Warnings - Really bad names for medieval kingdoms because I lack enough creativity for that.

Main Characters: Josh, Simon

(Inspired by... Well, I'm sure you can guess by the title.)

Josh swiftly made his way across the castle courtyard, his jaw set and a look of determination in his eyes. He pulled his cloak closer to his chest, hoping that the hood over his head would be enough to conceal his face from the townsfolk, wanting to leave the castle undetected. He lifted his head and looked around at the passerby, before putting his head back down when he approached the castle gates, exiting the castle and entering the village that surrounded it.

Josh took to a run, making his way across the dusty roads and past the crowds, a destination already set in his head. Ignoring the curious looks of the people, who were wondering who was in such a hurry.

As Josh traveled farther, the wooden houses and shops became sparse and far apart, opening up to the fields that bordered the village. Josh came to a halt when he reached the very border of the village, where the roads ended. A smile came upon his face when he saw the place he had been looking for, Josh slowly making his way over to the building, trying to catch his breath from the long run.

The building that he approached was made out of a dark oak wood, with stone bricks covering parts of the house where the wood seemed to have broken away, and a short stone chimney on the top of it. Josh continued on past it however, instead eyeing a beat-up stable that was behind it. Josh made his towards it, looking towards the cattle that were grazing in the field ahead inside of a large pen.

Walking up to the stable, Josh knocked on the big wooden door, hearing a loud "Coming!" from inside. The door slowly slid open and a head poked out of it, looking around for the visitor.

"Who's the- Josh!" The boy said happily, pushing the door open all of the way and welcoming Josh inside. "It's been a while since you've come around! We'd thought that you'd forgotten about us!"

Josh laughed, walking into the cabin as he took the hood off of his head, running a hand through his hair as he looked around. The stable was a mess, hay and papers scattered across the floor, and books and tools strewn about on the workbenches as well. There were two pens in the stable, each of which holding a horse.

"I wouldn't forget about you Harry," Josh began with a sigh. "I just haven't had the chance to get out of the castle. Sarah's been driving me crazy!"

Harry hummed in response, brushing off some hay that had gotten on his blue tunic, letting out a hiss of disgust at a splash of mud that had gotten on his black pants and his brown boots.

"That's what comes with the job I guess."

Josh turned to see that his friend Vikk was sitting atop of one of the stable's workbenches, looking up from the book in his lap, tossing the book onto the workbench with the others. He was wearing a dusty yellow tunic, with brown pants, and a pair of boots that had a layer of mud on the bottom of them. "I imagine that family matters would be more of a pain, you know, seeing as you're royalty and all, your highness." Vikk said with a laugh. Josh let out a long sigh of frustration, looking at Vikk with anger in his eyes.

Josh was the prince of the kingdom, named Sidemia, and as much fun as being a prince sounded, Josh absolutely hated it. It seemed like he was always stuck inside of the castle, stuck with boring lessons and agonizingly repetitive royal duties. He was nineteen, and he felt as though his life was wasted stuck inside the castle walls that Josh had nicknamed 'the prison'.

When he was a young teenager, Josh was usually allowed outside of castle walls, with an escort of course, but that didn't last long, when reports came in of a prince who had been kidnapped from a neighboring kingdom. They said that he was abducted by a sorcerer, whose powers were strong beyond belief.

After hearing that news, his brother, King Callux, and his stepsister, Queen Sarah, had tightened up security, which left Josh stuck in the castle with two annoying guards, Sir Ethan and Sir JJ. Josh had to begin to sneak out of the castle to see Vikk and Harry, who lived in the outskirts of the village, abandoning his royal attire for all black clothing and a red cloak to allow him to better escape the castle.

"I told you not to call me that..." Josh hissed angrily, reaching inside of his cloak and pulling out a thin, leather bound book. He tossed it to Vikk, who caught it with an excited look on his face. Josh had grown used to grabbing Vikk books from the castle's library, but it wasn't usually difficult. Josh liked to see the excited look on Vikk's face whenever Josh smuggled him another book. "Took me a lot of talking to get the librarian to get this book from Cal's personal study, so please be careful with it."

