Surprisingly, there were no guards gripping my arms to prevent me from running away. First mistake. I could have just turned, sprinted off and blew up the castle. Of course, I won’t do that, but it’s a possibility. I kept my eyes on the king’s silk-clad back. His posture was pristine, much like any king, but with a very slightly left slant. Second mistake. Poorly hidden weaknesses, a bad back can mean all sorts of things, all of which are bad.

I don’t bother to wipe my shoes off, a trail of dirt following me as we made our way through the grand corridors of the castle. Servants exchanged weary glances and all they got from me was a smirk, which got me plenty of terrified stares. I chuckle to myself.

“Something funny, thief?” The king calls over his shoulder.

Composing myself, I exhale through my nose, “Of course not, your highness.”

Either the king chose to ignore my sarcasm or he just didn’t register it, it doesn’t matter, my point still stands. He’s not much of a king, it’s clear. He’s nervous, untrained, young, foolish, reckless, inexperienced—

“Your eyes are burning into my back.” The king says, slowing his pace to walk beside me. Third mistake. Never treat your prisoner like an equal, it gives them a false sense of power or understanding, even if you so much as match their pace. And yet, his tone is strangely playful, “You’re awfully quiet. You should be rejoicing.”

“For what?”

“Serving the king, the ruler, the sovereign.” He speaks slowly, a small hint of arrogance showing, but it almost cracks when he glances off to me briefly, as if to ask me if he is being convincing enough.

I give him a wry smile and he looks put off by that.

“So,” I remark casually, not taking my eyes away from his, he does his best to hold my gaze, “What did you want from me?”

The king sighs, “I have decided to trust you with something.” Wow, trust me? Now, that’s a mistake if I’ve ever heard of one. He continues after a pause, “I need your help. You’re from the poor side, correct?”

I nod.

“I want to do better than my father, I want to equalise this place, make everyone with the same money, the same food, everyone equal.” His voice is pure but I frown. Everyone equal?

“Sometimes equality isn’t fairness. If you give a baby and a grown man an equal amount of food, then the grown man will be starving and the baby will be content.” My brow furrows more. Why do I sound so wise? I have to bite my lip to stop myself from laughing at the irony.

“You’re awfully knowledgable.” The king states. I smile a bit, it’s small, but sincere. “I can’t help but think that you would be a better leader.”

“I would be the assassinated the moment I sit my ass on that throne.”

The king’s eyes widen innocently. This really is just a little boy.

“Sure, there is poor people, they would probably approve of a rule like mine. But it is not the poor who have the power, it is the rich. If I give everything away to the poor, then the rich will behead me before I can even give a penny.”

A moment of silence passes between us. The king just seems lost in thought, and I watch him contemplate. We finally reach a large wooden door. I almost forgot that we were even walking, to be honest. The king opens it and inside is what looks like royal chambers. A colossal bed with silk sheets and red velvet curtains that draped around the frame like a robe; a dresser that stood on legs carved in beautiful patterns and plated with gold; and a beautiful balcony on the opposite end, overlooking the entire kingdom, the rich and the poor, the uptown and the downtown, the revellers and the workers.

“You know,” I say, completely out of the blue, stepping inside the room, “No one actually knows your name. People just call you ‘The King’.”

The king just smiles, a hint of… fondness? In his gaze. “Alaic.”

I return the smile, “Well, King Alaic, you will become a fine king.”

“I’m not already one?”

I laugh and he laughs along with me. Maybe all of those mistakes weren’t mistakes after all.

I literally had no plan of what was going to happen, I just did what came to mind, so if it’s bad, then let me know! I think there are also quite a few plot holes, but it’s not a professional thing, so I think it’s fine. Hope you enjoyed it.