Kingdom Secrets

Damien looked back at the lady who had called him peasant. He was in disguise and was sneaking out of the palace when he hit her. Before he could say a word, she had stormed off. He smirked; it was the same lady that couldn't lift her luggage.

The hall behind him was noisy as most of the maidens were chattering away. He was thankful that he was exempted from things like this. He couldn't imagine sitting there doing nothing. 

Outside, the palace was like any other day, bustling with activities, people finding their daily means of survival. Most commoners weren't blessed with magical power, making their life a bit more difficult than the noble. Some tried to get married to the noble; it was the only way they could change their family bloodline.

Damien walked to his source of information hub: the gambling house. He pressed some coins into the hands of the gigantic guard just outside the gambling hub. He looked around to find the perfect place to gather more news about the kingdom when someone tapped him from the back. He frowned as he turned to see a familiar face.

He knew the face, but for the love of him, he couldn't remember the name.

"Master," the guy bowed, "it's so great to see you, again."

Damien narrowed his eyes at the guy. He had always been good with faces, so why couldn't he remember this one? The guy smiled as if he knew the battle happening in his head. Just as he saw the guy's tooth, the name came rushing in.

"Gap tooth."

The guy blinked in confusion, the smile fading from his lips. "What did you just call me?"

The last thing Damien wanted was to offend someone who could be a useful source of information to him. He remembered the guy had told him his name, but he couldn't remember the name. It was… "Eddie."

Like a flash torch, Eddie began to smile again, "I can't believe you remember my name. I've been waiting here for you, master."

Finally, Damien started moving, "Why?"

"I told you, I want to serve you."

Damien nodded, taking his seat at the edge. Eddie sat beside him. Today, it was different faces at the table, but Damien was sure they all had one thing in common – gossip.

At first, he was silently winning, while Eddie was winning with him. Until he brought out his topic, "I heard the crown prince is getting married. Wasn't the first prince supposed to get married first?"

"I don't see what's wrong with that. The crown prince is the kingdom's next ruler, and with the possibility of war upon us, I believe he should get married first to unleash his great magical power." One of the gamblers said.

"Possibility of a war?" Damien asked; there was no discussion about that in the House of Lords. No one had mentioned that there might be a war. "How so?"

The guy looked at Damien like he was strange, "What part of the kingdom are you from? Haven't you been heard how the commoners close to the sea shores were robbed. It wasn't normal robbery. According to rumor, it was the people of Ovia kingdom trying to destroy us bit by bit before starting a war."

Damien nodded; interesting. While the palace was on merriment, the neighboring kingdom was planning an attack, and none of the Lords thought the king deserved to know this. Are they planning a coup?

He got more information out of the innocent gamblers. Satisfied by what he had gathered, he decided how he would visit the commoners close to the seashores.

As he stepped out of the gambling house, Eddie followed.

Annoyed, he turned to Eddies, "Told you I am not taking students."

Eddie didn't bulge, "I'll do whatever you asked me. I am obedient."

Damien chuckled, "If you are obedient, you'll have left me alone. I already rejected your offer."

He was returning to the palace, and Eddie followed around like a lost puppy. The market looked peaceful; children were running around. An old woman was walking with a stick, trying to cross the busy road. What would war do to these innocent people who couldn't protect themselves?

The nobles might be selfish because they could protect themselves whenever war started and weren't the first the warriors would meet. It was these innocent citizens who believed so much in their king.

Damien knew he had to plan. He had to find a way to stop the war or find a way to get their warriors prepared. 

He decided to ignore Eddie as he continued moving around. A scream pierced his ears. A young lady stood at the side of the road screaming thief. A young man was running away from her. Before Damien could think, he ran after the young man. Eddie ran with him. The thief was fast. It didn't help that there were people and goods everywhere. He had to push people and good, but he was able to catch the thief.

The thief tried to throw a punch, but someone held his hand. Damien stared at Eddie, who held the man's hand. He collected the woman's pouch he had stolen from her.

"Where are the market guards?" Damien asked, wanting to hand the thief over to the guards.

Eddie snorted, "They're lots of things you've no idea of, masters. Those guards just sit around."

Damien frowned; there were many things wrong in the kingdom that his father had no idea of. He lifted the thief, holding his hand behind him while he pushed him to the ladies.

Some villagers were staring at the scene in wonder, interested in the young man who had taken it upon himself to help someone.

The young woman had moved forward but was in tears. When she saw the thief, she ran towards him, "Where's my pouch?"

Damien lifted it with his other hand, "Is this yours?"

She nodded.

He threw it at her, and she thanked him. She wanted to gift him something, but Damien refused.

The villagers were astonished by such selflessness.

Eddie stared at the thief when the young lady left, and the villagers dispersed. "What are we going to do about him, master?"

Damien frowned; he had already spent more than his allocated time outside the palace. "Take me to wherever the guard hangout."

Eddie's eyes widened, "What do you plan to do?"

"We've to hand him over to justice?"

The thief groaned.

Eddie laughed, "That's just a waste of time. They're just going to release him if he gives them a little something."

"What!" Damien asked in surprise. "Is there no justice in this kingdom?"

Eddie nodded, "Of course, there's nothing like justice in this kingdom. Just let him go."

Damien twisted his hand further and threw him off. The whole situation had pissed his mood off. The thief scurried away immediately.

"Excuse me," he told Eddie.

He needed to see his father. He needed to be informed about what was happening in the kingdom. He needed to know that the Lords had been hiding things from him.