I look at the knights curiously, being careful not to send the wrong message. "What do you mean?"

"You just went out into the plaza as usual, then we lost sight of you! That's not uncommon, but what WAS uncommon is you not heading back to the castle by sunset!"

I look out the window of the inn. It really IS getting late... if the king is missing... I down the rest of my drink. "Ok, I need to be honest with you, as we won't get anywhere if we start keeping secrets. I'm not the king, I'm a shapeshifter, about the only person who knew that is the lovely bartender who pretended not to know. I dress like his majesty regularly for free drinks. That's about it."

The knights look at each other confused. "But... then..."

One of them raises a weapon. "You do anything to him? You holding him hostage?"

I hold my hands up. "I would never! Our kind don't waste time, if I were going to do anything to him I'd have done it AGES ago! We do our best to keep our secret safe!"

Another knight clears his throat. "So... why would you tell us?"

"Because I had two options: pretend to ACT like someone I'm not, taking on a task which I have no clue what to do, or tell the truth and offer my help. Believe me, I'm worried about his majesty too. Are the citizens aware?"

"They shouldn't be..."

I smile warmly. "Ok, I'm sure you all know that a panicked kingdom is bad. Here's what I'm thinking: allow me to take the throne just for the night, I won't make any decisions or anything, we just need to fool EVERYONE into believing the king is safe. Then, in the morning, I'll decide to 'have an adventure', and I'll search day and night for him. I won't rest until he's safe."

The knights look at each other, then nod. "We don't have much choice. We all need to trust each other. But we won't hesitate to kill you if we suspect any attempt at taking the throne for real. Understood?"

"Perfectly."

The knights escort me back to the castle. I make sure to eat well and get an early night's sleep. I'll need to be fully prepared for the following day. I look out the window of the king's chambers. "I'll risk my own life to save you, your majesty. I promise I'll do whatever it takes to get you back to your kingdom safe."

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