“Promise?” he pleaded.
Jeremiah kissed his forehead and hugged him close. “Yes, I promise. I love you, son. Mike is out in the common room. He’ll stay with you until I return. Be good and mind your uncle.”
“I’ll try,” he replied with a faint, coy smile.
The king laughed softly. “You’d better do more than try, boy. Mike’s temper is shorter than mine!”
“I seriously doubt that,” he teased.
“Hey! Watch it, boy!” he laughed, tickling him.
After another kiss, his father patted his knee and stood. “All right. I need to get going. I love you.”
“I love you, too, Dad. Be careful!” he called as the king left the room with a reassuring smile.
Xavier couldn’t get back to sleep after his father’s visit and simply lay in bed staring at the ceiling. Finally, he stood, gathered clean clothes, and padded into the common room. He found Spencer sitting on the couch, staring into the flickering flames, drinking tea. He turned the moment Xavier entered the room.
“You’re up early,” he noted simply.
“Yeah. I couldn’t get back to sleep. So, I figured I might as well take a shower and get dressed. Where’s the bathroom?”
“Come on. I’ll show you. I need to shave anyway,” his uncle replied, grabbing a night satchel and his cane.
The showers in the adult lavatory were much nicer than the children’s. Each showerhead had its own stall and curtain, providing a lot of privacy. After he showered and dressed, he watched his uncle finish shaving and splash aftershave on his jaw.
Spencer glanced at him and smiled. “You better brush your teeth.” He motioned toward the sink beside him before packing up his razor and toiletries back into his leather pouch. “While your father’s gone, I have a couple of ground rules. First, your studies are a priority. I don’t want your studies to be neglected and suffer in his absence.”
“They won’t,” he gurgled out past the foamy toothpaste.
His uncle gave him an amused glance. “Well, I’m afraid I’m going to need more reassurance than that, nephew. Your father would skin me alive if I let you slack off. So, after classes each day you are to report back to the chambers to do your homework before dinner. I don’t want you saving it to the last minute. Secondly, since your bedtime is precisely at ten o’clock, you are to be back in the royal chambers by no later than nine-thirty. Understand?”
Xavier rinsed his mouth and looked up at his uncle. “Geez, Uncle Mike. Take it easy. Can’t I just…”
“This is not a negotiation,” his uncle interrupted, meeting his eyes unwaveringly.
“But, I’m not a little kid! I told you my studies wouldn’t suffer, and I meant it. My word should be enough.”
“No, Xavier. Your word doesn’t stand for much when you do things like you did yesterday morning. With that said, this is not a negotiation!” he barked.
“Yes, sir,” he mumbled and sulked.
Later at breakfast, Courtney entered the Grand Hall with his mother hovering over him spouting warnings.
“Now Courtney, don’t overdo it today. Take it easy. All your teachers know that you’re not to participate in any strenuous activities.”
“All right, Mom,” he groaned dismissively.
“I mean it, Courtney Hardcastle! Do not overexert yourself today, or you’ll wish you were in that river again!” she snapped.
“I already do,” he muttered.
“What did you say, young man?” his mother asked, grabbing him and spinning him to face her.
“I said okay, Mom! Geez!” he snapped. Annoyed, Court stomped over to Xavier. “Hey, mate! Can I sit with you? No offense to my mother, but I’ve had about as much of her smothering as I can take. I swear, I think I’m going to blow!”
Xavier chuckled appreciatively and motioned to the chair next to him. “No problem. So, I guess you didn’t have water intoxication.”
“Nah.” He dismissed it with a shrug as he sank a fork into his eggs.
“Good morning, Courtney. How are you feeling?” Lana asked with a smile as she settled into the seat on the other side of Xavier.
“I feel great,” he answered. “Though I think my mom has gone barmy.”
Lana laughed. “Well, just give her some time. She nearly lost you to that river,” she noted quietly.
Court glanced sideways at Xavier and muttered, “Nah. It wasn’t that bad.”
Xavier’s face exploded with heat, and he stared fixedly at his plate and toyed with his food. It had been that bad. Court had died. He had stopped breathing, and Ephraim had to resuscitate him.
