“You’re welcome. I don’t like to see a woman getting hurt by anyone.” Robert clenched his fists.
A guard entered the room and stood at attention. “Miss Sam, you’re wanted back in the war room now.” Sam nodded and left the room.
She re-entered the war room, and Katerina looked up at her, “So, how’s your rescuer doing?” Katerina teased, attempting to lighten the mood.
“He’s recovering nicely. Now, do we have a plan?” Sam asked.
“We’ll need all hands in on this one. In my experience, Lucas always seems three steps ahead. He must have been planning this from the beginning. He took my mother from me; we need to take his power away from him.” Katerina turned her attention to Sam. “Now, your rescuer, what do you know about him? Where did he come from? Is he a spy?”
“What? A spy? If he was a spy, why would he go through such great lengths to rescue me? When I was already Lucas’s captive?”
“You know Lucas’ deception runs deep. You need to keep an eye on him, Sam. We don’t need any more distractions.” Sam agreed, trying to hide her excitement at getting to know more about this stranger. She felt strangely drawn to him.
“Now, we need to rest. We’ll regroup in the morning. I want you all to think about a plan of attack. When we meet in the morning, we’ll combine our thoughts and hopefully destroy Lucas once and for all. I sent out the call. I know The Called will come; we just need to give them time. Dismissed.” Each guard nodded and left the room, leaving Katerina and Sam alone. “Sam, I wanted to talk to you in private.”
“Yes, Lady Kat? What is it?”
“Your rescuer. When do you think he’ll be well enough to move?”
“He’s recovering quickly. He should be good to go by tomorrow. Why?”
“I don’t trust him. I think he should go into the cellblock until we know more.”
“Wait! What? He risked a lot to get me back here. I’ll watch him. He won’t cause any problems.”
“And if he does?”
“Then I’ll take the blame.” There’s something different about him. I don’t trust him, either, but he knows Nora, so he can’t be that bad.
“Fine, you need to watch him closely. Dismissed.” Sam nodded and left the war room. Katerina exited through the hidden entry and followed the chamber halls toward Crystal’s room. Careful not to make a sound, she entered and sat on the side of the bed. Soon, a flash of red appeared behind her, and she turned with a start. There stood Lucas.
“Lucas, what are you doing here? You killed my mother, and my sister isn’t waking up.”
“Now, now, Kat. I’m the only person who can wake Crystal. I need Sam.”
“Sam? I won’t betray anyone else.”
“Betray? No, you misunderstand me. I just need you to separate her from everyone else. I’ll do the rest. You want Crystal to wake up, don’t you?”
Katerina’s heart fluttered with regret. I’ll never forgive myself if I had a way to wake you Crystal and I didn’t take it. “What do you want me to do?”
Sam entered Robert’s room. “Sam, what is it?”
“I told you: I don’t trust you. Why should I trust you? Give me a reason.”
“I can’t give you a reason. Personally, I’m pretty worthless. My own father saw me as trash,” Robert said.
Sam walked right up to him and looked him square in the face. “God doesn’t make trash, and I believe he has a plan for everyone. We just need to discover what that plan is.”
“If God has a plan for me, then why do I fail at everything I do?”
“You saved me. That is not a failure.” Sam proclaimed. “You get some rest. Tomorrow, your day starts early.” Sam turned and walked to the door. She looked back at Robert over her shoulder and smiled.
“Early? What do you mean?”
“You start your training.”
“Training? For what?”
“We’ll need to be ready for whatever Lucas throws at us. I’ll help you prepare.” Sam left the room before Robert had time to object.
He rested his head; deep down, his heart leaped at the thought of spending time with this fiery redhead. She intrigues me, he thought as he closed his eyes.
Robert was surprised awake when a shirt was thrown onto his face. He removed it to see Sam standing before him in full armour. “Ok, get dressed. I’ll meet you in the courtyard,” Sam commanded as she turned and left the room. Robert stood, stepped into his pants, and pulled the new shirt over his head. He slowly made his way down to the courtyard where Sam waited for him. As he walked up to her, she tossed a sword at his feet. “First, hand to hand combat.”
