The Kings Personal Joker (boyxboy)

Chapter One Hundred and Seventy Five

[A/N] Sorry about the wait my darlings.... 

Because this chapter is so late there will (ideally) be another chapter tomorrow!

This is a transitionary chapter, I need to get certain things settled before a lot of things happen.

The servant I travelled with slept fast about half way into the carriage ride and continued to sleep with a slight snore and a whistle until we were finally moving out of the seemingly endless scatterings of trees and all their inhabitants, thick clusters of blackberry brambles and the occasional shadowy figures grazing past, perhaps a wild horse, deer or the occasional fox. 

At one time the carriage was forced to a stop as a sounder of boars crossed the path and made their deep grunting noises as they continued passed us unconcerned even with their younglings hurrying close to the bellies of their mothers who walked so quickly.

My now brother servant slept through it all and not a jolt in the road now the screech of a fox startled a twitch out of him.

I, on the other hand, could not sleep.

I could no longer visit or be visited by Natham or any of those I knew from the servants quarters, there would be no familiar faces here, the warmth of Demoesthenes was gone and every day I would be quietly aware that he was riding closer to his possible doom.

Arrows did not forgive flesh no matter their master, or swords besides. He would be heading towards an army that might just be four times the size of his and if all deployed at once, probably six. The vision this produced in my mind might haunt me in my sleep if I closed my eyes. To know that I would be helpless to protect him.

My stomach churned as I sat there, constantly peeking out of the  heavy hanging that behaved as a door to the carriage. 

Every glance allowed a sharply cold breeze inside the carriage, and as it grew steadily colder and colder I realised there must have been some kind of heating implement losing its flame somewhere within the carriage. I wondered whether that was normal.

The carriage ride was long, and as every hour dragged on I realised how large the palace grounds were, and how far we really were heading, the further we got the more nervous I felt.

The ground shifted to a gentler turf, where a steady scythe had kept the grasses close to ground, and moles and badgers were turned away.

When the carriage finally stopped the sun was beginning to rise again and the quiet of the night was slowly descending over the horizon along with the moon.

The presence of the coachman only occurred to me as he stepped down from the carriage. Whoever was working, like the horses, was working without complaint in the bitter cold of the night from evening until the morning came. And before I could even whisper a word of thanks they had already stepped off and away, long steps drawing toward the grand house that loomed ahead of us.

I sat there for a moment next my servant brother who woke up slowly and lazily, stretching and yawning.

"Good morning sir." I greeted him.

He scoffed, looking a little startled as I spoke first after the long silence. "No use for honorifics between us, I'm fair sure we're the same age..."

I nodded. "Then..."

"Alkimos."

"Nice to meet you." I extended a hand.

He shook it and leaned over me to lift up the drapes to see the coachman returning with an slightly robust looking man whose legs did not match his upper body, possibly due to a great deal of walking, and whose posture pushed out his belly, a sharp nose and haughty eyes were directed toward us immediately.