"You know the king is going to be pissed at you for this, right?"
The guard said to the prince as he made his way out of the gates and headed for the shipping docks.
Porter didn't say anything as he continued his way through the woods. He still seemed to be kind of shook from earlier.
The guard sighed as he continued to follow him, making sure that he's left unharmed on his way.
The two men eventually arrived at their destination. Lukas watched as the sailors and captains of the ships were loading up on stock so that their trading business stay afloat.
Lukas was never allowed to go near them, his father was a strict man and didn't want his son to go out on the seas.
If Lukas were to get injured or killed on a trip, it would be bad news for Lonia's kingdom. Lukas knew this, but it's not like Lukas was a weak man. Hell, he's even been trained in combat with the guards sometimes.
"Porter. You know that-" The guard tried to speak, but Lukas ended up cutting him off.
"Yeah, yeah, I know Aiden. I'm not even trying to go near them!" He scoffed as he went back to watching.
The guard just rolled his eyes and sighed.
Aiden went over to one of the sailors to ask about the trades they've managed to make while they were out for the past few days. Once he did, Lukas slowly walked away and strolled along the beach while the dark brown-haired man was distracted.
Lukas saw a rowboat in the distance. Small waves crashed into it as the tides came in and out. He stared at the boat and thought about all that's happened. He thought about... how free he could be if he wasn't the prince.
"If only... I could just... escape..."
"If only I could just... runaway..."
"... Wait..."
Porter paused at that thought that had raced his mind.
"Runaway..."
Lukas was left with that thought lingering in his mind. If he can actually... run away from it all. He would be as free as a bird... He wouldn't have to put up with his father.. He wouldn't have to-
"PORTER!"
Lukas's thoughts were stopped as he heard the guard screaming his name. He sighed and made his way back to the guard, who stared at him with suspicion.
They both made their way back to the kingdom as Lukas was left still thinking about the rowboat.
the two men hurried back to the palace since Lukas wasn't allowed to be out at night. As they got inside the palace prince waved the guard goodnight as he soon headed to his room.
Porter stared into his room as he entered. After closing his door and locking it, he went back to thinking about the rowboat he saw.
He took off his crown and stared into the sapphires that were embedded in it. He knew what he should do, but could he really get away with it.
The guards were powerful, and if he did get caught, his father would surely cause hell.
"But... Who said it was impossible...?"
After Lukas said that to himself, he heard a knock on his door. He went to it and opened it, only to find Jessica.
"Jess?" Lukas spoke as he let the former princess in.
"Sorry to bother you at this time Lukas, I just wanted to see how you were doing?" She answered back, prompting the prince to give her a reassuring smile.
"I'm fine now Jessica, please."
Taber stared at him with concern, making Lukas frown. Jessica knew how Porter's father was, she knew that he wasn't a great man.
However, she never thought that the king would show his true colors in front of a fellow royalty such as her own mother. She placed her hand on Luka's shoulder when she noticed him starting to tear up.
"Lukas..."
"I'm sorry, I need some sleep." Lukas spoke up once again as he pointed towards the door, gesturing Jessica to leave.
"Understood... Goodnight." Jessica finished off, leaving his room as he closed the door.
Lukas sighed as he went towards his bed, he looked back to his crown one last time before putting it in a safe place. Lukas always hid his crown in case any thieves decided to break into the palace. He's heard from the other kingdoms on how their jewelry was stolen.
He was smart, unlike his father.
After hiding his crown in a safe place, he went to lay his head on his pillows, and tried to get some sleep. It wasn't that hard since he was already exhausted from the events of today.
"I'll get out of here whether you like it or not..."
It was the last thing Lukas said to himself before he finally drifted off.
______________________________________
"I DON'T CARE HOW LONG IT TAKES! YOU WILL FIND MY CROWN!"
Lukas shot awake after hearing his father screaming. He quickly flew out of bed and ran to the kingdom hall to see what ruckus was happening. He saw the queen trying to calm his father down as Jess stepped back in fear. Lukas looked up to where the pedestals and soon realized the situation that was taking place.
The king's crown had been stolen. Lukas shouldn't have been surprised since his father is considered an idiot in his eyes, but even he knew how well trained the guards were. He noticed how some of the guards were still knocked unconscious while only 1 or 2 have already awoken, but they weren't left completely unharmed though.
As the guards were trying to explain to the king what had happened last night, Porter looked towards the pedestals and saw a piece of paper was left behind. While the king was still arguing back to his men, Lukas slowly approached the paper while trying to seem unnoticed by his father. He picked up the paper and realized it was a note, the writing was messy as if the culprit wrote it in a hurry.
"Should've put your crown in a better place... Don't be surprised if the prince's crown was stolen next..."
"- The Captain's Right Hand"
Lukas could only stare at the note as he was confused on why the culprit would even write this. He thought about the handwriting, it seemed familiar to Lukas for some reason. However, he couldn't pin on if he'd actually seen anyone with this kind of handwriting.
