Bartholomew Nelson and the World of Zathya: The Prince and the Heir

Charlotte was pacing back and forth in Bart’s tent when he arrived. He could tell by the look on her face that she was far past angry.

“Come to yell some more?” Bart asked sarcastically.

“Where have you been?” she yelled when she saw him. “I thought you did something crazy like run off and try and go to the castle by yourself.” Bart looked at her like she was out of her mind.

“That’s a yes,” he muttered to himself. “Are you nuts?” he asked. “What makes you think I would make a stupid decision like that?”

“Well you’ve made stupid decisions before so I wouldn’t put it past you.” Bart knew that was just the anger speaking so he let it go for now. He made a mental note to not let her off so easy later on.

“I just went to train and blow off some steam, calm down.” Charlotte looked a little surprised that he said he went to go train, which didn’t sit well with Bart. Did everyone think he was a moron or something? That he didn’t care about anything?

“Well I just assumed because we had you know.” Bart knew exactly what she was referring to.

“Yeah, because we fought,” he said unenthusiastically. “We fought and you ran off with your boyfriend.” He added the last bit to piss her off, and by her reaction, it worked.

“He is not my boyfriend,” she screamed coming around to try and swing at Bart but he narrowly dodged her open palm.

“Sure, tell him that.”

“Just because somebody is nice to me and is showing me the ropes to some new skills doesn’t mean we’re dating!” Her anger was obvious now, but Bart only found it amusing.

“Whatever you say,” he said stepping past her and sitting on the edge of the hard bed.

“Anyway, you missed lunch and dinner. How long were you out there practicing anyway?” Bart hadn’t even realized that he hadn’t eaten anything in a while and it wasn’t until Charlotte mentioned it that his stomach started hurting.

“I was walking around before,” he responded. “I didn’t even realize that I was hungry until now.”

“Well you have to go ask the King if you can get some food now, I think all the cooks went to bed.” Bart didn’t feel like going and talking to the King but he was hungry.

“You going to come too?” he asked hoping to have a companion.

“No probably not. I’m too tired. Plus I have to get up and practice my shooting with Leo tomorrow morning. I’ve gotten really good with a bow, Bart.” Bart didn’t care about the last part of what Char said. The fact that she would rather spend time with Leo instead of hang out with him said enough. In all the years that the two of them had been friends, Charlotte never ditched Bart for anyone else, not even her dad. The fact that this Leo guy had her in his trance really bothered Bart.

“Right,” he said softly, unable to hide the disappointment in his voice.

“Come on Bart-”

“No worries Char,” he said interrupting her before she could finish. “I’ll see you at breakfast.” Before she could complain, he headed out of the tent and towards the Kings tent. He didn’t feel like fighting anymore and if this is what Charlotte wanted, he wasn’t going to stop her. Maybe going without her to the castle was a good idea.

The tent was once again nearly empty but the King sat upon his throne, speaking with a few gentlemen and one lady. They were all wearing armor and had weapons strapped to their backs and belts.

“Ah if it isn’t the boy King,” said King Claudius as Bart approached the throne. He was starting to get annoyed with being called the boy King, but there wasn’t anything he could think of that would change their minds about it so he kept his mouth shut.

“Um, your highness, sir,” Bart started. “I was wondering if there was any food left over from dinner. I missed lunch and so I’m sure you can imagine how hungry I am.”

“Say no more,” roared the King with a great laugh. “Jorge, go fetch us something to eat.” One of the guards bowed and quickly left the tent. “In the meantime, come, sit and talk with me, boy King.” Bart walked up to the throne and pulled up a chair. “Leave us,” Claudius said and all the rest of the guards left just as quickly as Jorge. “So tell me, what do you think of my humble village?” Bart wasn’t prepared for the question.

“Well,” he started. “For one, everybody seems to be so close. They all seem to get along great.” The King looked pleased with his answer.

“Ah yes, that’s something we strive for. Our villages are all we’ve got. We do not adhere to the rules and new ways of the throne. We make our home in the woods and it is where we will stay!” Bart could tell the King was a proud man. He was always smiling and he loved to stick his chest out every time he spoke although you could barely tell because of the enormity of his gut.

“So what problem do you have with the throne?” Bart asked not knowing if the subject was off limits or not.

“We were here long before Jothero Thyasis proclaimed himself king and we will be here long after everyone rips each other apart.”

