The Forbidden Talent (ON HOLD)

Chapter 7

I nervously got up and followed the man out of my attic, not realizing I had forgotten to put my pencil back on my desk. My mom followed us down to the man's car, where we got in. He started driving away.

After we got down the road a good ways, I plucked up the courage to break the silence. "Um, excuse me, where are we going, exactly?"

The man didn't turn around when he replied. "You'll have to find out." I could hear the smirk in his voice, and I could see it in the rearview mirror.

I suddenly became conscious of the pencil I was holding in my hand. I had completely forgotten about it. I always keep a small pad of paper in my back pocket (which was a bit larger than normal pockets) just in case I need it to jot down notes or something. I took the opportunity to start another small drawing even though it wasn't allowed. Usually I would freak out internally about the pencil and hastily stick it in my pocket, but who cares now? I'm already in trouble anyway, so why bother hiding it?

When we finally arrived at our destination, I looked up in surprise to see nothing less than the king's giant castle looming over us.

My mom was surprised too. She hadn't spoken for the whole ride, but the sight of the castle seemed to scare the words out of her. "What are we doing here?"

The man got out of the car after unlocking our doors so we could get out also. "You're here to see the king. I believe you are aware of the law?"

My mom couldn't say anything else, so I answered the question for her. "Yes, we are, but you see, I kind of have a natural ability to draw things and I love it. Are we going to see the king now?"

"Yes, we are. Follow me. You -" he pointed at my mother. "- can stay here if you want or follow us, I don't care which. All I know is that you, ma'am, need to come." Obviously, I was "ma'am."

The three of us entered the towering doors of the castle. The king was sitting there in front of us on his elegant throne, staring off into space. The man who took us there bowed before him and said, "Your highness." That jolted the king out of his trance. The man continued, still bowing. "We have found someone." He stood up straight. "She appears to have a sort of... 'talent.'" He used air quotes when he said "talent." "I've brought her here so you can arrest her." He was grinning madly, obviously proud of his work.

The king, in a bored tone, said, "Bring her closer." I was shoved forward and walked myself to the king's feet. He sneered down at me. "Is it true that you have a so-called talent?"

"Yes, sir, it is. I know you have that law, which is stupid in my opinion, but I love to draw and I'm really good at it. My artwork looks beautiful, if I do say so myself, and I can't help but do it. I've been hiding my talent all my life." I realized that I had begun to ramble instantly, but I didn't care. I wanted to make a point before he even got a chance to squeeze a word in. "I mean, come on, no art? Seriously? You have to at least think something about it is nice."

The king stared at me with gritted teeth for a second before replying. "Art is disgusting. There is nothing nice about it. I mean, you have a pencil and you make lines. The lines form a shape. What's so special about that?" He almost spit the words out of his mouth.

I grabbed my notepad out of my pocket and shoved it in his face. "This is what's so special about that." On the page, I had drawn a horse galloping through the wind gracefully, mane and tail swishing out behind it. In my opinion, it was one of the best ones I've done. (Mini Author's Note: I will possibly post a picture at the top or side or wherever you see the pictures) "What happened to you to make you not like art?"

The king bent his head. If I hadn't known better, I would say it was in sadness. "Well, to be honest, I used to love art. It was  one of the few things that brightened my days. But then.... something happened. I.. I don't like to talk about it. Let's just say that I don't like it anymore. I banned it so... so I couldn't remember..." His voice faded as his head hung in his lap.

"Oh.. um... I'm sorry, I didn't realize... Maybe I can fix it for you?"