The Prince of Warwood and The War of Kings

by Clinton, J. Noel

  A couple of hours later, the lake was finally cleared of the dead fish, and Sir Blaire gave Xavier the job of supervising the fire until the last of the fish had been burnt to ash. Sir Blaire and another man combed the lake’s bottom for any missed fish before treating the water with some kind of chemical to balance the water’s pH levels and aerating the water with an apparatus to increase the oxygen levels.

  “Well, there’s a handful of fish still alive near the rocks where it’s cooler, and the oxygen levels weren’t depleted. I would bet that over eighty percent of the fish were lost.”

  Xavier hung his head guiltily and avoided eye contact with the men as he watched the last of the fish crumble into ash in the glowing flames.

  “Sir Blaire, all the fish are completely burned up now,” Xavier announced as he stirred the ash with a long metal pole. All that remained were bits of the logs used to kindle the fire.

  Sir Blaire approached him, took the pole, and stoked and poked at the fire. “Yes, they’re all incinerated. Put out the fire, Prince Wells and then you can go home.” He handed the boy a bucket.

  Xavier stared at him. “But I could just use my abilities and have it out in…”

  “Sire, King Wells said no empowerments. I do not disobey my king. Now, put out the fire with the bucket, young sire.”

  Sighing disgruntledly, Xavier took the bucket and trudged back and forth from the lake half a dozen times, but the flame still smoldered. Xavier glanced back at Sir Blaire and the other men to find them packing up the aerator machine and other equipment. With a wave of his hand over the fire, he extinguished the fire completely in a matter of seconds. After returning the bucket to Sir Blaire, he headed home.

  When Xavier finally got back to the palace, it was nearly dark. He trudged moodily up the royal staircase dirty, exhausted, and smelling of fish. Loren stood next to the royal residence and grinned at his approach.

  “Well, look what the cat dragged in! Get the lake sorted?”

  “Yeah,” Xavier mumbled as he walked past the general and into the royal residence. Mrs. Sommers looked up from dusting and clicked her tongue at him.

  “My, you’re a sight! I kept your dinner warm. It’ll wait long enough for you to shower. Go get cleaned up, and I’ll see to your dinner.”

  “Where’s Dad?”

  “He and Lana went for a walk. They should be back soon.”

  Nodding, Xavier climbed the steps to his room.

  After he had washed away the smell of fish and felt human again, he made his way down the stairs. His father and Lana were sitting in the receiving room next to a small fire. The king was massaging Lana’s feet as she talked about her day at work. The couple turned as the boy descended the last few steps.

  “Hello, son,” the king greeted.

  “Hi,” Xavier muttered and looked meekly at Lana. “Hi Lana.”

  “Hi, sweetie.”

  Xavier glanced at his father. “D… Dad? How angry are you?”

  Jeremiah’s brows rose and he stood. “What? Come here, son,” he ordered gently.

  Xavier sauntered to his father, his head hanging low.

  “Xavier, I’m not angry.”

  “Disappointed?”

  “No, son. I’m not even disappointed. I’m very proud of you, actually.”

  “Proud?” Xavier looked up at his father baffled. “But, Dad, I killed nearly an entire lake full of fish!”

  “Yeah,” the king sighed, dragging the boy into a bear hug. “That wasn’t a smart move, but I don’t hold that against you. You’ve worked your butt off to make amends, and I’m betting that you’ve learned to think things through before you use your powers to show off for a girl in the future. But what I’m proud of is that you took responsibility for your actions. You didn’t run. You didn’t hide. You didn’t lie.” His father hugged him closer. “That is why I’m so very proud of you!”

  Chapter 12

  Later that night, Xavier sat in his room finishing his homework when his father and Lana entered.

  “It’s getting late, son. You need to finish up and get to bed,” his father announced.

  “I know. I’m just about finished,” Xavier told him, but then added with a sly smile directed towards Lana, “But if my history teacher would give me an extension on my assignment…”

  Lana laughed. “Oh, no, I don’t think she’ll let that happen, Xavier! You know how stubborn that history teacher can get. She might be inclined to assign double the homework if you tried.”

