With a swirling gust of wind, the crescendo of light dispersed. I had successfully entered Rae’s dream.
I stood atop a tall hill which overlooked a small village below, about a half mile away. The entire sky looked as if it were taken directly from a children's storybook. Bright blue with white fluffy clouds and ample amounts of sunlight. The air felt nice upon my skin, there was a gentle, refreshing breeze that wafted across me softly.
I followed the dirt road beside me, it cut through the lush green grass and led directly into the small cozy village. The village resembled medieval times, with narrow stone roads and small cottages mixed in with quaint bars and shops. The streets were bustling with laughter and conversations. The people were dressed for the occasion as well. Many of the women wore large, flowing dresses with their hair tied back, while the men wore vests and cotton trousers.
Although the town did have a medieval charm, it definitely wasn’t historically accurate. Lamp posts lined the streets within the village, illuminating a warm yellow glow from their bulbs. And a group of men in a bar nearby were busy watching the Lakers game on a 60 inch plasma HD TV.
I examined my own clothing. It seemed my attire was also changed to fit the setting within the dream. I had on a long white shirt that fit loosely around my arms and stomach, coupled with brown shorts which were cut unevenly—held up by a tightly tied piece of yarn around my waist.
The sight of my apparel made me shake my head. “You gotta be joking…”
Even though I was forced to dress up for this dumbasses setting like it was a school play, I supposed the change was for the better. At least I didn’t stand out as much by wearing this. But still, all the people around me were dressed like royalty. Compared to them I looked like a poverty stricken commoner. Apparently it was too much of a bother for the dream to provide me with a nice leather vest like the rest of the men.
A well-off man with his arm linked around his wife’s went past me.
“Excuse me, do you happen to know where the ruler of this place is?”
The man glanced back at me with an air of dignity and arrogance. “Why yes, my dear boy,” he pointed towards the stone road ahead of me. “If you follow this path past the town square, you should run into the guards of the royal majesty’s estate.”
“...Thanks, is there—”
“Unfortunately, I don’t have all day to sit down and chit chat with a lowly commoner such as yourself. However, I do wish you the best in begging His Majesty to relieve you of all your debt. Good day my dear boy!”
I stared at the man, my mouth half open as he walked away waving his hat in the air.
“Is everyone here a pompous asshole like that guy?”
I ventured deeper into the village and navigated through the crowded town square as the man had suggested.
The path led me to a long wooden bridge just outside the town, guarded by several knights in silver armor, their polished long swords gleaming in the light. I hid behind a redwood tree, away from the view of the knights, so I could look past the bridge to see where it connected.
The bridge spanned across a large canyon to a piece of land situated in the center, atop the landmass rested a mid-sized white and blue castle. The castle was surrounded by a canyon that had to have been at least a couple thousand feet deep. It allowed for no other path of entry apart from the single wooden bridge which connected the castle to the stone path that led to town.
A flicker of uncertainty swelled within me. Getting past those guards wouldn’t be easy, doing so without any equipment made it damn near impossible.
I sat there for a while, trying to see if the guards would ever break their formation.
Around an hour had passed by, and I didn't see a single one of them move at all.
I would have to think of something else. If only there were some way I could distract them and get them to leave their posts…
As I pondered the thought, the faint sound of clattering hooves against the stone road grew closer, arising from the opposite direction.
Glancing over, I saw a carriage covered with a white tarp approaching the bridge, drawn by magnificent white stallions. A man sat on the wooden bench at the reins, wearing a fine blue dress coat and black leather boots. His face was complimented with a full mustache that curled neatly at the ends.
The knights readied their hands upon the sheaths of their swords as the carriage creaked to a halt.
The man ran his fingers along his mustache and cleared his throat.
“We have a delivery for His Majesty.”
One of the knights stepped forward, “What are the contents of this delivery?”
The man hastily pulled out a small notebook from his jacket and adjusted his gold-rimmed spectacles.
“We have here… 10 pounds of marijuana, 8 bricks of cocaine, 13 bottles of hennessy… and a Blu-Ray copy for season 17 of Family Feud.”
“...Is that a season with Steve Harvey as the host?”
“Of course, sir.”
“You’re free to pass.”
The knights shuffled away from the bridge, making a clearing for the carriage.
The man at the reins whipped the tassels and the stallions trudged towards the castle.
“Looks like I just found my best shot at getting in…”
—break—
Back at the town square I scanned the area for any shops or carriages that might be making a future delivery.
“Hey there!” I heard a high-pitched voice call out to me.
I turned my head to see a girl with bright orange hair streaked with blonde highlights. She smiled radiantly, her eyes reflecting the joy that seemed to fill her entire being. Unlike the other women, she wore tight trousers and a long, fitted white jacket with red straps and tassels.
