"Help-"

The strange noise came from the halls. It sounded like a little girl. Who was that?

"Please, young sir! Help!"

"Shut your mouth, servant!" Then metal hit a hard surface, and the sound reached the cold stones of the castle towers.

The girl screamed her last, then she was never heard again.

That was what Rudy Legran heard from his room, on the third highest tower in Eliante, the main castle of Teccao. The young boy woke up in sweat, and he thought that what he heard was from a dream. He lifted his body from his bed and set his feet upon the cold ground, walking towards his small table where there were books lying around, unread. He took a glass that fell on the floor and poured water on it from a glass pitcher.

Sitting down on a chair facing the north window, the boy calmed himself down. His heart was beating fast and he felt warm.

'Another one of those dreams again,' he thought. 'But I swear I heard it even as I woke up. Strange. But Father has guests tonight... Servants. Poor servants.'

His gaze flew across the window, where his view was of floating balloons and flowery meadows, then in the distance a wall blocked the horizon. The shine of the stars lit the borders of his window, and as he drank from his cup he sat still, wondering about his kingdom.

'I really have to do something about them. Yet what? I'm a boy. I'm the prince. I'm the son of the King, I'm supposed to do that, right?' He thought to himself. He felt weak. 'But I don't want to do that. It feels wrong.'

He stood up and stretched, then he placed the cup on the table. He sighed his worries away. 'No use thinking about this. Maybe I should go back to sleep.'

But he couldn't. He lay down on his soft bed, a blanket embracing his body, protecting him from the cold and empty wind. Yet even as he felt the warmth in his heart, there was something troubling him from within.

The other day, when he and his group of friends - most of which were sons and daughters of Knights, including his closest friend, Kalindor - walked around the northeastern villages in search of a cure for boredom, they encountered people with rags and doormats, sewn together poorly, as their clothing. Their hair flew all over the place, and they walked barefoot on the scorching stony path. Rudy wondered what they could have done to be like this, all miserable and dirty.

He looked around and saw their huts all made of rotting wood, and sometimes he found families enduring the walls of an old abandoned home. He found many of the men to come back with black powder smeared on their clothes and faces. And the women were all tired and covered in sweat, most of them having scratchy voices from shouting too much at their children. Rudy thought he was watching skeletons run about; they were too thin.

'It really feels wrong.'

No wonder why he felt that, as the boy has also experienced the same. Though he had the privilege of living under a sturdy roof and clothed in smooth robes and vests, he and those he saw in the villages all suffered under the lack of care of Grandor. Yet in the village, some help still arrives, though only if Grandor felt like it needed to be done so as not to affect his reputation. Rudy never even felt the touch of his own father.

Queen Mira birthed Rudy while she was sick, and luckily the boy survived, as he was taken care of by Mira's trustworthy companion, Abarquil. Then not even a week had passed when she said her final words to Grandor. Her death during the war was the cause of Grandor's strength and weakness at the last battle. When Idrola's troops found the opportunity to strike Teccao from the north and east due to Grandor's lack of presence and command, they found themselves trapped within the walls and the Knights of Teccao slaughtered them like mere animals. Grandor joined the fight, luckily having dealt the final blow to Idrola, lifting up his decapitated head, still impaled by his shiny sword, and showing his kingdom the victory he had gained.

But since then, the King never took notice of his son. Rudy was left in the care of Abarquil, and the old woman cared for him like her own. But the boy had always wondered what his father thought of him. Did he hate him? Did he just not care? Yet Abarquil was always there to embrace the child, and it broke her heart. For even to her, the stubborn King would not listen.

At first, Rudy thought his father cared more for Teccao than for his own son, but he eventually realized he cared for neither. He turned selfish.

It felt wrong for the boy to do to his people what his father did to him. But he was just a kid. He would not be able to do anything, even if he wanted to. The faces of the villagers were engraved in his mind. They kept staring at him. They kept screaming at him. It felt like a nightmare.

