Kingdom of tears

Chapter Seven

“Erebus, we really need to discuss your choices in friends,” Victoria sighed after the three of them explained the situation.

“In my defense,” Erebus started, “I did actually get upset this time, instead of just making no big deal.” He held up his hands.

“And I whacked him upside the head for good measure,” Zillah said proudly, a sly grin on her face.

“That hurt too,” Zion complained, rubbing the back of his head where he was hit. Everyone’s heads whipped around to stare at him.

“Not good timing,” Erebus shook his head at him. “We're trying to get you on their good side. Remember?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Oh yeah, right,” he gave an unassuring thumbs up.

Victoria pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed loudly. “Why are we having this conversation again? I can't remember over all this stupidity.” She shot Zillah and Zion a look.

“I swear, I didn't do anything this time,” Zilllah defended. Victoria pointed to the dog, an unamused look on her face. “It followed us.”

“You were carrying it in here.”

“Well your grandma is just charming,” Zion whispered not so quietly to Erebus. Zillah elbowed him in the ribs. “Quit that. It hurts,” he whined to her.

“You're so dramatic! I can give real pain.”

“Guys! Will you two just shut up already?” Erebus shouted. “They won’t stop bickering!” he told his grandparents. “All the way here! First it was about who got to hold the dog. Then it was about which type of knife is best. Then it was about guns versus daggers. Then they were arguing with me about how I'm crazy, and need to get checked out for not liking dogs. They're driving me insane!”

Pike chuckled as Zion and Zillah snickered, “They’re your friends. That's solely on you to keep the chaos under control.”

Erebus started slamming his head against a pillow. “I’m done with you people.”

“Too late,” Zillah chimed. “You're stuck with us. Because I told you both my deepest, darkest secrets. We're stuck together now,” she said a little more seriously.

“Is she always this intense?” Zion asked.

“Yes, unfortunately,” Erebus sighed.

“But we're having this conversation because we think Zion might be helpful,” Zillah answered Victoria's previous question.

“Do you now?” Victoria seemed skeptical.

“Yes, we do. Can seem hard to believe, because…well, yeah. But-”

“What's that supposed to mean?” Zion asked, crossing his arms.

“BOY! If you don't keep. Your. Mouth. Shut! I'M GONNA-”

“ENOUGH!” Victoria yelled. She was getting red in the face, and was grinding her teeth. "All of you. Just. shut. Up!”

The three kids immediately sat up ridgedly. As if it were a life or death situation, but with Victoria, it could very well be. Considering how Zion had been since they got there, Zillah was debating on if she should fear for her life.

“Now Zion,” she continued, "calmly and quietly tell me what information you have.

Zion explained to Erebus’s grandparents what he knew about the king, and the types of laws knights have to follow, and how that would be useful to them. He mentioned that he might even be able to get them into the castle somehow.

“How do we know that you're not spying on us for the King?”

“Because, telling you this is technically treason. Even telling your own family confidential information can get you horrifically punished. And I'm trusting you to not tell anyone I told you this. Just like you're trusting me to not go tell the king your private information,” Zion explained.

“What type of punishments?”

“Well one time a guy I hung out with inbetween training, told his sister what we learned one day. The next day the drill instructor had him stand at the front of everyone and sliced him up with a sword. Cut him up pretty badly, left some permanent marks. Got kicked out of the program, too. As for the sister, she wasn't supposed to know the information. So the guards came to the house and took her away. I don't know exactly what happened to her, but she hasn't been seen since.”

Zillah was horrified. She knew the nobility had done some awful things. But she didn’t know they could be so blatant about it. “What happened to the brother after that,” she couldn’t resist asking.

“Got sent to the dungeons. I know that for a fact. Used him as an example of what not to do for the rest of the year. Scared the ever-loving witts outta me.”

“That’s horrible!” Erebus exclaimed.

“I know,” Zion agreed, nodding his head. “But that’s just what comes with training as a knight.”

“And you just accept that?”

“I mean, it’s all I've ever known, really. My mom has been a knight as long as I can remember, and my dad loves to practice with guns and swords in his freetime. Sure, I know some of the stuff they do is wrong, but…it's just what I'm used to. Why change?” he shrugged his shoulders.

“Because they've murdered innocent people!” Zillah felt the need to point out.

“I get what you're saying. If I'm being honest, I was kind of reluctant to start training. That's why I wasn't doing it from the beginning.”

“So you had doubts?”

“Plenty. I probably wouldn’t have done it if my dad wasn’t so eager for me too. He wasn’t able to join himself because of really poor eyesight, and I wanted to make him proud.”

“What did your mom say about all of it?”

“Oh, my mom?” Zion looked down at the ground, fidgeting slightly. “I don’t actually get to see her all that much. Work keeps her away at other kingdoms most of the time, so I only get to see her for a couple days every six or more months at a time.”

“Has she ever talked to you about joining?” Erebus asked.

“Once or twice. She mainly wanted to make sure that's what I wanted to do.”

“Is it?” Pike asked.

“I think so.”

“You don’t sound so sure.”

“Well…I don't really know, actually”

“Are you able to quit anytime you want?” Erebus asked.

“Kind of,” Zion explained. “It’s complicated. It's a really long process, with lots of paperwork— probably to deter anyone from quitting, but, yes technically you can quit. Unless you're already a full fledged knight. Unless it's for medical reasons, you're not allowed to quit or take breaks.”

“Is that why your mom isn't around much,” Zillah asked quietly. “Because she isn't allowed to quit.”

Zion cleared his throat, blinking hard. “Yeah,” he mumbled.

Zilah looked at Zion and realized something. Despite all three of them being vastly different, they all had something in common. They all had someone they missed. They all had a deep ache inside them that wouldn’t go away. For the first time in a very long time, she didn’t feel like she was alone anymore. And she was going to do everything she could to make things right. Not just for her. Not just for her parents, or her siblings. Her friends. She hadn’t considered anybody that in a long time, but she did now. She was going to make things right for everyone in the kingdom. Even if it was the last thing she ever did.