King of Griffindale

Chapter 8 - A Prince's Resolve

    The next day, early in the morning, just after daybreak, Cyrus had summoned one of the best knights of the King's Diamond to have a few sparring sessions with him, who thankfully, heeded the call.

    This was not the first time the prince had called the knight abruptly to spar with him, as there had been several times when this had happened. There was even once when he was called to spar at an odd hour of the night, and they sparred until daybreak the next day.

    Of course, that was back when his father, the King, was alive, as he would not dream of doing that now. Back then, the Queen wanted to take action against them for causing a slight commotion in the King's residence. 

    But as expected, King Theodore did not approve of it, but instead celebrated his son's passion for the sword and later even thanked the Elite Knight for always agreeing to come help his son train.

    Cyrus wanted the Knight to spar with him all night, as they had done before, but chose instead to follow his mother's advice. Knowing that the Queen was becoming very wary of their mere presence in the King's residence, she could use the slightest trivial misdeed to paint him as a lawbreaker, and since his father was not there to defend him anymore, he could get in real trouble with Regina if care was not taken. 

    He wanted to get the heat off his chest with an all-nighter but would have to make the training commence at dawn instead, right before daybreak, just as his mother had advised. 

    So here they were. 

    At this point, both swordsmen had become well acquainted with each other and had almost become rivals in the use of the sword. But of course, the Knight was better than he was, winning most of the spars and knocking the Prince out whenever he became too persistent.

    This time, however, they were continually fighting for almost an hour without either a knockdown or a winner—the first round was still far from over. Both combatants had become so acquainted with the other's fighting style that the spar looked more like a choreographed sword fight in an orchestrated drama than a training session.

    Both of them had their clothes off, knowing how they would sweat profusely after that moment. Each of them had only their lower tunics strapped on and were both covered in sweat, breathing heavily.

    The knight's name was Cletus Cassius, 28, a noble from one of the richest families represented in the King's Court, and he was well respected among the Elite Knights of the King's Diamond. 

    He had taken a liking to the young prince from the first encounter they had years ago, admiring his bravery and consistency in learning the ways of the sword. Now he had grown into a young swordsman in whom any swordmaster would be well pleased.

    They clashed swords continuously, sending sparks flying into the air as both swords collided repeatedly. The spar gathered so much attention that some of the maids within the walls stopped for a while to look. 

    Most of the young women's faces turned red upon seeing the bodies of the two combatants—well chiseled and built—and the reflected light of the morning sun from the sweat on their bodies almost made some of them fall to the ground in romantic glee. 

    Both combatants were handsome men, and their stripped upper bodies only made it more obvious. However, they were both focused more on themselves, being almost oblivious to all the attention they were receiving from the girls working in the area at that time. 

    “You seem to be a whole lot better, young prince,” Sir Cletus said to him as they clashed swords. “Have you been training with better knights? Or is this all just a fluke?”

    “Oh, I'll make you take back that last question, Cletus!” Cyrus said to him as he struck another blow, which Cletus easily blocked. “It's not a fluke. With all that has happened with my father's death, maybe I just needed to vent out some steam, you know?”

    “I understand, young prince,” the knight replied, “And I'm sorry. But you know that just confirms that it's a fluke, right?”

    “It's not the same thing!” Cyrus said to him. 

    “Prove it by winning me in this round,” Cletus teased as he countered by kicking Cyrus' torso, sending him flying several feet backwards and falling to the ground. 

    “Oh, I guess I spoke too early, didn't I?” asked Cletus with a slight grin on his face. But when Cyrus got up, wiping off some blood from the side of his mouth, Cletus bowed his head in respect, apologizing immediately. 

    “Sincerest apologies, young prince!” He said this with his head still bowed. 

    “It's alright,” Cyrus said to him. “My loss, my bad. I just got a bit distracted with myself, that's all.”

    “Punish me however you see fit!” the Knight yelled out loud in an overly respectful manner. He was just trying to be serious, but he had crossed the line by making the Prince bleed that way. This caused the distracted onlookers who worked within the king's residence to murmur among themselves. 