  “Yeah, she’s a real pain,” Xavier admitted, laughing.

  Laughing as well, the king ruffled his hair and kissed him noisily on the cheek. “Don’t stay up too late, son.”

  “I won’t,” Xavier promised. “Good night, Dad.”

  “Night, sweetheart,” Lana whispered, kissing his cheek and hugging him warmly.

  “Good night, Lana,” Xavier murmured.

  He watched his father and Lana stroll out of his room hand in hand. Watching them made him miss Robbie. He wished she would just tell him what he did wrong. Since when was talking to another girl flirting? Okay, yeah, Sara kissed him, and he had to admit he enjoyed it, but that didn’t make him a bad guy, did it? He didn’t ask her to kiss him. Sighing heavily, Xavier decided he’d go to Robbie and make her see reason.

  After he finished the last of his assignments, Xavier packed his books up in his satchel for the morning and crept quickly to his door. His father and Lana were sitting in the receiving room cuddling and talking softly. Deciding it was best to wait until after his father went to sleep, he closed the door and waited.

  Nearly an hour later, his father’s heavy footsteps trudged up the stairs, and Xavier darted to his bed and dove under the covers. The king’s footsteps paused outside his door and the door slowly creaked open. Xavier froze and concentrated on breathing evenly and deeply and clearing his thoughts. After a moment, his door closed softly, and the king’s footsteps retreated to his own room.

  Thirty minutes later, Xavier quietly opened the door to the king’s bedroom. Pausing in the doorway, he reached across the room with his telepathic powers, hoping to find his father asleep. The king was in fact asleep and dreaming of Lana and King’s Mountain. Interesting. Xavier didn’t linger in his father’s dreams as he quickly entered the room and closed the door behind him. After giving his eyes time to adjust to the dark, he crept across the room and out onto the patio. Almost instantly, he teleported himself from the palace to Robbie’s room and banged painfully into something large and unforgiving. With a strangled gasp, Robbie sat up in bed and flicked on her bedside lamp. Xavier blinked rapidly and saw he had nearly teleported into a large dresser.

  “Ouch! Man, that hurts! When did you move your dresser next to the window?”

  “Xavier! What are you doing here! You can’t be in my room! You know what happened the last time!” Robbie blurted.

  “I know. I just need to talk to you for a minute. Will you come with me so we can talk without waking your mom?”

  Robbie just stared at him.

  “Please, Robbie! I want to clear things up between us.”

  “Okay,” she muttered grumpily, and Xavier grinned. “Well? Turn your back so I can put on pants! I’m only wearing a T-shirt!”

  Smirking, Xavier turned his back as Robbie threw back the covers and pulled on a pair of jeans. “Okay, let’s go,” she announced, moving to stand beside him.

  He turned, grasped her by the hips, smiled, and then teleported them to the field in front of the school. When he released her, Robbie moved to put some distance between them. Xavier kicked at a rock wedged in the dirt and looked at Robbie reticently.

  Finally, he pulled in his courage and blurted, “Robbie, what did I do wrong? I don’t understand why you’re so mad at me!”

  Robbie moaned in frustration and faced him. “You really don’t get it, do you?” When he responded with a blank stare, she hissed something that sounded like a curse and continued matter-of-factly, “Let me put it this way, P
rince Wells. Pretend that Beck came over and sat next to me at the picnic while you were getting us drinks, and when you returned, he refused to give back your seat next to me. What would you think or feel if you saw us sitting there laughing and joking, and he had his hand on me, but I didn’t remove it? Then, the next day at school, he kisses me in the middle of the hall for everyone in the school to see, and by lunchtime you were getting pity looks because everyone knew Beck and I had been snogging?”

  Xavier’s self-righteous mood sank. He had been so sure he was innocent this time, but he wasn’t. He hadn’t stopped Sara or, at the very least, backed up Robbie when she confronted Sara. “Wow, when you put it like that…” he whispered despondently. “I’m sorry, Robbie. I didn’t think… I wasn’t thinking. You’re right. I should have stopped her, but I really didn’t see any of what she did as important. Robbie,” Xavier insisted, grasping her by the shoulders. “I love you! I don’t see any other girl the way I see you. I’m sorry I was oblivious to her flirting.”

