The Tales of Neroman: The Silver Savior

by Tom Burton

  “You didn’t have a good talk?”

  Jaylen turns around to talk to her, next to the doors. She is leaning against the wall with her arms crossed.

  Jaylen rolls his eyes then continues down the corridor. Kamara follows closely behind him.

  “What did he say?” Kamara asks.

  Jaylen is only irritated to talk about his conversation with the king.

  “He has ignored these warnings; instead he has focused his efforts on planning for the Dance of Crowns tonight…you are welcome to attend!” Jaylen says bitterly.

  Kamara comes alongside him. “What is the Dance of Crowns?” she asks.

  “A royal ball, designed to celebrate the royal family’s efforts to foster peace and serenity in the kingdom of Neroman.” It is almost as if he is reading off a piece of parchment.

  “And what of our preparations?” Kamara asks.

  Jaylen considers her question for a moment.

  “The king has no intention of encouraging our preparations.”

  The next moment, Sam comes around the corner. His appearance briefly stuns the two of them.

  “Ah, Jaylen,” he says, “good to see you return alive,”

  Jaylen’s attitude continues to sour. “Pity the same couldn’t be said about the countless thousands,” he replies.

  Sam takes a step back, upset by Jaylen’s comment. He turns to Kamara. His discomfort quickly vanishes; he simply gazes at Kamara for a few seconds.

  “You okay?” Kamara asks awkwardly.

  Sam nods. Jaylen sees Sam gazing at her for an uncomfortably long time, and he turns to Kamara.

  “Find Laura for me, tell her she is off duty tonight. We will talk later.”

  Kamara looks at Jaylen and nods. Then she walks past Sam, toward the corridor’s exit. Sam’s eyes stay fixed on Kamara. Jaylen steps up to Sam, his chest almost pressed against Sam’s back.

  “She is not interested,” Jaylen says firmly.

  Sam takes a step back.

  “Read minds now?” Sam asks.

  Jaylen is unimpressed. “Your mind is all you have to offer her, and nothing else.”

  Sam smiles reluctantly then walks toward the corridor’s exit.

  In the armory of the military barracks, the men and women continue to create and maintain the weaponry for Dellmoor. However, the production levels have grown exponentially.

  Laura walks into the armory grudgingly. She places her weapons on a pile of used weapons. She then approaches a blacksmith, who quickly stops what he was doing to attend to Laura. Laura takes off her armor and places it on the side for the blacksmith.

  “These need to be repaired,” she instructs quietly.

  The blacksmith nods. He quickly grabs the armor. Now baring her clothes underneath, Laura turns and begins to walk out of the armory. Just then, however, Kamara walks in. Kamara gestures her to wait and walks toward her.

  “How are you feeling?” Laura asks, looking at the wound on Kamara’s stomach.

  “It’s been cleansed and tended to; it won’t bother me too much now,” Kamara replies. She breathes a sigh of relief..

  “How may I help?” Laura asks.

  “Jaylen sent me. He has instructed that you are off duty tonight; instead, you are invited to the royal ball.”

  Laura rolls her eyes at the invitation.

  “We are at war….I have a job to do,” Laura argues.

  “Your job is to do what our lord commander tells us,” Kamara snaps.

  Kamara’s sternness shocks Laura. She walks past her to leave the barracks. Kamara watches Laura silently as she walks out.

  On the other side of the capital, Aaron and Daniel stroll along the streets, seeing the men and women completely oblivious to the inevitable attack that awaits them. Still, Aaron and Daniel smile at those who walk past.

  “Feels good to be out of the castle,” Aaron tells Daniel.

  “We’ll be back in there for tonight,” Daniel replies, referring to the royal ball.

  “The king might expect us to dance…” Daniel suggests.

  “Together?” Aaron jokes.

  “I meant with other people,” Daniel clarifies.

  “Nervous…?” Aaron asks.

  “I’ve never done it before,” Daniel replies.