“Forgive me your highness, but I don’t know much about your history or the history of the throne.” Claudius looked down at Bart trying to see if he was mocking him but clearly decided against it when he smiled and began to talk again.

“Jothero Thyasis named himself King even though my great grandfather had lived on these lands long before the council was created. Then they built their capitol and their castle leaving us to be banished to smaller woods.” Bart didn’t know that all of Zathya was once woods but he assumed that’s what Claudius meant.

“So you’re angry because he tore down the woods?” Bart asked.

“No!” Claudius yelled. “Not just that! He wanted my great grandfather to join his forces against the dictator Thasitas Colville but we choose to be apart from war. We kept to ourselves and my great grandfather put a spell on the entire woods. No one would be able to cross through the woods unless they were born in it. That way we would be left to ourselves. You see this is how we can do things our way. We prefer it this way. Who needs a throne in a castle when you can have the entire woods?” Bart didn’t know if there was a hole in that argument but if there was he couldn’t find it. These people clearly have learned to live in the woods without any trouble from the outside and they’ve flourished at it.

“I see,” Bart said simply. Jorge returned with the food shortly thereafter and Bart began to dig in. Claudius and Bart shared stories with Bart explaining where he came from in between bites and Claudius explaining how he became known as the greatest axe wielder in all the woods.

“So you are telling me that your mom and uncle not only waited until you were fifteen, but they also chose not to train you at all? Treachery! You are lucky to be alive!” Bart couldn’t agree more with that one. He’d been through so much and the fact that he survived on such limited training meant that he had a lot of luck. Yet luck wouldn’t get him to the castle safely. Even if it did he couldn’t count on luck always being on his side. They continued eating until one of the guards rushed in the tent with two men behind him.

“Your majesty, your son is here from Valiant Wood,” he said as the three men bowed. King Claudius stood and turned to Bart.

“It has been a fantastic dinner speaking with you, Bartholomew and I look forward to speaking more in the near future.” Before Bart could speak, stand, or respond, the King walked out with the three men. Bart sat there, finishing his meal in silence. It actually turned out to be a good meeting with the king. He learned a lot about the people here and about the world he was now trying to survive in. Eventually he left the tent and headed back to his own tent, which he found was empty. As he sat there he thought about everything that was happening. Maybe being in the place was the safest place at the moment. Maybe Charlotte was right and they should ride this out as long as they could. He knew that would be a smart decision but all he could think about was getting back to his mom. Charlotte couldn’t understand that because her dad was safe back in Dorman Falls. Yet, even though Bart wanted to leave he had no choice but to stay because he couldn’t abandon his best friend. He got ready for bed and realized he had no idea how long he would be here. It bothered him but he had no choice until he could convince Charlotte to leave.

Bart spent the next couple of days practicing his wielding and getting closer to some of the locals. Every night he went and had dinner with the King, which turned out to be the best part of his days. He continued to learn about the people of the wood and he definitely made sure to mention the kingdom as little as possible. He barely spoke to Charlotte who was always off with Leo. When she saw Bart the conversations were only short ones. Bart was being stubborn, and he knew it, but he felt abandoned by her. He didn’t want to return the favor and make her feel abandoned too. Leaving her wasn’t an option, and he knew it. Sometimes, though, she made it really hard not to.

The night of the festival everyone was in high spirits. Benita had returned, and she and Bart spent the day out in the fields talking and training. Bart explained to her everything he had learned and she helped him with his wielding as much as possible. Yet when Bart told her what he knew about the people of the wood being banished she laughed.

“I don’t see what’s funny about being sent away to be exiled in the woods,” Bart said. She stopped laughing almost immediately but kept her smile.

“King Claudius has always believed the old folk tales even though they are widely considered to be false,” she said. Bart was a little confused since no one else told him the stories were just tales and not fact. “The truth is, the people of the wood chose not to fight for the king, which was their own right but they were not exiled. They made their own decision to leave. The original king of the wood disagreed with King Jothero’s ideals and there wasn’t enough room for both of them on the council. So he left to the woods. They still remained friends at the time though.” Bart was shocked. This story was similar but still included one major difference. There was no banishment.

“Why create a spell to prevent people from entering then?” Bart asked. “If there was no bad blood why do it?” Benita just continued to smile and look out into the distance.

