The Prince of Manhattan

by Alexei Iskander

  Miranda laughed, “that’s better than any ideas I’ve got”.

  “Miranda there are more customers” the manager interrupted as he walked past.

  “On it sir” Miranda replied. She set about walking around the dining area, combing over for customers who had yet to order. For a usually quiet girl like Miranda it was a rough experience but she found that she could handle it provided she kept it professional. It was only when the customers tried flirting or being cheeky that she lost her cool.

  The hours went by interminably slow but all things must pass and eventually it came to the end of her shift. It was nearly midnight by the time she was done, she was exhausted and her feet ached from walking around for hours on end. Most of the staff had left, only a skeleton crew was left by closing time. The customers had almost completely dried up, only alcoholics and college students came in at these hours. “Alright time to close up” the manager declared to the staff in the kitchen and behind the counter. He then went to the front of the store and locked the front door while Miranda went to the bathroom with her colleagues. Nobody was in any mood to talk and Miranda silently took a shower and then got changed into her regular clothes. She put the uniform in the laundry bag and then left the bathroom without checking the mirror. She didn’t want to see the state of her makeup after exerting herself for hours on end in the middle of summer. She exited out of the back door where the cooks were sitting around and smoking while staring vacantly ahead. Jade was there as well, she was enjoying a cigarette while she checked her phone. Another day, another labour, now to go home and try to study for maybe ten minutes before I pass out and then rinse and repeat. Well it’s not so bad, this is the last day of work I have for the week. Four days of freedom and then it’s back to the grind. One of the cooks looked up and offered a cigarette but Miranda shook her head slightly. “Thank you but I don’t smoke” she said. I could really go for one though, god knows I need to relax somehow.

  “You going straight home?” Jade asked Miranda all of a sudden.

  “Yeah” Miranda replied. “I have a lot of work to get done”.

  Jade puffed on her cigarette, “if you say so. There’s a new club down the road that’s supposed to be really good. I’m going to go check it out once I’m done with this” she gestured with the cigarette.

  “I would come if I could” Miranda stated, feeling guilty for not accepting the invitation.

  “It’s alright” Jade said. “A poor girl like you who only sleeps four hours a night needs to get her rest. Next week though you have to come with me, we need to get you a man”.

  Miranda blushed a little but she felt grateful to have someone show her concern. She wouldn’t admit it though but she hadn’t turned down the invitation just because of her schedule. Deep down she was no fan of clubs, the loud music, the pressed bodies, the mad scramble of it all was too much for someone of her disposition. Especially when she’d already been socially drained enough by her job. “I’ll see you next week” Miranda said, waving her hand.

  “Next week” Jade replied waving with her free hand.

  Miranda walked down the street and tried to dismiss any lingering feelings of guilt she had about turning down Jade’s offer. If only we weren’t such two different people, she loves clubs and partying all of the time while I’m content to just curl up with a book. I’m so painfully romantic too, I want to meet a man in a coffee shop or on a holiday in London or something silly like that. And here I am single and struggling with a degree I don’t know what to do with once I get it. Miranda turned a corner and picked up her pace, it was almost midnight and the streets were practically empty. She had never had any issues with personal safety in New York, despite all the horror stories her parent’s boomer friends had told her about what New York was like when they were young. The days of New York being one of the worlds most dangerous cities was in the past, gentrification and harsh crime control had ended that era. Despite that she remained a little on edge, her underlying anxiety playing up when she was alone at night. She marched down the street and then decided that she would take the bus instead the subway. There was a bus station only two minutes walk from her whereas the subway was at least five. Even if the difference in distance was only minimal she didn’t want to exert sore feet any more than she already had. How does Jade get the energy to go clubbing at this hour after work? My feet would fall off if I tried that. She made her way from memory to the bus stop, passing by rows of closed stores and streetlights. The streets were fully empty at this point with the exception of a homeless man slumped and wrapped in blankets by the side of the street. He was asleep or drugged up, either way he might as well not have existed and Miranda barely noticed him as she passed by. Her footsteps were the only sound filling the silence, it was eerie and Miranda wondered if she had made a mistake by choosing the bus stop. Ahead of her she could make out the bench and the pole that marked the stop and she felt relief that her feet would soon find relief.

