Read The Boy in the Field Online
Authors: Jo Oram
You pulled away him. “I'm sorry, Noah.”
“Vapasi.”
“Your Honour,” you laughed. “Whatever. I can't do this.”
“You don’t have to do anything.” He smiled. “And it’s not
Your
Honour
. It’s
Your Eminence.
”
You laughed again. “Because that’s what’s important here? That
I get your title or style or whatever the hell you call it right? And not the
fact that you’re letting your own blood be executed for a crime you know they
didn’t commit?”
“He’s not being executed. He’s being held in Verata Prison
until Kinel has been declared a state of Serlora.”
You studied him for a moment, his hair, the dirt beneath his
fingernails and the way he was standing heavily on his left side. He hadn’t
shaved and it was over a year since he had cut his hair. You shook your head.
“That’s why you grew your hair, isn’t it?” you asked. “This
whole time, you’ve been watching him, haven’t you? Every time they asked you to
go to Kinel, you were spying on Ethan. You were trying to look more like him.”
“You said you liked my hair longer.”
“I did.” You leaned against the door frame. “It reminded me of
when we first met, when things were good. I could believe that things were
going to be okay, that we were over the worst of the wars.”
“We are. We have won.”
“No.
You
have won. It’s not going to get better for me.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “Do you not appreciate what
I have done for you? Is this house not better than the streets of the lowtown?”
“It cost your brother’s life.”
“I worked for this.” He shrugged. “And if it would keep you
safe, I would execute him myself.”
He reached out for you and you pushed him away. “Get the hell
away from me, Noah. It’s making me sick to even look at you.”
You walked out, taking only your coat and shoes before you left
the building. Noah—Vapasi didn’t follow, much to your relief. Being near him
would only start a fight and if he was willing to kill his own brother for a
promotion, you had no doubt that to keep you quiet, he would kill you too.
As you walked, it began to rain and so you took shelter beneath
a tree in a park beside the river. On a night like that, you would become ill if
you stayed out until dawn, but you had nowhere else to go. Anyone that worked
with Vapasi would be singing his praises and you wouldn’t be able to speak to
anyone who didn’t know.
“I did what I had to do—”
“To Ethan! Tell me what you did to Ethan!”
“I did nothing to him.”
“You framed him for murder,
hai na?
” You took a deep
breath. “Did you watch as the soldiers took him away? Did
you
kill him?”
He pulled you to his chest as you began to cry. “He is okay. He
was caught, the council members identified him and he’s being held in Verata
Prison awaiting trial. I didn’t kill him. He’s still alive.”
“
Bhrasta
.”
“Don’t call me names.”
“I want to see him,” you said. “I want you to take me to see
Ethan.”
“In Verata?” He ran his fingers through your hair. “I’ll take
you, but I won’t speak to him.”
“Then I’ll speak to him alone.”
“And you must promise not to call me Noah anymore.”
* * *
Armoured magisters led you into the cell block at the back of
the Verata prison. It was the only area of the prison where inmates were kept
separated from one another. These were the prisoners awaiting trial, their
lives more important than instant justice; they had information that the
Emperor could use. Ethan was amongst them, even though he knew nothing.
Right at the end of the corridor, there was a dark room, light
only entering through a tiny grate in the ceiling. The magisters stood guard at
the door, not entering as you did. But for the figure chained to the floor in
the centre of the room, you were alone.
You walked up to him, but he never looked up. He was shirtless
and his trousers were torn. He had no shoes. His skin was mottled with bruises,
but the gloom of the room disguised the true extent of the injuries he had
suffered.
“You are wasting your time,” he grunted. “I will tell you
nothing.”
“Then I will ask no questions,” you replied.
He looked up, eyes wide. “You…” His body shuddered. “Why?”
“I want to know why you left us. You promised me you would come
to the house and you didn’t.”
“You’re letting them use you to get to me.”
“I had to beg them to let me see you, Ethan.” You knelt on the
floor beside him and put your hand on his shoulder.
“Help me,” he begged. His voice cracked. “Please, help me.”
Choice:
204. Promise
or
205.
Refuse to Help
“Please. I have nothing to offer you. And if you kill me now,
I never will.”
The man sniggered and put the makeshift blade back in his
waistband before running his hands over you, arms, chest, back, legs, checking
for weapons, coins, anything you were hiding from him. He stepped a little
closer as his fingers lingered at the back of your thighs, his face close to
yours.
“You still smell good,” he said.
You raised an eyebrow. “You’re welcome to stand there and sniff
me, if you really want to.”
He released you and laughed. “I like you, princess. I think we
could be friends. You need friends in a place like this. Do you know what kind
of friends I have?”
You shook your head.
“I have friends who have never seen me before in their lives.
Friends who didn’t see who put the knife in the man’s chest. Friends who know
when I’m not there.”
You smiled. “Who said that?”
He laughed again. “Oh, I like you a lot. And I’ve got a feeling
we’re going to be real good friends.”
The End
(Back to start)
You lashed out, striking him in the groin with your knee and
ran. He bent double, but recovered quickly, chasing you as you ran towards one
of the dark tunnels. You kept one hand outstretched before you and the other
you dragged along the tacky surface of the wall, feeling for the end of the
tunnel or a passage leading somewhere else.
Light began to glint on damp patches on the floor and the
tunnel opened out ahead of you into another large, round room, identical to the
first. As you looked around for somewhere else to run, you became aware of the
people in this room moving, converging on you. There were six of them in total,
five men and a woman, all with shaven heads and tattoos.