As Vikk began to flip through the pages of the book, Josh turned to Harry, and speaking in a low voice, he said, "Look, Harry, I need to borrow a horse."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "What for?" He asked curiously, Vikk looking up from his book as well.

Josh was quiet for a moment before he continued. "I'm going to the woods."

Harry let out a loud gasp, and there was a loud thud as Vikk dropped his book in surprise, his eyes wide and his jaw dropped open. "Are you insane?!?" Vikk shouted. "The woods are way too dangerous! Haven't you heard the tales of the monsters and evil living in there?!?"

"You must have a death wish!" Harry added on, his voice filled with fear.

Josh rolled his eyes, shrugging his shoulders. It was true that there were many stories of the 'evil' woods that bordered the kingdom, but Josh never believed any of it. "I'm sure that those are just stories made up to keep kids and teenagers from straying away from the border of the kingdom. Besides, does anyone really know what lies in those woods? I just want a small peek."

Vikk sighed, his body shaky. "You're nuts Josh..." Vikk mumbled, pointing to the first horse pen, which contained a lean brown stallion. "You can take Freezy. Just remember, if anything happens in there, you better come out alive and tell us about it."

"And Josh," Harry said wearily as he grabbed a saddle from the wall, a serious look on his face as he pointed to the stallion. "If anything happens to Freezy..."

"The horse will be fine." Josh replied, "Trust me, if the horse dies, I'm likely to have died as well."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Josh sighed, sitting atop of Freezy as he navigated the stallion through the woods, his hooves making the leaves crunch from underneath him.

Josh had entered the woods safely, and had been in the woods for quite some time, not yet encountering any evil creatures or monsters that he had heard about in the rumors. Just trees. Lots of trees. Some animals, but mostly trees.

The sun was hanging low in the sky, and Josh guessed that he didn't have long until it set. Josh had figured that he should head back to the castle after sundown, as the staff there would likely realize that he would've been missing by then.

"I knew that this would be a waste of time..." Josh mumbled angrily, frustrated to have not found anything interesting. He pulled on Freezy's reins, trying to turn the stallion towards the direction of Sidemia so that he could head home. But the stallion's head wouldn't move, his head turned to the left, as if staring at something. "Come on Freezy, we need to get you back to Harry and Vikk's house."

But Freezy remained still, and Josh tilted his head to stare in the same direction of the stallion's view, but he couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. "Come on! Let's g-"

Josh was interrupted by Freezy letting out a loud whinny and the stallion took off, running towards where he had been looking. Josh yelped, wrapping his arms around the horse's neck to avoid flying off. "H-Hey!" Josh yelled, reaching for the reins with one hand and pulling on them as hard as he could. The stallion didn't react, continuing to pelt through the forest at an alarming speed.

"You dumb horse!" Josh shouted angrily, "What are you doing?!?!?"

Freezy let out another loud whinny before skidding to a sudden halt, his hooves digging into the dirt as he slowed. Unprepared for the sudden halt, Josh's arm slipped from around the steed's neck, and he went tumbling over Freezy's head and fell flat on his back onto the ground.

Josh wheezed, the wind having been knocked out of him. It took a moment for him to recover, and the prince staggered to his feet, glaring at Freezy with malice in his eyes. "What is wrong with you?!?"

The stallion snorted in response, his eyes fixed on something behind Josh. Raising an eyebrow, Josh slowly turned around, his jaw dropping slightly to what he saw.

Behind Josh was a big lake, the crystal clear water casting a pinkish-yellow reflection over the area, catching the rays of the setting sun. The grass was lush surrounding the lake, and many colorful flowers were scattered about, moving a bit in the breeze. Josh could see a few animals poking out from behind the trees, and Josh could've swore that they were all staring at Josh, wondering who the strange newcomer was who had entered their home.