  She reached the bus stop and checked the times on the stand to see when the next bus would come. She saw that it would be at least ten minutes. Oh come on, I want to go home now. I’m tired and my feet hurt and I haven’t slept properly in days and I have work to do and I mean come on. Miranda let out a frustrated sigh and was about to sit down when she noticed a dark figure in the shadows five metres away from the bus stop. Her heart stopped for a moment before she tried to reassure herself that it was just someone waiting for the bus like her. But she knew that wasn’t the case, she could feel it in her gut. She was in a bad situation and her instincts screamed at her to run. The figure moved forward into the light from the streetlamps and Miranda saw a grizzled, cruel face with a scar running down it. There was a smile on that face and Miranda didn’t like it one bit. “Nice night for a stroll” the man said in a voice that send a shiver down her spine. I need to go now. Another figure emerged from the darkness next to the man, this one had dead eyes and a scowl on his face, like a predator evaluating its prey. “Not much of a talker” the grinning man remarked and Miranda’s stomach dropped out from fear. She bolted and ran down the street, screaming while she heard the footsteps of the men pursuing her. She didn’t make it far before she felt one of them grab hold of her left arm.

  She struggled and screamed and the man’s grip slipped and she freed herself from his grasp and continued running. Her heart was beating like crazy, adrenaline was flooding through her body, she had never felt so scared in her life. In her panic Miranda tripped and as she got up she saw the scowling man come at her on the right. She reacted instinctively and raced to the left, dodging a swipe from the thug by only inches. There was a small, dark, narrow street in front of her and Miranda bolted towards it with all of her energy. She could hear the breathing of her pursuers behind her which sent her fear levels into overdrive and made her push her legs to their very limit. “Come here bitch” the grinning man grunted as he tried to grab her from behind. He almost caught the back of her neck and Miranda felt his fingers brush up against her hair. She had tears in her eyes as she reached the street and raced down it, the two goons close behind. She ran wildly through the alleyway until she saw a sight that left her in total despair. It was a dead end. A grated fence blocked any further escape, beyond it the alleyway terminated at a brick wall. Even if she could vault the fence she would still be trapped. Miranda screamed in horror, gripping the fence and letting tears roll down her cheeks. She then turned around and her heart skipped a beat as she saw the two thugs stop and stand in front of her.

  “Did you think you could escape?” the grinning man asked. Only he wasn’t grinning anymore, his face was mean and nasty and his scar stood out in the faint lighting from one of the lamps behind the fence. “I say we gut the bitch when we’re done with her” the other man said in a deep, callous voice.

  “We might as well” the scarred man considered. “If she had just let us take her at the bus stop then we wouldn’t need to do this”.

  “Please” Miranda pleaded as
she sobbed uncontrollably. “Please just let me go, I won’t tell anyone, just please I promise”.

  “What’s that?” the scarred man queried. “You promise not to tell anyone, is that right?”.

  Miranda nodded, she was too petrified to talk, she was struggling to not just curl up into a ball.

  “Well you know what I think about that?” the scarred man stated.

  “That’s she’s a lying bitch” the scowling man growled.

  “What he said” the scared man repeated. “You’re not getting out of this one”.

  Miranda felt fresh terror run through her, doom was closing in and there was no way out. “Please” she uttered in between sobs, “please”.

  “I want first dibs” the scowling man muttered.

  “Go right ahead” the scarred man gestured, “just leave some for the rest of us”.

  The scowling man walked towards Miranda and pulled out a large knife. It was huge and the sight of it made Miranda almost wretch in fear. She couldn’t believe what was happening, it was like a nightmare come to life. She was going to die in this alleyway, all because she chose to take the bus and not the subway. The scowling man came closer and Miranda could see pitiless sadism in those dark eyes. She wanted to run, to try and escape past the two men but she knew it was futile, they would intercept her like it was nothing. She was paralysed and she sent out a prayer to any God that would listen. This was the end, she was going to meet it alone in the most vile way imaginable, with only two evil men to witness it. “What kind of men would feel proud to do such vile deeds?” came a voice at the end of the alleyway. The two goons glanced over their shoulders and Miranda craned her neck to see the source of the voice. “When it comes to men who would do violence against the weak and innocent, only cold steel can deter such brigands” the voice continued firmly. A man stepped forward and Miranda recognised him as the homeless man from earlier, the one she had passed by without a second thought. The blankets that Miranda had seen him wrapped in weren’t blankets after all, they were robes, the homeless man wore them in a dignified and stately fashion and his face betrayed no fear whatsoever, only stern purpose.

