I was King ( English Version)

15.Henry

I had not recognized the face of my pursuer, I had run too fast for that. But he had been following me closely for quite a while. Inside I wanted to scream, why did they not just leave me alone, those guards.

Since I had run away, they began to distribute wanted posters everywhere. After this, I always kept myself covered under a hood, which naturally made me suspicious. The constant hunting was exhausting. Why couldn't I shake him off? I hid in a niche that offered me enough space, and took a deep breath. My tormentor ran on, past me, to the next crossing and stopped. He looked around frantically and shook his head. Then I caught a glimpse of his face for the first time. It was... "Alexan...", I shouted out, but my call was interrupted when someone put his hand over my mouth from behind. I struggled desperately and tried to break free. In vain. The strong stranger pulled me behind him like a sack of potatoes. I stretched my arms towards Alex, pulled my hand from my mouth for a moment and called his name again. Then I only felt a dull pain in my head and lost consciousness.

When I woke up my skull was humming. It was dark and at first I could not see my fingers before my eyes. Still completely disorientated I tried to move, but I had to realize that both my legs and arms had been tied up. Why? How had I got here? To such a dark place. Slowly single fractions of my memories came to the surface. I was followed by a man... ...Alexander. He almost caught up with me, but I recognised him too late. Then a hand, I wanted to scream, something hit me hard. Suddenly it was all there again. Every second of my escape and I realised what they were up to. They were holding me for ransom, that's why they took me. But how could they recognize me? My disguise was supposed to prevent anyone from discovering my true identity. My thoughts made me realize that Alex spotted me at once and recognized me. So there were gaps in my plan. "Shit," I cursed, softly, just to be on the safe side. I had no choice but to wait and see. Eventually someone would come for me and take the next step. And as if my thoughts had been a cue, a door opened that I hadn't noticed in the darkness.

Because of the blinding light, only two large shadows came in at first. The more corpulent of the two, I could have just called her fat, but now was not the time to think about it, I began to speak: 'Well, ... Wake up, little one?" I just growled insulted. "Oh... bad-tempered?... We have something for you that will lift your spirits in a moment," he laughed and as if it wasn't punishment enough to sit in here, the second person I could clearly identify as female handed me a bowl. "There! You must be hungry. ...so you can get away from the excellent castle cuisine. Sir Henry," she giggled mockingly. I couldn't make out exactly what she was putting before my feet but it seemed to be moving somehow. She straightened up, shook her long curly hair and seemed to want to walk again. "Hnt! Wn hnhmm ...", my mouth was closed by a gag and I was so angry that I pushed the bowl with the "food" away with my laced up feet. Laughing, she turned to me and slowly I got a glimpse of her face. Striking cheekbones, big nose and full lips, which were probably covered with too much colour. She didn't look like a kidnapper, but how would I know what such people look like. I wanted to yell at her, call her names and maybe hit her if I could just ... Her shrill voice took me out of my confused thoughts. "Does the fine boy want to know what is happening to him? You do not seem very bright to me. You're fifteen... ...aren't you? She patted my head and took the bandage off my mouth. Disgusted, I spat out the gag. "Sixteen, damn it! And in a dark room, it is not easy to be light. What the hell do they think they're doing. . . Besides, I'm not worth anything to the lord of the castle, he wouldn't spend a cruiser on me," I remarked sarcastically, although I knew about the wanted posters. No idea where this courage came from, or was it just disrespect? Me? Towards women? Where had my manners gone? This situation was clearly beyond me, as a spoiled king's son I had no idea about the rough everyday life of life. "So, cheeky, eh? You can tell us many things...no matter, as soon as we collect the ransom, you'll be back at the castle anyway," she said casually, while a twitch played around the corner of her mouth. She seemed to laugh. "Back to the castle! Never... never! Not in a thousand, no not in a million years," I complained loudly and I sounded like the hot-headed little child I was. Anger rose up inside me. They were going to trade me in for that ridiculous prize money? Those rascals! But in view of the situation I found myself in, fearing for food, not knowing where to sleep, having to steal so as not to starve and the bad conscience ... . Money was so powerful, I now experienced this for myself. As soon as you possessed some, it immediately made life easier. My anger could not even really aim, it had already fizzled out again. That is why I had to think of a different plan. I didn't get anywhere like that. Maybe she let me seduce her? She thought I was cute and I, she was not badly built. Sorry, that was a bit tactless.

