Double Date

"Please tell me," Thomas asked.

"Alright," Jameson sighed. "It all started with a single spear."

Sixteen years ago...

On a marble stage in Draken Capital, the most famous city in all of the Acrin Kingdom, Jameson stood over his fallen opponent - blood dripping from his arms and face. His sweaty chest heaved up and down. One arm was wrapped around his spear while the other was a fist raised in the air. The crowd of well over a thousand people all cheered his name: "Ja-me-son. Ja-me-son. Ja-me-son."

"And the winner of the national commoner's knight tournament is Jameson!" The announcer's voice boomed throughout the crowd. "He has won the dragon's spear. It is one of the four master weapons made by no other than the famous Dwarven blacksmith, Kilot."

A beautiful woman walked on stage. In her arms was the very spear. Its golden glint reflected the sun into all that looked into it. Jameson accepted the spear and used it as a crutch to limp off stage. A very young master Reginald helped him walk, not minding that he got Jameson's blood on his shirt. "Good job, you did it!" he praised.

"Woooo." Jameson barely had the strength to walk. "You know what Reginald; I wasn't happy about the outcome of this match."

"What are you talking about?" Reginald signaled a servant to hold the spear for Jameson. "You won, what is there to complain about?"

"I killed him." Jameson looked back at the corpse of his opponent. The dead man's family and friends were gathered around him and crying. "I didn't hate him or anything, we were just in each other's way. I've killed so many people, but this is the first time I've felt an opponent doesn't deserve to die. It's...strange."

"That strange feeling," a healer walked up, her white robe fluttering in the wind. "Is blood loss." She put her hand to his chest. He felt a warm feeling wherever the light emanating from her hands touched. The wound slowly closed. She frowned: "There's a lot of damage, it's surprising you're still conscious."

"I don't know how I'm alive either." Jameson sat against the Colosseum's wall. "Reginald, you can have the spear if you want. It's a little too flashy for me."

"Nonsense, you earned it. You've made me look good in the eyes of my father." Reginald dismissed his plea. "I'll hold onto it for you until you find a purpose for it. If not for the spear, what did you enter the competition for?"

"To prove that I was better." Jameson whispered right before he passed out.

...

"Why are you telling about the tournament?" Thomas asked. "I don't see how this has to do with anything."

"I'm getting to it. Be patient damn it." Jameson hit Thomas with the back of his spear.

"I'm sorry." Thomas held his hands up. "I'm just impatient because I've been waiting my whole life for this."

"Yeah, I get it, shut up. Now, where was I?" Jameson stared off into space and jogged through his memories.

"You just won a spear." Thomas reminded.

"That's right. Now I remember. I won a spear, and then I slept a few days to heal. When I woke up, your father wanted to celebrate."

...

"Let's celebrate!" Reginald had run into Jameson's room as soon as he heard his friend was awake. "Father rewarded me with a portion of the rose fields. I have a ton of money, so let's go do something. It'll be my treat."

Jameson groaned as he got out of bed, "I need Alcohol; lots and lots of alcohol. We're going to a bar, no objections"

"A bar huh?" Reginald lost some of his excitement. "We can do it, but I kind of need a disguise for that. Nobles aren't supposed to be at those kinds of places alone, and the commoners will react negatively."

...

"This doesn't sound anything like you two." Thomas interrupted for the second time. "Father never drinks alcohol anymore. I never pictured you having a drink either."

"This was a long time ago." Jameson poked Thomas with the pummel of his spear again. "And every inch of my body hurt a lot. I needed something to take my mind off it. So we went to a bar near Pedal Town. Reginald was in disguise, and I was wrapped in bandages. We got there, got a little tipsy, and then we saw something."

...

In the bar, there were only about ten wooden tables and chairs. At the front were the bar stools against the bar itself. Two beautiful women were seated there, surrounded by a bunch of drunk and horny men. Jameson and Reginald had tried their best to ignore them and have a good time. That all changed when Jameson heard a knife. He grabbed his pitcher of ale, downed it in one gulp, and made his way to the crowd. Reginald pulled him back.

"I'm coming with you. They've been pissing me off as well."

"You can't, what if you get hurt?" Jameson complained. "What if your father finds out about this?"

"He doesn't have to know." Reginald shrugged. The party of men were moving outside with the two women at the center. "Besides, you're hurt. You can't take them all on your own." He left gold on the counter and exited with Jameson.

Outside the bar, it was already dark. Usually, light crystals would light the way, but this particular city was poor. Torches flicked, sending long and small shadows against the dormant wooden shacks. The men moved into the alley next to the bar. Jameson didn't have his spear, but he had a dagger he always carried around with him. Reginald had stolen a steak knife.

The two women were kicking around, the men tore at their cloth-

Jameson decided to skip the part that had a bunch of hooligans ripping off Thomas's mother's clothes and nearly rape them.

"What are you two doing here?" One particularly brutish man asked.

"I'm here to kill you all." Jameson said. "Isn't that always how these situations go?"

"Not this time." the man rushed forward and punched, but only met air. Jameson's dagger tore through the man's throat. "Anyone else?" He let his silver life essence drift into the air.

"Nope!" the smartest goon ran away.

"Not me." the second smartest ran right after, followed by the rest of the gang.

"Thank you." one of the women said as they put their clothes back on. "Would you like to have a drink? I need a couple."

Jameson and Reginald looked at each other and smiled.

...

"That woman was Rena, Doevm's mother." Jameson said. "And the woman next to her, who was a little bit shyer, had a drink with Reginald. She was Emma. Your father and I both started our relationships at the same time. It was love at first sight. We kept in touch and had double dates for months. Reginald had to keep his relationship with Emma a secret, because his father, your grandfather, wouldn't allow a noble to date a commoner. I, on the other hand, was free to date Rena how I liked. We got together more and more often, but I realized something. She talked about her fun life and her simple joys. I had run out of things to talk about that didn't involve violent murder. I was just a killer who thought he could change if he stopped for a while. I broke it off and we both moved on."

"But you didn't realize Rena was pregnant?" Thomas asked.

Jameson shook his head: "She moved on pretty quick, although we were both devastated. I thought Doevm was Hank's and Rena's child. A few weeks after our breakup, I got word that Emma was pregnant with Reginald's child."

...

Inside of Jameson's room, where he just finished his daily training session.

"That's amazing." Jameson purposely hugged Reginald, who looked at the floor. Reginald didn't even react to the smell or that his clothes were now drenched in Jameson's sweat. "But why do you look so sad?"

"I can't keep it." Reginald cried. "A child between a noble and a commoner is a bastard. I told my father he's going to be a grandfather and he said I need to ditch her and my child. H-He's going to get them killed if I stay with them."

"That terrible." Jameson let go an looked his friend with a hint of mischief in his eyes. "But you can still raise the child."

"I don't like that look in your eyes." Reginald said. "But what do you have in mind?"

"Trust me, it'll be the perfect way to hide away from your father." he leaned in close and whispered the plan.

"You're crazy." Reginald laughed. "But that just might work. Father won't even notice a thing. He might even go along with it, but let's keep him in the dark about this."