All Of Us - Part 1: Summer

Chapter 10 - The traitor's village

- Evangeline -

"And then I'll take yer ear, and make yah cut it off, and then.."

I attempt to block out his voice. But it is far from easy, as much as I want it to be. He spits out the words and cuts his way past punctuation, proper grammar and pronunciation, to get to the very core of it: he wants - desperately - to kill me. I shift and turn my back to him. I know that he will react by doubling his insults and threats, but I need to stay strong and let them roll over me. Survival before all. Before all.

My escape plan... It is far from hatched at the moment. Everytime I try to think about how to get out, my mind takes me back to the Castle. Both the one in my mind and the King's Castle in Epoh. I shake my head. I must stop thinking all these complicated thoughts.

I lay my head back against the wall and let myself get lost in the gray of the ceiling. Everything hurts - I do not want to think about the escape plan. I will do it later.

"Hey ? Hey ! Are you listening to me ?"

I twist to find myself face to face with Ian. His eyes are bright, as if he were feverish - but it is only madness. His hand is a few centimeters away from my cheek, ready to hit. Yet he refrains himself, and his fingers curl back into a fist, one by one. He gets up and paces back to the boulder. Once he is firmly seated once again, he re-opens his mouth, and out comes:

"Yer hair, I'll burn that. Nah, too simple, actually. I'll.. I'll braid it instead, when yer ear is gone. That way, the blood'll stain yer pretty white hair, and when I cut it all off, it'll look almost like it's on fire-"

"Why are you here ? In the rebel camp." I blink slowly. "What's your story ?"

His mouth stays open, and he looks at me with absolute stupor in his eyes. Adrenaline rushes through me. What am I doing ? This goes against all of my instincts, all of my will to survive, and yet it feels amazing.

"What," I repeat, slower and defiant, "is your story ?"

At last, he closes his mouth and swallows. His eyes have clouded over, and I cannot hint at his thoughts.

"So ?"

He looks away, visibly pained. "Shut yer gob," he finally says.

He remains silent for the rest of the shift.

*****

"The Continent is divided between four countries. The culture of these four states is far beyond anything we have ever had on Methron. They have no Lassheso congregations, nor do any of them seem to have a King. They follow a system of elected representatives, in which each subject gets a vote."

I stare at the words on the page. No King ? How is that possible ? How does the country not descend into chaos without a strong man to keep everything in check ? Actually, now that I think about it, I believe the rebels do wish to put such a system in place. No King, no Princess. Only servants of the people, brought to power by a nameless mass - and just as easily brought down.

"Princess ?"

She breaks my focus and I painstakingly tear myself away from my thoughts. I glare at Aline, my head held high. Why is she interrupting me ? I only have one desire: to finish this book as soon as possible. I want to know what happened during the Opening. I want to understand. A desire churns in my chest, strong and relentless. This book has given me hunger - a craving for knowledge, a thirst for words. I think I understand why the rebels have it here.

My stomach clenches. Is reading this book going against the Crown ? I chuckle interiorly. I am the Crown. How can I be against myself ? Yet... This book makes me feel alive, something I could never have felt at the Castle.