The King's Persecution

Chapter Two

Music is "Requiem" by Joe Hisaishi. Yes, I'm obsessed with this man's works. Sue me.

For twenty years, Eliza had managed to avoid this fortress. She was rather hoping not to ever visit it at all, but alas, providence had different plans for this young woman.

How the king had managed to let his own castle fall into such disrepair, Eliza was sure she would never know. As the plumed knight guided his men through the barren streets of Marawin's capital, she gazed at the crumbling walls, the ivy covering the stones, and the charred remains of the windowpanes lining the windows.

What happened here? For someone so keen on exterminating...he doesn't seem to want to build up his own house...for glory and all that.

The bedraggled knights stopped in front of the drawbridge guarding the entrance to the fortress. In fact, it was the only thing guarding the fortress. No guard was posted to lower or lift the drawbridge. The knights drew straws to see which one of them would swim the channel, climb the wall, and lower the bridge. One of the guards who chased Eliza was the lucky one. He waved a solemn farewell as he jumped into the moat and began to swim across.

"Why don't you have any guards-?" she started to ask, but the plumed guard clapped a hand across her mouth.

"For security," he said. "The king thinks it is risky for someone to be up there all the time. Gatemen can be bribed."

So can all other men... she thought. What kind of king is this, that cannot trust someone to even open a door?

The unfortunate knight finally reached the top of the wall and lowered the bridge. It strained and groaned under the weight of the rotting wood, but finally, the bridge landed on the other side of the moat without smashing into bits. Eliza almost jumped off the horse to walk the bridge herself, to be sure of her footing, but the guard refused to let her go.

Miraculously, the entire party made it to the other side without incident. When the bridge was up again, the guard joined them, shaking from the cold shock of the moat.

The interior of the fortress was not much different from the outside. The fortress was in shambles, with only the barest supports holding the walls in place. As the king's knights led Eliza through the maze of rooms, she couldn't help but compare the rooms to her own cottage. Walls contained gaping holes exposing the few servants to the bone-chilling winds from the outside world. Fireplaces remained full of ashes, but no roaring fire to warm the soul.

Her own house was in shambles because of her meager finances, but with Becka's help, she was able to keep the house warm by patching holes with scraps of wood and metal they found in the streets. But perhaps his royal highness was too stubborn to resort to the ways of the common man.

I suppose I'll find out soon enough.

Still shivering, the knights guided Eliza to a tall, once magnificently decorated door. It appeared to suffer from the same disease all homes with financial difficulty suffered from. Empty sockets for jewels lined the edges of the wooden frame, a dull brown color streaked with the barest trace of gold.

"What happened to the door?" she asked, pointing to the bare wood. "Surely the king can afford to pay for repairs without resorting to destroying his own home."

The plumed guard looked away, a nervous smile upon his face. Then he turned toward the door. "Oh look, the king's waiting for you. In you go." He dismounted, helped Eliza off his horse, then shoved her toward the doors, which were beginning to open.

Before she could turn around to shout at the guard, the men took off, leaving her covered in a flurry of dust.

"I should have known..." she said, brushing off her cloak and adjusting her skirt. "Is anyone here loyal to the king at all?"