"My liege, why hath thou stowed away in thy tower?"
"Thou knowest why, dear knight. Thou knowest my father protesteth our visits. He will bear no more seeing your kindly visage around his castle. Now goeth thee with haste away from here, do not you have a post to take up?"
Jack hung his head, his armor clanking as he turned away from his prince. I have a post and yet here is the only place in which my heart yearns to stay. As he trudged away, he heard the windows to his prince's tower close with a soft click.
Prince James closed his windows as he watched his knight in shining armor take his leave. He ran shaking fingers through his hair as his heart ached to be out on that field, taking post alongside his love. And yet his fear for his father's reprimanding kept him from the door as though its iron handles were searing hot.
He had to steel himself against this. His resolve must be rooted in the proper choice between his father and his knight. The proper choice was obvious- to obey his father and eventually take on the throne. And yet… his heart turned his mind from ration. Alas his resolve was rooted in the choice of his heart despite the seeming inevitability of its failure. However, as he watched the field below with wandering eyes, he couldn't help but smile at the smudge of silvery grey that was making its way to the edge of the woods. In that moment, his mind was made. He would leave a note for his sister, bidding her farewell and good spirits. He believed that after seeing the many suitors she had turned down, she would most definitely be an unquestionably acceptable heir to the throne. She had a heart and a strong will- both necessary attributes to a rising monarch. Both attributes which the prince had since lost, for the kingdom anyways. No longer did his heart and will belong to his land, but rather to the glistening knight who visits him in every spare moment he receives. His mind was made, his heart was set. He would find his knight and be gone by the witching hour.
"Psst, my prince, the hour has come!" Jack whispered with urgency to the closed window above. A silent moment passed as an eternity. "My prince…?" He called, uncertainty wavering in his voice. The prince's window remained shut and the knight fell to his knees, feeling an icy hand grasp his heart. After what felt to be a millennium, a soft click was heard from above and Jack struggled to his feet, his heart surging in his chest.
"Oh my knight, I apologize for the delay," the prince called down as he tossed strong rope from his tower, "the princess found my letter before the intended time. She insisted upon a moment in which we could say our proper farewells."
Jack felt relief warm his heart. His prince had not changed his mind after all. He watched as a small sack was tied to the rope, followed by James fastening himself into a belt around the rope. In a few short minutes, the prince's feet touched the ground and Jack ran forward to sweep him into a warm embrace.
"My liege. I feared..."
"Fear not, kind Jack, for I am here. However, we shant stall long, the servants might soon see-" A blaring bell rang through the courtyard behind them and the sound of dogs followed suit. "Well I shall credit them kindly; they are not slow." James scoffed. Jack reached for the bag that was still hanging from the rope and hastily untied it before grasping James' wrist and harshly whispering one word: Run.
They ran as fast as horses in battle or thieves in the night. They ran until they reached the woods and then they ran some more. The dogs were barking in the distance, yet the two runaways could feel the canines' hot breath on their necks. They came to a large stone wall that bordered the inner kingdom and halted.
"Pardon me, James," Jack said before hoisting the prince over the wall. The boy landed with a small thud and grunt before Jack scaled the wall and landed beside him, bag strapped to his back.
"How forward of you, Jack," James said, a playful fire dancing in his eyes. Jack was catching his breath as he looked at the other boy.
A grin spread across his face. "We were mighty close to capture, reckon you not?"
James laughed a full laugh, a laugh that a prince is not allowed to house in a castle for fear of indecency. Jack's grin grew to a genuine smile as he saw his prince's worries leave him. "At last, my love, let us go." And with that, the two youths- the prince and his knight- were off again, hand-in-hand, running toward the approaching dawn.