Disclaimer: I do not own Good Luck Charlie
So there is no confusion, Merridel is a rather large country that is surrounded by water expect where it's corner touches the countries of France and Spain. In other words, it covers the Bay of Biscay and stretches outwards into the Atlantic Ocean.
Also, I think I misunderstood the Duncans' ages in my first chapter so sorry if they are different than the television show. For continuance, I am just going to keep them the same as they are in the first chapter for this tale.
The silence of the wooded area was startled abruptly as a young man on a large, dark horse charged through the trees. With a specific squeeze of his legs, the rider ushered his horse to bolt even faster into the small clearing. Sweat foamed on the body of the horse making it match its rider's sweat dappled face. Behind the speeding pair came another rider moving at a far more cautious pace. The new rider trotted up to his companion slowly and patted the neck of his dapple-grey horse.
"You are never going to give Lark a chance to run full speed are you, Gavin?"
The smaller boy smiled and once more patted the soft neck of his horse, "Slow and steady wins the race, Derek."
"How can it be winning if it is so boring?"
When Gavin didn't respond to the playful taunt, Derek turned his head to see the boy better. He followed the boy's line of sight to the tree dotted hillside. In the distance was a figure moving steadily closer on the back of a chestnut colored horse. Covering his eyes with one hand, to block the bright sunlight, Derek attempted to gauge if the newcomer was friend or foe. The last thing he wanted to run into was a camera hog, but if it were some photographer his mother would kill him for not being civil.
"Well, well," The man grinned as he approached the men.
They would have been better off with bloodthirsty paparazzi.
"I see you are still riding, that one."
Derek's eyes narrowed slightly as the newcomer threw out his thinly veiled dig. Below him the horse snorted as if she knew the insult was directed towards her. Sage had been in Derek's life practically since her birth. Her mother had been part of a large herd rescued from an abusive side show years before. Derek's grandfather had adopted the mother and baby a few days after the filly's birth. He worked with the mother, but allowed his grandson the chance to raise and train the filly on his own; minus some help from the stable hands when he was away on royal business.
"She's better trained and faster than any horse your family could overwork, Alistair."
Derek's insult was less, if at all, veiled and forced Alistair's lips to shrink into a fine line. The young man was used to reactions like these being thrown at him when he displeased or angered someone outside his family. People always wondered what amount of royal guards were hiding in the background waiting to jump anyone who accosted the prince. It was something Derek detested, but if anyone was willing to take a chance on being senseless and yelling at the prince it was Alistair the snooty.
"Jealous, Disaster Derek?" The boy did not disappoint and was even able to throw in a name that made Derek's skin crawl. "The horses in my families' care have won races held all over Merridel. And your pony comes from some abandoned circus, correct?"
"They'd never win against a horse as talented as Sage." Fueled by the nickname he detested, Derek raised an eyebrow and began to contemplate how he could pull Alistair into a high-stakes race.
"I don't like that look. That is never a good look…" Gavin groaned quietly and tried to bring a voice of reason to Derek. "You know that royals aren't allowed to compete in derby rac-"
"Who said anything about derby races?" Derek smiled at his friend and patted his shoulder reassuringly. The gesture did little to comfort the nervous chap. "I am talking about a simple race between acquaintances. Here and now."
"Hmmm," Alistair readjusted his horse and lined up beside Gavin and Derek. "That depends Disaster…"
"On what?"
Like a bolt, Alistair's horse shot off into the distance and he called out, "If you can keep up!"
Each word that slipped off of the man's lips soaked into Derek's skin and fueled his frustration. "If you have to cheat, even you must know I can beat you easy!"
"This isn't going to end well." Gavin clicked his tongue to make his own horse start after the two racers. "But don't listen to the man who has pulled you out of these scrapes for almost nineteen years."