“What? Combat? I won’t hit a girl.”
“Pick up the sword.”
“No, there has to be another way.”
Sam swung her leg and knocked Robert over. “What was that for?”
“Everyone needs to know how to fight. If you don’t, you’re already dead.”
“I know how to fight; I just won’t fight you.”
Sam kicked Robert’s side. “Fight me. You won’t hurt me. You have seen what Lucas can do. Defend yourself.” Sam swung her fist toward Robert’s face, but Robert caught her fist and pushed her away.
“I said I won’t fight you.”
“Good, you do have some skill. Fine, if you won’t fight me, pick up your sword and defend yourself.” Sam kicked the sword toward him. He saw a knife fly through the air, and he dodged as it stuck in the ground beside him. From beside Sam, a guard readied another throwing knife to toss his way. The second knife flew his way as he rolled to his side, picked up the sword and knocked the knife off course, sending it to the ground. Sam walked up to Robert and pulled him to his feet. She leaned close. “Defend yourself,” she said right above a whisper as she moved to one side. Another three knives flew toward him. He swung his sword to the left, knocking one knife down, then swung to the right, knocking the second knife down, but missed the third knife as it skinned his right arm.
“You’ll learn. Not bad for your first try. Again.”
“Wait! What?” Robert questioned as another three knives flew at him. He turned and knocked two knives to the ground simultaneously and swung his sword in front of himself as the third knife hit his sword. The third knife fell as Sam swung a sword at him. He blocked, and the two were engaged in a heated combat. Sam kicked the sword out of Robert’s hand.
“You learn quickly. Come with me. There’s somewhere you need to be.” Sam walked out of the courtyard toward the stables. She emerged on a horse and rode up to Robert. “Do you ride?”
“No, I have never been on a horse in my life.” Sam reached her hand down and pulled him up behind her.
“Ride with me.”
“Where’re we going?”
“To the Revealing Cave of Exposure.” I have too many unanswered questions that need to be exposed. I need to understand this stranger if I’m going to trust him in battle. Kat saw him as a threat, I need to prove he isn’t a spy. Their horse galloped away from the castle.
Sam slowed as they rode along a narrow ridge on the cliff side of a mountain. “This is mount Divulge.” They turned around a narrow corner, and there before them, stood a large cave entrance. Sam dismounted as Robert fell off the horse. She chuckled as she helped Robert to his feet. “You need to go in there. Alone,” Sam declared.
“What will I find in there?” Robert asked.
“It’s different for everyone. But what’s hidden in the darkness will be revealed in the light.”
“What if I don’t go?”
“You must. If you want to be prepared for Lucas, you need to know yourself.”
“I don’t want to know myself.”
“You must. Go.”
“Do I have another option?” Robert struggled to swallow the lump forming in his throat.
“No, this is the only way.”
I will not give in to fear. Robert squared his shoulders and made his way into the cave. The farther he walked, the darker his surroun
dings became. He shivered. Soon, he found himself standing alone in the darkness. A small sound reached his ears. What’s that? Robert thought. Is that crying? What? Is someone hurt? “Hello? Is anyone there?”
“Please, go away. I’m Nobody,” a small voice warned. Robert ran toward the voice. “Stop! I said I’m Nobody. Leave me be.” Robert soon came up to a small boy who sat in the crevice of a rock, appearing to hide.
Robert held out his hand. “Come, let me help you. What’re you hiding from?”
“My uncle. He’ll hurt you, too, if he finds you.”
“We can stand together. Nobody should hurt someone else.” Robert reached for the young boy’s hand. “What’s your name?”
“Nobody. At least that’s what my uncle called me.”
“I’m Bobbie. What does your mom call you?”
“Mom’s gone. It’s only Uncle and I, but she called me Tony.”
