The Mad King

Part 1

People around me always seem to think of the world as theirs. They conquered it once, sometime many eons ago, and now it's theirs to do with it what pleases them. Some of them even go as far as giving a certain meanings to natural events happening around them. They say that it's a sign, a predicament just for them. They say that the geese fly a certain pattern just to show them that good fortune awaits them in the future. Or that the cat that lives in a box in the ally next to their house gave birth to a black kitten to warn them of misfortune. Some might even go as far as saying that the clouds decided to stay away for them today, just so that they can enjoy the sun light. They probably think that once they leave, the earth will stop spinning, and that we all fall to our knees and pray their name. It's this sort of narcism that makes them believe that we will all willingly bow down to them, that even the ones with nothing to spare would give up their last piece of bread for them. It's this sort of believe that has been force-fed to me all my life.

The wind rushes trough the bare tree branches around me, somewhere in the far south you can see the tops of the City That Once Was. It was underneath this death oak where Owen and I shared our first kiss, where we both lost our innocence to each other. He was supposed to meet me here, but his work for the reforestation department has a way of making him late for our dates.

The wind was still rushing around me when I felt two strong arms circling around my waist. Owens earthy smell takes a hold of my senses and I feel his short stubble grace against my ear. With a smile I turn around in his arms and press my lips against his for a short moment. 'You're late', I say while inhaling his scent. He smells of the tree barks and the earth, a welcoming change from the city odeur that normally surrounds me. 'It was a long day, we had lots seedlings coming in from the laboratory and many of the men where sick with the flu that's going around'. When I started seeing Owen in secret my friends called it an 'act of rebellion' against my strict parents. They said it was just a fase and that it would go away once my parents bought me a new golden hairpin or bracelet to show off to the other pupils of the institution. It has been two years since then, and as far as my friends are concerned Owen and I broke up after just three months. 'But I'm here now, and I'm all yours' he said while taking a step back. Owen is at least a head taller than me, his long and hard days on the field gave him a broad build that always makes me feel small in comparison. I took one of his hands in my hand and started tracing his calloused palms 'I should bring you something for this, I'm sure Miss Freda has something in her office. I could steal it and bring it with me next Friday.' 'What, don't like the roughness of my hands? Does it make me to much of a lowly laborer for a rich city girl like you.' He said with a grin 'I would look out if I were you, poor laborers like me find lots of pleasure in catching pretty girls like you.'

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I lay on my back with my eyes closed and my head on Owens lap, still blushing from what just happend under this oak tree with no leaves to cover us from the sky. His harsh finger tops traced my delicate skin and ran trough my long locks of hair. 'I wish the world could stay like this forever, just you and me, underneath this oak tree.' I whispered. I felt Owen move underneath me as he let out a grunt, 'it's starting to get late, you should go before your father notices you're gone.' I sat up right and looked him in the eyes, 'Can we go to your village next week? I would like to see your home, meet your family.' I said hopefully. I've never been to Owen's house. He tells me about it sometimes, mostly about the hardships they endure and how he sometimes struggles to put food on the table. There were rare instances where he talked about his little sister Libby, and about how much trouble she has been for the past few days. Owen looked away while he raises himself up, 'You can't, you would't fit in with te rest of us with your shining little shoes and your clean blouse and neat skirt. Folks around would notice, and folks like to talk. Your father would have me hanged from a rope underneath this very oak tree.' His answers to that question where always the same, 'You would stand out to much' or 'The difference between you and us is just to big'. I suppose that he is right, my patent leather shoes and silk blouse are a stark contrast to his faded blue cotton overalls and his steel-toe boots that have a hole in the sole of the right one. I offered to buy him new ones, but Owen doen't want anything that's bought from the city. He says everything there was made by the hard underpaid work of others. 'Can't I just loan something from one of the female in your village, that way I would not stand out so much.' I say to him. 'And how would a get my hands on those? You wouldn't fit into my sisters gowns, they are way to small even for you. And people would think of it as suspicious if I would suddenly buy or lend a dress for a grown woman'. 'Besides, there is an illness plaguing the village, you would get sick and I would be hanged for taking you there. That way the both of us would wind up death'.
I've heard of this sickness before, It's kept under wraps in the city, but Owen keeps mentioning other laborers falling ill. I want to say something in return, but an icy glare from Owen shots me up. Even I know when we are done discussing.

Owen dusts off his trousers and stretches his back. 'Gosh Ev, you make me feel guilty. You know I love you right?', he proclaimed while looking down at me. A warm feeling fills my chest, I love it when he says he loves me. The slight raise of the corners of his mounts tell me he knows how I'm feeling right now. 'Now get up and go home, I'm sure the maids have already prepared a delicious steamy dinner for you.', 'oh, and take a shower, you smell like me' he says with a naughty glint in his eyes. With a sigh I stand up from the forest floor and dust off my skirt and straighten its pleats. My sudden disappearance probably already awakens enough suspicion among my maids, so I wouldn't want to give them any reason to be even more suspicious of my whereabouts. It would be beter if they thought I'm sneaking off with some city boy than going to the woods to do who knows what. I'm slipping my feet in my shoe's while dusting those of as well, just for good measure when I feel Owens hands on my shoulders. 'Look Ev, I really have to go now, but we will see each other next week oké.' He says after which he crouches down to gives me a quick peck on my cheek. After which he stands up and walks back from where he came from, the opposite way of where I came from.