Mauve walked down the corridor that led to the queen’s throne. He could not help but wonder why he was being summoned. In any case, it presaged nothing good. He knocked on the door. 

“Come in,” said Malicia.

Queen Malicia was sitting on her throne

“Ah Mauve, there you are,” she continued as the servant entered the room.

Malicia rested her head against her hand.  

“I will send you on a quest,” she said.

 “Yes my queen,” replied Mauve.

Queen Malicia’s quests involved finding rare artifacts for her. Mauve was not worried since he could easily find them on the black market. With the exception of some quests where he had to use his skills as a thief.

“I need you to bring back a null orb for me,” said Malicia

“A null orb?” repeated Mauve.

“I remember learning about it from my father a long time ago,” said the queen.

A young Malicia was speaking with her father. The latter was a tall man with black hair and violet eyes like his daughter. They were in the throne room discussing trivial matters during daytime.

“Daddy, what is a null orb?” said the little Malicia.

“Good question my girl! It is a very dangerous artifact!” said the middle-aged father.

Malicia looked at her father in awe.

“What does it do daddy?” said Malicia

“It removes the magic of a person,” said the king.

Malicia closed her eyes as she smiled. The king smiled at his daughter.

“Wow, that’s so cool!” said Malicia.

“I know! I made it myself!” said the king proudly.

 “Can I play with it?” asked Malicia innocently.

The king waved his finger left and right.

“No, it is too dangerous,” said Malicia’s father. “Besides I gave it to Queen Traal. It is in safe hands with her.” 

“But I wanted to play with it,” she said sadly

Malicia reminisced over the fond memory of her childhood for a short while before bringing her attention back to her servant. Mauve was waiting for the queen to continue her phrase.

“The null orb is with Queen Traal. Bring it back to me by any means,” ordered Malicia.

Mauve reflected at the order he received. He knew that Traal was a faraway kingdom found in the North. It would take weeks for him to get there. But his worries stemmed mostly from the fact that the artifact he was looking for was with Queen Traal. She was known as one of the most powerful monarchs in the North. Far more powerful than Queen Malicia. Mauve hesitated. He was going into unknown territory. As he was looking upwards. lost in reflection, Queen Malicia’s voice brought him back to reality. 

“Did I make myself clear?” she raised her tone angrily.

Mauve looked at Malicia fearfully. He had to go through with this mission whether he liked it or not.

“Y-yes, your highness!” he blurted out.

“Good.” Malicia said, still annoyed.

Mauve bowed to the queen and left the throne room.

***

Mauve’s room was in the servants’ quarters of Velli castle. It was relatively small, with a bed in the corner and a wardrobe near the adjacent wall. There was an oak desk next to the bed. The room was quite modest and lacked the luxury Mauve was accustomed to before he became Queen Malicia’s servant.

Mauve entered his room and sat at his desk. He opened the drawer with a small key. It was a master key, devised by him to open any lock. He took out a small pouch of money. It should be enough for the trip.

Mauve prepared a small suitcase. He looked at the room one last time as he stood by the door, suitcase in hand. Even if it had been only two years since he lived here, he had grown quite used to the place. It felt more at home than his former residence, a mansion where he lived all alone. At least here, he had May and the other servants to talk to. Mauve closed the door and left. He had to tell May about his departure.

Mauve found May in the assassins’ quarters. She was talking to a man dressed in flamboyant clothes of red and yellow. It was the queen’s jester, Jacques. He was an odd individual. He had grey skin and bright green eyes and his black hair covered his right eye. Mauve greeted May and Jacques.

“May, I’m leaving on a trip. I don’t know when I’ll be back,” said Mauve.

“Ah, you are? Where to Mauve?” she asked curiously.

“To Traal,” replied Mauve.

The jester interrupted them.

“Never heard of this place. But it sounds a lot like Tralala!” said Jacques sheepishly.

Mauve and May both looked at Jacques. If it was meant to be a joke, it was not funny. Mauve could not understand how he became a jester in the first place. The queen’s jester. She probably had a strange sense of humor, Mauve thought.

“Have a safe trip Mauve,” said May.

“Thank you,” Mauve replied.

Mauve left the assassin and the jester and headed out of the castle where a carriage awaited him. 

***

Weeks passed since Mauve left Velli. The carriage could not go very far and he had to make several stops. He looked outside the small cart transporting him. He could see domes of turquoise, ivory and gold. He had never seen such strange architecture before but it was beautiful. The cart stopped. The man who drove it said that they had arrived at Traal. Mauve got off and handed the man some gold coins.

