Royal Chaos

Chapter Four: King of the Lowborns

"So this morning, the king kissed you." Alana talked as she chopped tomatoes.

"Yes." Jared answered.

"Now," She paused to look at Jared. "You're telling me that Lord Connor, the highly respected lord of Raven Rock, the man betrothed to Lord Frein's youngest daughter, has kissed you?"

"Yeah... I know it sounds really fake, but I swear, I'm not lying." Jared replied, leaning in with wide eyes.

Alan sighed and continued cutting, "Is this like that time you swore to me that the pig I was planning on serving at the king's birthday was poisoned?"

"Well-"

"Or that time you swore my new kitchen hand was a spy for the rebel army?"

"Hey now-"

"Or that time you were convinced that you saw a dragon by Accitang Cave near the ocean?" Alana raised an eyebrow.

"I swear to you still, I saw a dragon that day." Jared frowned, his hands curling angrily into fists.

"Just as I told you that day, dragons have been extinct for two thousand years." Alana shook her head.

    "It's said that one day a Dragonborn will rise and the dragons will live once more!" Jared exclaimed, waving his hands. "It's foretold on the Rockstand Stone!"

    "Your mother must've read to you too many faerie tales as a kid." Alana huffed. "All of that is an old wives tale, no one knows the true the location of the Rockstand Stone, it probably is destroyed by now, if it even existed in the first place."

"All of this is beside the point!" Jared threw his arms up in frustration. "The point is, today I was kissed by two highborns! What am I supposed to do?"

Alana finished cutting the bunch of tomatoes and leaned against the counter, staring at Jared. "If I were you I'd be careful, one wrong move with this and your head could be on a stick, King Evan is already very cautious of Lord Connor, if he discovers what happened you could be labeled a traitor."

Jared gulped, "But Lord Connor hasn't been labeled a traitor yet."

"That's because he has the proper last name for it."

~~~

Jared scrubbed the floor of the king's bedroom. It had been a long time since he had done a deep cleaning, plus he had been trying to avoid Evan.

    Jared finally finally finished and set his rag into the bucket of water he had set out, when suddenly the door of the bedroom flung open, revealing the Queen Mother, Lady Heidi Hansen.

    "Forgive me, my lady, I was just scrubbing the room." Jared stood and bowed. "King Evan is in the throne room if you're looking for him."

     Heidi shook her head and gave Jared a small smile, "Your family has always been loyal to us, Jared."

    "Of course, my lady." Jared nodded.

    "Would you do anything for your king?" She asked.

    "Of course, my lady." Jared replied.

     "Kill for him?" She clasped her hands together.

    "Of course, my lady." Jared shifted to his other foot.

     "Die for him?"

     Jared paused for a second, "Of course, my lady."

    "Perfect, then I have a task for you, Jared." She smiled at him and then sat on the bed, patting the space next to her. Jared hesitated then set himself down on the bed. "I have reason to believe Lord Murphy is leaking out Evan's secrets to his sister. I want you to monitor him, to make sure he isn't a spy. Do you understand?"

    "Yes, my lady, but how do you want me-"

    "Get close to him, do what you wish, as long as it's in the name of the king you won't get in trouble." She assured. "Understand?"

    "Yes, my lady." Jared replied.

    "Good." With that, she got up and left the room, giving Jared a small smile as she exited.

~~~

    Jared served Connor dinner in the library, as Evan was alone in his study and requested his dinner be brought up later.

    "Tell me, does a stable boy like you clean his hands of horse shit before touching the food?" Connor asked nonchalantly.

     "I'm not a stable boy, I'm a steward." Jared corrected. "I don't mind the horses."

     "If I were anyone else, you'd be punished for not referring to me by my title." Connor commented.

    "If you were anyone else, I would've called you 'my lord'." Jared shrugged, stepping back as Connor began to eat.

     "Smart boy." Connor munched on a turkey leg. "Smart boys get killed."

    "I would say idiotic boys get killed twice as much, wouldn't you?" Jared tapped his fingers on his waist.

    "Ignorance is bliss, ignorance is what keeps you out of trouble." Connor watched Jared carefully. "Ignorance is strength."

    "If you really believed that you wouldn't have arrived here swinging your sword at the king." Jared rolled his eyes.

    "I believe it, I just don't follow it." Connor told him.

     "Smart." Jared chuckled. "So you're not ignorant, then what do you think?"

    Connor leaned back in his chair, "You want to know what I think?" He paused, "I think the kingdom is in ruins because of the king's inability to understand his people."

    Jared froze, "That could be considered-"

    "Treason?" Connor finished for him. "Perhaps. But I don't think the king should be over thrown, I just think he should be taught a few things." Connor's eyes sparkled. "Just like some simple stable boys should."

~~~

    Later that night, Jared had to go do the thing he had been avoiding all day, see Evan. Just as Evan needed to be dressed in the morning, he needed to be undressed at night.

    Jared arrived at the boy's chambers and hesitated before taking a deep breath and walking in.

    He was met with the sight of Lord Connor and King Evan making out on the bed. Immediately, Jared turned around to exit but froze when he heard Connor's strong voice.

    "Stop."

    Jared stood as still as a statue, waiting for the inevitable smack for coming in unexpected or even a sentence to the torture chamber for him to forget what he saw.

    "Come here, Jared." Evan's soft voice sounded, and Jared melted, sheepishly turning around to face them before shuffling over to the bed.

    There was a pause as the two boys studied him, then Connor grabbed him and pressed their lips together. Behind him he felt Evan begin to press kisses to his neck.

    "You're wonderful." Evan whispered.

    He was wonderful.