A Royal Proposition

"Separius, tell Cedric to enter the throne room now," commanded the king.

Separius exited the room and faced Cedric waiting outside. "Hey boy, the king wants to tell you something. Come inside quickly; I won't stay here for long. I have my own business to attend to," Separius said.

"Alright, sir prophet," Cedric replied, entering the room.

"Greetings, my king. What do you need? You called for me," Cedric asked.

"Ah, Cedric, I have a request for you," the king began.

"What is it, my king?" Cedric inquired.

"I need you to gather your men and head to the pinevale. Bring me an old acquaintance of mine and his son," the king instructed.

"Alright, my king. But may I ask who this old acquaintance of yours is?" Cedric wondered.

"Do you remember Robert? Take Robert and find out if he has a son. If he does, bring the son with you," the king replied.

"As far as I remember, Robert had no son back then," Cedric said.

"Yes, it's strange," the king admitted. "He and his wife were rumored to be childless. But never mind that, just get Robert here. I have business with his son. Gather your trusted men and go."

Cedric and his men quickly assembled and made their way to the pinevale. Upon arriving:

"Sir, that's the cabin where Robert and his wife live," one of the knights pointed out.

"Ah, yes, I remember now. Let's go," Cedric replied.

Cedric knocked on the wooden cabin's door.

"Who's there?" Lourdes, Robert's wife, asked. As she approached the door, she wondered if Robert had visitors or if their son, Aran, had brought friends over.

"Hello, ma'am. May I ask if Robert lives here?" a knight inquired.

"Yes, dear. I'm his wife, but what brings you here?" Lourdes replied.

"We need to speak with your husband. The king mentioned he has unfinished business with him," the knight explained.

"Robert isn't here at the moment; he's in the woods. But he'll be back soon. Would you like some coffee and cookies while you wait?" Lourdes offered.

"Yes, ma'am, we'd appreciate that. We're also hungry," Cedric replied with a smile.

As soon as they entered the home, the knights immediately struck up an amicable chat with Lourdes. When Robert got back to the cabin, the following occurred:

"Oh, Cedric, my old apprentice! It's good to see you. You've grown into a brave young man. It must be nice to be the commander of the knights now," Robert greeted him.

"Sir, I'm flattered, but you'll always be the best. May we talk privately?" Cedric asked.

"Yes, but what's the matter? Let's step outside," Robert suggested.

"Men, stay here. Sir Robert and I will talk outside. Enjoy yourselves," Cedric ordered.

Once outside, Cedric got straight to the point: "Sir, the king wishes to see you. We must take you and your son to the castle. Do you have a son?"

Robert sighed, "Yes, we have a son, Cedric. But may I know why the king wants to see him?"

Cedric explained, "It seems there's some concern at the castle. I don't have all the details, but the king appears to be upset. It's possible your son may be involved in something more significant than just a crime."

Enraged, Robert grabbed Cedric's collar and exclaimed, "Do you think my son is capable of such things? Do you think we're criminals?"

Cedric quickly tried to calm him down, "I'm sorry, sir. I was just relaying what I overheard. The king mentioned something more serious than a mere crime. But please, we must go to the castle for answers."

Robert, still upset, let go of Cedric, saying, "I must have overreacted. I just can't believe my son would do something like that. All right, Cedric, my son and I will go to the castle tomorrow. I want to speak with him first."

"Thank you, sir, for your cooperation," Cedric said. "We'll take our leave now."

Cedric shouted to his men, "Men, it's time to leave. Our business here is finished."

Later, Robert went up to the attic and said to his son, "Aran, are you here? Can we talk?"

"Yes, father. Come inside. I've been busy," Aran replied.

Robert, with concern in his voice, asked, "Aran, may I ask if you're involved in some shady things? What is it that you're doing? Is it some kind of witchcraft?"

"Look, son, I didn't raise you to be like this. I've trained you every day to be strong and to earn merit with the kingdom someday," Robert continued. "Look at me, son. I love you, and I'm not against what you want, even though I can't fully understand it or you. But for now, as a father who loves this family, this is the last day you'll be involved in these things, alright? Tomorrow morning, we'll go to the capital. There's some business there. Do you understand, Aran?"

Aran replied, "Yes, Father, I understand."

"Alright, Aran," Robert said, giving his son a reassuring hug. "As I've always told you, whatever you do, make it useful."

"Uhhh, dear, what's going on in there? Is there a problem with our boy?" Lourdes asked anxiously. "Is it about the knights earlier? Will they take my boy away from me? No, Robert, I don't want that," she cried, tears welling up in her eyes.

Robert approached her, trying to reassure her, "Don't worry, dear. They won't take our boy. I'll handle everything."

Lourdes held onto Robert tightly, relieved by his comforting words, but still anxious about the situation.

The next morning, in the beautiful city of Eldoria, two familiar individuals arrived at the capital.

"Oh, how I long for this atmosphere, the bustle of the market, and the chatter of the vendors! Robert stated that it brought back a lot of memories.

"But that's not why we're here," he said to clarify the situation further. "Let's get ready to go to the castle. We will remain here and wait for Cedric. While we are waiting, son, would you like to go shopping with me?