“I’ve never seen you around here! What brings you into town?” she chirped.
I paused and turned to face her, “Yeah, I’m not from here. I came to see Rae.”
A look of confusion spread across her face, “Rae? You mean the King of Raeville?”
“King of wha—I mean… yes.”
The young woman chuckled, “Well good luck, not many get the privilege of being able to meet His Majesty.”
“Is there really no way I can get to meet him? It’s kinda important.”
“Important?” she asked. Her expression appeared troubled for a moment, but then her lips curled upward into a sly, playful grin, “Well I suppose there is one way. That is… if you’re up for a challenge…”
I stared at her blankly.
She pointed her index finger back towards herself, “I happened to receive a special invite to enter the king’s castle tomorrow as an esteemed guest, and I’m able to take one companion of my choosing with me.”
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Unease flooded over me… “What’s the catch?”
“No catch, really,” she said smugly. “All you have to do… is beat me in a fight, and the spot is all yours.”
“Yeah, I’ll pass.” I turned away and began making my way down the street.
“Hey! Wait! Don’t tell me you're diluted with all that chauvinistic bullshit!”
“I have no desire to fight you.”
“Stop!”
The girl ran in front of me and stretched her arms out at her sides, “It won’t be a fight to the death or anything, the rules are simple, first to get knocked down first loses. Simple as that!”
I let out a deep sigh, “Why do you want to fight me so bad?”
She placed her hand on her chest, “I’m going to become a warrior of this land. It’s my dream to one day serve the king as his royal guard. But everybody here is so formal and proper that I never get to train with anyone. If I don’t train in combat, then I’ll never become stronger. Just one battle, that’s all I ask!”
Her eyes were filled with unwavering determination.
No matter the reason, getting into a fight really wasn’t appealing to me—but I also couldn’t have her following me around all over town as I tried to figure out how to cross over the bridge.
On the other hand, she did offer me a straightforward deal to get across.
The whole town square had heard her shouting, so everybody’s eyes were already on me. Blending in didn’t seem like much of an option anymore.
I studied her for a little longer. The girl was slender, probably about 5 ‘6. I could bring her down quickly and then move on to the next step easily.
“Alright, you got it. When do we—”
Her fist crashed into my jaw sending me stumbling into the wall. Another fist followed and pounded me in the forehead, jerking my head back.
“AGH! S–Stop, gimme a sec!”
Stars crossed my vision and my head became dizzy. I shoved myself off from the wall and stumbled toward the road, holding up my arms for defense. She swung at me a few more times, colliding squarely against my ribs—the impacts sent sharp shockwaves through me that jolted my body back. Her punches held a tremendous amount of power behind them. It felt like I was getting pummeled by bricks. I shuffled away from her to create some distance, readying my stance to prepare for an attack. My breathing was scattered and rigid.
“I have to rush her and tackle her to the ground—”
Just as I finished the thought, her body and eyes emitted a luminous gold and orange aura. At that moment, I sensed something I had never sensed before. It was a peculiar presence of energy that sent a shiver down my spine.
“...What?”
A streak of light sprung from her heels as she launched herself into the air, flying towards me. Her fist hammered into my body, it almost felt like it went through me.
“Damn!”
I crashed down onto my knees, clutching my arm against my throbbing ribs. A kick followed immediately, sending my face sliding across the gravel road. As I struggled to perch myself up on my arms, her hand gripped the back of my neck.
“This was fun!” she smiled.
With one swift motion she yanked my body back, sending me crashing into the town square fountaIn—submerging me in the murky green water.
The entire town erupted in cheers and applause. I sat up and looked around frantically, my entire body was having trouble processing what had just happened.
I heaved myself out of the fountain and rolled over onto my back trying to catch my breath.
A frustrated grunt escaped my throat.
“Magic powers… really? This place sucks ass…”
She extended a hand out towards me, which I staunchly refused.
Scrambling to my feet, I dusted off my soaking shirt and shorts. They reeked of moss and algae.
“I had a blast!” she said cheerfully. “We can have a rematch whenever you’d like!”
I shot my finger out towards her, backing away slowly, “Stay the hell away from me,” I scowled.
…
After a while of wandering around the town aimlessly looking for carriages, the only thing I found was a bunch of nosy townspeople—chuckling to themselves about the guy who got thrown into the town square fountain.
By this point, I had been searching for a couple hours—and if nothing else, my clothes had finally dried.
I needed to find some place to sit down for a bit and rest. It was important to pace myself and not overwork my aching body before the real hard part had even started. Getting to the castle was just the first step, and I still couldn’t manage to do that without getting knocked around.
