Chapter Text
Charmont was agitated. Which wasn’t anything abnormal. His uncle was becoming a very irritating person. He wouldn’t let Charmont in on any important meetings. When he was younger, he understood this. It wasn’t his job yet; he would have to learn to be King. Looking back on his father, already let him in meetings. Had already started to teach him to be King when he was a kid. Maybe the situation was his fault because for a long time he preferred to be ignorant than to face what his Uncle was doing.
It was his kingdom, no matter how hard his uncle was trying to hide it from him. He was almost 20, which is when he could take the crown. His uncle was becoming more aggressive about not telling him anything. The secrets were coming out though slowly one by one. The closer it became to his birthday, the more his uncle would hide in his room and avoid him. He didn’t want to say that it seemed like he was scheming. But it was really starting to feel that way. He trusted his uncle, for the most part. He never wanted to question him. He was the last family he had left.
He could see that it was going to be difficult to learn to run a kingdom when nobody would let him learn. It was difficult to run a kingdom when his uncle seemed determined to stop him at every turn. He wasn’t even allowed in the meetings to decide laws or meetings that spoke about what was happening to his people. Everything was turning so difficult. He sighs, so lost in thought that he doesn’t notice how far into the woods he was walking.
He hears a loud sound and jumps back so he can look around. How did he get so far away from the path? He had no idea where he is, in the distance, he hears a dog bark. Looking around he doesn’t see a dog, but he does see a strange man in the path in front of him. Charmont wasn’t usually one to judge but the man was a hulking figure. He was carrying hunting supplies on his back, a bow across his back and sword at his hip. The sword was large, and Charmont feels himself tense up. He was alone, and so was Charmont. Charmont touches his hip to remind himself that there was a sword at his hip. He could fight if he had to. Charmont was a good warrior, being trained since birth but he could still feel worried, the man was much larger than him and he was alone in a strange place.
“Hello, I think I’m lost. Can you tell me where I am?” He calls it out, half hoping the man would stay at a distance. He kept his voice upbeat and friendly, not wanting the man to take him as a threat. He told himself again he could hold his own in a fight with this man, but the man was very large. He was kind of a hulking figure. When the man walks closer to him, about five feet between them, he noticed that he also had a large scar over his left eye, and he was a hulking terrifying figure especially close. His face should have been unattractive with a huge scar, but he was still good looking, with strong looking cheekbones and attractive lips. He also hadn’t replied to him, which made Charmont tense up.
The man looked at him silently, before looking around and shrugging in an answer. The fact that he didn’t really have a reply annoyed Charmont. But he noticed that even though he was quiet, the way he shrugged said a lot. Mostly he seemed to be being sarcastic. Charmont had a feeling he was trying to say, ‘you are here’. In a sarcastic way. Charmont sighs, putting his hands on his hips.
“Are you going to be helpful, or are you just going to be silent and rude.” The man shrugs at him and walks past him. Charmont stands there in shock for a second, not used to having somebody just straight up ignore him. He turns, ready to yell at him. He might not be king yet, but he was still crowned prince. The man stops, looks back, and gestures for him to follow. The man was too familiar with somebody he doesn’t know. His face was familiar, his jerky movements. The amused glint and the soft frown that was across his face. Charmont wonders how he could possibly know the man. He didn’t even seem real, yet something tugged at Charmont’s heart. Unhappy, Charmont crosses his arms and follows him. If this man got him back to the castle, he was going to be impressed. He was probably going to eat him.
Halfway through the walk, Charmont got tired of the quiet. He wasn’t good with keeping silent. The man continued to be silent, which was very concerning. He felt wary of the man, even though he had done nothing to deserve it. It was half because of how familiar he found the other man. Something was going on, and even though Charmont wasn’t sure what it was he felt like he should tread carefully on the situation. Charmont felt bad, he must have had people fear him a lot. Looking like that, he probably got ran away from more than he got talked too. Maybe that’s why he was so quiet. But the man still made him feel like he was going to be eaten.
He started talking without realizing, feeling the need to fill the silence. He did this a lot when he felt awkward, or so his father used to tease him about. ‘You don’t need to fill every silence’ but that still didn’t stop him from feeling the need too. Sometimes misses his father was a deep ache in his chest that he never felt like he was going to fill.
“My uncle doesn’t think that I’m ready to start ruling, which isn’t going to be up to him by the end of the month. In a month I will rule over a country that I don’t really know anything about. I’m kind of scared.” He had no reason to tell the man any of this, except it was nice to voice his concerns instead of just letting them sit heavily in his head. Plus, the man paying attention to him made him feel better about the whole situation. He must have paused too long in thought because the man stopped walking, eye watching him carefully.
The man nods, making a motion for him to continue talking. Charmont felt himself blush, nobody ever really wanted to listen to him. Char felt listened to, which was something that he really wasn’t used to being. Most people just kind of ignored him when he talked or smiled at him in patronizing ways. Pretending to listen and understand because of who he was. He looked like he was listening even though he was not replying. Maybe that’s what Charmont liked about the conversation, he didn’t have to feel the weight of other people’s opinions on his feelings, he felt like he was just allowed to have them.
“The thing is, is I’ve noticed the way he treats some people. Recently I have met with some advisors who are warning me what he’s doing. When I was younger, I was kind of blind to it. It's frustrating to see the magical creatures be arrested or forced to do things they don’t want to do. And they all blame me. Maybe they should, I was so stupid for trusting him and now I’m stuck with him another month before he must step down. I think he’ll fight me on it as well… I’m sorry I’m ranting.” To be honest, Charmont doesn’t remember his childhood very well. Everything was kind of cloudy when he thought about it. When he ever thought to question it, his mind would float off somewhere else.
The man pauses to look at him and shrugged, moving his hands through the air in a weird way. Charmont confused tries to mimic it. The man lets out a silent chuckle, and grabs Charmont's hands, helping him mimic the motion. A voice in his head whispers “I don’t mind.” Charmont jumps back in surprise.
“What is that? Is that magic? How strange! I’ve never seen anything like it! You have to show me more.” Does it only work when you know the words? Charmont had so many questions but tries to keep them to himself. The man has a small smile on his face like he knew something that Charmont didn’t.
The man just nods and points ahead of them. Blinking in confusion Charmont looks, his palace was sitting in front of him. He didn’t even notice how far they had walked, how had he not noticed. One of the guards at the door calls out his name, Charmont standing in confusion. When he turns back around the man is gone. Charmont circles around looking to see where he went. The guards were jogging up to him.
“Did you see him?” When the guards shake their head, Charmont can feel himself getting upset. “What do you mean who, he was just standing there?” The guards looked him confused and one grabs his arm to keep him steady. He starts to feel faint, and he was unsure what it was about. He wasn’t sick, or he didn’t think he was.
“Are you overheated sire? You’ve been gone for hours.”
“No way it’s been hours… I was just in the forest...”