In a moonlit room, a boy was sleeping covered only by a sheet on a chilly night.
He had black hair and dusky skin, and he was wearing tattered clothing which gave off a stench like dead animals. His chest moved up and down proving that he was alive. Or someone might mistake him for a dead body.
Suddenly a loud bang was heard and the boy woke up.
“What happened?” Thought the boy as he stood up and walked out of the room and saw everything chaotic.
“What happened old man?” Asked the boy to a man standing outside of the room he was sleeping in.
“It’s nothing you have to worry about.”
The man replied, he was still looking at a ball that looked like some kind of communication device he held in his hand.
“You go back to sleep you little rascal” “I still need you to feed the horses in the morning.”
Yawning the boy went back to his room. He has used the insults by now. After all, he was an orphan. And the old man was kind enough to give him a place to call home. This way, he belonged somewhere in this world. One can’t call the trading company a stable home as they move all the time where profit calls the. But, it was still better than the slums he use to live in.
He was an orphan. He did all he could to survive in the world till he was 12. One day an old man who was a trader was found on the verge of death due to starvation. He gave him food and in exchange, he asked him to help him feed his horses. And ever since that day, he has been with this old man. Travelling from place to place selling some strange stones. He never understood why someone would buy a strange-looking stone and even pay a huge amount of money for it. But he never really cared. He was content with food in his belly and a roof on his head. Thinking about all the food he could eat the next day he went back to sleep.
The next day he woke up before the sun came out as usual. And went out to a nearby forest to get fresh grass and edibles. There was no sign of the chaos that the human world had, the forest was as peaceful as a tranquil river flowing out of a giant glacier and running towards its beloved sea.
Joe was climbing a tree to get a red fruit he thought looked tasty. He had never seen this fruit before, so he was interested in finding out how it tasted. Then suddenly, he slipped and fell. It was a very high tree and he was almost halfway through. While falling he had a weird scene flash in his vision. A burning building. And as he looked into the fire, he saw a blurry face. Then everything went black.
When he woke up it was already noon. He sat up looking confused. Then he suddenly remembered the breakfast he missed and the older man’s angry face. He ran back to the place his party was staying. When he reached the stable, the first thing he did was go to the kitchen.
“Where have you been?” A small boy who was around the same age as Joe was sitting on the table next to the kitchen asked.
“I was busy feeding the horses,” Joe replied.
“Oh? Don’t give me that. I was the one who had to feed the horses.” The boy looked a bit angry.
“Please help me this time, Petter.” I promise I will give half my food to you for an entire week.” Joe helplessly pleaded.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
“Don’t worry, I have not yet told the old man.” “ And this is your 7th time doing this. Remember if you don’t do your job, the old man will kick you out.” Peter made a serious face.
“Thank you so much. I promise this will never happen again.” Joe happily poured his soup into the bowl and started eating it with the bread.
After finishing his meal he went to the old man. Today was the day he got his monthly allowance for twenty pieces of copper coins. He has been using 10 every month and saving the rest. As he walked past the temporary store set up to sell the stones he saw a girl buying the stones. She was the most beautiful girl Joe had ever seen in his 15 years of life. He stopped for about a second to look at her. She was wearing a yellow gown and had flowers decorating her purple hair. Purple hair was not that common so he thought she looked noble. After putting her back in his mind, he went looking for the old man.
“Here’s your twenty-piece of copper.” the old man handed him a small pouch filled with his allowance. “ Ready the horses, it’s time to move on from this town.’’ “Don’t forget to stack up supplies for the journey.” The old man gave instructions and got busy with his paperwork again.
About a month later they were on their way west. It was a bright sunny day in the winter which was quite pleasing. Joe and Peter were sitting in the back of the carriage. They were basking in the sunlight passing through the small opening on the roof of the carriage. Joe was imagining all the things he could eat after reaching the next town. After all, he was sick of eating only dried rations for a month, he felt that he would dry out himself if he keep eating that. But then again, it was better than what he used to eat in the slums or rather not having to eat anything at all. He can not even remember anything other than misery before meeting the old man Suddenly a carriage stopped moving. Joe and Peter jumped down the carriage. They saw a long line of carriages and people ahead of them.
“What is happening?” Asked Joe to the old man.
“I don’t know.” “Peter, go and ask around.” the old man spoke.
“Yes sir,” Peter replied and walked ahead.
“It looks like we will be here for a while.” “Joe, go and prepare forage for the horses.” The old man instructed.
“Yes.” Joe replied and went to do as he was told.
After some time Joe heard Peter come back while he was giving water to the horses. He ran out to the front to see Peeter badly injured. His shoulder was bleeding and his clothes were soaked in blood. The old man was treating him, wrapping bandages on his shoulder.
“What happened?” Joe asked.
“I went to the soldiers in the front to ask about the situation and when I ran into someone with high status and they didn’t like the looks of me so they started beating me and when I resisted they were prepared to kill. When they were about to kill me, a lady with purple hair intervened to stop them. She looked like someone with very high status and the soldiers looked afraid of her so they let me go.” Peter replied with a bitter chuckle.
Joe became quiet after hearing this. It was quite common in the world where if you don’t have status or Power. Your life was as worthless as that of an animal. He clenched his fist feeling helpless at their powerlessness. An image of the lady Joe had seen that day flashed in his eyes. “Maybe it was her?” he thought to himself.
“Go prepare something to eat for him and let him rest at the back of the carriage.” the old man instructed.
“Yes,” Joe replied and helped Petter back.
A little while later Joe found out the line was because some very important guests of the empire were passing through the main road. And the blockage was because they didn’t want anyone interpreting in their travels. That was the difference between people with power and people who didn’t. Joe didn’t mind it, he was just worried that this may mean that he have to wait for the food till their convoy reach the next city. Putting all these thoughts back in his mind, Joe went back to his work.
About another month of travel later, Joe saw a huge city wall on the horizon. It was so massive that he could not see the top despite looking up. This was the capital city of The Empire, Shinopia. They say that the name was given by the hero who played a great role during the war of unification. The Empire was fragmented into many kingdoms during the olden times. Later the first Emperor with the help of the hero united them and The Empire was born. The Empire had a name in the past but, It was simply called, The empire and no one remembers the original name anymore.
When the convoy entered the city after paying the toll, it was already dusk. The old man found an inn in the merchant district of the city and rented two rooms with a stable. Joe and Peter after filling hot water for the old man went to soak on their own. Pater was relaxing and Joe was sleeping after the harsh day. It was then that he heard the voice.
“Wake up already.”