Derek and Sage quickly overcame the lead Alistair had gained by his false start. Each boy remained frozen in well-defined riding postures that could only be crafted from years of experience. Unlike Alistair, who swatted his horse's flanks relentlessly with a whip, Derek merely urged Sage forward with vocal commands and a slight tightening of his thighs. The young prince had been taught from an early age that animals, like people, always performed better when treated with respect and kindness. The lessons in horsemanship had affected Derek strongly, unlike his father who still believed in showing dominance to his horse with a swift tap of the whip every so often.
"Too bad, it isn't official!" Alistair shouted over the thundering sound of the hooves.
Derek darted between some trees and regained his spot beside Alistair, "Why's that?"
"It is such a shame to waste so many eyes on a practice run."
Before the words could fully penetrate Derek's brain, Alistair jerked his horse's reins and sent the large creature into Sage. Derek's left foot slipped from the stirrup and he lost his riding position momentarily. As he tried to rise back into position, Alistair's onslaught continued to shove Sage closer and closer to the hillside edge.
"Stop it, Alistair!" Derek yelled and tried in vain to maneuver around the force of his opponent. The ground below the horses began to break and crumble as they danced closer and closer to the edge. "You'll send us all down the cliff at this rate! Just because you're afraid to lose in a fair fight!"
The last comment brought forth a true growl from the man's throat. His eyes narrowed and with great precision his hands jerked the horses reins to the other side. The animal obeyed the command and slammed its hindquarters into Sage who had no room to escape the attack. Below her feet, the ground finally let go and began tumbling down the hillside. Derek tried to regain control of the scared animal, but Sage merely let out a wild whiny noise and tried desperately to run down the steep cliff side.
Five feet above the bottom of the rocky hill, Sage took a leap of faith and bolted into the town. The prince's eyes grew wide as the horse raced through traffic leaving the sounds of disgruntled drivers and metallic clanks in her wake. Calming the horse was not working, so he shifted his efforts to just making sure her rampage caused as little damage as possible. With well-trained hands, he maneuvered the reins and horse through the onslaught of furious people and honking cars. The welcomed sight of the summer castle gates greeted him just as Sage began to calm down. He trotted her into the grounds and stopped in the middle of the last rain puddle from the morning's showers.
"It's okay girl. It's okay." He patted the horse's neck softly and spoke to her in a calm voice.
"Derek!"
The furious rant belonged to a voice the boy knew quite well. As he looked up from his exhausted horse, Natalie, his older sister by three minutes, offered him a cold glare. She swiped at a new set of mud stains on her dress and let out a disappointed sigh. Beside the annoyed brunette stood Derek's mother, grandfather, and uncle. Each of the adults carried disapproving frowns on their faces, minus his grandfather who merely chuckled good-naturedly and offered him a secret grin.
"What is the meaning of this?" His mother charged forward but was cut off by an incoming royal guard.
"Excuse me your majesty," The guard and his fellow companions bowed to Derek's mother as they approached, "There seems to be a situation out in the streets that requires your assistance."
"Yes, right away." She nodded her head curtly to the guard and spared her son one final glance, "I expect to see you in the throne room, young man."
Once he had unhitched the bridle from his horse's face, the mare dunked her mouth into the water trough happily. While she drank her fill Derek began to fiddle with the saddle. He had a pretty good idea that the emergency the guards were talking about was the few car crashes his race through town had created. But it wasn't his fault! If Alistair had just played fair this wouldn't have happened. Damn boy, Derek thought with a frown, must have known this was going to be the day he was finally going to be beaten.
"Well, my boy," The voice of his uncle pulled Derek out of his thoughts and back into the stables. "It seems you have created quite a scene."
"Yeah. Mom seems pretty angry this time."
"It seems they don't understand that accidents can happen to the best of us."
Derek tossed the saddle into its place and turned to his uncle with a thankful smile, "Exactly! And it wasn't even my fault, uncle Everett."
"I was about to beat Alistair in a race when he shoved us off the hill side and down into the city." The boy let out a sigh and ran the brush over his mare's torso. "Of course mother will just give me the, 'You shouldn't be racing in the first place' and her favorite, 'You are the future of this country and you can't risk getting yourself hurt' speech."