  “Beat it freak” the scowling man said growling at the interloper.

  “Go take your meth headed ass somewhere else” the scarred man added. “Unless you want to end up in the dumpster with her”. The thug pointed at Miranda and she felt a stab of terror go through her.

  “That can’t be done I’m afraid” the homeless man delivered forcefully.

  “That’s it” the scowling man grumbled. “I’m gutting this clown”.

  Miranda watched with suspended horror as the scowling man approached the homeless man, knife in hand. The scarred man stood back, swivelling his head around constantly to keep an eye on Miranda and the homeless man.

  “Make it clean” the scarred man demanded. “We have to get rid of the bodies after and we can’t have too much blood and guts lying around”.

  “Just watch me” the scowling man snarled. “Get ready to die tweaker”.

  The thug came close and lunged forward with his knife at the homeless man. Miranda expected to see the delusional, eccentric homeless man gutted, his intestines spilling out onto the pavement. That didn’t happen though. Instead the homeless man stepped back nimbly and whipped something out from near his waist under his robes. The scowling man was too slow to react and he cried out in pain, stepping backwards and dropping his knife. Blood stained the ground in front of the scowling man and on the wall next to him. The homeless man’s expression hadn’t changed, it was just as serious and composed as before, in his hand Miranda could now see he was holding a sword. An honest to god sword. It made her wonder if she was having a psychotic episode.

  “Freak!” the scowling man cried out as he clutched his stomach wound. “Tweaking son of a bitch” the scarred man spat out as he pulled a metallic baseball bat out from under his coat. Miranda didn’t know how to react to the events occurring in front of her, part of her was elated for the intervention, the other half couldn’t make sense of what was going on. “I’m am giving you both one chance to leave this place” the homeless man declared in his slightly unusual accent. “I don’t want to shed more blood here tonight”.

  “Kill him!” the scowling man shouted at in rage as he doubled over from his wound.

  “Take this” the scarred man grunted as he rushed the homeless man, his baseball bat raised high. It was a good swing and it would have broken the homeless man’s head if he hadn’t ducked to avoid it. The scarred man was thrown off balance and the homeless man made a masterful plunge with his sword, stabbing into the thug’s neck. The thug choked and blood came out his mouth and then the homeless man pushed him back, freeing up his sword and sending the ruffian to the ground with a thud. The thug was dead. The scowling man looked with horror at the sight of his dead partner and then scurried like a madman for the open street. The homeless man let him go and the scowling man ran off out of sight, leaving a trail of blood behind him.

  Miranda stared at the ragged figure in front of her. The existential terror had left her but she was still plenty frightened and she had no idea what to do next. This man had just saved her life but the whole unfolding had been so bizarre that she didn’t know what to make of it. She alternately wanted to thank him and run from him. She mostly wanted to run, to leave this whole cursed alleyway and go back to the comfort of her tiny flat. “I apologise for the bloodshed” the man stated matter of fact. “They left me no choice”.

  Miranda simply stared at him dumbfounded and in shock. “Who are you?” she managed to squeak out.

  The homeless man sheathed his sword, “I am Leofric son of Cedric and the rightful heir to the throne of Northumbria”. So he is a tweaker after all. “Why did you do that?” Miranda asked, hesitant to know the answer. “Why did you save me?”.

  “Because that’s what any man would do” the man answered back casually. “Now that I have done this deed however I must depart. I do not have any gold in my possession, so if I am pressed for weregild I will be found lacking, therefore I must take my leave”.