  He felt Robbie’s forgiveness before she said it. “It’s okay. Boys are stupid about that stuff,” she added with a snicker.

  “Gee, thanks,” Xavier growled, tickling her.

  Robbie giggled and tried to outmaneuver him, but he was faster, bigger and stronger. He pulled her to the ground and pinned her there while he tickled relentlessly until she was panting and cackling loudly.

  “Xavier! Stop it!” she managed between breaths.

  He stopped tickling and looked down at her in the moonlight. “All right, but on one condition.”

  “What?”

  “You kiss and make up with me.” He grinned down at her devilishly.

  Robbie grabbed him by the back of the neck, pulled him to her, and planted a breath-stealing, intoxicating kiss that had his head spinning.

  “Sara’s kiss definitely didn’t do that to me!” he murmured, sending Robbie into a fit of giggles.

  “I love you, Xavier Wells,” she announced, kissing him again.

  The couple sat in the field kissing and teasing each other for nearly an hour when finally Robbie announced, “We really need to get back, Xavier.”

  “Yeah, I know,” he responded wistfully. “So what happened with the headmaster?”

  “He gave me detention for a week and called my mom. I got an extra week added to my grounding.”

  “Geez, that means you’re grounded for five weeks! I don’t know if I can live without being with you for that long. I might have to sneak you out again tomorrow night,” he informed her playfully and was rewarded with her giggles. “Are you still able to walk to school?”

  “Yes, but I’m to go straight there and straight home. Mom has even given me a curfew to be home by, or she’ll come searching for me,” Robbie told him, rolling her eyes.

  “That sucks. Well, if you’re still allowed to walk, I’ll meet you at your house, and we can walk the long way to school so we can have some time together.”

  “That sounds great!”

  Xavier kissed her lightly before helping her to her feet and teleporting her back to her room.

  “Home, sweet home,” he announced, grinning.

  Robbie kissed him suddenly, deeply and he felt his brain go to mush as the rest of his body rushed with heat. He moaned and squeezed her against him. When she pulled away, Xavier felt irritated. He wanted more! He was about to grab her and kiss her back, when she giggled.

  “Xavier, your eyes are glowing again.”

  His hands dropped to his sides, and he pouted at Robbie. “You don’t have to announce it every time it happens you know. I know when I’m glowing. How could I not be after that kiss you just gave me?”

  She giggled again and hugged him. “I love that I and only I can do that to you. It makes me feel special, like I’m special to you.”

  “You are special, and you’ll always be special to me, Robbie. I love you more than anything in the world,” Xavier whispered in her ear, and he felt her shudder.

  “Oh, Xavier. I… I…” she stammered, her voice breaking in a quiet sob.

  “Robbie? Robbie, please, don’t cry!”

  “It’s not that kind of crying. I… I just love you so much and you… overwhelmed me is all.”

  Xavier kissed her again, savoring the taste and the feel of her lips.

  Robbie gently pushed him away. “Ah… Xavier, you better go. You don’t want to get caught in my room again.”

  Xavier swayed slightly without Robbie in his arms; he felt off balance. “Yeah. You’re right. I’ll see you in the morning,” he choked out thickly. Then after a quick kiss to Robbie’s cheek, he teleported back to the patio outside his father’s bedroom. He stood for several minutes in the chilly night air, cooling his body and regaining his senses. Finally, with an enormous grin, he crept back into the palace and into his room.

  The next morning Xavier met Robbie in front of her house, and the pair walked the long way to school hand-in-hand. It would be the only time he would be alone with her for the next few weeks.

  “You know, when you finish serving your time, I think we should go into Razorbill Cove and go to a movie and dinner. What do you say?”

  “That sounds fantastic. I can’t wait,” Robbie answered, smiling and squeezing his hand. “How was your first day with your dad?”