"It really isn't fair is it?" Everett watched in silence as the boy finished brushing his horse then put her into a stall with a small snack.
"Yeah, but try telling the queen that."
"My dear nephew," Everett wrapped an arm around the boy's shoulders and strolled with him from the stables and into the summer castle. "You are going to be nineteen soon and it really is about time you have a chance to show the family that you are a true leader."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, anyone can rule a country that knows the person is of royal blood. But a true royal can bring order and leadership to whatever place he visits."
"You mean I should try and rule some random country? That doesn't sound like a good ide-"
"Pardon me, but you misunderstood." While they talked Everett took them along the long path to the boy's room. He was not sure how long it would take to explain his idea, but he did not want to leave his nephew without a full description. "If you were able to lead a group of people who had no idea you were royal, you would be able to show everyone that you are ready to be a true leader."
"I got to admit it sounds tempting, but I don't think I can just overthrow a government by myself."
"No, no," Everett sighed softly at the thick-headedness of his nephew. "All you have to do is find some way to display leadership in a country that doesn't know you. Somehow get people to rally behind you and support you in some form. When your parent's see that you have inspired strangers, they will be extremely impressed. Besides, I know that you were hoping to do a little traveling before your intensive royal training began."
The light bulb in Derek's head suddenly went off. A smile curved across his face and he stared at his uncle with open joy. The leadership thing aside, uncle Everett had just found him a way to get a free vacation away from the eyes of his parents. This was glorious! All he had to do now was sell them on this idea and he would be off to a country in no time.
"That is brilliant uncle Everett!" Derek laughed happily and patted the man on the back, "We just have to tell father and I am set."
"We?"
"Well, yeah. It was your idea."
"My boy," The older man took his arm away from Derek and offered him a parental expression. "Don't you think it would be best if you take credit for this idea? It would show them you have truly thought about your duty to the royal family."
"Oh…" Derek paused for a moment then nodded his head in agreement, "Alright. I won't mention you came up with it."
"This is awesome!" Derek stood before the large map on his wall and tried to settle on which country he wanted to explore.
"This isn't a good idea."
Gavin sat on the bed with a piece of paper in hand. Although the prince would never read it, the boy had taken it upon himself to write out the various reasons this idea was horrible. On top of that list was the fear Gavin would have to accompany his friend to said country. The young man had grown up with the prince and princess. They had played together in their youth, gone too rigorous schooling, and now were practically inseparable. But the one thing Gavin had always lacked was the prince's sense of adventure.
"Come on Gavin." The boy whirled around to offer his friend a large grin, "We could go search pyramids, explore jungles, climb mountains!"
"Stay here and try not to cause anymore four car pile ups?"
Derek rolled his eyes and turned back to his map. He had known Gavin for years, but there was something the boy couldn't understand. When Gavin decided what he wanted to do with his life, he could get up and do it. Just because his father was the King's personal doctor, did not mean that Gavin had to follow in his footsteps. But Derek didn't have such luxuries. Sure his dad was in good health now, but someday he would need his son to take over the throne. Once that crown was placed upon his head, Derek was stuck for the rest of his life. This could be his last adventure… And he was damn well going to take it.
"Pardon me, sir," One of the castle's attendants knocked on the door and poked his head inside the boy's room, "Your parents wish to speak with you in the castle hall soon."
"Thanks. Tell them I will be right there." Derek sighed and turned once more to his map.
"This is my last real chance to have a big adventure. I have to go somewhere with adventure, fun, and… America!"
"America?" The name of the country slipped awkwardly off of Gavin's tongue.
"Yes!" The prince grinned wider and pulled his friend off of the bed, "Think about it. They have beaches, mountains, and everything else. It is perfect. A one stop place, Gavin."
"America?"
"Yes. Now let's go tell the folks." He yanked the boy's arm and drug him along for the ride.
