“Wake up!”

Thomas wished he didn’t remember how he got there; it was sudden, scorching, and uneventful, completely unworthy of his first-ever time in prison. He was unprepared for guards to storm inside the bakery and for one of them to strike him with lightning. Now that he was awake, evidently at least ten hours later, he was unprepared for the mice that ran over his shoes and for the faint voice that broke through the screeching in his ears and the slamming in his head. A cool breeze came in through the smallest window in the world; his surroundings were so unbearably fetid that even a single inhale’s worth of outside stench was pure heaven.

“Thomas, can you hear me?”

“What?” Thomas let out. He put his head in his hands to stop the ringing; electricity was still running laps up and down his spine and sent tingling all over his body.

“Thomas, focus.”

“I can’t. My head hurts.”

The man replied something, but Thomas couldn’t concentrate on his voice. Everything else going on in his body drew his attention away from reality and only when he managed to look up did he suddenly sober up, like someone had splashed him with ice-cold water. He jolted upwards, suddenly forgetting about all the pain in his legs. He had never seen the man before, so…

“How do you know my name?” Thomas asked the overall dimness of his surroundings making him doubt if he did, in fact, wake up.

“His Majesty is waiting for you,” the man replied. He remained standing in the exact same spot and looking at Thomas without blinking.

“How do you know my name?” Thomas repeated, this time pausing after each word. The man just stood there looking at Thomas. “Okay. Then, where am I?”

“The general prison in Painron.”

“Why?”

“You've killed two people.”

The words stabbed Thomas in the chest. “Two Demons.”

“Two people.”

“They killed a girl.”

“And they would have been punished according to the law.”

Thomas looked around uncomfortably. “So, I just punished them instead. It’s not a big deal.” He sqeezed his own bicepp with more srength with each word.

“You are not the law,” the man replied. “The king is waiting for you.”

“What king?” Thomas asked spitefully like everyone else in the world was crooked.

The man just kept staring. “The king is waiting for you.”

Thomas sighed. It’s been a few minutes since he started feeling nauseous. “Alright.”

The man disabled the forcefield and started walking to the left. Thomas followed him, no indication whatsoever that he was a criminal. Thomas didn’t consider himself a criminal; he only did what was right. Diane would have done it as well. They were bad people, monsters, and there was no place for the likes of them in that world. In any world. That made Elaine and her plans seem even more horrendous in Thomas’s eyes; she was planning to give the world to such beings, to let them not only roam free but to make decisions, to punish, to be deities. They would destroy everything they would touch and Thomas couldn’t let that happen. He had to give Diane the opportunity to choose what was right even if it meant losing himself in the process.

I have used her enough already. It’s time to become reliable.

He was in a dream walking through corridors he couldn’t keep in his memory, and thoroughly confused when he entered a room to find Brandon Hunster peacefully signing some papers like he had no intention of talking to him.

“What is the meaning of this?” Thomas let out.

Brandon looked up, his eyes completely empty, like always. “Good morning, Thomas. Have you slept well?”

Thomas ran his hand through his hair multiple times trying to think of what to say. “Why am I here?”

“You killed two people,” Brandon replied, still looking down.

“Two Demons,” Thomas corrected through his teeth. “They killed a little girl. It wasn’t right.”

“And killing them was?”

“Did you not hear what I just said?” The fatigued Thomas was feeling made him irritable and he couldn’t control his tone.

Brandon smiled. “Though, I must admit it was quite a clever way to avoid the permission.”

“What permission?”

Brandon’s smile grew bigger. “Of course you don’t know, Thomas. You are not my daughter. To see the king you need to gain special permission. It takes months, years sometimes to obtain it. But if you end up in prison… Well, then your king you know about it.” Brandon looked at Thomas with a hint of content. “And you king always knows what goes on within his walls. But, of course, you wouldn’t be so sly.”

Thomas’s stomach hurt so much he wanted to bend in half and scream. He had completely forgotten why he came to Painron in the first place. It was the mission he had come up with on his own. To make things worse, he was incompetent again. He lucked out, that was all. Diane would have had a plan. An awful plan to be sure, but a plan that works. She wouldn’t give in to impulses. She would get what she wants.

I need to get what I want. I can’t fail again.

