A Boy’s Wish

Snow from yesterday’s burning siege fell softly upon the charred corpses of the fallen. I felt the desire to look away, to break my scornful glare at the wasted lives, but they deserved more than that. They deserved to see the sunshine again, to see their mothers and the eyes of their beloved. I had forsaken them for conquest as if they were no more than pawns on a game board.

The greyness of the ruined city flickered with quiet embers, still lit to show the soldiers the way towards stolen treasure. A maroon sunrise highlighted the blood spilled.

     I looked down with regret at the golden helm in my gloved hands. The itching feeling from the glare of the others rushed my contemplation, forcing me to place the helm upon my head. From this view, I would see less children killed by my word.

     “My liege, what is to be done with the captives?” Halley asked again. His impatience grew on my nerves.

     I turned to face the families; the people too weak to raise their spears against invaders. The old men, sickly women, and children. None of them were important to the lords. None of them had any say in the insurgence. Their lives utterly pointless to the scheme of things. They didn’t deserve any of this.

     “Kill them.” I said plainly.

     With a turn, I left those loyal to me to pick at the scraps.

     Revelon was waiting for me besides my steed Underborn, my closest allies. At first, she did not notice me, as she was too focused on sharpening her long sword upon a grindstone. A pair of squires washed the thick blood from her armor. I stepped up to Underborn and lightly brushed his heavy obsidian and gold mane.

     “You could take off the armor sometimes.” I said while I fed Underborn with my other hand. “No assassins lurk in my shadow.”

     “We shouldn’t have waited, brother.” Revelon replied in her soothing voice. My nerves habitually calmed. “We should have hit them hard right away.”

     I climbed upon Underborn and gazed across the horizon.

     “The rats wouldn’t have been able to scurry away.” She continued, standing, pushing the squires away. “You know how I loathe hunting.”

     “Perhaps I will let you send a message.” I replied, staring to the east. “Do it your way.”

     “Finally.” She said with sweet venom.

     “Take Halley with you.” I turned Underborn towards the east. “He grows on my nerves.”

     “I always hated him.”

     “I’ll let the rest go by your discretion.” I said before beginning Underborn’s trot.

     “Wait, brother.” Revelon said from behind me. She strode towards me with swagger and grabbed my golden breast plate, pulling me down to meet her eyeline. I saw into her ruby and sapphire eyes. I saw her undying faith for me. Her absolute loyalty. I could see the love and undeniable trust. Revelon would never betray me. She would die before she let any doom befall my soul. Then, with forgotten innocence she said: “Thank you.”

     I kept my stoic gaze upon her for a moment, questioning if she was finally showing me the heart that she had caged in armor all those years ago.

I left Revelon to prep her horse and battalion. I went for some time, away from the armies, from the lust and rage, and from the prying eyes of my loyal subjects. My mind left and I found myself upon a once wild hillside, grassless and without beauty. My eyes betrayed me, and instead saw flowers as colorful as the planting season, dotting every spot of the lush soft grass. A perfect view of the rich forest, and the city Rennegone, below. I knew I was lying to myself and allowed the truth to forgive me. I looked at the hillside then for what it really was: Scorch marks and blood. A beaten hillside, a broken city, and a raped forest. I continued, leaving my army further behind.

     The once lush trees that grew as thick as castle towers were left as nothing more than vacant stumps, a scar cut deep into the forest. No sound came from this graveyard. No movement danced along the trees edge. No life could grow here ever again.

     The rest of the forest had not succumbed to the rage of man and their lust for machines of war. It had resisted our deepest scourge upon the earth, but still remembered the scar we caused. A piece of my heart felt a hint of relief as I came upon the dark treeline. After a breath of air, I climbed from Underborn’s back. I took a moment to remove his saddle and harnesses. I then pet his mane one more time before venturing into the darkness.

     The thick branches closed in behind me, sealing my fate. Deep oppression clouded my presence, hungry for retribution. I unslung my baldric, letting my sword drop to the ground. Moss grew along the bark of most trees. Stopping for a moment, I took off my helm and gloves and reached out to touch the fluffiness of the plant. In my eyes, my hand was a child’s. Fragmented old voices from decades past sprinkled across my mind. I left the memory where it belonged.

     I came upon the diamond pond in the forest clearing. The sun had reached its golden height in the openly blue sky. No cloud splotches could be seen. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath of the untainted air.

     “It is done, then.” Whispered the voice of the pond.

     I found an upturned tree and sat upon the decaying trunk for a more comfortable position to remove my armor.

     “Rennegone lies in ashes.” I replied without looking up. “Revelon moves to Hareinjer. The turncoats flee to the west. All of it is just as you had predicted.”

     “What is your final wish, boy?” Whispered the pond.

     I stripped the golden plates off and tossed them aside. The past decades of contemplation left my mind as if I hadn’t prepared at all and had lived a life in childish ignorance. My response needed to be calculated and precise. It needed to be a careful incision accomplished with a greatsword. When I finished removing my gambeson, I stood before the golden sunlight and diamond pond wearing naught but my own hair.

     “Take my life so that all those that had suffered shall live.”

     “I cannot complete this task without your payment first.”

     I stepped forward into the pond. It had no temperature. No color besides the sparkles from the sunlight.

     “I remember.”

     I walked until the water reached my waist.

     “Was it worth it?” Whispered the pond curiously.

     I looked down at my hands through the barrier of water and saw naught but blood. It had stained my skin, and no water could ever wash it away.

     “Why did you whisper to me all those years ago?” I asked. “Why me and not my brother?”

     “You had nothing, and he had everything.” Whispered the water. “I took pity on your wretched soul.”

     “You lie.” I replied. “I had a family. I was loved and cared for. Though, I may not have seen it, I had everything.”

     The water began to rise, though I moved no deeper.

     “Your potential was far greater than that.”

     “I care nothing for potential or prestige. Destiny has done nothing but disfigure me and scar the world around me. Why do any of this if you’re going to bring them back?”

     “You’ve done all you can. The humans now fight an unending war and soon they all shall perish.”

     The water had risen to my shoulders when I began to feel at peace. I relaxed.

     “Why?” I asked, closing my eyes, letting the water overtake me.

     “Why did you wish to be king, boy? Why did you drown your brother in my still waters? I did nothing beyond suggest your full potential. That even a lowly lord’s forgotten son could become king. I offered a way out of the depths of your mind, and you took it. Now sleep with me and forget.”

     Relax.

Breathe in.

Water, lungs, breathe.

Relax.

Forget.