The King

When Brian awoke he was in an unfamiliar bed. Sitting upright, he looked about the dark room until he realized something spectacular. He was in his own bed, I his own room, back at the castle.

Feeling incredibly light hearted he got quickly to his feet, practically racing down the corridors until he found himself in the dining hall. Bursting through the doors, he caught both his mother and father off guard during their breakfast. But both were happy to see him nonetheless.

“Brian, darling,” the queen chirped, smiling broadly at her son. “Why don’t you come and join us?”

“Just a moment, first,” the king said, his voice practically booming in Brian’s ears, echoing off the walls of the hall. “I’d like to have a word with you, Brian. Outside.”

Brian nodded, standing still as he waited for his father to rise. He wasn’t sure if he had done something wrong, something that would call for punishment. Regardless, he felt such a wave of happiness flow through him over seeing his father.

With a nod of the king’s head, Brian followed him out of the hall, through a pair of large doors leading to a balcony made of stone. It was here the king stopped, leaning forward to rest his arms on the stone rail.

“Father, I-“

“You’ve forgotten me, Brian,” the king said, cutting his son off. Brian felt taken aback by the bluntness in the king’s accusation.

“What? No. I could never forget you, father,” Brian said once he was finally able to find his voice.

“You’ve forgotten who you are, have forgotten your family and your home and where you belong. You are more than this carefree person you have become, Brian. You must take your place in the circle before everything you know and love is gone.”

At that moment, Brian caught a glimpse of a young maiden dressed in white as she made her way slowly through the garden below. He watched as she looked up at him, realizing once their eyes locked that it was Lyndsey.

“I don’t know how I can go back, father. I’m not the same person I used to be back then,” Brian finally said, tearing his eyes from Lyndsey’s. “I’m not the son you remember.”

Turning to his son, the king placed his hand upon his shoulder.

“Remember who you are. Look inside yourself, and remember, Brian. You are my son, my heir. You are the one true king. Remember it always.”

Feeling overcome with emotion, Brian took a step forward, his arms up to pull the king into a hug. But when he blinked and took one more step forward, the king was gone leaving Brian standing all alone on the deserted balcony.

“Father!” Brian called out, sitting upright. There was sweat dripping down his neck and he was breathing heavily as he looked around him. It was dark but he could hear Zach and Matt breathing slowly, Zach snoring every now and then as they slept nearby.

As his heart pounded wildly in his chest, Brian realized with a sudden urgency that he needed to go back to his kingdom, to his actual home. And he needed to go now.

Rising to his feet, Brian quietly dressed himself hoping he didn’t wake either Matt or Zach. He could tell by the way their breathing stayed so even and deep that they had not been disturbed.

Swiftly Brian made his way to the door. He figured it would be best to leave without any goodbyes, in case it made it harder for him to leave. He hated doing it, but Brian wanted nothing more than to slip out in the night unnoticed.

Reaching the door, Brian pulled it open only to cringe when the door creaked out loudly into the night. He heard rustling behind him, followed by a short groan.

“Where are you going?” he heard Zach mutter from behind. Turning, Brian placed one hand on the doorway, willing him to keep going.

“I… I’m going back,” he said matter-of-factly, and without waiting another moment Brian pushed himself out the door.

“Going where?” Zach began to ask, but sleep overtook him again, and Brian was already gone.

---------

The next morning Lyndsey found herself blindly making her way through the village trying to remember where Brian lived. She wanted to talk to him again, this time rationally and without an argument breaking out.

Finally she saw the familiar shack, going up and knocking on the door, though she was sure no one would care if she just walked right in. And when no one answered that was exactly what she did, coming upon the image of Zach and Matt sprawled out on their backs fast asleep. Brian was nowhere to be found, which worried her.

Making her way to Matt, who was closest, Lyndsey nudged him awake with her foot.

“Hey… wake up,” she said quietly, watching as Matt stirred awake slowly, looking up at her with confusion in his eyes.

“Lyndsey?”

“Have you seen Brian? I need to talk to him,” she said, pressing the urgency of the matter.

“What? No, I…” Matt began, leaning up and looking around for his friend. “He’s not here?”

“He left earlier,” Zach said as he woke up.

“Did he say where he was going?” Lyndsey pressed.

“No,” Zach said, sitting up as he yawned and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. “No, wait. He said… well, I don’t know what it meant, but-“

“Out with it!” Lyndsey and Matt barked at the same time, causing Zach to flinch.

“He said… he was ‘going back’,” Zach finally revealed.

“Back? Back where?” Matt asked, puzzled.

“He didn’t say,” the other boy shrugged.

Matt and Zach looked at each other, confused as they wondered where Brian could have gone, and why he would have gone without saying a word. When they looked up at Lyndsey, they noted the smile on her face and the look of realization in her eyes.

“I can’t believe it,” she breathed out. “He’s gone back.”

“What do you mean, gone back?” Matt nearly growled, the anticipation getting to him.

“He’s gone home, to challenge Bartholomew!’

“Who is Bartholomew?” Zach asked, as he’d never heard Brian mention the name before.

“It’s his uncle. He stole the throne when Brian’s father died and Brian left. He’s going back to take his place as the king!” Lyndsey explained, her excitement growing every second.

“Ohhh…” Matt and Zach concluded together, nodding as they understood.

“We’ve got to go help him! Come on!”

And with that, Lyndsey turned and bolted out the door, hardly waiting for the two boys to follow after her.