The Runaway Prince

Chapter 5

"30 days,2 hours,and 12 minutes...that must be how long we've been in here,"Alex paced around restlessly as he tried to solve the pieces of the riddle.Cody,looking completely uninterested, sat on the floor drawing pictures of flowers in the dust left on the floor. Alex stopped pacing and turned to face Cody. "What are you doing? You're supposed to be helping me. And of all the things you would draw,I have to ask...flowers...really?"
"I like flowers ok? Since when was that a crime?"Alex sighed and went back to his thinking process,"So, we've been in here for 30 da..."Alex lost his thought process as the sound of Cody's fingers on the ground bothered him," 30 da....(pause)...2 hours and...will you cut that out!! I'm trying to focus here!" Cody stood up out of frustration and yelled," Look, I've been trapped in here for what feels like forever...which,might not be far from the truth...and as far as I'm concerned, I'm bored out of my mind!!! I don't have the "genius" brain that you do to figure things out, so until we do, I'm just going to sit here, sulk, and draw flowers in the dust! If you have a problem with that, tell me how I can help already!!"
  Alex remained silent, he didn't think the argument was worth fighting. Cody sat back down and began fidgeting with a small leather bracelet. The bracelet had a beautiful dark brown color with a gold lining and flower design imprinted around it. Alex looked at the flower Cody had drawn in the dirt, and noticed it was the same one as on the bracelet wrapped on his wrist. "Where did you get that? It's very beautiful," he asked curiously. Cody looked up for a second before lowering his head again,"Oh...my father made it for me."
  " Your father made bracelets?"
  " No, he trained horses, and made their equipment by hand himself. He made this bracelet from the reins of one of them."
  " Really?Wow. So, was there a specific breed he trained or..."
  " Yes...you see, my father worked for the king of our kingdom. He was in charge of training only the finest animals they could find. They were all stallions, specifically bread to be the fastest, strongest, most loyal and obedient war horses in the world. Though I lived with my father, I only got to see one of them once...it was the most beautiful creature I'd ever seen!"
  Alex stared at Cody in awe, he never would have expected his family to be so...interesting. "Wow, that's really cool! You know, I think I've heard about those horses, aren't they one of the rarest breeds to find?"
  "They should be, they were only made for the royal family. Last I checked, there's only one king and queen for each kingdom."
  " That's truly amazing! So...is that why you like flowers so much?"
  " Yes, the flowers on the reins were a special design only those horses in my kingdom wore. I was very proud of my fathers job, I loved those horses very much, ever since I laid eyes on one."
  " Geez, you make it sound like you married it," Alex laughed. Cody rolled his eyes and said," You just can't take anything seriously can you?"
  "I can when I'm trying to focus, so please...do me a favor and keep it down ok?"

                                                                                                   ***

  Cody and Alex aimlessly walked the halls of the castle, of course, there still wasn't much to see. " Same plain gray walls, same dull dusty ground..." Alex's stomach growled as he stopped in the middle of the hall," and a very hungry tummy." Cody stopped to stare at Alex," Do you always start pointing out useless stuff when you're bored?"
  " Always? How would you know if I always do that? I've only known you for a few hours."
  "Actually...according to our situation, I've probably known you for..."
  "Whatever, we don't need to be logical...not that there is any logic in this place."Cody completely ignored his sudden interruption and went back to their original topic," I could overhear you talking to yourself not long before I met you...you're very loud. That's why I went looking for someone...who unfortunately turned out to be you."
  Alex dragged his feet in the dirt as he started walking again," Oh come on, I'm not that bad of company am I? Hey...you wouldn't know where we can find food do you?"
  "I have no idea..."Cody admitted defeatedly. They continued walking down their path as the air in the room slowly began heating up. Suddenly, Alex's foot was dragged down into some very loose sand that connected to the hallway. When he looked up, he saw a huge dessert stretching for many miles. In the center, was something that looked kind of like a city...but he couldn't tell.
  " Wow, this place kind of reminds me of Egypt." Alex looked at Cody who stared dumb founded at the scenery,"Could it really be?" Alex was confused and asked,"Could what be?"
   Cody smiled so much Alex was afraid his head might pop off from his excitement. Tears streamed down his face out of joy,"Home!" He yelled.