The Masked Knight

Chapter 3

The Masked Knight’s P. O. V.

“Go back to your tent, Sabastian. Get some rest tonight. Tomorrow will be a long day for us all once again. And you need to save your energy for that.” I said with a deep sigh, knowing that there is nothing in our lives any more, that one should look forward to, but still we are supposed to be grateful that we are still alive and had survived the crisis that had come down upon all of us after the death of the previous King and the Queen.

Life changed along with the new crown who had been throned only because there was no heir left to take the place rightfully. The kingdom which used to be a very colorful place with houses, gardens, markets, crop fields, lakes, forests and which was once enriched with nature and beauty has now turned into a grey field.

Houses have been long destroyed; families were torn apart ruthlessly. The new King’s decree brought nothing but sadness in all our lives.

Males of each family were either sent to fight in battles for years after years or else they were engaged in digging up coals from the bottom of the earth. In the absence of the men of the families, women were either sent to brothels or had been turned into maids at the castle who are allowed to serve only the new king’s men. And the children? Well, they were left to either starve, or get abused by the brutal men for some breads or had turned into some slave.

And to keep an eye on the people of this kingdom, men from the royal court have been posted everywhere who gives order to the army however they want and informs the king about the situation of the kingdom.

And just like my troop there are several other warriors on different parts of the kingdom but in the end of the day we all are some powerless fellows even after holding the arms in our hands. We all are nothing but puppets in the hands of the new ruler.

We warriors do train everyday but none of us are allowed to master the swordsmanship under their watch. And even if anyone somehow ever ended up showing their strength and skills, they were always sent to the battlefields and never returned until now. So, the only thing we are allowed to do now is to follow the royal orders and fight for the king whenever it is needed.

Life here is nothing better than rotting in hell.

But I have my very own way to reign even in this hell as well. Cause I was never born to follow orders. At least not the orders from the ones who were never worthy to rule the kingdom ever.

Anyway,

I looked back at Sabastian once again. He was still standing there without any words even after I just asked him to go back. It seemed like he had a lot to say to me but preferred to stay quiet. Cause if anyone here knows me for a bit then it is only him. Sabastian knows it very well that I am never going to listen to him. I am never going to stop whatever I have started five long years ago. At least not when I have come so far and I am so close to achieve what I have aimed for.

“Drop the idea, Sabastian. If you are intending to ask me to stop now, then it would be a waste of your time and your words as well.” I uttered after some moment, realizing what exactly is stopping him now.

“I am worried cause I do not want to see you dead yet, not at least until another fifty years.” He replied with a crease on his forehead and I just cannot ignore his reasons. After all he was the one who had seen me almost dying five years back. But still, I have come far enough since then to get revenge and now I just cannot afford to look back no matter what.

“Don’t say that. At least, not you. You know very well what price I had to pay to come this far. You know what I have lost five years ago. So, how can I turn back now?” I argued till the point when he truly had nothing to say to me anymore, cause, he knows…he knows why just I cannot stop.

“Don’t die. That is all I want.” Saying that, he at last turned around to leave without even looking at me even for once and disappeared into the darkness of the foggy night.

I don’t know for how long I stared into the darkness even after Sabastian was gone, but it is just that I still cannot believe how time can change everyone. The one who used to fight with me often in childhood, the one who used to dislike me once is now worrying about my life.

Yes, I might have never imagined in the past that Sabastian would grow up to be like my own brother one day.

Now I really wonder how Tristen would be like after all these years? I wonder if he would be able to recognize me anymore or not?

I don’t know why am I even thinking about all this cause, I am very aware of the fact that at any cost the masked knight should never be identified no matter what. And so, it is obvious that he will have no idea who I am even if I go and stand right in front of his eyes. The only thing he would be seeing is the ugly iron mask, nothing else.

Moreover, it won’t be a surprise for me if he fails to remember his play mate from the long-gone childhood. After all it has been so many years since we both played sword fighting. We were just kids back then. We did not know the differences between royalty and commoners at that time, neither did we ever care about all that. All we knew is that we were friends.