“Why did you come to Painron, Thomas?” Brandon asked.

“To see you,” Thomas replied, seemingly calm and collected again.

“Me?” Brandon put down his documents and turned to face Thomas. “What for?”

Thomas turned around for the first time since he entered the room. It was poorly lit but he didn’t mind since there was nothing but the chair on which Brandon was sitting and a small table in front of him. There were five guards, one in each corner of the room and one behind Thomas.

It looks like… well, a prison. I am in a prison. Me. In prison. For murder. Double murder. I killed two people. I did. So, why do I not feel anything? Why does it all feel like a dream? It’s okay because they were Demons. Isn’t it?

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

He started sweating all over. Something was pressing against his chest, something heavy and cold. And someone was drilling holes in his temples. He had killed two people. Demons, yes, but people. He had killed Maria too, but that was different. That was for Diane. That was for the world. This was for him. This was personal. When did he become a man with bloody consciousness?

“I…” He started, a smile appearing on his face. “Well, I came to ask a favor.”

“A favor?” Brandon, repeated, slightly intrigued.

“Well, more than that, I came because I believe you are not such an awful man after all.” Thomas winced, unable to control his temper again; it had never happened to him before. A day like this one had never happened to him before.

Brandon smiled from ear to ear. “Oh, really?”

“I know you are probably aware of this, but Elaine is planning to find the Swan.”

Brandon’s smile disappeared and he was back to looking at his papers. “I was not aware of this, no.”

“Well, this goes directly against Diane’s deal with George. If Elaine finds the Swan and convinces them to join her, then the odds are completely against fighting. In fact, there would be no odds in that case. She is basically trying to corner Diane. And that’s not fair. Diane deserves a chance to make a choice. She hasn’t had a chance before, but she has it now. And as her father, you owe it to her to give her this chance,” Thomas explained quickly, stumbling over his words as his skin heated up again and he started sweating. “Besides, after seeing what I saw today, there is no doubt in my mind that we should never allow those creatures to come anywhere near us.”

“I am the king of Crystalia,” Brandon replied, ignoring Thomas’s last comment. “I don't owe anyone anything.”

“No. Diane is the queen of Crystalia. You are her father.”

Brandon nodded. “And what would you want me to do?”

Thomas’s eyes lit up. “Well, Kyla and I… you know Kyla right?” Thomas waited for Brandon to give him a sign, any sign at all, that he did know Kyla. When the ex-king stayed quiet, Thomas continued. “Well, we decided to go as well. To find the Swan, I mean. But we can’t just go alone, you know. Just the two of us. It’s impossible. So we need soldiers.”

“And you want me to give you the soldiers?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Brandon paused for a second. “And what do I get from that transaction?”

Thomas was taken aback. “Pardon?”

Brandon smiled. “What will you give me if I give you the soldiers?”

Thomas scratched the back of his neck which was suddenly itching so much it was distracting him from his thoughts. “Well… uhm… I mean… What I wanted to say… You are Diane’s father, right?”

“That is correct.”

“Well, then it should be simple. Don’t you want to help her?”

Brandon sighed. “I didn’t ask for facts, Thomas. I asked what you would give me in return. What do you have that I want?”

The itching just wouldn’t stop. Thomas kept scratching, but it was just getting worse. “It’s your chance to make up for everything you have done to your daughter,” Thomas replied a lot more aggressively than he wanted. “So, a way to clean your conscience.”

Brandon sighed again. “In that case, Mr. Hammer,” he stood up as he talked, “the answer is no.”

“Wait, what? You can’t be serious!” Thomas protested.

Brandon calmly collected his papers. “I am not looking for redemption, Thomas. I have done nothing I regret.”

“Except ruin your daughter’s life!” Thomas’s voice echoed through the empty room.

Brandon calmly stood up. “You have the right to your own opinion.”

“She’s your daughter! Your flesh and blood! Your heiress! How can you say something like that?! Wait, just wait a second.” Brandon ignored Thomas’s protests and calmly made his way towards the door. As Brandon walked past Thomas without looking at him and went for the doorknob, Thomas pushed the guard to the side and slammed the door shut with his hand. “I said, wait!”