“The spell wasn’t created for a long time. It wasn’t until Thasistas Colville, the most powerful warrior in Zathya at the time, began attacking everyone and building an army that the old king placed the spell on the woods.” Bart wasn’t sure if he had heard the name before but the story just got a little more interesting. “You have to understand wielding is a very powerful tool, but to cast a spell, well that is one of the most difficult things for a non-Majestic to do. It takes extreme skill, power, patience, and focus. Only a handful of people have been able to cast a spell, let alone one as grand as the one that enchants the woods.” The fact that this old king was able to do something like this had Bart fascinated. He began to wonder if anyone that he’d met or heard about could cast a spell. When he was living blind in his world, casting a spell was as simple as waving a wand and saying a bunch of weird words. Yet here, apparently, it was much more difficult.

“So this old king guy was that powerful?” he asked.

“Of course he was,” Benita said with a chuckle. “That’s why he was the leader.” Bart began to wonder how strong he had to become to be able to cast a spell. Were they even like the spells back home on television or in the movies? What spell would he actually cast? It was all exciting to think about. “Well look at that,” Benita said pointing towards the sun. The sun began to set and they realized they had been out in the fields all day.

“Guess it’s time to head back now,” Bart said. Benita stood up and stretched.

“I’ll meet you at the feast,” she said and she skipped off towards the crowd that was starting to appear. Bart saw the excitement on everyone’s faces. He couldn’t help but feel a little excitement too as the atmosphere in the village was so cheerful. Bart rushed to his tent to get ready for the big celebration and found Charlotte inside with Leo.

“Hey Bart,” she said when he came in. Bart looked at her and then at Leo. He had grown to despise Leo because of how he snatched his best friend away from him. “How are you?” she continued when Bart just walked towards his bag to get his clothes out, ignoring her. He stayed quiet and kept his back turned. The silence must’ve clued Charlotte in to how Bart was feeling because he heard her whisper for Leo to give them a minute. “Bart I don’t like that we don’t talk like we used to,” she said once they were alone. Bart turned around and looked right into her eyes.

“And whose fault is that?” he asked. She just put her head down.

“I was hoping we could all hang out at the festival,” she said trying to dodge the question. “You can even bring Benita, so it won’t be awkward.” Bart laughed sarcastically and turned his back again.

“Char, just go have fun,” he said. “When the festival is over, I’m leaving with or without you.” Bart wasn’t looking at her so he couldn’t tell what facial expression she made but he was sure it wasn’t a good one. “I can’t continue to wait her while my mother needs me. If this is where you want to stay with your boyfriend, fine, but don’t expect me to stay, too. I’ll give your dad your regards.” He turned around to see Charlotte in tears. She stared at him with a look of bewilderment on her face but it didn’t faze Bart.

“Bart we were supposed to be in this together,” she said trying to keep her composure. “If I did anything to upset you I’m sorry, but I only wanted to keep us safe.” Bart shrugged and started to walk past her and she grabbed his arm.

“Let go,” Bart said as he yanked his arm away.

“Bart, come on,” she said trying to keep the conversation going. “I’m sorry for being such a jerk. I know I was but I need you. You’re my-” but Bart put his hand up to stop her.

“I don’t want you to say it because we both know we don’t feel it. You’ve got a new best friend now.” With that he just turned and walked out the tent. Leo was standing right in front of him when he exited.

“Can I help you?” Bart said.

“Keep hurting her and you’ll have to answer to me,” he said as he stepped forward. Bart smirked and then stepped up.

“Is that a threat,” Bart said. Before Leo could say anything Benita came running up.

“Bart,” she said hesitating a little as she looked at the two boys. “King Claudius wants to talk before the celebration.” Bart continued to glare at Leo until Benita grabbed his hand and pulled him away. He didn’t look back as he was ushered away. Once they were far enough away Benita stopped.

“What was that about?” she asked as she looked around to see if Leo had followed them. Bart just frowned and ignored the question.

“Doesn’t the king want to talk or something?” he said.

“No,” she said quickly. “That was just an excuse to stop you two from fighting. The feast is about to start soon we are supposed to be there in five minutes.” Bart realized that what Benita did probably saved him a lot of problems. Leo was in fact the son of Claudius, and he wasn’t a bad wielder. His sister was even better. Fighting him wouldn’t and couldn’t have ended well.

“Thanks,” he said as they started walking towards the feast.

“No need to thank me,” she said with a small smile. “Just don’t always go picking fights with royalty okay?” Bart laughed. They arrived at the feast and everyone was singing and dancing around. When the king saw Bart he stood and clapped once. With no delay everyone stopped and sat down.