  The two turn the corner of the street. They suddenly see Laura, sitting on a bench, facing away from them. Aaron and Daniel stop in their path and look at her for a second. She seems to be watching the civilians walk past her.

  “I will leave you two to it,” Aaron suggests. Daniel only nods. Aaron then walks away, leaving Daniel to approach Laura.

  Daniel slowly approaches her. Laura’s attention remains on those who walk past her. This slightly worries Daniel as he sits next to her on the bench.

  “Troubled?”

  Laura quickly looks over to see it is Daniel who has sat down beside her. She is relieved to see him.

  “Jaylen told me about the king,” Laura replies.

  Her answer only confuses Daniel. “What about him?”

  “There was a conversation between the two. King Edmund has elected to ignore the orc army breathing down our necks, and instead focus on a pointless tradition.”

  Daniel looks down at the road. He begins to have a change of heart.

  “Well maybe he is right to do so…,” he suggests.

  Laura turns to Daniel with a stunned expression on her face.

  “The king thinks we simply need a night to relax; everyone who knows of what’s coming is so tightly wound up that we will snap before it all starts,” Daniel argues.

  Laura shakes her head and looks away. Daniel draws a heavy breath.

  “Since we are both invited tonight,” Daniel asks nervously, “I was wondering if you would like to go with me…?”

  Laura’s previous anger quickly fades away. She smiles at Daniel softly.

  “I would like that.”

  Daniel sighs in relief. Laura laughs. Daniel then stands, still facing Laura.

  “I suppose I will see you tonight,” he says.

  “Indeed you will,” Laura replies.

  Daniel then turns and walks back to the royal castle. Laura smiles as she watches him walk away.

  Back in the royal castle, Kind Edmund walks restlessly toward Jaylen’s chamber. The doors to Jaylen’s room are open for him. As he walks in, he sees Jaylen giving instructions to several guards.

  “We need to make sure the throne room is protected at every door, so we will have two guards on the main entrance and one guard at the side entrance all night.”

  The guards listen attentively. The king simply stands and watches, allowing Jaylen to finish.

  “Who looked after the king when I was away?” Jaylen asks.

  One of the guards raises his hand.

  “You will look after the queen tonight,” Jaylen orders, “I will see to the king.”

  Eventually, the guards see the king. Jaylen sees that they are distracted and then turns to see the king watching on.

  “Apologies, your grace,” Jaylen says.

  “No need. This conversation must be had.”

  King Edmund then looks toward the other guards.

  “I would like to speak to the lord commander alone,” he tells the guards.

  After the last guard has left the room and closed the doors behind him, Jaylen asks:

  “How may I help, your grace?”

  King Edmund looks to Jaylen.

  “What happened with your encounter with the lords?”

  “It is of no importance now. We need to focus on the task of keeping Dellmoor safe.”

  The king notices Jaylen’s attempt to evade his question.

  “What did they say?” he asks again.

  Jaylen sighs before answering.

>   “The lords unanimously voted against sending any troops across the Crown Lands to fight against the orc army. This is because they didn’t believe our story, and even if they did…they wouldn’t trust you to see it through.”

  King Edmund closes his eyes briefly then looks back to Jaylen.

  “They have not arrived in Dellmoor for the Dance of Crowns tonight,” The king informs Jaylen.

  “Most of the lords headed north before the attack on Rylom; there is no way they would have made it out. Dellmoor is the only safe place in the kingdom now.”

  King Edmund sighs warily then begins to walk around the room.

  “When half the country hates the other, no matter what attempts are made to unify them, finding common ground becomes very difficult, even in the darkest of times.”

  Jaylen shakes his head in response.

  “Your grace, there is no need for explanation; no one could have stopped this.”

  “We will, I assure you,” King Edmund tells Jaylen. “The human race will fight through this, just as we have fought through every other form of evil we have encountered in our history.”

  Jaylen nods, persuaded by the king’s assertion.

  The next moment, they hear footsteps slamming against the stone floor outside of Jaylen’s chambers. The footsteps were getting louder.

