Chapter 13

 Ten Kingdoms

Memories swirled in all at once. A lifetime spent in a small village. Grey could remember his mother telling him to wake up in the morning. His father ruffling through his hair. The feeling he had when he first time he walked out of his house. That dazzling sunlight and the vastness of the world. Years spent in the library reading his books. Training by the waterfall. At the end of these thoughts stood two people, Sho and Baylee. Their eyes look at him. Their faces smiling. But with a sudden jolt they vanish. Disappearing back into the darkness like a wisp of smoke.

Crunch.

Teeth sink into flesh and Grey opens his eyes.

A white wolf bites into Grey's shoulder, dragging him on the ground. Blood drips from the wound. Pain shoots up his chest. He does not scream. His thoughts muddled. He is dragged helplessly on the ground before the pain settles into a dull feeling. The wolf drags him into a nearby clearing and then leaves him on the ground. It's eyes look into his, teeth growling. It's ears then perk up and it runs back into the forest, leaving Grey alone under the morning sun, wondering if it was even real.

 A dream?

Grey's head throbs in pain. He crawls on the ground and slowly stands up. He feels the grass beneath his toes. His boots are gone. A large scar on his chest. Blood on his shoulder. He fiddles in his pocket and finds the light gem that Baylee had given him. It's iridescent glow now a pale gray color. His wipes his eyes. Memories of the previous night rush into his head. A locket of hair, a Giant Wolf, and knight with black armor. The faces in the fire staring back at him. He grabs his head. His hands shaking. He doesn't want to remember. No! No! He can't remember. Forget everything. Forget it happened. It was a dream. A bad dream.

He stands up and starts walking. His eyes yearning in the distance. He heads towards Baylee's camp.

~~~

 The campsite had been destroyed. Remains of the tents could be seen. Pieces scattered amongst the wind. A large body with a huge broadsword lay smashed into the tree. Grey did not even bother looking at it to see if he could recognize the face. His heart already knew who it was. His hands moved through Baylee's tent. The last things left behind by his master. He took care in setting the ruined debris to the corner. All the valuables had been taken, leaving nothing but a few bits of cloth and wood.

His feet blistered and sore. Grey wrapped a piece of cloth around his small feet and bound them tightly to his ankle. Six years old! Grey was now alone. His mind racked with grief. His thoughts turned only to what he could do now. Food. Water. Shelter. Anything to get himself from thinking about what had happened. He went to Dane's and Vernon's tents. He found more tattered clothing and picked up a stick. He tied the cloths together to the end of the stick to make a bag and began to collect anything that could be valuable. A shattered piece of sharp metal from a chest. He attached that to the end of another stick, making a small wooden spear. He walked around and heard a loud thumping from one of the tents.

It was from Dane's tent. He approached the tent cautiously, spear ready, and looked around. A hollowed plank of wood lay underneath the tent. He lifted it up and there was a wooden chest, moving ever so slightly. He moved closer and knocked on the chest twice. Knock. Knock.

"Dane is that you?" whispered a girl's voice.

Grey stared back at the chest.  

"Mylene?"

"Grey! Oh, they have found you! Please let me out. I am not meant for such a small space."

Grey looked at the lock of the chest. He touched it and the lid propped right open.

"Ah! I'm free!"

Mylene stood with her hands held high. "Grey! I heard such things outside. Where is everyone else? You-"

Mylene looked at Grey's. Her eyes focusing on  that large scar on his chest.

"Grey!"

She came upon him. Blood on his shoulder. His shoes were gone. His eyes glazed over as if he were already dead.

"Ah, we should go."

He climbed out of the hidden floor. He reached his hand down and lifted Mylene up.

"Grey?"

Mylene looked at the bloodied pulp on the tree nearby and then said nothing more.

~~~

Grey and Mylene headed down the road. There was a silence between them, both carrying handmade sacks tied to the end of a stick. They approached a river and then a cobbled path. The trees changing as they went from forest to forest. Animals could be heard from a distance, but none grew near. The two walked in silence. After some time, Mylene spoke.

"Grey," said Mylene. She could see a strange emptiness in his face and it frightened her. "Grey are you okay?"

"I am fine."

