The King

Slowly, as time passed, Brian grew more and more accustomed to his new lifestyle with Matt and Zach. Over the following days they were lucky when it came to getting food on the backside of the tavern every night. Brian had even had a go at trying to collect the food and fight off the dogs. He’d done rather well in the beginning until one of the hounds knocked him off his feet and Matt had to come in to finish them off. It was a slow process, but he was learning. He had even used his keen eyes to find new places for them to sleep, once he’d gotten over the strange feeling he got from sleeping on someone else’s property.

But he still missed home, and Brian knew he probably always would. It was no lie that he’d lived a lavish, practically spoiled life right from the start. It came with the territory. And Brian wished more than anything that he could go back to those days, to his home and his family.

But at the same time, Brian valued his friendships with Matt and Zach quite highly, even though they had really only just met. Other than Lyndsey, Brian never really had any other friends his age. It was a nice change for him, and he also enjoyed his new-found freedom. He had no rules, he had hardly any responsibilities, and he didn’t have to answer to anything anyone said, even though he’d only had to put up with his mother, father, and Nathaniel before.

With time, Brian knew, things would fully fall into place.

“Okay, which one are we going to pick form today?” Zach asked as the three boys leaned against a stone wall. It was midday, and all of them were hungry.

Brian’s eyes swept over each of the vender stalls lining the streets of the marketplace. It was a rather busy day, people bustling about at nearly every step as they went about their business. He knew from previous attempts among them that the busier it was and the more people that were around, the easier it would be to steal something from a stall and actually get away with it.

Spotting a stall full of baked treats, and also eyeing its attendant, Brian smiled lightly elbowing Zach.

“The baker.”

Matt moved his gaze in that direction upon Brian’s choice. He grinned slowly, knowing why he had picked it.

“Yes. The baker,” he agreed, looking over at Brian with a Cheshire grin.

“The baker? Why the baker?” Zach asked, seeming clueless. He had a hard time even finding the baker’s stall through the crowd. “The last time we tried that, he nearly strangled us to death,” Zach said with shudder, remembering the gruff man that ran the stall on a normal day.

“I have a feeling she will not do the same,” Brian grinned, pointing out the girl to the younger man.

“Oh my…” Zach sighed, his eyes falling upon the girl. She presented a beautiful white smile to all the customers and people who walked by. “Looks like the baker’s daughter is in for today. This might just work. If…”

“…If what?” Brian pressed, looking over at both Matt and Zach, who shared a look.

“…You’ll have to be the one that distracts her, and we’ll do the dirty work,” Matt explained.

“Me? Why me?” Brian asked, eyes widening. Every other time they tried stall-stealing he had just stood by subtly as Matt and Zach worked their magic. He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to pull it off.

“Because, Brian. You are the best dressed, not to mention cleanest, of us all,” Matt explained further. Brian looked the two boys over. He had to admit, Matt was right. His clothes were the cleanest and he looked a bit wealthier than them, which would make him less suspicious as a decoy.

“What do I have to do?” he asked, glancing over at the girl at the baker’s stall.

“Just go up to her and work your charm. Sweet-talk her. You seem like you might be good at both of those,” Zach said with a laugh, clapping his hand on Brian’s shoulder.

Brian grinned, remembering back on the many occasions where he’d been able to charm his mother into letting him get away with things his father wouldn’t let him do.

“Okay,” he agreed, and he mustered up the courage to walk toward the baker’s stall. Approaching the girl, he glanced down around the items on display, pretending to look interested.

“Hello,” the girl greeted him, sounding nearly timid.

“Hello,” Brian returned, smiling widely at the young woman. He could have sworn she blushed. This was going to be easier than he thought.

“Is there anything I can help you with?” she then asked.

“Hmm,” Brian pondered to himself. “I am not sure.”

“Well, what is it you are craving?”

“Something…sweet,” Brian smirked, sending a wink to the girl, who leaned forward, closer to him. She blushed even harder, biting her lip as she batted her eyes. J

“Oh?”

“Mhm…” Brian answered. Out of the corner of his eye he could see ach and Matt at the end of the stall, going completely unnoticed as they snatched up loaves of bread and rolls and biscuits; they grabbed as many as they could hide on their person before sneaking away.

“But alas,” Brian continued, sounding saddened. “I have no money on me today. So I am just browsing. Perhaps I will find something for next time.”

He watched as the girl slightly frowned, clearly upset that he would be leaving. He flashed her one more smile before he slowly walked away, browsing the other stalls as he ventured his way back to Matt and Zach.

“that was too easy,” Matt laughed as Brian approached them.

“Quite. No one even noticed us,” Zach added, and Brian took one of the biscuits that was handed over. He took a bite, savoring the flaky texture.

“We’ll have to use you more often for that,” Matt said. “I’ll stick to dog wrestling. You sweet talk the shop owners. It’s the best combination.”

With that, the boys munching on their recently acquired foods, they headed back toward the river. It had become a frequent hangout for them, both for fun, and also the occasional bath.

Reaching the banks, his biscuit long gone, Brian stripped himself of his clothing, leaving them on a large dry rock before jumping into the cool water. It didn’t take long before the others did the same.

Soon, Brian was floating on his back, looking up at the clear blue sky as he waved his arms slowly in the water to keep from drifting away.

“This life feels so easy,” he said with a sigh.

“Easy?” Zach snorted. “Try living it in the winter. It’s anything but easy…”

“I imagine so. But on the other hand, you have no real rules. Your rules are much like a design for staying alive. You do what you can and what you need to, without anyone holding you back. You don’t know what it’s like, feeling like you’re locked in a cage every day…”

“And you do?” Matt laughed, splashing Brian who splashed him back, anchoring his feet to the bottom of the river and standing once more.

“Well, no,” he lied. He couldn’t tell them his real life was exactly that, half the time: A life behind bars. And to think it took him sixteen years and new life to realize it.