A Burdened King's Crown

               DING! Dawn rushed over to the oven.

       “Oh yay! The cookies are done!” She scurried over to the drawer and pulled out an oven mitt, bending over to pull out the scorching tray of snickerdoodle cookies. The decadent smell filled the room when Emerald popped in.

       “Hey Dawn! Your Bf’s got mail!~” She said waving the letter around slightly as it wiggled in her fingers. “Says it’s been sent from….’Raveryn’?”

      “Oh no, not another debt collector! I’ve told that man to pay his dues!” Dawn fixed her apron a bit before walking over to Em. She took the note and examined it from the back and front. “Wait, this isn’t a collection notice; It doesn’t even have a sender's name.”

    At that very instant Drayven and Bosko walk in to the bakery. Both girls turn their attention to the boys who were laughing loudly. Their expression changed when they saw both girls looking at them a little too seriously.

     “I swear, whatever happened, it was Dray’s fault.” Bosko said lifting his hands up innocently. Drayven gave him a dry look.

     “Hun, you’ve got another letter from Raveryn.”

“Another Debt collector?? Man, I just paid these assholes like last wee-“

“No Hun, I don’t think this is one of those. It doesn’t have a sender name, you might wanna open it and see what it is...” Dawn said handing him the letter.

    Bosko grunted, before flinging the note over his shoulder. Dray caught the letter it before it fell. Dawn took it from his hand, walked up to Bosko and gave him the cutest “mean” looking stare she could make.

     Bosko scoffed as he opened up the letter. “Fine, fine, but if they’re asking for donations, I’m gonna- “Bosko went silent for a bit as he read over the note. It said:

      “Dear Mr. Bandley, I hope this letter finds you well. Your presence is urgently requested in the Kingdom of Raveryn. Please act hastily, there is not a moment to waste, all will be explained upon arrival. There will also be a large monetary reward for you. We expect to see you soon.
    - Regards, The King and Queen of Raveryn.”

    Dawn’s eyes glistened. “Wow! Signed by the King and Queen themselves! What an honor! I bet you’re gonna have fun visiting your old hometow-“

“I’m not going.”

   All three looked at Bosko in Confusion. Dawn nervously chuckled. “W-What do you mean you’re not going, you're kidding….right?.....The King and Queen said-“

    “I don’t give a damn what the king and queen said. I’m not going back to Raveryn, and that’s that.” He crumpled the note into a ball, before walking into the kitchen and turning on the sink’s garbage disposal.

Emerald slammed the switch downward. “Bosko stop!” Yelped Em.

“Yeah, What the hell man!?” Proceeded Drayven as they all followed after him into the kitchen.

“Get real guys, this is clearly a joke, you must be pretty damn stupid to fall for this shoddy prank!”

    Bosko once again flicked the switch on. The Garbage disposal roared and whirred loudly. Bosko reached into the sink and removed the garbage disposal’s safety guard. He hovered the wadded-up ball over the hole.

      Dawn grasped his wrist firmly. They locked eyes for a few seconds. The silence was loud. And everyone in the room was tense. After a few seconds, Bosko broke their gaze, turning away and looking down at his feet. He sighed and turned off the garbage disposal. 

“Dawn, you can’t be serious.”  He pessimistically asked.

“I am.” She said in a dry tone.

“You can’t let this go just once?”  He begged her.

 “I can’t.” she persisted.

     Bosko clenched his teeth and gripped the sink’s rim grunting in frustration.

“I’m only staying one day and coming back the next. I don’t want to stay there longer than I need to.”

    “Yay I’ll go pack!” She smiled excitedly.

     “Woah, Woah, back it up. You’re not going. None of you are going!” Emerald, Drayven and Dawn complained in unison.

     “It’s not safe for you guys! I can’t let you guys go, if I’m going, I’m going alone!” He looked down at Dawn who was rubbing his arm, giving him a pouty face. “B-But…that’s not fair…. You always wanna leave us behind…I-…What if you get hurt…! I’ve never met a real King and Queen…I wanna see where you’re from!”

