Chapter Text
The Heir looked out upon his kingdom... Lowas was beautiful from such a high vantage point. The indigo buildings that hadn't been changed or taken down since the day they were built and only rennovated when necessary. Not to mention the elegant shadows each and every one of the proper and sturdy buildings in the capitol city cast in the cobblestone streets as the trees disperssed here and there towered tall and gracefully over them and the seemingly ever-present wind blew through their branches. But Johnathan still couldn't shake the tremendous weight on his shoulders. He wanted badly to imagine that maybe, just maybe, his father would become well and lead the country once again so that John could be a normal teenager for the rest of those years he had left. Or... as normal as the heir to an entire kingdom can be. He just wished he had a little more time to study and be free of the burdens that he knew came with being king. He was going to delve his thoughts into his grief over his father's illness and what he could possibly do about it, when a squire came through his bedroom door.
"Don't you know it's impolite to barge into someone's room?", Johnathan asked him, even though he knew just as well as everyone else in the castle that everyone was welcome to talk to him any time they'd like. "You do realize I could've been changing," he said smiling like he always did. Everyone in the castle had heard this joke at least once, but only the females felt the need to knock before entering.
"In the middle of the day, sir?", the stout man in uniform inquired.
"You have me there,"John said," So what's the news?"
"A knight from the kingdom of Lohac wishes to speak with you, he said it was urgent."
"All right, where is he?", John complied, deciding if he was going to be king soon, he might as well get his bearings now.
"The banquet hall, sir.", replied the squire as he stepped to the side. The wind seemed to make a wake behind Johnathan as he strode across his mostly blue bedroom. One of his walls was consumed by a shelf filled with books about not just logic and theory, but also adventure and danger. He was an avid reader of both and had also stuffed every play bill he had ever gotten when he attended the theater in random places on the shelves so he wouldn't forget a single one of them. As he exited the doorway, the squire closed his door behind him, which had his family crest emblazoned on the hallway side. As John walked down the corridor, he wondered what the visitor could possibly want to talk about that was so urgent. Their countries had never been at odds before, and Lohac wasn't having any major or threatening problems or participating in any wars that he knew of. Then again, that was probably exactly the kind of news that the man would most likely deliver, but his thoughts were stopped dead when the squire opened the doors to the hall and he entered to find, not a man, but a boy about his age in knight armor and a cape leaned back in one of the chairs.
"Oh, great, you're here," said the boy, standing at attention and brightening a little."I'm David Stridell and... well, I really just dropped in to meet you and get away from my brother.", he finished nervously."He's the prince, I'm sure you've met him or something, but he has to be the worst brother on Das Medium, and Lohac, for all it's pety crime that runs rampant in some parts of the country, can't seem to find anything 'important enough for the royal knight' so I got bored and decided to visit, since I don't know that many people outside my country."
John stood there for a moment not knowing what to say. Appearently the squire had no words either. That is until he raised his finger and took in a breath, looking ready to chew the boy out something awful. But before he could start, John spoke up.
"You don't get out much, do you?", he asked smiling.
David stood rigidly and looked at John with a sort of shocked awe, having expected the squire's thourough ribbing. "No, not really," he said," I mostly just train in the castle and futilely attempt to best my brother at sword fighting. There is almost nothing to do. What good is a knight with nothing to show for his title?". Dave paused and he realized what he had just said to someone who was one, a total stranger, and two, in a higher position than he was. But as he looked at the heir to the throne, all he saw was a kid who wanted to make a friend and was interested in what he was saying.
"Hm," said John," I would have never guessed that Dirk was good at sword fighting. Come to think of it, I never would have guessed he was particularly exceptional at anything besides being the most stoic guy in the room."
Dave laughed, "I know, right? The man is downright stone cold. When we were little, I once hid his sword to see how much he'd freak out, and he just turned toward me and said, 'Dave, where'd my katana go?' As if he were asking directions to the courtyard or something." John liked him. He wanted to talk more about Dirk and any other nobles and how boring it was being cooped up inside of castles evey day, and maybe talking to him would help ease his mind about the kingdom and his father. But before he could walk over to the table and sit down, one of the maids that he knew quite well, Ms. Paint, came rushing through the door.
"Johnathan!" She cried, quite out of breath, "Your father! GASP! He doesn't have much time left!"