“Now,” I told myself, “time to get comfy.” It was easier said than done. I experienced a short time-lapse, moving around until I found a spot for meditation. In my old life, I would never be caught dead meditating. I needed to explore old Donovan’s memories to better understand how I could traverse this new world undiscovered. I ended up on the balcony for my meditation session.

My first time outside on this different Earth, I was hit with clean air and it was refreshing. I used to live in the city, so it was a true breath of fresh air. There were two more robust chairs on the larger terrace. I told myself to stop being surprised by the grandeur that King Donovan surrounded himself with. The view was perfect. Distant snowcapped mountains enclosed rolling hills of grass, with scattered villages and rivers that populated the area. Were these towns under my rule? I had a lot to figure out, so I crossed my legs up on the chair, and closed my eyes, ready for my memory meditation.

Nothing happened. I threw humming into my meditative mix, but that resulted in nothing either. I got out of the chair and paced back and forth. How had I come up with answers before? Thinking back to Doctor Tebbons’ visit, he had asked a question before my answers surfaced. I sat back down, and asked myself the first question I could think of, “Who was Auburn, the previous king, and my old body’s father?” After a moment of contemplation, I was pulled into a memory.

—

“Son, are you listening to me?” I was conscious but personally paralyzed in the moving body. My head nodded and looked up at King Donovan’s father. “Good, because I will only say this once. This is your chance to impress your cousins. You know they want your future crown, so you cannot show any weakness. All you need to do is to shoot the fox and not waver. No tears, no flinching. Wait until my signal, you’ll know it as a question. Just answer and fire.”

“Yes father,” my mouth said, not under my control. “Hand me the gun, I’m ready.” My father nodded proudly and passed the rifle to me. My body shouldered the firearm and prepared to exit the room. I would have loved to look around the armory, but the other Donovan in control had other plans. Before the king and prince were able to reach the door, it opened and a man in dark purple robes rotated into the room. After shutting the door, he turned, faced us, and settled his sights on me.

The king had turned to face the intruder, annoyed at the interruption. “Master Merrick, what brings you in here today uninvited? Another prophecy of yours?” He spat the prophetic word at the robed man. This master bowed slowly, not breaking eye contact with the prince and me, and we stared back.

“I’m here to have a word with Donovan, if I may sire-“

“That’s Prince Donovan, you cursed man.” The king commanded, “address him as the royalty he is.”

After a glance at the towering king, Master Merrick reset his gaze on me. He collected himself and said in a slow voice full of intent. “If I meant to address Prince Donovan, I would have addressed him as such. You may not believe in my previously stated promise, but I do believe. I have some matters to discuss with the non-Prince Donovan.” The eye contact would have held, until the king’s hand came down through the air, landing on Master Merrick. The robed man fell with, strength not being his forte. Prince Donovan flinched and looked away. Though blinded from the scene, our body was not deafened and we heard two more hits land on the master, ensuring he stayed on the ground.

“You will not take my son away from me.” The king whispered to the pile of robes. He then called out, “Guards!” They shuffled hurriedly into the room eventually all standing at attention. “Take this man to his quarters, and see that he doesn’t interrupt the hunt.” The guards picked up the collapsed man, and a bloody smile caught my eyes, and the man was dragged off. With the interrupter gone, the king turned his attention to the prince once again. “Blast that man. Just ignore him, son. His magic is needed for our kingdom, but he oversteps the line prophesying your rebirth, as he calls it. Come, we are late for the hunt already.”

My body involuntarily followed him out of the room, through a different set of doors. I wished I could have split off from the prince and found Master Merrick, but I was stuck in this memory. With a small hike, we gathered outside with family and servants surrounding us. Small talk was had and it seemed to me that everyone was excited about the hunt. I put pieces of the puzzle together discovering it was a rite of passage for future kings.

A squeaky wheel rang in the air as a covered cage was brought out. The king stood amongst the small crowd and made his speech. “Welcome, friends and family. We are here today for quite a treat, as you may know. It’s been 20 years since the last royal hunt, my own. I am excited to announce that Prince Donovan is ready to take his first of many steps to rule this Kingdom.

“Now, Prince Donovan now is presented with a choice.” He clapped his hands gently, and the cover on the cage was removed, presenting a beautiful fox that tried to dash and flee, but failed miserably. “The choice is to deliver mercy or not? This fox has committed a crime and must be tried. It ate our chickens.” The king walked through the sea of family, captivating the audience. My head stared at the fox laying down defeated in its enclosure. “What happens if we were to show mercy and release the fox? Will it tuck its tail in and go off to live its life, committing crime no more?” The guests shook their heads, knowing the correct answer.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“We agree, of course not. This fox represents the evil in our subjects and that evil will always continue its animalistic tendancies when left unchecked. Criminals do not learn, like this animal. I vie, as I know you do, my friends and family, that true mercy for this crime is a quick death. Swift punishment. We are the educated, the blessed, and the protectors of our land. Our subjects, sweet mindless chickens of our domain, need us to punish the wicked to protect them. So, Prince Donovan, the choice is yours. Mercy or no?”

