Chapter 13 - Cut It Off (Posted 7 April 2011)

A/N: I assume you all know how much I love you? I really can't tell you how amazed I am that you guys just keep reviewing and telling me you like my story :D I'm really trying my best. However, apparently I haven't done very well with telling you their ages. Please read the author's note at the bottom of this chapter for a better explanation :)

"That Mark is permanent." James said. "The only way you can get it off is to cut it off."

"I know that. That's partly why I sent you the sword."

"I was afraid of that. I'd hoped it was just to tell me you were on your way. But I knew there had to be some hidden meaning behind something this expensive."

Kendall smiled wickedly. "The gift was to announce my arrival. It is a symbol of my feelings for you, to show you that I still think of you as my best friend. It is just an added bonus that it can be used for taking your Mark off of me. And... if you're worried about how much I spent on it, don't be. It didn't cost me very much."

"Please tell me you didn't steal it..." James said, going pale.

Kendall just laughed. "Of course I didn't steal it. Though I imagine I could be a great thief... Anyway, swords don't cost me anything except the cost of the materials. I'm known in the Orphan Village as a brilliant swordsman, but by trade I am a swordsmith."

"You mean... you made this?"

"Yes."

"With your bare hands?"

"Well, there are a few tools involved, but yes, I made it myself."

"For me?"

"Why do you sound so surprised?" Kendall asked jokingly, but he was sort of curious.

"Kendall... I couldn't believe anyone in my kingdom made this sword, I could barely believe it was made by human hands."

"It's just a sword, James."

"No, it isn't. It's beautiful. It's one of the most magnificent things I've ever seen in my life."

Kendall blushed a little. "Well... um... thank you..."

"But... if you're so well-known in your village... how is it I haven't heard of your work? How were you able to stay hidden from my sight?"

"I work under an alias. The people in my village know me as Pienn Régis."

James's jaw dropped. "You're Pienn Régis?"

"That's another reason I was afraid to come back." Kendall looked kind of sad.

"Oh my goodness. The legendary..." James swung his arms around as if trying to illustrate Kendall's success.

"I'm not legendary." Kendall rolled his eyes.

"Right. You're famous! You are one of the best swordsmiths in my entire kingdom. And you're the only one to ever refuse to make swords for my army."

"Believe me, I was honored that you chose me to make your swords, but you have to understand. I couldn't have you coming to my shoppe. If you would have seen me before I was ready to come back..."

"Your cover would have been blown." James nodded. "I wager the Mark caused you some trouble?"

"No... I mean, no one ever saw it. The only trouble was finding excuses to keep my wrist covered."

"I'm sorry. When I put the Mark on you, I didn't know what it meant. I mean, I knew it would link you to me, but I didn't know..."

"I know you didn't." Kendall smiled lightly. "I didn't find out until about five years ago, actually. I'd always just hidden it because I didn't want you to find me. I had no idea that it could have gotten me into trouble."

"How did you find out?" James asked curiously.

"I heard some women talking about it. I wasn't of a noble family so of course I never even heard of the custom of the Royal Mark. But when you explained it to me, I thought it was just a way of identifying those who were close to you. But when I came to your coronation, I was listening in on this conversation..."

"So that was you." James interrupted.

"Indeed." Kendall chuckled.

"You were staring at me."

"Oh, you noticed that?" Kendal seemed a little embarrassed. "Sorry if I frightened you or made you uncomfortable. You just... you looked so handsome."

James reached out and grabbed Kendall's hand. He looked at it for a minute and then looked back up at Kendall, who appeared flustered. "So did you."

"I did dress my best that day. I had to catch your attention somehow." Kendall managed to say. "Um... anyway, there was this group of women. They must have been noblewomen because they were talking about marrying princes and dukes and so on. And of course they mentioned you and I just happened to catch something about a Mark. Needless to say I listened more closely and overheard one of them say their dream was to be Marked. And then they sighed and swooned and that's when I figured it out."

"My father told me a few years after you left. I was growing up and it was time for me to start looking for a bride." James sighed. "And he told me the tradition was to claim the person I wanted by embedding my Mark on their skin. That was the moment I accepted the possibility of never seeing you again."

"You have to cut the Mark off, James." Kendall said sadly.

"May I see it?"

"You're the King. You can do anything you want."

"I seem to recall someone trying to teach me the exact opposite once."

Kendall laughed again. "You can look. It's your Mark, after all. Just unscrew that hinge on my cuff."

James nodded and unscrewed the tiny piece of metal from the clasps of Kendall's metal cuff. The accessory dropped to the floor and there was the Mark. He'd expected it to be faded, but it appeared to be as bright as when it had been applied. "It's really there."

"Of course it's there. You put it there. And now, to avoid an international crisis, you must cut it off."