"Hey-!" An echo emerged in his ears. Rudy thought it was yelling his name.

"Rudy- Rudy!"

It was yelling his name. Rudy sprang up and came to his senses, almost blacking out as he balanced himself on the floor, when there were knocks on his door.

"Coming!" He said.

He opened the door, and there stood another boy, with the same walnut brown hair as he.

"Kalindor! How come you're here? Did the guards spot you?" Rudy whispered harshly.

"Don't worry. My father was invited to the hall, and he left me outside, but I know the way here. As for the guards, I think you just have to see for yourself." Said Kalindor, and he was breathing like he had just ran away from something. The tower was tall, and he had to climb many flights of stairs to get to Rudy.

"You came all the way from the halls to here? Is there something wrong?" Rudy said.

"There is something you need to know. Follow me!"

"You're going to walk us to our dooms, the Knights don't want me out of my room!" The prince said, still stumbling around while Kalindor pulled his arm. The latter remained silent.

Kalindor led him down the spiral staircase down to the main halls, and windows appeared on their left after every few steps. The tower seemed like it was moving, and there were gears scattered around the walls, leading towards the very top of the tower, where the castle clock was placed. The rusting gears moved slowly, vibrating the floor beneath their feet. Alas, the staircase spun no longer and it ended in a hallway where a thick carpet covered the stone floor. Rudy almost tripped.

The son of the Knight shook his friend to wake him up, and the prince tried hard to make his eyelids remain lifted.

"What're we going to do anyway?" Said Rudy.

"I heard screams, and noise, from the halls. You want to learn so much about your father, then this is the chance to do it, Rudy."

Rudy sighed. He realizes what Kalindor wants him to do.

"Then what am I to do? Kalindor tell me, when I finally know what he does to the people, what am I going to do?"

Kalindor thought for a moment. He knew as well that they wouldn't be able to change Grandor's mind. He remembered the villagers in the northeast, begging the two of them for food and water, grasping onto their feet and following them with their eyes. He felt pity. He could not imagine what madness had gone into Grandor's mind to let the northeast fall that low.

"I have hope in you, Rudy. You're the only Legran I trust, and I'm glad you're close to me. You have to change the direction that Teccao is walking towards."

"How, Kalindor? If the King ignores me as his own son, then who is to say he would care for the prince of his own Kingdom?"

"Then let him ignore you. Let him be who he is. We cannot fight him. No one can. But Rudy, promise me, you have to be better than him. When you find out what he hides, keep it in your mind, and when we become older, we shall see how we can turn the tables."

Kalindor placed his hand on Rudy's shoulder. Rudy gulped and looked at his friend's eyes; full of passion and hope. He slowly sat down on the stairs.

"I... Promise. Yet I am afraid, Kalindor. We're just children. But why are we troubling ourselves with all this mess?"

"We're children yet we think of this, yes, I know. All the more we should learn how to fight. Our friends should be living free, playing with the other children of the rich in the fields with the balloons. Yet they're stuck crying inside, waiting for their fathers, even unsure if they have died or not."

Kalindor looked up to the windows on the staircase, and his eyes met a gloomy sky where the stars shine on the thick layers of cloud above.

He continued, "I'm telling you this because you're our only hope. We cannot sit and watch as they suffer in his hands."

Rudy stood up and took a deep breath. "Then let's go. But... Are those...?"

At the end of the long hallway there stood a Knight in full armor, and all the others who were guarding Eliante that night were tasked with making sure that the prince stays put in his room. Rudy assumed that his father was trying to keep the meeting a secret to him, but of why he wanted to, he was clueless. But there was fear lingering in his heart.

The Knight appeared more menacing than those inside the meeting room. Instead of the spears that the others held, he held a harquebus; weapons they could fire with just the move of their finger. Rudy had never seen one before, although he knew that one shot wouldn't pierce through the Knight's thick helmets, but to an unarmored body, it would kill.

