The Rise of the Peasant king

Chapter 7

"screw you." Darryl flicked on the nose. The younger man struggled under the chef's grip, but it was no use, he was pinned against the tree until his friend let him go. "Now, admit that I'm the better fighter!"

"I don't have to admit anything," lew huffed. Darry raised an eyebrow. "Do I have to flip you again?" "No," the raven-haired male complained. " Fine, you're an okay fighter, now get off!" The older man laughed and stood up, allowing the other boy to scramble to his feet. " Shall we go one more time?" "No!" lew slipped his grass-stained shirt off and threw it to the ground. He was still breathing heavily from the last few fights, and beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. Darryl felt his face heat up slightly as he caught himself staring. The younger man gestured to the bruises on his shoulders and back from their sparing session. " I've got enough battle scars to last me for awhile. My mother is going to ask so many questions!" "It's okay," Darryl started, snickering to himself. " If she asks why you have so many bruises, just tell her they're hickies!" Lew gasped and hit the laughing brunette on the arm. The two bickered for a bit longer, finally settling underneath the tree once more." We've been fighting for, like, a month straight!" We've been fighting one day a week for three weeks. Plus, you're the one who keeps asking to spar," Darryl snorted." Drama queen." 1 If I'm the drama queen, you're the drama prince," the other boy sighed. He didn't seem to notice when his friend stayed unusually quiet. They sat in silence for a few minutes, listening to the birds sing in the trees, and the wind whistled through the leaves. "So, how's work been," Lew asked. He closed his eyes, feeling the warm sun on his face.

"One of the other Assistant Chefs were fired," Darryl said calmly, as if it didn't faze him. The younger boy, however, knew how big of a deal that was and nearly jumped to his feet. How are you always so calm about this stuff?!" I've known for much longer than you have, stupid," the brunette giggled. "Either way, everyone expected it. That guy has been pressing the Head Chef's buttons for years, it's a miracle it hadn't happened before this." "They've got a replacement, right?" lew hummed, relaxing a bit from his sudden burst of energy. He flinched as he moved his arm suddenly and his muscles ached. " Surely they wouldn't just fire someone without finding someone to fill in, right?" "Yes, they always think about those things," Darryl confirmed. " The castle is far too busy to lack someone so important while they try to fill the role. The guy they picked is fairly young as well, which is refreshing."

"What's he like? Are you two friends?" The younger boy stared at the chef with big, expecting eyes. Darryl laughed and shoved him back into the grass playfully. " I'm just curious, my life's so boring, but yours is so interesting all the time." " Hardly!" The brunette flicked an ant off his leg. " I will say, he has purposefully messed with me while we were working, so I don't know how I feel about him just yet." Darryl recalled the previous day at work, while he was cooking, the new Assistant Chef had finished with all he could do and was allowed to mull around. Apparently, the most efficient way for him to spend that time, was to build a catapult out of breadsticks and launch frozen peas down the back of the brunette's shirt. "I thought you guys couldn't afford to waste any time?" Zak blinked. The taller boy scratched the back of his neck. " If you work fast enough, it is possible to run out of jobs to do!"

"If it's so easy to get done with work, why don't you come visit me more often?" The raven-haired boy complained. He raised an eyebrow at the chef, who was smiling down at him rather sadly. "I never said it was easy to get out of work," Darryl corrected. "Just possible." "Right, my mistake," lew said, his mood deflating at the bad news. " I'm sure you have a life outside of just hanging with me anyway." The brunette's eyes widened when he saw the smaller boy's smile drop. " No!" lew raised an eyebrow, smirking ever-so-slightly." So, you don't have a life?" What?" Darryl growled as he realized what the other boy had tricked him into saying. " No! That's not what I meant! I was going to say that you're the most exciting part of my life!"

lew froze, and he felt heat creeping into his cheeks. The older boy also realized and began stammering out half-sentences to try and fix his mistake. The two eventually stopped and burst out into laughter. " Dude! Your life must be pretty boring if it revolves around me!" "Hah! You wish!" Darryl responded. "My jobs are super interesting, thank you very much!" Wait, jobs? You have more than one?" The brunette tensed up, eyes wide. Lew slowly crawled closer to the boy, who had stopped breathing entirely. Maybe he hoped he would pass out before he had to answer the boy's question? Anything was better than that. Darryl!" The two looked up, surprised by a voice calling out to them. Darryl's eyes widened as he saw the Head of Servants running towards him. "Zelk? What're you doing here?"

The man skidded to a stop in front of them, pausing to catch his breath. When he met the chef's eye, he had a panicked expression on his face. " It's your brother." 4 Both Darryl and Lew jumped to their feet." He wants to see you..." "... Now."