"The Captain's Right Hand..."
Lukas said to himself, putting the note in his pocket before his father finally noticed his son's presence for the first time.
"If you don't find the man responsible for this mess, the marriage between Taber and Porter will never be able to happen!" The king screamed at the guards, but to everyone's surprise the guards shook their heads to the culprit's gender.
"It wasn't no man sir... This was a woman that did this. She didn't even bother to cover her full face as she broke in." The king was stunned, Lukas also turned his head towards the guards.
"A woman...?" Porter soon spoke, the guard only nodded his head and explained.
"She wasn't like anything we've seen before; she was stronger than she looked. She managed to damage most of our armor and equipment!" Lukas looked surprised the guard's words, normally he's heard these cases before. However, a woman to do all of this...
There's something more serious going on that he thought. The prince walked away back to his room as he heard the guards explaining how this woman looked. He soon got back inside and closed the door. He took the note back out and looked at it again, trying to understand the culprit's identity.
"Messy handwriting... "The captain's right hand"..."
It finally clicked in Porter's mind. He'd remember how he's read many cases regarding a certain crew of pirates that hunted down runaway debtors and have stolen many expenses from kingdoms. Every time that has happened, a note was left at every scene. The same messy handwriting was left on the note, they seemed to do that for the thrill of it. The so called "captain's right hand" was a strong woman who's fought stronger people twice her size. They were definitely a powerful gang of outlaws, led by one of the most dangerous men across the seas.
A man that they've called...
"Posehn..." Lukas instantly knew the name... but... could it have really been his crew that did this...?
Lukas dropped the note and went to his dresser. He immediately checked under it to see if it was still there. To his relief, he saw the sapphires on it shine from the barely visible light coming from his room. Porter reached out to grab it, he rose back to his feet and stared at it. He knew that they're probably going to come back for it.
"If they're looking for this so that they could sell it..."
Lukas thought as he turned his head towards a satchel he's had since he was a kid, it was sort of worn out, but still useful. Without even hesitating, the prince stuffed the crown in it, and smirked.
"Tough luck on them... I'm going to sell it."
"Porter?" Lukas nearly jumped as he heard his friend speak. He turned to the princess as she entered his room, knowing what Lukas was doing.
"Jess... I- er- I can explain-" But before he could speak, Jessica hugged him. He was caught off guard by this sudden action he ended up forgetting to speak for a moment.
"I understand, don't worry. I'll distract the king for as long as I can for you." Lukas smiled as he hugged her back, knowing that she was on his side. She parted from him and placed her hands on his shoulders.
"Just let me know when to do so." She said one again before giving him a confident smile, then left his room.
Hours passed as Lukas prepared himself. Holding the satchel close to him, he carefully walked past the dining hall where the king and queen were. Jess already had them held at bay as she talked about whatever she could think of. She noticed Lukas walking by and gave him a wink, gesturing that she's got everything under control.
The guards were also with them, seemingly enjoying what stories Jess had to offer them.
Lukas made it to the palace doors, they were always open before nightfall. It was already evening time as he didn't want any way for the guards to notice him leaving, and since most of the guards were resting from the events from earlier, Lukas had no problem getting by.
The prince took one last look at the palace he once called home.
Porter was going to miss this place, but he surely won't miss his "father."
He took a deep breath as he continued forth to his exit.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you."
Porter froze in place as he recognized the familiar voice of the he'd asked to accompany him yesterday. He didn't dare to turn back to face Aiden as he stayed frozen in place.
The dark brown-haired man spoke again as he stared at him from behind.
"I knew what you were planning from the start. I knew you were going to take that rowboat you saw, you were going to just float your way out of here, huh?"
Lukas didn't say anything. He only stared at the ground.
"I'm afraid it won't be possible for you now; I was instructed to burn it after I saw you near it."
"I'm sorry, Porter... but it's my duty not to let you go anywhere that isn't in this kingdom. It's not going To be possible for you to escape so easily, the trading ships have already departed and sailed away yesterday afternoon."
"I'd advise you to just give up."
Lukas still didn't say anything, he should've known that Aiden would get on his back about it. He placed his hand in his pants pocket as he still continued to stare at the ground without saying anything.
"I know..." The prince finally spoke as he heard the guard slowly approach him.
"But what's stopping me from trying?"
______________________________________
- Aiden's POV -
As soon as I heard the prince say that, he immediately turned and threw sand in my eyes.
I was blinded!
How the hell did he manage to get sand!?
That's when I remembered that I'd left him alone yesterday when I went to speak with one of the sailors. He must have somehow stashed a handful away as I was busy.
Dammit! Why didn't I force him to follow me!
As I was struggling to focus my vision, I noticed Porter slowly backing away as he turned to a full on sprint out of the gates.
