As the sun climbed further and further up in the sky, Yths slowly woke up. The bakers lit their ovens, butchers cut the meat into strips, greengrocers polished their tomatoes, postmen started their daily rounds, children went to school and slackers turned over in their beds for the umpteenth time. However, many employees had taken a day off today and few shops were open in the morning. After all, a large crowd had gathered in the King's Square and was crowding against the fences to catch a glimpse of the confident royal candidates. Robert had finally hoisted himself onto the scaffold and tied the shaky thing to the trunk of an apple tree for safety. Despite his extreme lack of balance, he was satisfied with his position because from here he could observe everything perfectly.
The participants had lined up one by one behind a white pinstripe as if they were going to race. Most of them sat on a mount because this was a lot easier in the acorn woods, but Jack Bulton had gone for his two-wheeled cart pulled by two noble steeds, one of those that you often saw in the arena at the gladiatorial games. The three piglets had opted for a camel due to a lack of experience with horseback riding. Hörk sat in front of the first hump, Pörk between the two humps and Gnörk wobbled on to the last hump. The brothers Slander and Vlander sat proudly on a very long horse with two saddles on its back and behind them hung a large covered wagon with their luggage. Mayor Guy sat on a donkey and his two aldermen sat next to him on their mounts, unfortunately backwards but no one bothered to tell them. Arian de Arieman was the only one without a mount at the start because he could run faster than any animal. He was just looking for the seven differences between the twins when Leo Niel entered the square. He sat on a shiny black racehorse whose reins were caught on the reins of a gray farm horse carrying two backpacks. The young man deftly maneuvered the couple to the starting line and parked himself just past a nervous-looking Alex Tikker who was constantly glancing at his pocket clock. Tikker sat on a somewhat rickety-looking gray horse, which looked as significant as his preparer. Chronometers hung from the animal's legs, one on each leg. The witch hunter seemed to be obsessed with time and clocks. When everyone had found their seats, there was a loud trumpet blast. The buzz died down.
'Dear compatriots...' Siel roared as loud as he could. '... Despite the tragic news from our king, we did not give up, but thanks to numerous auditions, we found seven potential interim kings. Today they leave for the Grey Vulture Castle to let the beautiful Tilliante speak again and to let her marry the man who pleases her. In three days' time, I expect you all here for the results of this test. Then we will know exactly what happened in the dangerous Leafy Forest and who is irrevocably dropping out. To all the candidates, good luck and may the best one win!"
A huge applause erupted that was immediately silenced when Robert raised the white flag with those four red orbs of Yths. Everyone held their breath. For a moment, time seemed to stand still until the flag shot down. The trial had begun!
But Robert had swung so hard that the whole position trembled violently, and he anxiously grasped at the edge. The flag tumbled down and fell on the head of a hysterical Alex Tikker. The man began to mow furiously in a battle against the enemy flag. But luckily Leo came to his rescue and quickly pulled the flag away from him. Panting, Alex calmed his prancing horse, nodded gratefully to his rescuer and then sprinted after the others. Leo gave the flag to Dirrek who came running.
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"Maybe that scaffolding should get a facelift before it costs that poor man his life." Leo winked at a deathly pale Robert who clung to it with all his might to keep from falling down.
Dirrek coughed. "We'll certainly work on that, sir, but I advise you to leave anyway because you're in last place at the moment."
Leo laughed and saw in the distance the cloud of dust that the mounts had left in the sand. Alex just disappeared around the corner. He then put spurs to both horses and set off at a light trot on his way to the Leafy Forest to the loud cheers of the spectators. He waved briefly to Robert who was already getting a bit more color and then slowly disappeared from sight.
In the bustle of the people who dispersed and went home, talking loudly, Robert squeezed between the people and other figures towards the palace. He walked up the castle walls until he came to the back of the palace. It was surprisingly quiet. In the distance he heard here and there a laugh or a happy exclamation. Behind a bush in the palace garden, stood a large burlap sack. Robert fished it off the ground and hid behind the big fountain. He wriggled out of his gray suit and put on the clothes from the burlap sack. Smooth brown pants, sturdy black boots, a loose white shirt and a dark green coat with a sheep's wool inside. He put on a matching green hat that cast a shadow over his face and tied a brown scarf over his nose and mouth so that only his eyes were visible. Almost unrecognizable, Robert stuffed his tailored suit into pocket and hid it in a blackberry bush. He crept along the garden paths all the way to the back of the garden. Robert hoisted himself onto the castle wall and landed with his boots in the tall grass behind the wall. He hurried down the castle hill, holding his hat with both hands so that it did not blow off. At the foot of the hill stood a thick oak tree. Robert walked around it and almost bumped into Leo's gray farmer's horse.
"There you are!" Leo beamed. "Has anyone followed you?"
Robert looked around the tree again to be sure, and then shook his head. "I don't think so." Then he hoisted himself onto the farmer's horse. He could feel the nerves in his stomach. Robert had thought about it for a long time, and last night he had made a pact with Leo. Robert couldn't bear the idea of waiting in the castle for days until any result. He wanted to fight for the honour of the country and the succession of the king. If he had openly put himself forward as a companion to Leo, Siel would probably never have approved it and neither of them would have been able to participate. Secretly meeting up with Leo and going out together seemed like a better plan. If the trial still failed, they probably wouldn't be able to tell the tale. If the test succeeded, Robert would slip away again on the return to the castle so that he would be waiting at the finish line just in time as a loyal servant of the Courtly Functional Bourgeoisie. If he and Leo were to succeed in all the tests, Siel might be able to forgive him for his betrayal and perhaps even promote him. He didn't have to be king, he left that to Leo, but he was more than tired of being a jack-of-all-trades and getting his ass kicked all the time. Robert looked expectantly at Leo. They barely knew each other, but when Robert suggested to help Leo last night, he was extremely enthusiastic. If there was anyone Robert wanted to take on this challenge with, it was Leo. They both put spurs to their horses and galloped towards the Leafy Forest.