Castle Pranks

Thomas knew he should've accompanied Jan to the royal meeting. Every fiber in his small, frail body told him that he shouldn’t have made the choice to stay behind. Now, he was left with three wily children and he didn’t have a single clue as to where any of them were.

Staring up at the chandelier hanging above him, he wondered if that was really such a bad thing. He didn’t want them to bother him and they probably didn’t want to be bothered. So, it really was a win-win. He got to chill in this small room and they got to do whatever the hell they wanted. A small smile crossed his face at the thought. He liked this room. He always had. He adored the way the sunlight filtered through skylights and the crystals of the chandelier, creating a beautiful cascade of multi-colored lights. He liked how empty and open it was, save for a few chairs nestled safely into the corners. He liked how no one would think to look for him h-

The doors to the room were thrown open and the king’s attention was stolen and his peace was disrupted. A look of utter confusion crossed his face as turned around, wondering who it could possibly be. Jan? No. His wife was still at the meeting. Micah? He seemed like he would enjoy being in a room like this and his son was quite pleasant company. But no. Neither of them stood before him. A feeling of dread settled in his stomach as he caught sight of that god awful smirk. It was Nico.

At first glance, his oldest son wasn’t much to look at. With his long, black hair that was far less groomed than that of a horse and short, thin stature, he looked like anything but the heir to the throne. In fact, he looked more like a ten-year-old rascal who was thinking of a day full of mischief and petty crime. In a way, he was a little rascal who wanted to get their grubby hands on someone’s coins. He just happened to be a rascal who’d take over the kingdom once he died or grew old. Whichever came first.

Nico strode towards him, his rugged, black cape sweeping the floor almost gracefully behind him. “Hi, Tommy.” Thomas had the strong urge to throw him out a window. It was no wonder that no one- besides his fiancé, mother, and brother- liked him. He was rude, arrogant, and couldn’t even be bothered to respect anyone, much less his father. Maybe he could stage his death as an accident. That wouldn’t be too bad, right? Who would miss him anyways?

“Do you need something?”, he asked, suppressing his violent urges. It wouldn’t do much good anyway. Not only would his wife kill him, but his son would also snap every bone in his body before he could even try. 

“Maybe,” he said with a hum. Thomas narrowed his gray eyes suspiciously. It was becoming quite obvious that he was trying to hold back his devious grin. What on earth could he be up to? “Maybe I just want to warn you.”

“What? Warn me? About what?” He has to admit, he was becoming curious. Was he about to die or something? Had someone broken into the castle without him knowing it? If that was the case, then it wouldn’t be the first time.

“Look up.”

The prince was backing away now, leaving Thomas staring blankly at him. Look up? What was that supposed to mean? Were there archers standing on the second floor, getting ready to shoot him? Was someone using a catapult to barrage the castle with giant boulders? Was-

A faint snapping caught his attention and his eyes darted towards the ceiling. He didn’t have time to comprehend what the hell was happening. He did, however, have the time to understand that he was about to fucking die. The chandelier was hurtling towards the ground at breakneck speed, whistling through the air. He jumped out of the way and behind him, it exploded into a cloud of colored glass.

Tears stung his eyes as millions of tiny shards embedded themselves into his skin and clothes. Holy shit, was this how he was going to die? He didn’t want to die! He had so many things he wanted to do like… like… what did he want to do besides live? Have a picnic with Jan? That would be nice. She’d probably end up drinking too much wine and- who was laughing?

Thomas lifted his head and he quickly found the source of the sound. A young girl leaned over the railing of the floor above them, her laughs echoing through the hollow room. She was short- shorter than both him and Nico- with curled black hair cascading in front of her round face. Her laughing died down to quiet snickers and her malicious amber eyes met his. Something glimmered in her hand, sharp and menacing, possibly a knife. Josie. He should’ve known. 

Ever since they had taken Nico to see his arranged fiancé, they had been inseparable in all the worst ways. They spent their time huddled together, scheming and gossiping. His son had found his partner in crime and the crimes they committed were horrendous. He couldn’t even begin to count how many times he had fallen to prey to one of their pranks. The chair related ones were by far the worst. He’d never look at one the same way again.

Dazed and in pain, Thomas just barely got to his feet without toppling over, trying to muster the most kingly look he could manage. It only sent the princess into another laughing fit as she began to make her way towards the stairs. Why was this so hard? His father had always managed to scare the living daylights out of him with a single look. Maybe if he spoke… “This is outrageous! You’re threatening the life of your king and father.”

“That’s the point.” 

Right. He was still here. He faced his son with a cold, hard glare. Or at least he hoped it was. He was fairly certain he looked like a frightened kitten right about now. That was how he felt anyways. “You can’t become king if you keep acting like this.”

“Says who? You?”, he asked mockingly, stepping closer to Thomas. “You’re funny.”

He took shaky steps backward, fear and panic scrambling any rational thoughts in his mind. He didn’t know what was going to happen or what he could do about it. It wasn’t like there were two hallways right behind him that he could escape through. Not at all. “What’re you doing?”

“You look tired, Tommy. Why don’t you take a seat?”

Nico pushed him back and he yelped in surprise, flailing his arms to try and find something to stop his fall. Too late. Thomas’s fragile skull hit the back of a chair, his head exploding in agony. His thoughts were broken and scattered, torn apart by a possible concussion. God, this was the third time this week. Couldn’t he get a break?

“Jose! Get the net!” 

Net? What net? What were they gonna do with a net? He peeled his eyes open only to see the two teenagers carrying a giant fishing net and guess what? They were heading right towards him. Oh no, oh no- He tried to get to his feet and get the hell out of there but they got him first. The net was thrown at him at full force and he was back in the chair, his head snapping back to get another round of unnecessary brain damage.

He struggled against the net like a cornered animal trying to escape its predator’s jaws- which was basically what he was- but it was no use. He was tangled in a bunch of ropes meant for fish and he probably wasn’t getting out. Meanwhile, the two heirs seemed to be celebrating, snickering as they high-fived each other. “Ready to go?”, the freckled prince asked.

He got a nod in response and they made their way out of the room. Wait a second. That’d mean they were gonna be leaving him alone. Another wave of panic crashed over him and he once again began to try and break free of his bonds. He knew he’d come to the room to be alone but the fact that he had fifty million different glass shards stuck in him, a concussion, and was tied to a chair didn’t really achieve the peacefulness he wanted. “H-hey! Wait up! Nicolas! Where’re you going?! Come b-“

“See you at dinner!”, Nico sang, smirking like the little devil he was. 

With one sweeping movement, the doors closed with a bang and Thomas was officially alone. He leaned back against the seat, closing his eyes and taking deep, staggering breaths. Next time, he was gonna leave the babysitting to the maids.