Prince Donovan marched towards the cage. Though our eyes did not stray from the fox, I could feel all eyes on us. He stopped right in front of the terrified fox. “My decision, father,” he shouted for all to hear, “is to deliver mercy.” With his words ringing in my phantom ears, he leveled his gun and pulled the trigger.

I wanted to close my eyes. The prince in control, however, left them open. And I saw death.

—

“Sire, your lunch is ready,” a girl’s voice yelled in with the sounds of scooting a heavy tray into my bedroom. I did not respond, still processing the memory. The servant poked her head out onto the balcony, taking note of my condition. “Are you feeling better, sire?”

I nodded as I finally snapped out of my daze. “Do I know your name?” I asked. I wanted to converse with anyone about the hunt and perhaps she was there.

“You have never asked, your majesty, so I would think not.” I looked her over. She looked to be in her twenties, wearing the same uniform as the previous butler I had seen that morning. Black coat with matching pants, shined black shoes, and a neat tie tied together the white shirt poking through the buttoned-up combo. Her dark hair was pulled up into a tight bun, keeping it out of the way in a professional manner. Her gaze would not meet mine, as she held a continual bow, staring at the ground.

I waited for her to respond with her name until the silence reminded me she dare not speak out of turn. “Tell me your name.” I tried to be demanding, but I could hear the intonation of my voice rise, turning the full command into a half question.

“Sarin, sire.”

“Sarin, take a seat here on the balcony.” She didn’t dare to move as I probably broke all sorts of traditions. “Sarin, please. I need to share some thoughts through this recovery, and need your help.” She nodded sheepishly and took a seat in the other chair on the patio. “Thank you. First off, I know I am probably different now than before, so I would appreciate it if you could keep this conversation to our ears only.” She nodded, but could not look at me with permission. I shook my head at the annoying self-importance of royalty that led us here. “Look at me, Sarin.”

She lifted her purple eyes from the ground. Purple? “Are purple eyes common Sarin?”

She nodded and shifted her vision off of the balcony. “As common as other colors, lord.”

“I see.” I let silence settle in as a third party on the open-air terrace. It left as I began to voice my thoughts. “I was just remembering the day of my hunt. I don’t recall all the context of the event, but I know it was important to me and my father. Were you at my hunt, Sarin?”

“Yes, sire.”

“Tell me what you remember,” I demanded, but added please in my head.

“Yes, sire.” She sighed with this response. I could tell discomfort remained, but she complied with the request. “I was a new servant to your family, having just come of age myself. I remember the work it took to prepare food for your family. You may not recall, my lord, but the entire family comes to participate in the hunt. I was tasked with serving food during the event, and even was present as you bestowed mercy to the animal.” I felt like there should have been sarcasm or at least any emotion in that word, mercy, but there was none. The late Donovan had delivered mercy to a caged animal. I imagined all would see it this way. All except me… and maybe Merrick. I had been caught up in mercy that the robed man had fleeted my mind, until now.

“I see. Sarin, another question, do you know Master Merrick and his whereabouts?” She flinched at his name, daring not to speak. I rolled my eyes in frustration. I just wanted answers. “Sarin, tell me now and help my memory. What do you know about Master Merrick?”

Sarin took in a deep breath of confidence and said “your highness, you may not recall, but you have banned any discussion about… him.”

“Then for this conversation, I revoke that ban and demand you to tell me what you know,” I commanded with a huff, frustration creeping up into my voice.

A sigh and story eventually left her lips. “Sire, after your father’s death, you put the mage in the dungeons. Your national decree was that Merrick played a part in your father’s death and that he was a traitor to the kingdom. We, your people, were never to discuss about Master Merrick as he became a public symbol of disobedience. In that way, he was banned from the kingdom and our mouths.” She pushed the words out, working against two conflicting orders.

I sat and welcomed the silence back onto the balcony. Where was the mercy in perpetual imprisonment? There was more to this story I needed to unravel. It would be odd for me to bring up Merrick to my room, I concluded. I needed to visit him personally. “Thank you, Sarin. This has helped my recovery. Speak of this interaction to no one, as it can show my weakness to those wanting my crown and mantel.” I threw out Auburn’s words, wanting to give a believable reason as to why I was acting so differently.

“Leave me.” I then commanded as I continued to sit majestically in my chair. She stood, bowed, and exited the room. When the door closed leaving me alone, I jumped up to see what the lunch special was for today. I was disappointed. All this power, but lunch consisted of a simple sandwich with the crust cut off. This body belonged not only to a possible tyrannical leader but a picky eater too.

I sighed as I took my sandwich back outside. At least I could prepare to meet Merrick by diving back into the late king’s memories.