Here is the seventh chapter for you to read, because I don't have the patience to wait for longer than this. But hopefully this chapter pleases you.

***

Erik recovered slowly and injuries healed, but the internal wounds were still open, because it took time to heal, and not all of them never healed. Erik recovered slowly and injuries healed, but the internal wounds were still open, because it took time to heal, and not all of them never healed. But when Erik began to be in better shape, he also got to be up, what splinted leg only allowed.

Erik walked along the castle with Maria, who was a guide to Erik, telling the history of the building, what I knew. Sometimes he himself roamed rooms watching and admiring the wall murals or beautiful hand-woven fabrics hanging on the walls. He had never seen anything like this before, not to mention that he not even dared to dream of that kind of things.

He particularly liked one of the big room on the wall hanging fabric that flame deep red and gold. He liked the picture, which was of any color, fabric yarns embroidered on because it. He often went out just looking at the picture, but not dared to touch it, even doubted it to feel soft fingers.
Picture fascinated him, and he felt that there was something very distantly familiar, a bit the same way as those feelings that he had received from his mother humming and delicate floral aroma.
 

One day, while he was standing at the picture and had raised his hand to touch the fabric, when he heard cough near him. Erik got scared and pulled the hand away from the fabric and heart pounding he backed off the door.

"I... I'm sorry", he faltered and stumbled anxious towards the door and got entangled in his own feet and crutches and fell against the door.
"I'm sorry", he said again, and felt the horror of creeping in him. "I... I leave right away", he stammered and tried to get up off the floor and open the door at the same time.

He heard how someones the steps towards him and he was trying to panic to escape, but was so nervous that he didn't get the door open and pulled his hand instinctively protect himself, like fearing to have once again met with punches and kicks.

King stepped out of the shadows, but stopped at some distance from the door, because he saw how positively trembled with fear was and realized that the past years had left deep marks inside him.

"Erik", King said at last with a gentle, quiet voice, and approached him calmly, because he did not want to put any more of this terror, "take it easy", he said in a friendly and bent over to help him up to his feet.
"Y. .. you", Erik had a stammer and and looked at the king settles down a bit.
"I didn't mean to scare you", King said, and directed Erik to sat on a wooden padded bench.
"I thought... I thought that I had no permission to be here", Erik said, embarrassed and looked down.
"What are you talking about. Of course, you have permission to be here, this is your home", King said gently, because he realized how much Erik had been suffered in his life, how limited his life had been.

"I'm sorry. I just not have use to all of this yet", Erik said, and began to feel stupid.
"You've been watching that picture often", King changed the subject.
"Yes", Erik admitted and felt his cheeks flushed, "I have a strong feeling that I've seen it before." He then dared to say.
"It may be so", King said calmly, and then sighed deeply, "I showed it to you the day before you were taken", he then said quietly, and looked at the picture.

"I don't remember that day", Erik said, "I think I was very small", He added, speaking more to himself than to King.
"The baby only, but even then you liked that picture." The king said, and turned and looked at Erik, who was now calm down. "If you want, you can watch it closer." He added lips curving into a sorrowfully smile.
"Thank you." Erik said quietly, and rose to the bench.

He walked over to the fabric and look at it more closely, studied the colors and admired the hand skills with which the picture was made a long time ago. Carefully, he raised his hand, approached the picture and gave fingertips to touch it. He felt how soft the fabric was and closed his eyes, letting his fingers move on the surface of the fabric. As flimsy as distant and unclear dream images, he saw how he had once before touched the fabric. He swallowed and involuntary silent sob escaped from his lips, but he did not yet removed his hand from the fabric.

"Erik?" Said King, who had walked Erik's side.
"Yes?" Erik said, and put his hand down.
"Are you all right, or of course you're not, but I mean", King was trying to say.
"Yes I am", Erik replied, and looked to the king with melancholy smile, "I still have a lot to learn, because I have lived my life elsewhere, and I don't know anything about court life, and I don't know all the things I should do or know ... as a prince", he said then gently and smiled in small ways.
"That can be arranged", King said calmly, a smile illuminating his face for a long time.

The two discussed for a long time and many things, but the king never once asked Erik to his past life, because he thought that he would tell himselfthen, when he was ready to do it.

***

Julian squat on the cold floor of the booth and waited for the day when he would be executed. He was angry, harbored revenge and was thinking about wearing out his head, and figured any sensible idea to get to escape from that hell hole.

