Rise Of The Peasant King

CHAPTER 2

"Nah, don't worry about it. It's only a few silvers." "Right," Lew hummed, holding his own apple as if it were poisoned. Darryl finished off his happily. "So, where were you headed after this," the stranger asked, tossing the core into a nearby trash can. " I'll walk you there." " Thanks, but I'm fine," the boy responded, turning to go. " You've helped me enough, I don't want to trouble you more." He started to walk away when suddenly, Darryl gripped his wrist a little too tightly, causing the boy to yelp. " Ow, what the heck?!" He looked over his shoulder and froze. Darryl's soft face had hardened and his eyes could turn anyone to stone. It wasn't a suggestion."

'You could've just told me someone was following us," Lew grumbled. Darryl shot him a pointed look. " What! I'm just saying you didn't have to be so dramatic!" "I'm not being dramatic! I'm just trying to keep you safe," Darryl whined. The two walked down a few darker side streets, the setting sun casting shadows and making it appear to already be night. Lew couldn't believe how stupid the whole situation was. He couldn't afford an apple and now he was walking down an unlit street, no witnesses in sight, with a stranger. He figured if he ended up getting robbed and murdered, it would be a good story for his family to tell. "Wait, where are we going?" Lew questioned, coming to a stop. " You never even asked where my house was!" "Oh," Darryl gaped. " Guess I forgot about that part." The shorter male pinched the bridge of his nose. " You forgot about That's a little important, don't you think?!" "Sorry," the stranger trailed off, his eyes latching onto something behind them. He grabbed Lew's wrist. Ow! Again with the touching!" The peasant complained, yanking away, but his gaze followed the other man's. He caught a glimpse of a figure disappearing around the corner. He put a hand on Darryl's shoulder, feeling fear creep into his veins. " Um, why are we being followed exactly?" "I have a few guesses, but I'm not too sure either," Darryl mumbled. " Just act natural and we'll try to lose them." Slowly, the two resumed their walking. They didn't talk, but Lew still clutched onto Darryl's arm. The boy began to notice the buildings around them thinning, and he figured they were reaching the outskirts of the town. Had they really been walking for that long? Or had the marketplace always been that close to the edge of the capital?

Suddenly, Darryl took a sharp turn and told Lew to start running. He grabbed the smaller man's hand and directed him on a windy route past parts of the city that he'd never seen before. Lew heard footsteps following them, closer than he might've liked. He frowned when Darryl suddenly jumped into a trellis and began climbing the wall of a house. The strange man looked over his shoulder and held out a hand. " C'mon! Start climbing or this guy's gonna catch us!" Lew was bewildered to find that Darryl was smiling wildly, like this was the most exciting thing to him. Was being chased by an unknown threat really so thrilling to him?! Nevertheless, he grabbed his hand and began climbing himself. They reached the roof of the house and Darryl immediately forced Lew down right as the pursuer rounded the corner. The guy looked around, obviously confused. He stomped his foot and cursed, thinking he'd lost the two. Lew noticed that Darryl was staring very intently at the guy's face, perhaps trying to place where he'd seen it before. The shorter male took into account the man's tall, refined figure. He must've been a solider of some kind. He was fairly young as well, strawberry blonde hair filled with curls and a his face very youthful. Why was someone roughly their age trying to catch them? 36 The man let out a growl and ran down an alley, maybe thinking they'd headed that direction. As soon as he was gone, Darryl pulled Lew to the trellis and they climbed down. Lew turned to head back into town, but the taller man advised they avoid that for a little while. "He could still be around, it's safer to just wander around the outskirts for a little while," Darryl advised. Lew was hesitant, remembering he still had to get back to his family and make dinner. The two approached a small grove of trees on the edge of the city. They climbed a little hill and came to a stop Lew At the top of the hill, there was a lone maple tree, it's leaves a brilliant orange hue, and the branches blowing in the autumn breeze. Gently, the two settled in the grass blow the spectacular tree. From the top of the hill, the two could see a decent portion of the city. As the darkness began to blanket the sky, lights flickered to life. "This is a lovely little view, isn't it?" Darryl hummed. Lew nodded in agreement. There was an awkward silence, which the older man tried to fill with a few ice breaker questions like, "What do you do for a living?" "Me?" Lew stopped to think about his answer. He'd only just met this kid, should he really give away so much information? Oh, what the hell, why was he even trying to hide anymore. " I clean tables at a cafe in Town Square, and on the weekends I help out at the orphanage." "Really," Darryl whistled. " You are quite the saint." "It's nothing." Lew shrugged, smiling a little. "They needed the help and I needed the job, there's nothing more to

"Still, that's more noble than most," the brunette hummed. The two returned to silence once again, but this time, it was comfortable. "What about you?" Lew asked, eyes focused on the castle in the distance. Darryl seemed to think on his answer, just as the shorter man had done when asked the same question. "Oh, it's nothing as special as yours," he chuckled softly. Lew slapped his shoulder playfully, urging him to reveal it anyway. "I work in the castle." "Woah! What do you do?!" Lew nearly jumped to his feet. The other boy's green eyes sparkled with amusement. " Are you like a guard or something?" God, no," Darryl laugher. " I just work in the kitchen. Help cook and clean up after the head chef." That's still really cool! Are you a good cook?" The stranger raised an eyebrow, a big smile on his face. " What? Was that a stupid question?" "No, there's no such thing as a

"No, there's no such thing as a stupid question," he sighed, standing up. He stretched and Lew took a minute to notice how physically fit he was. Were chefs usually so toned? Darryl waved a hand in front of his face, and Lew realized he was staring. What? Never seen someone stretch before?" Lew felt his face flush, but he ignored it. "You're dumb." "Wow, rude," the brunette laughed. Are you always so cold to your friends?" The raven-haired male paused. " We're friends?" Darryl's eyes widened and he stammered out, "Well, if you're not uncomfortable with the idea-" Yes!" Lew cut him off quickly. "I think I'd like to be friends!" The older boy grinned, before turning and walking down the hill. Lew frowned, calling after him, " Wait! Where are you going?!"