The housekeeper stared blankly at Jacob. He was looking at her like she belonged in a bar, instead of the lovely castle. Her hand was on her hip in a sassy manner, and her kind complexion quickly melted away.
Instead, her face went to a pout. "Well that's not very nice to say to the Prince's number one best housekeepa!" She said with a sugary sweet, but harsh, tone. "I could get ya killed right here an now if I wanted!"
Jacob tried to stutter an apology before another woman entered the room. She had chocolatey brown her that was cut in a pixie sort of fashion. She wore a long, brown dress that was spattered with flour and other miscellaneous foods. Her bright sky blue eyes were behind glasses with a red frame. She had peach colored skin, and freckles sprinkled over her face. She rushed over to the whore, begging her to keep her voice down.
"Why should I, Janey? The princey prince ain't gonna hear us! He's always busy at the otha side of this place!"
The darker haired one jumped at the whore's outburst, then she tugged at her skirt. "But still! You're scaring the boy, look! Oh, I'm terribly sorry for my friend's ways.. Anyways, what's your name?"
"J-jacob," he managed to stutter out, "but, please, you c-can call me J-Jake."
The girl in more modest clothes smiled. "Well hello Jake. I'm Janette, or Jane for short. And this is Roxxanne. She prefers Roxy, mind you. We're Prince Dirk's loyal housekeeper and cook. I'm guessing you're the sacrifice of Hope?"
Jacob shook his head furiously. This caused both females to look at him with questioning expressions.
"Well if ya think about it," Roxy pointed out, "he's too fancy lookin' ta be the sacrifice. His clothes don't even got holes in 'em! And... He's far too handsome from the rest of the sacrifices." She said the last part with wiggling eyebrows and a mischevious smirk.
Jane and Jake but Jane regained her composure quickly. "Then... If you're not here as a sacrifice," Jane started, "why are you here?"
"I betcha he's tryin ta kill the prince! Well, I'll have you know that ya can't get through us!" Roxy stated boldly, putting her hands on her hips. Jake made note of how quickly she was to change moods.
"That's not it at all! I was just traveling through the forest-"
"At this ridiculously late hour?" Jane's eyebrow was arched up, now she was beginning to question Jake's motives.
"No, nonono! I'm busy in the lake all day and have no time then! Plus, no one's exactly allowed in the forest, so I had to go when no one would be around. I just wanted to see what's out there, in the forest, I mean. I'm an adventurer, you know."
Jane and Roxy stood there quietly. Jane was first to speak up. "...Well, I guess you can talk to the prince about this. He can be the one to decide if you should be punished for coming here or not. This IS royal ground after all."
Jake gulped and nodded. Jane gestured for him to follow her as she went deeper into the castle. Wherever they went, candles seemed to magically light up their path.
Jake looked at the walls, seeing the many pictures of the same two boys showing up again and again. One of the boys was Knight David, no doubt. The other boy looked just like him, just a bit taller, thinner, and his hair was spiked up. Jake could only assume that that was Prince Dirk. They both had the same looking curse, though. The curse of sickingly pale skin and bright red eyes. It also made their hair as white as a lamb's fleece. He had never seen anyone with the disease, besides Sir David. He had learned from his grandmother that people with it couldn't be in daylight for very long without getting horrible and painful rashes from the sun.
Jane took him to a gigantic room, there were two flights of stairs that both led to the second floor. Jane walked with him up them and down the main hallway. Jake noticed that the temperature changed drastically from comfortable to cold. He felt goosebumps make their way on his arms and the back of his neck. Jane looked back at him and smiled a bit. "Sorry, the Prince likes it very cold. It helps him think, I suppose."
Jake nodded, letting his arms grab each other. A shiver went through him, but Jane assured him that they were almost there.
Two flights of stairs, four hallways, and two building changes later, they had made it to the Prince's corridors. Jane went to the very last room and knocked softly on the wooden door. "Your Majesty, he's here."
The door opened just barely, making Jane smile at the frightened Jake. "Ok, he's fine with meeting you! Good luck, I'll be down the hall, waiting for your return." she curtsied and swiftly left Jake. Jake slowly opened the door, to see a dark room. The only source of light was the fireplace and the full moon from outside the window.