"Porter! Porter get back here!" I screamed at the blonde-haired man, but that didn't do any good as he continued to run as far as he could.
"DAMMIT!"
I screamed to myself, the king and queen soon made their presence as they heard me yelling.
"What's the meaning of all the ruckus!?" I heard the king yell as I continued wiping my eyes from the sudden sand attack I was a victim to.
"It's Porter your majesty! He's trying to escape!"
After I said that, I noticed how pissed off the king had become. He punched the wall beside him and screamed.
"DAMMIT! How could we have let him get away like this!?"
I shook my head after finally managing to clear my eyes. Princess Taber had a look of worry as the queen patted her back.
"Your majesty, he shouldn't be able to get far either way." I said to the king as he looked towards my direction, I gestured to two of the guards that followed behind the other three to come forth.
"Go find him! Bring him back, and make sure nothing like this will ever happen again!"
I nodded to his request and left with the other guards as I heard Taber begging and pleading with the king to not hurt the prince.
______________________________________
- Lukas's POV -
I kept running and running, I've forgotten how long I was running for, my legs ached, but I couldn't stop now.
The guards must already be on my tail for this.
I continued until I got to the beach I was at before.
It was... empty.
There were no ships or boats in sight. I saw how there was a pile of ashes lying in the sand...
So... he really did burn it.
I don't know how far I've ran from the kingdom, but it was probably the longest I've ever ran.
Well, at least that's how I felt. I was tired from running, my legs hurt. I couldn't do anything but drop to my knees.
"No... I didn't do all this just for nothing..."I slammed my hand on the ground as I felt my eyes water up with frustration. I tried to hold back my tears, but it was no use. Tears streamed down my face as I threw a pebble into the ocean.
"Why doesn't he understand me!? Why can't he just let me be free! No... I don't want to do this! I won't be the future king... I never will be! NEVER!"
I covered my face with my hands as I collapsed to the ground... I just couldn't take it anymore. The pressure I've felt for so long as a prince weighed over me for years.
"I've never even asked to be the prince in the first place... Why does no one listen!?"
I gathered myself together and wiped the tears away. No... I can't give up that easily... Hell, I'll swim my way out of here if I have to!
Suddenly, I heard something from behind me. I got scared, thinking that the guards have found me. I picked up a rock as my only weapon, I was ready to fight them.
Even if they have swords, I'll fight them with my bare hands if I had too!
I waited... but nothing came out of the woods. I thought I was actually going crazy for a moment from all this. Still though, I kept my guard up as I took in my surroundings, it might be dark, but the moon nearly lit up everything.
"Well, well, well... I never expected you to say all that..."
I nearly jumped once I heard a woman's voice from behind me. I slowly turned to the person as I noticed their face was covered by the darkness in the woods, but I could tell from their body type that they were in fact a woman.
I felt myself become tense as I saw the woman just... stand there. I held my satchel close as I raised the rock I was holding for self defense.
"No need to get all scared Lukas, I don't intend on hurting you."
She spoke, and I was soon left stunned. Everyone always called me by my last name, most of the townspeople don't even know what my first name was.
"How the hell did she know my name...?"
I looked at the mysterious woman, I felt her eyes scan my every move as if anticipating what I was going to do next.
"Who the hell are you!?" I yelled at the woman. She only chuckled, seemingly expecting my reaction.
"You don't know me, eh? I'm disappointed Lukas, I'm the same person who went after your so called "father's" crown." She answered me as she slowly walked towards my direction, revealing herself from the dark.
She had pale skin and ginger hair. Her eyes were a dark grey as they stared into mine, her clothes resembled that of a pirate. Not just any pirate though, I couldn't pin on what she was aiming for though.
But what terrified me the most... was what she said. The culprit that that had stolen my father's crown... The one who was known to be the assistant of the dangerous man who crew had stolen many valuables and killed runaway debtors...
Petra Johnson... The woman known to be Posehn's right hand... was standing right in front of me.
I now realized why she was here, she surely must know that I have my crown in my possession. My body became tense again.
"Seems like you've already figured it out, I was just gonna knock you out from behind and take the crown back to the captain... Though, I couldn't help but listen to how much you despised of being the prince..." She continued, I've already dropped the rock I held as I heard her snicker.
"I think the captain would surely wanna take some sort of interest in you Porter."
As soon as I was about to ask her what she meant, I felt a hard blow on the back of my head as my vision soon started to become blurry.
I dropped to the ground as I slowly looked up to another man with chestnut hair holding a plank. Another man who looked to have a beard soon made his appearance in my view as well, he looked like he was holding some sort of rope.
"You didn't have to knock him out THAT hard Jesse!"
"I had no choice! He's being chased down by the guards, we couldn't afford to have him causing a ruckus!"
"Just get him tied up.... we got to get a move on before they show up."
That was the last thing I've heard from them before I completely blacked out.