"A-Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

Mylene thought for a moment. She hastened her steps to walk next to him. His eyes looked straight at the road. His hands and feet moving forward was if he were a doll.

"Grey. Even if villains have done such bad things. Won't heroes come and win in the end? Haven't they always done so in the past?"

Grey's chest lightens a little.

"Maybe...."

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"That's right!" crowed Mylene. "Even if we are small and tiny others will surely not let such things go unnoticed. And even if they do nothing. Will we not grow up too? We will remember and then once older we can punish them ourselves."

Grey's head nodded in agreement. A small smile comes to his face.

"Ah! You are smiling!"

Grey turned away embarrassed.

"No, I'm not!"

"Ha! See the greatness that is me! Now praise me, my servant!"

Grey looked at her and remembered their conversation in the dungeon. He smiled and took her hand. He kissed it.

"Thank you."

"Wha!" scoffed Mylene, her face turning red. "My hands are not to be kissed so lightly. Your master forgives you this time."

Grey laughed.

Grey and Mylene continued walking till the reached a split in the road. A sign read Walheim South. Deriora West. Krieshold East.

"Which way do we go?" asked Mylene.

Grey looked closely at the signs. "How about we go right? The path look a little easier and it's away from the mountain. Walheim is also fortress town. So there should be less monsters."

Mylene nodded her head and followed Grey.  

"Grey. How come you know so much about the world?"

"I read a lot of books."

"But I am your age am I not? I am seven. How old are you?"

"I am six."

"See! Isn't that so strange you know more than me?"

"It isn't that weird. I had nothing to do all day. So I read books. It is not hard if you try."

"So, do you know where we are?"

"Yes, we are in the Kingdom of Gahol of the Seven Kingdoms. I do not know all the provinces, but there are a few important places around the mountain. Walheim was in a lot of wars so there have been a lot of important fights there."

"What about the other kingdoms?" asked Mylene, curiously.

" Renalta, Lukoil, Nomine, Neft, Altea, and Beyleya."

"Wha?!"

"Those are only the outer kingdoms though. The older inner kingdoms. Lavis, Baltor, Almacia. Are nearly 5,000 years old. Those are the really amazing ones. To have lasted so long through disaster after disaster. Together. The outer and inner kingdoms make up the ten kingdoms of the world."

Grey thoughts remembered that black knight. Each kingdom was named after a famous and heroic knight of legend. How did a knight become so villainous?"

"Then? The whole continent falls under these kingdoms?"

"How can the whole continent fall under ten kingdoms?" said Grey. "There are several others places that have risen and fallen in the large wilderness that covers the world. But these are the most famous. Renalta Knights for example. They are so cool. They have wings on the back of their armor that ignites when they charge at their enemies. Like winged angels, they descend upon their enemies in righteous might, a glorious fireball that burns everything to dust. Then there are also the Knights of the Plains. Nomine Knights. Riding cockatrices with large lances made out of sails. They glide across the plains carried by the wind itself."

Mylene giggled. Grey's eyes started to sparkle. Describing the fantastical feats of knights of legend. In her heart, Mylene had been worried about Grey after they left camp. But now it was like he was returning to his usual self. They laughed like that for a while, telling each other stories.

On the road, a few hours later, a man with a wagon rolled down the road. Wearing a pair of glasses, he rubbed his eyes twice. There were two kids by themselves walking happily on the dirt path. Was this a bandit trap?

Grey and Mylene seemed to notice the man at the same time. Grey stood in front of Mylene with his spear raised.

"Little kid! Who are you!" asked the merchant.

"I am Grey! Who are you!"

"The name is Doyle! I'm a merchant! I'm heading down to Walheim. What are you two kid's doing on the road alone? Is this a bandit trap or something? It's a bad trap if it is!"

"No! We were coming from Gil!"

The Doyle nodded and shook his head. "Ah, I see. Sorry about your families."

Grey eye brow twitched. How did this fellow know that their families were dead?

"How do you know that!"

Doyle nodded solemnly. "Of course! Who wouldn't know? The king issued a decree forbidding anyone from entering the mountain. They say a group of monsters came out from the dungeon and killed everyone."

"What!?!"