To what extent are you willing to do in the name of survival?

“Anything.” I answered the question in my head. “I would swallow hell just to live and hope for the heaven that awaits me.” I slowly heap the buried corpse up again into the surface of the earth. Even the cloth wrapped around under my eyes did nothing about the odor. Which was my fault for it took me a week to find the exact body and its tomb’s whereabouts. The doctor was so picky when it comes to bodies. He needed a specific gender, race, and height for reasons unknownst to me. I mean who am I to protest, I have not the slighest idea on the research he is conducting. But he always preferred bodies that were tall and those that died with no deformities whether innate or inflicted.

I threw the corpse on my shoulders after I filled its burial plot again with soil and walked towards my exit gate. Its always been this for the past four years. I disturbed so many souls that were supposed to be at rest by forcing them out of their caskets on their week or two. Then I carried them again in the land of the living only for them to be laid in medical mattresses of the doctor that bought them from me. As time flew I had made a thick skin yet it still feels grim and disgusting.

“Varro!” Shouted my accomplice as he arrived with our carriage. “Easy, easy”

“Thought I have to spend an hour again with no one but a dead carcass beside me.”

“Wait, the dead still bothers you? But I thought you are the one that bothers them?” Redd teased and I just rolled my eyes.

“Ha! Funny…” I went inside the carriage and I am only was about to step up when I saw figures with horns laid in front of me. “Bloody hell, what are you up to Redd?”

“Oh yeah I forgot, I poached some deers to hide the corpse. I had news that there were guards keeeping vigil on every roads to Lubenia. It has something to do with the Empire’s search on every remaining witches that were still in hiding.”

“But had they not held enough mass slaughters for them? They even had one occur in our village.” I asked him in which he responded with a shrug of his shoulder. I have no idea if it was out of confusion or of fear. Just four days ago the Empire organised a public slaughter of witches in my home town Shalle. From what I heard of our bellman, as he cries the message written by the Empire itself, the slaughter consisted of over three hundred witches gathered from around the region. Though the disturbing part of it was the fact that those women were only believed to be witches.

I remember one woman from our village who lived in the part where the migh of dark oak trees stand tall. Whenever there was a storm her house was the only one that wasn’t quiet disturbed in the aftermath. People started to make tales about her being a witch. That she was responsible of all the storm that went in Shalle. Which for them made a lot of sense since she was different from everybody, she was alone almost always with only a black cat to keep her company, hell even her eyes was different from everybody. She has the bright ocean on her left, and the lush greenfields of Eden on her right. Her beauty was so unreal that it was told that solely staring at her face, could put you on a trance. People was so afraid of her and that’s when King Champton III declared an all out extermination of all the witches in Worthon, the people of Shalle dropped Febslia her name was, on the Empire’s list.

I placed the corpse under the carcasses and placed the linen sheet just so only the horns and the deers’ heads are exposed. Luckily, Redd agreed that I sat beside him for the carriage inside was filled of putrid smell of blood and decay. “You could drown there you know.” I said matter-of-factly to him as I made my self comfortable on the box seat. Redd only smirked and lashed the reins for us to leave the cemetery.

“Its a downer isn’t it?” Redd said after breaking the silence with the clear of his throat. “Having lost your dignity as once a noble knight.”

“Oh for God’s piss Redd, do you really need to bring that up?” I stared at him with the coldest eyes. “Of course I am sick of doing this. I am sick of this every day, of having to carry a shit-smelling body to Lubenia just so a demented doctor could buy it for me, for what? For a hundred shillings! What could you buy from it? A sick, decaying corn smell of piss?”

“Calm yourself mate,” Redd said with the lowest of his voice. “I am just curious that’s all. No need to break loose the hell inside. If you don’t want to talk about it, fine. Apologies.” In his eyes were sincerity and I felt bad about what my tongue did.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“It’s fine.” I whispered while breathing heavy breaths to calm myself down.

