The Gainans: Servant Princess

Chapter 5

Gandon stopped to rest for a few minutes and dabbed his brow with a dirty rag. Sweat dripped down his face and his muscles ached. He had forgotten that work could be this tough. He had forgotten that work could be so lonely.

Now that he was back in Flame City, he had been eager to rebuild his wealth and status as a true Gainan. The late princess had rubbed off on him, though, and he found in himself the desire to work on projects that would benefit not only him, but others as well. At the top of that list was water retainers. Since it had been so successful in Paupers Village, he saw no reason why it wouldn't work elsewhere. If he could set up a water retainer in every city, people wouldn't have to travel distances to fetch water. But that was a task harder than he could ever imagine.

Gaina was not like Paupers Village. Here in the kingdom, nobody was willing to help him. It did not matter that it was for the benefit of them all. To them, all that mattered was the bottom line: once a pauper, always a pauper. Though Kaana took Gandon out of Paupers Village, it did not strip his pauper's status away from him. It remained still, clinging to him like a disease, making people turn their noses up at him whenever he came into their presence. The very idea of assisting him offended them. After all, it was his plan; why would they lift a finger to help him? He never helped them when they were making names for themselves. One had to climb his own ladder by his own strength to get to the top. That had always been the Gainan way. Gandon's stay in Paupers Village had led him to forget that.

What made it even worse was that they did not believe in his idea. Water retainers? What for, when they had servants who could fetch water for them every day?

Gandon shook his head as he hauled a log. Paupers Village had always been open-minded. Nothing was impossible for them. That was what made him all the more comfortable to think out of the box and come up with the oddest ideas; ideas that would have never been accepted in Gaina. The princess dared him to think beyond the Gaina way and set his creativity free.

The princess.

Gandon puffed and dropped the log on a tiny pile. The scorching Gainan sun burned down on him with no mercy as if it were punishing him for his crimes, and they were many; the primary one being betrayal. Were it not for him, she would probably still be alive. He wasn't there when she died. He couldn't bring himself to watch. But he heard the people talk. He heard what they did. He couldn't condemn them. He couldn't be angry at them. All of that belonged on his head. He was to blame. He would never forgive himself for what he did. Never.

The thought of returning to Paupers Village crossed his mind several times, but he quickly rejected it. He couldn't go back. Nobody would take him back. Not even his daughter. Not after he had let them all down. He had made his choice, and now he had to rot with it.

He placed his worn hands at his waist as he looked at the small pile of logs before him. It was nowhere near enough. If he didn't get help, he would take an entire year finishing just this one retainer. He noisily exhaled and pulled out his design from his bag. He crouched on the ground and spread out the plan before him, securing the edges with stones. Then he sat back to examine it, his brain churning with ideas on how to improve the design and possibly make the work load a little lighter.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

Gandon groaned in dread. He rose to his feet and turned. Two warriors were headed in his direction, their leather boots thumping on the ground in perfect synchrony. They left the narrow road and marched to him, muttering conspiracies to each other in evil delight. They stopped next to the pile of wood, condescending smirks on their faces.

"Still working on your ridiculous project, are you?" one asked in a husky voice.

Gandon shrugged.

"Water is life," he mumbled.

"And you want to trap all that life in a giant jar, is that it?" the other warrior laughed.

"I just want to help people."

The warriors looked at each other before turning to him with amusement in their eyes.

"Your time at Paupers Village has truly dulled your senses," the husky warrior said. "A true Gaina doesn't need help."

"To be Gainan is to be the best," the other one continued. "You can't be the best and need help."

"Therefore, pauper, your project is not needed here."

The husky warrior stepped towards the design. Gandon quickly barred his way with his hand.

"No. Please don't," he pleaded.

The warrior glared, disgusted that he would dare oppose him.

"Out of my way, pauper," he growled, then shoved him away.

Gandon tripped and fell back to the ground. He watched in horror as the warrior grabbed the sketch and ripped it to pieces, his companion laughing from the side. Fury filled his soul, and with a roar, Gandon leaped to his feet and attacked the husky warrior.

Delighted that he had finally been provoked, the warrior hammered him to the ground with his unforgiving fist. Gandon groaned as he clutched his head, his ears ringing. The other warrior joined in, and together they plowed him with jabs and kicks. The air fell silent, as if the birds were afraid to get on the pair's bad side. Only howls of pain trailed by cackles of laughter were to be heard; a sound that had become all too familiar. The husky warrior ended the session with a strike to Gandon's stomach. His partner spat on the wincing man.

"Filthy pauper," he hissed.

Malevolent merriment on their faces, the pair turned and went on their way, leaving Gandon curled up on the ground, coughing in agony. The man dragged himself to the ripped pieces of his design and shakily gathered them in his hands. His vision blurred and he quickly rubbed his eyes. He did not deserve to cry. He rolled onto his back and stared at the sky.

"What have I done?" he breathed.