The beggar left surprisingly unscathed. Leidy shook her head in disbelief as she turned toward her friends. Her eyes immediately lit up in joy as she saw them, chuckling amongst themselves.
“Next time I’ll charge for tha show,” she laughed. “How are ma boys?”
“Well entertained, Lei-Lei,” Jennings laughed. “Never a dull moment with you.”
“Sometimes I pray there were, but it’s not ma lot in life. Now…what r yeh three up to today?”
“Hungry,” Korey sighed.
“Oh, I see,” she frowned. “I kick out one beggar ta get three in his stead. Yehr like locusts…all o yeh, but I shoulda known from yehr tired faces. Well then, come along. I’ll close up shop and join yeh. I’ll get us a feast from tha produce that’s about to expire in tha back.”
“Only the best,” Jennings laughed, rolling his eyes. The fact they were getting any free food from her at all was a miracle.
Leidy headed over to the money till behind the counter and began counting the change from the day. One guy from the back of the store ran through the aisles as if a stampede were behind him and he threw a bag of apples onto the counter like he was reaching out for a touchdown. He refused to look up at her as he began fishing through his pockets for some change. Leidy ignored him, even when he threw the coins onto the counter.
“Hey! Lady! I need you to tell me how much these cost!”
Leidy scowled at him and gave him her signature evil eye.
“Since I don’t know yeh, I must assume yehr sayin lady in a derogatory manner, and not because yehr saying ma name.”
He stared at her in puzzlement.
“What?!”
“Put ta apples back where yeh found em. Shop’s closed.”
“It’s three-fifty,” he said, looking down at his watch. “Shop doesn’t close till four.”
“Well ma till closes at three-fifty, but window shoppers r welcome.”
“Are you serious?”
“Serious as childbirth.”
The man grunted an expletive under his breath and threw the apples to where the grapefruit lay. He stormed out as Leidy chuckled to herself.
“Little old me gettin a grown man all ruffled like that. Makes ma day every time!”
“So are we eating now?” Korey whimpered. Jennings smacked him upside his head.
“Of course we are…MA!” Leidy screamed toward the back. “I’m leaving now! Close up!”
“Think she heard you?” James winced, cupping his ears.
“She’ll close up,” Leidy muttered. “This shop is all we got after all.”
Leidy picked up a wooden basket from behind the counter, overflowing with juiciness.
“To tha meadow in tha north, gentlemen,” she ordered militaristically and the rest followed like a pack of hungry dogs.
The meadow wasn’t very big, but it was arguably the most beautiful spot in the village, not only because it was the sole place you could find untouched flowers and unpaved grass, but primarily because it led to a steep hill which gave the Kingdom of Allay its most impressive view of all: the castle.
Sure, one could look all around them and admire the geography of the Kingdom itself. Its oval shape, fortified by giant cement walls with only a few miniature exits located respectively to the east, west, and south. The Academy was located by the south exit, barely visible by an ever-advancing army of gigantic vines and exotic foliage. And the village was found in the middle—a labyrinth of huts and shops that could easily have been the world’s largest shopping district (though no outsiders visited).
But the castle was far and above their shining beacon. A declaration to all that they were not just a people scrambling for importance. They were a Kingdom, and therefore they deserved respect for achieving such a status. Over time, however, the people had lost their way and now they didn’t act like nobility at all. Hardly anyone talked about the castle, yet whenever traveled outside the confines of the village, they opted for the beautiful hill before it rather than any other location. It was a great mystery to James.
If it were up to him, he would have moved his house even closer to enjoy the sight, but it was as if the village shrunk farther and farther from it, crowding together and condensing every year, moving away from the north and southern exits as far as it could, as if an invisible danger was constantly lurking, waiting to devour them all.
Even as you moved from the core to the outskirts, less and less tenants inhabited the residential complexes, resulting in the outer lining of the village being completely composed of condemned homes and beggars of the lowest means. Beggars that strangely stayed away from the eerily quiet castle.
Supposedly a king and queen once lived there, and now a steward reigned in their place, comfortably dictating everyone’s lives, but James never saw any evidence of this. Whenever he asked a villager about the castle or its royalty, their answers were as vague as a weather report. Yet, it was still an unspoken understanding that whoever lived up there was still in charge. James had no opinion in the matter, and as a result he cast the royal family in the same category as the Maker—nowhere to be found. Not that that stopped him from following the decrees and ordinances that were passed upon him.
“What do yeh suppose they’re doin now?” Leidy sighed as she began distributing lunch.
“Who?” Korey asked with little interest.
“The king and queen.”
It was a conversation that was often brought up between them but never concluded to anyone’s satisfaction. Still, they each gave their own conjectures as they ate greedily.
“They probably take a percentage of the people’s hard-earned money,” Korey said through bouts of chewing. “Even if they might be lands away.”
“If they do,” Leidy interjected, “I haven’t seen any taxman. We must not be that important.”
Jennings yawned as he reached for another apple.
“Well, no one’s actually seen the king and queen for years.”
“So someone’s seen them?” James asked, intrigued.
“Oh, I’m just speculating. The way everyone’s so silent, I suspect as much.”