Rudy gazed at the rifle, and his eyes widened. Who were those bullets for? For him? But Grandor would never do that. Yes, he hates him as a son, but he needs him to continue his bloodline. Why did they bring those? Has his father finally lost his mind?

"I see what you mean. This is something serious, Kalindor. Never has Grandor let them handle that weapon before."

"I know, that's why you have to know what's happening."

They sneaked along the hallway, and covered behind the drawers on each side. The thick carpet silenced their steps. Their shadows danced in the darkness.

Then they met the end of the hallway, fortunately unseen by the tall guard. But his presence crumpled the hearts of the children. The tip of the harquebus was pointed towards them.

There was a turn to the right, and at the end of that hallway was the way down. There was no other way to get downstairs, and the Knight was looking directly at it.

In a time like this, they had to improvise. Whispers would reveal their location to the Knight. And so Kalindor untied his shoe, and he threw it behind them.

The Knight turned to his right, in the direction of the kids. He sniffed, and he looked around. He walked down the hall past the children. His steps shook the floor, or that was how Rudy felt it. Kalindor was trembling, and he tried not to get even a glimpse of his armor's shine. Slowly, the Knight scanned the dark hallway for a moving shadow. The children were waiting for the Knight to go further before they made their move.

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Then Rudy turned around to meet two eyes staring at him from a helmet slit.

"Prince Rudy. You are not allowed out of your room." said the Knight, with a deep and harsh voice.

Kalindor opened his eyes and almost screamed.

Rudy spoke up. "You have to tell me why. It is my right to know."

"It is my job not to tell you. Now go with me."

The Knight holstered his harquebus, then he grabbed their arms and pulled them across the floor. Kalindor struggled against his grip, but Rudy just followed. He looked at his friend and shook his head. Kalindor would not accept that he would lose hope just like that.

Still shaking, and with tears in his eyes, Kalindor kicked the Knight's calf, disturbing his balance, and he stole the holstered rifle and ran away, shoeless on one foot. The Knight tried to reach him, but Kalindor was fast. And so he sprang up and chased after him. Then suddenly he stopped, and he remembered the prince; he looked back and saw nothing but the shine of the moon on the red carpet. He could not see Rudy.

But there were more important matters to attend to. He continued running after Kalindor, who is now long lost in his sight. He dragged his body across the halls, stumbling on every corner, and holding on to the edges of the windows to balance himself. Then he sees that it has been too long. He stopped at the end of a hallway, lost in the maze of Eliante, and the sound of his breathing echoed in the rooms.

As for Rudy, he was just hiding behind one of the drawers. Luckily for him, the Knight had to focus on Kalindor first. Yet now he has lost his friend. The Knights would not be ashamed of killing him off, and they would shoot him at first sight, as the prince is not with him. Where had he gone? He grabbed Kalindor's fallen shoe and kept it.

Even so, he shouldn't let this chance go to waste. He ran to the edge of the hallway, and right in front of him lay the stairs. He was free to get to it, and so he did. Rudy silently crept along the stony steps, the wind blowing on his sleeping robes, and he finally got to the floor where the halls are.

His heart banged against his chest. It was the only noise he heard in those halls. The young boy crept along the floor, keeping low, silencing his every movement.

The roof was high above, lit by chandeliers made of shiny metal, held by tall pillars which Rudy used for cover. Knights were scattered around the huge room, so it was this time that Rudy considered the darkness as his friend. He swiftly moved from pillar to pillar.

Finally, he came to the door of the meeting room, tall and wide, looking down at him. Rudy felt the wind flow past him from the windows of the halls, and the coldness embraced his whole body. There were luckily no guards at the door. Rudy assumed the ones that were supposed to be there had walked off with the little girl he heard earlier. He was afraid that what happened to her had also happened to Kalindor. But his doubts should not be stopping him now.

