Of Jesters and Kings

Part 8- Gates and Dens

He passed rows and rows of houses, all grey and bleak. The Jester had his seashell on, it was playing a heavy loud beat on repeat, and both his hands were jammed into his tunic pockets. The boy wished he had his staff with him. It had been given to him by the Queen herself, and it was a rather good walking stick.

George under a couple low stone arches and arrived at the edge of town. A black iron gate was set in the small fence which surrounded the town. The entire thing was rusted, and the black paint was peeling off in small thin sheets. The Jester approached the iron gate slowly and kicked it open. The gate and fence were up to his waist in height but the spear shaped posts snagged his tunic. 

There was a beaten dusty path leading from the gate into a wide plain, which had a sea of grayish grain, that soon gave away to the surrounding woodland. As the Prince started walking he took out the notebook and checked to see where he was. 

The arrow indicating his position had moved. The Prince of Horses raised an eyebrow. So the map tracks where you are? Alright cool.

Angel's Cup was on the other side of the plain. George shrugged. Might as well start reading. Lukas had said it contained all he might need to know on his journey. As the boy walked, his shoes would occasionally kick up a small cloud of dust from the path. The Prince leafed through a couple pages before he settled on a section pertaining to "The World". 

The places and objects here are generated by the inhabitant's thoughts. These generations take place before person lands. But only a small portion of what the person is thinking about is created, due to a bunch of physiological magic and all that jazz, the Jester had skimmed through. 

The notebook also noted the world was flat. George had made a face when he got to that part. He skimmed through the book and stopped occasionally to catch some bits and pieces of information. 

"Colorful patches of land..... untouched...the dark.. insanity? A traveling circus group...." George put away the notebook. That was enough learning for today. 

The Jester paused and look around. How long had he been walking? 

He was still at the iron gate. 

"What the bloody shit..." The Prince muttered. 

He started walking again through the field vigorously. The horizon blurred and when he got to the end of the field he was confronted by an iron gate.

The Jester whirled around. Behind him were the rows of grey houses. George was back where he started.

***

Sara screamed out in pain. The arrow struck her chest and the tip was prodding out of her back, underneath the shoulder blade. The Executioner cursed herself, she had stuttered when she was saying the prayer when the riders came and was forced to restart the incantation. Brandon seemed shocked at first, but his face soon twisted into a mask of anger. 

"You BASTARDS!" he yelled and both his fists clenched until the knuckles turned white. "One day you'll all pay for this. Just wait, you royal dogs." Brandon spat. 

"HA! You might be right my friend.." The female rider laughed and she approached the boy. The horse being significantly taller than him. "Not today though..."

She kicked out with one of her legs catching Brandon by surprise. The heel connected with his rib cage, and he stumbled back. Sara was down on one knee panting. Just a couple seconds. Brandon let loose a stream of profane curses that could have made an angel cry. 

The armored girl nodded to a fair haired lad sitting on a grey stallion next to her. "Tomus take grab the girl, and Drey.."

"Yea Alice?"