The Princess and the Thief

Khai - [The Truth]

I had no need to tell her my story. So after saying what I had said, I began to make my exit. Maybe I could get a little more sleep before I headed out.

“That’s a lie!” She yelled after me.

I frowned. I should have expected her to say something like that.

“And even if it was the truth,” she started, “my father would have never killed innocent people.”

I turned and looked at her. “My parents were the most loving parents that our village had.” I said. “My brother was a petty thief… but his stolen goods were the reason we survived during the rule of your father’s uncle.”

“My father didn’t kill your family.” She said, stubbornly.

I forced a smile. “I have no need to argue about this with you.” I said before I turned around and walked away.

Even if I did tell her… a woman like her would never believe it. So what was the point?

Many thieves and criminals knew my story.

They knew my anger.

And that’s why most of them chose to join my war rather then fight against it.

After I was given the title of King of Thieves, my life started to revolve around getting my revenge.

I had easily slaughtered seven out of the twelve men that killed my family. Another four of those soldiers, I could never find. They may have already been dead, for all I knew. And the fifth was the King.

Everyone who knew anything about me knew that I would never rest until I was certain that all the soldiers were dead… as well as the King.

I walked into my room and sighed as I looked down at the one ring I wore on my right hand.

I had covered my left hand with rings but I could never put more on my right hand. I wanted the one ring I did have on to stick out.

After all… it was the only thing I had which could be considered a memento from my mother.

I walked over to the bed and sat down, but groaned as the memories flooded my brain. I tried not to think about what happened often. Because if I thought about it, I’d always loose my calm, relaxed and somewhat fun personality.

But thankfully for me… everyone was asleep and no one needed to witness my breakdown tonight.

My family was always good to me, and so were the neighbors that we had. They were all kind and loving. But my brother was always a little different.

It wasn’t like people didn’t like him. No. Everyone loved him.

He just… always did strange things.

But everyone loved him. After all, it was his stolen goods that kept my own family, and many of our neighbors alive.

When I was eight, my brother was eighteen. We weren’t very close… but since he was my brother, it was just in me to love and respect him.

But by the time I was eight, many things had changed.

My brother didn’t need to steal for us anymore because the new King, Arius, promised to feed all the people who worked, and their families.

And he kept his word.

Both my parents went to work for the King… helping to rebuild our own village and to make it a better place.

He even reduced taxes.

I knew nothing about taxes… I still don’t… but according to my father, that reduction saved many lives.

And the best thing that was happening was that everyone was being taught how to read. Even peasants like us.

After all, the Pharaoh believed that literacy was important for a country to prosper.

Egypt became a sort of heaven during the early rule of the new King.

Even my parents adored him, going to the temple to pray for him every day.

But that didn’t last forever.

Like I said before, I was eight years old.

Things were starting to get dark and gloomy. The Pharaoh had just administered his next doctrine. And that was to cleanse our land of the horrid criminals.

He made it clear that his targets were simply murderers and people of that sort. But our village became frightened.

During the time of his uncles rule, it wasn’t just my brother who stole to feed our families… many other villagers did so too. They had to.

And though the Pharaoh said thieves weren’t his target, our village still feared for their safety.

In a couple months, hundreds of murderers were prosecuted and beheaded.

And soon enough, the Pharaoh and his guard entered our village.

My brother was gone since the night before. He had disappeared and left my parents worried.

But I remember that night… my mother and father ran to the villages stables, my mother holding me tight in her arms.

She suddenly put me down in an empty stall and kneeled down in front of me.

I saw her look at me with eyes filled with tears.

“Promise me you will stay quiet.” She said to me. “No matter what you hear, promise me you will not say a word.”

I started to cry at that point. Though I was a child, I knew something was wrong.

“Promise me, my love.” She said. “If you love your father and I you will do what I say.”

I nodded my head. Not knowing what else to do.

All I knew was that I did love my parents, and I would do as they say.

My mom kissed my forehead first, then my father. Then they left me in the stall, closing the door.

A moment later, I could still hear their voices… but I could also hear the other voices.

“Halt!” I heard an unknown voice yell.

I could hear my mother cry.

And then I heard the King. “The both of you…” He said. “You have done something horrible.”

“We have done nothing wrong.” My father said.

“We found the bodies in your home.” The King said.

“We have done nothing wrong.” My father responded.

The King would hear no more. “Kill them.” He said, before I heard a horse neigh and gallop off.

A moment later, I heard my parents scream.

They were dead.

And the bastard King took their bodies with them.

I ran home as soon as I managed to unlock the stall. I cried the whole way, feeling a strange loneliness.

And when I came home, I searched everywhere for the bodies that the king spoke of.

There were no bodies.

There wasn’t even any blood.

I knew the King didn’t have the patience to clean up the blood… he hadn’t done so in front of the stable.

So he accused my parents for killing people? But they didn’t! There were no bodies!

I sat in that home for days, only getting up to look again for the bodies that the king had spoke of.

And a few days later, I got word that the King had found my brother and slaughtered him too.

That was when I decided that I wasn’t going to rest until I get my revenge.

That man killed my innocent family.

And he will pay for it.

I will never let him live in peace.

Never.