That's when Jake saw him. The ruler of his village, the ruler of the kingdom, the elder brother of Sir David- Prince Dirk of the Heart Kingdom!
He stood up, his pale skin looked as if it was glowing in the moonlight, and his orange eyes seemed to pierce the very soul of Jake. The Prince's platinum blonde hair was spiked up and went back. His mouth held gentle smile. "Hello, boy," he said in a deep voice. "Welcome to my castle, I am Dirk, Prince of the Heart Kingdom. And who might you be?"
Jacob looked at him with wide, awe-struck eyes. He was the first person he knew to have met the prince, and the prince seemed to be unphased by it. "U-uh, Jacob English, sir! I'm the only child of Lord En-"
"Yes, I know. I've talked to Lord English many times before. Did he send you here?"
He shook his head. "My parents don't exactly know I left the house.."
"So. You left your home without telling a soul, travel through the forest that has man-eating beasts, stumble upon my castle, and invite yourself in?" The prince smirked at Jacob. "Weren't you scared at all?"
"Well... I guess not." Jacob said, smiling awkwardly. "I've been wanting to go on a true adventure, and I found this as an opportunity."
"Why tonight?"
"Oh! Um, I guess because the moon was extra bright. I wanted to see if there were any monsters in Krypton forest. But please, sir, I never meant to intrude into your castle. I didn't even know anyone was living here!"
The prince smiled, turning his back from Jacob and looking out his window. This was the only window Jacob had seen that had glass in it. After a while, the prince spoke again. "I don't mind that you've found my home. Nobody has ever braved through Krypton to see what's on the other side. I'm not going to punish you, even though you did insult my housekeeper."
"B-but!"
"I let my servants dress however they please, even if Roxxanne's outfit is a bit...revealing."
"Sorry.. I'm not very used to women walking around in such a fashion."
The prince waved him off before turning around to face Jacob. "Sit down, Jacob. If you please." He smiled at Jacob, gesturing to the purple couch that stood a few feet from the boy. The prince was dressed in a purple robe, with a purple and tight outfit underneath. It made Jacob feel under dressed, for he was only wearing tan trousers and a sleeveless shirt his mother made for him to wear during the summer days.
He sat, which caused the prince to sit in his cushioned chair. The albino man stared at Jacob, making Jacob feel very uncomfortable. His piercing orange eyes bored holes into the young adult, as if he was examining his very soul. Soon though, the prince spoke up. "So, Jacob, I'm dying to know what it's like living in Hope. I'm not one for getting out, and Roxxanne and Janette are the same."
"Living in Hope is tons of fun, your Majesty. I usu-"
Dirk stopped him. "Before you continue any further, please start calling me Dirk, Jacob. I detest those official titles."
"Oh, ok. Then call me Jake." Jake said, grinning at Dirk.
Dirk smiled and closed his eyes, leaning back in his chair. "You remind me of my brother. He has a perfectly fine name, but he chooses to shorten it to Dave. Have you ever been to his kingdom?"
Jake shook his head, relaxing into the couch. "No, but I want to go to Light village sometime soon, though. I hear their festivals in the winter are spectacular."
"I would assume so, but I've never went. I have to go to Breath soon, though. Jonathan Egbert is being thrown a grand celebration for officially becoming the heir of Breath. I'm not looking forward to going, but I promised David I would do this for him."
"Wow, that sounds like a true adventure! Going through the forest, over the river, and even passing by the clockwork volcano!" Jake marveled, making Dirk's smile grow.
Jake continued on. "Besides coming here, Void's the farthest I've been. And that's only because Mother wants to show me off there."
Dirk nodded along with Jake's stories as the raven haired boy rambled on and on about the many things he's done in the recent weeks. He talked about his family, his friends playing in the lake, and the hunting adventures in the safer forest around Hope. Jake even talked about how the villagers thought about Dirk, the prince of solitude. No one thought he was a bad guy, they just wished he would come around for once. It was understandable, who wouldn't want to meet the man who was their ruler and also helped prevent war from the ever-so-tiresome Skull Kingdom?
