It doesn't.

In fact, it doesn't go up or down. It stays exactly the same. Each day was the same. James would wake up very early for another day of being a knight. However, the only mission he ever got was to get groceries or go on fetch quests. By the time he would get back, it would be nighttime, and was sent back to the Knight's resting quarters. In short, this wasn't the way James wanted things to go.

Today was one of his break days so he decided to chill in the living quarters with his other fellow knights. He plopped down on the couch and turned on the TV browsing the channels. One hand was eating chips and one was configuring the remote.

I thought there was a new episode of Silver's Structure today... he said to himself. While searching for the right channel, his two friends sat on the couch next to him. One had puffy yellow hair with dark skin and the other had a blue flattop with a tan. Dandy is the one with the yellow hair, and George is the one with the flattop. Remember that now.

"So how was the princess today?" Dandy said teasingly. He started poking James.

"Yeah, how was it with the pretty-pretty princess?" George added on, also beginning to poke James.

This was their regular behavior. A bunch of idiots who loved annoying James. Then again, who doesn't?

James sighed and gave into their antics. "It was the same as always." He started. "Get errand, run around the store for hours, and come back at night to drop groceries."

"So, none of that merit you've been speaking of?" George asked, fully knowing the answer to that question.

"None! None at all! After I worked my butt off to become this lady's knight, I get nothing out of it!" James exclaimed.

////

Dandy began to grab some chips from James's bag. "Dude, you didn't 'work your butt off.' You literally cheated on the entrance exam and got lucky in the lottery system."

"You know how hard cheating is?" James fired back. He grabbed a handful of chips. "You know what else is hard? Keeping up this insane knight act for hours upon hours." He stuffed his face with the chips. If you didn't know any better, you'd think he was a human chipmunk.

"Then why don't you just quit?" George questioned. "Also hand me some chips. I'm not letting you guys finish it all." He reached over and got some of those crispy chips for himself.

"No can-do buddy. You know the plan." James was about to explain his whole plan before George put him in a chokehold. Serves him right.

"Bro, everyone knows the plan. By everyone, I mean everyone." Dandy said munching on chips while watching his friend suffer in pain.

"Yeah, you talk about it every day, everywhere. I'm pretty sure the whole capital knows by now. Including your Little Miss Princess." George corrected himself as he let go of James. "Queen I meant."

James cracked his tan neck a few times before responding. "Oh please. That Queen is too incompetent to know anything! She's a complete glutton who forgets the simplest things. She practically needs me."

"Uh-huh." Both George and Dandy said while rolling their eyes. Suddenly, the sound of a blaring siren echoed through the knight's living quarters:

"ALL KNIGHTS TO THE FRONT LINES. ALL KNIGHTS TO THE FRONT LINES"

"Eh? What is this?" George asked scratching his head.

"Probably a dumb attack on the capital by the Ogres and Hogs. Seriously, when will they learn?" Dandy replied.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"They probably came because they heard a new queen is in town. Which means..."

"It's finally my turn to shine!" James exclaimed. He quickly put on his chainmail armor and grabbed his sword that was conveniently placed near the couch. Before he left, he turned back to his friends, as if it was some sort of final goodbye.

"Smell ya later losers. Next time you'll see me, I'll be swimming in a royal hot tub!" After his witty remark, James gleefully skipped his way into battle.

Now, before we can continue with James, let's see how the queen was hanging about 10 minutes prior...

Eliza was in the kitchen setting up her next meal. She was deciding between a simple burger or spaghetti.

"Hmm. How about... I have a burger and a large helping of spaghetti!" She exclaimed out loud.

"Your highness, I think you should have a lighter meal." Said a girl with sharp rectangle glasses. She had short black hair and wore a black suit. She held a grey tablet in her pale elbow that matched the rest of her skin. She was the queen's manager.

"Matori, I'm really hungry though..." Eliza whined. She pouted as she plopped down on a nearby chair.

Matori sighed as she walked over to where the young queen was having a fit. "At this rate, no one is going to believe you can run a kingdom, my lady."