"I might be allergic to America!"
When the boys arrived in the throne room, the royal family was already settled in their assigned seats. Derek noticed Natalie's outfit had completely changed but her attitude towards him was still sour. The stain hadn't been that large, but it was enough to put his rather feminine sister into a tizzy for the day. If anyone was built for the life of a princess, it was Natalie.
"Mother, Father," Derek bowed gracefully and approached his parents as politely as he could. It might take a rather large amount of sucking up to get them to agree to the plan. "I hope you were not waiting too long."
"Derek," His father spoke without offering a formal address, alerting the boy to how much trouble he actually was facing. "You have created quite a scene today. Thanks to your actions multiple citizens were almost severely injured."
"Almost?" If no one was actually hurt that was a plus, right?
"Derek, even without physical injuries there are multiple families in our kingdom who are trying to deal with emotional strain and fear. Fear that would not have happened if you had remained on the approved horse track."
"Yes, mother. You are right. It was my fault for not following the rules." Derek nodded his head gravely.
"Wait," Natalie stared at her parents and brother in turn, "Derek is taking responsibility for something? I must have misheard. He doesn't even know what that word means."
"Shut up…" Derek mumbled at his nosey sister through gritted teeth. As much as he loved Natalie, she always had a way of finding holes in his stories.
"Natalie," The king touched her hand gently, "This is between your brother, mother, and I. We will handle the matter as we see fit."
"Yes, father." She leaned back in her throne and offered Gavin a curious stare. To which the young man mouthed, 'You don't want to know'.
"Now," With order restored, King Christopher turned his attention back to Derek. "It is admirable that you are willing to admit your fault in this matter, but that does not assure me that such issues will not arise again. You are almost nineteen and I need some proof that you understand how large your responsibilities are."
"I understand, Father." Derek stood up as straight as he could and looked his elders in the eye, "I have been slacking off when it comes to my royal duties. Which is why I would like to show you that my dedication to our kingdom is stronger than ever."
"How do you plan on showing that?" Both parents were fully engaged in Derek's story by this point.
"I would like to show you by competing in a leadership challenge. Anyone of royal blood can lead their own people, but a true leader can lead even those who do not know their status. I would like to go to America and in a summer's time show you, through some display, that I can be a true leader."
"America?" The king scoffed and stared in surprise at his son.
"I think it is a wonderful idea!" Grandfather chuckled from his throne and pointed at his grandson. "You wanted the boy to show some initiative, and that is what I call initiative. Braving a foreign land and promising to show true leadership to strangers. Brilliant."
"But, we can't send you all alone to a foreign country." The queen bit her bottom lip and stared at her youngest child. Like most mothers, she had trouble realizing that her children were no longer infants.
"Nonsense," Derek's grandfather rose from his throne and walked over to his grandson. "Derek is a strapping young man with a good head on his shoulders. He can keep himself safe. Besides, Gavin can accompany him on the trip."
"Oh, I don't… I'm allergic to America." Gavin sputtered on his words and stared at the royal family in surprise.
"Please Gavin," Natalie smiled at her old friend, "Someone has to keep my baby brother safe."
"Well, I…" A large goofy grin spread over the boy's face. "Okay, Princess Natalie. I'll go with him."
"Splendid!" Shouted Derek's grandfather as he wrapped an arm around each boy, "We will get you boys packed and ready to go by the end of the week!"
"That soon?" Gavin whined in a soft voice as the eldest member of their trio led them out of the throne room.
"Smell that air. You know what that is?" Derek asked as they stepped into the light of the airport.
"Cinnabon. It's the Cinnabon stand." Gavin hunched his shoulders and gripped the straps of his suitcase. The terminal was bustling with people leaving Gavin feeling a little overwhelmed, "The same Cinnabon we have in Merridel."
"That is the smell of freedom, Gavin."
"I honestly think it's just the Cinnabon stand…"
"No," Derek grumbled and boldly stepped forward into the crowds.
