Disclaimer: I don't own the Ascendance trilogy or these characters except for the ones in the later chapter's that will appear. Hope you enjoy!
Note: I accidently posted the wrong thing for Chapter 3. Sorry, and it should be fixed now.
"The Return of Sage"
"Happy birthday to you," His friends cried as they crowded around Jaron. "Happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Jaron… happy birthday to you!" Imogen placed her homemade cake on the dining table and beamed at her husband.
His friends laughed as Roden continued singing, "From good friends and true,
From old friends and new,may good luck go with you,and happiness too. How old are you now?How old are you now?How old, how old, how old are you now?"
"Where did that come from?" Jaron asked, laughing. "Are you thinking of joining the choir at church or something?"
Roden shook his head as Jaron blew out his candles, marking the celebration of his 17th birthday. It had been a quiet party, and Jaron had asked pacifically that there not be a huge ball or dinner to celebrate. And this little party, with only his closest friends around him, felt perfect.
"So, Jaron," Mott said as the slices were passed around. "I was wondering why Kerwyn wasn't invited."
Imogen shot Jaron a look. "Well… he was busy tonight." She held unto the king's hand, trying to stop the trembling, and screaming that might come out at any time. Please, Imogen thought, not tonight. Don't ruin your own birthday.
"You know Roden," Jaron looked up, a mischievous grin growing on his face. "I didn't get a gift from you."
Roden matched Jaron's smile with something even more suspicious. "Well, my lord, I have the best gift of all." He glanced at Tobias, who choked on his cake. "I can offer you two weeks of freedom."
"Well, now," Tobias countered, elbowing Roden in the ribs. "Maybe not a full two weeks. But we'll do our best."
Jaron arched an eyebrow. "And what does this freedom entail?"
"Er… you see, Tobias and I are willing to pretend to be you for two weeks while you go out and become some idiot thief again. You can return to the streets, cause some trouble and come back, having had some fun as Sage."
Jaron laughed his classic room-shaking laugh. "You're right, that is a good gift."
Amarinda scoffed. "Jaron. Whether Tobias or Roden look like you are not, is beside the point. Neither of them are you! King Mellor's supposed to come from Gelyn next week for a trade agreement and then there's Kerwyn…" She stopped at Imogen's penetrating gaze. Even the dignified princess could not keep the peace sometimes. But Imogen always would. "Um… what I mean is, Jaron this is a terrible idea. People will recognize you."
"What do you mean?" Jaron asked, chewing on his chocolate. "I'll cut my hair funky again, wear peasant clothes, and put dirt on my face. This is gonna be fun!"
Amarinda sighed and glanced at Mott, hoping for help. "The proper words are going to."
"Come on, honey," Tobias ran his finger's through his wife's lovely hair. "Give the guy a little slack. He's been a good boy for longer then I'm sure he can stand."
Mott looked at Amarinda and then at Jaron. "You are a riddle, my liege. A riddle and a curse."
The next day, someone shady emerged from the castle doors. He had light brown hair that was messy and cut in different directions, not to mention greasy and muddy. His leaf green eyes glared rudely around him, showing off the dirt streaked across his face. The boy wore old, ripped clothing that matched that of peasants and had boots with several holes in them. He was hardly noticed by the courtiers as he walked down the steps and slipped into the shadows, prepared to steal, lie, and cheat, to get his way. Sage had returned to the trickster mind of Jaron, the Ascendant King.