    Cyrus sighed, knowing what was happening. He looked at the knight, who was still bowing to him, and asked, “Will you please stop doing that? You are embarrassing me,” he said to Cletus. 

    But the Knight misunderstood completely and bowed his head further to the ground, “I'm sorry! I showed disrespect by not bowing properly. Punish me however you see fit!”

    Prince Cyrus slapped a hand on his forehead and dragged it down his face, sighing deeply. 

    “Will you please get up?” he told Cletus. “At this point, I'm not sure if you are genuinely apologizing or just messing with me.”

    Cletus got up immediately, standing formally without flinching. “I would never think of doing that, young prince,” he said. 

    Cyrus sighed again, knowing that it would be hard to get Cletus to act normally once he started getting all formal with him. 

    “Look, how about we take a break, okay?” asked Cyrus. “You are hungry, aren't you?”

    “Thank you, but no, I'm not hungry,” Cletus said to him. 

    “Well, too bad,” Cyrus said as he summoned one of the maids nearby. “You are still having breakfast with me.”

    “You are forcing me to have breakfast?”, Cletus said. “At this rate, you would only grow up to become a tyrannical King.”

    “At least you have known ahead of time”, Cyrus said. “So look forward to it.”

    Under instructions from the Prince, the maid went on to get their meals, while both of them sat down on the ground, each resting their backs on the wall. 

    “Can I ask you a question, young prince?” asked Cletus. 

    “Go ahead,” Cyrus replied. 

    “Do you really intend to be our king?” he asked bluntly. 

    Cyrus pondered for several seconds, wondering if he had to answer that question. 

    “I didn't intend to put you on the spot, your highness. Please forgive me,” Cletus said to him.

    “It's alright, Cletus. I do want to become King,” Cyrus replied. “But it's how to do so that is the issue, given the circumstances.”

    But Cletus smiled when he heard this. “Thank you, young prince”, he said. “We were hoping you would say that.”

    “What do you mean by “we” ?” asked Cyrus, looking around and hoping nobody was eavesdropping on them. 

    “Don't worry; I didn't bring anybody with me,” Cletus said to him. 

    “Well, then don't scare me like that,” Cyrus replied. 

    “I meant that you have supporters—a lot more than you know,” Cletus answered. 

    “Cletus, I appreciate your love and support, but please don't give me false hope,” Cyrus said to him. “That is the last thing I need right now.”

    “I am not giving you false hope, young prince,” Cletus said. “In fact, far be it from me to do something like that. The majority of the Knights of the Diamond are on your side - I know this because I am one of them. Hardly a day passes by when they don't talk about you. They all look up to you.”

    Cyrus sighed, staring at the ceiling of the balcony where they sat, enjoying the shade from the rising sun. He was not sure how to take this. His experience growing up as an illegitimate child had made him very pessimistic whenever he came across a hopeful report like this. 

    So he kept quiet. 

    It was at that moment of silence when the maid returned with a tray of food for the prince and his knight. 

    “Thank you,” Cletus said to her as he took the tray, and that simple act of courtesy made the young girl blush. 

    “All the maids seem to like you much,” Cyrus said to him, taking note of the maiden's attitude towards him before she left. “Getting married wouldn't be a problem for you. You could even go after that one if you wanted.”

    “Please don't give me false hope,” Cletus replied, and the two of them laughed in unison. 

    “But I'm serious, young prince,” Cletus pressed on. 

    “About getting a wife?” asked Cyrus. “That shouldn't be a problem for a man like you, would it?”

    “That is not what I meant,” Cletus said to him, knowing the prince knew what he was getting at. But still, Cyrus played dumb. 

    “Trust me, young Prince. You have more allies than you think,” he said to Cyrus. “Come with me to the Knight's Academy and meet my Conroi. There you will meet a whole lot of the people I'm talking about. The Knights there would be delighted to see you. Anyway, it's up to you.”

    “Alright” Cyrus said. “Humor me.”