“Tony? Ok, I’ll call you Tony.” Robert smiled as he kneeled to look level in the boy’s eyes. The boy grimaced but chose not to pull away.
“Why would you want to help me?”
“I believe everyone has the right to live and be known.”
“That’s nice.”
“Now, do you know what we’re supposed to do here?”
“I hide. I want to fade away; if he can’t see me, he can’t hurt me no more. I won’t be like my uncle.”
Robert scratched his head. This boy sounds like me. I refuse to be like my dad.
“Nobody! Where are you?” A cruel voice floated in the air.
“My uncle. Quick, we need to run.” Tony took Robert’s hand and led him farther into the darkness. Soon, Robert ran by himself, the small boy nowhere to be seen, and a small light formed ahead of him. He knelt down to take in the sight. Soon a middle-aged man appeared pulling Tony by the arm.
“Nobody, you piece of garbage. Why are you so stupid?” Robert watched in horror as the man shoved Tony’s little head under water. Tony’s little feet shook trying to get balance and pull himself free. “Nobody, you need to learn respect.” The man released Tony as the little boy fell backward, coughing and sputtering for breath.
“I’ll never respect you.” The man grabbed Tony by the ear and dragged him to his feet.
Robert snuck up behind the man and punched him.
“Come on, Tony! Run. You’re free.” He led the young boy away from the scene.
“I’ll never be free. Bobbie, you don’t understand. I’m unlovable.”
“I feel that way at times, but life isn’t hopeless.”
“You don’t know anything. There’s no hope for me. I must hide.” Tony looked up with red eyes.
Robert backed away. “What do you mean?” Tony pushed Robert away and ran into the darkness again. Robert sat there alone feeling confused. “I need to help this boy. No person deserves to be treated this way. God doesn’t create garbage.” Robert stood and walked with a newfound confidence toward the direction Tony ran. Soon, he heard yelling ahead.
“You worthless piece of skin. You’ll learn your place.” Robert heard Tony’s uncle again. He looked ahead, and he saw Tony on the floor. His uncle stood above him, kicked him, and shoved him against the wall. “You’re Nobody, and that’s all you’ll ever be.”
“Stop.” Robert shoved Tony’s uncle away and pulled Tony into the darkness again.
“Why do you keep saving me? I told you I’m not worth saving.”
“I don’t believe that. God says, ‘You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit-fruit that will last-and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.’”2
“I told you I’m Nobody. I’m not worth saving. I’m garbage just as my uncle says.”
“No, the Holy Father knew you before you ever took your first breath. He chose to give you life. There’s forgiveness and love for you.”
“You say that, but do you truly believe that?” Tony disappeared into the darkness again. Robert followed him. Light shone before him as he found himself standing in what looked like his old basement. A lump formed in his throat. He turned at the sound of voices coming from upstairs. He slowly climbed the stairs, then stopped when he saw his dad slumped at the table. He appeared to be crying. Robert sat at the top of the stairs and watched in the shadows. “I’m Nobody,” his dad whispered.
Soon a younger version of Sarah walked up behind him and said, “That’s not true. Tony, you’re going to be a father.”
Tony clenched his fists.
“Why would you do that to me, Sarah? All I’ve ever known is worthlessness and hopelessness.”
“This baby could be your second chance. Tony, I love you.”
“I won’t be like my uncle.”
Robert shook in horror. Is it true? Is Nobody, a younger version of my dad? Soon Robert found himself back in his basement crouched in a corner. He saw himself and Trevor talking. “No, I could never forgive him for this.” Robert shuts his eyes as he heard the gun blast. He forced himself to look as he saw Trevor’s lifeless body on the floor. Robert turned and ran away from the scene, trying desperately to escape the painful memory.
“This is all on you, boy,” Robert’s dad’s voice echoed behind him. He stumbled and soon found himself in a prison cell. His dad sat alone on his bed. “I’m Nobody. I don’t deserve my son, I don’t deserve forgiveness, and I don’t deserve love. I broke my promise. I promised I would not be like my uncle. Now, look at me.” Robert fell to his knees to see this broken shadow of his dad.
