I have much to tell you. See you in the morning.”
“Agreed,” Aaron replied. With that, the prince walked out of the store, escorted by his guards.
When Sam arrived back at the inn, BJ, Helga, and Shalee were waiting for him at the bar. BJ was a wreck, worrying that Sam would say something to upset the prince. The women were trying to calm BJ since his ranting was getting loud.
Sam walked in behind them just as BJ said, “...then, with the prince standing right there, the todlum said, ‘He puts his pants on just like you and I do!’ And, if that wasn’t bad enough, he questioned, right in front of the prince, whether or not I knew if there was a royal secret to putting pants on. I was so embarrassed! I wanted to sink into the ground. So much for getting an invitation from the king. I’m sure everything has been blown to garesh.”
Sam smiled. He tossed the bag of coins over BJ’s shoulder and watched everyone jump as it thumped against the bar. “Don’t make such a fuss, old man.”
BJ shouted, “Don’t make a fuss? How could I not? You messed everything up! You’re a todlum!”
“What on Earth?” Shalee questioned. “What the heck is a todlum, BJ? You’re not making sense.”
Helga responded, “A todlum is someone who is thick in the head, Child.”
“Oh shoot ... in Texas we called todlums, numskulls.”
Sam rolled his eyes. “Well, I may be a todlum, but we did much better than just being invited to the king’s tournament. Look in the bag, you old grouch!”
Once BJ saw what was inside, he clenched the bag and whispered. “This is a substantial amount of coin. Where did you get it?”
“The prince, of course. I sold him a new secret about how to put his pants on. You should have seen his face. He was so impressed. His eyes got really wide, and his mouth started to water. He was so thankful. To show his appreciation, he pulled out a bunch of coins, threw them in a bag and then tossed it to me. He even invited us to his father’s tournament in Brandor, which I had to turn down because the secret wasn’t worth that much. Apparently, his father’s tournament is being held early this season since there is an upcoming war.”
BJ growled. “That’s absurd! Why would a member of the royal house give you this much coin? Why would the prince pay you to fight in his father’s tournament? And why would you turn him down?”
Sam looked at BJ and whispered, “Have you ever heard of keeping quiet so the whole world doesn’t know we’ve got this kind of coin on our person? Let’s go up to the room and talk.”
Once they were in the room, Sam explained how the coin was a reward for his generosity to Brandon’s widow. “We’re supposed to meet the prince in the morning to go to Brandor.”
BJ responded, “So we’re leaving, and we’ll be meeting the king? What should we wear? I don’t have my best clothes with me ... or my armor.”
Sam looked at Shalee. “Looks like someone’s star-struck.”
Shalee laughed. “Maybe they have room on this world to start a celebrity magazine. I betcha BJ would be tickled pink.”
“What are you two talking about, Child?”
“Oh, nothing worth explaining. Pay us no never mind.”
“I’m not going to visit the king looking like a beggar,” BJ announced. “I’m going to buy some new clothes. You should do the same.”
Shalee walked over to Sam and nestled into him, speaking in her cutest voice. “Baby, don’t you want to take your loving, sweet, wonderful, sexy, kind, generous, perfect, sublime, little magic-user shopping? Don’t you want to spoil me? I’ll make it worth your while.”
Sam rolled his eyes at BJ. “See what you’ve started, old man? Let me have the coin, and I’ll buy us all something.”
The Next Evening
Sam and Shalee’s Bedroom Chamber
The Castle of Brandor
“I’m sick of all this royal crap,” Sam grumbled. “Ever since we’ve arrived in Brandor, I’ve bowed far more than I care to.
“ I’m telling you right now, I’m not going to kiss his father’s butt tomorrow when we meet him. If the king can’t have a normal conversation, then screw him.”
He turned to face Shalee. “I had the world in the palm of my hand on Earth, and I didn’t need to kiss anyone’s ass to make it happen. I just know I’m going to have to suck it up tomorrow to get anything accomplished.