Chapter 5 Part 1:

Idleness

A cold, wet rag brushed across Clarence’s forehead and gently woke the young boy up. His body felt particularly heavy, and he found it hard to lift his head. The older woman that had saved him in the forest was sitting next to him on a small wooden stool, looking down at the boy lovingly.

“Are you awake, honey? You had a fever, but you should rest a bit more.” She continued to wipe the sweat beads off his head, gently cooling his burning forehead. “You’re probably hungry. I’ll make some porridge! Mmm!” She said this while laughing, standing up slowly. Her knees cracked.

Clarence liked the smell of the tiny house. It smelled like the kitchen in the castle.

The house itself was rather small, only consisting of three rooms. The room he was in now was in the kitchen, but the small bed he was laying in was to the far side of the room, by the kitchen table. The table’s wood was old and faded.

The older woman walked to the other side of the room and pulled out a large pan. She bent down and picked up a small basin of water and poured a small amount in, preparing the dish. Clarence turned away from her and looked out the small window next to him that showed a small part of the outside. He was at a farm. There were cows, sheep, and chickens sauntering around the  mid-morning and eating their fill of grass and bugs. He was fascinated.

His eyes were fixed on the outside until the woman announced that the porridge was finished. Carefully, the boy sat up and looked at the older woman. Instead of passing him the spoon and bowl, she dipped the spoon in the porridge and passed the full spoon to Clarence’s mouth.

Embarrassed, he opened his mouth and ate it. It was sweet and delicious. He thought the honey tasted better than the berries the cooks always put in at the castle. He hungrily took another bite, enjoying the taste of the home-cooked meal.

“Honey, you can call me Auntie Josephine.” She said this after he had finished the entire bowl, which had been full to the brim. “I changed your clothes while you were asleep. The ones you were wearing are drying now.” He did not notice before, but his pajamas were hanging above the stove.

Josephine looked at him expectantly, “Now what’s your name, sweetie?”

“Clarence, Clarence Godfreed.” He said this with a large, innocent smile.

The woman looked at the boy and froze with the bowl in her warm, calloused hands upon hearing his name. There was no ignoring her suspicions now. This young child was a Godfreed, meaning he was somehow related to the king. Josephine turned away for a moment to collect herself, then, with a gentle smile, she pushed Clarence’s hair behind his ears and told him to rest. After he closed his eyes, Josephine quickly stood up and calmly hurried outside, flagging down her husband from the woodshed.

“Jonathan, please come here for a moment.” She said nervously, looking over her shoulder, expecting to see the queen’s knights coming down the road any moment to punish them. Jonathan was immediately perplexed by his wife’s frantic expression.

“Oh, honey, did the young lad wake up? I’m glad to see he’s feeling better.” Her husband said calmly.

“I’m relieved as well. But there’s a problem…” She stood on her tiptoes and whispered into his ear, his eyes bulging at her words. He looked back at her in surprise, but all she did was nod her head in response.

Now the two were perplexed together. After a moment of speaking, the two looked at each other again, the husband sighing to himself.

“I’ll take the cart and head to the next town over. I heard that the royal knights have started a search for a noble’s son.” He shook his head lightly, “But I never would’ve thought that we had the young gentleman all along.” He walked inside and grabbed the pajamas, folding them neatly and placing them under his arm. If he didn’t have proof of the young boy’s appearance, he could face reprimand. He preferred to keep he and his wife safe. And maybe if they alerted the queen’s knight immediately, the queen would let them go, maybe hopefully with a small reward.

At all the commotion, Clarence opened his eyes back up. Since he was now strong enough to stand up, Clarence wobbly went outside to watch Jonathan take off in the cart they had brought Clarence in earlier. He and Josephine waved the man away as he began to travel to the town. Even hurrying, it was a quarter of a day’s trip, and if any word came back, it would have to come around supper time.

Josephine took a deep breath and turned back to Clarence and asked, excitedly, “Then, Clarence, if you’re up, why don’t you and I play some games together, hm?” Josephine looked at Clarence’s sparkling eyes as he glanced excitedly around the farm and knew Clarence would enjoy playing with the animals.

He would love to feed the animals the most. This she knew, because her children were the same way when they were young. But those memories, she thought to herself, are very old now.

It would also keep him safe, as the farm animals were all old and docile. They would most certainly enjoy the new company of the innocent child.

Clarence straightened his bed head while looking in the large water basin outside for the animals. The color to his cheeks was back, and he felt full of energy now that his fever had subsided. He wanted to play with the animals.

Aunt Josephine took him around the farm, giving him a personal tour of their humble homestead. Clarence excitedly ran around as he greeted all the animals, even the frightful rabbits. When he approached the cows, they sniffed him curiously, one licking the side of his face from his chin to his hair, leaving his previously neat head in disarray. Josephine laughed a deep, hearty laugh and helped Clarence smooth his hair.

After that, Clarence threw corn to the chickens who gathered around him hungrily. Josephine noticed this and ran over to him, holding him up high as he tossed the pieces around. Clarence giggled gleefully as he was gently swung around. The chickens poked their heads around the ground without much thought, enjoying their second meal of the day.