The scene shifted, and he found himself kneeling in the dark cave alone. I’m Nobody. He heard the small boy’s voice echo around him. He looked up and saw the young boy standing before him, eyes red from crying. “Now that you know the truth, do you agree with my uncle?” the boy asked.
“What do you mean?” Robert asked.
“I’m Nobody. A spawn of bitterness, only created to be tortured and forgotten.”
“I believe everyone has a purpose.”
The boy before him transformed into his dad. “Even me? I spoke the lies I grew up with. It’s in my nature. People are worthless and are only there to be used and abused.”
“No, I don’t believe that.”
“Then, you must be that waste of skin that came from Nobody.”
“No.” Robert forced himself to look at his dad. He clenched his fists and ground his teeth.
His dad lunged at him and shoved him against the rock wall.
“What’re you going to do, boy?”
“You aren’t Nobody.” Everything went black, he fell to the ground, and the silence weighed heavily on him.
“What do I do? I don’t understand,” his dad asked.
“Life’s full of choices. No matter the choice you make, you will lose everything that’s important to you.” He heard an unfamiliar voice.
“You stand at a crossroads. You need to choose,” Nobody’s voice declared, but it was too dark to see the little boy.
“What are my choices? What choice is there? I hate him for what he did to Trevor. I can’t forgive him.”
“You could forgive because Christ has forgiven you,” the voice claimed.3
“How can I forgive such pain?”
“I never forgave the pain my uncle caused,” Tony stated.
“It destroyed me. Nobody is my name, and Nobody is all I’ll ever be.”
“No.”
“Whoever is forgiven little loves little, but whoever’s forgiven much loves much.” the voice declared.4
“I don’t know if I can forgive.”
“Let me help you.” Sam’s voice whispered. “The Saviour’s with you always. Open yourself to hurt and allow Him to teach you forgiveness.”
Soon, Robert stood alone in the dark cave. The cave was illuminated with the glow of fire. Robert walked along the rock wall toward the glow. He was shocked at the sight of a large Red Dragon standing before him in the cave. “The fire will purify, but you need to accept purification.�
� A blast of fire shot from the dragon’s mouth and rippled up the cave walls. Sweat dripped off Robert’s forehead. “Unforgiveness will lead you to anger, deception, destruction, and you’ll become everything you have fought to destroy. Deception will lead you down a path to the father of lies. You can’t serve two masters. Choose!”
The heat of the fire started to suffocate Robert. “I yield. I choose.”
“What? What choice will you make?” Sam asked.
Robert fell to the rock floor, gasping for air. “I choose to forgive.” Robert spat out the words as he fell to the ground.
Sam transformed back into her human form and ran to Robert’s side. The flames went out, and the two sat in the darkness. “Have you ever felt like your entire world was crashing in on you? You stand at a crossroads with many choices before you, but no matter what choice you make, you’ll lose what you thought was most important to you? When all hope is lost and darkness is thriving, you stand at the brink of destruction. When you feel defeated, what choice will you make?” Sam whispered in Robert’s ear.
“What choice is there?” Robert gasped.
“War is upon us. You may have passed this test, but when the time comes, will you know what choice to make? Forgiveness is key. I can see now the Saviour’s with you. You hold His words within your heart just as Nora did.”
“How was this a test? I barely survived.”
“Just think about this: when your entire world is crashing in on you, you face a crossroad with many choices, but no matter what choice you make, you’ll lose what’s most important to you. What choice will you make?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. How can you ask me to choose something that’ll cause me to lose what’s most important to me?”
“You’re a treasured possession. I can see the same thing in you I once saw in Nora. ‘For you are a people holy to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the people who are on the face of the earth.’”5 Sam touched Robert’s cheek and brushed a loose strand of hair from his forehead.
Part 4: Forgiveness
Unbroken Kingdom Page 9