Heroes Called to Another World

Outcast Prince

As I approached the back, I could hear laughter and clanging. Everyone was gathered around the training yard again and drawing the crowd. I made my way next to Jess. Jayce and James were inside and smiling at each other.

“It's a good fight.” Jess said, grinning. Precious licked my fingers. “Sorry about last night, I was in bad shape this morning too.”

She put an arm around me and pulled me into an awkward hug. “At least you made it in time for this.” She said, grinning.

“Agreed.” I didn't notice Rumy move behind us. “He is better than I thought”

James and Jace were trading blows. James got a good swing of his sword. It took both of Jayce’s blades to block and you could see his body buckling under James’ obvious strength. Jayce quickly shifted his weight and tried to throw James. James regained his footing and put Jayce in a headlock while dropping his sword. He wrapped his second arm around Jayce so he couldn't defend himself with his arms. A loud cheering had erupted from the onlookers.

“Looks like hand to hand is more his strong point.” Rumy growled out. “I thought he was useless other than strategy. Looks like he has a bit of skill.” James released Jayce and they shook hands. “I seem to remember a small, useless creature proclaiming today it was going to take me on.” Jess and I turned to glare at him. He was smiling. “What do you say little creature, feeling better?” He was definitely taunting me.

“You can bet your giant a**.” I said, playfully.

“Um, what?” Jess blurted out, eyeing us funny.

I put a hand on her shoulder. “I got this.” and I gave her a wink.

I headed over to the armorer. I just decided to grab gauntlets, the small sword, and a dagger. And oddly enough, Rumy was only wearing his sword. When I turned back, he was standing there with his hands on the hilt of his still sheathed sword. I hopped the fence and walked to face him.

“Come on little vernchi and show me what you can do.” He was taunting me again. I have no idea what a vernchi is, but I imagine it was another insult.

“You asked for it?” I ran towards him. He drew his sword so quickly that I barely blocked it. He was so fast without his armor on. “Okay, I see what you're doing. I said as he smirked at me and waved for me to come at him again.

I took a moment, this time thinking about my next move. I could hear our crowd mumbling and it seemed to be getting larger. Whenever it seemed to involve Rumy and us, we seemed to grab extra attention. I smiled at him and ran again, flailing my sword. He sent it flying. I didn't react to it. I dodged his sword coming down at me and swung the dagger. He caught my wrist, dropped his sword, and disarmed me. He now had my dagger in his hand. I took a step back.

“Give up?” He asked, grinning.

I slightly shook my head. “Not a chance.”

“Good.” he responded before he came at me. It was my turn. I grabbed his arm, turned my body into his and using his momentum and my body weight to stop him, I sent the dagger flying. He picked me up over his head. I slipped from his hands and jumped on his back with my hands on his shoulders. I dug my feet into the back of his knees and pulled back as hard as I could. We hit the ground hard. But I wasn't stopping. The crowd let out a gasp and the other five let out a cheer. I wrapped both arms around his neck and both legs around his arms. If he even got one hand on me, I was done. I stopped squeezing because he burst out in laughter.

“What the he**? Did I break you?” I let go. He continued laughing. We both got to our knees. Lyle and Guile were laughing and high fiving. Hild and Egan were giggling, wide-eyed, and trying to cover their mouths. Marks and Grant just looked at everyone with shock on their faces. The crowd was mumbling quietly.

“Well done.” Rumy said, catching his breath and still laughing a bit. I was still eyeing him weirdly. “A vernchi indeed.”

“What the he** is a vernchi?”

“It's a small creature that lives in the forest trees. In our language, vern means vine, and chi is the sound the little creature makes. It has hands for feet and a long tail to grab branches.” He said, standing up and holding a hand out to help me up.

“So, it's basically a monkey?”

“If that is a similar creature in your world, then I guess. But I would not know.”

I took his hand and stood up. As we walked out of the fence, I was pelted with a happy group, patting my shoulders and back. Jess embraced me tightly.

“Yay!” She squealed.

“It's about time someone put our supreme commander down.” Lyle said, as Guile nodded happily.

“Wait. Supreme commander?” I looked at him. No way. Could Hild's story really be about Rumy?

“Yes. As I said before, I am the commander of the Armean military.” He said, eyeing me funny?

“The prince?” Everyone got quiet. Lyle and Guile stepped back. The other five looked at us weirdly.

“Which one?!” Rumy growled angrily, staring at Egan and Hild.