  “It was pretty interesting actually,” he responded as they walked through the palace gates and started down the sidewalk that ran parallel to the palace walls. “I even got to attend a legislative meeting. This guy, Lucas Grant, tried to get a new law passed that would basically overthrow my dad. I didn’t understand it completely, just that he wanted to have a group of men given more powers using the King’s Key so they could attack the king if they thought he was a danger to the kingdom or something.”

  Robbie looked at him wide-eyed. “They actually presented that in front of the king? Did he have them arrested or something?”

  “No. He said it was done legally, and he couldn’t.”

  “Wow! You better watch out too, Xavier. They’ll probably try it with you as well.”

  Xavier shrugged as they rounded the corner of the palace walls and began to cut across the field for a more direct path to the school. “I’m not worried about it. Dad will be king for years and years. By the time I become king, Grant will probably be dead. He’s older than dad.”

  “Yeah, well, I think you should still watch your back.”

  “Why do you need to watch your back, mate?” Court asked as he and Erica fell into step with them having taken the secret passage.

  “He needs to watch his back because there are people trying to overthrow King Wells from power, and he might be next,” Robbie stated.

  “Blimey! Who’s trying to overthrow the king?” Court gasped.

  “Delegate Lucas Grant,” Xavier told him. “He presented dad with a law to pass that would have done it.”

  “Bloody hell! And Grant is still breathing?”

  Xavier nodded. “I guess he did it legally, according to Dad.”

  “Come on, you guys. We’ll be late for first class,” Robbie told them, urging the boys to walk faster.

  By lunchtime, Xavier hurried into the cafeteria with Garrett on his heels.

  “Man, I’m starving,” Xavier muttered, moving into line.

  “Yeah, me too. Beck and Court are already through the line. How does Beck always manage to be one of the first people here?”

  “Dunno,” Xavier said absently as he picked up a lunch tray and carried it over to where the other boys sat.

  “Hey, X,” Beck greeted. “Hardcastle was just telling me about my-farts-don’t-smell Grant conspiring to overthrow King Wells.”

  Xavier spooned a huge heap of mashed potato into his mouth and gurgled past it, “Yeah. He sure did try. Dad vetoed his idea though.”

  “Are you going to let that stuck-up, know-it-all, wanker get away with it?”

  Xavier shrugged. “I don’t want to, but what can I do?”

  Beck grinned. �
��I’ve got a plan. What are you doing after training?”

  “Nothing really.”

  Beck’s grin widened. “Okay. We’ll go after your training. Are you in, Hardcastle?”

  Court met Beck’s eyes and grimaced slightly. “Sure, why not? It’s a good day to die.”

  Beck ignored the comment and looked at Garrett. “Bracus?”

  “Mate, you know I’m in. I’m always in!”

  Chapter 13

  Later that afternoon, after combat training, where he lost, again, to Sir Blaire and two other men, Xavier started toward the stands where his friends sat waiting.

  “Xavier?” the king called, and Xavier turned toward his father. “I’ve got a few things I need to deal with at the Governing Hall. I won’t be home until late, so I’m afraid you’ll be on your own for dinner tonight.”

  “That’s okay,” Xavier told him.

  “Make sure you get to that homework after dinner, son,” Jeremiah called as he and his entourage of guards left the coliseum.

  Once the king was gone, Beck leaned toward the other boys conspiratorially. “Okay, I’ve got a plan on how we can teach that dodgy Grant a lesson. Garrett, do you still help out in the royal stables on the weekends?”

  Garrett looked at his friend puzzled. “Yeah. What’s that got to do with Grant?”

  Beck grinned wickedly. “Do they still scoop the manure into barrels so that it can be used to fertilize the gardens?”

  Garrett grinned. “Yes. Yes, they do! How are we going to get the manure where we need it?”

  “Court will teleport it, of course,” Beck announced.

  “Me? Why me? Xavier knows how to teleport!”

  Beck looked at the prince. “Do you know where Grant lives, X?”

  “Uh, no.”

  Beck looked back at Court triumphantly. “That’s why.”

  Court groaned and asked, “Okay, how many barrels of horse shit will we need?”

  “At least two. Though three would be better.”

  “Okay. See you all at Grant’s house,” Court grumbled before racing toward the stables.