Everywhere he looked men and women were rushing about to the various stores and check in points. No one stopped to stare at him with wide eyes and gaping mouths. For once, there were no photo requests or papers to sign and it was glorious. Had he been more concerned with the state of his country, the boy would have taken a moment to realize total non-recognition was probably a bad sign.
"What are we going to do in Denver?" Gavin looked out at the mountain ranges in the distance and prayed they were not here to climb to new heights. "Why did you pick the village of Denver anyway?"
"They call them cities here. And we can do whatever the heck we want Gav."
As the boys trudged through the crowds the sights and smells of their new location embraced their senses. Gavin's wide, fear filled eyes stared at each security guard while the prince winked at a few ladies and waited for his first bout of inspiration to hit him. In all honesty, the selection of Denver had been left purely up to chance. He had merely closed his eyes and threw a dart at the large map of America in the castle library. Of course, he would never tell his family or Gavin that his leadership challenge location had been decided by a bar game.
By the time they reached a small section of restaurants Derek made the executive decision to start their quest with an early lunch. Although English was not their native tongue, both Gavin and Derek had received enough tutoring during their school years to be nearly fluent. Unfortunately, the language on the menu didn't appear to be any form of English Gavin had seen before.
"What is a Denver Two-Step Casserole?" He asked his excited travel acquaintance.
When no answer was given to his question, Gavin looked up from the cryptic menu to find Derek's gaze was focused on something else. The prince's brow dipped down in growing distaste. Gavin followed his gaze to see a hulk of a man attempting to talk to a frustrated woman at the counter. The hulk placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, which she promptly shrugged off. When he grabbed the joint harder and forced a small cry from the girl Derek stood up from his chair and charged over to the duo.
"Hey," He wedged himself between the brute and the girl and stared up into the man's face. The words escaping his mouth were coated in a slight accent due to his increasing annoyance, "I think the lady was clear that she wants you to leave her alone."
"Who are yous to come up and disturb us?" The gin coated words sent a ripple of disgust through Derek's stomach. The man's fist flew out and collided with the prince's jaw, "You're gonna regret messing with me kid."
Derek grinned at the lug, despite the small bruise growing on his chin, and thrust his own fist into the man's gut. When the guy bent forward in pain, the prince forced his shoulder into the man's chest. A few moves, he had been practicing for ages with his self-defense instructors, later and the prince used his body weight and momentum to flip the hulk over. A few of the patrons clapped awkwardly and watched the once intimidating man lay in pain on the floor.
Gavin approached his friend and offered him a napkin to wipe the bit of blood from his lip, "That was pretty good."
"And you thought our martial arts lessons were a waste of time."
"Well, it does seem strange to teach someone surrounded by guards twenty-four-seven to fight…"
"Excuse me," The girl tapped Derek on the shoulder and offered him a kind smile. "Thank you. Um…"
"Derek." The prince's grin grew slightly as he looked into the girl's eyes, "It's Derek. And you are?"
"What the hell?!"
A shout from behind forced the Prince to turn and face a lanky man coated in a grungy t-shirt. The fellow's hair was coated in a strange amount of, what Derek hoped, was gel. Behind the man was a small group of misfits who seemed rather impressed by the defeated hulk still groaning on the tile floor.
"Dude, you got him good!" The raven-haired member of the group knelt by the hulk and tried to wake him from his drunken state.
"Is he a… friend of yours?" Gavin ventured curiously as he silently wondered whether or not these boys ever bathed.
"Not exactly." The lanky man from earlier took the question and looked to Derek and Gavin, "He was a roadie we hired. We got a gig to work a cross-country tour and needed someone to haul the instruments. Of course, he spent more time hauling beer cans than speakers."
"Ah, well… sorry about this. I'm sure you can find another road… thing-person, but we have to be going now." Gavin motioned to Derek and tried to silently signify it was time to move on.
