So… Longest chapter I've ever written with the thanks of Winged Illusion. Also, please be prepared for some sadness! AND PLEASE DON'T HATE ME!
Be the now 19 year old John.
These past four years have been the best! Having Dave as a personal knight also brought you a friend. Today is the day Dave starts teaching you how to fight with a sword. The King announced that you would be the next king, seeing as you are now 19. So, obviously, you need to learn how to fight.
Dave leads you down to a special training area, specially prepared by Jake, to train. You pick up a wooden sword, as does hold it awkwardly by the hilt, not entirely sure how to position your hands. You step away from the wall and the pile of harmless practice weapons and towards the center of the room and look up, admittedly slightly nervous to begin sparring. You feel a warm sigh tickle the back of your neck and a soft voice by your left ear say "Oh my god. John. No. That is definitely NOT how you hold a sword. The first time someone hits it it's going to fall out of your hands, and then you'll be dead. You need to put your hands here, and here." You feel your face warm slightly as he reaches around on either side of you and repositions your hands, before placing his hands overtop of yours on the sword to better demonstrate the correct placement. You are acutely aware of how close he is. Your back is entirely pressed against his chest, and his breath tickles your cheek as he continues explaining something, though you are far too preoccupied to catch any of it. You gulp a bit, quickly matching where his hands are. He pulls away and walks to stand a few yards away from you holding his own sword again. "Alright. Copy what I do." Dave states. You nod and start copying the motions he makes, and soon you're sparring with him. You know he's being ridiculously easy on you, and you curse yourself for not thinking to ask your father for some, ANY sort, really, of combat lessons. Unlike Jade, who has been taking crossbow lessons for years and never goes anywhere without her crossbow, you are woefully unprepared for any sort of assault.
"God dammit!" you curse as Dave smacks your sword out of your hands for the umpteenth time.
"John. You're not concentrating. You have to focus. Stop trying to think so much and just react." Dave chastises you with a shrug. As if it's that easy!
"Easy for you to say, show off," you mutter sourly under your breath as you bend down to retrieve your sword."
"I'm sorry, I believe you asked me to teach you how to fight. This is me teaching you how to fight." Dave responds snidely, sticking his tongue out at you before lunging forward and tapping you sharply on the ribs.
"Ouch!" you exclaim, your free hand moving instinctively to cover the bruised area. "That hurt." You scowl at him, indignant.
"Stop being such a baby," he laughs.
"I asked you to teach me how to fight, not use me as a punching bag."
"I am teaching you how to fight. I'm giving you motivation to fight me. You aren't really trying. Hit me. I'm not going to break." He sidesteps and dances around behind you, delivering a stinging slap with the flat of his sword directly to your ass.
"F*ck, Dave, that hurt," you spit out as you whirl around. He dances backward grinning madly at your sorry attempt to catch him. You dash forward towards him and jump, bringing your sword swinging down with all of your strength with both hands on the hilt, and deliver a resounding thwack to the crown of Dave's head.
You smile triumphantly as he drops his sword and cradles his head in his hands. "Jesus f*ck John, what the hell?"
"Serves you right, meanie." You reply, sticking your tongue out at him, even though he doesn't see it. His eyes are screwed shut in pain as you laugh down at-
Hang on just one second, down? You look down and are shocked to see that you are casually standing a foot and a half off of the ground. Just floating there in thin air. You let out a bloodcurdling shriek and pull your legs up, clutching your knees as you stare down at the ground that your body has decided that it APPARENTLY DOESN'T NEED TO SUPPORT ITSELF. As if your awareness of this fact has allowed gravity's efficacy on your body to return, you tumble to the ground in a less than graceful heap, scraping your cheek and your left elbow on the hard flagstones with enough force to draw blood. You completely ignore this, and scramble to your feet, stumbling the few steps to where Dave is still obliviously nursing his wounded head, and clutch frantically at him, hanging on as if for dear life.
"John, what the-, dude, are you okay? You're hyperventilating." He looks at you, concerned, brushing the hair out your eyes and putting his hands on your shoulders. "And you're bleeding! How did you manage that?" You don't respond, your breathing too erratic to force any words out. Instead, you shake off his hands and bury your face in his shoulder, hugging him tightly around the neck.
Be the extremely confused and concerned knight.