He pressed his ear against the wooden door, and focused on the noises coming from within. Among the wet sounds of chewing and the clanking of the knives and forks, there was the laughing of two merry old men.

"What a great idea Grandor! Oh, I tell you this now, Teccao would be even lovelier when the events begin." Said someone younger than Grandor.

Rudy then recognizes his father's voice. "And your Kingdom, Idel, is of course invited to watch at any time you choose! Our gates are now open to Midnia."

The younger voice laughed. "Oh Grandor, this has been such a great night. And there would be even more to come, now that I know what Teccao really is like."

"Yes, just don't forget to settle your part of the deal, alright, King Idel?"

"You can always trust me on that, King Grandor."

Then another voice came, it was nearer to the door. It was from an old man.

"Hey... King Grandor, I have not yet decided if I agree to this deal?"

"Excuse me?" Rudy heard Grandor say, like he was insulted.

"I have not signed yet. Can we- go back a few steps and talk about- "

"Yes, Lotreson, I have decided. Your land is the one to be used for the project. Why, do you have a problem with it?"

There was silence for a moment, then the old man spoke up.

"No, my King. No- no I don't."

"So sign the damned paper."

The noise slowly came back, the guests started eating again. And the Kings went back to their chattering.

But then there was a smash, of wood upon wood, then the metal utensils falling upon the floor. Even Rudy suddenly moved in shock. Then, silence.

Grandor shouted. "What the hell are you doing?"

Then the voice of a young man revealed itself. "Curse you, Grandor. Is this how a King treats its people? Spit on them?"

Rudy heard Grandor stand up from his seat. "Wait, Knights, not yet. Are you out of your mind, little boy?" He laughed. "Oh Ervanion, this is going to be such a funny story to tell."

Then the guests laughed at the young man.

"Go on, people of Teccao! Wallow in the shit he throws at your plates, ignore the screams of those he left to suffer!" Shouted Ervanion, and his voice drowned in the mocking of the crowd.

"Shh, no need to be too loud, young man."

But then the old man's voice came back among the laughter of his people. "I think he has every right to be loud, Grandor. I, Sir Lotreson, won't sign this, unless you find other land to build your cursed projects on. I am not giving away my land!"

Rudy was all too confused by this, and wanted to see what was really happening inside. What did his father need the old man's land for? Has Midnia finally allied with Teccao? And who was the young man who was brave enough to insult the King?

There was a window here somewhere, Rudy thought, which looked at the exterior of the meeting room, textured with moss and cracks in the stone. There is a loose edge that he could walk on until he reaches the corner and turns, then he could watch the commotion from the large window.

But before he could move, he heard his father say something.

"Say, King Idel, do you want to know what could happen, if the deal was broken?"

"Well, by all means, show me. And so I would know what would not happen to me."

Then the sound of a trigger enters Rudy's ears. He realizes that it was a Knight's harquebus. The old man shouted, then he was interrupted by the blast of the rifle. Rudy pulled himself away from the door. But he went back, trembling, and peeked through the keyhole.

His view was of the scattered remains of the old man's brains on the floor and the table. Lotreson's body lay on the ground, his top hat rolling down to the pillar. Rudy could not see any more.

"Oh look! The old creep just got a heart attack!" Howled Grandor. The guests roared with laughter.

Rudy ran away, breathing heavily, sweat dripping from his hair like it was raining. His sleeping robes danced in the wind as his feet dragged him through the thick fog in the hallway.

He found the window, and his shaking hands lifted him up from the ground. With tears in his eyes he left the castle. Stepping on the edge of the window, the wind blew through his hair, and there was a black smoke that Rudy had to breathe in. Below him were trees, artificial ones, created for the sole purpose of giving Eliante a tinge of olive. They swayed with the howl of the air, waiting for the young boy to fall to his demise. Their leaves were made of a hard material, and it could wound Rudy if ever he makes a mistake in his steps. Rudy widened his eyes as he looked down. He wondered if he could do it, but he could not stop himself.