"Wait a minute, Gavin," Derek grinned, causing a bit of panic to settle in the other boy's stomach. "You said a cross-country tour?"
"Yeah. We are heading out today, but the plan has been a bit changed by this new problem."
"So, you are currently looking for a new roadie?" Derek's grin grew even wider.
"What are you getting at, kid?" The older man was annoyed by Derek's energy and tried to hurry him up before they missed their appointment.
"You need a roadie and we need a cross-country trip."
"We do?" Gavin mumbled confusedly.
Derek pulled the nervous Gavin aside and formed a conference huddle, "Look, we are only here for a summer. I want to see as much as I can. This is a free trip to explore… everywhere!"
"What about your leadership challenge? When are you going to find time to do that if you are working for them?" Ever the road block to Derek's big plans, Gavin held off on giving his okay to the plan.
"Don't worry. I'll get it done. This gives us chances all over the country. I promise you won't regret it, Gavin."
"You two done with your powwow?" The lanky man busted into the huddle and stared at each boy in turn, "If you want it, the job is yours. But we have to leave, now."
"Deal!" Derek shook the man's hand and completely missed the fear covering Gavin's face.
As they pulled up to the bus-loading site, Derek spotted a rather large amount of people. He had been to multiple concerts in his home country but had never seen a band that consisted of so many people of varying ages. There were infants, toddlers, teenagers, and some people that looked like they were in their late fifties. What kind of music was this?
"Alright." The skinny man, whose name had turned out to be Al, pointed to the trailer attached to their SUV. "You gotta put all of that in the bottom of that bus."
As the door of the storage trailer opened, the boys stared in amazement at the amount of luggage and instruments crammed into the container. It would have been easier to play advanced level Tetris in Derek's opinion. He studied the pieces for a few moments, and then attempted to pull out a small brown suitcase. Once it was safely out of the pile the rest of the materials began to shift. Gavin, nervous as ever, squeaked and jumped into action to avoid a complete landslide.
"Be right back." Derek lifted the case in his arms and trudged off to the bus.
"Amelia?" A blonde girl rushed past Derek and seemed to be searching the storage spaces frantically. "This isn't funny. Come out, now!"
"What are you-"
Derek was cut off as a tiny child leapt from one of the storage spaces and bumped into him. He stumbled back a few steps, twirled on his heel, and promptly dropped the suitcase to the ground. The blonde girl, from moments earlier, stood on the other side of the busted case with a hand covering her heart. As their eyes met, the two were left in a surprised stare down.
"Uh," She blinked her eyes slowly and looked at the clothes peeking out from the suitcase. "Are you okay?"
"Fine." Derek, having lived his entire life being treated with little to no blame, brushed off his hands and pointed at her, "You go ahead and load this one. I need to check on Gavin."
"What?" She stared at him with confused eyes, "What are you talking about?"
"Look, this will get done a lot faster if you just do your roadie job."
"I'm not a roadie." She said growing annoyed with his unearned view of self-importance. "I'm singing on this tour."
"No," He shook his head and pointed to the greasy haired men, "This is their tour, sweets."
"No," She stood on her tiptoes to try and equal his height, "This is my tour."
As she fell back onto the soles of her feet, the girl spared a glance to the greasy men. Unfortunately, she didn't pay enough attention to the boy's movements. "And, although I'll admit… I don't know who those men are… it is definitely not their tour. And the name is Charlotte, not sweets."
"Thanks for the help, sweets," Derek called over his shoulder as he turned to head back to the trailer.
Charlotte Duncan stood in silence as the reality of the situation washed over her. The boy hadn't heard a thing she said and was now blissfully waltzing away. Who did he think he was? He could have at least been polite enough to get her name right! Who the heck were these tour crashers?
"Adam!" She called out to her agent sparing one last glance at the strange boy, "What the heck is going on here?"
Sorry, this was so long everyone. It took longer then I thought to introduce Derek and Gavin lol. Hope it was good to you guys. ^.^