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Percy awoke to sunlight in his eyes from his four-post bed. Rubbing them, he sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed, feeling the cool stones of the floor beneath his feet. He sat there momentarily to wake up before standing and walking over to the window.
He looked out into the distance. Mountains peeked over the hills dotted with wheat fields that fed the city. So young it was, it didn’t even have a name yet, but his father’s guarantee of protection had been heard far and wide across the continent, and people flocked to him for being a powerful magic user. And they stayed because he was a benevolent king.
Percy used a little magic of his own to bring his shoes and socks out from under the bed where he’d kicked them last night. He then proceeded to get dressed in his casual clothing. Today was a day for adventure, not royalty or business. He also brought a pack of food and water for the day’s journey.
He trotted carefree down the halls and stairs to the stables, where the stable cat waited. He rubbed up against Percy’s legs, winding himself between them and causing Percy to laugh. This caught the attention of the stable boy.
“Ya goin’ out today, Percy?” He asked, lifting his straw hat to see him better.
“Yes, to the woodlands North. I already made a pack yesterday.” He hefted it to bring it to attention.
“Ya stay safe, okay? We’d hate to see anything happen to ya.” He tilted his hat back down.
“Don’t worry, I’ve got my sword with me,” Percy assured him. He took regular swordfighting classes with Waltar, the royal advisor. They were tough, though, so he didn’t care much for them and would often skip them.
“Good riding, then.” The stable boy then ran to set up Percy’s stallion for riding, getting the tack and saddle for him. His cat stood off to the side, disinterestedly watching the whole affair. Percy went on horseback just about every day to escape responsibilities. Today was no different.
After the horse, named Cedric, was saddled up, Percy hopped on and rode out into the distance. Eventually, as the wind blew, he made it to the forest. There was a path through it, made a long time ago. He rode along it, enjoying the sights of nature.
Eventually, he made it to a familiar split in the road and took the leftmost path. This eventually led to a spring, where he got off and tied his horse to a tree. Then, taking off his shoes and socks and rolling up his pants, he waded into the pool onto a rock where he sat, just enjoying the weather.
However, other than the rippling of the water and the occasional whinny from Cedric, there was little sound. This granted Percy unwanted time to reflect.
Over the past few weeks, his father had been upping the amount of royalty lessons for him, teaching him to act and what to say and what spoons to use during dinnertime. It was all a lot of stress, as secretly? Percy did not want to become king. He despised to stuffiness and the lack of knowledge about the real world. The only things he knew were fancy dances and politics. It made him want to run away, but he was also a coward.
At least, he was a coward in one sense, but when it came to adventure, he was fearless. He heard a sound from deep in the forest that sounded like someone screaming. Rushing to re-dress his feet, he saddled up and rode on, at first staying on the path, but upon getting closer, he strayed. Cedric’s ears were back, and Percy could tell he was nervous. He just prayed that Cedric wouldn’t buck him off.
Riding on, he found a little house with a blue roof. It was all by its lonesome and had a shabby look to it. From within came loud buzzing noises, screams, and the sound of the whole building trying not to collapse. Fearing the worst, he demounted, tied Cedric, and then rushed in, sword brandished.
Nothing was going on in the lower section of the house that seemed out of place, so he rushed upstairs. There, what he saw shocked him.
A rat faun, with striking blue hair, was attempting to battle a shiny, giant, green beetle. Amidst all of this were several normal-sized beetles, all flying around trying to escape, but trapped since the only window upstairs was closed.
The rat faun looked at Percy in surprise. “Well, if you’ve got the means! Help me kill this thing!” He demanded, bunching it square in the eye. “I left my weapons downstairs! You’ll have to do most of the work!”
Percy had never fought a real opponent before, so this was… sort of scary. But he rushed in anyway and thrust his enchanted sword right into the beetle’s shiny black eye. It screeched, and shook him off, then burst through the wall opposite the window, letting all the smaller beetles out into the open air.
Finally, everything was calm again. Percy, panting from the anxiety-inducing excitement of it all, grinned weakly and looked up at the man, who was now approaching.
“Gotta say, I’ve never had a dashing knight come to my rescue before. Although, you’re not wearing armour. Shame, I like ‘em suited up.” He teased, grinning.
Percy could feel his cheeks flushing. Just what kind of scoundrel did he rescue?
“I am no knight. I am Percellan Whitehall, son of the king. But you may call me ‘Percy’.” He did a little bow. “Now, I really should be going. I have to get back on the path and down to some real adventure.” He glanced behind the other man, seeing what was clearly human technology. And more surprisingly, it seemed to be working!
“Ah, you must be the man who Father had shunned from the city. Chete, I presume?”