The guards pulled their swords out and looked at their king, who turned around unamused. He raised his hand and the guards went back to their positions. “Did I not make myself clear enough?”

“You have to listen to me!” Thomas yelled, his eyes completely consumed by flames.

“Mr. Hammer,” Brandon warned, sitting on his chair again, “I do not know what any of this has to do with me.”

Thomas ran his hand through his hair. “If Elaine finds the Swan it’s over! And don’t tell me it has nothing to do with you because it does! If the Demons come we are all screwed! Your people will die left and right and… And it will all be my fault! Get it through that thick skull of yours, you useless piece of shit! This is bigger than you and it is certainly bigger than me! But you know what?! This is my responsibility! Mine! Diane left me with this task when she disappeared God knows where and now I have to do this by myself! I didn’t know any of this existed last year and now I have to decide the fate of millions of people! I have spent the last few months being fucking useless, doing nothing, not because I didn’t want to help but because I didn’t know how to! Because this is all so new to me and I am afraid of screwing this up and… I just can’t screw this up, do you understand! I am scared! I am fucking terrified because I know that if I just mess one thing up… I need these soldiers. I need to make sure Diane has her chance. I need to do all of this. But I can’t do it alone. Please.”

The ex-king didn’t know what to do; it was blatantly visible on his face. A man who always wore an indestructible mask now looked at the peasant with the eyes of a child. He looked at one soldier, then the other. Then back at Thomas. He repeated the motion a few times before he cleared his throat. “Yes, well… Tragic.” He looked at the soldier behind Thomas. “He can leave now.”

The soldier put a sword in front of Thomas’s throat and pulled his bicep. “No, wait!” Thomas yelled.

The ex-king sighed, rubbing his eyes. “What now, Thomas?”

“I…” Thomas stuttered in disbelief. “I just spilled my heart out for you and that’s all you have to say?!”

“Unfortunately, Mr. Hammer,” Brandon replied, his face motionless again, “I have failed to understand what any of… that has to do with me. If you find something I would need, you may come to see me again. That is all I can give you out of pity. Have a good day.”

Thomas was so drained of energy he let the guard drag him out of the prison and slam the door in his face. He just stood there a while, an hour maybe two, trying to grasp the contents of that day. The air was cool, and the stars filled the sky prettily. The passers-by looked at him with strange expressions but he paid them no attention.

“It’s that man,” someone whispered. “Come, quickly! Don’t let him see you.”

Thomas looked down, at his hands. There were stains on them now; not real, of course, but spiritual. He had tainted his soul, for the first time willingly. He had acted out, for the first time willingly. Was there another way? A cleaner, more righteous way? Yes, there was. So, why didn’t he choose it? Because Diane wouldn’t have chosen it? No, that was a lie. All of it was a lie. He did it for himself. For his consciousness. Because it would hurt less than to walk away and remember it. Because sitting and waiting would hurt more than doing nothing at all even if it was completely wrong.

Because this agonizing pressure made him feel alive.

Then the picture froze. Thomas saw the bakery, his house, the sky, all in blue. The air was cold and slow. It was moving from his lungs towards the bakery. Everything was so slow and monochromatic until he felt his chest warm up and that burden fly away. He mattered. For the first time in his life, even if it was excruciatingly painful, someone was relying on him. Even though he hated her for leaving him with all this burden, he thanked Diane Hunster for waking him up from his slumber. The key to the world is in little irregularities of character, and Thomas suddenly saw it in the stars.

Diane Hunster wasn’t there, she hadn’t been in a while. Someone had to pick up the cargo she left behind and she just happened to leave it at his front door. No, she left it there on purpose. She believed he would take care of it. She believed in him. Not because he was capable, but because he was loyal. Because he would yell at her father for her. Because he would kill her mother for her. She didn’t expect him to save them; she expected him to try. To give it his all. To abandon his fear and become a man he would be proud of. Thomas didn’t know how he felt about that revelation, but it was a start. All that commotion helped him finally understand her a bit better. All that fear he felt helped him realize just how much he had relied on the mercy of others. How naive he was. There was no more space for fear. With Diane gone and Elaine breathing down his neck, it was time to wake up to the cruel reality: he was alone in his fight for survival and there was no glory on the other side. Only life. And he was finally ready to reach for it, for better or for worse.