Aran's attention was drawn to something delectable in the bakery, and he whispered softly, "I want those."

Robert said with a chuckle, "So, you have a craving for sweets, just like your mother,"

"How much for those, sir?" Robert put the question to the baker.

"It costs 3 silver coins, sir."

Robert pondered the situation for a moment before responding, "I don't have that much money." Would you be willing to take my sword instead?

"No, Father, I'm fine," was the response that Aran gave.

"But it's what you want, son?"

Another child in the area spoke up and asked, "Sir, would you mind selling me that cake?" I'll buy it."

After purchasing the cake, the young man delivered the cake to Aran and stated, "Here, my friend, is the bread." I like it as well, but when I heard you were planning to sell your sword, I decided against it since I thought it would be a bad idea.

"We can't take it," Aran remarked. "We have no choice."

"Please accept it, my good friend. Just make sure to repay me when we next see each other.

"All well, then. I'll have it. I am grateful."

The two of them returned to their spot, and they soon saw Cedric arriving.

"Ah, you're here already, Sir Robert. Sorry, we're just a little late. There was some commotion on our way here," Cedric explained. "Come with us; the king is waiting."

They all made their way to the kingdom.

"I sure miss this place, Cedric. It feels nostalgic, brings back memories," Robert commented. "Oh, I remember this alley, boy. This is where you peed your pants back then."

"Haha, okay, sir. Can you please stop bringing that up?" the knight retorted.

"Hahaha, sorry, sorry. I just can't get that out of my head. You were so scared of that big bear back then."

Once they were inside, they made their way into the throne room, where the king was waiting for them.

"Oh, Robert, it's nice to see my former Knight Commander. Do you think about me often? The king poked fun at himself while laughing. "All right, let's get down to the subject at hand. This must be your son, right?

"Yes, my king," was Robert's response to the question.

"Did you know that young little rat did something, huh?"

"As you wish, my king. As Cedric had explained to me. But as one of your former knights, may I make a request of you? Robert had a question.

It goes without saying, Robert. The king's response was, "Go ahead."

"Will you let me take the punishment instead of my son?" Robert inquired while genuflecting in reverence. "I beg you, sir."

The king was seen to be laughing heartily. I'm joking, Robert; don't take me seriously. Stand up. There is no form of punishment. Who told you to believe that?,Is it Cedric?, the knight who spreads rumors,"

Elowen, the king's daughter, was summoned to the palace. "Elowen, come here."

She yelled out in utter delight, "Wait for me, Dad! I'm on my way!"

Then Aran looked up, and the sight that greeted him took him by surprise.

After that, Aran asked, "Huh! You're a princess?"

"Yes, probably. What do you think? She trailed off and walked down the steps to give Aran a cheek pinch before asking, "So, you're that shady masked cool boy, are you?"

"Ouch! What are you doing?"

"Verifying if you're real. What if you're not human? Now, Dad, grant him his reward, please."

"What reward do you want to give him, dear?" King Aldric made the inquiry. Elowen spoke softly to her father, speaking directly into his ear.

The moment King Aldric caught a whiff of her hushed voice, he screamed, "Huh? You want to marry him? Cedric, give me the sword, and I'll put an end to this boy!

The king was restrained by the guards. "No, sir, remember he's the one who saved your daughter?"

"No, no, my little angel is not marrying! I won't allow it!" King Aldric cried.

"Dad, stop acting like that. I'll be mad at you" Elowen scolded.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, sweetheart. But is there anything else I can ask of you? The king said under his breath, showing his displeasure, "You're too young for marriage and that parasite."

"Oh, I see. However, when we are ready, Aran, we will work together to save the marriage. She said with a smirk, "As of right now, you are my fiance."

"Huh? What exactly is going on around here? Robert questioned with confusion. "Aran? Getting married? What?"

"Alright, here it is Dad, but can you let Aran stay in the castle instead?" Elowen inquired while glancing at her father in a cute look.

"Ah, dear, alright, alright. How can I say no to that face?" the king conceded.

The king then announced, "As for your reward, Aran of Pinevele, I now bestow upon you the opportunity to live in this castle. Additionally, I'll allow you to study at the Remington Academy, and you will be granted the title of Royal Knight. You will be the youngest knight here. Do you understand?"

"I kneel to your Majesty" I am obligated to show gratitude, but I am unable to call this place home. My loved ones have been anxiously awaiting my return. If I stay, it will make my mother very sad. "I just can't put up with that," Aran stated.

"Alright, but this is a great opportunity," the king said. I'll let you all stay in the manor that's close to the castle, that's fine with me. Is there a problem with that?"

"My king, that is much too much. "That is not something that we can tolerate," Robert argued.

"Don't worry about it, Robert. Think of this as a reward for the things you've done in the past. The king responded by saying, "I'm merely returning the favor."

"Thank you, my king," Robert expressed his gratitude to the monarch.

The king then came to a conclusion, saying, "Now, this meeting is over. Cedric, please assist them in bringing all of their items here tomorrow morning so that they can pack up and leave.