Hours passed, and the two conversed well into the night. But once Jake noticed daylight intruding the sky, Jake politely told Dirk that he had to go home.
Dirk looked exhausted, himself. "Yes, it's best to go now before your parents find out you're gone. From what I've heard, your mother would have a panic attack if she saw you gone."
Jake laughed, and nodded as he stood up. "Well, it's been nice talking to you, Prince. I sure would like to come back another day, if you were ok with that."
"Actually, I was going to invite you to come again tomorrow night. We wouldn't stay up all night again, of course, but I do love hearing about what it's like outside these castle gates." Dirk said, stretching out the kinks in his back from sitting for so long.
Jake and Dirk walked out of the room, only to see a sleeping Jane on the rug. Dirk chuckled, while Jake smiled at the small girl. Dirk assured Jake that he would attend to her when he escorted Jake out. They walked to the entrance of the outside world. That's when they stopped.
"Jacob English, you are a very interesting and charming young man. It's been an honor to get to meet you, so I guess I'm glad you decided to venture through that 'treacherous' forest."
"It was a great time, indeed. I can't wait to see the look on my friend's faces when I tell them that I met you- the Prince of Heart!"
That's when Dirk's smiling face suddenly turned blank. He looked as if he was angry at Jake for saying such things. "Please tell no one that you met me. I can't be having every person of Heart coming here to talk to me. Is that understood?"
Jake was taken back. Dirk seemed like such a pleasant man, how come he couldn't be like his brother? What was wrong with loving people coming to meet him like Jake had done? Jake looked down and shrugged, mumbling a yes to pacify the prince.
"Jacob. I'm serious. Do not tell another soul that you found my castle and met me. Don't even tell a rock or a corpse or scream it to the stars. For if you do, I will find out, and you'll see how I differ from my brother's kind personality."
Jake looked up, his emerald eyes meeting with harsh topaz. "Yes, Prince Dirk. I promise not to tell anyone."
Dirk smiled, giving Jake a firm pat on the shoulder. "Thank you, try to understand my reasoning behind this."
He nodded, and bid the prince a goodbye. He jogged lightly back to his home, growing more and more tired on the way back. Jake learned how nice the prince really was. Dirk fancied swords and liked to study the stars. His brother kept a close relationship with Dirk, and the two sent letters as often as possible. The prince and his brother both had the curse of pale skin a blood eyes, apparently it was called albinism. Jake had asked if Roxy had it, too, since she looked kind of like Dirk. Roxy didn't, she just didn't get outside a lot.
Oddly enough, Jake had learned that Dirk never married, or even had his first kiss. It boggled the boy's mind, as he had kissed most of the maidens in his village. But that was mostly for dares, and never because he felt something towards the young girls.
This made Jake wonder if the prince had feelings for the Skull King, but that seemed preposterous. He had heard stories of that sinister king, he killed his father and immediately crowned himself as the new ruler. He locked his twin sister in a tower, and she hasn't been heard of since her father's death. The king, Caliborn was his name, was always threatening to kill his sister if no one didn't give their land to him. The Princess of the Skull King was very sweet and loved everyone, so no one wanted her dead. Every time the dictator-like king initiated this threat, it was always Dirk who talked him out of it. Nobody knew how Dirk could quiet the man, and Jake had tried to get Dirk to tell him. Alas, Dirk kept his mouth shut about the whole thing. Jake was disappointed he couldn't learn the secret, but hoped that he would have better luck at a later date.
Another reason Dirk falling for the King was a silly idea was that skull people are hideous. Their skin is a sickening green and has a scaly texture. Their eyes are either green or red, and their hands are claw-like. Their entire appearance was enough to give children nightmares. Yet, no one had ever seen a skull person before, only illustrations. King Caliborn had built a large, stone wall that cut his kingdom away from the outside world. No one could get it, and no one could get out.
Suddenly brought out from his thoughts due to the lack of trees, Jake looked up to see his surroundings. He could see his house, and he made his way there. Jake opened the door silently, and creeped up the stairs, trying his best to not make a sound. He went up to his room, and flopped on the bed. He soon fell asleep, and his dreams were filled with him and someone else with skin white as snow, adventuring through the barren land and having the adventure of their lives.