Kingdom of Spades

Age had really done nothing to help Luke stay out of trouble. He probably should have had his spurs by now-- after all, he had spent six years studying under Aron, by 18 he should definitely have them. But no. He had yet to be allowed to really....do anything. He was too troublesome, always into mischief whether it was on purpose or not. Trouble and clumsiness just followed him everywhere.

The court was no different. He didn't mean to upset anybody, not really. He had been goofing around...tossing apples up in the air and slicing them with his sword. 'Practising his aim', he said. Really, he was wasting time, fooling around. He'd thrown one up and sliced at it, catching it just with the very edge of the sword and sending it flying off into space. His stomach sank with dread as soon as it was set spinning off-- right towards one of the head knights to smash him right in the back of the head. And of course, when he spun to see who had hit him, Luke was left standing there like a deer in the headlights, hair askew, bits of apple around him. He couldn't have possibly looked more guilty.

"If Aron isn't going to teach you any sort of manners, I will!" He thundered, hands balling into fists.

He had really fucked up this time. It wasn't as if he'd never had the shit knocked out of him before-- when you were as troublesome as he was, it happened a lot, and Aron was certainly not light handed with the boy-- but getting a pounding from one of the head knights had serious implications. Not only would he likely get his ass kicked, but Aron was probably going to punish him again later, and if he was really unlucky, the king will have had enough with his antics and decide to do something about it.

Just fucking lovely.

As soon as the other knight started towards him, Luke did the only sensible thing that was to be done-- he ran away. As fast as he could, he leaped over barrels and people and anything that got in his way in a desperate attempt to avoid a beating and further trouble. If there was any good attribute to be put to Luke, it was that he was strong. Tall and lean but muscled and agile. If only he could master the rest of knighthood.

Looking back over his shoulder, a massive smirk broke over his face in satisfaction when he realized he had outrun his opponent, losing him into the throngs of people.

Unfortunate that his short lived victory was crushed. Looking backwards tends to do that, especially when your feet keep moving. He slammed into someone tall and hard, bouncing back on the floor to land on his ass. "Sorry, I--" He began, words cut off in his throat when he noticed who he had run smack into.

Aron.

Perhaps he should have just taken the first beating, because from the look in Aron's eyes, he was about to get a lot more.

"What the hell are you doing? Haven't I told you not to screw around? What are you running--" Looking behind his young page, Aron realized his question didn't need an answer. The head knight was barelling through the crowd, apple in hand, clearly infuriated. And of course, Luke, Half-covered in slimy apple guts, layed out on the ground in front of him, looking up at him with bright blue eyes full of apprehension. With an aggravated sigh, he grabbed Luke's arm and jerked him to his feet, fingers tight around his arm.

"Where're we..."

"Shut up, Lukas." He growled, giving him another sharp tug, "I'm saving your ass from getting a truly deserved beating is what I'm doing." He said, dragging him off into one of the darkened hallways. "And before you ask, yes. You know you're going to be punished for this, so don't even ask."

With the familiar feeling of shame and guilt welling in him, Luke did little more than hang his head and shut his mouth.