Lana’s arm slide around his shoulders and gave him a reassuring squeeze. “Don’t, sweetheart. Don’t do that. It wasn’t your fault…”
“You know something?” he whispered before glaring at the woman next to him and growling, “I’m freaking sick of hearing people say that when everyone knows it’s a damn lie! It was my fault, Lana. I didn’t fall into the river. I jumped into it. What if…what if…”
He couldn’t finish. He stood abruptly and left the hall.
Spencer rose to go after him, but Lana’s hand on his arm stopped him, and she followed Xavier instead. She found him in the Royal Chambers lying face down on his bed, his body shuddering in silent sobs. Her heart ached for this motherless boy who had been thrust into a strange world of fantastic powers and dangerous enemies. He had lived through so much, had seen too much, and was carrying too much guilt. Her mothering instincts surged to life, and she crossed the room and pulled the weeping boy into her arms.
“Shhh. It’s okay, baby. Everything will be okay,” she soothed, stroking his head, neck, and shoulders.
Lana’s warm embrace and gentle words were Xavier’s undoing, and the dam holding back his grief, guilt, and fear burst. He slumped against the woman holding him, surrendering. She held him like a mother would hold a son, and it only made him cry harder. What he wouldn’t give for Lana to be his new mother. In that moment he wanted it so strongly it hurt. Finally, after several long minutes, his tears began to wane, and he snuggled farther into her arms, hiccupping.
“Feeling better?” she murmured, kissing the top of his head.
He nodded, suddenly feeling embarrassed. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to…”
“Oh, sweetie. Don’t worry about it,” she interrupted, releasing him to wipe the tears from his cheeks. “I know you feel guilty about Court, and I’m not going to try to tell you that you had nothing to do with it. But, I stand by what I said earlier. No one event can ever be the result of just one person. It’s too simplistic to think like that. Court chose to go into the restricted areas of the mountain. Beckley encouraged all of you to find the river. Yes, you may have intentionally jumped into that river, but so did Courtney. So, yes you had a hand in what happened that day, but so did all the other boys there. But, sweetie, lingering on what might have been or what could have happened isn’t good for you. It doesn’t change anything or make things better. It only makes things worse. What you can do is learn from the experience and not repeat the same mistakes.”
Xavier nodded. He felt better. Lana hadn’t tried to lie to him and insist that he had no fault whatsoever just to make him feel better. Nonetheless, her tone, her words, her warm embrace were comforting.
“Now, I think you should go and wash your face, honey. Your first class starts in ten minutes,” she suggested, kissing his forehead.
“Yes, ma’am,” he whispered hoarsely before giving her a bashful grin and doing as she suggested.
Chapter 17
The Make Up
Xavier arrived in Latin just as Sir Spencer began the class.
“Good morning, students. I’ll be covering King Wells’ classes for the next couple of days while he’s away from the mountain. So, if you’ll open your textbooks to page 276, we’ll get started.”
“Psst! Xavier!” Beck whispered from the seat diagonally from him. “Got great news. Jon Moore, captain of the Knights, said h
e could probably round up most of his team for a match. What do you say? Wanna play?”
“Yeah, definitely! When?” he responded.
“Before dinner. At 4:30,” he told him.
“Okay, I’ll be there!” Xavier grinned.
“Boys!” Spencer barked from the front of the room. “Would you kindly focus on the lesson?”
“Yes, sir. Sorry, Sir Spencer,” the boys mumbled together.
Finally, after the last class of the day, Xavier raced out of the gymnasium, nearly knocking Lana over.
“Whoa, Xavier! What’s the hurry?” she asked, steadying him.
“Sorry, Lana.”
“That’s all right, sweetie. Are we still eating together at dinner?” she asked, stroking a lock of hair from his eyes.
“Yes, ma’am. I’d like that!” he said with a grin.
“Good. I’ll see you then.”
“Ok. See ya!” he called as he ran down the hall and into the stairway.