There appeared to be ruins of an old stone tower lying not far from Josh on the edge of the lake, many stones missing from the foundation, with moss and vines mingling with the stone bricks.

Josh reached behind him, petting Freezy's muzzle and saying quietly, "Good horse. Stay here."

Josh set of towards the ruined tower, keeping himself to the edge of the lake's shore. The lake was completely still, with no ripples disturbing the calm water. Josh was at a loss of words from the sheer beauty of the whole area as a whole. Josh walked off of the shore as he approached the tower, slowing a bit in caution. It seemed quiet, but Josh decided that he was better off being more careful.

As Josh walked toward the entrance of the tower, he could have sworn that he saw a flash of movement from within the tower, and he froze, his eyes wide.

"H-Hello?" Josh called out, trying to keep the stutter out of his voice, "Is anyone in there?"

There was a moment, before he heard a voice reply from inside of the tower. The voice sounded a bit scratchy, as if whoever it belonged to hasn't spoken in some time. "W-who are you?"

Josh paused, wondering how much he should tell the stranger. "I'm... just a visitor. I was exploring the woods, hoping to find something interesting. Seems like I have."

"Y-you shouldn't have come here!" the voice called, "Haven't you heard about the monsters in this forest?"

"I've been in these woods for a good two hours, and I haven't seen any trouble." Josh replied, shrugging his shoulders.

There was silence from inside of the tower, and Josh watched as a figure walked slowly through the opening of the tower, a nervous look on his face as he looked at Josh with wide blue eyes. To Josh's surprise, he was wearing royal attire much like that Josh would normally be wearing in the castle, though while Josh's was normally an orange color, the stranger's attire was a silvery white color, with a pale green vest over the top. His short blondish-brown hair looked messy, contrasting his fancy wear, but Josh tried to ignore it. "You still haven't answered my question." The stranger said, trying to keep the shakiness from his voice. "Who are you?"

Josh, realizing how strange he must look in his all-black outfit, did a small bow, hoping that introducing himself might relieve some of the nervous stranger's tension. "My name is Joshua Bradley, prince of Sidemia, and brother to King Callux."

The stranger did seem to relax a bit, and Josh was relieved to see him return Josh's bow with by bowing himself. "My name is Simon Minter, prince of Mintopia, and younger brother of Queen Freya."

Josh couldn't help but take a sharp breath, unable to believe what he had heard. "Y-You're the prince from Mintopia? The one who went missing a few years ago?"

Simon's eyes widened in surprise. "Has it really been that long? I didn't think that it had..." Simon's voice trailed off, sadness in his eyes as he spoke again. "Have they... have they stopped looking for me?"

Josh bit his lip, unsure how to answer the question. He decided that he should be honest, and spoke slowly. "I don't think so. I remember some delegates from your kingdom coming to speak with my brother in search of you when you went missing. They said that they were searching for you everywhere."

Simon only hummed in response, letting out a long, sad sigh. "If it really has been that long, then I wouldn't blame Freya for giving up on me. She can't be expected to be able to always spare men to look for a prince who was abducted right in front of the whole kingdom. Even if I am her brother."

"So... it's true then?" Josh asked quietly. "Were you really abducted by a sorcerer?"

Simon nodded slowly. "Yes. His name was Tobi Lerone. He lived on the outskirts of our territory. One day, he asked for my sister's hand in marriage, but she refused, as she engaged to another. When he was rejected, he captured me during the banquet for the marriage, in front of the whole kingdom, as revenge. Then he dragged me here."

Simon's shoulders drooped sadly, and Josh couldn't help but feel sympathy for the other prince, and he spoke in a gentle tone as he continued. "Well... can't you just leave? You can even come with me back to my kingdom if you would like-"

"No!" Simon interrupted, his eyes wide in surprise. "I can't leave so close to moonrise! The sorcerer put a curse on me when I arrived here. If I'm not standing in the water of the lake when the sun goes down, then I'll die!"