I was once a knight in the Order of Taurus, a supposed to be noble of the kingdom of Worthon. My order was one of the elite forces of knights specialized in using halberds. We brought the heavy blows during war and invasions with the king. We swung our halberds with such finesse that with only a single swing, six soldiers will have nothing in between their shoulders. Through years of ceaseless wars and invasions it was victory over victory for Worthon. The king saw the might and dedication of our order thus after our successful invasion of Carcind, while having a feast the king announced that we are set to become nobles. We were so elated with the news that it took us a while to believe that we are standing in the soil of the earth and not in our dreams. Well, all that was within the army were congratulating us except for one order. The Order of the White Shields.

When a noble discovers a passion in combat and warfare they place themselves with ease in the highest ranks of orders in the army. Their usual place is within the prestigious rank of the Order of the White Shields. Where the knights wear the most elegant of all armors. They need not to be starting at the very end and let their perseverance sail them towards greatness. They are born into this world with their limbs already entangled with their own greatness. Its as though greatness itself is the one in search for them instead of the other way around. So after hearing the king’s announcement, out of greed or even envy they muster a well-crafted plan to poison the king and place all hints against us. Fortunately for the king, the plan have not actually work for him and he is still breathing to this day. Unfortunately for us, the hints points its fingers towards our order and to the king’s disappointment he sentenced all of us to suffer eternal deprivation of wealth and honor. Some of us are placed in mines, some traded as slaves, some became peasants and there is me who become a grave keeper.

“Why do they have to be like that?” I asked no one in particular maybe just to break the awkward silence of the moment. Redd looked at me and stared back on the dark road we were traversing as though processing what he was about to say.

“Well, if you’re a man with nothing to do except to savor the richness of the greatness that was given to you in a silver platter, your instinct is to keep those who seek it for themselves from grasping it with their callous hands. I mean if you’re already on the very top the only direction at your disposal is towards bottom down. Its their way of maintaining their positions on the hierarchy.” Redd looked at me and tapped the back of my shoulder. “Everything happens for a reason mate, don’t be hard on yourself. Somewhere, someday you’ll once again ride a magnificent horse maybe as a knight, or…” He paused there for a moment before saying. “Something greater.”

I only managed to gave him an unconvinced smile. What was greater than my passion of becoming a knight. I fantasized about it since I was still a child peasant. Every morning I would ride my father’s donkey my wooden sword held high under the hot glorious sun. I screamed all the knights’ warcries in my proudest voice until some random elder spank me for being so loud that I woke their grandchild’s sleep. It was knights and sleep for me since then. There are no greater thing than being a knight.

All of a sudden, an unusually huge hound appeared in front of us and Redd held the reins to stop the horses but it was too late. “What in the world…” Redd stared at me in disbelief. We went down to check on the hound but to our surprise it was gone. In its place where a woman dressed in cloak. “Witch! It’s a witch!” Shouted Redd and in his voice were fear I could tell.

“Do you have any idea how much I spent just to cast that spell, you ugly mongrels? Its more than your livers and intestines worth!” The witch hissed at us. As though she was not creepy enough she started weeping. It was so eerie that Redd gave me that kill-her-or-we-are-going-to-die look. I brushed off his idea and went for the witch to try comfort her.

“Lady,” I touched her gently as I could. “ We are deeply sorry it was just an accident you see. We are on our way to Lubenia. We could give you a ride if you want. Though the thing is…” She slowly looked at me and who would have thought that behind the cloak that gave you an impression of a haggard woman was a face almost divine. She wiped her tears and for a moment I was entranced though not by spells but by her mere beauty. She had the magnificence of the night in her eyes, and the gloss of it on her hair.

“No, no, help me please I must go Deima its where I headed. Lubenia is more dangerous to me. Foot soldiers checks every road for witches doesn’t they? Please drop me in Deima before those ugly leeches catch up to me.” I was about to ask her what she meant when shouts were heard in the east. It was a mob with torches, pitchforks and swords in hand. Having heard the calls she shuddered and in fear hugged me. “Please.”

I looked at Redd and he shook his head in disapproval.