He took the steps two at a time and paused uncertainly at the entrance to the garden level. There were two passages at the top of the steps, but judging by the excited voices floating from the passage on the right, the rugby pitch had to be there. He hurried down the hall and out onto a full-size rugby field. The majority of the Knights’ team was already there, but only he, Garrett, and Harry were present from his team.
“Hey, Garrett! Harry! Where is everybody? It’s almost 4:30!” he asked, jogging over to the two boys.
“Well, when Beck saw Jon really did have most of his team, he took off to recruit the rest of…ah, finally, here he comes!” Garrett exclaimed with a sigh of relief.
Beck and ten other children strolled across the pitch with serious, combative faces.
Xavier grinned at Garrett and Harry. “Well, it looks like we’re good to go now!” When he turned back to the approaching group, his eyes locked with Robbie’s. A sweet heated sensation rushed through his body, and his stomach fluttered madly. He found himself fidgeting and shifting under her hypnotic stare.
“God, Wilson! My grandmother moves faster than you! Are you ready now?” Jon bellowed impatiently from across the field.
“Keep your panties on, Jon, and give us a bloody minute to organize ourselves,” Beck spat at the other boy before turning to Xavier. “Good to see you made it! I figured Spencer would have you locked away in the Royal Chambers practicing telepathy or something kingly like that!”
“Well, I’m supposed to be doing my homework…”
“Hey, guys. Wait! I want to play!” Court bellowed.
“Hardcastle! How in the heck did you get away from your mother?” Garrett demanded as Court joined them.
“I told her I was tired and I was going to lie down for a bit before dinner. She took the hint and left me alone to do her errands and chores,” he explained with a wicked grin.
“So, you’re completely better now?” Erica asked eying him.
Court looked at her, puzzled. “Ah, yeah. Why?”
Suddenly, she launched herself at him, tackling him to the ground. “You jerk! You…idiot!” she screamed and punched him repeatedly. “If you ever do that again…your parents won’t have to worry about a burial because when I’m done with you, there won’t be a bit of you big enough left to bury! Don’t you ever scare me like that again!”
“Ouch! God, Erica! Ouch! Stop it! Geez, have you gone completely barmy?” Court yelled out in between laughs. The rest of the group chuckled.
“Erica? Could you finish beating him up after the game? We may need him to help pound the Knights into the turf!” Beck interrupted, hauling Erica off of Courtney.
Erica embarrassedly brushed the dirt off her jeans. “Sure, Beck,” she answered, trying to sound nonchalant but failing. She glared back at Court. “This isn’t over, Courtney Aaron Hardcastle! Not even close!”
Then she stormed across the field to get into position for the start of the game.
Court beamed as he watched her walk away. “She’s crazy about me!”
But Xavier hardly heard him for he was captivated by Robbie’s broad grin, and when her dark, ebony eyes met his, he was paralyzed to the spot. He couldn’t have looked away even if he had wanted to. Finally, it was Beck who pulled his attention back with a firm slug on the arm.
“Ow!” Xavier growled, tearing his gaze from Robbie to look at Beck. “Whatcha’ do that for?”
“For the third time, Your Highness, get into position so we can start the bloody game before Jon throws a temper tantrum,” he snapped as he squared his shoulders and stood inches in front of Xavier. His face flushed with anger, his hands flexed into fists, and his thoughts slammed into Xavier’s head like a punch. “Get your head in the game and off my girl before I beat the shit out of you!”
“I…I’m sorry…I wasn’t…I…sorry.” Xavier blushed and shuffled off into position.
The Knights received the ball first and scored almost immediately making it clear to Xavier and his friends that the game was going to be a tough one. The Knights weren’t just going to roll over and hand them the ball. After a few encouraging words from Beck that sounded more like a verbal spanking, Xavier’s team prepared to receive the kick off. The ball barreled straight at Xavier. He caught it and moved quickly toward the center of the field, dodging players, and spinning out of his opponent’s grasp, but halfway down the field, several Knights players surrounded him. He spun and tossed the ball to Garrett just as the group mowed him to the ground. Garrett zigzagged through the remaining Knights’ players and scored the try. Cheers and banters erupted from the rest of the team. As Xavier climbed to his feet, he watched everyone thump Garrett on the back, sending him staggering between them like a ping-pong ball. Then, his eyes met Robbie’s. She was laughing, and for the first time in a long time, when she looked at him, her smile didn’t fade. He was left breathless.
