A Broken Kingdom

Crowded under the small wooden table, Toran hoped that he was invisible. Squeezing his eyes shut, he covered his ears, curling his knees to his chest. Toran tried to block out the noise of the chaos on the other side of the thick wooden panel. The sounds dimmed and his tension eased, lowering his hands, slowly opening his eyes, he quickly realized his mistake. His eyes locked with the soft blue of his mother’s. Her eyes, once filled with kindness and life now held nothing but an unfocused gaze.

Toran’s eyes, sprang open, his soft blue gaze matching that of his mother’s. He took in his surroundings, he was alone, staring into the canopy of the forest and the early morning sky. He could hear the creatures he shared the forest with waking up, confirming it was nearly dawn. The fire from last night, now nothing but glowing embers radiated a scrap of warmth. Climbing out of the covers, he arched his back in a long stretch. Ruffling his hair he released the black strands from the cold sweat that had come over him during the nightmare, causing it to stand at varying angles. It wasn’t much of an improvement but. He doubted the squirrels were holding a beauty pageant.

He gathered the few items that made up the camp which was modest enough that it was minutes of cleanup. The real skill was in making it all fit back into his pack. Toran choose a loose grey shirt that matched his black fighting leathers. Pulling out some venison jerky for a quick breakfast, he threw the pack on his shoulders and started on his way.

This morning was like many others, wake up, usually aided by the nightmares, gather camp, and set off on the next leg of his travels. It wasn’t much, but the life of a mercenary didn’t usually involve a home, wife, and kids. This was fine, Toran’s particular specialty paid handsomely and he was free to roam. Assassin was not the title that fit many, but he never had any qualms about doing what needed to be done. If it wasn’t Toran, it would just be someone else. There was one rule, no kids, Other than that he didn’t care about the particulars. He got the orders, ended a few lives, and got paid, then it was on to the next one. The reason for his current trek through the woods was step three. The job had involved taking out the leader of the nearby Kingdom of Greiner and his wife. Prince Colton of Swarth was eager to weaken nearby kingdoms prior to taking his father’s place. Toran was sure there would be yet another job waiting upon his return.

Walking through the quickly brightening woods, listening to the world come alive was his happy place. Toran always felt drawn to the woods, his mind at ease here. Among the dense trees he felt like he was exactly where he belonged thankfully, his travels required this kind of setting often. Toran preferred the company of the forest to that of people, no pleasantries or small talk, just him and the wildlife. A peaceful way to start the day, compared to what the rest of his life consisted of. He listened to the sounds of the forest animals coming to life, starting their simple existence of staying alive. When you really think about it, they weren’t very different from humans in that way.

Where did that put Toran in the food chain, the circle of life? Killing, not for his next meal or to defend himself, but simply because he was good at it and it allowed him to live a simple life, free from structure. It was an interesting thought that he continued to mull over, as he neared the end of the forest.

The sounds of Swarth, gradually took over the sounds of the wildlife. The scent in the air changing from earth and dew to fresh baked bread and spices. Toran stepped out of the tree line shielding his eyes from the sun, now that he was no longer under the canopy of the forest. Standing on the hillside gave a wide view of the city, he stood, watching the city dwellers move about their lives. Setting up shops, corralling their children, looking over various goods. Normal, utterly normal, and boring, but necessary. While here, he had several things he needed to purchase before setting off again. Walking towards the city he started a mental list, couldn’t hurt to pick up some more dried meats, he also wanted to see what the blacksmith had available. He wondered idly if Alyssa would be working the forge today, he hadn’t seen her since his last visit here, about three months ago. She was the blacksmith’s daughter, just as talented as her father in the trade.

He entered the city, making his way through the streets, lost in thought. A young male, clearly in a hurry to get somewhere, slammed into him, bringing him to a halt. Before Toran even knew what he was doing he had a dagger in his hand, arm outstretched with the blade at the male’s throat. The streets went silent, fear shining brightly in the young man’s eyes. “S-sorry, I d-d-didn’t mean to.”

He looked at the male, he wasn’t a threat to anyone, “Watch where you’re going.” Toran said in a low voice.

The male continued past him, hurrying to get away as fast as possible. He placed the dagger back in the holster at his thigh, turning to continue his walk to the palace, the people in the street trying to look like they weren’t on edge as he walked by. Toran made swift work of the miles leading to the palace gates, trying not to get into more altercations. His presence in the town was disruptive enough, he didn’t need to make things worse.

He approached the gates of the palace, taking in the guards and the gaudy crest of the royal family on either side of the double gate. Blue and Grey plaid with a golden Lion pinning down a snake atop it, the whole thing representing a non-subtle display of power. One of the guards approached, his uniform matching the crest with its deep blue shirt and grey pants all accented with gold buttons, “Do you have business with the royal family?”

