Lucid Waking

        He cleared his throat subtly and looked down the bridge of his nose at Devin. “Welcome to the den,” he said with a tinge of hatred. Everyone cheered and clapped from the isle. He stood up and turned to John, “I’ll talk with the you, later and bring your latest pet.”
         He walked majestically, even with all his anger, into the crowd and was swept up by admiring subjects. John stood downtrodden near the chair and stared after the king. People just ignored him and a few waited patiently for him to leave his reverie. Suddenly he seemed to notice Devin and glared at him before hustling away towards the ale and food. Devin ignored me for the rest of the night, but I was content to leave the hot bustling room and hunt around the cellar. Just because Devin wouldn’t touch anything, didn’t mean I couldn’t. He was worried about something, but he was trying to hide it and probably doing a good job as well.
         He slipped into the cracks of people until he reached a quiet and deserted corner. The spider webs were still intact near the floor but he was too tall to stand fully up against it, so he slid down to a crouch next to the corner under a shelf with candles. He wanted to cry, but he contented himself with curling up into a ball and going to sleep. The crowd moved around him instinctively and a few kicked him halfheartedly as they moved on to other conversations.
         Eventually the room emptied out and the guests left through the secret entrance to the main part of the saloon. A few whispered hurried goodbyes as they climbed up the graying damp ladder to the shadows above. I slipped back into the room and jumped up on Devin’s knees, batting at his cheek, to wake him up. John came in and took a much rougher approach, pulling the arm nearest him and lifting Devin off the ground before releasing him to a heap on the floor.
         “Get up,” he said. His voice was heavy with fear and sadness, but he hid it behind a thick wall of contempt. “The King wants to see you.”
         Devin stood up quickly and walked nobly behind John and his little mouse. The cellar was quiet and dark, but John maneuvered around the shelves and once he reached a certain point, he pushed the wall hard with his shoulder. The wall gave way and became a dirty corridor blooming in light. Devin stepped in cautiously with me just behind his heels and John quickly and quietly closed the passageway behind us. He squeezed back in front of Devin and sighed.
         “Come on; it’s not far.”
         The passage way made two more turns before opening into a crudely built cavern. The ceiling was supported by four poles on the corner of an invisible square around another chair. Outside this perimeter were five beds and a table with a little bit of food and a wine bottle. Candles were shoved into holes in the wall and their wax dripped down onto the floor quickly as the flame danced closer and closer to the wall. The king was sitting comfortably in the chair, his legs over one arm as he leaned on the other. He and the raven were in heated conversation when we walked in, but as soon as John arrived, one of the other boys cleared his throat loudly. The king snapped his head forward and smiled.
         “Ah, here he is.”
         John pushed Devin forward and then stood behind him. Another boy walked over to block the passage entrance. John sucked in a bit of breath and forced himself to hold his head high.
         “All right, John. What’s the deal? You know the rules—and I’m not taking another one into my court unless it’s my choice.”
         “He’s excellent! You saw that gem…we’ve been trying for weeks and he did it in a couple hours. So what if he’s a bestiafama? He’s good!”
         The king stood up quickly. “So what! The fact that we are and they’re not makes us royalty! The fact that we’re good and they’re not makes us royalty! It means we make the rules! We speak the law! We finally get respect! And you’re willing to throw it away?! And he’s got a preditor too,” the king jabbed a finger in my direction, “A cat?! All we’ve got is birds and mice! There’s not way we can hold ourselves up in front of the crowd.”
         “Jack, please…the whole reason why you started this was to make a community. To help all those who couldn’t do it themselves.”
         “We’ve got to maintain some order! If people don’t believe we’re leaders because we’re no better than them, we’ll get chaos.” He sat down bitterly, but kept his burning eyes on the two before him. “And I’ll forgive you for breaking conduct just because you have a point.”
         “I’m sorry, sire,” John said bowing his head. “Just give the kid a chance.”
         “Fine,” Jack said moving back to his previous position and waving away the guard at the door. “Tomorrow night you’d better be up to par because I’ve got a maggot I’ve been waiting on getting out of my way.”
         There was silence before Devin realized that was his cue to answer. He bowed deeply. “I won’t disappoint you.”

Filed under: End of Childhood, Fantasy by Bri

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