“I would like to formally begin the feast, but before I do I have a few words,” he said. Bart noticed Charlotte and Leo sit down on the other end of the gathering. Charlotte looked like she was still upset. He wanted to care and deep down he might’ve still cared, but his anger and sense of abandonment wouldn’t let him at this moment. “First, I would like to welcome our first-time visitors Charlotte Cole and the Boy king Bartholomew Nelson to the Festival.” Everyone cheered but Bart didn’t. He felt weird celebrating if he and Charlotte were fighting. “Now with that, I would like to say, let the festivities begin!” Everyone immediately started grabbing at the food, and even Bart couldn’t ignore his stomach any longer. The music started soon after and everything was in full effect. There were some people up dancing instead of eating and others were just standing around talking but Bart loved it. He realized it wasn’t that different from his mother’s festival. As much fun as this festival was, he never felt that way about his own. He wondered why. Maybe it was because it was always during his birthday or maybe it was just because his mom always forced him to be a part of it but this festival didn’t feel like that. It felt genuine in some sort of way. Yet being here only made him miss his mother more. If he had the chance, he would make up for all those years where he made his mom’s life a living hell during the Festival. He decided to keep eating to take his mind off it.

When he finally finished eating he decided to get up and roam around a little. He headed over to where Benita was standing alone. She had finished eating so quickly that Bart didn’t even realize she wasn’t sitting there anymore until he was done.

“There is so much to do,” she said as he approached. As Bart looked around he saw all the excitement and activities. There was wielding stations where you could showcase your talents, a wielding battle competition, races and more. One thing his festival definitely didn’t have was wielding competitions. “Want to try it?” Benita said practically reading his mind.

“I don’t know if I should,” Bart said as he saw a guy turn a piece of string he pulled out of his pocket into a ladder. “I don’t know if I’m ready,” he added. He was pretty good with wielding wind but these people seemed like pros. They could do much more including creation wielding. He wouldn’t have much to showcase compared to these guys. “And battling is definitely out of the question,” he said as he watched these guys fighting. One guy charged the only girl competing and created some kind of tunnel under his opponent, which he slid under and popped out on the other side. That didn’t do him much good though because the girl must’ve seen it coming. As he jumped out the other side and turned, the girl had already wielded the wind which shoved him back at least ten feet. Then she created a shield as she ran towards him, deflecting all his knives and throwing stars, and leaped in the air turning her shield into a rope. As the guy scurried to try and get up, the girl threw the rope at him and wielded it around him. He fell on his back as she landed over him and punched him once in the face. The judge called the match and everyone cheered. “Am I supposed to be able to compete with that?” Bart asked Benita as he watched the girl help up her defeated competitor.

“There’s only one way to find out right?” Benita said. Before Bart had any chance to react or respond, she rushed over to the judges and whispered something in one of their ears.

“What was that?” Bart asked half confused, half nervous as Benita came back over to him.

“No worries,” she said with a small chuckle. Then it happened.

“Everyone, everyone,” shouted one of the judges. “We’ve got a new challenger for our champion,” he said and instantly Bart knew what Benita did.

“She’s the champ?” he whispered.

“Now coming to the ring, please welcome, the boy king himself! Ladies and Gentlemen introducing, Bartholomew Nelson!” Bart looked around and waved as Benita shoved him towards the ring. The champion just smiled at him as he entered and everyone began to cheer. Bart noticed that everyone started to gather around. They were clearly interested to see what the “boy king” was all about. He didn’t want to disappoint them but he wasn’t too sure if he had a choice.

“Taking it easy right?” he whispered to the champ. She smirked.

“I never take it easy,” she said back as she tied her long black hair into a bun. Bart’s nervousness was overpowering his focus and he began to panic. What if this tall slender woman ended up embarrassing him in front of all these people? He knew he wasn’t good enough to face her but no one here except Benita and Charlotte had seen him wield. How would he pull this off? What would they think of their future king if he was a push over?

“And now, no introduction is really necessary, but here is your champion, Beatrice Calindo.” Everyone started cheering and Beatrice waved gingerly. Bart figured she was thinking this was going to be another walk in the park. As far as he knew, she would be right.

“Benita,” Bart whispered to himself dejectedly. She set him up and now he was going to be humiliated in front of everyone. He glanced over at her and she was just smiling and waving. Why did she think this was a good idea?

“Are the fighters ready?” asked the judge, and everyone got quiet.