"This is ridiculous."

"It doesn't matter. Tradition says that you've been engaged to me since you burned this ink into my arm. And even if it wasn't meant to bind us together like that, it does, and that means we have to go through the customary ceremony to undo it. You have to use your sword to cut the Mark out of my skin."

"I can't do that. That will hurt much worse than the burn."

"It doesn't matter. If your fiancée would find out about this, it could cause a war."

"Fiancée?"

"Yes, the woman you intend to marry."

"I haven't chosen a bride yet."

"You haven't? But... I heard word of your engagement to a princess..."

"Hah." James laughed boisterously. "Kendall, every princess in the world thinks she is engaged to me. None of them believe it when I reject them."

"You've rejected all of them?"

"That's right."

"Even Princess Camille?"

"Yes! She was so loud! And so dramatic. One of my maids dropped a bundle of wash on the floor and she started this monologue about how sad it was to see clean laundry get dirty like that... it was very odd."

"I've heard she's quite a character, but her beauty is supposed to be unmatched."

"Beauty isn't all I'm looking for." James said sternly. "Um... would you like to go someplace we can sit down and talk?"

"Sure."

James beamed and grabbed Kendall's hand again, getting the sensation of déjà vu as he led Kendall along the same path they used to travel from the court to his bedroom. "Here. It's different now, but I still have this..." he went to a wardrobe and pulled out a worn out cloth.

"Is that..."

"The blanket you slept on."

"Why..."

"Because when it came time to replace everything... I couldn't bring myself to throw this out. Come to think of it, that satchel at your hip looks like it's seen better days."

Kendall reached down and untied the small bag and held it up. "You know, I even forgot I had this. It just... it became a habit to tie it onto my belt, I just sort of do it without even realizing. Do you know what's inside it?"

"I would imagine you carry your money in it."

Kendall shook his head. "It's your money."

"My... you never spent it?"

"Oh, I spent some of it, but most of it is still here."

"Why?"

"Because... I wanted to hold onto anything that reminded me of you."

James blushed as he sat on his bed. "Come here."

Kendall walked over and sat a few inches away from him, but they faced each other. "This is weird."

"It is. It's nice, though, to finally have you here like this..." James smiled sheepishly. "But... why do you look so different? I mean... how did you change your hair color?"

"Hah. It's not easy, let me tell you. I took some grease and mixed it with dirt and ash. I rub it through my hair a few times and wait until it dries a little bit. It washes right out and my hair goes back to normal."

"Good. I like your light hair."

"So... tell me why you're not engaged. There has to be a woman out there somewhere who suits you."

"I don't know. If there is, I haven't met her yet."

"Maybe it's me then."

James gasped. "What?"

"Maybe I'm keeping you from finding your true love by wearing your Mark." Kendall said, not noticing James's shock. "Like a curse or something."

"Oh..."

"So you should cut it off as soon as possible."

"I won't cut it off."

"You have to!"

"No, I don't. Kendall, I'm not going to let you leave again. If I cut that Mark off, there will be nothing tying you to me anymore. Now, I let you go once, I can't let you go again."

"But..."

"I will not remove that Mark, Kendall. I've waited fifteen years for you to come back to me."

"You could have come looking for me. You knew where I was going. You could have come and brought me back."

"I never would have forced you to come back. But now that you're here, I feel no guilt in forcing you to stay."

"James, there's no need to force me. I'll stay here as long as you like, with or without the Mark."

"You don't get it, do you?" James scooted closer to Kendall and put his hands on his shoulders. "I want you to keep that Mark, Kendall."

"Keep it?"

"Yes. I knew, as soon as I found out what it meant... I knew that you might not come back because of what people would say. But in that moment... I decided that if you did come back, I'd make you mine."

"No... you can't possibly be suggesting..." Kendall leaned away.

"I am. I want you to marry me."

A/N: Ok, so I guess there's still some confusion over their ages. I wanted to clarify but I didn't want to put it at the top and make this huge note before the story. So if you'd like to have a better explanation of their aging, please read this:

*The story started when they were around 8.

*They were about 8 or maybe even 9 when Kendall ran away.

*James was 18 at his coronation (so 10 years passed between Kendall's disappearance and then), so Kendall's age would have been about the same, give or take a few weeks.

*They're now around 23 as about 5 years have gone by since James officially became the King.

Eh, I'm not sure if that helped or if it just made it more confusing. But I know a few people have said about them being able to speak and read so well at such a young age, so I figured I'd tell you about how old they really were. I don't think that's too young, do you? I'm not really sure, so if you think I need to adjust the ages let me know; I'd really appreciate the input :D

Also, a few of you have mentioned being confused, but didn't say what you were confused by. Please let me know about anything that confuses you and I will do my best to fix it :)