Monty was shocked and he immediately bowed down to Jacob.

"I’m so sorry for my rudeness. I should have shown you kinder manners."

"It’s okay, there’s no need to be modest. We’re both people after all. We should be treated equally."

Monty was even more surprised.

"A prince who respects commoners... I must be dreaming!"

Jacob embarrassingly scratched his head.

"I wasn’t always this way. I had to learn a lot and go through a lot to get here."

Monty let out a hardy laugh.

"Better late than never, I guess! You said you were here for your uncle? What’s his name? I may have seen him pass through here."

"His name is Leo. He has a rend ability that allows him to manipulate water. I know he likes showing off with it so that may the best description I can give of him."

Monty thought to himself for a moment and then gestured Jacob to follow him.

"I believe I know who you’re talking about. I just call him water boy."

Jacob stifled a laugh. The thought of his old uncle being called boy was a hilarious idea.

Monty led them towards the lake in the clearing. He walked up close to the water and started shouting.

"Hey, water boy! You have some visitors!"

There was no response. The water stayed perfectly still.

"I think it’s your nephew and his girlfriend! They just want to talk with you about something!"

Jacob and Maria blushed, each rushing to get a word out and accidently interrupting each other.

"What are-"

"He’s not-"

"Wait, I-"

"Sorry, I-"

They both stared at each other awkwardly with red faces for a moment before deciding to just be quiet and watch the water. Still no response. Monty started chuckling slightly.

"He always does this, believe it or not. I’ll get him out."

Monty slowly walked towards the edge of the water and stuck both his feet in. Then, he lifted his right leg up in front of him, preparing to kick backwards. In a flash, the kick collided with the lake.

The force was so incredibly powerful that all the water was thrown into the air and started raining down on the entire area. At the very bottom of the now empty lake, was Jacob’s uncle. He looked up at Monty with anger in his eyes.

"Stop doing that you fool!"

The water that was raining on them suddenly froze in the air. Slowly, all of it started reforming into the shape of a body of water again. Jacob’s uncle walked up the muddy slope, keeping the water away from him as he got closer to the surface.

"Geez, take it easy on me water boy. What’s the big deal if you can reform it anyway?"

"The big deal is that it’s annoying!"

Leo looked down at his nephew with a cold gaze. Slowly, a smile formed on his face.

"Well, look who we have here. My, this feels nostalgic does it not? I can’t help but feel the three of us have been in a situation exactly like this before."

"That’s because we have, you old geezer. That was hardly a week ago."

"Ouch. Your insults are still as clever as when I left you Jacob. What brings you here anyway?"

"My father sent me here to retrieve what you stole from him. I want it back."

"Do you want it back or does your father want it back?"

"I want it back. Our kingdom needs it to protect itself."

"Against whom, exactly?"

"Against you. I know what you’re planning and I’m not going to let you hurt the people of Iron Kingdom."

Suddenly, his uncle started to laugh hysterically. He started slapping himself in the knee as he chuckled. Even Monty joined in the laughing even though Jacob knew that he had no idea what he was laughing about.

"Oh, my goodness. This is just absolutely priceless! Do forgive me for the sudden outburst, but I just couldn’t contain myself! All of it is just a big joke!"

"What do you mean? What’s so funny?"

"Don’t you see it? The irony of this whole situation? Think about what he’s having you do, Jacob!"

Jacob thought to himself for a moment, trying to put together the pieces in his mind.

"I still don’t understand. All he did was send me to get something back from you."

"Really? This situation doesn’t ring any bells?"

Jacob still stared at him dubiously.

"Fine. I guess I can spell it out. Let me lay it out like this for you then. Your father sends one of his most cherished family members to an enemy having little to no confidence they will survive the altercation. And guess where he’s at? He’s hiding all the way back home, escaping from any possibility of danger."

Something finally clicked in Jacob’s brain. It was so incredibly obvious that Jacob felt like punching himself in the face. It was clear to Leo that his nephew finally realized what was going on.

"It... it can’t be."

"It seems like you finally figured it out. This is just like what happened to your mother. The king sends you away, disregarding your life, while he holes up behind his precious walls and cowers."

Jacob’s anger had reached a breaking point. He couldn’t contain it anymore. He needed to see his father dead, thrown out to the wolves, slowly tortured to death. He currently desired nothing more. His expression was that of a mad beast. His teeth were barred, his breathing was hoarse and his muscles rippled under his armor.

"Woah now. Easy there Jacob. If you think it simply ends there, you are highly mistaken. How about this: if you are willing to hear from me all the other things he’s hiding from you and the public, I will give you this charm back completely free. No strings attached."

Maria started to worry about Jacob. When he got angry, he was terrifying to approach.

Jacob walked up to his uncle after swallowing his irritation and held out his hand. His uncle grabbed it and shook firmly.

"It’s a deal then."