You have no idea what has John so spooked, and quite honestly, you're a little bit freaked. Usually, when he gets scared or upset he runs to his room and doesn't want to be around anyone for hours. Only Jake can get him to come out of his room when he's like that, so for him to be clinging to you and shaking like a leaf is seriously worrying. John is seriously holding onto you for dear life. You have no clue why, so you simply return his hug. "What's wrong, John?" He quickly shakes his head, his face still hidden. You look at his elbow and cheek and sigh. "Let's get that taken care of." You help him to his room and have him sit on his bed. You get a rag and dip it in hot water, which you had a servant bring up from the kitchen, and slowly wash his cheek, him wincing a bit, still shaking. You sigh before examining his cheek after cleaning it, nodding. "Now. Take your shirt off. I need to clean your elbow." John's eyes widen a bit after you say that. "Dude. Seriously. I can't clean it through the fabric. Besides, it's ripped now, you need a new one anyway." He stares at you for a bit before slowly taking off his shirt. You stare for a moment before quickly shakeing your head and picking up John's arm. "Let's clean that elbow." You say, slowly rubbing some alcohol on his elbow. He winces a bit but bites his lip, letting you clean it. You wash it slowly, making sure it's thoroughly cleaned. Finally, you wrap up his elbow in a clean piece of linen and tie it tight. "There we go." John thanks you quietly before looking up at you, his eyes still showing fear. "Look, I don't know what spooked you dude, but whatever it is, I won't let it get to you…" You say, putting your hand on his shoulder. "I promise." You say, looking him straight in the eyes.
Suddenly, Jake walks into the room and sees you guys. "Oh! You are in here!" Jake said with a slight sigh of relief. You and John look at him confused before he notices John's bandaged arm and his bruised cheek. "Good golly, Dave! What did you do to the poor prince?" Jake asks with a slight chuckle. You roll your eyes. "Well anyway. The castle is being quarantined because there is an outbreak of a deadly disease in the kingdom." Both of you respond with wide eyes.
"Seriously?!" You ask. John looks down.
"Yes, so this means no one can come in or out. Although… This doesn't really effect you, your highness." Jake says slowly. You look back at John, a bit confused. John's eyes stay focused on the ground. Jake bows before walking out of the room.
"John… What does he mean by that?" You ask.
Be the Prince again.
Your eyes widen a bit. Oh crap. Dave asked the infamous question. What do you do? Do you tell him? Do you lie? What do you do?
"Well… Let's just say I can't be around a large group of people. Ever." You reply as best you can, hoping he'll drop it.
"So… You have social anxiety?" Dave asks slowly.
"Well…. Not exactly."
"What is it then?" He asks. You look at him for a moment before sighing.
"Yeah. I have social anxiety. When I'm around a lot of people I get light headed and winded." You say, keeping your bad pun secret by holding back a laugh. You can't tell him. Not yet. What if your powers scare him? What if he realizes all those times you accidentally hurt him was due to your powers? You can't stand the idea of losing Dave. He nods in understanding.
"I get it now. That's why you never go to public events." Dave says slowly, as if realizing something for the first time. You nod.
"So…" You start before an idea comes to your head. "Wanna help me with something?" You say, standing up and going to grab a new shirt.
"Another one of your pranks?" He asks, looking at you. You nod, grinning as you put the shirt on and grab a bag.
"We need to go to the kitchen." You say. He raises an eye brow but slowly nods.
"Alright. Someone needs to make sure you don't go overboard with this." Dave says with a slight chuckle. You laugh and walk down to the kitchen carefully with him. You sneak past all the guards, and even see Jade receiving the usual long lecture from her assigned knight Kankri. You peak into the kitchen and see no one is there and quickly walk over to where the salt and sugar are kept. "You're gonna switch the sugar and salt?" Dave asks.
"You bet! And while we're at it we're gonna steal the forks too." You say. You carefully pour all the salt into a bowl, before pouring the sugar into the salt container and replacing the sugar with the salt. You put the bowl you used into your bag and walk over to where the utensils are kept. Leaving the spoons and knives, you stuff all the forks into your bag. Suddenly, you hear the familiar sound of your father humming coming from the hallway. "Crap! We gotta get out of here!" You say, before you and Dave run out the other door, to the entrance area of the castle. Both of you pant as you catch your breathe before you two laugh.
"What are you doing, you two?" A strong voice asks. You both look and see Dave's older brother, Dirk, staring at the two of you.
"Uh…. Nothing." You say as you quickly hand Dave the bag from behind your bag. Dirk looks you over, having been experienced to your pranking, especially after you turned Jake's hair neon green when you were sixteen. You grin, trying to convince him you're innocent.
"You're never not up to something, you're highness. And where did you get that bruise?" Dirk asks, looking at your cheek.
"You can thank your brother for that." You say, rubbing your cheek, earning a smirk from Dave.
"His highness wished for me to train him in combat. I merely did what I was asked." Dave says, earning a smirk from his brother.
"I see." Dirk responds.
"John…" You turn to see your father, holding one of his 'sugary' cakes before he flings it towards you. Both you and Dave duck, letting the cake fly over your heads, hitting Dirk in the face. Jake bursts into laughter as he threw his fist into the air.
"Finally! A prank I'm not a victim of!" Jake yells. You and Dave stare at Dirk, who's face is covered in cake, causing you both to laugh. Today, despite the earlier scare, ended a lot better than you expected.
Be the 19 year old princess.