“Ready,” Beatrice yelled. Bart turned and looked at her and she was standing straight up with her hands on her hips. She didn’t look ready. Then again, she probably wasn’t taking Bart seriously. Just then, he caught a glimpse of Charlotte standing behind Beatrice. She was still with Leo, but the look on her face wasn’t that happy. She looked concerned and Bart knew why. He was about to face off with some wielding battle champion and Charlotte was probably worried that he was going to get pummeled.

“Bartholomew, are you ready?” asked the judge. Bart snapped back to focus and shook his head yes. He had to put up some kind of fight. Losing seemed to be inevitable but Bart wasn’t about to go down without proving he wasn’t someone to be walked over. The judge placed his hand high above his head. Bart looked at Beatrice and she still hadn’t budged from her last position. He figured he would take advantage and use the wind to knock her off balance. It was the best shot he had. As soon as the judge’s hand dropped Bart pushed both hands towards the champ while focusing everything he had on the wind. Feeling more comfortable with the wind every time he used it, Bart knew it would come quickly to his aid and it did. He felt it pick up speed as it closed in on Beatrice who still hadn’t moved. Yet at the last second, she did some kind of ninja front flip and simultaneously Bart felt the wind hit him in the chest. As he was flying backwards he tried to think about what happened. He didn’t see her do anything besides flip but whatever she did it worked. Bart heard people laughing and others cheering which upset him a little. He was the butt of no one’s joke. After getting up as quickly as possible he saw the champion charging him. Thinking quickly, he decided to try the wind again. This time he shot his hands up and tried to bring the wind at her from a different angle. She must’ve known what he was doing because almost instantly, she reacted.

“Nice try, boy king,” she yelled as she created giant stones above her head protecting her from any attack from above. Bart knew if he brought the wind down against it, nothing would happen. So he split his hands and the wind bended to his will splitting in the air and coming down and around towards her from either side. Again, she was prepared. The ground around her shot up and connected with the stones. Then the stones and the ground turned to steel, creating a steel tunnel fortress that she continued to run through. The wind crashed into it and barely left a scratch. “Better, but not good enough,” she yelled as she closed in. Vines shot from the ground and grabbed both of Bart’s wrists and ankles. He couldn’t move. When he looked up it was too late. Beatrice planted her foot right in his chest at the same time, releasing the vines, sending Bart flying seven feet to his back. A loud “OOOOOO,” erupted from the crowd as Bart scrambled to his feet. He was starting to see why she was the champ. She saw everything he was doing and negated it. Something had to change. Beatrice was standing at a distance smiling at Bart and he instantly wanted to show her he wasn’t a loser. He was better than this and he was ready to prove it.

“Now or never Bart,” he said to himself. She began charging him with the smile still present on her face. “You want to play hardball,” Bart said. “Let’s play hardball.” He started charging her this time instead of resorting to the wind. Something else would have to do since the wind was too predictable. As the distance shrunk between the two competitors Bart realized he didn’t have a plan. This might not have been a good idea he thought to himself. Beatrice created wooden throwing stars and began launching them at Bart. It happened so quickly that Bart just reacted and everything changed. He raised his arm and thought shield and instantly a shield appeared on his arm deflecting all the throwing stars. Without pausing to think he continued charging and thought about a boomerang. Raising his other hand, the boomerang appeared and he threw it. Of course Beatrice dodged it but Bart saw the look of surprise on her face, which was a small victory for him. The distance was all but gone and Beatrice launched herself forward with the same kick as before. Bart, allowing himself to just react instead of over think, dropped to his knees and leaned back. He focused on water and the ground became muddy allowing him to slide under her flying kick. Continuing with his momentum Bart flipped up, spun around, and focused on the mud. Not even a second passed by before filthy, muddy water shot up and towards Beatrice. As Beatrice landed from her kick, she rolled, narrowly dodging the mud attack. She turned to face Bart and she smiled. This time Bart knew it wasn’t a smile indicating that this was too easy. Bart had earned a little respect. He could feel it. Now he wanted to prove he could take it further.

“Getting the hang of things?” Beatrice said.

“I’d say so,” Bart yelled back. The time for talking was over, however. He had to prove a point. He charged again, and this time he had a plan. He thought wind and put one hand in the air. The wind came in no time and shot upwards.

“You’ve tried this,” she said as the stones reappeared above her head. She started charging with stones protecting her again. Bart split the wind again and it crashed down to the ground and started roaring towards Beatrice on either side of her. “I don’t think you’re getting the hang of things,” she yelled as the ground formed the tunnel that saved her last time. When it turned to steel Bart smirked.

