Ostravosky

00

Sir, I don't think this is a very good...idea."

Prince Jakub continued to tie the stick of dynamite to the abandoned statue of his great-great grandfather that rotted away in the woods that outlined his family's kingdom. "Why do you say that?" With his teeth, he tightened the rope that secured the explosive.

Quinby, the family's butler, stood a few feet away, not wanting to upset his prince. Though, it wasn't as if he could argue. So, instead he opted to offer advice. "Someone might get hurt, sir." Someone being him.

Prince Jakob ignored the man, and continued with his plan.

What could possibly go wrong?

"Ready?" He was chessing so hard his cheeks started to hurt. The butler positioned himself behind his prince, already accepting the consequences.

BOOM!

"WHAT were you thinking?" Nadia cursed under her breath, making up her majesty's bed with more aggression than usual.

Jakub furrowed his brows, "It's not like I did it in the palace." He brushed his blonde hair mindlessly, assuming that was the end of the conversation. He decided he was suddenly hungry.

"Wouldn't be suprised if you did." She mumbled, giving him the eye, not liking his attitude about the situation.

Jakub, like always, blew it off his shoulder. "C'mon Nadia, don't make this a big deal."

Nadia sighed. "It already is, sir."

Her comment peaked his curiosity. "Nadia, do you have something to say?"

She stayed quiet as she continued to tidy up the prince's room. He stood on his feet. "As your prince, I order you to tell me what you know."

She rolled her big brown eyes. Nadia hated when he played the prince card. Nonetheless, she obeyed. "Now you didn't hear it from me," She sat on the love seat perched at the end of his bed, considering the best ways to break the news. "You're parent's are thinking of sending you—"

He didn't let her finish the sentence. "What?!"

She shushed him. "Quiet, you." She continued as the blood drained from his face. "To live in Hoxfurd."

"Hoxfurd?" He seethed; he didn't like how the word tasted in his mouth. "Who's Hoxfurd?" He was suddenly angry. "Are father and mother really sending ME to. . .Hoxfurd? Is that even on a map!?" He couldn't comprehend why his parents even bothered. Why now? Why, atall?

Nadia didn't answer his question this time. "They will tell you the news at supper. Like I said," —she dusted off her work attire, getting up to leave the room—"you didn't hear it from me."

[Later that evening. . .] As the royal family gathered for dinner one by one, Jakub took the time to question the "gossip girl" of his family: Tomasz. The brunette beaut knew everything about everyone. He was a extroverted wallflower that some considered prettier than his sisters.

Jakub took the chair right next to him. He wasted no time intergating his older brother. "I know you know something," He made sure to keep his eyes and head forward.

The simple sentence alone caught Tomasz's attention. "What do I know?" He said, keeping his attention on the reflection of his delicate features bouncing off the back of his soup spoon.

He faced Tomasz. "Don't play dumb."

"That's you, brother."

He edged closer. "I know you know father is sending me away." He seethed, spitting the words, still not beliving it himself.

Tomasz sighed, unamused. " What did you do now?" Yet, his eyes never left the spoon.

Jakub regained his composure, suddenly confused. "You don't know?"

Tomasz scoffed, offended. "I have more important issues to think about, thank you."

"What could possibly be more important than me becoming abandoned?"

Tomasz then faced his brother, the devil in his eyes. "Me."

As the brothers continued to squabble, the entirety of the family marched into their respective seats. The last one to sit down was his father.

The King was a respected man, who moved seas and built mountains throughout his kingdom. To say he intimidated those in his presence was a understatement. "Evening children."

"Evening father." The choir of his heirs sang in unison.

The Queen sat in silence, poised, projecting her love with a warm smile. "Evening children."

"Evening mother." The choir sang once more, though this time with a different harmony. She gave her husband a peck on his rosy cheek before sitting down in front of her plate. And with a flick of her wrist and a ding of a bell, dinner was served.

No one dared to touch their food before The King—it was a unspoken rule, even The Queen knew that. So when the time came to eat, the family eyed The King as he took the tinest bit of food before they even smelt theirs.

