The Prince & the Pauper

Chapter Six

"Niall?" the Queen called out. "Niall, love? Are you here?"

She walked into his empty bedroom and sighed softly to herself. Fitzgerald was right behind her; secretly smirking. "Where could he be," she huffed. "He missed breakfast. He never missed breakfast. . . that's his favourite meal of the day. I'm worried."

"Is that something on his desk, Your Majesty?"

The two headed over to his desk and the Queen picked up a piece of paper. After reading it, she gasped, tears filling in her eyes. "It says he's run away, so he wouldn't have to marry King Louis."

"Well this is just absolutely dreadful," Fitzgerald said, not sounding remorseful in the slightest.

"We have to find him," she cried out, "he could be hurt!"

"I'll send out search parties right away," Fitzgerald lied through his teeth. "I'm sure he couldn't have gotten far."

She nodded, tears slowly rolling down her cheeks. "Fitzgerald, what would I do without you?"

The Queen headed back to the ballroom, where the ambassador and King Louis were patiently waiting. Well, Louis was, the ambassador was pacing around and grumbling to himself, thinking how rude it was that the Queen excused herself in front of their presence. When she explained the situation; that only made the ambassador madder.

"This is an outrage! The most grievous insult!"

"I am sure we'll find him," the Queen added, smiling nervously.

"I insist that we cancel this wedding if the prince does not return by the end of the day!"

Zayn was also there, listening to the whole thing. He couldn't believe Niall decided to run away. . . that wasn't like him. He would have told Zayn about it first, wouldn't he? Something seemed suspicious.

"It doesn't add up," Zayn spoke up, shaking his head. "Why would he run away?"

"Why don't you see for yourself," Fitzgerald scoffed, handing over the letter.

Zayn grabbed it and read the message. It didn't even look like his handwriting. Something was definitely off.

"Sandalwood? Where did you find this?"

"On the prince's desk."

Zayn tried not to roll his eyes right there on the spot. This man was clearly up to something, but he didn't know what. He had to figure it out somehow. "Perhaps I can help you look for him."

"Why don't you stick to your books schoolboy," Fitzgerald snickered. "Wouldn't that be fun?"

He shook his head and walked away. Zayn frowned and mumbled to himself, "Sandalwood? He never scented his stationary with sandalwood. It was always pine."

***

Zayn decided to visit Madame Carp's bakery to get Harry's help. He needed to buy himself more time to investigate the situation and Harry was his only option. When Zayn walked in, Madame Carp greeted him immediately.

"Good afternoon sir, are you looking to buy our special of the day?" She looked at the menu behind her and squinted hard, as if she was trying to figure out what that special item was. "It's uh, it's-"

"Actually," Zayn interrupted. "I would like to speak to one of your bakers, Harry?"

She huffed and walked away. She pulled Harry in by the shirt and shoved him towards Zayn. "Make it snappy."

With that, she walked away. Harry noticed who it was and he grinned with every fiber in his bone. "I can't believe it! The prince sent for me!"

"Um, actually-"

"I'm going to sing at the castle. . . me!"

"I came because-"

"But I'm not ready," he frowned. "I have to rehearse. I better change my outfit, who am I kidding? This is the only good outfit I have! Wait, that's why you're here, right?"

"I'm sorry but no," Zayn smiled sadly. "The prince is missing and I need you to help me find him."

"Me?" Harry asked, confused. What could he do? He knew nothing about the prince. "What can I do?"

"Pretend to be Prince Niall."

Harry's mouth dropped open. He couldn't believe what he just heard. "Are you out of your mind?!"

"Just listen okay," Zayn sighed. "I suspect Fitzgerald, the Queen's advisor, has taken the prince off somewhere so the Royal Wedding will be cancelled."

"That's awful," Harry mumbled softly.

"So," Zayn continued. "If you pretend to be the prince, just for a short period of time, I can trick Fitzgerald into revealing where he's hiding her. I really need your help with this, it's for Niall. You've met him, you know how sweet and kind he is."

"Pretend to be royalty?" Harry frowned. "I don't know the first thing about being a royal. Not to mention that I could get thrown into prison, or worse!"

"As can I."

Things were silent between the two of them for a few moments. Harry sighed and ran a hand through his brown curls. "He's really in trouble, isn't he? Ugh, count me in."