“You think you’re ‘iding in ‘ere?” the woman said, spitting on
the floor. “Who are ya?”
Before you could say anything, there was a voice behind you.
“She’s mine.”
The gang began to back away and looked over your shoulder to
see the man from the other room. When you looked back, all six of the people
were engaged in other activities, crouching in groups on the floor or looking
away from you. The man’s hand grasped the back of your shirt, pulling you into
the tunnel. You felt the tip of his knife graze the side of your body, drawing
blood, but not enough to seriously hurt you.
“I tried to play nice,” he said. “It’s a good job I like it
rough.” His hand closed around your throat, choking your screams as he dug the
blade into your side. “See, I know exactly where to put a knife into you so
that I don’t kill you.”
You tried to push him away, but his grip was tight and he was
much bigger than you. In the darkness of the tunnel, you couldn’t see where his
hands were when they weren’t touching you. No one was going to hear you scream.
You felt his breath against your neck and his hand pulled your leg to his hip,
the blade against the inside of your knee.
“S’a shame really. We coulda been such good friends.”
The End
(Back to start)
Ethan took your hand and led you to the military offices.
There was no time to reach the council chambers. As soon as you got inside the
building, Ethan began making requests and was bombarded with questions in
return. It caused a lot of fuss. Everyone in the room was watching you.
Everyone in the room was a witness.
The building’s couriers ran back and forth with message
canisters, in communication with the postmaster in the council chambers. Ethan
weaved his fingers through yours, his toes tapping on the tiled floor, waiting
for news. You did your best to smile and stay positive, but inside, your heart
felt like it was being strangled and your lungs ached with every breath.
Noah was out there and it was your fault. You should have
known. You should have stopped to think. You held Ethan’s hand tighter.
Whatever had happened to him had changed him. The Noah you used to know
wouldn’t have harmed anyone. The one out there now was dangerous.
“He’s in custody,” the messenger announced. “We’re sending an
investigation team now.”
“And the council? Are they all okay?” Ethan stood.
“Medics are present.” The messenger smiled. “In truth, we don’t
know. The good news is that we know you aren’t involved.”
Ethan turned to you and wrapped you in his arms. He breathed
deeply and kissed the side of your head. “How could he do this?”
“I’m so sorry.” It was all you could say. “I’m so sorry.”
He smoothed down your hair, combing his fingers through it.
“It’s okay. I don’t blame you.”
You didn’t sleep that night. Ethan paced the room while you lay
on the bed, staring at the ceiling. You kept thinking about how you could have
done things differently. You wondered if you even could have.
The morning news told the story of an attempt on the King’s
life, thwarted in the last seconds by the Kinn army. The King had escaped with
minor injuries and one of his guards had been stabbed, but no one was killed.
Although no name was given to the man responsible for the attack, they said he
was a Serloran, acting alone.
But the treaty had already been signed. Peace was declared
between Kinel and the Serloran Empire. One madman was not going to change that.
The End
(Back to start)
“I know you’re angry and I’m sorry about everything that
happened.” You moved behind him and put your hands on his shoulders. “I wish
there was some way I could make things right, but I can’t.” You allied gentle
pressure along his spine with your thumbs.
“Stop touching me.” His voice was unsteady. He cleared his
throat. “Please.”
“I don’t want to.” You swallowed. “I don’t remember what the
last time I touched you felt like. I don’t remember our last kiss. I don’t
remember what your last words to me were.” You paused, taking a deep breath.
“If you’re going to fight Ethan and get yourself killed, I’m not going to miss
this chance. I’m going to remember this. I’m going to remember every second.
And when you’re gone I’m going to feel that pain that you want me to feel.”
“I remember it all. I told Ethan to look after you. We were in
your room and then there was that noise. I trusted him to keep you safe.” He
sighed. “I never saw you again.”
You remained silent for a second. The smell of that night
returned. The fires, the blood and the dirt. The screams and the way your lungs
ached after running. The emptiness where Noah should have been.
At the front of the house, the door opened and banged shut. You
looked up to see Ethan, alone. In each of his hands, he held a steel sword. He
crossed the room and stopped in front of Noah’s chair.
“I should kill you for what you were going to do to me,” he
said. “If it wasn’t for her, you would already be dead.”
“I told you he wanted to kill me,” Noah said, looking at you
over his shoulder.
“Ethan, please,” you whispered.
Ethan moved around the chair, moving you aside to cut through
the ropes binding his brother. He held one of the swords out to him.
“Fight me,” he said.
“Yeah. I deserve it.” You nodded. “I can’t pretend that I know
how you’ve felt.”
“I lost my whole family! Because of you!”
You nodded. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t give me sorry! I’m going to kill you. I’m going to make
you wish they’d taken you a slave when they invaded our home. I’m going to make
you wish your father had choked you to death before we ever met. Because I’m
going to make it slow and I’m going to make you suffer. And I’m going to make
him watch you die.” He continued to shout, unable to stop his voice from
wavering. “And then I’m going to kill him too!”
At the front of the house, the door opened and banged shut. You
looked up to see Ethan, alone. In each of his hands, he held a steel sword. He
crossed the room and stopped in front of Noah’s chair.
“I should kill you for what you were going to do to me,” he
said. “If it wasn’t for her, you would be dead already.”
“Come on then,
droha
!” Noah pulled against the ropes.
“Come at me!”
“Ethan, please,” you whispered, touching his shoulder. “Don’t
do this.”
Ethan moved you aside to cut through the ropes binding his
brother. He held one of the swords out to him.
“We settle this like men,” he said.