Hi everyone! I'm back again! Thanks a lot to Subha-Chan, Cutetyhil, Rock the road and Desires of autumn leaves for reviewing. I dedicate this chapter to Desires of autumn leaves aka Abhilasha as she wanted this from me. Enjoy!
Brimmed with high current, streaming curvedly like a snake, looking like a wide silver ribbon in scorching sunlight, river Mudan was the nucleus of the village, located at the west of the capital. In summer, her prowess eased, in monsoon, it again awoke. Her edges were inwrought with tall, sky-touching trees, with hefty roots entering into the deepest of the earth, clustering heads packed with scintillated emerald leaves. They were grasping the riverside soil firmly. That's why, river erosion could never have visited the villages.
An eight-years old, svelte, yet having twisted muscles in arms, chest and thighs was standing on the highest branch of a tree standing on the shore. His untied, waist-lengthened dark ebony hair was blowing in the pacified river gale. Escalating his arms above, pulling up his entire body, he was attempting to dive in the streaming brook. Above his head, one or two herons were flying, moving round and round, maybe watching him carefully.
"No Ray!" A little pinkette yelled, "Don't jump! You can't swim in this high-current."
"It's all your fault, Mariah!" Her brother whispered, "If you tied your hair properly, your ribbon wouldn't fall in the river."
"I'm sorry…" She sobbed, "Please forbid Ray to do that, Lee."
"Now why to cry?" Another green-haired boy scrunched his fists, "Mariah, you know well that we can't forbid Ray. You think that he'll listen to us? Is he so obedient? Let's not talk about his obedience. The tail of a dog may be straightened but Ray's nature? Huh!"
"Shut up, Kevin!" His cousin slapped behind his head, "Now think how Ray will be saved."
Before he could finish his word, in a fierce velocity, someone dived sharp at the deep water, making a huge noise of splash. Everyone's jaw dropped when the absence of the boy on the branch of the tree was seen.
"Shit!" Lee buried his face amid his palms.
"Ray!" Everyone squawked.
Under the bluish-green water, the neko-jin kicked his legs, keeping moving forward. His palms were hovering in the semi-translucent fluid for a definite thing. As he felt something tickling his toes, he barely moved his head back. Finding what he'd been searching for, he toppled, changing his posture from the dogpaddle to the backstroke, grabbing the pink ribbon steadfastly. In the speed of light, he outstretched his head from the bottom of the river, making a right angle with the horizontal axis. Pulling out his hand from the water, he showed his friends something.
"My ribbon!" Mariah cheered, hopping in joy.
"Ray!" Lee exclaimed in relief, "Are you alright?"
The raven-haired kid had showed his flashing fangs, nodding in assurance.
"Come here!" The other kids pleaded.
"No!" Ray shook his head, again plunging into the marine. Again, they all winced.
"This boy…is impossible!" The galeon-holder frowned, "God knows what will happen to him now."
"That's why he always gets beaten by uncle Hal," Gary remarked, "What do you think? Is uncle Hal seriously a cruel person? Nope, Ray is naughty enough. If I were in the shoes of uncle Hal, I would beat him more mercilessly."
"Really Gary?" Someone enquired from the back.
"Of course!" The bald youngster bobbed in a staid sulk, "Ray should be tied to this broad tree from the dawn to the dusk. Then he'll learn his lessons soon."
"And how should you be taught your lessons, Gary?"
Gulping, he swapped his head behind. Seeing the raven-haired boy with a mischievous smirk on his face, he kept unobtrusive for a while. Then, his cries ricocheted in the whole area.
Done with his job, the black-haired boy reached his pink-haired friend, handing her the magenta object.
"Your ribbon, Mariah," He articulated, "Be careful from the next time, okay?"
"Ray…" She sniffed, "You did this for me? What if something happened to you?"
"Nothing has happened to me, has it?" He pinched her nose, "Besides, you're my best friend. Can't I do this small thing for my bestie?"
"Aww….thanks a lot, Ray!" The little girl almost hugged her best friend, making the toddler blush a bit.
Freeing him from her hug, she demanded, "But Ray, promise me that you will never do such things again."
"What if you fall in danger?"
"Yet you won't," Mariah puckered, "Because your life is the most preferable thing for you. Understand?"
"As you say, princess," Ray bowed. Everyone burst out laughing at that. All on a sudden, the raven-haired neko-jin began scuttling. All his friends aka the village children tailed him shortly. Wind started blowing, the river water began flowing.
Such as the storm, we're reckless,
Such as the springs, we're restless,
Such as the deities, we're valiant,
Such as the nature, we're solvent…
"For the last time, I'm asking you," Twisting his thick moustaches, the monarch interrogated the person, "Are you going to pay all the required taxes? Or not?"
In front of him, the monomer of general mass joined his hands together. Bowing his head, he replied with his chocked tone, "Your Majesty, I'm a poor guy. Cultivating others' lands, I earn my bread barely. Please pardon me, I'm unable to pay the taxes in time. But I promise….I'll…I'll give them when I'll get my wages."
"Shut the fuck up, you bloody fool!" One of the ministers aimed his sword at him, "How dare you talk with our king in this way?!"