Egan put both hands high in the air, jumping backwards with a big goofy grin. “I am not the guilty one! Yay!” He looked so happy to be innocent.

Hild grinned softly. “She figured it out sooner than I expected.” He took a step toward Rumy. “Please don't be too angry brother.” He said awkwardly, eyeing Rumy. Rumy growled and stormed away, leaving an awkward silence in his wake.

“Um, how did you figure that out?” Dean asked.

“Didn't Hild tell everyone what was going on?”

“Yes.” They all answered almost in unison.

“So, you all heard the story about Kahil and the second prince?

They all nodded. “Go on.” Chuck encouraged.

“Well, three things. One, he is huge.” They all nodded in agreement. “Two, the prince is protected by their family, and they are very close.” I said, pointing at Egan and Hild, who had closed the gap to hear me out. “And three, Hild mentioned he was the commander of the military. So, when Lyle said that to me, it confirmed my suspicion. Had I not been hung over this morning, I might have realized it sooner.”

“You knew the moment I told you the story, didn't you?” Hild asked, still smiling.

Well. I was pretty certain, and he said you guys gave him this house.”

“Wait. This is his house.” James chimed in.

“You didn't know?” Jess asked, giving him a weird look.

“Wait. You all knew.”

We all nodded. “You should know the host of the house that you are guests in.” Chuck replied. James then stormed off, cussing under his breath.

An unfamiliar pair of arms wrapped themselves around me. “Oh, you adorable little vernchi.” It was Egan pressing his cheek against mine and nuzzling.

“Please don't call me that?” I responded annoyed.

“You are too good for that big angry brute.”

“Now, now. Don't jump to conclusions.” Hild put a hand on his shoulder and Egan lessened his hold on me.

“But he laughed so happily. You know, that's a miracle”

“But you forgot to take into account the girl you have just inappropriately grabbed.”

Egan let go, flailing his arms. “I'm so sorry. Please forgive me?” He stammered out.

“What are you two even talking about?” I asked.

“Dude.” Jess gave me a funny look. “Rumy totally has the hots for you.”

“What?” I said dryly.

“You really can't tell?” Jayce said. “Rumy is way more comfortable with you than anyone. We see it and we don't even know him.”

“Cr**.” I rubbed my face. “I wasn't fully paying attention. I was so preoccupied with stopping James’ advances. I didn't prepare myself for anyone else.”

“Why would you do that?” Grant finally spoke to me.

“Why would I do what?” I said, wide-eyed and shocked.

“Why would you keep all these men at arms length? You are a beautiful and talented woman. It seems to me someone like you should have found someone and been married by now. So why?”

“I don't like people.” I got a weird look from everyone. Hild looked the most surprised. “I get advances from men and women. It is hard to have friends when everyone wants to sleep with you. It is also hard to see who is genuine.”

Jayce put his arm around me. “Well, hon. You don't have to worry about me. I prefer men usually. He chuckled, and I began giggling.

“I did not expect that. Maybe I'm just not as good at judging people's intentions. I thought you had a thing for Jess.”

“Oh no, we both have a thing for James.” Jess chimed in. I laughed even harder. My laughter became contagious, and everyone laughed about it.

“Okay, enough of this. Let's celebrate?” Egan said, bouncing around.

“What is there to celebrate?” I asked, giving him a weird look.

“You, taking down the giant?” Marks and Grant said dryly and in unison. They looked at each other and then began to follow Eagan who was skipping back with Lyle and Guile dancing behind him.

“They are so weird.” And the five of us plus Hild, gave another good laugh and began to follow as well. Jess put her arm around me and we all scampered in.

It was already dinner time when we sat down. Precious curled up at my feet. The next thing I knew, bottles of the same wine were being passed around.

“Oh no!” I put my hands up. “I want none of that.” Everyone began laughing. I started looking around the room. It seemed like something was missing. It was Rumy. His seat was empty. Even James had joined us, but Rumy was nowhere to be seen. I don't know why, but I felt a little sad.

Dinner and drinks were passed around. Afterwards, in the usual commotion, everyone began leaving. It was hard to believe they are at war when everyone seemed so carefree. I started to leave with everyone when Prince Egan stopped me.

“A moment Jasmine?” He asked, reaching out but not touching me. “There's something I wish to discuss.” I nodded and waited for everyone to clear the room. I got a weird bow from Grant as they filed out. “You seem to be a good fit here.” He eyed me excitedly.

“What do you mean?”

