The Rokkoh Adventures

Rokkoh and the Final Year, Chapter 10

A carriage waits outside the Tower. Strange, to be the one on this side of the Departure Ceremony. Scores of eyes look on, mainly out of obligation, as the Baroness steps forward in yet another elegant silver dress and an updo. She forces a smile at me, likely celebrating on the inside that this will be the last day she will have to deal with the most atrocious and violent boy to ever live under her roof. Out amongst the disinterest are the bittersweet faces of Kym, Max, and Pinnow; as they look on from the back of the crowd, Pinnow perches atop of Max's shoulders. It's no surprise the little one's usual cohorts are absent, and they are not missed.

"Today, we come together to wish our friend Rokkoh DiFilo well as he sets off to start his new life," the Baroness calls out. I can't help the wince that comes with her loud voice; it never seemed so deafening when I would stand in the back of the group. "Rokkoh came to us fifteen years ago at the age of three. Over the course of his time with us, he has learned valuable skill that will aid him in the next chapter of his story."

I hold in my groan. The same script as every Departure Ceremony before, but not a surprising fact. Deviation is heresy. Simply swap out the placeholders to match the context. Leave the bulk untouched. The bones of the speech are forever, only the flesh may adapt. Next will be her question about what I plan on doing with my life. That would be easier to answer if I had a clue. I prefer eating food over making it. The Tower never offered much in the arts of smithing. I have only a cursory knowledge of husbandry. I can't carry much of a tune, and I never picked up any instruments. My swordarm has decent practice, so perhaps a life of a soldier would suit me. Not the biggest fan of dying for someone else's cause, though. Maybe I could be a mercenary, though I would only accept contracts of someone who deserved killing. Even then, it doesn't sit right within me.

I need something different. Something outside of the box. Something no one else would say. This whole process is so formal, so damn serious. No one enjoys these things. Either they're losing a friend or don't care whatsoever. They deserve something to remember. They all need a good laugh, though I've never been much of a king's fool. If I think of something good, maybe they'll remember me as more than the kid who damn near killed someone. I need something big, over the top, exaggerated. Even if I don't believe in it.

"Rokkoh, what will you be doing in your first footsteps of adulthood?" her question comes with feigned interest.

"Not quite sure what I'll do at first," I answer with honesty. "But one day I am going to become a king. Whether by overthrowing a corrupt monarch or by discovering some long-lost lineage, I will have a crown."

The ensuing silence is just about crippling. Their wide-eyed gawking, their gaping maws of shock and surprise, their perplexion... it doesn't feel right. I expected laughter, applause, anything but the dreadful quiet. The Baroness's incredulous glare in the corner of my eye is more fitting, at least for her.

I find Kym, Max, and Pinnow again. The twins wear little smirks while Pinnow lets his grin grow big and bright. Amused, they seem; welcome islands after a long journey at sea. They don't care if I'm serious or not. They don't care how ridiculous it sounds. They see the humor, the break from the mundane. Hell, maybe they even think it could be possible one day.

"Yeah!" Pinnow exclaims. "King Rokkoh!"

The three of them break into cheers, hands clapping hard and hollers ringing out amongst the quiet. The celebration infects a few others throughout the crowd, half-hearted and disjointed claps sounding here and there. With a sharp look from the Baroness, their clatter ends abrupt.

"How bold and ambitious," she says through a closed smile, her piercing hazel eyes sneering at me.

Judgment and doubt glare bright in her condescension, a stark contrast to the support of my friends. Then again, why would I expect any different? It's not as if my declaration would have wooed her or changed how she saw me. For my fellow orphans, they will likely forget with time. But for the Baroness, memories linger everlasting behind the hazels. Every new arrival to the Tower of Lost Children, every Departure Ceremony, every sin in between... all are eternal.