“Thanks for the ride,” said Mauve.

The man bowed several times at Mauve in gratitude. 

Mauve entered Traal city. The people here looked so different. They all had tan skin and black hair and wore strange clothes like the man who brought him to the city. No suits, just shirts and pants. Some were shirtless. The women wore colorful clothes draped around their bodies. The inhabitants looked at him in curious wonder. 

“I should visit Traal first!” thought Mauve excitedly.

Mauve headed for the nearby bazaar. There were all kinds of exotic goods he had never seen before. He wanted to buy so many things but he remembered that he was here on a quest, not on holidays. A clothes vendor caught his attention.

“Hello, hello stranger!” said the female vendor. “Would you be interested in some Traalite clothes?”

Mauve examined the garments on sale. They were made of soft and shiny fabric. A black satin set of shirt and pants caught Mauve’s eye. The female vendor noticed.

“Oh would you be interested in those? They will suit you perfectly! You are quite a handsome lad so I’ll make a fair price for you,” she said as she winked at him. 

Mauve blushed a little as the woman flirted with him. He never thought much about his appearance. He only liked taking care of himself and wearing nice clothes. He took the opportunity to haggle. He bought the clothes for a relatively cheap price. 

Mauve looked for a cheap motel. He would stay here for the night before visiting the palace. As he lay down in the straw bed, he started thinking about his life. He did not want to be forced to serve the queen as a slave. He had never been so far from Velli before. Running away was always an option, he thought. Now could be the time. But if he got caught, the queen’s spies would kill him for sure. Mauve sighed. He missed the days of his childhood. He reminisced about it as he looked at the ceiling of the rudimentary room.      

It was a cloudy day in the slums. A young Mauve was running on the muddy streets of the Vellian underside. A guard was shouting as he ran after him. He was holding several buns in his arms. He ran towards the main street of the slums. It was crowded with people who were either begging or looking for jobs.

“Stop! Thief!” shouted the guard.

The guard lost sight of Mauve in the crowd and stopped the chase. He kept running in the small dark alleys, adrenaline still rushing through his veins. He stopped as he saw a brown-haired adolescent. 

“Hey, Mauve!” he exclaimed.

Mauve was panting, still out of breath.

“I got enough bread for everyone, Shu!” said Mauve.

“Awesome!” said the tall boy.

The two boys walked down another alley, stopping when they reached a small house made of rotten wooden planks. The door was wide open.

“Hello, is anyone home? asked Shu.

The house was empty. Shu looked around, wondering where all the other kids could have gone. Maybe they were playing hide and seek, he thought. Then Shu and Mauve heard a small voice.

“Is it safe to come out now?” whispered the little voice.

A little girl with black hair popped her head out of a hole in the floor. When she saw Mauve and Shu, she crawled out.

“Elen? Where is everyone?” asked a worried Shu.

Elen broke into tears.

“The guards came and took everyone away!” cried Elen.

Mauve dropped the bread he stole on the floor.

“Why? We’re only trying to survive here in the slums!” said Mauve, his voice trembling with anger. 

A few weeks later, the little wooden house felt more quiet than ever. Mauve was sitting next to Elen. She was lying on the floor, sick and coughing. Mauve pressed a towel over her forehead.

“Mauve… Shu has not returned in a week. I wonder what happened to him,” she said.

“I don’t know,” said Mauve sadly. “But you should rest. I will find some medicine for you!” 

“Thank you Mauve,” Elen said weakly.

Mauve headed out to steal some medicine. He had to find some for Elen. She had not been feeling well ever since the other children disappeared. He entered a drug store in the shopping district of Velli. The vendor did not even notice him. He took a few vials and left. Mauve went back to the lair as fast as he could.

“Elen! I found some medicine!” Mauve exclaimed as he entered the rotten house.

There was no answer.

“Elen?” Mauve repeated.

Elen was still lying on the floor. She had her back turned towards the entrance and was lying on the side. Mauve approached the little girl and tried to wake her up by rubbing her shoulder. But she was very cold. 

“Elen, wake up, please!” said Mauve worriedly.

The little girl was not breathing. She had already died from her illness. Mauve buried his face in his knees and started crying.

“Not you, Elen!” he cried out.

The adult Mauve was crying, his memories tormenting him. He did not want to go back to the slums, to jail, to the castle. He wanted to run away to some faraway kingdom. Some place he could live happily.  

***