“Is there a good reason not to stay when this is over?”

I had to really think about it. I was adopted by my aunt on my mom's side at a young age. My parents made some dumb choices. My two older brothers went to my uncle on my dad’s side and whenever we saw each other, we fought. When I was little, that meant fist fights that they started. My aunt and her husband moved away when I was old enough. I spoke to them on the phone sometimes. My oldest brother Samuel has some fancy job and thinks himself too good for me and my other brother. My second older brother Kyle was homeless and also making poor choices. So as far as family goes, I really didn't have a reason to go back. But my friends and the new friends that I just made, I think I would miss.

“I am not sure. Why do you ask?” I gave him a weird look.

“Even though your home is probably safer and simpler than ours, you don't seem excited when talking about it like the others do. Can I ask why?”

“I don’t have much nostalgia there, I guess.”

“The world seems pleasant compared to ours. Someday, I hope ours can be too. But we need all of your help to do so. For that, I'm sorry.”

“It's only our country that is pleasant and it has its despairing moments. And when I say that, I don't mean only our country is, I just mean there are other countries in the world who struggle more than yours. No country is perfect, and I imagine the same goes for any other potential worlds.”

“You seem modest and wise beyond your years. You could choose to stay. We would welcome you with open arms. Please think about it.” He gave me an endearing look. It was weird seeing him being compassionate. Then he walked out.

I stood there a moment thinking about his offer. Even though I didn't have much reason to go back, I really didn't have any reason to stay either. Precious and I headed out the front door for our evening stroll. I really wasn't paying attention to where I was walking. I was deep in thought. I rounded the corner of the house and bounced off something hard. A large arm wrapped around my waist and kept me from falling. “Sorry, I wasn't looking,” I stuttered. I looked up to see who was holding me. “Oh Rumy.” He had a gentle look on his face as he stared into my eyes. I cleared my throat and pushed back a little. He let go.

“Are you okay?” He asked, still staring at my face.

“I am fine. Are you okay?”

He sighed. “It's not a topic I like to discuss. But I guess it's common knowledge anyway.”

“How did you know it was Egan or Hild that told me?”

“Oh, it's always those two. If it involves me, they are quite meddlesome and talkative.”

I giggled a little. “Doesn't that mean they care?”

“I suppose it does. But it's still infuriating. I do think of them as brothers. I just didn't start out with a good relationship with my own. Which I am sure you also heard. I don't always know how to act around them.”

“I doubt you need to worry. I think they accept you no matter what. I kinda envy you a bit.”

He looked at me a little funny. “My blood brother killed my parents and tried to kill me. How could you be envious?”

“When you put it that way.” I looked away. “I meant I was envious of having people who cared so much about you. Your feelings, needs and well-being. I don't really have that.” I looked back at his eyes. They were soft and almost looked hurt. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into a hug.

“You do?” He said it softly. I barely heard him. “I'm sorry.” Letting go, he walked toward the front door. I didn't get a chance to say anything else.

Precious and I just went for a walk and returned in silence. I think we were only gone a few minutes, but it felt like forever. I was questioning logic and my own feelings. ‘What am I supposed to do? Should I go back home?’ We were talking earlier and there are probably missing persons reports on us. My aunt and boss might think I am dead. ‘What is the right thing to do? Wait, what do I want to do?’

I reached the split landing on the stairs and paused for a moment. I heard quiet arguing.

“Send her home.” It sounded like Rumy.

“Brother, I invited her to stay.” That must have been Egan.

“Why would you do that? You know it's not safe here.”

“But you want her too, and we like her as well.”

“And if my brother gets his hands on her, then what?”

Precious started up that side of the stairs, wagging her tail. I whispered after her, but she ignored me.

“Ah, the cute creature. They call it a dog?” Egan leaned down to pet her as I walked up after her. I'm not sure whose room they were in, but it wasn't Rumy's. Rumy’s eyes met mine. I stopped just as I entered.

“Egan,” He turned back to him. “Please consider what I said?” And then he turned and walked into his room.

“Precious come.” She came hopping back to me. Egan just smiled at us. “Good night.”

“Good night.”

We returned to my room to crawl immediately into the bed. I lay there for a while. I don't know what I want or what I think of Rumy. But after his behavior this evening, I see what everyone else saw. Images of moments with him flooded into my mind. He's very sweet in his own way. Even though he has his rude moments. I rolled over, trying to clear my mind. It was a long time before I could finally fall asleep.