“Got yourself kidnapped again?”

He groaned, “It’s like stepping in a pile of cow manure. Mind tells me to go around, but somehow my foot lands in the middle of it.”

“Don’t try to sit up. When they chloroformed you to set a broken arm, you threw up all over the bed. Nurses claimed it was my fault.”

Albert turned his head toward Jack’s voice. His big brother sat on a bed with back against the wall. Handsome Jack, as his friends called him, appeared alright though a little scruffy. His usual pristine uniform was streaked with dirt and wrinkled. Even at a disadvantage, Jack’s tall form radiated strength.

“Can I sit up now?”

“Lean over the edge of the bed just in case,” was his humorous reply.

He pushed off the coat covering him and swung his legs over. Albert was stripped down to his long johns, again. “Why are they always curious about my underwear?”

“Lack of trust. You do have a reputation for all sorts of hidden gadgets. Your clothes are on the chair over there.” Jack suddenly noticed the diamond ring on Albert’s finger. He gave him a questioning look but said nothing. The ring had been a source of derision between the boys.

Albert stood and picked up his clothes.

“Water closet over there.” A metal chain clinked as Jack pointed.

“Don’t trust you either?”

Brown eyes met brown eyes. He grinned and said, “I have a reputation, also.”

Albert washed his face and ran fingers through his hair. Pulling on his clothes, he asked, “Any idea why we are here?”

He answered with a cautious statement, “Me? To control you. What they want from you, I don’t know. I haven’t met my captors yet. Light is never turned off, so not sure if it is day or night. Food is brought in and set on the bed. Once a day, they release me to use the facilities. Two men watch the whole time. That is a little disconcerting.”

Under the pile of clothes, whoever stripped him left his watch and belt. Jack’s gaze turned intense for a moment as Albert slipped on the bulky watch and then fastened a heavy buckle attached to his belt.

Latches clicked on the door. A foot kicked it open. Next, a man entered while guards stood out in the hall with guns drawn. Two trays were set on Albert’s bed. His stomach churned. The food did not look appetizing.

After the door was closed and locked, Jack studied his brother’s white face. “Please, don’t try to eat. I’ll take them both. Trip all right? Father sent a telegram notifying me you arrived back in the States. Glad to hear I didn’t need to come and rescue you again,” he commented between bites.

Albert understood his brother too well. His joking was designed to reassure his little brother that big brother had everything under control. Well, maybe it was his time for him to do the rescuing. Aware of how cold the room was, he searched for his boots. They were missing. The heels could only be opened by a combination of twists, but a strong hammer could break them apart. If the green stone was discovered, his plan would be in trouble.

“They took my boots.”

“Mine, too. Probably to keep us from wandering the hall in bare feet.”

Albert lay on the bed and pulled his heavy coat on. After struggling for a few minutes to cover his feet, he gave up. In an attitude reminiscent of his time with Napoleon, he yelled out, “I hope I don’t get frostbite on my toes.”

At the next meal delivery, their socks were pitched in but still no shoes.

They were dozing after lunch when the door swung open. A guard pointed his gun at Albert and indicated for him to follow.

Albert glared at the man. “Not without Jack.”

“He won’t come,” The man commented to someone in the hall.

Two more guards entered, and while one held a gun pointed at Jack, the others lifted Albert to drag him from the room.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

His toe caught on a crack in the floor. He yelled at them, “Stop, I’ll walk!”

They grinned and continued down the hall. At a closed door, while one opened it, the other held Albert by his shoulders and shoved him into the room.

A thin man sitting at a desk looked up. “Gave you a little trouble, did he?”

“Nothing we couldn’t handle,” the guard chuckled.

While they talked, Albert took the opportunity to straighten up and glance at his surroundings. Having met a lot of different people, even to him, the seated speaker was strange. He was dressed in a tailored blue velvet suit with gold braided epilates on his shoulders. Gold buttons crisscrossed the chest. Massive sparkling rings on each finger seemed to weigh down his hands and interfered with his ability to hold a pen. Thick glasses magnified his eyes. But it was the nose ring and Fu Manchu mustache that fascinated Albert the most. A piece of food caught on the nose ring waved back and forth as the man breathed. The mustache was trimmed off center. The whole effect was as if a child was playing dress up.