In the midst of chewing, conversation and glasses clinking, Ana, born only a minute after Tomasz, decided to voice her thoughts. Being the lady that she is, she made sure to swallow first. "This morning, my new puppy and I heard the loudest bang in the garden. Nearly gave us a heart attack."

Suddenly, Jakub's arm gave out, making him hit the table with the back of his hand, pulling unwanted attention toward his hunched over body. Tomasz couldn't help but stiffle a laugh.

Ignoring Jakub's outburst (he was know for those) The Queen spoke, "Hm, that so?" She then took a much-needed sip of her glass that was filled with fermented wine.

"I'm sure of it." Ana replied, digging a deeper hole for Jakub to fall in.

The King let out a dry chuckle, as he continued to eat his chewy slab of medium rare steak. The puff of air sent shivers down Jakub's back. His father meant well, but he wasn't picture perfect. The King was born to rule, not to babysit.

"I have an idea," The husky voice cut the chatter amongst his heirs. "Why don't we go around the table—" he flashed a sarcastic smile showcasing the food stuck in between his teeth, "—and say what we did today."

Not being able to read the room, Ame, the youngest and quite slowest, squeaked up, "I made friends with the village horse today." The village says shes "dumb". The Queen says she is unique. Jakub says shes fine and how everyone should just shut up.

"Well done darling." The Queen flashed Ame one of her prize-winning smiles before throwing back another gulp of wine.

"Titus was showing me some sword techniques—You should see my swing, father." Barney, the second to last born said, boosting with confindence. Titus continued to play with his food.

"Now that I think about it, I did hear a rather loud distubance when I was reading in the observatory." Madeleine, the younger twin of Tobias, pointed out, not realizing she just sent her favorite sibling away.

Ana noded in agreement, frantically, "It sounded as if it came from the woods."

Tomasz couldn't help but add in on the conversation; some fule to the fire. "I took a lovely walk in the woods, actually." He smiled behind his beautiful dead eyes. "Could've sworn I saw you Jakub."

Jakub glared daggers, aiming right for his head. But before the prince could defend himself, his father jumped onto the dog pile. "What were you doing in the woods Jakub?"

All eyes were on him.

The attention he never wanted.

He cleared his throat and fixed his posture subconsciously, racking through the lies in his arsanol. "I was—"

"Try again."

"Fine." Jakub deflated in defeat, annoyed, not wanting to waste anymore of his breath. It could've been the lingering eyes from his judgemental siblings or his father's shitty idea of a conversation starter, but he suddenly exploded. "Father's sending me away!"

Once the words spilt from his mouth, a wave of incoherent mumbling and loud whispers followed from his siblings.

"What the—? He can do that?"

"Ha."

"Father? Is this true? Are you sending us away?"

"Quiet!" The room went cold, still. Even the servers and guard men were on their toes, more ever than before.

"Must we talk of this during supper?" The Queen gave him the eye. Once Your Majesty realized her stubborn husband wasn't going to obey, she sent away her staff with the flick of her finger.

Jakub sunk into his seat.

"You are two and ten years you need to strart taking responsibility for your life," The King spoke with a mouth full of meat clearly not taking the time to breath, nor chew. "As future king—"

"Future what?" For the first time in a long time, Titus, the oldest Ostravosky sibling, the future King, added to the conversation. "What?"

"—you must have honor and a spine of steel. I won't tolerate such behavior from the future of Glass Stone. So yes, I am sending you away to straighten that back of yours! It'll do you good boy. Now dammit let me eat!" The King then huffed, focusing his attention back to his food, not caring about the implications that his words might have just caused.

The room stayed quiet, growing colder by the second. The tension was so thick, no one could move, let alone breathe. Especially those near Titus. Don't stand to close or you could get burned. The unacknowledgment from his father plus the smacking of his food tipped Titus over the edge (in his defense, he was a hot head).

Without a word, he stood up and stormed out of the dining room, pushing his seat back so hard it tipped over with a hard SMACK. Oblivious as ever, Ame piped up once more. "Also made friends with the pigs."

The Queen rang her bell, calling for a refill.