Honor of Euroka

Chapter 3 - One More Exception

Honor watched as people steadily rose and went to the king's throne. It was actually very mundane-looking. They all went up, bowed to the king, told him what they wanted, and got refused or denied.

Some went to the left door, the failures, crying. Honor expected to be going through that door. The rest of them went through the right door, triumphant looks on their faces. It was sickening, really.

Honor began to feel all the more sick when someone-a girl a mere five chairs away-rose and went over there. Honor thought she sounded pretty quiet, even considering the fact that he was across the whole room. The echo made up for it.

Honor's suspicions were confirmed when the king leaned forward and demanded that she speak louder. She didn't seem to get it, so he gave an example of how loud she should be.

Unfortunately, the king had a loud voice, and it came out as more of a shout. Hearing this, the girl grimaced but did her best to shout. She was off-pitch and ended up shilling like a nobles' lady, which she might very well become.

Everyone laughed, except for the king and his retainers. They remained stony- faced as ever. Still, if you looked closer, you would be able to see them biting their tongues or keeping their smiles hidden behind their cloaks.

All too suddenly, Honor was up. He probably would've remained seated, except for the fact that doing so would only attract more attention. He could feel himself wobble.

He wanted to go quicker in order to make the suffering end sooner. However, in doing so, he ended up tripping and landing, faceplanting on the rough tiles of the floor. He was sure to have a bloody nose, but right now, he wanted to retain as much dignity as he could muster.

So he stood as though nothing had happened and ignored the snickers on peoples' faces, showing that they thought his clumsiness was much more entertaining than hearing the shy girl accidentally screaming at the king.

He was also sure he didn't look very dignified with a crooked nose and blood streaming down through it. For he was sure it had started bleeding when he felt a warm, wet fluid. He cursed himself and whoever he could think of-except the king, that is. That would be treasonous thinking.

When Honor got up to the king, he forgot to bow. In fact, he actually held out a hand as though expecting a hand shake. People snickered, and Honor realized his mistake. He quickly withdrew the hand, right as the king was about to take it. He was unsure if he should try to again, but he figured he should bow instead. For some reason, the king seemed to find this amusing. So did the rest of the villagers.

Thanks a lot, Dad, he thought. You jinxed me!

Because Honor was sure to be remembered-as the goof who didn't bow to the king, tripped all over the face, and generally made the whole ceremony seem a little... unceremonial.

Honor kept his head down-at least they couldn't see him this way. Honor didn't feel much like his namesake. He watched as the blood from his nose, which still hadn't dried up, dripped to the floor. The drip, drip, drip was way louder than it ought to be.

He stood there for a full three minutes before anyone said anything. He shifted on his feet, accepted a napkin from a kind servant, and started to dry off his nose while the ever-present servant cleaned it off of the rug. How embarrassing, Honor thought.

After what seemed like an eternity with the volume muted, save some leftover snickers, the king finally cleared his throat. Honor looked up at him ashamedly but was surprised to find some kindness in the dark eyes. The king rarely showed interest, but Honor could see a whole lot of it now.

"So... uh..." he frowned and looked at a sheet the servant (who seemed to never once leave the room) offered to him.

"So Honor," he tried again, "what career would you like to pursue?" He asked gently. This was a gracious gesture, as Honor had had enough of embarrassment today.

However, Honor had originally planned on deciding his career while he rode to the castle with the villagers. When he became too preccupied, he completely forgot what he was going there for anyway. As a result, he still had no idea what career he wanted. He shuffled his feet.

"With all due respect, Your Majesty..." said a woman's voice to the right of the king. Honor stiffened. A witch. She didn't seem to notice. The king turned to her, an eyebrow raised. "This is the ah... the boy we mentioned, if you recall."

There were several curious statements within that sentence. First of all, any King's advisors were under no obligation to call the king by his most commonly used title. So why did she? Second of all, who exactly was entailed in we? And lastly, whoever this 'we' was, why had they mentioned Honor, an insignificant farm boy, to the king?

The king nodded. "Yes, I do seem to recall. I'm not senile, you know." To this, the witch feigned a doubtful expression. The king rolled his eyes and looked at Honor as though saying, "Can you believe her?"

Honor could not, in fact, believe her. But not for the reason that the king might be thinking. The king cleared his throat.

"So anyway, Honor, although I'm sure you had an excellent job in mind, we have already chosen one for you. I do hope you'll like it. Most people find they do."

A knight? Thought Honor. Boys his age tended to like that kind of thing. Honor was never really interested. He hoped it wouldn't come to that. He prayed for literally anything else but a knight. He wished later that he had included one more exception.

"You'll become a witch," the king said. And just like that, the fate of Honor's world had been turned upside down.