"Now, Jade, I understand it triggers you to be stuck inside the castle as it is quarantined but you must understand that A: Sneaking out, B: Trying to sneak out, and C: Even thinking about sneaking out is not good for anyone because A: You'd be breaking the King's order, B: You would be exposed to the illness, C: Bec your dog might be exposed to the illness, D: If you were to be exposed you could die, E: If you were to be exposed and come in, you could expose the whole royal family to it, leading to their deaths, which, in turn, would lead to a disaster for the common people." When will this guy shut up? Your personal knight, Kankri Vantas, caught you trying to sneak out with your white wolf, Bec. Kankri is famous for his long, boring lectures.
"Yes yes I understand! Okay? I'm sorry!" You yell, crossing your arms and looking away from him. He sighs before looking at you.
"Alright. If you truly understand the graveness of these matters." Kankri said. Thank goodness he's finally going to shut up! You nod and quickly run down the hallway towards your room. As you run, you pass by John's room, tempted to knock. Since the quarantine a week ago, John's never come out. Not even to train with Dave. Dave and Jake have gone in and out, but not John. You gulp a bit and knock slowly.
"Who is it?" Oh gosh, it feels like forever since you heard his voice.
"It's me! Can I come in?" You ask hopefully. There's a slight silence.
"Sure. Come on in." You grin. You've never been allowed in his room, so this is an exciting first. You open the door and see your brother leaning against the doorframe that leads to a balcony you sometimes see from outside.
"Hey! John!" You say excitedly. He looks at you and smiles a bit.
"You must be really bored if you're coming to see me." He says. You groan.
"You have no idea. This quarantine is so dumb!"
"No it's not. They're trying to make sure we don't get sick…" John says.
"I know…" You reply with a sigh. "But it's so boring!" He chuckles again.
"I understand. You and Bec must be pretty tired of all these closed walls." He says, looking down. You frown. Although your brother does come out every once in a while, he mostly stays hidden away in his room. You don't know why, and you wish you did. From what Dave told you, John can't stand being around a large group of people. You slowly make your way to his side and hug him tight. Man, when was the last time you did this? He smiles a bit and hugs back. "Missed ya, sis." He says. At those words, you feel your heart being torn in two. He said those words so quietly, almost weakly. You look up at him, into his deep blue eyes, and see an unreadable expression. You hear people rush into the room, and, turning your head towards the door, you see Dave and Jake standing there, panting, both with concerned expressions on their faces.
"Your highnesses…" Dave starts, his voice wavering. You immediately worry, also feeling John grip your arms, obviously concerned as well.
"It… It's the queen." Jake starts. "She… She's got the disease…"
Be the scared prince
You are panicking. Your mother started showing signs of the deadly disease that found it's way into your kingdom. She started with just a bit of coughing, then turned to wheezing. She then slowly began having multiple dizzy spells. Even when you went out of your room, you weren't allowed anywhere near her, same for Jade. Jade left to go to her room and you sit on your balcony alone. You don't know how long you have been sitting there, all you know is the sun has set when you hear another knock on the door.
"It's open." You say. You turn to see Dave walk in slowly, a solemn look on his face. You stand quickly and walk over to him. "What happened?"
"I… I'm sorry John. She… She didn't make it." Dave says, looking into your blue eyes with his red eyes. You stand there in shock before looking down, tears starting to form. "And… That's not all." You look at Dave. "No… No…."
"The… The King has it now… I… I'm so sorry, John." That's when you crumble. You fall to your knees, Dave catching you before you fell farther. He holds you close as you cry into his shoulder.
Two days later, your father passes away as well. Luckily, the epidemic seems to have ended, and people are slowly coming out again. You sit on your balcony, your back against the wall. You look at the sky, the windy weather showing your sorrow, bringing in rain from nearby areas. You don't care, you let your powers do as they please. You then notice the sudden presence of someone next to you, and slowly look to see Dave next to you,
"Seems like even the weather mourns, huh?" He asks. If only he knew.
"Yeah…. Seems like it." You reply, your voice dry. You sigh and slowly lean your head against his shoulder. He slowly lowers his shoulder, making it possible for your head to lay comfortably. "Thanks…" You say.
"Only for you, John. My shoulder's too good for anyone else." Dave says, obviously trying to make you laugh. He succeeds, earning a wry laugh from you, causing you to cough. Slowly, the wind began to calm down, even a little bit, which causes you to smile. You sit there with Dave until it gets dark and he politely leaves so you can rest. You close the door behind him, leaning against it, slowly sliding down to sit against it. You jump a bit when you hear a slight knock.
"John?" It's Jade. "Please, I know you're in there. I've been wondering how you've been. They say 'have courage' and I'm trying to. I'm right out here for you. Just please, let me in." You bite your lips and slowly walk to beside your bed. "We only have each other, it's just you and me. What are we gonna do?" Her words cause a few tears to fall down your face. "Do…. You wanna play hide and seek?"
So I almost cried writing this. I'm sorry…. Just letting you know I did almost cry. PLEASE read the upcoming chapter!