Tenma lazily stretched on his couch after his spiel. Unfortunately, though Tai prodded him relentlessly, he refused to say more.
"We have time kid, no need to rush. Now that my stomach's full, we can finally get to assessing your physical condition. You're a train wreck...reminds me of my youth," Tenma said, wistful.
Now that he said it, Tai felt every scratch, bruise, and stab he suffered in the past few days. Tenma led Tai through an inconspicuous corridor on the right side of the room to the first door to the right.
Inside was another wide table filled with odd tools and an elevated platform with what seemed to be a large pillow covering it.
"Go lay on the bed," said Tenma.
...That platform was a bed?
Tai stifled his doubts and laid on the soft platform. He sank into the strange resting furniture, much to his surprise. His muscles relaxed, and as the tension left his body, drowsiness flooded in.
"It seems that I don't need to give you a sedative at all. But, just to be sure..." Tenma prodded open Tai's mouth, to his bewilderment, and poured in a tasteless liquid.
...
Tziporah almost shouted for joy at the presence of other thumblings. Their calm and dominating appearance was a reassurance to her worried heart.
Tai had disappeared long enough to force Tziporah to assume the worst. As the group of women marched in with confidence, the cloud of despair weighing on her heart faded away.
Blood and grime covered the five women from head to toe. What used to be a look Tziporah would label as criminal was now a symbol of strength and safety.
Two battered but stalwart female Thumblings stood guard by the door while the other three approached her. Subconsciously, she dug her toes into her makeshift bed, her heart rapidly beating.
The Thumbling at the center, who was the tallest and fiercest-looking of them all, spoke.
"Hey there. What's your name?" Her voice was mellow and smooth, like honey. She sat on the edge of the bed and crossed her bloodstained legs.
Tziporah stared at her emaciated hands, reluctant to speak. As silence prevailed in the room, the brunette to the right made her way to the other side of the bed. She drew strange tools from the hidden pockets of her bloody gear and assessed her.
"Tziporah," she whispered.
"A beautiful name," the leader said. "My name is Topaz."
The brunette, assessing her body, continued to carefully run some tests in silence. After a few minutes had passed, she made subtle hand signals to Topaz.
Topaz raised an eyebrow, then beckoned to the brunette and the other woman, who was motionless like a rock. They huddled in the far right corner of the room, which was as far as possible from her. Discrete gasps and excited whispers traveled to Tziporah's ears.
She hoped they would at least let her in on it, as they were obviously talking about her. Topaz returned to Tziporah's bedside, this time with a serious look on her face.
"You're safe now, Tziporah. You're with us."
Tziporah wanted to ask what her diagnosis was, but in the end, she kept quiet and nodded.
...
Tai groggily woke up in the dead of night. For once, everything wasn't all black and spooky. A ghostly fire was mounted upon a stick by the wall—beside the room's entrance.
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The fire's dim blue glow shone on his band-aid-riddled body. To top it all off, a thick gauze wrap covered his wounded shoulder, courtesy of the bloodthirsty multi-legged bug.
The materials used were different from what was distributed in the kingdom. The band-aids and gauze were comfortable, having a softer feel than what he was used to buying from the local trader near his home.
Or rather, his past home.
Tai didn't call for Tenma. He stared at the wooden ceiling, looking back on all that happened to him in the past week and what Tenma said to him today.
His goal at the moment was to survive and find out why his parents tried to get rid of him. He had no particular thoughts about the entire kingdom. Despite that, it would be stupid of him to think his parents had no help.
Besides, overthrowing the kingdom was a bit of a stretch. Unless... the governing class of the Thumbling Kingdom was mainly to blame?
Despite that, he shelved the thought. It was a bit too heavy at the moment. Instead, he tried to regain his composure and fully accept his new reality. He quite frankly had a lot of time to do so because Tenma hadn't visited him once all night.
After an unknown amount of time, familiar sunshine creeped through the only window in the room. Along with it were the routine morning chirps of birds and other creatures that strove to make melody. Tai was now resolute in the path he decided to take.
Tenma strode in with a plate of steaming hot food in his hands. The intoxicating fragrance made Tai's stomach grumble aggressively.
In all honesty, Tai did not care what was on the plate. He gorged down the entire thing in seconds. He heartily burped, enjoying his first actual meal in over a month.
"So, Tai, how much do you know about the 'Tom Thumb' of our kingdom?" Tenma said. It was then that Tai realized Tenma was looking in the other direction, frowning. He quickly wiped his mouth clean with his hands.
Tenma's lips twitched, and his expression worsened. At that point, Tai was confused. Why was he upset?
"Not much," Tai admitted. "The Tom Thumb is the absolute ruler of all thumblings. When he nears the day he will die, all the eligible youth of ages 14–18 of the upper class must compete for the throne."
"And that's all? Follow me outside," Tenma said. Tai strenuously followed behind him. He was a bit chafe due to his tended wounds.
Tenma casually sat down on the edge of the red branch, and Tai followed, albeit much slower.
Tai was offended. "I risked my life every day trying to get information like this." He puffed his chest out in pride—at least, as much as he could without feeling pain.
Tenma snickered, "Well, it is amazing for kids like you to know anything. But the information you 'stole' is not completely true. All children who qualify, no matter their status, must take part, whether they like it or not."
Tai widened his eyes at him.
He continued, "That false information is taught in all schools, so children will not prepare for the opportunity. It is clever of them, actually."
Tenma paused for a minute or two to let him digest all that he had been telling him.
"An anonymous source informed me of the king's situation. His advisors have determined that in the next two years, he will be too old to rule. He's going senile."
If what Tenma said was true, he would be able to compete for the title of Tom Thumb. Tai's heart started to pound rapidly. So this was the way they decided to overthrow the kingdom.
"You want one person to dedicate their life to overthrowing the kingdom?" Tai asked.
"A group of you kids. May the best brat win," Tenma said, his languid demeanor disappearing. The look in his eyes seemed contemplative.
"Two thousand thumbling children are abandoned every year," Tenma's face darkened. "It's been 15 years. Based on reliable sources, the 'Tom Thumb' of our kingdom is as responsible as our own parents."
What Tenma said confirmed what Tai brooded about last night. Hearing it from him brought forth a level of gravity he didn't realize was attached to it.
"Whether you like it or not, you are a potential heir to the throne. Tai, are you willing to fight for the throne of the Thumbling Kingdom?" Tenma asked, looking him dead in the eye.
Tai nodded without hesitation. This was a cruelty that none of them deserved, and if nothing changed in the nobility, the cycle would not stop.
Furthermore, the very thought of helping the struggling, poorer class within the walls of the kingdom filled him with a rush of joy. There would be no more starvation.
And maybe, just maybe, they could even get a chance to eat desserts under his rule.
"I will fight to become the 'Tom Thumb'," Tai said, facing Tenma's burning gaze. Tenma's eyes crinkled in delight as he grinned from ear to ear. The blue parallel lines on his right cheek were now glaringly conspicuous as they bent into a weird shape.
"You should have realized the forest is bountiful in food sources. But training opportunities for you are rare to come by," said Tenma. He sounded a little excited.
"There will be a competition—two months from now. The top fifty kids will receive priority training that will ensure rapid growth without endangering their lives. If you want a shot, you'll have to be in the top twenty out of five hundred," Tenma said. "I know you are wounded, but if you mean what you say, you must succeed there."
Tai held his breath. Two months.