Fateless

Chapter Two: Boxes of Dangerous Stuff

~Jon's POV~

As I hit the ground, I looked up at the suit of armor in horror, praying that it didn't fall and crush me. Instead, it teetered for a second and then turned around, a worried look appearing on the bearded face of the man inside the armor.

"Jon! Are you alright?" Nick asked as he bent down, reaching out a hand to help me up. I laughed and grabbed his hand, letting the strong male pull me up.

"I'm fine. I was actually hoping to run into you, but not exactly like this." I said. He chuckled as I checked my lute, making sure it hadn't been damaged when I fell. "Did you hear about the party from Nihl Dragdan?"

"Yeah," Nick replied, "Captain Frank told all of the knights about it this morning. He gave a long speech on how we were representing all of Nera and how it's important that we treat the visitors as if they were Nerelian royalty." He finished. I nodded.

"Mr. Bailey said something similar, though he made it sound a lot more threatening."

"How so?" Nick asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, he basically told me not to mess up or bother the guests at all and that if he thinks I'm misbehaving or embarrassing the kingdom he'll make me regret ever being born." I said nonchalantly, fiddling with the tuning strings on my lute through my thick orange gloves.

"Wow, and the others just let him talk to you like that?" Nick asked in surprise.

"I was kind of the only one there." I said nervously. Nick gave me a puzzled expression.

"What, why?"

I avoided his gaze, instead choosing to take extreme interest in his boots. "I may have been a little bit late."

Nick crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow at me. "How late, Jon?"

"About a half hour... or two."

"JON!" Nick shouted, "Of course he's gonna be angry if you show up an hour late to a meeting, what were you doing?"

"I lost track of time! I was practicing my lute in the woods and I got distracted!"

"Is that why you have a twig sticking out of your hair?" He asked. I nodded.

"Yes, and I really wish people would stop commenting on it. Could you get it out?" I said, patting the parts of my green hair that stuck out underneath my hat, trying to find the stick. Nick sighed.

"Sure, just hang on." He reached up and pulled a twig out of my hair then handed it to me. Unsure of what to do with it, I tossed it into a corner. Nick watched me do this with a bored expression on his face, but didn't make a comment.

"Thanks," I said, "so, where are you going? Do you have a secret mission to protect the king?" I asked with a gasp. Nick laughed.

"Hardly anything so exciting. No, I just needed to pick up some potions from the royal mage. Captain Frank wants us to restock our supplies before the party from Nihl Dragdan comes so we look prepared for anything."

"Ooh, could I come with you? I can help carry the potions!" I said eagerly. Nick looked at me skeptically. "I won't drop them this time, I promise!" I said which made Nick smile.

"Well, you're obviously not going to leave me alone no matter what I say, so you might as well help me. Plus, this way I can keep you out of trouble." He said. I pretended to give him an offended look.

"What? Trouble? Me? Never! Good sir, I am deeply hurt that you would even suggest such a thing!" I put a hand to my forehead dramatically. "How could you even think that I, Jonathon Jonathon, royal jester of Nera, would ever be associated with causing trouble!"