"I only ask you to call me Henry because nobody else is willing to talk to me like you just were. They are always too busy being fake. Worried that they will offend me, avoiding me to stay out of trouble and coming to me only when they need something or are being paid to do so. I hate it. I hate it! Please, just talk to me like you would a friend. It would mean so much to me if you could merely wave at me if we see each other again." He confessed.
"You want me to treat you as a friend?" Sarah asked.
"Please."
"Well then, I am gonna have to warn you… I am usually pretty rude to my friends." Sarah said with a laugh. "But I will try to be nicer to you then the other's"
"So you will be my friend?"
"Of course!" Sarah replied.
"Thank you!" He said with a smile.
His smile vanished tho when a voice came calling around the corner. "Prince Henry! Your highness! Prince Henry! Where are you!"
"Ugh. I gotta go." Henry said as he waved and ran back around the corner.
Sarah was about to leave when she realized that she still had his painting's in her hand. She shrugged and started walking in the direction Prince Henry had run to give them back to him. He had asked her to be his friend after all and as a friend she should return what was his.
Sarah turned the corner and saw Henry talking to a man in a butler uniform. "Henry! You forgot these!" Sarah said while holding them up to show him.
She held them out for Henry to take and the butler gave her an odd look. Possibly because she had called him Henry, or maybe because she hadn't been formal when talking to him the butler said "Who are you?"
"I am Sarah Benson, Henry's friend." Sarah answered.
The butler raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Henry's friend? When did you meet then?"
"Umm." Sarah sarcastically checked her imaginary watch, "About 25 minutes ago."
"That's it? 25 minutes is long enough for you to assume that you have the right to bypass the correct formalities when talking to a prince?" The butler said, growing slightly angry.
"I asked her to do that." Henry said.
"Very well your highness. If that is your wish."
"It is." Henry replied firmly. He took the painting's from Sarah's hands and said "thanks for bringing these to me."
"Of course! Obviously the butler doesn't like me so I 'll leave." Sarah said to Henry. Turning to the butler she said "Bye Butler dude." She gave him a salute and walked away with her hands in her pocket, not turning back to look at them again.
When Sarah was both out of sigh and out of earshot the butler said, "Well she's an interesting one."
"Yup." Prince Henry said as he walked away.
The butler walked quickly to catch up with him. "So that's what you have been doing for the last half hour? The King has been looking for you this whole time but instead of meeting with the KING you were making friends with a little girl! What would the king think of this?"
"I don't really care what the king would think about my friends. Also, I was actually on my way to the meeting when I met her. I didn't plan on being late."
"You know she's only being nice to you because you are the prince, right? She's just using you and your status to reach some other goal."
Henry stopped walking. "You're fired."
"What! I'm fired! Why!" The butler said appalled.
"For many reasons. 1- wrongly accusing others. 2- plotting against the throne. 3- using your status as my personal butler to receive extra benefits and call yourself superior to the other maids and butlers. 4- selling my schedule and whereabouts to others. Any other questions?" Prince Henry said coldly.
"Y-your highness! I'm framed! Please, I beg of you! Please don't fire me!"
"Framed? I think not. Why don't you run along and tell the people of your little rebellion that we know all about it and that we are going to stop it. Now leave, you could be hanged for your crimes. I'm letting you off easy because I gave you the message to deliver." Henry said.
They approached a guard and Henry said "Please help Butler Wen to collect the rest of his payment for the month. Then please see him out persionaly."
"Yes your highness." The guard said as he took the butler to the pay room.
Prince Henry turned the corner and walked into the king's study without knocking.
The king looked up at him with anger in his face. "Henry! Where have you been?"
"Busy." He said as he lazily sat down on a tufted red chair, inspecting his fingernails.
"How dare you talk to me like that! Who do you think you're talking to! I'm pretty sure that whatever you were doing just now is not as important as figuring out how to stop a POTENTIAL WAR!" the king roared at him.
"I figured out the lead informant. It was my head butler, butler Wen. He has been fired and sent to his rebellion to deliver a message that we already know what they are planning. I also used a coded message to inform a guard that I want a tracker placed on him along with a few guards to track his location in-person to see where the rebellion is headquartered."
The king was silent for a few moment's and said "Well done son. I will pardon you from punishment of being late because you were dealing with important matters. I will reward your discoveries with 5 pounds of gold."
"Thank you father." Henry responded obediently. Inside, Henry was smiling, he got out of trouble and received an award from father. He had also just made a new friend.