Miscellaneous Prompts

The Price of Rebellion

The man pounds on the door, yelling incomprehensible words and phrases. I do the only thing I can think of in the moment: I pull Samica into the open closet and shut the door as quietly as I can. Then, I begin shoving her through the small hole in the wall that had been made for emergencies.

Everything that's happened in the last couple of weeks has really worn everyone down, especially me. I'm the one in the most danger by far. Even Dolios, a renowned bandit in the hidden world of thieves large and small and a friend of mine, has never seen such a large bounty over a single person's head. No one has.

And the worst part? I don't even know what I did.

Waking up half-dead at night in a shallow pond with amnesia was a pretty bad thing to start out with. Then, after making a few shifty friends and figuring out my situation, I realized it was much worse than I had initially assumed. At first, I had thought that the king of the land, King Nagid, was a kind and compassionate man that had lost his temper and ordered the warrant for my arrest with no specific price in mind.

However, I learned from Samica, a friend that considered me her sister since she had no family of her own, that he was more of a dictator than a king. He had taken her father and locked him up for generally miniscule actions. Then, in her own words, "the king had the audacity to starve him in front of me".

Her father stole a loaf of bread. That wasn't something to deserve death row. And because of it, Samica vowed to avenge him by hindering the king as much as possible in everything he would ever attempt to do, even if it cost her her life.

That's why she's with me in our little meeting place in a small hut in the far reaches of the capital city, out by the farms that stretch past the horizon. It's a beautiful place under normal circumstances, with the rows upon rows of golden wheat that sway in the breeze underneath the sweltering sun and whatnot, but these were not normal conditions. I was given information from Dolios about a group of rebels that had come together a few years ago to oppose the king and his decisions. It was still a young group, but it had accumulated quite a few members since its creation from what I heard.

One of the captains of the group had decided to host Samica and I's meeting place in their home, so that all parties could communicate with each other. Samica is a representative of the thieves in the kingdom, since they aren't the happiest with King Nagid's tight grasp. Dolios also didn't want to be found by the guards and arrested while at a meeting he didn't necessarily have to be at, which is why he's not there instead. I'm not really a part of any of the parties in the equation, but everyone believes that I'm important because I have an expensive warrant for my capture. I, however, just want answers from the king. Not like I can just walk up to him and ask about myself though, so I have to stick with what I've been doing and stay on the run.

But back to what's going on. None of that garbage backstory stuff is important when there are guards right outside ready to storm the building with weapons in hand.

Samica grunts as I manage to push her through, but now it's my turn. Behind me, I can hear the front door burst open. The clatter of armor and the thud of boots ring out all around me, creating an awful cacophony that makes me want to scream.

I crawl through the hole as best as I can, Samica pulling my arms on the other side. My shoulders almost clear the gap, but they suddenly get stuck on the rough, dusty red bricks. I frantically feel with my feet for something to push against. Nothing, nothing... there! I push against the solid object as hard as I can. The guards are getting closer to the closet inside the house. If they find me before I can escape, I'm screwed.

Samica's pulling me again. The whites of her eyes stand out in the moonlight in stark contrast to her dark brown skin. Her grip becomes tighter. The guards are growing closer. They're almost on top of the hole. I pull together as much strength as I can muster and push with my feet once more. Pain erupts in my shoulders and I can feel blood welling from the scrapes, but at least I'm free.

We scramble away from the hole as quickly as we can. Luckily, it's hidden by a bunch of tall grasses that somehow spring back into place almost immediately after you step on them. I'm not sure if it's some kind of magic cast on the plants to keep them from revealing the secret exit, but thank the gods they can do that. Otherwise, our meeting could be revealed afterwards.

Samica is more than ready to leave, but she can tell that I'm not leaving if the captain and his family might be in danger. So, we stay in the grass and listen carefully to them speak.

"Why are you here? You're scaring my wife and children."

"We've received an anonymous tip recently that you've been harboring fugitives in your household."

"We would never do something like that. We are much too poor to risk our property and lives over something as silly as harboring fugitives. After all, no matter what his Majesty decrees, it almost never affects us farmers on the outskirts of the city."

"Yeah, yeah. Don't play dumb with me. Whether you like it or not, you're standing trial in front of the king himself for harboring a dangerous criminal."

"Oh? What have they done to make his Majesty so upset?"

"What she's done is none of your business. Now let's go. You and your family have to be in the castle dungeon by noon tomorrow for your hearing with the king."

"Wha- b-but who will take care of our fields? And our animals? And who do you mean, she?!"

"They'll just have to die without you. Your farm is not my problem. I'm not getting paid very much for this job in the first place, so why should I care? Get in the wagon."

They had moved outside during their talk. I take a small risk and peek around the corner, getting a small glimpse of the area before Samica pulls me back around with a regretful look on her face. She wants to save them as much as I did, but there's nothing we can do.

We sneak away through the wheat. I look back one last time, then turn away and escape with Samica. There was nothing we could do to save them, after all.

Not yet, at least.