Once again, she pulled me out of my thoughts. "You'll have to wait a while longer. Don't even think about running away. Forget it... I'll watch over you 24 hours a day, my dear." Ha! I knew it. She used her shoe to push the bowl back in. "Meal, you shouldn't be so wasteful with your food," she turned on her heel and followed her mate out of the room. The door fell shut and I screamed my frustration into the darkness. Until finally I had no voice left and tears were streaming down my face. I felt uneasy, hunger, tiredness and uncertainty about the future brought me to the limits of my sanity. To avoid fantasizing, I turned my attention to the ropes they had tied around me. They were strong ropes that had been knotted together very expertly. It was impossible to rub through them, I lacked the right tools and the strength. But I did not give up, I wanted to get rid of at least one of the shackles. As I now bent on the ground to get to my feet, I heard voices raised from outside. "Are you forsaken of all good spirits? You want the king's son to be tracked down? You? ... I am not laughing," the man roared. It was not "Fetti" who was with me earlier. "Master... ...it's him... ...for sure. He looks just as handsome as in the picture on the wanted poster. Well... except for the hair, but that's obvious. Wigs are worn at the castle." That was the woman's voice. A little ray of hope opened up. So you weren't at all sure I was the right man? I grinned, I'd just come up with a foolproof plan that there was no way I was going to be brought back.

I waited anxiously to see if and how it would work. For the last few minutes I had been rolling around in the whole room, trying to stick as much dirt as possible on my clothes. Although all my joints were now aching and I had got a scratch on my knee, my goal had been reached. It did not take long before the door swung open and three people approached me. As my eyes were now used to the darkness, I recognized the stranger as a slim person, not very tall with short hair and a little beard. The man leaned closer to me to take a closer look at me and I tried hard to stare at the ground. Impatiently he pulled me up by my collar and hissed: "You? ... You are the King's son?" His little eyes really pierced me. I would have loved to spit in his face, but I had already prepared myself something. "Royal child"? Is that who you're looking for? I looked at him with a frightened, innocent look. "Well... ...yes, quite. Do you go by the name of Henry Morchester?" he wanted to know. Not a sound came from my lips. How stupid he thought I was. But he might misinterpret my silence. So I stammered, "Morchester? "Henry... I don't know. ... Or do I? ... Wait... ...isn't that the eldest son of the royal family?" A bewildered look struck me and the pretty lady behind him was about to make a loud noise. But a raised finger silenced her instantly. "Don't play the fool, ...farm boy. Where do you come from?" he asked with eyes too squeezed. "l... I'm from the neighbouring village and am looking for work here. Our family is large and there are many hungry mouths to feed. Mother is ill and father ..." "Hush... why should I care about your family?" He was still skeptical. "What's your name", he drove at me and I answered like a shot: "Gilbert... Gilbert Morrow!" For a moment, he moved his mouth. Did I really convince him? Were these people really that stupid? "He is not... see what he looks like. Three days don't make a nobleman a dirty stable boy, these stuck-up bourgeois would never stoop to that," he whispered into my ear and pulled my shirt collar even harder. "But! ... He was just ...", the woman interfered again and was interrupted once more. "Shut your impertinent mouth at last!" he hissed annoyed and pushed me away. "But nothing. "But that..." he pointed his finger at me. "He's just a normal kid. In disbelief she looked past him and since the "Boss" was now standing with his back to me, I gave her a pert grin and pursed my lips to a kissing mouth. How brave! ... Her eyes narrowed to narrow slits and I noticed how she was cooking inside. But the respect, or the fear of the bearded one kept her silent. "You stupid brat... all just wishful thinking." He patted her cheek and that seemed to settle the matter for now. But I did not know what they wanted with me, since I was not the prince they first thought I was.

Pfuhh, the longest chapter so far (I think), thanks for reading^^