I still remember how we met for the first time.

Oh!!! What a time it was.

****flashback from the childhood****

The market to the west of the palace have always attracted me from very long.

It is settled on the western slope of the hill on top of which the King’s Palace is situated. To me, it is indeed a place full of wonders.

I have never been this much curious about anything else in this world except for this market. It is definitely a place where every kind of unique and spectacular things from all around the world can be found just within a blink of an eye. People from different places have never stopped coming from faraway lands to this market only to seek such extraordinary things according to their needs.

I must agree that this is the only place which has all kind of solutions to all the problems in the world.

It is kind of a treasure land to me.

Until now, this market is the only place which did not make me lose any ounce of curiosity no matter how many times I came to explode such an interesting land on our valley. That is why, whenever I get some time or whenever I find any kind of opportunity, I always come running to this place to quench my thirst of wonder.

And like always, today too I somehow managed to get myself free from all the boring stuff and came here right away cause, I always believe that every time I come here, I get to see something new each time, which is also the reason that makes me come the next time as well.

Anyway,

The market is pretty much crowded like every other day. People are busy selling their goods while merchants from other lands have gathered up to buy stuff at a good deal. The sweetest smell never stopped coming from the bakery nearby where all those beautiful buns are made, I believe. Apart from unique and extraordinary things the market holds so many beautiful spots where different kind of street shows have been performed. There were places to eat, drink and sleep as well right inside the market. And if I get further down the western slope of the hill to walk over to the other side of the market, I know that I will definitely find the lake where people usually hold boat rowing contests most of the days.

In short, people here are always happy with their lives without anything to worry about in the whole world.

I sometimes wonder, why can’t we be just like these people?

Then we too can be happy forever.

Isn’t it?

Anyway,

For now, I need to keep all my worries aside and make use of the most of the time, since I know that I need to go back to my place before the sunset.

So, I guess I have plenty of time.

With a happy and excited heart, I put a big smile on my face and kept wandering on the market streets. I went from one stall to another to look all those things that the vendors are selling today. And I swear, my eyes never stopped wondering even for once.

But only if I know that my time have been cut short toady for some reason.

I was roaming here and there happily without any worry until I saw the royal guards coming down the path of the market, and I felt my heart sunk in an instant.

I mean, why? Why did they have to come?

I don’t want to go back now, no matter what. So, I did what came to my mind at that time to avoid going back to my place. I started running.

Even though the market was crowded enough, I did not find it any difficult to flee because of my small appearance. And the only thing I need to do now is to hide somewhere until the guards are gone. Just when I was thinking, I saw a cart which was selling trees, herbs and flowers and in an instant, I knew what to do.

I pulled the hood over my head and wrapped the robe around my body carefully so that no one finds me suspicious by looking at the attire that I am wearing today and then I quietly ran behind the cart without anyone’s awareness to hide. I was squatting on the ground making sure that no one notice me, even the old lady who was selling fresh and aromatic herbs and flowers there.

Through the tiny whole on the wooden log of the cart, I saw the guards coming nearer with every passing second and my heart kept pounding underneath my chest more and more.

I ended up shutting my eyes tightly, believing that if I cannot see the world, the world also cannot see me either.

Yeah!! I know, I am a fool to believe that but I could not think of anything else to stop panicking.

After all, I am only twelve years old!!!

Anyway,

For some time, nothing weird happened. The noises that were coming from all around the place were still the same, the roads were as busy as before… nothing changed. And only when I realized that, I at last dared to open my eyes.

No, the guards were now nowhere to be seen. They might have gone elsewhere, so I believe now there is nothing to hide from. Making sure that it is safe to come out of my hiding spot, I was about to stand up just when something hard and pointy poked my neck, quite surprisingly.

I turned around as a quick reflex but then I could not move any further.

Cause right in front of my eyes, there was standing the most beautiful thing that I have ever seen in my life.

**** flashback to be continued****