“Yes, I’m here to meet with Prince Colton, don’t I look like someone who would have business with royalty?”

The guard eyed him scrupulously, guess he was wrong about the beauty pageant. “Do you have papers, if not I’ll need to check your…”

Toran cut the guard off mid-sentence producing papers that allowed him to enter palace grounds. “Ta-Da.” he said in a tone dripping with sarcasm. He really just wanted to get on with it.

“Ah, it appears you do.” He muttered hesitantly, clearly not wanting to let him through the gates.

“I know we seem to be caught in an absolutely captivating conversation, but I would really like to get on with my day.” The guard did not find his bluntness to be a positive trait.

Giving him a less than friendly stare, “Well, these appear authentic, we’ll be keeping a close eye, of course. Try not to leave the palace with any goods you did not enter with. We may just have to put you through a search when you leave, that would most definitely get in the way of getting on with your day.” he growled out.

As the gates opened Toran walked through, turning to give the guard a wink, “I look forward to it.” The guard bristled with agitation. The trek from the gates to the palace itself was annoyingly long. Typically people would still be in a carriage, so it probably had not bothered anyone that mattered. He found his way to the library through the maze of stone hallways. They always met in the library, no chance he might see or hear something he wasn’t supposed to. It also limited the amount of people that might see Colton consorting with the likes of him. The royals would hate to get rumors floating around.

Colton was sitting at one of the long wooden tables in the massive room. “Ah, Toran, glad to see you made it. I heard the news of your success. No one has suspected assassination, but they are scrambling to recover, as Prince Orson was not prepared to take the throne quite yet.”

“Well, you told me to make it quick and clean, I simply followed orders, your highness. Do you have the payment we agreed upon?”

“Of course, don’t act like this is our first time, certainly you should trust me by now.” he said, leaning back in the chair nonchalantly, the light streaming in through the windows showing the different shades of blonde that made up his golden hair.

“First of all, I don’t trust anyone. Don’t take offense.” Second of all, you literally pay me to kill people, what’s to say you won’t add me to your list once you’re done with me?”

Colton chuckled, the laughter not quite meeting his steeled grey eyes. “Smart, I mean you’re not wrong. You’re a smart kid, but I would hate to have to go through the mess of having to find a new mercenary, deciding if he is trustworthy, blah, blah, blah. You know the drill. Plus, you’ve shown your talent, I would hate to lose that.”

“Aw, don’t get emotional on me now.” Toran said with a hand to his heart in a mocking gesture. Choosing the seat directly across from Colton, “So, what have you got for me?”

He tossed a green velvet bag of coin on top of the table, “The payment we agreed upon is all there, if you would like you can count it, but if you can agree that this seems more like Deja vu, I would like to get to the next thing I have planned for you.”

Toran sat forward grabbing the bag, judging the weight, and slid it in to his pack on the floor beside him. He splayed his arms open and crossed them at his chest, “Ready when you are.”

“Good, I’m sure you’ve figured out that I plan to weaken the nearby kingdoms before my father’s passing. He is sick and it is likely to be any time now. I would like to cut them at the knees before they attempt to take advantage of my Kingdom’s moment of weakness. This and the fact that I am prepared for my own ascension to the throne should put us in a place to squash any rebellion or invasion from another kingdom.”

“Why exactly are you telling me this? You’ve never bothered with the grand speech before.”

“I am telling you this because, the next job I have for you may be a bit of a sore spot and it is an important that you know exactly what it is you are doing all of this for.”

“What is it you want me to do exactly, you know I am not going to hurt a child if that is what you are about to ask me to do?” The thought of it sent him back to the nightmares that had revisited him just this morning.

“No, nothing like that. I need you to go back home.”

“Seeing that I don’t really have a home that would be kind of hard.”

“You did once. Did you think that I wouldn’t look into you? I know about your past, your family, your own little kingdom.”

Toran’s stomach lurched, how could Colton know anything about that when he barely remembered it himself. He knew that his parent’s had been murdered and that he probably would have been as well, had he not remained hidden. He knew that they had nice things, but surely when he said your kingdom he didn’t mean...”

“Oh,” Colton chuckled, “You had no idea. Have you honestly never looked into your past?”

“The only thing in my past is blood and loss. Why would I bother?”

“Fine, new deal, you finish this job and I will give you everything I have on your family history, provided you don’t get feisty on me.” Colton smirked.

Toran contemplated Colton’s offer, did he really want to dig into his past knowing it would only end in tragedy. He did, he realized. It was time to learn the truth.

“Deal, but I want the gold too.”