Aryo & the Missing Prince

CHAPTER TWO: THE FOREST

"So why won't you help me search for him?" Aryo squeaked as he chased the old hero through the gate and into the man's courtyard. The man said nothing, but simply yanked an ax out of a stump in the corner, ignoring the boy.

"You believed me about the insignia," Aryo said. "so why won't you help me find the prince?"

Barin set a piece of firewood on a stump and readied his ax. "Because it's not like that," he said.

CHOP.

The wood split on the stump and the old man looked up. "There's no reason for the prince to be riding way out here in our forest." he said.

"But it's his horse," Aryo argued as the man placed another piece of firewood on the stump. "Who else would be riding it?"

CHOP.

"Do you think the prince has only one horse?" Barin asked with a hint of a sneer. "It must be stolen. Just because it's the prince's horse doesn't mean the prince was riding it."

"But how do you know the prince wasn't riding it?" Aryo pressed.

"What do you mean how do I know?" Barin barked.

"What if it was the prince and what if he's in trouble?" the boy asking, eyes sparkling.

Barin shook his head. "Impossible!" he spat.

CHOP.

"But why?" Aryo asked.

"Because the prince doesn't care about us up here!"

CHOP.

The old man shrugged. "Why should he care about us?"

"Because he's the prince," Aryo stated. "He's our prince. He's gotta care about us."

"Ha!" Barin snorted. "He might be our prince, but that doesn't mean he cares about us way up here. Not when he's got his shiny palace down there in the capital where everyone is rich and fat and happy! What do a few peasants like us matter to him?"

"We matter very much!" Aryo said brightly. "The king loves his people and so does the prince!"

"Is that right?" Barin growled skeptically.

CHOP.

"It is!" Aryo continued. "His kingdom means everything to him. His people mean everything to him!"

"And how do you know that, boy?" Barin asked. "What makes you the expert on the prince and his priorities, hm?"

"My father told me about him." Aryo said flatly.

"Oh, is that so?" Barin asked, resting on the ax. "And how did your father come to know so much?"

"My father knew the king, okay?" Aryo said, visibly swelling with pride. "He met him once, and he said he was the nicest man he'd ever met. I imagine the prince would be the same way."

"Ah, I see now," Barin said, grinning. "Your father's a soldier, eh? He fights for the king. Tells you he's a great man and a kind man? Makes sense. The king pays his soldiers well enough. Enough to make them sing his praises."

CHOP.

For the first time in nearly an hour, the little boy didn't have a response. The pestering had finally stopped. Barin readied another piece of firewood. As he did, he glanced at the boy. He was deep in thought. Barin shrugged and raised the ax.

"How much gold do you have to give a man to get him to die for you?" Aryo asked suddenly.

Barin froze.