Prove his worth

Zarek had been riding for hours, going deeper into the thick forest leading out of Arvenia. He had snuck out of the palace, concealing his face with a hoodie, and took none of his guards with him.

He let his mother deal with the whole Lucien problem for now, because he had a bigger fish to fry, when he gets himself out of this predicament, then he can finally relax and think of a solution to Lucien. For as long as he could remember, he always hated Lucien. His father favored Lucien every time, and never for once paid him any attention. He had to struggle to get their father to see him. When Lucien did not get his dragon, he thought it was finally his time to shine, to finally be his father's favorite. But none of that happened, his father still turned all his attention to Lucien, trying to find teachers and physicians that could force his dragon out.

But now he did not care about their father or about getting his attention, all he wanted was the throne and he would get it, no matter the cost.

After what felt like forever, Zarek reached the outskirts of Arvenia, there were lesser trees and more shrubs.

Zarek tied his horse to a tree and continued on foot till he finally got to a clearing.

He looked around, his face in a deep frown, "Ansell!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.

He turned immediately when he heard a twig snap. A short man, with a sickly thin red beard, appeared.

"My Lord," he said in a shaky voice, bowing his head slightly.

"You clumsy Buffon!" Zarek threw his fist into the man's face. "What have you done?"

Zarek threw his balled fist into the unsuspecting man's face, Ansell stumbled backward and fell onto his back. Zarek wasting no time, straddled the man and landed another punch into his face. Ansell raised his hands to block the impact, but his hands could only take so much.

"Please my lord, please," he cried, struggling to wriggle out of Zarek's grip.

Zarek pulled his head up by his collar, "You had one job Ansell, one job" he spat into the wailing man's bloodied face.

Zarek let him go, and sprung to his feet, "Arggggghh," he screamed, raking his finger through his hair.

"I am sorry my lord," he whimpered as he scampered to his feet. "I did everything right, I sold them off to the Valorians Prince Lucien and his squad straight to the ambush. It is not my fault that the Valorians couldn't finish them off," he sniffled.

"Now the entire village and the other four kingdoms are looking for you," Zarek laughed maniacally, "So now, Ansell, you are a liability to me!"

Ansell fell on his knees and folded his hands, "I am going to disappear my lord, I just need some money and you will never see me again, I swear on my life."

Zarek looked down at the man kneeling before him, in dirty clothes and unshaved beards, and shook his head pitifully. He reached into his coat and produced the pouch.

"Here," he tossed it before Ansell, some of the coin spewed out. Ansell hurriedly picked them up, along with the pouch.

"Thank you, thank you," he repeatedly bowed his head as he stood to his feet.

"I better not lay my eyes on you again, Ansell," Zarek said in an oddly quiet voice.

"I swear, thank you," he started retreating slowly, without turning around. He had his eyes fixed on Zarek's eerily cool face.

Satisfied that Zarek was not making any more attempts at hurting him, he turned his back at him and continued moving.

Zarek watched the man turn his back and wondered if it was a good idea to let Ansell go. If Ansell got caught by any of the king's men, the coward would not hesitate to expose him. It would give his father enough reason to discard him. He had worked hard all his life to prove his worth to his father and it was never enough. Forget enough, his father could not even see that he was trying to prove himself, because he was too busy clapping for Lucien.

Suddenly, it hit him. This was his chance to prove himself to his father, to force his father to see him and see his worth.

Zarek quietly started to make his way toward Ansell. Ansell might be wounded but he could still hurt him, Zarek thought. He reached into his coat and placed his hand on his dagger. He tiptoed and quietly and as fast as he could to get to Ansell.

"Ansell?" he called. Startled and scared, Ansell spun around. He made to run, but it was too late, Zarek was already upon him.

"Arrrrggggh!" his gargling scream, reverberated through the forest.

_______________

Soren laughed hard, throwing his head backward and gripping his stomach. Draven laughed just as hard.

"Go ahead and laugh, it's really funny," Lucien said dryly.

"Do you blame us?" Draven asked as he regained control, wiping his eyes with the back of his palm. "Just tell your father that you are not ready," he added.

"Like I haven't thought of that! Telling my father that I am not ready would not solve anything. Rather it would give him the perfect excuse to talk about how he was handed the throne at the age of eighteen," Lucien rolled his eyes.

"That is why I don't envy you," Draven chuckled, but his laughter is overshadowed by the thundering hoofs of racehorses, and raised voices of frustrated men.

"Come on!" Soren yelled, throwing his hand into the air, in exasperation.

Lucien laughed, " told you that horse was going to lose!"

"How much did you bet on this again?" Draven asked, amused.

"Twenty gold coins! This horse better win or I will make it disappear,"

"This horse has won four consecutive races, and that clearly was to get everyone to put their money on him. So now he'll lose, and so will the rest of you," Lucien craned his neck to get a better view of the horses which were returning for the final lap.