Free My Sparkling Misfortune (The Lakeland Knight) by Laura Lond, Alla Alekseyeva Page A

know, he offered sincere friendship to my son, and..." the king's gaze fell on Jarvi. "...and he has a sparkling in attendance! What more do you want? I believe you owe our friend an apology."
    "An apology?! Never! And his sparkling must be just as fake as he is!"
    The king frowned.
    "Now, I'd be more careful, if I were you. It is dangerous to insult a spirit."
    "Let him first prove that he is indeed a spirit!"
    Jarvi stepped forward. He was up to the challenge.
    "What proof will you take?"
    His determination impressed Kellemar; the prince shifted in a rather nervous way.
    "I don't know, but it'd better be a good one! Do something no human can do."
    Jarvi lit up with bright orange and slowly floated up in the air. Everyone gasped, including the king. Even though the royal family knew who Jarvi was, they never saw him manifest his nature before, and it was quite a sight.
    "Is this good enough?" the sparkling asked.
    Poor Kellemar could only give a weak nod. Did I just say "poor"? Sorry, that was a lie. I did not pity him one bit.
    Jarvi lowered himself to the floor and returned back to normal.
    "...But this is not possible!" Kellemar insisted. "It is a sparkling, yes, but he cannot be with this man! He--he must have tricked him somehow, or captured him and forced him to obey!"
    Now, this made me a little tense. The darn prince was too smart.
    King Osmund shook his head.
    "My dear Prince Kellemar, let me assure you that it is impossible. No one can capture a sparkling. Even if there was a way, and anyone dared to try it, they'd be dead in an instant. Faradin himself would see to it. Isn't that right, Jarvi?"
    I thought everything was going to crumble at that moment. But Jarvi made a slight bow to the king and said,
    "That is true, Your Majesty. Sparklings serve Faradin and him alone. If anyone wished to have one for themselves, they would be challenging the king of spirits--which is more than any mortal can handle."
    Kellemar blinked. And blinked again.
    "So you mean to say that... you help this man out of your own free will?" he asked.
    "The details of our arrangement are between me, him, and Faradin," the sparkling replied. "But yes, I can confirm that I help him because I wish to."
    My mind was racing. Why did Jarvi say these things? He wouldn't lie. That meant everything he said was true, but how could it be?...
    "Prince Kellemar, you know that sparklings don't lie," King Osmund said, echoing my very thoughts. "I suppose that settles the dispute, and not in your favor. I must ask you again to apologize to the Lakeland Knight, who, I am sure, has not yet challenged you for a duel only out of consideration for me and the laws of hospitality. You gave him more than enough grounds for it."
    A duel? That was a great idea! I hoped Kellemar was mad enough to grab it and challenge me himself.
    Unfortunately, he didn't.
    "I apologize to the sparkling for doubting him," he said, glaring at me, "but not to this man! I insist that I told the truth, and I will find a way to unmask him! You will all see!"
    "I wish I was old enough to challenge you for a duel!" sounded Prince Philip's indignant voice.
    Everyone turned to him. The boy stood with his fists clenched, eyes flashing with anger. It was clear that it took all his willpower to restrain himself until that moment.
    "Yes, I know I shouldn't say it," he went on. "Forgive me, father; Prince Kellemar is our guest and almost a part of the family, but he should not be allowed to insult our friend and protector!"
    You know, I'm not the sentimental type, but I was touched by how this lad stood up for me. He did exactly what Jarvi would have done... The Jarvi from my past.
    "Well... Philip, uh..." King Osmund appeared at a loss for words, obviously not knowing whether he should correct his son for this breaching of etiquette.
    I figured it was up to me to help him make up his mind and keep the boy out of trouble.
    "Thank you, Prince Philip," I said loud and clear, for all to hear.
    Kellemar