The chatter of the townsfolk around me began to swell, and I heard a great commotion coming from back at the town square. The people around me darted their attention towards the center of town. While some appeared concerned, others dropped what they were doing immediately and rushed towards the scene.
“Is something going on?”
I decided to head there myself. When I arrived at the square, massive groups of people crowded around a large number of luxurious white stagecoaches and wagons. A man wearing a spiffy black suit stood before one of the coaches and called out to the surrounding civilians.
“Make way for His Majesty!”
A group of knights clad in full armor marched forward, dragging along a severely beaten and malnourished man wearing soiled, ripped clothing. Lacerations upon his back and neck were clearly visible, even from where I was standing.
The knights tossed the man onto the floor and cleared the area, standing idly as the injured man writhed on the ground in pain.
A knight broke off from the formation and approached the door of the leading stagecoach, grabbing the handle to unlatch it.
The door to the stagecoach swung open, and Rae emerged, adorned in a purple royal cloak and sparkling armor embellished with silver and gold. A large sword, encrusted with gleaming blue and emerald crystals, hung at his side—nearly dragging on the ground as he marched toward the injured man.
The sharply dressed man at the stagecoach spoke again.
“This man before you so brazenly decided to take advantage of the King’s kindness, and refused to pay the rations for which he owed. As such, he shall be made an example to any other out there who refuses to pay their fair share to the crown!”
Rae unsheathed the sword to reveal its brilliant silver blade. Raising it high above his head, ribbons of flame danced around it and engulfed the blade in a blinding inferno.
My eyes shot wide open.
“No, please your grace!” the man on the ground groveled. “Please I beg you! Just give me a few more days! I can have the money—”
With one slash the sword pierced through the man’s chest cavity as if it were made of softened butter. The tip of the blade exited through his back. Blood spurted down the blade as the intense flames charred the man's body from the inside out in a brilliant inferno.
A maniacal grin spread across Rae’s face, he pushed the blade deeper and the flames intensified, entrapping every inch of the dying man’s body in a bright crimson flame. With a swift yank, Rae withdrew the sword, and the flames dancing across it dissipated. A servant quickly arrived with a fine linen cloth to wipe away the blood from the sizzling blade, and Rae smoothly slipped the sword back into its scabbard.
The panic hit me all at once like a heavy anvil, sinking into the depths of my stomach. My eyes glazed over in horror, “You can’t be serious! Not only is he impossible to get to, but now this dumbass also has a magical flaming sword?”
The harsh reality of what I had gotten myself into started to set in.
Even if I was somehow able to cross the bridge and get in the proximity of him, there would still be nothing I could do. He would kill me instantly.
I clenched my shirt within a closed fist.
There was nothing I could use to attack him from a distance either… Even if I had something that could attack from a long range like a bow, I still would have no idea how to use it.
“Damn it!” I muttered.
There was no way I could lose to this guy… No matter what the odds were, I couldn’t lose. I had to find some way… There had to be a way…
Just as quickly as they arrived, Rae’s servants loaded up the coaches and ventured back across the bridge.
The townspeople all went back to their casual chatter as if there wasn’t a burning corpse in the middle of town square.
“Damn, why would anyone ever refuse to pay taxes to the king?”
“Right? Guy must’ve had a death wish or something…”
My legs were beginning to feel weak. I had to find some place I could sit down and think everything through.
…
Ten minutes later, I found myself hobbling into a lively pub decorated in old-fashioned wooden decor. The pub had pictures of old western movies hanging on the wall, as well as the cover art for the movie Tron. A group of wealthy-looking men were huddled around a mid-sized TV, watching a baseball game between the Angels and Red Sox.
The tables were all packed, so I pulled up a seat at the bar and rested my head across my folded arms.
The bar was filled with the nonsensical babbling of drunk men that I tried hard to ignore. The man to the left of me lit up a cigar while the other man to the right asked the bartender for another round of drinks.
“Yo,” the bartender said, startling me, “you gonna order something?”
I glanced up at him and squinted, “Umm… I don’t have any money.”
The man walked away, “Then why the fuck are you sitting at the bar then?” he mumbled.
I may have been a bit distracted at first due to my circumstances, but suddenly I began to feel a peculiar energy surrounding me.
Something wasn’t right. I couldn’t quite explain it, but for some reason I felt a very strange pressure triggering warning signals within my brain. It was a sensation similar to what I felt when I was fighting that woman earlier. I looked around to see if I could pinpoint where the source of this energy was coming from, and then I saw it.
My senses were going crazy in reaction to a blade that was secured against the belt of a young man—who was sitting at a table just across from me.
I entertained the idea that I was just overthinking it. After all, it didn't look very special. But as I continued to sit there in my wooden chair, I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something off about that knife.
I pushed away from the bar and strolled over to the young man’s table.