Will of a Prince

The kingdom itself was larger than Iron Kingdom. The stones of the wall looked darker and glowed a magical hue across their surface. There was a large river of water surrounding the kingdom from all sides, with the exception of the front which held a bridge for anyone to cross. Sentry buildings were place every now and then on the wall for extra protection.

’Enchanted stones? I wonder if we could find an enchantress to help us or get some good gear.’

As they walked across the bridge, a few guards walked up to them.

"Stay right there, travelers. What brings you to Chrono Kingdom?"

Slimo spoke underneath the visor of his iron helmet.

"We’ve all come seeking work and education. Us two in particular are arms for hire that the king may use at his expense."

Slimo pointed to Lidia and himself when he said this.

"Where are you all travelling from?"

"We have all come from the southern villages. We used to spend out days travelling and selling goods, but the roads have been harsh. Not everyone has made this trip."

The guard dropped his shoulders a bit.

"I’m sorry to hear that. Take this before you enter. It’s a copy of all of our laws that you must adhere to as long as you are a citizen here. If you break one, you will be at the mercy of our enforcement officers. Do I make myself clear?"

He handed Jacob a slip of paper. The paper was small but held a multitude of words on it. He slipped the sheet in a small space in his armor.

"Yes, sir. We appreciate your hospitality."

"Of course, the entrance is right this way. You can bring your carts with you."

Jacob and Maria followed Lidia and Slimo into the towering entrance of the kingdom. Despite being such a massive place, the streets were eerily quiet. Almost all the houses seemed empty, there were hardly any people walking the streets, and businesses looked slow. It was the complete opposite to how Iron Kingdom was. Zoey stood up in the cart and looked around.

"Man... what a gloomy vibe. Where are all the people?"

Serena stood up next to her, studying her surroundings as well.

"Zoey’s right. This place feels like a ghost town."

"This is most likely one of the newer kingdoms the emperor has built. He has slowly been expanding his land westward as fast as he could as to keep up with Monlo’s expansion. I can see why he decided to build a kingdom here. That wasteland we travelled through could provide some major natural protection against threats."

"Are you sure they have an education system here?"

"It looks like we’ll have to ask around when we can."

As they continued their walk down the wide, stone streets, there was an old man with a bald head, small glass, and long, white beard walking by them. Slimo called over to him and waved. The man stopped and looked at them while fixing his glasses that rested on his nose.

"Pardon me sir, but do you know someone we could talk to so we can buy a house here? We are travelers who want to make this place our new home."

The old man studied them carefully before responding.

"You have to choose your house here before discussing how to make it yours. Would you like me to accompany you? I can show you a few places that can house as many as you have."

Lidia’s face brightened before she ran over to the old man and shook his hand fiercely.

"That would be great sir! It’s nice to meet you! I’m Lidia! You can also call me mom to all these lovely people behind me!"

The old man struggled to maintain his balance as Lidia threw his hand up and down with incredible force. When she finally let go, the old man shook off his surprise.

"You people are so lively. That’s a good thing. This town could use lively."

"What’s your name, sir?"

"My name? My name is Emerial Poperson. You can just call me Pops."

Jacob stifled a laugh.

’Popserson. What a ridiculous name!!’

Maria saw that he found the poor old man’s name hilarious and slapped him in the back of the head. She gritted her teeth and brought her face close to his. Her green eyes burned into his pupils.

"You leave him alone! He’s being nice enough to show us around!"

Jacob was still containing his laugh as best he could. He thought he was alone, but Squabee seemed to be in the same boat. She was covering her mouth, her face turning bright red holding in her laugh. When Maria looked away to try and scold Squabee, Jacob whispered out loud to everyone on the cart.

"Poperson."

Squabee and Jacob couldn’t hold it anymore. They burst out laughing and fell on the ground while holding their stomach. Both Sarah and Maria started hitting them until they stopped before innocently looking at the old man like nothing was happening. However, the old man wasn’t offended in the slightest. In fact, his old brown eyes seemed to light up with joy.

"No one has laughed at my name in ages! It’s so refreshing to see people still get joy out of it!"

Maria and Sarah looked at him dumbfounded and lifted their victims back on their feet before dusting them off. Jacob still couldn’t help it.

"Poperson."

They burst into laughter again. Jacob fell on the ground and start hitting his fist into the stone. Squabee had tears rolling down her cheeks while she clutched her stomach.

"I can’t breathe!!"

Even the people in the cart seemed to find the situation a little funny. It was the first time Doc had seen any of them smile since they escaped the prison. After three more moments, Jacob stood back up, walked over to the man, and bowed his head.

"I am so terribly sorry, sir. I promise I’ll be more respectful from now on!"

Pops patted Jacob on his back.

"It is quite alright, young man. Please allow me to take you all to some house you may find to your liking!"

Lidia walked up next to him.

"After you!"

Pops started leading them down the long, stone road towards a long stretch of large houses. Jacob got under his cart and quickly started pulling it behind them to catch up. It didn’t take long before Pops stopped in front of two massive houses that sat next to each other.

"Here we are! I would recommend claiming these two if I was in your group."

The houses were magnificent. There seemed to be four floors on each house. The walls were made of a beige stone while the roofs had light red tiles across them. There were plenty of windows along the side as well, allowing for artificial light to be let into each house. Slimo looked at them both with amazement through the small slits in his helmet.

"These are really impressive, but I am unsure if we will be able to afford both of them."

Pops looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"Afford? You don’t have to pay for these houses. They are completely free to live in."