"Have any of you seen Hervey?" The anxious Sigurd asked a nearby group of his castle guards.
Shrugging lightly, one man replied, "I think he took off to the garden, but I could be wrong, sir."
Curtly thanking the guard, the young king set off towards that said place, only to find their bench - nearest the apple trees - empty.
That slow, summer day soon passed, leaving a bewildered Sigurd to ponder that, perhaps, his wandering friend left him to pursue his calling.
He'll show up for dinner. As far as I know, he didn't have lunch, either. So the poor, starving kid will probably come back as soon as he recognizes what time of day it is.
Still, I wonder where he went… After breakfast, he just…
But as the time came for them to share a meal together for supper, Hervey did not show up.
The very moment dinner had passed, Sigurd set off to find his mother, to let her know that he was going to set up a search party.
He passed through the near-empty halls, scanning his eyes for his mother's whereabouts. As he turned the corner to the extravagant living room, he spotted his mother, who was standing before the window.
"Mother, Hervey is still-"
But before he had time to elaborate, the mother immediately shushed her son, and silently pointed outside. She smiled, sweetly. "I need you to go outside and do a quick patrol."
"A… patrol?" Sigurd stuck his head out the window, at once feeling the sea air and summer's warm dawn reaching out to embrace the king.
"That's right. Head out to the docks and do a quick… pirate patrol." Before thinking, apparently, the lady quickly added in exasperation, "B-But don't get the guards! They're not needed tonight! Just… enjoy the stroll by yourself. Okay?"
"Wh-"
"Just do it!"
That was an order.
I wonder why mother was so insistent. If there are any signs of pirates, I could surely take them out myself, but… why would she direct me to go alone anyway?
Honestly, this is so odd.
The warm, sweet dawn had become a dark serenity, yet the air still felt damp from the ever-persistent summer heat. As the daytime faded, the people hurried to huddle back inside their homes, leaving the streets stark. Even the usual gulls knew instinctively that night was upon them.
But where is Hervey? He wouldn't just leave me… would he?
Unintentionally, Sigurd laughed. Interesting. Why should this type of thing start bothering me now? Why am I so worried about him? And since when have I worried about being alone?
Doing as he was instructed to do, Sigurd strode past the docks, but he couldn't help but also eye the beauty of the calm waters and the starlit sky above him. Such things entranced the young king.
But there, as he stopped to look, he then noticed a second presence ahead of him. A boy his age with red hair, sitting quietly on the docks, dipping his feet in the ocean's waters; his shoes beside him, perhaps to keep him company.
"Hervey…!" Sigurd unintentionally shouted in surprise.
Quickly reacting to the abrupt sound, Hervey jolted and twisted his body in alarm. But upon finding that it was his friend, the boy's guard faltered.
"What're you…" Hervey began, sharing the king's genuine surprise.
"I was looking for you all day! After dinner, I assumed you'd left."
A look of confused innocence greeted Sigurd's eyes. In the calm of the moment, Hervey turned his wide eyes to pierce through Sigurd's heart, "So you… went looking for me?"
"Well, yes." Come to think of it, I wonder how mother knew for me to come here and find him… "Mind if I join you?"
Nonchalantly, the boy shrugged to the spot beside him. Allowing himself to be soothed by the landscape, Sigurd sat beside Hervey; but as he did so, he thoughtfully noticed the boy edge away from him slightly. His confidence wavered. Was he afraid?
"You'll leave soon, won't you?" Sigurd began, carefully.
"I guess so." Shyly, Hervey scratched his neck, "I didn't mean nothing by leavin' this morning, ya know. I wasn't going to leave today, anyway."
"But why did you suddenly take off like that? Is something bothering you?"
Hervey hissed a sigh, and with the grace of a feline, he stretched his slender arms over his head. "Nah, nothin' really!"
Sigurd pressed his gaze towards the boy, as if trying to get him to open the defensive shell before him. More than anything, the king wanted truth from his friend. "Hervey, really?"
"I… mean, I… Argh, you're so annoying! Fine, I'll dish!" Thoughtfully, he paused, as if trying to think of what to say, before he actually said it. According to Sigurd, that was something that Hervey rarely ever did.
Witty words often kept their distance from Hervey. And so, as he became familiarized with an awkward silence, Sigurd attempted to aid by brainstorming ideas of his own. "After breakfast, you seemed kinda frazzled. After mom – well – you just seemed-"
"Tch, why should I be? Embarrassed? Me? Yeah, right!"
Oh, so he felt embarrassed. But why?
The cocky Hervey continued his speech, "You and your pretty-boy self imagined it!" In that moment, Sigurd recognized that such a false confidence could be easily shattered; because all the while, Hervey's eyes desperately avoided Sigurd's.
"Hey, I'm only concerned. I don't want embarrassing stuff my mom says to make you leave."
"Hah. Well." Hervey haughtily scoffed, "Thanks for your concern, but no thanks. I have other things to worry about."
Upset with the sudden cold distrust, Sigurd felt an urge to pull his friend's gaze to look in his eyes. Without such a bond, he could not be sure of what Hervey was actually saying. As he grasped the shoulders of the smaller boy, Hervey flinched.
Perhaps his grip was too tight, and frightened him? "'Other things to worry about?' Like what, Hervey? That's what I've been asking you!"
Ever-observant, Sigurd noticed a pink hue creeping along Hervey's features, when the mercenary at last looked up at him. His mouth opened - perhaps to say something - then closed again.
Sigurd chose to wait and be patient. Having noticed this, Hervey felt, then, inclined to speak. "I can't stay. I can't."
"Then don't go. You're welcome to stay."
"I love… I love it here. The apples in your garden… I don't want to leave… that garden…" His drifting words began growing more and more distant, as well as desperate.
"Then stay! You can be here with me!" Sigurd assured, giving Hervey's shoulders a light shake.
"You-" For a moment, Sigurd heard Hervey's voice crack, and he feared for the tears that might have been. So he tenderly rubbed the shoulders that he held onto, to comfort the other.
Hervey, noticing his friend's concern for the first time that night, took a few deep breaths before continuing, "You-You're a king, for crying out loud!" He almost laughed. "You gotta take care of this town, and eventually, you have to go off and get married 'n stuff. Right?"
"Not necessarily."
The redhead stopped to listen.
"You know, being a king… isn't awesome all the time. To the public, I need to be professional in everything that I do. I don't really have time to be myself."
"You miss the freedom, then." Hervey concluded.
"Well, more or less. It's tiring and lonely. I don't have anyone that I can truly be myself with. I guess you've helped me to stop and rest every once and a while. You know? I never had that before."
"Heh, you and me both, man. Though I've lived a life of freedom 'n stuff, there hasn't been anyone I've – I mean, eh… I don't know how to explain this. It's so stupid."
A smile returned to Hervey for the first time that night. Sigurd didn't know why or how, but it was there. And such a beauty of nature made the young king smile.
I don't want you to leave, but you're a free spirit; you shouldn't be bound to something… someone. Someone like me.
"So, what are your plans, Hervey? When are you going to leave?"
"Leave?" Hervey stood, wiped the dirt off his pants, and resumed to slipping his shoes back on. "I'll give you a week. A week to convince me."
Following suit behind his energetic friend (as he often did), the charcoal-haired man regained his posture, as he led the way back to his cozy castle. "A week? To convince?"
Full of newly-reclaimed confidence and vigor, Hervey's face beamed a challenging smirk, "Yup, that's right. If you can convince me to stay, then maybe I'll succumb to your selfish desire."