"Gao, calm down, don't be so harsh to him," Zagart imperturbably stood up, getting down from his throne, "Let me see him."
Stretching out a shining dagger, he approached the man. He was shivering violently in fear. Sweat covered his temple. Somehow, he was striding back.
"Oww…why are you afraid, Mister?" The redhead mixed some fake concern in his voice, "I won't do anything to you. Just your beard has grown up, let me shave it."
"No…thanks…"
"Think of your luck once, old man," The autocratic ruler held the blade at his throat, "You're getting shaved by the mighty emperor of your empire. Isn't it a thing of enjoyment?"
Without giving him a chance to speak anything, he slaughtered him in the center of the courtroom. Juddering for a few seconds, his lifeless body slowly collapsed on the marble-stoned floor.
Hurling the scalpel, he turned to his ministry. All the ministers were gulping, gasping and shivering slightly witnessing the hardheartedness of their leader. However, the eyes of the king were widened as the sweet voice of a certain little girl was heard by everyone.
"Father!"
Within no moment, Zagart's stony heart melted completely. Signaling, he ordered all the vicars to cover the corpse so that his loving daughter couldn't see it. Moving to the doorway, he discovered his offspring aka the piece of his heart. A seven-year old girl in lavender-colored gown with white borders in the neckline, shoulder lines and edge was standing there. Her deep scarlet hair was tied in a braid. She was staring at everything with her large, circular black eyes.
"Salima!" The father rushed to her, taking her in his arms, "What are you doing here, my girl?"
"In every morning, you don't come to courtroom without seeing my face," The baby pouted, "Then why have you forgotten to meet me today? Don't you love me?"
"Oh…I'm so sorry, Salima-Chan!" Zagart held his ears, "Please forgive your father, won't you?"
"Hmm…let's see…" Salima scratched her head thoughtfully. Then, suddenly her eyes were lit up as she hit upon an idea.
"I want to go to the temple in the village which is next to our capital," She expressed her wish, "You can remember that my birthday is coming? I want this as a birthday gift from you."
"But my dear," The king caressed her cheeks, "You aren't familiarized with rural nature. That may be harmful for you."
"How may it be harmful for me?" Simple question it was, "It's you who told me about my future. In future, I'll be the queen of the kingdom, right? If I don't know about my state, how will I rule it? Besides, I'm going there to be blessed by the deities. It can never be unsafe for me, father."
"Okay, my girl, I'll surely take there tomorrow," Zagart pinched her cheeks, "But you've to get up early in the morning, okay?"
"Okay!" Salima cheered, "Thank you so much, father." As she left the room swiftly.
Breathing sharply once, Zagart ordered his ministers, "Throw the body in any garbage."
The house was made of wood. The roof was quite large, almost like a fedora hat, covering the eyes of a person aka the windows of the highest level of the building. In front of it, there was a small coconut coppice. In its center, three persons were standing. In the middle, there was a bamboo table. On it, the map of entire Asia painted on a piece of white cloth was positioned.
"Master Tao, please listen to me," One of the teachers pleaded, "Boris Balkov has been failed to capture Draciel. Now his covetousness is on Driger, the protector white tiger of our motherland. For it, a lot of blood-shedding wars can take place. I think we should leave China as soon as possible for our own safety."
"Mice flee before drowning the boat," His power of speech was as stentorian as the thunder, "And cowards do the same before drowning the country. I'm not from them. So I'm not going anywhere leaving my motherland."
"But Master…" His colleagues tried to speak something but couldn't as the Principal had already started walking fast. While marching, he collided with a drunk guy. The boozer fell on the ground along with the jute bag of the teacher.
"Hey, you old guy!" In the sensation of alcohol, the fallen guy waved his hand, "Leave my path."
"I'll," Tao spoke, "But for you, my bag has fallen down. Kindly give it to me."
"What? You're ordering me?" He stood up, "Are you crazy? Or daydreaming?"
"Look man, we should do something good before our death. Otherwise, how will we show our faces to God in our afterlife?"
"Stop this fucking nonsense! Why're you telling me these things?"
"Because you're dying," Quite peacefully he responded, "The sweats on your forehead, your trembling body, bloodshot eyes-everything is signaling about your forthcoming demise."
The guy stared at the voyage of the knowledge for a few moments. Then almost sobbing, he voiced, "Sir, please help me. Please show me the right path. I'm a poor guy. I…I have two children….what will happen to them if I die?"
Taking out some dried roots of unidentified trees, he handed it to the dying guy.
"Eat their juice." He advised, "And don't drink alcohol anymore, okay?"
"Thank you so much, Sir," His voice was filled with emotion, "I promise I won't drink alcohol anymore. I'll be grateful to you forever."
After he had left the place, a person asked Tao, "Master Tao, you're impossible! How have you changed his mind within a blink?"
"This is called the laws of brain," The great master proudly replied, "If you want to fight against the enemy, use your brain. Not your heart, not your physical organs. Bodily energy fades away in front of intelligence. Intelligence is the greatest energy. Nothing can be compared with it.
Nothing!"
So how was it?
Dear Abhi, hope you've liked this. Do read and review. Pardon the grammatical and spelling errors :P
-Misty ^_^