Shocked, Josh was about to ask about the curse when he heard the sound of splashing behind him, and he saw a look of horror on Simon's face. Josh turned to look at the lake, his eyes widening in surprise.

There seemed to be a black mist rising from the lake, seeming to swallow the light reflecting off of the lake. Josh could see the animals in the trees flee back into the depths of the woods. The breeze seemed to pick up, causing Josh's cloak to begin to flap behind him in the wind. Josh could also hear Freezy's whinnying in the distance, and he looked to see that the stallion was rearing up on his back legs, a frenzied look in his eyes. "What's happening?!?" Josh shouted in surprise.

"You need to leave now! The sorcerer is coming! He can't see you, or he'll trap you here too!" Simon cried, grabbing Josh by his wrist and running across the shore of the lake towards Freezy, who was still in a frenzied panic. Josh protested, but Simon ignored him, dragging the unhappy prince behind him, who was struggling to keep up with him.

They approached Freezy, the stallion seeming to calm down a bit in presence of his rider. Josh reluctantly climbed onto the saddle, looking back onto Simon. "Are you sure that you don't want to come with me?"

Simon nodded furiously, adding "Yes, now go! I have to get to the water, now!"

Josh, still unsure of whether or not to leave Simon behind, just did a quick nod and kicked Freezy's side, the stallion letting out a loud whinny before he ran off, Josh pulling tightly on the reins and forcing himself not to turn to look back at the lake.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Josh couldn't take it.

As Josh rode back through the woods, he could feel the guilt eating away at his mind, despite Simon telling him to leave. He was painfully aware of the moon that was hanging high in the sky, as it made it near impossible to see.

"If I'm not standing in the water of the lake when the sun goes down, then I'll die!"

Those words were haunting Josh's mind, and he let out a loud groan, yanking on Freezy's reins and pulling the stallion back towards the direction of the lake, silently willing for the steed to go as fast as he could.

Josh couldn't leave Simon behind. He knew that Simon said that he could die if he were away from the lake for too long, but Josh was sure that there must be some kind of loophole. Maybe it didn't have to be that specific lake that he had to stay in when to moon rose. Maybe it could be any kind of lake! Josh didn't care about that even as much as the thought of the nervous prince having to face the evil sorcerer on his own. Josh didn't have any weapons on him, but there might be some way to keep the sorcerer away from Simon.

"I'm coming Simon!" Josh cried out as the lake came into his view, confidence in his voice as he pulled tight on Freezy's reins, making the stallion come to a halt.

Josh hopped off of him and ran to the shore of the lake, looking around wildly for any sign of Simon or the sorcerer.

The lake no longer had the black mist rising over it, the water instead casting a pale reflection of the moon in the clear water. As Josh made his way around the lake towards the ruined tower, he could see no signs of life around the lake, the only sound being the ruffling of the plant life in the breeze.

"Simon?" Josh called quietly, sticking his head through the entrance of the tower. Seeing no sign of him in there, Josh hissed in frustration as he walked back out.

He froze as he heard the sound of splashing in the lake behind him, and he quickly turned to the lake, expecting to see the black mist, or even the evil sorcerer himself rise from the water. But neither appeared, but Josh did see something on the lake.

It was a swan.

The swan was swimming on the water, its silvery white feathers gleaming in the moonlight. The swan's eyes were a striking blue color, much to Josh's surprise, and as the swan turned its head to look at Josh, Josh could've sworn that the swan had a look of surprise.

"You shouldn't have come back here...!" The swan said slowly, Josh letting out a gasp of surprise, not at the fact that the swan could speak, but instead at the voice that spoke.

"The sorcerer put a curse on me when I arrived here."

No way... Josh thought, a look of shock on his face as he spoke in a wavering voice.

"...Simon?"

Word Count: 3,302