“Gotcha,” he said as he stopped the wind and turned his attention to the ground Beatrice was running on. He thought about water and the ground became extremely muddy causing her to slow down and almost get stuck. Now’s my chance Bart thought to himself and he pushed his hands out. The wind came whistling and flew by him and towards the helpless Beatrice. She didn’t have time to react and she had nowhere to go after trapping herself in her own creation. Bart had her. Then, right before the wind hit her, she sank into the mud. Bart’s face changed from a premature, triumphant smile to a shocked frown. “What?” he asked. Then, while he was still in awe, she leapt out of a hole that appeared in the ground right in front of him and landed right on top of him. She jabbed him one time in the chest and once and the face and before she could continue the judge called the match. The crowd erupted in cheers as she stood up. Bart continued to lie there completely baffled at how quickly his fortunes changed.

“You’re not bad,” Beatrice said extending her hand to help him up. Bart unenthusiastically took her hand and stood up.

“Still got a lot to learn,” he said dusting himself off and touching his sore face gently.

“You’ll be fine,” she whispered. “That mud trick was pretty clever. I can see you’ve got a strategist’s mind.” Bart didn’t know how to respond. He never thought of himself as a strategist. Everything he just did was mainly instinct. “Keep training, boy king. One day you might be able to give me a real challenge.” She smiled and walked over to some random guy and gave him a kiss. Bart just stood there as everyone slowly started going back to doing what they were doing. He saw Charlotte looking at him for a few more seconds before turning and walking away with Leo and disappearing in the crowd.

“That was pretty good for a rookie,” Benita said with a grin. Bart turned and smiled.

“Yeah well my face is telling me different,” he said still rubbing his cheek.

“Aw it’ll be okay,” she said softly placing her hand over his on his face. They awkwardly stared at each other for a few seconds before she took her hand away. “Anyway, good job,” she said trying to change the subject. “With a little more training, you could be pretty amazing.” Bart just nodded. He wanted to acknowledge what just happened, but before he could say anything something caught his eye. Two men were standing by King Claudius, and Bart immediately recognized them. He had trouble breathing for a quick second when he saw them. They were the two guys that Jason Phinnly had with him when he fended off Mafortian’s nameless brother. Without even saying anything to Benita, Bart started to walk over to the King. “Bart?” she asked. He kept walking without even a moment’s hesitation. He got over to the group just in time to hear some of the conversation.

“We have been tracking him since he re-entered Zathya. He has at least fifty soldiers with him, sir,” he heard one of the two guards say. Bart looked at the King who still hadn’t acknowledged Bart’s presence. Who was the “him” they were talking about? It had to be Angelo.

“How long do we have?” he said sounding more serious than Bart had ever heard him sound, even when he threatened Bart’s life. Benita came over and knew something was wrong the moment she looked at the King.

“What’s going on?” she asked softly.

“They will be here within the hour,” the other guard said. Claudius looked at Bart and they had a silent agreement that Bart knew what was going on. Angelo was coming for Bart.

“I hope you two can still fight,” Claudius said, looking at the two friends of Jason. They both nodded in the affirmative. Then the King turned to Bart.

“It has been a pleasure having you here with us for this extended time my friend but it’s time for you and Charlotte to leave.”

“I’m sorry but who will be here within the hour,” Benita asked trying to discover why everyone seemed so on edge.

“Wait, I can stay and help fight,” Bart said randomly feeling the urge to stay and help the village. He didn’t know why but talking with the King and being here for this celebration had made Bart more sympathetic towards him and these people. He actually liked this King. Claudius looked closely into Bart’s eyes before he spoke again.

“Maybe the girl was right,” he whispered barely loud enough for Bart to hear while giving Benita a quick glance.

“Excuse me?” Bart asked now confused. He looked back and forth between Benita and Claudius trying to decipher what that look was all about.

“I respect your decision, but I am afraid that I will have to decline your offer. Thalia, come take him to find his friend and Leo. Tell Leo that he must take them to the kingdom and then meet us at the other village. Benita, find your brother and your mother.” Thalia came up and grabbed Bart’s arm and pulled him away. Benita followed them instead of going to find her family. Bart couldn’t help but look back as the King gave more orders. He hoped everything would work out for him. He didn’t want to be responsible for another person’s life.