       “It’s not a pretty place guys, it's full of poverty, and the people there are hostile…. people like you…. aren’t welcome…and neither am I…I have a really bad rep there and I don’t want you guys getting hurt cause of me…” Bosko explained embarrassingly.
 
      “You don’t gotta worry about us. We’ve got your back dude.” Drayven chimed in.
“Yeah, and if shit happens to go down, well be there to back you up. Come on, I’m sure it’s nothing we can’t handle!” Em said reassuringly.

Bosko looked back down at Dawn, who said more than words ever could with just her smile. “Guess there’s no talking you guys out of it is there?” There was a slight pause before he continued. "We leave at 6 am. Be ready or I’m leaving you behind….and…. Please, pack light. Raveryn is a dangerous place. I’d never forgive myself if anything happened to any of you.”

     Dawn hugged Bosko tightly before hopping and giving him a peck on the cheek. “Thanks, Hun. You’re the best! <3” She said before they all ran off to go pack.  

      It was 5:50 AM and the gang had gathered up in front of Dawn’s house. They all wore their adventuring clothing which consisted of a jacket, a backpack, and boots.  Emerald And Drayven were already outside the gate’s walls when Bosko marched out of Dawn’s house annoyed at Deanne and Deagan. Dawn followed after him, happily waving back to her parents.

      “See you in a few days, love you, mom and dad!”  Dawn's parents stood outside their home, watching her daughter run off with a couple of ruffians. They were not pleased one bit but had accepted to let her go anyway as they knew it would make her happy.

      “Can we just get the fuck out of here, please.” Bosko stomped away past Em and Dray who followed behind him.


       They walked several miles away from Timberglen before reaching a really wooded area. This was Emerald and Dawn’s first time out of Timberglen, so they were excited to see all the new scenery. They ‘Ahh’d’ and ‘Oooh’d’ at every new species of plant, fruit, and animal they came across. Dawn noticed that Bosko, who was at the front of the group, was rather quiet. She ran a bit to catch up to him. She put her arms behind her back and looked at him.

“Why so serious, love?” She said looking up at him. “You okie??”

       Bosko glanced at her once before looking away and continuing to smoke his cigarette. “I’m fine.” He said coldly.

       Dawn ran to his opposite side, forcing him to look at her. “Awh, don’t be so glum! This is exciting! We’ve never gone adventure like this together! Look how happy Em and Dray are!” she said. They both looked back at them. Em, was too busy being amazed by the swarm of Zillerflies gliding around, and Drayven was just admiring her sight of coming across all these new things.

Bosko just Hmph’d. before continuing to look forward as they paced the forest.

“Well…why don’t you tell me about the King and Queen?” said Dawn. I’d like to have at least a little knowledge before we get there!”

   “I-…don’t know...” Said Bosko. “In the years I’ve lived in Timberglen, I’ve never seen them once.”

They never had meetings. They never came to greet the folk who lived there. Nothing. And come to think of it, I recall… my mo-…someone I knew… saying they haven’t seen them in years. They’ve never come out of their castle since a large battle that happened there around the time I was born. You only see carts of supplies going in, and empty one’s going out. But no one except the royal guards are allowed in there. Not even a cleaning staff. Pretty creepy honestly.”

“Oh dear…yeah that’s scary.” Said Dawn.

     “Yeah, but they’re probably just a ball of lazy assholes who are too ashamed to see the town folk and are embarrassed by how shitty the kingdom has got since that battle. I blame the king. What a weak and spineless coward. To have a whole ass kingdom and let it go to shit. That’s just embarrassing.”He said before stuffing his hands into his pockets.

     Dawn walked in silence next to him, taking it all in. She could see how much this was affecting him and was starting to regret forcing him to come. Still, she stood by her choice and tried cheering him up.

“Well, I’m sure whatever they need you for will be worth the pay, right?”

Bosko looked at her and petted her head gently. He loved her optimism; she always had some to give when he was down.

     It was a long trip. They hiked for 2 days, stopping only to make camp at nightfall. They’d tell stories around the campfire and stargaze before they slept.

On the morning of the third day, they reached the end of their trip. The forest slowly came to an end, and they could see the towers and walls of the castle from a mountain a few miles away.  It was quiet, too quiet.