Julian knew he needed the keys, or any other way the get the booth door open. However, he had noticed a long time ago, that one of the guards didn't seem too smart, so in all likelihood he had any chance to get away.

So he then put his brain nodule in motion and soon came up with the plot, which would free. Then he suffered injustice revenge royal family. So he threw himself on the floor when that big guy come and lay on the field like dead.

Julian had been right guard was not particularly intelligent. His acting went into full to guard, who turned his heels and ran to seek help, leaving the door open. It was an opportunity that Julian had been waiting for.

As soon as the guard had disappeared, Julian jumped to his feet and fled through the open door and then to the corridor. Then he made his way out of the dungeon. Somehow, he managed to avoid the guards.

First thing on the outside the front door, he looked for a suitable hiding place where to be, until the worst of the commotion would be over. He hoped that he would have time to come up with a plan to get that Royal family out of his way and get access to power which he lusted for so much.

****

Erik and the king had sat for hours on a bench and talked of the many things. Slowly, Erik had dared ask about the things that interested him, and the slight hope, live inside him. Hope that this might be permanent.
Suddenly, their conversation interrupted the soldier who ran puffing in the room and then came to a halt in place and did honor to his king as a soldier should be do.

"Excuse me, Excellency, but I came to announce that Julian has fled", Soldier said, and was looking forward to the king's orders.
"Find him immediately. No one doesn't rest until that crook is caught", King said, standing up.

After the soldier was gone became silent, and the king stood there looking increasingly in the direction of where the soldier had ran head over heels.

"I guess it was then that", Erik said sad and felt how good mind flowed slowly away from him, and despair took over the area again.
"What are you talking about, you don't have to go anywhere", King said, and turned to see Erik, whose posture had disappeared and he was sitting in its field head bowed.

"What's to stop Julian from telling all the people from that cursed burning mark which burned to my flesh a long time ago", Erik said quietly, "if he has time to tell everyone, people have time to hear, and they don't want to cursed god-awful man to a prince, and the Ruler", he went on and slowly rose to his feet.

"But that mark has burned in to your skin under false pretenses", King said, and tried to think about how the matter should be cleared up once and for all, as it seemed to be only harm, it is thought any standard.
"People don't care about that, they only see the burning mark and think that it will bring bad luck, even death among people. They want to get rid of it", Erik replied with an empty hollow voice, which tells to the king of sorrow and anxiety, which he felt for the cause.
"There has to be way, because I don't want to lose my son again", King said firmly and looked at Erik, who had seen more of life and its seamy side than the other of his peers ever, "people need to understand, either good or bad", he went on to adamantly voice.

"No, Father. Don't hurt your people, they are just people, and in a way I understand them", Erik said and looked at the king's face seriously, "I was hoping that I would have a home here, but I guess fate has told otherwise, and I do not have permission to ask for more than I get", he sighed and with heavy heart he began to walk back to his room.
"No, you don't need go anywere. You live here with me, and you have a future monarch, no matter what people said", King said after stepping Erik, turned this around and pulled this close to him and hugging his son for the first time since the early childhood.

"Father", Erik said quietly desperate voice, and answered a hug.

"I miss you so much and I was afraid you were dead. But now you are here and I don't want you to get separated to your family again", King said with emotion, it was indeed all these years, hoping that he could see his son before dying. He saw how Erik had grown up, and saw that he was older than his real age, and grown wiser and would be a great ruler, if an accursed burnmark and wicked counselors Julian, wouldn't have been a ruining all of this.
"Father", Erik said, and take a step farther, "I don't want to leave, now that I've found my family, but the best thing to do would be for me to leave, and I wouldn't shame your own house", he continued speaking, his father seriously.

"No. We are looking for a solution to this, for you have suffered quite enough and I don't want you to suffer any more", King said, a determined voice, "and now I'll take you back to your room, because you need to rest. Perhaps Maria is waiting for you", he added, and hinted his eye, smiling mischievously.
"Father", Erik began, but saw his father's face look that objections been good enough, "all right", He agreed and walked beside his father, when he led the him through the corridors of the castle, towards the sleeping chamber.

King was in no hurry, because he wanted to be as long as possible with his son's company and because he saw that Erik's foot wasn't yet in that good condition that it would last harder going. King watched silently, Erik, and he saw that that burn mark and Julian jailbreak was plagued with his mind, so, even though he tried not to show it.

They stopped sometimes and King told stories about fabrics or weapons hanging on the wall. Stories of the men of his family, who at the time were ruled to the kingdom and lived in these halls.