He went on, hugging the wall, moving towards the corner, slowly to his left.

Step.

For every step he took a wave of shock flowed through his body, and he realizes that he was already breathing so loudly that Knights who passed by the window would hear him.

Step.

The wind felt like it was pulling him from the wall, but he grasped onto the loose bricks, smearing his hands with dirt and moss. At one point, he felt like a worm squirmed along his fingers.

Step.

His tears blurred his vision. But he kept on moving. He coughed as the smoke thickened.

For how long it took, he did not know. Time passed so slowly, and he was getting tired quickly. He closed his eyes and let his tears drop. Yet he still moved.

Step--

His left foot slid off the edge, and pebbles fell into the darkness of the fake forest. Rudy opened his eyes and almost let out a scream, but he gripped the loose bricks tight and lifted his body upwards. He has reached the corner.

He quickly turned around the edge of the wall and saw the large window. He grabbed onto the windowsill and peeked into the room. And there he saw what was exactly in his mind. Lotreson's body lay still on the ground at the farther edge of the table, blood leaking from his head, and his top hat soaked with red. Two Knights were at the door. Nearest to him was Idel, clearly amused by what was going on, and Grandor was close to the nearer edge of the table, talking to Ervanion, who has now kneeled down in front of the King with his arms tied. Everyone has turned their eyes to him, except for what Rudy noticed as an old man who was busy fiddling with his rings.

He focused on listening to what was happening inside. Ervanion was shouting, insulting Grandor, and he was struggling. There were two other Knights behind the young man, and Rudy was afraid that they might catch him, as they were looking at the window, but he stood still and they weren't moving, so he continued eavesdropping.

"He had a family, Grandor. What is wrong with you?"

"And I have a structure to raise, and he was a hindrance. God, I hate his voice."

Ervanion shook his head. "Someday you will have what you deserve, you miserable swine." Then he spit upon the King's shoes.

"Curse you!" Rudy's father cried, and he kicked Ervanion's head, spurting blood all over the floor.

Grandor paused for a moment and breathed. Then he started speaking in a whispered tone. Rudy had to press his ears against the wall to hear him. "You know, I forgot about that land of yours. That was what I was going to use for the museum, if I recall. I quickly realized that was boring, and land that is closer to the castle proved more useful, so I left you alone, and you should have been grateful, young man."

"Grateful for what? You leave us in fear of death if we oppose your ideas. The northeast villages are suffering, and you are taking away from the south, from all the people, what rightfully belongs to them. What is there to be grateful for?" Then Grandor laughed.

"And so you're that kind of person, are you? Come, I want to show you something."

The King grabbed the young man's shirt and dragged him across the floor towards the window. The latter wiggled like a worm, screaming. Rudy suddenly lowered his head, hoping that he had kept his secrecy. He kept his eyes shut. From above, the sound of Grandor's tired voice could be heard.

"You wouldn't understand as you are not a King. Not that you're fit to be one, anyway. But sometimes, young man, we have to ruin the world to bring it back to glory. Like how a phoenix burns to ashes just to grow back to a beautiful young bird. Look."

Ervanion screamed and banged his head on the window.

Rudy opened his eyes. He coughed, then black smoke came out of his nostrils. He looked behind him, where the window fixed its gaze, and saw a frightening sight.

Beyond the walls of Eliante, there were burning hills, black with ash, and smoke roamed about, joining the clouds. Giant structures, Rudy noticed was of metal, moved about, up and down, transporting boxes on the ground. Men moved around, some of them naked, pushing and pulling heavy loads. Here and there were large fires scorching, turning piles of trash into ash. Then Rudy saw a large hole in the middle, bigger than the castle. It was glowing red from underneath, and men moved to-and-fro, in and out of the fiery mines.

