Elliott Johnson
Prologue
When I was a boy, my father and I lived in a simple dwelling and or commonly referred to as a cottage in small country near the noble kingdom of Greengrass, where the land was plush beyond reason, filled with forests and abundance of greenery. If they could talk, they would tell ancient and present stories for a great many a year.
Greengrass was well known for its incredible tasting and reasonably priced ale, it flowed now, and it always would. It was also known for its beautiful maidens and its amazing brothels. The kingdom was the richest in gold and silver, with an abundance of iron as well. It was also rich in happiness too, everyone was filled with life, love and family. The king was great too, a ruler better than them all… keeping peace and tranquility within the walls. They also had a powerful army at their beckon call.
I dreamed of living in the kingdom ever since I was old enough to dream… if only my father was not a drunken fool, at peasant level of the totem pole. My father was a kind man, but the drink had a mean hold on him. He was an honorable man among the farmers and peasants he worked with. He worked in the fields, plowing away his sorrows, day after day, trying to give me a decent life. My mother died unexpectedly earlier on from a disease that was not known to man, yet. I never got to say a true goodbye to her because she was on so much opium for the pain that she could not do so. So, it was just me and my dad for a while there.
On this day, it was another sun infused playful day, as I pretended to fight my friend Egor with sticks like swords, as we always did. I swung and I swung, but I kept losing the playful battle each time. I wanted to be a knight, but my skills and abilities said otherwise. After I had been playing for a couple hours, I said to Egor goodnight and headed home. I was sadly interrupted by the ill effects of alcoholism and a heart attack from my father…
I Had been run up too by my dad's friend, Esther. Whom he had become friends with from days in the field, plowing away.
"Alexander, it is your father… he has fallen in the fields! I am so sorry, he is gone." She told me, as she wrapped her arms around me and held me tightly. I was in shock at the news, as I did not know how to feel about all of this.
Later that week, the farm owner told me that I had to vacate the premises immediately and seek out the orphanage in the kingdom nearby, since my father was no longer working for him.
So, I grabbed my things and started walking. As I was leaving, I saw Egor and he gave me a hug, as did Esther and said to me, "We Will miss you, Alex!" as they were both tearful.
After, I was on my way to Greengrass to start a new life, never looking back. As I walked along the dirt road, it quickly turned to cobblestone. So, I knew I was getting close. While I was marching my way there, I tripped on a rock in the road. I sat there for a minute enduring the painful fall and started to cry shortly thereafter.
It was the toughest of times. I had to be strong If I wanted to survive. In these times you were either a killer and a warrior, or you were a victim and a coward. So, there was no time to pity yourself or stop and smell the flowers. It was kill or be killed… lion or the lamb, if you will.
As I sniffled there on the side of the road, I heard the tapping of hooves clicking its way towards me. Alas, I looked up and there he was… The king! Looking majestic as ever, with his shiny jewelry and golden crown, his long beard and his luscious, long, dark curly hair. King Titus the 2nd was the second of his name and the true highborn heir of this generation, a legend in the flesh.
When he saw me, he stopped in his tracks and said, "Why the long face, my boy?" As he laughed and the horses neighed.
"My king, it is an honor. My father just passed, and I was on my way to your great kingdom to start a new life as an orphaned child." I told him, with sadness in my voice.
"Nonsense my dear boy, hop on back and we'll be off!" So, I hopped on back of his stead, as we rode up there.
As we rode up there to the gates, I gazed upon the countryside of these lands, they were filled with an exponential amount of life with all different colors of the forest and the plains, mostly green, but ever so beautiful.
We finally arrived to the gates of the kingdom, I was excited yet sad, I felt as though, I would have opportunity here, but I would not have a whole lot of time to mourn the death of my father, which was highly devastating and tiring.
"I don't normally do this, but are you able to swing a sword?" He asked.
"I could certainly try, sir!" I confirmed.
"We will make a killer out of you, yet! You will be my top dog in my regiment, my boy!" he assured me, with confidence. I could not believe that this was really happening. Egor would be so jealous of me right now.
A few weeks of hard combat training passed by the king had been keeping a close eye on my progress. I was in fact not getting any better now either. With each swing of that blade, I always let my opponent get the best of me. my teacher, Captain Ames, kept pushing me to my edge and riding my ass. So, after several years of cruel and harsh training, years of repetition and sharpening my sword and my skills. I was brutely put through the fire and spat back out. I was the best swordsman in the kingdom. I knew how to kill anything I came across in my path by the time I was a teenager, but it was never good enough to my teacher.
So, one day he picked me apart a little too hard and I had finally had enough. "That's not good enough, boy!" He yelled.
"You know what! I am so fed up with your bullshit, captain Ames! You have taught me many things over the years, one of them being don't take anyone's shit! So, fuck you, you fatherless bastard! I would split you in half in a fight… Fucking try me! I dare you! Go on, take a fucking swing, you one coin whore fucker!" I told him while I saw nothing but red and blood in my vision. When suddenly I heard the king and everyone laughing up a storm at my words.
"Holy shit, my boy… that was incredible and highly funny! How would you like to be a knight by day and a Jester by night? The opportunity of a lifetime. You would be paid swimmingly, of course! It would be a huge role in my royal party and in the kingdom… what do you say, Alex?" I thought about it and realized that it was true… it was an opportunity of a lifetime. So, I took it. "My sword is yours, sire." As I bended the knee.