1: Legacy of the King

Chapter 1: I be watchin’ you

The wind rustled beneath my feet and the smell of fresh turnips emanated from the ground. The various smells of different foods wafted throughout me. All around you could hear men yelling and trying to bargain for a reasonable price for different foods, beverages, and books, some of which were rare history books. This was Merchants Plaza. The books around here were false of course, as there are no more books that survived the Dark times. Back then the world was plagued with war. It was when our evil king, Master Shage, did not allow anyone to practice religion or learn history. There, in the jumbled mix of information and belies, people might find his weakness and slay him. So he killed all priests, historians, and burned all books. He replaced them with fake information, but I am not fooled. I spotted a group of kids my age up ahead gagging at a pile of books, but one shook her head in disgust. This intrigued me as I thought my family and I were the only ones who knew the truth. I looked closer. The young women had red--brown hair, and a keen gaze so intense it looked as if even the bravest Watchers (sentries, guards, spies, and army men) would crumple within sight of her. Though from far away with her long hair swinging she looked stunning. Even so she should know to hide her emotions else a Watcher may get her. I averted my gaze and walked the other way. A merchant near me yelled "Amaashhhing fruit! Gggrown in the wesht, and known to shtrengthen you up." The merchants come from various parts of our supposed ‘noble’ country, the Partridge, lead by the ‘amazing’ leader Master Shage. He was truly an evil tyrant who ruled a peasants’ country. Master Shage only gives luxury, if even considered luxuries, to the Watchers. They are mercenaries trained to kill and detect any meddlesome work against the 'High Ones' who are Master Shage's circle of dark friends. Though Partridge has lot of space, Watchers are trained in separate secret locations unknown to any common passer-by. The 'High Ones' all live in Blackstone Castle located in the richer part of Partridge. By richer it just means higher taxes and a house with a smoke-stove. An actual smoke-stove! But to me the best part of Partridge was, without a doubt, Merchants Plaza. It is an amazing place filled with the one thing everyone desires—food. Back long ago the place entranced me, as did the shop keepers’ bargains on amazing succulent food, but that was long ago, and now it was expected; it was normal. I try to act normal too, as my mother once told me to before they had to take her for reasons I still cant comprehend. Before they took her. Oh, my dear beloved mother. How she cared and loved me. How they ripped her away from me. How they planted a painfully memorable scar on my father’s shoulder. How they…how they…How they are so evil is a mystery to me. My heart always pained when I thought of her. 

‘No!’ an angry voice ripped my consciousness, ‘She is gone forever and you will never see her again.’ I tried to convince myself. I put up a fight and finally, through sheer power of will I thought of something less daunting. Outside I still stay blank though inside I am angry and filled with hatred under the keen gaze of the Watchers. The little shacks around me did not distract me from my task, and neither did the yelling all around me.        

         

‘Easy’, I thought, ‘just get the medicine and go.’    

                                                             

The medicine was for my tragically ill sister who had an allergic reaction to mushrooms. She had a long drooping face similar to my father and a thin body. I was a bit thin too, but muscular from hunting and sword fighting, though I still have cheeks like a baby.  I focused solely on the thought of helping my sister, Diana. This somewhat relaxed me, though nearby a Watcher came walking towards me.                                 

‘Great. Just amazing, I jinxed it.’ I thought. Some of the emotion must have showed through my indifferent mask, because now he was sprinting at me. I watched in terror as he grabbed my waist and shook me as if I weighed no more than a rag doll.                                            

 “Whar’ you goings little boy?” he yelled. Spittle flew across my face. I just stared, emotion swelling up inside of me. The Watcher had a short crooked nose and a pudgy face, and his body looked as if he ate a hundred chickens for a meal and was still hungry. The way I felt I wanted to kick that nose straight again. When I didn’t reply he shook me harder bruising the sides of my chest. I was  about to release a nasty string of words when he suddenly averted his gaze to a nearby man draped in a black cloak, which was a fool thing to do in the middle of summer. He narrowed his eyes to slits, "You're mighty lucky." he whispered and trot toward the figure in the cloak. Then he hesitated.                 

 “I be watchin’ you,” he whispered with a nasty smile that showed yellow and blackened teeth. The tone he used made me want to crawl up into a ball and rock back and forth on my fathers lap like a baby.                                                                                                                                          

I shivered at the thought of what would happen if I had said those words. I’d be hanged to death for sure, or maybe slain at the very spot. I started running as far away from the spot as I could, not sure where I was heading. I didn't care though. The Watcher didn’t bother give chase, but instead laughed a deep evil rumble that shook my insides and only made me more determined to run away. In my head, I thought, ‘One day I’ll serve vengeance for my taken mother and the ill deeds you have cursed upon my family, I swear to it.’

To be continued…..

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