“Wow, can’t believe my reputation precedes me. Yep, you got it right. Smartest rat this side of the forest. It’s a pleasure to have such royal company!”
Percy frowned. “I want to apologize for him. If… when I become king, I will gladly invite you into our fair city with open arms. Also, you’ll need a carpenter to fix your wall. I can grant you some funds if need be.”
Chete shook his head. “Nah, I don’t need funds. But the ability to come to the city for supplies sounds nice. I’ve had to get everything myself or from wandering merchants.” He explained, walking past him and heading downstairs.
Percy followed, not wanting to remain near the potentially dangerous human tech any longer than he had to be.
Downstairs, Chete began to prepare some nice, hot tea- or so Percy saw. It would be rather refreshing to have some right now, so he took the silent invitation and sat down at the kitchen table. Sure enough, a birch staff with a polished gemstone at the end of it lay against the wall nearby. But this revelation- that Chete was a spellcaster- only alarmed Percy more.
“I don’t mean to pry, but… how do you function? With all of your magic and your technology? I see no sign of the… horrors here, so how do you avoid them?”
Chete laughed and sat across from him as they both waited for the kettle to come to a boil. “I don’t. You see, all your guys’ fears about human technology are almost completely misplaced. I mean, yeah, it was human tech that caused the war and their ultimate demise, and left the radiation behind, but that was cleaned up ages ago. Everything that’s left is just… scraps. Old scraps. Half of it is also my handiwork. I taught myself how to make it function. But there is no radiation. Just electricity.” He seemed excited to explain this to someone.
Percy frowned. “I… don’t know if I understand, but for some reason I believe you. It makes more sense than you somehow being immune to the horrors.”
Chete nodded. “I’m not, and I’ve never even seen the horrors, so I wouldn’t know either way.”
“The real question now, I suppose, is where did that giant beetle come from?”
Chete sighed, “It’s a long explanation, but to sum it up, it came from the combination of my magic and the human technology. There are outside parts- the hardware, and inside parts- the software. I mostly work with software, but I know my way around hardware too. Anyways, when I mess up with the software, depending on how bad it is, it’ll spit out a bug. I can usually handle them, but it seems that this time it was a bit big for me to handle.”
The kettle began to whistle and emit steam, so Chete ran over to put out the fire beneath it. Then, he poured two cups of tea and served one to Percy.
“Oh my,” Percy commented after a sip, “This is quite authentic. What kind?”
“I’m not sure. I just get whatever seeds are being sold and grow the leaves myself.”
“I’m impressed by your ability to live a finer lifestyle while living outside the city walls.”
“You learn to work the system.” Came Chete’s only explanation. “So… what does a guy have to do to get a handsome prince to show up more? I’m already enjoying your company.”
Percy chuckled awkwardly. “Um. I’m not sure I’ll be able to for much longer. I think Father is planning on retiring soon- just like his father, and his father’s father- and un like other continents, we don’t wait for the old King to die before crowning the new one. I’ll need all the help I can get to become King. And then I’ll most likely be betrothed to the King of the Southernlands’ daughter, to strengthen the bonds of our kingdoms.”
“You don’t seem happy about that.”
“...Between us, I am not. I never wanted to be king, and my mother died before she could give birth to any more children, so it’s just me. My father never moved on.” He told him. “I wish I had an older or even a younger sibling to pass the crown off to, and then live in an old town surrounded by forests where I can explore and adventure to my heart’s content.”
“Then do that. You’re the prince, surely you can do whatever you want?”
“But… I have people to lead. My father is getting too old. They need to be able to rely on someone.”
“Yeah, but who are you going to rely on once your father passes?”
Percy paused. “I… I don’t know.”
“If you ever want an out, just say so. My attraction to you aside, you seem very kind. I’d hate to see you suffer a life you don’t want to live.”
“I’ll… think about it. Maybe discuss with Father. Perhaps it is not too late for him to sire another heir? He is only two hundred thirty-eight years old. He still has plenty of time.”
“That’s the spirit.” He grinned, but his grin seemed more sincere. More… happy.
“Either way, thank you for your time.” He finished his tea. “I don’t normally talk like this to others. But I figure, you’re an outsider, it can’t hurt.”
“Right, an outsider. That’s me.” Chete muttered.
Suddenly, Percy felt overwhelmed by how awkward what he just said was. Darn it all!
“I, er, have to go now. It’s nearing lunch and I’m expected.” He told the other.
“Oh, I understand! But, please, feel free to visit me any time. Really.”
“Thank you.” And with that, Percy got up, walked out, untied his horse, and rode into the distance. It was time to come home.