"I can't do that..." he said.

"I don't even have feelings for her, I'm only entering because... because I-" A loud bang came on his room door, snapping Issac out of his thoughts as the door opened. It was his mom, who turned his lights off and kissed him on the forehead, wishing him a good night's rest. She exited the room and walked downstairs to the kitchen, supposedly to prepare for tomorrow.

"Tomorrow is gonna be a big day isn't it?" he said, taking a deep breath before observing the sky as it dimmed and watching the castle as the lights went out.

The following morning, he walked through the streets with a big smile. He planned earlier to visit Elijah's house, but on the way there, he noticed how many men had been running around. Most were heading to the center of the kingdom, where the castle was.

He stopped for a while to think and ask around, but when he asked, they either were too old to know or looking for money to answer him. As he turned around, he soon realized three horses with three men on top of each of them coming towards him. They stopped right in front of Isaac and walked towards him.

"Uncle Conner, what are you doing here!?" he yelled.

Giving a slight chuckle he said, "I'm a knight, do you expect me to stay in the castle all the time and not fill out any missions," he asked, arching one of his eyebrows.

Instead of replying, Isaac simply smiled, causing Conner to laugh. Then Conner continued on by saying, "How's your mother holding up?"

"She's doing good...?" he said in a suspicious tone.

The silence between them had made them both feel awkward, so Conner soon broke the silence by saying, "It's nothing... come on let's go and get a meal, I'm sure your stomach is empty, then after that, we can go to the castle and sign up,"

"Sign up...?" Isaac asked, looking at him in confusion only to then get a pat on his back from Conner.

"Isaac... the sign-ups... for the princess's contest?" he said looking at Isaac.

"So is that why the streets are packed?" Isaac asked.

"Were you not listening? It was a big announcement yesterday," he said, smacking his face lightly with his hand and sighed.

"Ok...? Let's grab a bite before we go through." Isaac said.

"Follow me," Conner said.

Isaac trailed behind Conner looking at the restaurant Conner was heading towards. He knew if his uncle had suggested going there, it was obviously gonna be good. So they both lifted the curtains of the makeshift door and sat down, getting ready to order something off of the menu.

"What do you want to order?" Conner asked while still reading off of the menu.

"Let's get the Deer Meat Spice," Isaac said, only for Conner to toss the cook one silver coin.

"And I will get the Roasted Pig special," Conner said, tossing him another silver coin.

"Of course sir, right away!" he said rushing to the kitchen to get the food prepared.

While he had been preparing the food, Isaac began asking Conner questions about the mission he was going on and where Conner had been.

"So, what exactly is this mission?" Isaac asked.

"Ah, that is something I cannot say... for your protection," he said.

"Well, what about dad where is he?" Issac was then cut off by another worker who came rushing out of the kitchen, carrying two bowls of soup that contained deer meat and roasted pig.

The man returned inside the kitchen and Isaac said, "Let's scoop in!"

--

They arrived at the castle only to be met with the sight of a greater lineup than Issac had expected. It was so long that it extended all the way to the streets from the castle gates. Most people were around the age of eighteen, with all of them having that youthful charm to them.

"Well, I wish you kiddo's great luck, but I seriously have to go," Conner said.

"Alright, good luck with the mission," Isaac said.

Then Conner rode away with his horse. Isaac waited for hours until he could finally sign up, but behind him, he had seen a familiar face laughing. It was Elijah. "How are you doing!?" Isaac asked.

Instead of responding directly to that question, Elijah said, "Pay attention; you're next." he said.

Elijah and Isaac both trailed behind a man who led them inside the castle where there were pieces of paper with a quill and ink they would use to write with. The luxury design and the number of people in the castle had amazed Isaac.

It looked a million times better than what he had been living in, despite he had been living a luxurious life too. When he finished signing up, he looked behind him where he thought Elijah was but he wasn't there. Isaac decided to sit in a chair beside a painting of the king until Elijah found him.

He tried to let loose and relax as much as he could, but as time passed by, Isaac began to lose hope and got bored. He got up and walked to which he had said, Do not open unless authorized to. He ignored the warning and instead, opened it.

Closing the door behind him, he walked inside and wandered around the library, looking for books to read. He soon found a bookshelf that was right in front of the dark stone wall and it had a book, Prince Kozert.

He attempted to grab the book but instead, he tripped on his boot, nudging the book back into the wooden shelves. The book's pages were torn out, but Isaac heard a loud noise from the room on top of him. He put the book back in place and ran out of the room.

He sat back down on his chair and relaxed, looking at the paintings all around. Then a girl with a long dress and a faint smile on her face. Her dress dragged on the floor as she walked with her curly hair blowing back.

"Father requests of you," she said looking down at him.

Then Isaac turned to her, shocked as he spoke, "Princess Lusilla?"

She then said, "Follow me, and I will present you to the king."

"I think you have mistaken me for someone else," Isaac said.

Then in a louder voice, she replied, "The king requests of you."

They both walked up the tall carpeted stairs and went to the seventh floor. Princess Lusilla later led him to a room, which he later found out was the king's room. The king examined Isaac and seemed to be paying close attention to his jacket.

"You are well presented, boy." The king said.

"Actually, haven't I seen you when my father made the announcement?" Lusilla said.

He gave a quick nod in a shock of embarrassment.

"That explains why I think I've seen you before," she said.

"So I've heard you want to become a knight?" The king asked.

Isaac gave a nod.

"Wait how did you find that out!?" Isaac asked.

The king chuckled. "Your father."

That had probably explained why he was there at this moment. His father must've said something that made him want to see him. But he wondered why would a king of an entire kingdom want to see him?

"Since you want to become a knight, I am giving you a grand opportunity," The King turned to Lusilla and commanded, "Would you mind leading this young boy to the training area? We are approaching the jousting season."

"Yes, father." She spoke as she curtseyed down. Then she got up and grabbed Isaac by the wrist. They walked slowly down the tall spiral staircase all the way down to the fifth floor. The king's chamber had been on the seventh floor, the top of the castle.

"So are you competing?" Lusilla asked.

"In the contest right...?" he said, waiting for her to answer.

She nodded.

"That's to be decided, princess. My father and uncle encourage it... but my mom thinks it's all silly."

"Those are all opinions of your family. What really matters is what you want to do, so, do you want to do it?"

He yawned, pretending he didn't hear what she said. But her words kept on coming to mind. Did he really want to enter? As they approached the end of the staircase, Isaac dashed ahead and he looked outside the castle. Behind the castle, there was a grand arena attached to the castle. They were still several feet above the ground so the view looked awesome.

"Oh yes, the training grounds, I don't think my dad wanted you to go in there so we can watch from up here. Besides, the glass is as clear as if nothing had been there in the first place so enjoy the view." Lusilla said.

Isaac went close to the glass and watched the knights who had seemed to be jousting or at least practicing.

They all put on their heavy metal armor and walked inside the stadium. Two men came out on two different sides and went on their horses with long lances.

They both ran around the arena four times and then once they completed it, they both charged at each other. The man on right splintered the man on the left's spear and he was declared the winner.

But when his eyes fell upon one particular knight, Issac grinned.