An open field. A broken house. A girl sat quietly in the distance. I could not make out her features, but somehow I knew she was crying.
“What’s wrong?” a voice called out.
Before her stood a boy, about the same age as her. Again, his features were indistinguishable, but somehow I knew he was smiling.
“Mama… Papa…” the girl cried. “Those people killed them!”
“What men?” the boy asked. “What happened?”
“They told me to run!” the girl struggled to get out. “Those men said they had come for me. Papa told me to run away. He said he’d catch up once he had dealt with them!”
The boy sat awkwardly next to the crying girl and placed his arm on her shoulder. The girl clung to him with all her might, crying harder than before.
“I’m scared.” She cried. “What if those men come back? What if they kill me too?”
“I’ll protect you!” The boy cried out, grabbing the girl by the shoulders and staring intently into her eyes. “I’m strong! I won’t let those men, or anyone else ever hurt you again!”
The girl stared at the boy in silence for a moment.
“B-But papa was strong too!” she replied. “Papa was the strongest person I knew! And those men killed him!”
“Then I’ll just have to become stronger!” The boy shouted. “Stronger than your papa! Stronger than those men! I’m gonna become the strongest man that ever lived! Because I’m gonna protect you! I promise I’m gonna make sure you never have reason to cry again!”
A loud crash awoke me from my slumber.
The open field and children were gone. I was alone in a dark room. Only stone walls and iron bars surrounded me.
“That’s right.” I muttered to myself. “I had been captured.”
“What was that dream?” I wondered as I picked myself up to my feet. I had no recollection of such a field, and I had never seen those children before.
Reaching my head up, I rubbed my aching head. How had I been captured? I had no memories of it, save for the strong feeling that I had been resoundingly trashed.
As I sat there pondering, a cruel voice called me out of my thoughts.
“Ah, so you are finally awake.” It called out.
Turning around, I saw a tall slender man sitting by a table outside of my iron cage. He seemed quite amused by my predicament as he sipped from his cup of wine.
In spite of his balding head, and feeble body, every aspect of his posture spoke of superiority. My blood chilled as I saw him.
“It took you long enough.” The man scoffed. “Anyone who has the gall to attempt to infiltrate the kingdom’s capital should at least have the honor to live long enough to face his punishment.”
Dumbfounded I looked at my arms. The wounds which covered them had already started to heal. How long had I been out for?
Undeterred the man continued. “If the choice were mine, I would have had you killed right away. However, fate has chosen a different path for you.”
My eyes lifted to meet the man’s. They were cold and full of spite. There was no secret that my very existence disgusted him.
“What is my fate then?” I asked.
The man’s eyes looked away as it pained him to give the answer.
“No man has ever managed to infiltrate the capital before you. We are a kingdom that prides ourselves in our security. It has therefore been decided that you shall be given a second chance at life, on special assignment the greater good of our kingdom.”
I stared dumbfounded. There were so many things I was expecting to hear, but never would I have imagined to hear something as nonsensical as this.
“Did I hear you right?” I asked. “I fought my way into this capital, and now you expect me to protect it?”
The man’s eyes narrowed as he stared at me.
“Do not spit upon the grace you have been given sewer rat!” he spat grabbing my collar through the bars. “His Excellency’s grace goes far beyond what is wise. That the day should come where we would be seeking help from vermin like you.”
His strength was surprising for a man his size. He seemed ready to hit me when a new voice interrupted our talk.
“Valhollo!” the voice called out from behind us.
Valhollo reluctantly let go of my collar and turned towards the newcomer.
He was a chunkier man with thick red hair and a jovial expression. He seemed as opposite from Valhollo as was humanly possible. The man walked confidently across the corridor to where we stood, placing a large hand on Valhollo’s shoulder.
“His Excellency stated that he wanted to speak with the prisoner as soon as he awakened. Why is he still locked away!?”
Valhollo spat to the side. I felt as if he were wishing for just a few more minutes uninterrupted.
“Chobo!” Vanhollo snapped at the large man. “I want you to bring me two dozen soldiers as well as the strongest chains we have. Just because his Excellency has granted clemency to this prisoner, does not mean we can lower our guard around him!”
Chobo reluctantly nodded and then left the corridor. A moment later he came back with an armful of chains.
My hands were chained behind my back, as my feet were chained so tightly that I could barely move my legs. My hands and feet were furthermore chained together so that I could only stand up straight or bend backwards.
