After that day, things got better. Of course we did not get overrun with people eager to learn something new in order to get out of here, but we got at least a dozen new students and, most importantly, the bullies that harassed those who decide to come stayed clear of us after being embarrassed like that the other day. That day was the definite proof, that ‘intelligence’ can beat ‘raw strength’. Of course, if those who had trailed after Martha in defeat, having been told that they cannot attack her, had used their brains, they easily could have defeated us after all, simply by blocking off the paths to the arena. After all, the same rule applied to us as well. We were not allowed to attack them and, depending on the strictness of the present referee, even ‘pushing someone aside’ could well have counted as ‘attack’. Meaning that Martha would have had to put on her blue headband to push through, making her fair game in turn. But fortunately they didn’t think about any of that and I sure as heck did not tell them. For one, because I didn’t want to add (even more) insult to injury, because that would have been highly detrimental to my long term health within the small village, for another because I wanted to keep that trump up my sleeve. Just in case, they would demand a rematch, which they never did. Ah yes, I believe it worth to mention that the royal court was apparently very impressed with the event and arranged for it to become an annual thing, completely with spectators and everything. Last I heard, the royal guard formed one team, whereas the champions, supplemented by volunteers, formed the other team. Apparently, the winning team got to look forward to some perks and those who really distinguished themselves, especially from the ‘champion’ side, got a chance to leave the compound and serve the royal family instead. As such, without intending to, I had created a realistic means for all those who came after me to escape imprisonment. Completely legal. But I am getting ahead of myself again.
About two weeks after the event, during one of the lessons, Robert
suddenly came barging in, completely out of breath.
I was
currently teaching basic calculus and as he stood there in the door I
said, “And if we add a negative concentration coefficient of -100%
by people who apparently forgot, that they are supposed to knock
before entering instead of startling everyone and making Jacob tip
over his ink barrel, how much concentration of the matter remains?”
before turning to him, “You’d better have a good excuse for
interrupting us like this, I’m trying to teach here!”
Still
out of breath, Robert huffs, “H-he’s here!”
I put down the
piece of chalk and clapped off the dust from my hands as I asked,
“Who is ‘he’? You’re not going to tell me that the demon king
decided to drop in for a little chat, tea and cookies, are
you?”
Slight laughter went through the class, which I silenced
immediately with a stern look, but at least I was somewhat convinced,
that Robert did have a rather good reason.
“N-no! But...but
the king is! His royal highness is here!”
It was a good thing that I had put down the chalk before, because I would have dropped it for sure after processing his words. My students were way ahead of me though and everybody rushed towards the door, almost trampling me and Robert down in the process. And I can’t even blame them. After all, a genuine VIP visiting our Ghetto was not an everyday occurrence.
After everyone was out, I looked at the mess my classroom now was,
sighed and started picking up the remaining ink barrels, the stained
pieces of paper and the discarded writing feathers.
“A-are you
not going to go see?” Robert asked from the door.
“Oh, I
will. After cleaning up this mess. Did they state what they want? I
mean, they must want something, right?”
“Oh, um...I...only
heard about it through the grapevine myself. And I came to tell
you.”
I sighed again and asked Robert, “So, you interrupt my
class with completely unverified information then? I swear to God, if
this ends up being some sort of joke…”
Robert looked like he
was about ready to sink into the ground, but I don’t have a habit
of shooting the messenger. Didn’t back then, still don’t now.
After all, good messengers who actually have the guts to convey bad
news are hard to come by.
After a few more seconds, Robert
started helping me clean up and I asked, “You’re not going to go
see?”
“Only after helping you clean this up. Chances are,
he’ll want to talk to you anyway, so we’d best not keep him
waiting, am I right?”
“Oh? What makes you think he’d be
here for me?”
“Excuse me?! Whom else could he be for, Mister
‘Devising a plan to steal the flag, bending the rules to fit your
needs and distracting a whole company while his girlfriend steals the
flag?’”
“Martha is not my girlfriend, despite whatever the
rumor mill may say.”
“Sure, whatever you say...alright, that
should be all, right?”
I raise the last toppled over chair,
look over the now empty classroom and nod, “Yeah, looks good. At
least not much worse than before you came in. Alright, let’s go
then.”
As it turned out, the news of ‘the king’ having arrived was, in
the end, much like playing ‘Telephone’, the actual truth getting
distorted and exaggerated until the visitor was his royal highness,
King Adelbert XXI himself. In reality, it was ‘just’ some Count
who was currently visiting the royal court, when we held our game.
But people just heard ‘royalty’ and the rest is word of mouth
doing what it does best. Still, for any sort of nobility to visit our
village of outcasts was a first and naturally the entire town had
come to see. Furthermore, as it turned out, Robert was right.