“There may be no one up there at all,” Leidy said. “And we’re all alone, governing ourselves.”
Leidy—always the realist.
“That’s scary,” James said.
“It would explain why no one’s kicked James’ dad off the farm,” Korey guffawed.
“Just imagine if that castle was empty,” Leidy continued. “Yeh know, we should check it out someday soon. If it’s empty, I’d like ta see if there’s anything valuable inside.”
“What if someone really is up there? We could be hanged,” Korey said. “No, I’m with James. It’s too scary. I’m sure there’s a reason no one’s talking and it might be best to keep it that way.”
“I’m not one to stay ignorant forever,” Jennings replied.
“Curiosity killed the cat.”
“Yea, but satisfaction brought him back,” Leidy interjected.
“Where did you hear that ridiculous line?”
“I think I heard it in a dream.”
“And this is where we get our proverbs and words of wisdom,” Jennings laughed. “Perfect.”
“Sure ain’t from our parents,” James muttered.
“So it’s decided,” Leidy said in excitement. “We’ll check out the castle in a couple o’ days.”
“Who decided?” Jennings retorted. “You? Leidy, you’re forever deciding things for us to do.”
“If yeh don’t do as I say, who will get yeh free food?”
Dead silence.
“Well played,” Jennings nodded. They all burst out laughing and James patted Leidy on the back. She was taken by surprise as she immediately jerked forward, almost dropping her banana in the fine manicured grass below. She came up quickly after retrieving it, but her curtain of red hair slapped James in the face on the return. He spat in a panic as some flew into his mouth and he threw up his hands to fight off th
e onslaught. It only got him more entangled.
“I think that’s the closest thing to a kiss James is ever gonna get,” Jennings laughed. James glared at him and Leidy giggled as she picked strands of hair from his face.
“Geez, Leidy,” James whined. “It’s like a spider web. When was the last time you washed that thing?”
“Not trying ta impress no guy, so I figure why bother?”
“Doesn’t it smell?” Jennings asked.
“Yes,” James said quickly.
“Smells natural,” Leidy said as she took a handful of her hair and took a whiff. “Smells good ta me.”
“Wow,” Korey said with eyes wide open. “That is gross.”
“All these pixies running around trying ta get a bum to clean up after. I’m in no rush. Trying ta make something o’ myself first. All love brings you is heartache and headaches.”
“Says the girl who’s never been in love,” Jennings snickered. “You just wait. You’ll meet Mr. Right and then all of a sudden you’ll be in the hair salon getting bathed in…strawberry autumn blossom or whatever they call those fragrances.”
“I know ma priorities.”
“Sure you do.”
“Anyways,” Leidy said, putting an arm around James’ neck. “Now that James had his first hair kiss, we’re practically engaged. Surely he has ta come wit me on a castle expedition now. Our first date.”
“Wish I could,” James muttered, thinking of tomorrow. This was it. Now or never.
“What,” Korey replied. “You going on vacation for a few days?”
“I love how Korey’s acting like he’s going to the castle all of a sudden,” Jennings replied.
“You look glum, James,” Leidy ignored Korey and leaned into James’ face. “Not gettin enough sleep?”
Korey giggled and Jennings punched him in the arm.
“Let the man talk.”
“I’ll be leaving tomorrow,” James sighed, feeling a little embarrassed. “For the Academy.”
He let the information sink in as his friends looked at one another in horror.
“The Academy,” Jennings said in all seriousness, leaning towards him. “The Sentinel Academy?”
“Yeah. One and the same.”
“What’d you fill out an application while you were sleep walking?”
“My father,” he said. That was all that needed to be said. Jennings shook his head in disbelief.
“Oh,” Korey said quietly, looking out towards the castle.
“Oh!” Leidy cried as she wrapped her arms around James’ neck. She began to sob into his cheek and he immediately thrust her off violently.
“Geez, Leidy. I’m not dead yet.”
“But…no one comes back. No one, James.”
“I know,” he said firmly. If she didn’t shut up soon, he was going to start crying himself.
“I know he wants to motivate you,” Jennings said through a clenched jaw, “even make a man out of you. All that garbage. But this is ridiculous. He knows the statistics, the life expectancy. Does he want to get you killed?”
“You’re making me think he does.”
“There’s still some hope, isn’t there?” Korey asked.
“When yeh go to tha Academy,” Leidy sobbed. “It’s like a death sentence. Yeh know we’re a small Kingdom, and no one in r village knows basic combat. We’ve been in a bubble. The Academy trains lost souls, citizens of Allay that have nothin left ta lose. They train them ta die. Ta become sacrifices for whatever Kingdoms r out there so they’ll leave us alone.”
“Tell me something I don’t know!” James shouted at her.
“You don’t really think there are other Kingdoms out there, do you?” Korey inquired.
“We’ve all seen tha strange markin’s and scars o battle along tha Kingdom walls,” Leidy said assuredly. “Somethin went down around here. Coulda been a hundred years ago but there’s evidence of others out there.”
“So you don’t actually know?” Jennings asked.
“No.”