The children ended the game five minutes before dinnertime, and Xavier’s team won by just three points. The group celebrated by cheering and boasting about the spectacular game.
“Man! It’s too bad we couldn’t start up the spring season here. We’d win the Wells Cup for sure!” Garrett boasted.
“You know it!” Beck bellowed, draping an arm possessively around Robbie’s shoulders. “Awesome goal, Minnows. I didn’t know you could kick like that!” Then, surprising everyone, he kissed her squarely on the lips. Xavier went red and quickly looked away while the rest of the group unmercifully taunted and teased the couple.
Then Court turned to Xavier. “We should see if we could play the other teams! What do you think?”
“Sure,” he mumbled not really listening. He was eavesdropping on Beck and Robbie who were now in a quiet, intense conversation.
“Beck, I need to talk to you,” Robbie was saying.
“Can’t it wait? It’s dinner time,” Beck responded.
“No, I really need to do this now. I might not have the courage later,” she told him quietly.
He gave her a long look before nodding. Then, he looked at the group. “Hey, guys. Robbie and I will catch up with you at dinner.”
Garrett’s eyes widened mocking innocence. “You want some company?”
Beck grinned devilishly. “Absolutely not! Robbie wants to be alone with me.”
The group watched Beck and Robbie leave before bursting into laughter.
“Yeah, sure! I bet they’re going off to just talk…most likely, they’re going off to do some body talking,” Harry goaded as he mimicked kissing to the rest of the giggling group.
Garrett gave Harry a high five and laughed. “You know it, mate!”
The group burst into laughter, eyeing one another knowingly, but Xavier felt as if he was about to be sick. Watching Robbie leave with Beck’s arm around her waist was downright agonizing.
“I’m going down for dinner. See you later,” he muttered, trying to sound off-handed and relaxed, but he knew he had failed miserably as he walked off the field and into the corridor.
Momen
ts later, Court, Garrett, and Erica caught up with him. The trio walked beside him in silence for several drawn out seconds.
Finally, Garrett spoke. “Sorry, Xavier. I wasn’t thinking. I know you have a thing for Robbie, but so does Beck. He really likes her. I mean, whenever we’re alone and he’s not clowning around, she’s all he talks about. And…after you guys fought over her…well, he was really worried. He doesn’t want to betray you, but he doesn’t want to give up Robbie either.” Garrett hesitated as he carefully considered his next words. “Although he figures he’s already lost her, especially after that letter Drew read.”
“What? What do you mean?” Xavier questioned testily. “If she likes him, a stupid letter wouldn’t make a difference! Besides, she hates me!”
“That’s just it, Xavier,” Erica interrupted. “She doesn’t hate you! She likes Beck, but she doesn’t like him. She’s always liked…” She stopped suddenly and bit her lip as though she had said more than she was supposed to, and the boys stared at her.
“She likes who?” Court asked.
Erica’s chin jutted out stubbornly. “I can’t tell you. I promised.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Xavier mumbled. “It’s not me. Even when she was talking to me, we were just friends. Beck is being an idiot if he thinks I could steal Robbie away from him.”
“You don’t get it; do you?” Court demanded, smacking the palm of his hand to his forehead in exasperation. “X, you still think you’re one of us, but you’re not! You’re much, much more, mate! You’re our prince, our future king! One day, you will have absolute power over all of us!”
“But I don’t want that…I never…”
“Look, Xavier! It doesn’t matter if you want it or not!” Court continued as they stepped out of the stairwell and into the Grand Hall corridor. “You have to see this from Beck’s point of view. He’s threatened by you! What kind of competition would he be if you decided to try to get Robbie for yourself? He’s only a citizen, a…a merchant. What chance would he have against the Prince of Warwood?”
“Oh, please,” Xavier sputtered. “Beck isn’t threatened by me! He’s the most confident person I know, next to Loren.”
The Prince of Warwood and The Sword of the Chosen (Book 3) Page 13