They
did come to see me. Well, they didn’t call out for me by name, but
much rather they demanded to see ‘the minstrel strategist, who
single handedly bested a far superior force in a military maneuver of
unprecedented dimensions’. I guess it was not just the people of
the village playing telephone regarding the matter. Needless to say,
seeing how I was the only ‘minstrel’ around, they still pushed me
to the front, until I stood before a wall of heavily armed soldiers
in shiny armor. A bunch of others had manned the perimeter, their
bows and crossbows trained on me. One wrong move, and there’d be
blood flowing through the streets. At the very least my own.
I cleared my throat and said, “Good morning. I believe you asked
for me?”
The guards stepped aside with military precision and
made way for a guy wearing expensive garments and more gold than I
had ever seen in both of my lives.
He stepped forward, making
sure to stay outside of arms reach and asked, “Are you the one they
speak of so fantastically in the capital?”
“I assure you,
whatever you may have heard, it was an exaggeration,” I started,
because whatever else could it have been?
“Oh? So it is not
true then, that you assaulted my carriage after overcoming my guards
about three months ago? Or that you burned down the Hall of Justice
after being imprisoned? Or that you—“
“Hold it right
there. I didn’t burn down anything. I mean sure, I was there when
the thing burned down, but I was just as surprised as anyone else,
and...wait, that was you in that carriage?”
“Yes, that was
me and my darling wife and daughter. I’ll have you know, we feared
for our lives!”
“Look, I’m sorry about startling you, but
it was really just a big misunderstanding. I was fearing for my own
life at that time!”
Toby, who had stepped behind me, asked, “I
don’t think you ever told us that you burned down a hall of
justice. Never thought you had it in you.”
“That’s because
I didn’t!” I cried out, making the guards ready their weapons,
apparently fearing that I’d lunge at their Lord, but of course I do
no such things and after a dangerously long moment of nothing
happening, they relaxed again.
I turned back to face the Count and asked, “So, what brings you
here? As you can see, I am already locked away and if you wanted to
press additional charges against me, I’d rather be talking to an
emissary instead of you, am I right?”
The Count nodded and
replied, “You are correct, I did not come to press charges against
you. On the contrary, I have come to relieve you of any charges my
guards have raised against you on my behalf. After all, nobody was
hurt and you have already served your time for the assault. That, and
after making a few inquiries, I have learned, that there indeed is a
monstrous beast roaming the region you came dashing from. As such, I
have reason to believe that you, in fact, spoke the truth.”
“That’s
nice, thank you. But that doesn’t mean I get to walk out of here,
am I right?”
“No, it means the exact opposite. That you get
to stay here. After all, you are a Champion, as I have also learned
in the meantime. And this is the den of Champions.”
“Gee,
thank you,” I replied sarcastically, though I guess it was still
better than the alternative. The alternative being an actual prison
with no fresh air, or daylight, that is.
“Very well then, with that out of the way, I am curious. Word has it, that you are quite the singer. If you manage to convince me for this to be true, I may well be able to make use of my influence to maybe ‘get you out of here’, as you have phrased it. In my services, naturally. I believe this to be quite a step up from your current position, would you not you agree?”
I don’t know how long I stared at him, my mouth open. I mean, I
knew that my singing wasn’t all that bad, but to think that of all
the things I’ve done ‘singing’ would be my ticket out of here
was just plain ridiculous. However then something happened I never
had thought possible until that very moment.
I said ‘No’.
Now,
before you think me entirely bonkers, much like just about everyone
listening at the time must have believed me to be, allow me to recite
what I told them as well.
“I appreciate your kind offer, but I cannot be your servant. At the
very least not indefinitely. Besides, these people here still need
me. I kinda promised them to help them get out of here and I would
betray the trust of every single one of those who attend the classes
I’m giving if I just up and left the instant I see a chance. I
wouldn’t be able to face myself in the mirror if I did that. And
yes, I realize that is a terribly stupid decision and that I’ll
likely regret it the instant those doors close behind you, but it is
what I feel is ‘the right thing to do’ at this moment.”
“I...see.
That is most regrettable. I had assumed you would be smarter. It
appears I was misinformed about your mental capabilities then.”
Just as the Count wanted to turn around and leave, I called after
him, “Doesn’t mean I won’t sing though.”
The Count
turned around and smiled, “You must greatly enjoy it then, hm?”
“It
would be quite a waste to not use the gifts you are given by the
Lord, wouldn’t you agree?”
“...I have no idea what that
means, I am afraid.”
“Never mind me, please. Just let me
think for a moment.”
“No, no, no, that won’t do. An
impromptu concert like that is below my standing. I will return in
three days time with the proper equipment. I demand, that you seek
out a proper venue for the concert in this time.”
“Will do.
Thank you for understanding.”
“I will not claim that I do
understand your reasoning. However I can respect it. Know this
though: If I go through all this trouble for you, you’d best be the
best singer I’ve ever heard. Or else.”
Before I got to
object, he turned around and the curtain of soldiers closed and
within mere minutes, they all were gone, leaving me and the others
behind.
‘Just what did I get myself into now.’ was the one dominant thought on my mind.
Comments (8)
See all