  “Weregild?” Miranda repeated. “Wait, who are you? Why are dressed like that? What’s going on?”. She felt frustrated by how bizarre things were getting.

  The man stepped forward and Miranda felt a pang of fear go through her. But then he stopped after just a few paces and she saw his face in the light more clearly. She was taken aback by what she saw. He was handsome, with shoulder length dirty blonde hair, pale blue eyes and a short beard. He was young too, Miranda guessed that he was likely only a few years older than her, maybe twenty seven at the oldest. I didn’t expect that. And he was tall, at least a head taller than Miranda which put him at around just above six foot. I’ve been rescued by a Abercrombie and Fitch model, I’m definitely having a psychotic break. “I am a man looking for a way home” he said with a wistful look. “Unless you can help me get there then I’m afraid I must leave”.

  “Where is your home?” Miranda asked.

  “I don’t know” Leofric replied, “it might as well belong to another lifetime”.

  Miranda edged for the alleyway exit. That thug is probably going to come back with friends, that or the police. “You didn’t tell me your name” Leofric mentioned to her.

  Miranda looked at him with open eyes, “my name?”.

  “I killed a man tonight” Leofric stated. “I don’t regret it but I would like to know the name of the maiden I did it on behalf of”.

  Miranda paused for a moment before responding, “Miranda” she said. “My name is Miranda”.

  “Miranda” Leofric repeated in his vaguely archaic way of speaking. “That’s a beautiful name”.

  “I need to go now” Miranda said, “you do too. The police will be looking for you when they find this body”.

  “The what?” Leofric asked bemused. Is this guy being serious? He’s way too collected and coherent to be a tweaker or a drug addict of any kind. He doesn’t seem in
sane either despite his strange phrasing and replies. I’ve met a lot of strange people during my time in New York but this guy takes the cake. A very strange and very peculiar sensation rushed through Miranda as she looked into his eyes. There’s something about this man that I can’t put my finger on but it isn’t evil. “Come back to my place” Miranda urged. “I can give you a place to stay until the heat wears down and you can go back to looking for your home”.

  Leofric’s eyes widened in shock, “are you sure? I wouldn’t dream of being an imposition upon you”.

  “No” Miranda declared more confidently then she felt. What are you doing girl? Inviting a strange man into your apartment? A man you just saw kill another man? A man who sounds like he’s done too many Shakespeare productions in high school? “It won’t be an imposition” she finished.

  “Your father won’t mind?” Leofric asked.

  “My father?” Miranda questioned. “I don’t live with my father”.

  “Oh” Leofric, “I’m sorry, I didn’t know”. What the hell is he playing at?

  “Come on” Miranda said. “We have to get going”. She walked off down the street and she heard Leofric follow her. He caught up beside her and they made their way to the subway station and caught the line to Greenwich Village. The whole time Miranda couldn’t believe what she was doing, it was so totally outside of her personality and common sense. It’s just one night, one night and then he’s gone. Oh Miranda what are you doing?

  3.

  There was light and there was space but time was just an abstraction. Leofric swam in the primordial morass for an eternity, his thoughts reduced to simple action and reaction. There was a consciousness there somewhere but it was long gone, a distant fragment of a once powerful ego. Now there was only pure intellect. Then came the vibrations and a cosmic wave permeated his essence and matter began to form. With substance came thoughts and with thoughts came the return of the self. The world became more vivid until solid mass could be made out. Then with a horrible lurching time returned and Leofric sat upright and coughed frantically. His conscious self fully returned in a split second and his senses adjusted accordingly. Sight, hearing, touch and smell hit him like a rock. He looked around and saw towering brick walls by his sides, they must have reached dozens of paces up into the sky. He looked back down and saw that in front the walls stretched out until they terminated at a road, on the other side of the road where more huge structures, unlike anything Leofric had ever seen. Where am I? One moment I was in the dungeon and then… Then there was the portal, the portal… Oh no that was real, it was all real. I jumped through that black magic and it felt like my soul was being torn to pieces and then darkness. But look here I am, I can think, I can feel, I can touch, I can see. What did my uncle say? That he was going to send me somewhere? He really was telling the truth, just where in Cuthbert’s name did he send me?