any semblance of the pull he feels when a tale is trying to move him. His thoughts whisk through his head so quickly that he finds nothing to latch onto.

"Prince of Redstone!" an unfamiliar voice calls out.

Thomas turns to see a young man wearing a green tunic waving at him. This young man is walking beside Kidder, who is, in turn, pulling the wagon holding the Wizard and the Huntsman. Thomas prepares to walk away, but he spies the Gelding tied to the back of the wagon.

"Hi again." The Man in Green greets them brightly as they approach.

Thomas recognizes him as the Storyteller he met briefly in the remnant shop, the Pine Archer. His companion, the Crimson Swift, is walking just behind him.

"Our next assignment is to help Cobalt's team with the Arthur tale," the Wizard says.

"And how is that a punishment?" Thomas looks up at the Wizard, looking for any of the anger that had been so plentiful only a short time ago. The Wizard does not meet his gaze.

"Rose likes to be in charge," the Huntsman replies.

"Oh, he'll be fine," the Archer says.

"The maps are down," Thomas says. "How are we going to get to our assignment?"

"I can freecast the wood-walking spell to get us to Azurelake." The Wizard smiles, but all Thomas can see is the memory of his eyes dark with anger and his face twisted with rage.

"Well I guess we're very lucky to have you, then," Thomas says.

The Wizard frowns and glances away. Thomas feels a stab of guilt, so he turns to the Archer. "Weren't you leaving tomorrow?"

"Cobalt called us back," the Archer says.

"I think he just misses us," the Crimson Swift says. "We're glad to have you on though. I didn't realize you were a Storyteller when we met earlier."

"I am the White Storyteller. It will be a pleasure working with you." Thomas bows deeply.

The Swift touches his fist to his chest in response and the Archer smiles. Thomas decides he just needs to stay with them long enough for the Cartographer to fix the maps, then he can be on his way to his own tale.

If the Wizard can pretend nothing happened, then I can too.

The group heads into the forest. Once there, the Wizard pulls a gem from his bag. He stares at it for a long moment.