After that, Clarence got to try to milk a cow. Because her husband had to leave so suddenly, he had forgotten to milk one of the cows. “Now this is Sweetheart. Just like her name, she’s a sweet pea.” Josephine said this lovingly, stroking the cow’s head gently. “Do you want to milk her?”

Clarence couldn’t contain his excitement. He furiously nodded his head and watched as Josephine demonstrated how to grasp the udders. After, he was able to sit on the small wooden stool and try to milk the cow too. When the milk shot out, he was startled, jumping back.

“Just like that. You’re doing great!”

With the milk in the bucket, Clarence carried it back to the house with the help of Josephine. She smiled warmly as he placed it down and then asked, “What are we doing next?”

Josephine looked outside, seeing the sun was already high in the sky. “I think I’m feeling a little hungry. Why don’t I make some soup?”

Clarence nodded his head, “I like soup!”

He was sent out of the kitchen while she cooked, so the boy tottered around the farm without much thought to his family. He saw the sheep and stopped, looking at their fluffy bodies with amazement. Many of them were gathered together, laying in the shade of the large oak tree in the middle of the field. Very slowly, Clarence approached them and sat down next to one, a particularly gentle-looking sheep. Her fluffy black body looked comfortable enough to sleep on. He leaned back and rested his head and back on the sheep, enjoying the fluffy wool on its body.

The sheep was at ease and closed its eyes, allowing the small boy to lay next to her.

Clarence laid next to the sheep and napped until Josephine had come out to retrieve him, wiping her hands on her stained apron. She couldn’t help but smile, remembering her own children before they had grown. Her youngest son in particular always enjoyed laying with the sheep. The thought brought tears to her eyes.

“Auntie Josephine?” He said, standing up.

Josephine wiped the tips of her eyes with the back of her hand and said, smiling, “Why don’t we have some bread and soup, hm?” He ran up and grabbed her hand while she led him inside, asking him about what he had been up to while she cooked.

It wasn’t much later when a group of knights had arrived at her home, accompanied by her nervous husband. He quickly came up to her, and then bowed at the Prince’s feet with great difficulty.

The old woman was shocked, The only person we bow for is-

She looked at Clarence deeply for a moment, remembering his pajamas. Though they were filthy, the old woman could tell from all of her years of sewing dresses for the noble ladies in the village, that these pajamas were still extraordinarily expensive, something even the richest noble would have trouble procuring. She gasped before she joined her husband in a deep curtsy.

“Your Majesty, Prince Clarence.” The captain of the knights said, while the husband and wife did not dare to lift their eyes, “Your mother, the Queen, will be overjoyed you have been found.”

The captain moved aside and stuck out his hand for Clarence to follow, but Clarence was frozen in place, staring at the old couple who had taken such good care of him.

“What are you doing?” Clarence asked the couple, furrowing his eyebrows, “Why are you doing that?”

“Prince Clarence, you are the next king to the Yurseur Kingdom. They are treating you with the respect due to the kingdom’s heir, as they should be.” The captain said, “Now come along, Prince Clarence. Your mother, the Queen, is waiting for you.”

Clarence ignored the guard, and instead went up to the couple, trying to help them stand up, but they knew better, and refused to move from their positions or look at Prince Clarence, “What are you doing?! Stand up!” Clarence’s chest began to heave, “Please Auntie Josephine, please Uncle John, I want you to walk me to the carriage. I want to say goodbye.”

They remained silent and unmoving, knowing any slip could have dire consequences, though their hearts broke as they listened to his cries.

The captain, seeing this distress, moved forward and put his hand on Clarence’s shoulder, “Come along, Prince Clarence. They are commoners. They are not allowed to speak to you.”

“Wh-What are you saying?!” Clarence yelled, “They’re my friends, they took care of me!”

“Prince Clarence, please act your age and status and come along quietly.” The captain said, his tone quickly becoming short with the young boy. Clarence wanted to scream and kick the ugly, mean man, but he knew he would be in big trouble if his mother found out, so instead, he glanced back one more time at the loving, old couple who had taken him in with no questions, and quickly gave both of them a hug as tears slipped down his face. Then he stepped back, wiped his face, and followed the guard back to the gaudy carriage that carried the Yurseur Kingdom’s emblem. After Clarence was inside the carriage and the heavy door was shut, the captain turned back to the old couple, who were now beginning to rise. Because the Prince was now out of their view, they were allowed to stand up, but the old man had great difficulty rising, so the captain, without saying a word, signaled to a knight who quickly went over and helped the old man, then the old woman, to stand. As the knight returned to his position, they thanked the captain. He did not respond.

Instead the captain nodded his head at the couple and said, “The royal family will be sending a messenger soon to discuss your reward for finding the Prince.” The two looked down and nodded, holding back their tears. The captain then called the knights back and climbed onto his horse. The knights quickly left, wanting to return the Prince safely to the castle.

As the old couple watched the carriage disappear over the horizon, they began to cry as they held each other.

…