By the time they were done, the soldiers were assembled, and we began making our way down the stone corridors.
Going was slow as I could barely move my legs, even still, Valhollo refused to let anyone help me.
As we made our way down the corridors, the dark, dusty, stone halls slowly became more luxurious. Paintings of kings and queens covered the walls, as artifacts lay in glass cabinets.
Eventually we made our way to a large set of double doors and Valhollo turned to me.
“On the other side of these doors sits his Excellency!” he hissed. “I want to make it clear here and now. Should you attempt anything that would threaten his Excellency’s well being, no amount of grace will save you from the death I have in store for you!”
Valhollo glared at me, but I simply ignored him. I had no desire to fight a clearly impossible battle, and there was something I wanted to know.
After a minute of waiting for my response, Chobo signaled Valhollo that they needed to move on.
A final glare in my direction, and Valhollo signaled to the men to let us in.
The doors opened to reveal a hall, beautifully decorated, and large enough to easily hold several hundred people. At the end of the hall sat three chairs of various heights.
Oddly enough, it was the smallest and lowest chair, where a man sat.
He wore no crown, and was surprisingly young to be a leader. His black hair was slicked back, and his eagle eyes seemed to take in every detail they saw.
Chobo and Valhollo led our group up to the thrones, and then proceeded to bow on one knee.
“Your Excellency!” Valhollo announced dramatically. “The prisoner has regained consciousness.”
The soldiers around me all followed suit, falling to one knee, leaving me to stand alone.
The man on the throne stared at me intently. His expressions refused to betray his thoughts, but I thought I could catch a sense of intrigue coming from him.
“So you return to us at last.” The man smiled.
“I was told you are a man who recruits his captives.” I replied, choosing not to waste my time with pleasantries.
Valhollo shot me a bitter glance from his bowed state, but the man on the throne simply laughed instead.
“There are many who question the wisdom of my council.” The man replied.
Valhollo’s face seemed to go a shade paler at the man’s words. Ignoring him, the man continued.
“There are many who believe our kingdom can only maintain strength by eradicating anything which threatens us. I believe adaptation is the key.”
“And what do you plan to offer me in return for my services?” I asked flatly.
The man’s smile sent a chill down my spine as he looked at me.
“Your life.” He replied simply.
Looking up at him, I could not help but feel a little disappointed. Somehow I felt him to be a man capable of something beyond such a basic threat.
“Why did you attack the capital?” the man asked.
His question caught me surprisingly off guard. So much so, that I could not decide how to answer.
I knew that there had to have been a reason for me to attack, but my mind was still groggy from having been out for such a long period of time.
Seeing my struggles the man smiled.
“My, you don’t even know why you reeked havoc upon our city? Are you really as impulsive as that?”
The man held a bottle towards me shaking it slightly.
“What is this?” I asked skeptically wondering what connection this bottle had towards my attack.
“Your life.” The man replied simply.
Putting the bottle back into his coat pocket, he continued.
“While mending your wounds, our doctors discovered something quite interesting.” The man explained. “You suffer from Whites Disease. A sickness found in poor and destitute cities. In most cases, such a disease would be a death sentence, but here at the capital we should be able to delay the inevitable long enough for you to have a decent length of life.”
As I stared at the man silently, his bone chilling smile returned.
“And thus this is your punishment.” He replied. “Serve our kingdom and live long enough to maybe accomplish your purpose, or die now and accomplish nothing.”
The strength of my enemy had been made clear. This was not a foe to be taken lightly.
“What would you have me do?” I asked. My choice had been laid out before me. This was not the time to fight. I would need to survive long enough to rebuild my strength. As long as I lived, there was still a chance.
The man smiled like a cat that had trapped its prey.
“Please, follow me.” The man replied, rising from his chair.
“YOUR EXCELLENCY!” Valhollo cried out in protest, but the man cut him off.
“This prisoner is a guest in our kingdom!” he replied cutting Valhollo off.
Turning to me, he let out a small sigh.
“You can take off those chains.” He said to me. “It’s not like they serve any purpose anyways.”
Pulling my arms apart, the iron chains snapped off my wrists like paper. Tearing them off of my wrists and ankles I tossed the broken remains to the floor. It felt good to be free of the restrictive objects.
Valhollo and Chobo both simply stared at the chains on the floor, their mouths hanging open in shock.
At the man’s signal, I followed him through a back door, leaving the soldiers behind.
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