Asher

Drawing my arm back, I readied my stance and took my aim. Taking a breath, I shot aaand... Miss, again. “Man you suck at basketball Mr. Creed,” Josh laughed. He was right, I was terrible at every sport except for sword fighting. But I’m not even sure if that’s a sport. “Basketball just isn’t my sport, but I guess you have all the time in the world to shoot hoops. And I told you, I hate it when you call me by my last name. Just call me Ash or Asher.”

“First of all I like calling you Mr. Creed, and second, I have to get ready for the task you assigned us. Catch you later, Prince Asher.” Josh snickered as he mockingly bowed. I rolled my eyes and jokingly threw the ball at him in annoyance. “See you later!”

After Josh left, I decided it would be no fun to play alone so I headed back to my room. It was quite a long walk back but I didn’t mind. 

The corridors of the palace were long and filled with the sound of utensils clattering and the chattering of soldiers and maids.

I also had a council meeting that I couldn't be late for, my mother told me that it was an important one. Plus I’m never tardy for anything, imagine how this will look for me and my reputation.

Once I reached my chambers, I went straight to take a shower to wash off all the sweat. I decided to wear something different for a change. Maybe a black hoodie paired with blue ripped jeans.

It’s a pretty basic outfit. Usually, I preferred style over comfort, but I didn’t want to wrinkle the suit that the maids chose for me to wear to the council meeting. After I finished changing I walked over to my desk and pulled out my textbooks. Ugh, geography, is the worst subject of them all. But I have to be perfect, for Mother.

Some time passed when I heard a loud pounding at my door. I got up and shuffled over to check who it was. “Asher! Do you have a death wish?” Shouted Josh as he waved his arms in panic. “How could you forget about the council meeting today?!” At first, I was confused, but then I remembered my mother and the council members. “Oh crap, I completely forgot about that!” 

I ran past Josh out the door as he yelled at me to hurry up. I brought my wrist up to look at my watch, three minutes before the council meeting starts. Maybe I could make it.

Still sprinting, I realized I’m still wearing my casual clothes. But it’s way too late to go back and change. Two minutes. At this point, I started picking up the pace. My legs were slowly becoming numb and I could feel sweat dripping down the side of my face. Why does our palace have to be so big?  

One more minute, I could still make it. It’s just around this corner. With a sharp turn, I accidentally slammed into a couple of maids in front of me. “Heavens! I’m so sorry your highness,” says the one on the right, curtsying. “Let us fetch you a towel.” I took a look at the time again, 25 seconds. “That’s alright ladies, have a good afternoon!” I said while making my way to the council hall. 

I’m almost there! I could see the door. I jogged up to it and burst through. I stood there panting, not realizing how exhausted I was. And that’s when I saw that I was drenched in water. All the council members turned their heads in my direction. My mother, Anolia, the queen of Aantari, shot me the coldest glare and nodded her head in the direction of my seat, gesturing for me to sit down. I awkwardly started to take baby steps toward my seat, making squeaky sounds with each step. 

“As I was about to say, there is some new information regarding the Zartari spy. As you all know, a man has snuck a Zartari soldier onto Aantari soil. We heard this news a couple of weeks ago, though, we do not know when the spy was brought here. Could’ve been a decade ago, or maybe a couple of months. We just found out this morning where his current location is. Luckily, my son,” she motioned to me “has sent guards out to handle the situation.” my mother approvingly smiled at me as she patted my shoulder. 

We continued to talk about food and water supplies for the poor civilians. I tried to get some studying in because I have a history test coming up soon. The meeting went on for about another hour and a half.

“So I think we should end the meeting here. We will discuss our next council meeting date at a later time.” As we all packed up our things to leave, my mother asked me to stay behind as she had something to ask me. She seemed kind of anxious which made me worry. Taking a deep breath I walked back over to the table and pulled out the chair. “So what did you want to talk to me about, mother?”

“Why were you late today? And why are you dressed like a street boy?”

“I was playing basketball earlier and I got all sweaty so I took a shower then studied. I guess I lost track of time.”

“Well, at least you’re taking your studies seriously.” mother scoffed, “well, explain why you are dressed like a hooligan then.”

“I just wanted to try something new, I’m always so buttoned up. Even for tennis, I always wear the most expensive attire.”

“Well, today you had embarrassed us both in front of the council members. We can stop the Zartari kingdom from taking our land but we can’t stop our people from gossiping about the royal family. So please, pay more attention to your actions.”

“I'm sorry mother, it won't happen again,” I said. Mother took a long frustrated sigh and brought her hands up to massage her temples. “You may go now,” she said, not even bothering to look at me. I quietly got up and headed for the door. Mother must have had a busy day, I thought to myself. 

With all war preparations going on and acquiring supplies for our people, it was stressing mother out. She rarely even smiled anymore. Everyone just had to be careful of what they were doing around her. One minor slip-up might get their head cut off.