Eliza shot back. "I'm perfectly aware of that. They'll all know soon enough though." She began twiddling her thumbs as if she was an evil mastermind. Matori looked a bit frightened.

"May I ask what you mean by that my queen?"

Eliza began laughing out loud. She was laughing so hard that she began to choke and Matori had to comfort her.

"Oh, you'll know soon enough," Eliza said as she regained her composure. She got up to open one of her elegant cabinets and brought out some raw meat. She turned on the oven as she looked towards the cupboard full of knives.

"Hmm. Let's use this one." Eliza pulled the sharpest knife out of the bunch. It reflected the light of the chandler and shined brightly. Matori watched Eliza begin as she cut up the meat with delicacy and efficiency. Seriously, she should've become a cook instead of the next queen.

Matori broke out of her trance and cleared her throat. "Your highness, I have some concerns with that knight of yours..."

Eliza kept her eyes on the food she was preparing. "Oh, you mean James. Sure, he doesn't remember everything on my grocery list, but he does deliver them just in time for dinner."

Matori shook her head. "No, not that. I mean, he's James Boeing. The James Boeing. The guy who exclaims every day, "I'm going to be the most powerful in the kingdom." Then suddenly, he becomes your personal knight. It seems he's a-"

"A fraud?" Eliza cut in. "Oh yeah, I know. Who in the capital doesn't know that guy's plan?"

"However, you still keep him as your knight. He's just using you. Why not ask for a new knight?" Matori questioned her queen.

Eliza put down her knife and pondered her manager's question. "I don't know. It's fun to mess with him. He thinks I'm incompetent like the rest of the kingdom, and everyone can see through his act. I'm going to prove them all wrong. Just watch." Eliza gave the biggest smile to her manager.

Matori's stern face grew soft. She knew Eliza since she was born, and Eliza considered her one of her only friends. Not that she needed many, she was perfectly happy as long as she had food. Maybe it was a coping mechanism. Matori is one of the only people in the kingdom to know of Eliza's true power. While the rest of the kingdom put her down, she pushed her up and continued to support her no matter what. A motherly figure. I know, very touching indeed.

Just then, Matori's nose twitched. She smelled, smoke. She looked behind Eliza. "Uh. You're highness. The ove-"

Suddenly, the siren in the kitchen went off. The loud sound filled the spacious room:

"ALERT. ENEMIES ARE ATTACKING THE CAPITAL. CITIZENS GET TO SAFETY. ALL KNIGHTS TO THE FRONT LINES. ALL KNIGHTS TO THE FRONT LINES."

Eliza perked up. "Yippee! They're finally here!" She exclaimed. Matori's glasses almost fell off as she looked confused.

"Who's finally here?!" She yelled over the siren.

"It should be the Hogs and Ogres trying to attack the capital!" She happily yelled back.

"What?! Why- How do you know this?!" Matori yelled back. This girl was going to be the death of her.

"Well, I kind of expected this after what I did!" Eliza shouted. She began to skip across the kitchen into her room.

"Lady Eliza! What did you do?!" Matori screamed. She was about to lose it.

Eliza yelled from her bedroom; it was a bit hard to hear but Matori was able to understand.

"Well, as a gift from the new queen, I sent some pork to the Hogs and some soap to the Ogres. Do you know how stinky they are? It's like they don't practice proper hygiene at all!"

"You what!!" Matori screamed. She was about to collapse as soon as she heard her answer.

"Hush. There's no need to scream anymore. The sirens have stopped." Eliza said with a lowered voice. This was true. The sirens had stopped about 3 minutes ago, and they had been screaming for no reason at all.

Eliza walked out of her room wearing her usual blue dress, however, this time her hair was in a bun.

"I'll be back in a jiffy, Matori! Make sure no one peeps into my room!" With that, Eliza gleefully danced into battle.

At this point, Matori had fallen to the floor. She said weakly, "Please, your highness, wait-" She was too weak to have any more words leave her mouth. She eventually gave up and started crawling back to her bedroom.