  Jaylen grabs the hilt of his sheathed sword. He marches toward the doors. He slowly opens them and peaks out.

  Daniel runs quickly past him.

  “Daniel?” Jaylen asks.

  “Can’t stop, already late!” Daniel shouts back, continuing to run down the corridor.

  As he turns a corner just past Jaylen’s chamber, Daniel almost crashes into the wall. He continues to sprint down the corridor. Eventually, he makes it back to his chamber. Here he finds Aaron wearing a smart outfit for the ball. Standing before the windows, Aaron readjusts his clothes, checking out his reflection in the glass of the window to make sure his appearance is perfect. Daniel barges in.

  “Something’s happened.”

  Aaron, worried, turns to face him.

  “What?”

  “No, no,” Daniel reassures him. “Something good.” He begins to shout excitedly: “I just asked Laura if she will go with me to the ball tonight…and she said yes!”

  Aaron smiles at him.

  “Congratulations!”

  He turns back to the windows, continuing to use them as a mirror to adjust his outfit.

  “So what is your plan?” Aaron asks.

  “Plan…?” Daniel says.

  Aaron begins to chuckle.

  “Well,” he tells his friend, “if you want to have some sort of relationship with the second-in-command of the Dellmoor army, then you need to impress.”

  “Well—what do I need? I need to know how to dance…I need to get along with Jaylen and the king…I need to be funny, smart, charming…I can’t do charming!” Daniel protests.

  Aaron again laughs at Daniel. He turns and approaches him.

  “Think of it like this. She said yes for a reason. Which means everything you are doing up to this point is working, so just keep doing what you are you doing.”

  Aaron’s advice calms Daniel. Somewhat. However, Daniel takes a step back then looks at Aaron from top to bottom.

  “Where did you get that?” he asks, pointing at Aaron’s outfit.

  “They were delivered to us when I got back.” Aaron points to Daniel’s bed. “Yours is there.”

  Daniel turns, finding a similar outfit lying on his bed.

  He steps toward the bed and begins to pick up the outfit. “Tonight’s going to be a good night,” he says.

  As night approaches the capital, Aaron and Daniel remain in their chamber. They are now both fully dressed in their new attire, and they both face the window to make sure the clothes fit properly. Aaron then spots Daniel’s hand slightly trembling.

  “Nervous?”

  Daniel nods.

  “How are you feeling?”

  “The dance shouldn’t go ahead,” Aaron says. “But now that it is, we may as well enjoy ourselves.”

  The two men smile at each other then set their arms on each other’s shoulders.

  There is a knock on the door.

  “Could it be her…?” Daniel asks.

  Aaron goes to open the door. He finds Sam on the other side. He had also changed for the night.

  Daniel breathes a sigh of relief. Sam looks at him, confused.

  “Something I’ve missed…?”

  Aaron lets Sam in.

  “Daniel is going to the royal ball with Laura Hutton,” Aaron explains.

  Surprised, Sam looks over to Daniel.

  “Have you got a plan for tonight then?” Sam asks.

  Aaron laughs. Daniel throws his arms up in the air.

  “I knew it…this is going to go all wrong!”

  “You’ll be fine,” Aaron reassures him. “Stop panicking and be yourself.” He turns to Sam. “Is the throne room ready?”

  “Been ready for some time now. People are starting to go in; I think we are almost ready to start.”

  Daniel walks nervously toward the door. Sam follows. Aaron then closes the door behind them. The three walk down the corridor, to the throne room.

  As they approach the hall before the throne room, they see many people already walking in. The men all wear similar attire—silk shirts, tight ties, linen trousers—while the women wear stylish ball gowns, gold jewelry draped around their necks or around their wrists. Sam shuffles his suit to make sure it is worn correctly. As they walk in, they spot Jaylen standing at the entrance to the throne room. The three men approach him.

  “Good evening,” Aaron says.

  Jaylen simply nods.