“Then why are you scaring him with stories of sacrificial offerings and death? All we know is that anyone who goes to the Academy never comes back, and is usually reported dead within a few months. We don’t actually know if they die. They may become ambassadors of Allay, negotiating for our safety instead of dying for it.”
“Regardless,” Leidy sobbed. “It’s a sacrifice.”
“Can his father just sign him up like that?’ Korey asked.
“Yeah,” Jennings said. “Unless he’s proven that he has a stable occupation that benefits the community, he can be drafted, so to speak.”
“Guess you should’ve gotten a job, James,” Korey said.
“It doesn’t matter,” Jennings smirked. “We all know James. First chance he gets, he’ll make his escape. He might be leaving us, but he’s not going to the Academy.”
James hated Jennings sometimes.
“Why would you say that?” James snapped at him. “You’re making me sound like a coward.”
Jennings got up and stared directly into his face, their noses nearly touching. Jennings knew to call his bluff.
“Because you are,” he whispered. James clenched his jaw, imagining scenarios in which he might be able to win against the athlete, but nothing came to mind. So he did what he was best at, regardless of what his friends thought of him.
He was going to leave.
“You never gave me a chance to say what I thought of the whole thing,” James said as he began backing away.
“Don’t have to,” Jennings said, his eyebrows lifting at seeing his friend starting to back off towards the village. “Your face says it all. The only reason you’d consider otherwise is because I’m making you think of it right now.”
James kept walking backwards.
“Well, it’s been fun,” he called. “But I gotta go. Have to become a soldier tomorrow.”
“Are you seriously going to the Academy? Don’t go just because I called you a wuss.”
“Guess you’ll find out.”
“We’ll be seein yeh, James,” Leidy cried, running forward and giving him a kiss on the cheek. She began crying loudly again so he turned away from her, in case he started getting emotional too. Korey gave him a lazy goodbye with a wave of the hand and a sunken expression on his face, and Jennings contributed with a head nod, his competitive spirit finally subsiding.
“See you, Jennings,” James said, turning to head back home. He was pissed. What right did Jennings have calling him out like that? Was he saying that if he was in the same situation, he would just go through with it like a mindless idiot? As much as James’ pride was wounded though, he couldn’t deny that Jennings was right.
He would have to make his escape.
But he didn’t think running made him a coward. He just saw nothing positive about going through the Academy’s program. Even if he tried his best and ascended through the ranks, it would only bring him a quicker death as his graduation would send him straight to the battlefield. The only ones who never had to worry about anything were the King and Queen. All they had to do was survive their own birth. What else did they ever have to work for?
James made it home quickly, ready to go to bed early and face the next day as it arrived. But unfortunately, his father was already waiting, in the same position he had left him in—cooking on the stove. Probably ready to “share his wisdom” with his son.
Sure, James had his own beliefs and opinions, but he decided there was no point in relaying them to others. They’d either laugh and think that he was joking, or that he was really dumb. And it did sound ridiculous when it was said out loud.
Laziness as a way of life?
It made no sense to the logical mind. But James figured that it was better to stay still and wait for conflict to come to him than to go looking for it. People were too quick to act on impulse, to get themselves into messes they could’ve easily avoided.If only I had had the foresight to avoid this one, he thought.
“Hey, dad,” he said flatly, taking a seat next to him as his father began eating a couple of fried eggs.
“Long day?” his father asked through bites.
“You know it…Jennings and the gang—we all had lunch in the meadow.”
“That’s good. Last moments together, huh?”
“More like last memories.”
“You’ll see them again someday.”
“Says who?” he raised his voice, wavering on the brink of disrespect.
“There’s no reason you can’t. When vacation break comes next summer, you can visit.”
“Nobody comes back over summer vacation, Dad. No one’s lived that long.”
“Just because no one comes back home doesn’t mean they all die. Maybe they go to the Academy and find something worth staying for. A sense of purpose.”
“Yeah, right,” James snapped. His dad gave him a glare.
“You believe what people say too much,” he said casually, keeping his gaze steady. “And you’re too lazy to see if it’s true. You fail to understand that anything worth knowing requires hard work. Not half stepping. I’m talking blood-coming-from-your-hands, sweat-blurring-your-vision kind of work.”
“Dad, Leidy cried today because I told them I’m leaving. She never cries. Never.”
“Crying when someone’s leaving is only natural.”
“Dad, but my friends—”
“—are overrated.”
“What?” James yelled back at him. He got up from the table and looked at his father angrily. His father barely moved.
“Friends come and go. When you go to the next grade in school. When you move. When you have a change in interests. There’s nothing wrong with friends. But you place too much value in them. When you leave, their lives will go on and slowly but surely, you will take up less and less of their thoughts. Someday you’ll understand, James. You have to be a man of principle, and live for yourself first. Get your act together. Then you can enjoy the pleasures of this life.”
“Just because you lost all your friends, that doesn’t mean I will.”
“I know…but like I said. Lives go on. Even if you’re still committed to them, they may grow well accustomed to life without you.”
The Works of Julius St. Clair - 2017 Edition (Includes 3 full novels and more) Page 3