To keep from laughing, Albert adjusted his collar, tucked in his shirt tail, and flicked an imaginary speck of lint from his coat. Feeling more in control, he stood at attention and waited.

“Dr. Timmons, if I may call you Albert? I am Ford Aloysius Day, King in waiting. Welcome to my temporary palace. I am glad you were able to join my team.” He talked in a high tone, almost like a whistle.

“Doesn’t seem like I had much choice. Why are Jack and I here?”

“Ah, your brother, we wanted to make sure you accepted my invite. As to what you will be doing, tomorrow morning all will be explained.”

“I won’t be doing anything without Jack by my side. Even if you drag me here again,” Albert barked the demand in his best imitation of the Admiral.

Day, King in waiting, sat back, startled at his aggressive attitude.

A guard bowed to the seated man and said, “Your majesty, if I may escort him back to his room. Give him time to think about this.”

Albert turned to glare at the guards. “I will walk back on my own. Keep your greasy hands off me. Just, show me the way.”

Back in their cell, he stretched out on the bed’s edge and faced Jack.

Jack did the same. Now only a couple of feet apart, they carried on a conversation.

“What did you find out?” his brother whispered.

“Met Ford Aloysius Day, king in waiting, or so he said.

“No way! He actually called himself, King For A Day?”

Albert grinned. His brother was always able to put things in perspective. “Something was off. The whole encounter seemed staged. I feel another man lurks in the background and controls everything. The King promised answers tomorrow. I told him, no cooperation without you next to me.”

“Little brother, if what you think is true, you could be poking a rattlesnake.”

“Only way to get answers. But I understand, they could torture you to make me work.”

Jack rolled onto his back with a sigh. “My thoughts, too.”

After breakfast the next morning, their door slammed open. A guard picked up their empty trays while another walked in carrying clothing, towels, and soap.

“His majesty said to clean up before returning to his presence.”

Albert sat cross-legged on the bed. “What, no shoes?” He ducked as his boots came flying toward him. They hit the wall and bounced on the bed.

Jack caught his in mid-air and grinned.

“You, get started,” the man growled at Albert.

He thought for a moment. No way was he getting ready first. They could take him out before his brother was ready., “No. Jack first. He’s been here the longest and smells worse.”

He was uncuffed from the bed and shoved in the water closet. A few minutes later, Jack came out with wet, combed hair, and his jacket and shirt removed. He slipped on the baggy trousers and shirt and then sat on the bed to pull on his boots. A guard chained his wrists together and then bent over to lock chains around his ankles.

Albert sighed with relief. The foot chains meant his brother was coming with him. He washed and changed into the clean clothes. As usual, the pants were too big. Pulled up at the waist and secured with his belt, they still dragged the ground. He sat on the bed to tug on his boots, and as a final act, rolled up the cuffs.

Throughout the whole process, Jack watched him with an amused expression.

The guards shifted their feet with impatience. A man obviously in charge snarled, “Come now!”

Again, Albert gave his best Admiral’s impression and said, “Jack first.”

A gun was cocked and pointed at his brother. “I’m tired of this. Get moving, or he’ll limp the rest of his life.”

Albert left the room without a backward glance. He was relieved to hear chains clink as Jack followed him.

They were taken to a room and tied to chairs. Two men entered carrying water and towels.

A third man stood at attention and said, “His Majesty requests you to be clean-shaven.”

“Brother, I think you called it right. This whole setup is weird but feels great.” Jack leaned back as his face was lathered with soap.

Now presentable, though Albert’s pants dragged on the ground, they were taken to the same receiving room as before.

The king, accompanied by a dark-eyed man, entered and looked them over. “Good, much better. I know you don’t understand protocol, but you are expected to bow in my presence.”

The brothers were shoved to their knees and heads pushed down. For a moment, Albert had a vision of Harris, on his knees, with a blade poised inches from his neck. He felt a shiver of fear. This was not a game even if it felt like one.

The man behind Day clicked his fingers. The guards lifted them. “If your majesty with allow me, I will escort our visitors to the workshop and explain what is required.”

Day sat at his desk and waved a couple of fingers at him.

The brothers were spun around by sets of hefty fists and prodded in the back. Albert of course went first, with Jack clinking behind him. The man strode ahead of them with a military bearing. He paused at a metal door, pulled out a set of keys, and unlocked it.