Jayk rubbed his temple in frustration as he listened to the group of men surrounding the table. They were screaming at each other and hardly gave one another a chance to finish their sentences. When he couldn’t take it any longer he stood up abruptly before he slammed his fists against the table. The sound echoed in the room and the room was immediately submerged into silence.

“That is enough! I don’t want to hear anymore of this! Every time we hold these meetings a fight is started. We are allies; we need to work together without killing each other, or biting each other’s heads off. Now can we resume this meeting like grown men of noble lineage? ” He said, his temper getting the best of him. He didn’t always like being the high king of The Hidden Realm, but times like these he was grateful he was, or else he would’ve burst an eardrum.

He heard a collective murmur of ‘beg your pardon, your highness’ and ‘you are right, your highness’. After that everyone that had risen because of the fighting sat back down again and the council meeting continued to go on in peace and quiet, with the occasional outburst of course. This was how the entire morning went by.
  
They were currently discussing the topic of tax increases and whether they should increase all of the kingdoms’ taxes. It was well in the afternoon when Jayk decided that the meeting was done for the day. 

“We will get back to this topic next week, for now the meeting is dismissed.” Jayk said as he stood up before he gathered all his papers.

The rest of the party left one by one until he was finally alone in the huge meeting hall. It was a stone building, and the inside was filled with tapestries that spoke of their history. He wanted to drag his hands through his hair, but the crown on his head prohibited him from doing it. This meeting took all his energy and he just wanted to return to his castle.

He made his way to the door and gave the meeting room one last glance before heading to his white stallion.
Outside most of the nobles were already a few feet away and when they saw him they shouted their goodbyes once more. This was one of the most tiring meetings he ever had to attend. Luckily he could go home. But he didn’t know how lucky he was to go home if he remembered the stack of papers he had to go through.

His white stallion was tied to a nearby post; the white beauty was grazing on the grass with not a care in the world.

“Ready to go home, boy?”  he asked his horse. The horse gave a neigh and he took that as a yes.

He quickly climbed on top of his horse, Filo, after untying him from the post. He couldn’t wait to put on a pair of jeans and T-shirt once he got home. He wanted to hit himself for suggesting wearing traditional clothes to the meetings all those years ago.

He urged his horse into a light trot, while he steered her in the right direction. He looked down at his watch and saw that it was already three in the afternoon. He knew they had to wear complete traditional clothing, but his watch was something he couldn’t go without.

The ride back home would take him at least half an hour, times like these he used to think about his life. The road was quiet except for the few merchants here and there. He would give them a nod as a sign of greeting before passing on. He knew that he could’ve brought his knights along with him, but he liked to travel on his own. It gave his mind sometime to calm down and to just breathe in some fresh air.

He always felt drained after meetings like today, the council was always squabbling about something, and he hated it. They were supposed to work together. They lived in the same realm after all.  

After fifteen minutes of riding the forest began to thin out and he could see the tips of the mountain range, the border of the kingdom of Ashrock was near. The tip of the tower could also be seen as he neared his kingdom. He felt excited to be returning home, two days was long enough absence for him.

When he arrived at the border two of his knights were waiting at the border for him, they were also two of his best friends. A smile spread on his face as he came closer.

“Well this is a surprise. Glad to see that I’ve been missed,” He said as he gave Alexandro and Lunan a smile.

Alexandro was one of his best warriors and most loyal, he would lay down his life in the blink of an eye for Jayk. He had blonde hair with hazel eyes, he was very muscular and the ladies were constantly trying to get his attention. Lunan, who had red hair with a beard, was his second best warrior. The pair of them was very close and there wasn’t a time where they weren’t together.

Alexandro and Lunan gave him smiles of their own, but theirs didn’t quite reach their eyes. Jayk knew something was wrong. A sigh escaped his lips involuntarily.

“What happened now?” he asked.

“How did you know something was wrong?” Lunan asked incredulously.

“Your eyes, they give you away.” Jayk said with a careless smile.

“That’s what happens when you know us your whole life,” Alexandro said.

“Exactly. Now tell me what is wrong?” Jayk said.

“Baelon asked us to meet him in the great hall, there we will explain everything.” Jayk nodded his reply.

“But first I need to change out of these clothes.”

“Baelon already got you a pair of jeans and a black T-shirt,” Lunan said as they continued their journey to the castle. The gigantic volcano was now in clear view and the ground became hotter as they entered the mountain range. When they arrived at the foot of the volcano, Jayk quickly dismounted before he led Filo to the stables. He was greeted by two more of his friends who also happened to be his knights.

Evan, the first knight, was a quiet fellow who was deadly with a bow and arrow. He was also a great hunter and trekker. He had curly brown hair and pale blue eyes.

Hagan on the other hand was a loud man, he was always talking and there was hardly a time when he wouldn’t speak. He had dark brown hair with eyes so dark it almost looked black.
“Sire! You’re back!” Hagan shouted before he pulled Jayk into a brotherly hug. Hagan was a large man, and was just an inch longer than Jayk. Hagan pulled away and patted Jayk, rather hard, on the back.

“I’m glad you missed me, Hagan,” Jayk said with a small laugh. He always laughed at the big man’s antics.

“Always glad to see you.” Hagan said with an easy grin.

“Welcome back, sire.” Evan said from behind Hagan before he walked over to Jayk and took the horse’s reigns from him.

“Thank you, Evan. Are all of you all coming to the great hall?” Jayk asked.

“Yes, sire.” they replied simultaneously.

“You don’t have to call me sire when we are alone, you know I hate it.” Jayk said frustrated.

“That is why we do it,” Hagan said with a cheeky grin. Jayk rolled his eyes before he smiled at the men. He was glad he had such great friends and knights.

After Evan placed the horse back in the stable, Jayk and the four knights made their way to the castle at the side of the volcano. As he walked past some of the villagers he greeted them with nods. He was nothing like the carefree man he was just moments ago with his knights. He didn’t want the villagers to think they had a clown for a king, so he placed his mask of indifference on his face.

When they reached the castle gate he was greeted with more knights as he passed by before opening the door and gate for him. He thanked them before his four knights led him to the great hall. The great hall was on the left side of the entrance through an arch. The knight that stood in front of the large doors of the great hall quickly announced his arrival before opening the doors for him and the four knights.

He nodded his head in thanks to the knights before he followed his four knights inside. Inside were the other four knights he was close with and his brother, Ryhan.

“Sire, you’re back. Welcome home,” Baelon was the first to acknowledge his arrival.

He nodded his head before he greeted the rest of the knights, Cason, a young man that was very small in stature but deadly with his knives. Logan, a tall man that was good with strategy. And last but not the least Amell, Strongly built and great with wielding an axe. His brother Ryhan, with his red hair was the first to embrace him. After he greeted his men who were like brothers to him, he finally asked what he wanted to ask.

“Now tell me what happened while I was away.”

Hey guys

So what do you think about king Jayk? And the knights? Don't worry we are going to learn a lot more about all of these characters in the following chapters.

Please tell me what you think and don't forget to vote!

Thank you for reading!

Amorie