  “Have you not been invited to the ball?” Sam sarcastically asks.

  Jaylen scowls at him.

  “There shouldn’t be one!” he replies

  After an awkward silence, Sam begins to walk into the throne room.

  “Don’t be irritated, Jaylen,” he says as he passes the lord commander. “Have a drink, and enjoy your night.”

  Aaron simply smiles at Jaylen as he and Daniel follow Sam into the throne room.

  As the three men enter the throne room, they see that the entire appearance of the room has changed. New chandeliers hang from the ceiling, the hearths are all lit with fires, and paintings have been hung on all four walls of the room. Tables have also been placed in the throne room: the tables are placed in parallel rows. A large area has been cleared just in front of the throne, where a single table with two seats has been set.

  Aaron, Sam, and Daniel look at each other.

  “Is that what I think it is?” Sam asks.

  Daniel looks at the space.

  “I forgot I can’t dance,” he says.

  “You think you’ve got problems? I might end up dancing on my own up there!” Sam jokes.

  Daniel and Aaron smile in response.

  Aaron spots a few chairs available at the end of a table near the entrance.

  “Come on, Sam. A few seats for us.”

  The two walk to the seats at that table.

  Daniel, still standing near the main entrance, searches for Laura. Unable to find her, he finds his way to the other side of the room, near the throne, where he sees that the small side entrance is open. Laura steps out apprehensively.

  Daniel is stunned by Laura’s change in appearance. Her hair is down, and she is wearing a blue dress.

  From across the room, Aaron and Sam also see Laura. They stand up and look to each other.

  “Wow,” Aaron mutters.

  As the two slowly sit back down, a royal steward comes over and presents them with two pints of ales.

  Across the room, Daniel begins to walk toward Laura. Laura
looks over the crowd. She soon sees Daniel. She smiles and starts toward him. As the two meet by the tables, Daniel still wears a surprised look on his face.

  “You look beautiful.”

  Laura blushes. Then she grabs the folds of her dress.

  “I’m never one for dresses and painted smiles. This isn’t exactly my scene…but you look very handsome yourself.”

  Daniel only smiles at Laura’s compliment. The two then find seats available at the end of the table near the throne. They sit on opposite sides, facing each other. A steward then comes over and presents each of them with a pint of ale. The two laugh then immediately start drinking.

  Across the room, Aaron occasionally looks at Daniel and Laura. He smiles as he watches the two talking and drinking together. Then, he turns to Sam.

  “Looks like it’s just me and you tonight,” Aaron tells him. Sam then turns to Aaron but can only look through him. Aaron notes this.

  “Not much of a drinker?” Aaron asks, laughing.

  “What are you…implying?” Sam mutters. He finds he has to think hard about how to formulate his sentence.

  Aaron continues laughing.

  “How about a drinking game?” Sam suggests.

  “What do you have in mind?”

  Sam looks around the room. He sees Jaylen walk into the throne room as he continues to watch the guests. Sam then smiles and turns to Aaron keenly.

  “I say, every time Jaylen scowls at us, we take a drink.”

  Aaron smiles.

  “All right,” he replies, “you’re on!”

  The two then shake hands. They then both look at Jaylen, waiting for him to notice them while trying to hold back their laughter as they watch.

  Jaylen slowly turns to review everyone in the room. He spots Aaron and Sam, and begins to scowl at them.

  “Drink!” Aaron shouts.

  The two men each take a big gulp of their ales. When they finish, they howl in laughter. Jaylen ignores their laughter.

  The last of the guests enter the throne room. The room is full now. No empty seats are in sight, and the atmosphere is booming.

  Jaylen slowly closes the doors from the inside, and locks them. Aaron and Sam stare at him, holding their pints of ales firmly in their hands. Jaylen does not notice them. Instead, he stands by the door, looking over the guests at their tables. A man near the throne proceeds to stand from his table. He slams the table with his hand, causing a deep boom to echo around the room. This grabs the attention of all of the guests. Suddenly, there is silence.