THE KING IN THE NORTH

2

Prince Oliver went to haunting with some of the palace guards. Prince Oliver also had his best friend join him for the haunting. His name is Jasper. Had been Prince Oliver's best friend for ten years; theirs is a secret that Prince Oliver doesn't know about Jasper. Jasper is a witch, a good witch. Jasper was born through witchcraft; he was given the gift from birth; he has the three categories of witch power: seeing the future, magic, and healing. He also doesn't have the powers to be a witch, but he can't use them. Most of the bad witches use the power of being a witch; others destroy it.

Jasper is not good at haunting; he can't shoot an arrow or use the sword. Prince Oliver will take him to haunting, give him an arrow to shoot, and he will miss the target. His shot is terrible; whenever he shoots, the guards will laugh at him. Prince Oliver can't hold his laughter; they will all laugh at him. Most times, Jasper will be ashamed of himself for his shooting accuracy.

Prince Oliver sighted an antelope a few miles away. He tapped Jasper and pointed towards the antelope.

"You see that over there? I want you to hit the target," Prince Oliver said.

Jasper's heart jumped; he couldn't shoot an arrow. He was given an arrow to shoot the antelope. Jasper took the arrow and moved forward while the prince and other guard followed up.

"You know I can't shoot; why do you keep pushing me to do the things I don't want to do?" Jasper speaks out forcefully.

He can't endure it anymore; he thinks the prince is always making fun of him.

"Jasper, this is the deal; I am not forcing you to do the things you don't like doing; this is the real deal; the king and queen want to get a male maid, and I don't trust those out there. You are my best friend; I can't choose you as my maid, but if you miss the target, I will make you my maid, and you are going to do everything I ask of you," Prince Oliver tells Jasper.

"What! You mean I am going to be your maid if I miss the target? You know surely I can't get the target; just take me as your maid," Jasper said.

Prince Oliver points at the antelope and signals Jasper to take the shot. Jasper looked at the antelope, moved a little closer, the antelope was busy eating grass. Jasper raised the arrow to target the antelope, pointed towards the antelope, drew the arrow from the bow, released the arrow to the antelope, and the arrow went straight to a tree close to the antelope. As the arrow hit the tree, the antelope took to his heels and ran away.

"Wow, that was so close. Your out of luck. Finally, I found myself a maid, my best friend. How are those warriors?" Prince Oliver said, making fun of Jasper.

The guards laughed and, at the same time, clapped for Jasper for making an attempt; he was so close to hitting the target. Jasper didn't say a word; he went to the tree and pulled the arrow out of the tree. He gave the arrow with the bow to Prince Oliver.

"C'mon, you are my maid now; you hold it. We are done with today's haunting," Prince Oliver tells Jasper and his warriors.

They all entered on their horses and rode back to the palace. As they reached the palace, Jasper diverted to his house. The prince and his guards were stunned as they were looking at him. Jasper diverted to ride to his house. Jasper looked back and found out the prince and the guards were looking at him. He waved them goodbye.

The prince smiled at his friend Jasper. The guards didn't move as they were waiting for orders from the prince. The prince couldn't order the arrest of his best friend; he just ignored his friend. As they rode to the palace, the prince stepped down from his horse. He gave the guard the horse's rope. The guard took the rope and tied the horse to the bamboo.

The prince went to meet his father at the palace. The king was sitting on his throne with his mom, and the queen was dressed in her royal clothes.

They were actually discussing the motion about the banishment of the witches.

"We can't just banish the witches; don't you think it will affect our reign on the throne?" Queen Ruth questions the king.

"I have to protect my throne. I will do everything to keep my throne. The witches are a stumbling block. I have to make them leave the kingdom to make my throne safe. For me, my family, and the country as a nation, we have to live without fear," King Alfred said.

He still insists on his words to banish the witches; he stands strong with his words; the queen is a bit worried, considering the protection the king is getting from the good witches; it is quite clear that the bad witches are taking over from the good; the bad witches do kill the good ones; there is a war between the witches; the kingdom is also suffering from the war; innocent citizens also lose their lives; and the late King David is one of the people who lost their lives in the battle of the good and bad witches.

King Alfred is also afraid of the witches and wants to get rid of them totally from the palace, the kingdom, and England as a whole.

Prince Oliver walked into the palace, saw the queen and the king discussing the throne, and walked up to them.

"Greetings, royalty," Prince Oliver greeted the throne.