Ervanion could not say anything, and so did Rudy. The former just screamed his lungs out, splattering blood upon the already dirty and blurry window.

"Same thing I do with people. I hurt the people so they learn to fight. I make them suffer so they can be stronger in the end. And when I don't like someone, I throw them away, cleansing Teccao. That's why the arena is going to be built." Grandor said, still holding onto Ervanion's shirt. Rudy did not dare to look, but he knew his father was smiling.

Arena? Is this the deal they were talking about? Grandor is going to use the people for his own entertainment, Rudy thought. He clenched his shaking fist.

Grandor continued. "Of course, it wouldn't be so fun as to just throw them away, right? And so the people would have to give the audience a show first, before they meet their doom." Then he took Ervanion's chin and turned his head to face him. "But you, you don't even deserve to step foot inside the arena."

"Let me go! Let me go-" cried the young man, then his voice slowly weakened.

"And what will you do after I let you go? You will just fight for your land, then die trying. There's no use, Ervanion. I'll do you a favor."

Then Ervanion's head smashed against the glass, shattering it into pieces. The shards flew across the black wind. Grandor pushed Ervanion, and the young man fell. Rudy locked eyes with him as he met his demise; it was filled with tears. With hands still tied, Ervanion's body clashed with the stiff fake leaves, impaled by the sharp, pointed branches.

Then as soon as he met the ground, there came a noise from inside the room; of someone running towards the window. Rudy's muscles were tense, and so he had difficulty moving, but he managed to look up. And right as he turned his head, the old man that Rudy noticed earlier flung himself from the room and fell among the trees.

Idel shouted from inside. "Let him be! I wanted him dead anyway."

Rudy did not want any more of this to happen, and unconsciously, he stood up from the edge and revealed himself from the window. Looking right at his father, he shouted.

"Father!"

Grandor turned back to look at his son. Rudy stood still, not knowing what to do.

"What are you doing here? Get him!"

The Knights swiftly ran towards the window, then one of them reached towards Rudy. The boy instinctively dodged and thankfully, he was safe, and he balanced himself on top of the edge. He moved swiftly along the wall, wounding his fingers as they scratched against the rough edges of the stone. Then before he even laid his foot upon the window to the hallway, a large hand seized his arm and pulled him inside. A Knight had caught him.

Grandor exited the room through the large door, and the Knights turned around to present to him his son. He looked at Rudy, clearly afraid and smeared of dirt, but that was the only notice he took of him. He then turned to the Knights.

"Knights, I have tasked you not to get him out of the room, and yet here he is now. What do you have to say about that?"

The Knights knelt down, still holding onto one of Rudy's arms. "My King, we have failed, and-"

Then suddenly a cry came in from behind, and there was a shot of a harquebus. The shot hit the Knight's helmet, and he yelled in pain, but the bullet didn't penetrate. The small piece of metal fell to the floor, and its sound echoed in the hallway. Then there was a thump on the floor, and Rudy looked back to see the one who held the harquebus fall down. The figure stood up almost immediately, but then there came another shot, from the farther end of the hallway. The bullet shot the figure's feet, and it squealed. Rudy recognized the voice.

One of the Knights on Grandor's side ran to the one holding the harquebus, and he revealed Kalindor.

The King spoke. "So this is your friend, who has been meddling around with royal affairs... Kannon, isn't this your son?"

The Knight who was holding Rudy hesitated, but then he nodded. "Yes, my King. Kalindor is his name."

"Take him away."

"No-" Rudy screamed. "No! You can't take him! Where are you taking him?" The young boy twisted and turned against the hold of the Knight.

"Be better than him, Rudy!" Echoed Kalindor's voice as the Knights drag him to the far end of the hallway, never to be seen again by his friend.

"As for you," Grandor said.

Then before the boy could say anything, Grandor hit him behind the head with the stock of the harquebus. Rudy's vision turned to nothing.