I look at the man in front of me.
"Please, tell me what happened", he whispers.
"Who are you?" I ask.
"Lief."
Lief? The king wants to know what happened?
"King Lief? Why do you want to know?"
"If it wasn't for you, we would never have saved the prisoners. You kept them alive until I arrived. You should be honoured for it. Rather than stay at an inn, with hardly enough money to feed yourself."
Should I tell him? I swore to tell no one, in case it was the Shadow Lord in disguise, but... He's the king. And I need the money.
"Will you tell me?" He's looking at me. He looks trustworthy... But then again, if he is one of the Shadow Lord's minions in disguise, he would look trustworthy.
"Think about it," he says. "I'll be back tomorrow, to see if you'll tell me."
He is walking off. Giving me time to think this through. Would the Shadow Lord do that?
I'm leaving the bar to sleep. I might as well. It's not like I can concentrate on anything. After talking to him.
It's the next morning. I'm off to work as a blacksmith. Not many people want to be blacksmiths any more. They think of it as a royal occupation. They don't want to be seen as pretending to be nobles. I'm only a blacksmith because I can't find work anywhere else. Poverty is wide spread after the Shadow Lord taking over.
On my way I see two kids, playing happily. They don't look scared or hungry. I wish my childhood was like that. But I grew up as one of the Shadow Lord's prisoners. And we were always scared or hungry.
Around the next corner, I see a lady I knew from when I was a prisoner.
"Hello, Natalie," she says. "How are you, today?"
"Good. I'm glad you got back here safely. I wasn't sure if you'd made it."
"Thanks. I'm glad you made it back, as well. After all, we'd all be the Shadow Lord's slaves if it wasn't for you! See you soon."
"See you!"
I continue on my way.
Over lunch, I fall asleep. I have a strange dream. No, a nightmare.
I see a forest. It's burning. In the middle there is a meadow, with a plant in it. In the plant is a golden liquid. The meadow catches alight. The plant is burned.
Sudden, I realise where this is. It's the Forest of Silence! And this is where the...
I wake up. Or am woken up. My master is standing over me. Great. I slept through my entire lunch hour. I didn't even get a chance to eat my lunch! And my master wants me to get back to work. Bliss.
I'm black at the inn that I'm staying at. Waiting for the king to come back. I still don't know whether I should tell him the story. The story of what happened in the Shadowlands.
The king comes in. I won't tell him. It's him, it's only curiosity. It won't matter if I tell him. If it's the Shadow Lord though... He could cause all kinds of trouble.
The king comes in. I open my mouth to tell him that I won't tell him anything, but I find myself telling him my entire life story. Everything.
"Please, tell me what happened", he whispers.
"Who are you?" I ask.
"Lief."
Lief? The king wants to know what happened?
"King Lief? Why do you want to know?"
"If it wasn't for you, we would never have saved the prisoners. You kept them alive until I arrived. You should be honoured for it. Rather than stay at an inn, with hardly enough money to feed yourself."
Should I tell him? I swore to tell no one, in case it was the Shadow Lord in disguise, but... He's the king. And I need the money.
"Will you tell me?" He's looking at me. He looks trustworthy... But then again, if he is one of the Shadow Lord's minions in disguise, he would look trustworthy.
"Think about it," he says. "I'll be back tomorrow, to see if you'll tell me."
He is walking off. Giving me time to think this through. Would the Shadow Lord do that?
I'm leaving the bar to sleep. I might as well. It's not like I can concentrate on anything. After talking to him.
It's the next morning. I'm off to work as a blacksmith. Not many people want to be blacksmiths any more. They think of it as a royal occupation. They don't want to be seen as pretending to be nobles. I'm only a blacksmith because I can't find work anywhere else. Poverty is wide spread after the Shadow Lord taking over.
On my way I see two kids, playing happily. They don't look scared or hungry. I wish my childhood was like that. But I grew up as one of the Shadow Lord's prisoners. And we were always scared or hungry.
Around the next corner, I see a lady I knew from when I was a prisoner.
"Hello, Natalie," she says. "How are you, today?"
"Good. I'm glad you got back here safely. I wasn't sure if you'd made it."
"Thanks. I'm glad you made it back, as well. After all, we'd all be the Shadow Lord's slaves if it wasn't for you! See you soon."
"See you!"
I continue on my way.
Over lunch, I fall asleep. I have a strange dream. No, a nightmare.
I see a forest. It's burning. In the middle there is a meadow, with a plant in it. In the plant is a golden liquid. The meadow catches alight. The plant is burned.
Sudden, I realise where this is. It's the Forest of Silence! And this is where the...
I wake up. Or am woken up. My master is standing over me. Great. I slept through my entire lunch hour. I didn't even get a chance to eat my lunch! And my master wants me to get back to work. Bliss.
I'm black at the inn that I'm staying at. Waiting for the king to come back. I still don't know whether I should tell him the story. The story of what happened in the Shadowlands.
The king comes in. I won't tell him. It's him, it's only curiosity. It won't matter if I tell him. If it's the Shadow Lord though... He could cause all kinds of trouble.
The king comes in. I open my mouth to tell him that I won't tell him anything, but I find myself telling him my entire life story. Everything.