The king and the queen answered that they were happy to see their songs come back from haunting.

"Mom! Dad! I have found a maid for myself," Prince Oliver says.

The king and the queen looked at themselves and waited for the prince to finish his words.

"And the maid is Jasper," Prince Oliver added.

"Jasper!" both the king and queen asked in unison.

They were shocked to hear the name of Jasper; he is the prince's best friend. They were surprised to hear the prince wanting to make his friend his maid.

"Ok, have you told him about it?" King Alfred asked.

"No, you invite him and talk to him about it," Prince Oliver replied.

"He is your best friend; talk to him about it; you have a good opportunity to do that; we don't have anything to do with it," Queen Ruth asks.

"You wanted me to get a male maid; now I have found one. You invite him and give him the opportunity. If you let me get a female maid, I will do the talking," Prince Oliver said.

He winked at his dad and left the palace.

The king ordered one of the guards to send an invitation to Jasper, and the guards ran right away to invite Jasper. Jasper, on getting an invitation from the king, rushed to the palace. He never knew why the king called him; he totally forgot what Prince Oliver had told him in the forest while haunting.

He walks into the palace, with the king and queen seated on the throne. Jasper bows to greet the king, and the king replies to his greetings. Jasper stands still to hear what the king has to tell him.

"I have invited you here for something important," King Alfred said.

"Your my son's best friend, I mean the prince. We need a maid for him, a male maid. He trusts you, and you both have known each other for ten years. I think you can make a perfect match for the job," said the queen. Ruth continues

"We are not going to see you as just a maid; you are a royal friend. We want you to take this offer from us; take it as your service to the throne," King Alfred added.

Jasper was speechless; he stood still in confusion; he didn't know what to say; he just nodded his head in agreement because he couldn't reject the offer from the royal throne.

"I agree to your offer, my king. I will serve the prince with loyalty, diligence, and strength," Jasper said.

He kneels down to accept the offer, as he made his promises to the royal throne. Prince Oliver stood at the back of Jasper unnoticed, and as Jasper made the promises, he just laughed out loud.

"Hahahahaha, Jasper is making promises; you can't shoot an antelope, hahahaha, you have to be a real dude," Prince Oliver joked.

"Where are your manners, Oliver? Will you stop that?" King Alfred scolds Prince Oliver.

Jasper stood up, and Prince Oliver stood by his side, still smiling. It wasn't funny for Jasper.

"Jasper, you can start your job today; you are part of the family now; go take your things; you will be staying at the palace from today henceforth," King Alfred gave his order.

Jasper left the palace with Prince Oliver. They walked leg to leg as they left the palace. Jasper held the prince on the head.

"What is that? Leave me alone!" Prince Oliver screams.

"You made your maid, huh?" Jasper groan

He just can't believe he is a maid to his best friend; he has to accept it because it's an offer from the king, and he can't turn it down.

The man who had confronted the queen at the market tried walking into the palace with his daughter as instructed by the queen. The guards stopped him and asked him where he was going. He told them he needed to see the queen, but the guards refused to grant him access to the palace. Suddenly, as the prince and Jasper were walking out of the palace, he saw the man with his daughter being stopped by the palace guard.

He rushed the guards and ordered them to let the man and his daughter in. The guards allowed them in, the man thanked the prince, and he walked to the main palace to meet the king and the queen. After the prince had approached him, the man and his daughter then went to the main palace to meet the king and queen.

"Long live the king," the man hailed.

They bowed to greet the king, but the king responded back that the king didn't invite them, so he was still listening to hear what brought them to his palace.

"I invited the man; he confronted me at the market and offered his daughter to work for the princess," Queen Ruth whispers to the king.

King Alfred, on hearing what had brought the man to the palace from his wife, nodded and pretended he didn't know what had brought the man.

"The king awaits to hear what brought you to his palace, "King Alfred said.

"My Lord, I have come to present my daughter before the royal head; her name is Marian; she is my only daughter; I owe the royal throne my word; I promised the queen; my daughter wishes to serve the queen with all integrity," the man said showing the king his daughter.

The man's name is Joel; he was an ex-warrior for the country; he was retired because he was having a sight issue; he barely can't see from afar; he is already forgotten by the throne.

The king asked Marian what her opinion was about what her father had said.

"I will be happy to work for the throne," Marian said.

The king accepted to employ Marian to work for the throne, not for the queen, but with the princess, Joel was happy, so he left the palace, leaving his daughter Marian with the king and the queen.