Descending from Ordinary

Chapter 5

"Waaait a second," Jace hummed out exaggeratedly. "We don't have to walk up all these stairs, do we?"

Ace looked down at the two boys, already a few steps up. The stairs on the steep mountain seemed to go on forever, although the castle didn't really seem that far away. Just thinking about all the walking he'd have to do made Jacob exhausted, but he knew that going and talking to the king was the likely only way he had any chance of getting home.

"Well, dipshit, unless you can fly, yes, you're walking up these stairs," Ace stated. "Or, stay here. I couldn't honestly care less."

"You're coming," Jacob grabbed Jace's arm, pulling him up the stairs with him. He barely wanted to go in that castle in the first place, but leaving Jace behind would feel like leaving his support behind. It was odd how attached he'd felt to Jace already, but his bubbly and friendly nature made it feel natural to feel that way. He was just someone he'd always want around.

Without protesting, Jace followed Jacob and Ace up the seemingly endless series of steps up until they finally reached the first set of gates securing the castle. The tall and thin silver gate bars were connected to the arc in the colossal stone wall that wrapped around the castle protectively. Two soldiers stood guard on either side of the gate, remaining stiff as Ace approached them. Jacob and Jace stayed behind a bit, but close enough to listen to the conversation.

"Stop," one of the guards stepped forward.

Ace held his hands up in surrender. "What the hell did you expect me to do? Walk clean through steel bars? I was obviously-"

"Name?" the guard asked, his voice practically monotone.

"Not important," Ace shrugged off the question before jabbing a thumb over his shoulder. "He's the important one here."

The guard looked behind Ace and examined Jacob from head to toe. Jacob could 100% feel the guard silently judging him, making him twitch uncomfortably in place. He wondered if they'd actually let someone dressed in...'regular' citizen clothes into the castle. If this place was anything like stories back home, the less fancy the clothes, the lower the social status, the less chances of getting into places like a castle.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer," Ace rolled his eyes. "Look, I came so he could talk to the king, not so some low-life old man could check him out. Or should I just send a complaint to the king and get an idiot fired?"

The other guard approached the group, raising an eyebrow. "What's going on here?"

"Look. He's from Earth," Ace stated simply, gesturing to Jacob behind him. "That should be enough."

"What?" Both the guards scanned over Jacob again. "Do we look like idiots to you?"

"Yes."

The second guard crossed his arms. "We'll need more than just a glance to be convinced that this boy is from Earth.

Ace rolled his eyes again with a heavy sigh. Damn soldiers. He turned to Jacob, spinning him around by the shoulders so his back was facing the guards.

"Wha—" Jacob started, caught off guard.

Feeling a cold finger on the back of his neck, Jacob's hand slapped over it instinctively as he turns back around. "See?" Ace said as Jacob looked at him, confused. The guard's eyes widened, sharing a glance with each other before turning back to him.

The first one nodded. "Oh! Sorry about that. We'll let him know he has a guest."

The two soldiers went back to the gate, one of them hollering something to the other side before returning back to their posts. Jacob studied Ace. "What the hell was that about?"