The crowd stood frozen; their whispers having become strangely loud to my ears. I looked all around me, hoping to meet eyes with somebody, with anybody, but they all looked away as quickly as I looked at them, and slowly the crowd began to quickly disperse, but not before giving a polite bow to the knights.

“Ah little Caine, I think it’s time for us to retire. We have an early morning tomorrow, and we need to get drunk now to wake up on time tomorrow” Mr Saintsworth said laughing, his demeanour slightly different from the man I first met.

Something about his change now just made me feel unsettled. He looked at me as if I was nothing more than a toy, his eyes carrying a similar look to the others Arzamac gave me, but there was still something different in his eyes. When the others looked at me, I could only feel anger at them, but I began to feel fear at this man before me. Is this something I should be feeling?

“I-I-I understand, sir” I replied, trying to escape the creeping doubt and fear. “Thank you for talking to me. I wish you luck tomorrow for your subjugation.”

I bowed, copying what all the other villagers did when excusing themselves.

Mr Saintsworth looked directly into my eyes, a bright smile on his face, and nodded at me before turning around and walking away. The other knights lingered for a moment, and when I looked at them, they all turned their eyes away from me, some discomfort visible from their faces. They all glanced down and began walking away, following Mr Sainstworth, and before I knew it, I was at the centre of what was once a crowd, as everybody hurried away from me. I stood there, alone.

Cold sweat beaded on my face as I looked up at the sky. Our interaction couldn’t have lasted more than 15 minutes, but somehow, the suns seemed farther apart than they should be. As I felt the warm rays of sunshine hit me, I couldn’t help but think of the knight I just met.

What did I look like to Mr Saintsworth? He was so kind to me in the beginning, but then it seemed like something changed. What even happened? He still spoke kindly to me, and his tone never wavered, but something felt different, almost creepy.

But was that even real? Was I imagining him looking at me like the others look at me, just because it’s what I am used to? That’s probably what happened. Mr. Saintsworth is a good man. I am sure of it.

I tried leaving all these thoughts and worries behind as I began to walk away, making my way towards the open field, hoping that someone would let me play with them. Or at least not to ignore me.

The field grew closer, and I could see many kids there, many of them similar to me in age. Despite all of us having lived in this village for our entire lives, we never introduced ourselves, I still don’t know anything about them. I saw them running around, chasing one another, playing games, and I couldn’t help but feel jealous that they are able to experience something I never have been.

“Hey, guys. Can I play too?” I asked, hesitantly.

“No! Leave us alone!” a kid snapped, his voice dripping with palpable disgust. They all laughed and ran away, leaving me all alone. Again, I am alone.

Well… it could’ve been worse I guess, as I laughed at myself. That was the only thing I could do.

I didn’t understand why they treated me this, no matter how much I thought about it; and not just me, but my parents too. We haven’t done anything, we are just like them, aren’t we? The way everyone looks at us, like we’re beneath them, like we’re worthless, and this constant feeling that I have no freedom at all... it’s so suffocating.

I wished my parents would pack up the little things we have, and go somewhere else, someplace where we wouldn’t be hated for just existing But for some reason they love this place, whenever I suggest moving, they always say that they like this place, that they shouldn’t move. I love my parents, but I sometimes wish I could just leave by myself. Leave Arzamac behind and start a new life.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

I looked around and realised that all the children had left. A tree stood in the middle of the playground, its large branch supporting some swings, with some yellow flowers growing by its roots. I approached the tree, and sat down, my back resting on the trunk. I closed my eyes, trying to forget everything that happened today, and before I realised, I was in a deep sleep.

**********************

I woke up, my back on the cold hard ground, clutching my necklace. I had a strange dream. I remember only parts of it – I was stranded on some sort of Island, the vast ocean was behind me, and there was a sudden flashing light… and that’s all I remember. It seemed similar to the dream I had this morning, a strange feeling welling in my stomach.

I looked around. The playground was still empty, but some people walking around on the streets, looking at me with contempt. The suns had begun to set, changing the sky’s colour to a bright crimson red, making me realise that I slept longer than I intended. I had left home right after lunch, so I must have been out for the entire afternoon, and part of the evening. Hopefully, father and mother will not be angry.

I stood up, and as I began walking, my stomach grumbled loudly, clearly I was far hungrier than I imagined. Well, I was always hungry.

I ran for only a couple of seconds before I had to stop, my shoes making it difficult for me to run properly. The soles were coming off, only partially attached, and when I ran I realised I could feel the cold ground with each step, and it would hurt whenever I stepped on a pebble. I sighed, thinking about how I’ll have to walk home, and how long it would take considering my home is the opposite way, outside the walls.

The streets grew louder and louder the closer I approached the inn and the bar, but despite being surrounded by all these people, I still felt lonely. I was the only one by myself, no one even glancing my way. I continued walking, keeping my head down, and trying to ignore all the noises around me, when I bumped into something.

I looked up, and I could see one of the knights that were accompanying Mr Saintsworth in front of me; the knight was still holding his staff, using it to balance himself. His face was flushed and sweaty, a stark contrast to the pale complexion he carried earlier. As soon as he saw me, he just knelt and grabbed my shoulders with surprising force.

He opened his mouth, but no words came out, it was as if he was unsure as to what to say. The pungent smell of alcohol on his breath hit my face, making me uncomfortable, which made me try and get out of his grip, but he was holding me with a lot of power, actually hurting me. He simply stayed there, unmoving, staring at me, a number of emotions on his face constantly changing, and then he opened his mouth again.

“It’s not your fault, lad.” He spoke.

“There’s nothing you coulda done, nothin’. You shouldn’t blame yourself for this, it’s just not your fault” he continued, his voice growing louder with each word.

“Listen… to me, just remember it’s not your fault!” he shouted, gathering the attention of people around us.

I was scared, feeling confused as to why this drunk knight just grabbed me and started shouting some nonsense at me, telling me that I was innocent. He wouldn’t let go, no matter how much I struggled to escape his hold.

Perhaps seeing the fear in my eyes, he finally released his grip, giving me enough time to run, but I soon tripped and fell, maybe because of my shoes, or maybe because of sheer panic. I looked behind me, and I saw the mage looking in my direction, and I quickly took off my shoes, and began running towards my home as fast as I could.

The ground was cold and hard, and I would often step on sharp stones, but I didn’t care about any of that, I just wanted to get away from that man and go back home. It took some time, but once I got out of the walls of Arzamac, I could see my hut, and I stopped, finally trying to catch my breath.

I slowly made my way to my home, but I noticed something strange: for some reason, there were no lights inside; usually some candles would be lit, and you could see them from the windows, alongside the silhouettes of my parents in the kitchen, but I could not see either.

It was getting dark, the first sun had completely set, and the second was following closely. I hit the ground hard with every step I took as I ran towards the hut, and I barged in, slamming the door behind me, but something felt strange; a strange smell attacked my nostrils, it’s nothing I ever smelled before, and it was so bad it made me gag, and I nearly threw up.

The house was dark, no lights were visible, and as I approached the kitchen to find some candles, I felt something wet on my feet. It had a weird feel on my foot, and it felt sticky.

Something didn’t feel right.

As I approached the kitchen, I saw the silhouette of a person, and I could feel each heartbeat attempting to escape my chest, my own heart feeling so close to my throat.