“Prince! There you are, finally!” the man exclaimed in an exasperated tone. “I was about to go out and form a search party to find you!”
Evan stepped forward, passing Ardyn who was gawking at him from the side. He had a big, bright smile on his face as he approached the man.
“Mathias! There you are!” he chirped as though Mathias weren’t almost on his knees from fatigue. “Thank goodness you are here. I brought with me someone wh—”
Mathias waved his hand dismissively. “Tell me everything later! Your father — the King is looking for you!” he reported. “You’d best clean yourself up quickly and go see him at once. It seems important!”
“Something important?” Evan looked thoughtful for a moment. “Father has always liked to exaggerate such trivial things…”
“Well, you’ll get me in trouble if you don’t get a move on this instant!” Mathias scolded, frowning in disapproval. “I was about to eat my lunch when His Majesty suddenly called for me. I had to make up some sort of excuse as to why you disappeared — again! Seriously, why do you never tell me where you go every single day?? Am I not your friend any—”
“Okay, okay, Mother. Cease the nagging. I get it,” Evan interrupted smoothly, wrapping an arm around Mathias’ shoulders. “I have heard this spiel about a million times by now. You need not repeat it every single time.”
“I wouldn’t be nagging you constantly if you just be mature for once in your life and tell me—!” Mathias cut himself off abruptly and glared at Evan with daggers in his eyes. “Wait a minute, you’re stalling, aren’t you?! You can’t fool me, you bratty Prince!”
He reached out and bonked Evan on the head, earning him a loud ‘Owww!’ from the latter.
“Now go make haste and take off that cloak! Really, you are making me have gray hairs the more I deal with your behavior…” Mathias groaned.
“And that is why you are the only one I trust enough to nag and scold me every day,” Evan chirped, ever the smooth mediator of such arguments. “You so obviously care for me. I am deeply touched, my frie—”
“Shut your nonsense and go meet the King before I kick your ass into the palace!”
“Okay, okay, I’m going… Geez, can’t a man take his sweet time—”
Mathias kicked him in the butt. “Out with you! Not one more word!” he warned.
Ardyn watched the entire spectacle in front of him, too speechless to interject something in between. His mind was still reeling from too many surprises all in one day.
Who would’ve thought that he had been hanging out with the literal Prince of this city the whole time?
He had even shaken the Prince’s shoulders earlier at the beach and had also given him so much trouble. He was doomed.
“I’m going, I’m going!” Evan grumbled once again, rubbing the sore spot on his behind. Sheesh, the idiot keeps forgetting how strong he is…
Wait! Evan turned around and faced Ardyn. “Ardyn!” he called out. “Just follow Mathias and let him lead you to one of our guest rooms. I’ll come and pay you a visit later. Just wait for me,” he promised.
Before Ardyn could respond, Evan was already on his way, sprinting forward with haste in his steps.
There was a beat of silence before Mathias turned on his heel and faced him with a confused expression.
“And who are you?” he asked. “I’ve never seen you around before.”
Ardyn swallowed. “I’m… My name is Ardyn.”
“Ardyn? Are you a friend of our Prince? Ah… ah!” Mathias’ face suddenly went pale. “Did you… witness our conversation just now? Ah, please don’t report me to the King and Queen!” The words spilled out of his mouth in absolute panic. “They will have my head if they find out I treated the Prince so ungraciously…!”
“Hey, calm down!” Ardyn said quickly, raising his arms in assurance. “I won’t tell anyone anything. Relax.”
“You won’t? Oh, thank goodness!” The color finally returned to Mathias’ face. “Anyway, ah… our Prince always has a lot of friends he invites to the castle, so I’m not really surprised that he brought you here. Follow me, let’s talk on the way.”
Ardyn couldn’t do anything else but nod.
‏‏‎ ‎
***
‏‏‎ ‎
Mathias led him to the back of the castle, passing a few guards on their daily patrol. Mathias nodded to them and they bowed politely in response.
Looking up at the huge walls, Ardyn could see towers at each corner, with guards stationed at the top to watch over the area. The rest of the courtyard was a beautiful garden, much like the one in front of the castle, with a variety of bushes, trees, and flowers all around. There was even a huge gazebo in the distance, surrounded by a large pond.
It’s like a dream, Ardyn marveled. Like I’ve entered some sort of historical fantasy…
“This way,” Mathias’ voice cut in through his thoughts.
He opened the huge doors with a key from his pocket and they entered through what seemed to be the palace’s storeroom.
Ardyn looked around in amazement at the number of boxes and artifacts scattered throughout the room. There were boxes of different colors and sizes everywhere, most likely filled with expensive goods and antiques.
“You look surprised,” Mathias commented as they walked towards the exit. “Is this your first time in the castle?”
Ardyn nodded, still starstruck. “I’ve… I’ve never been in a place this huge before!”
“Is that so?” Mathias sounded puzzled. “Are you not a royal friend of the Prince? Am I mistaken?”
“Oh, I’m—I’m not a royal,” Ardyn stammered, sweat dripping down his brow. His chest tightened and his defenses slid up in an instant.
He remembered Evan’s words: “Don’t ever tell anyone that you are an Otherworlder.”
“Huh? That’s weird. The Prince usually only brings his royal friends here to the castle. Well, except for the other Guardians,” Mathias mused aloud as he opened the door and stepped into the hallway. “You must be an old friend of his, then?”
The tightness in Ardyn’s chest increased, but he knew that he couldn’t bring himself to tell a lie.
“No, I’m… just someone he met today,” he said quietly.
Mathias stopped to look at him. Ardyn met his gaze, unnerved. Every muscle in his body was rigid, as if he was preparing to run away once he was caught.
Damn, why did Evan have to leave at such a time…
But the cold, stern expression Ardyn was expecting did not appear. Instead, Mathias broke into a short laugh, came over, and gave Ardyn a friendly pat on the shoulder.
“You look so tense!” he exclaimed. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to kick you out or anything! His Highness asked me to let you stay, so I will. I can always ask him about you later if you don’t want to tell me who you are. No problem.”
He pulled away and smiled before turning back to lead the way.
“I trust my Prince’s decisions,” he added softly. “If he brought you here, then you must not be a bad person.”