The King's Ally

The Tiger

Joe sighed. This just wasn't going the way he'd planned. A trip into town has turned into a disaster. An innocent visit into the bakery turned into the site where Joe was last seen. The teenager dressed in a leather jerkin and a dark cloak with the hood pulled up so that it hides his eyes used to be a familiar sight until the "unfortunate incident ".

Joe shook his head, he'd prefer it if he didn't relive that moment. It had been tragic, and everyone blamed him. Everyone, that is, except for himself. He blamed the writing on his wrist.

No matter what he did, there was always some writing on his wrist, telling him to do a certain task. It could be anything, once it had told him to go to the alley on the far side of town. There he had seen a kid around 8 being beat up. He broke up the fight and walked the boy home. Another time it led him to the river side where he found the same boy trying to fish out his little sister who was stuck in the fast flowing water. The most recent was when it told him to save the captive tiger being sold in the market that day.

However, once he got to town, he got distracted by the delicious smells coming from the bakery. Once there; he bought a loaf of bread, paid for the loaf, and all of the bread loaves in the oven burst on fire.

Needless to say, he made his escape as quickly as possible.

Now he was making his way to the market by way of the alley ways. Ducking his head in the cowl of his hood when ever he met up with someone.

Upon arriving at the market, Joe watched, and waited. He didn't know anything about this tiger or how he was being held. All he knew was that he had to save the tiger. Or something bad will happen. Something really bad.

Joe scanned from his vantage point, taking in the sounds and the smells. Joe gagged, the smells weren't so good, he decided to block those out. The market venders and customers were arguing, making loud noises... which were annoying someone... no, not a person, an animal. The tiger. He saw it on the corner, in a large cage, snapping at any who got too close. It's brilliant orange and black coat gleaming in the afternoon light.

Until then, Joe never questioned how the tiger got to Eastern Europe, but now he wondered how it had gotten there. Tigers lived farther west, not in Great Britain.

Joe walked slowly towards the tiger, still gathering the information from the stall. The stall owner had a cane and was occasionally poking the tiger with it. He had black shaggy hair and a long, black coat over a red leather jerkin and boots. The stall was decorated to attract attention, with a bright red carpet in front, and the cage that held the tiger right on top of it.

Joe found his way towards the tiger and stopped near the front of the crowd that had gathered to see the caged animal. The tiger owner was waving for silence—he planned to speak.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" The vender called. " I am Scelestus! And in case you don't know what this is, it is a tiger! Came all the way from Southeast Asia, it did." The speaker paused for dramatic effect then continued, "Today, I am selling it for a fair price, only 25 crowns!"

There was a murmur of astonishment. Tigers were rare in these parts and not even a wild cat would be sold for that low.

"Anyone want to come up and see the beast's temperament up close?" Scelestus asked the crowd.

There was silence for a moment, then Joe stepped forward, ignoring the whispers that went on around him. He kept walking until he was right in front of the man, who stood in front of the cage.

Scelestus chuckled, "Boy, get your parents, this is not for the youth."

"I will like to go into the cage, please open the door," Joe said, ignoring the statement about his youth. He wasn't that young, but maybe the man just didn't want to be the one to put a younger life at risk. This kingdom put a lot of value into the younger generation.

" Are you crazy?" Scelestus exclaimed.

"Better do as 'e says Mr. Scelestus, sir," called a voice from the crowd. "He's a strange one, 'e is."

Scelestus looked at Joe incredulously, then took a ring of keys from his pocket and opened the door. Once the door was opened wide enough, Joe bent over and got in.

The tiger looked at him, as if thinking that the boy might be crazy along with the one who held him captive. Joe crouched for a minute or two, then moved ever so slowly closer to the big cat. He held out his hand with the writing on it palm up. Experience taught him that those who he interacted with wouldn't hurt or run away from him if he showed them his wrist.

As Joe got closer, the tiger snarled in warning, but stopped short when he saw Joe's wrist. He sniffed his hand, made a loud noise similar to a purr. The tiger then came up to Joe and rubbed the side of his body against him. Joe looked up at Scelestus,

"I'll take him." he said, handing the money over through the cage.

Scelestus took the money, with a dazed look on his face. The crowd was staring, stunned. They've never seen him do anything like this before; it was new.

Before Joe could do more than look at his new friend and back at the cage however, he heard a loud bang and click. Scelestus had closed the door and locked it. Joe reacted immediately, he was at the cage bars in a flash, pulling at them sideways.

Secelestus laughed. "You won't be able to do that, they're made of steel," he told him.

The crowd backed up, they know that those who hindered the boy in his work will get burned. Branded. The mark usually was a circle and a line through the middle.

Joe very easily contradicted the man by pulling apart the bars as if they were wires. He stepped through, followed by the tiger. Once they were both through, Joe and the tiger looked at Scelestus for a long time, making him uncomfortable.

"You don't know who you're dealing with," Joe replied. The tiger growled, expressing his distaste.

Joe reached out the hand with the writing and took the money back, putting it away in a pouch at his side. "Thank you," he said, his voice very low. Then, he and the tiger made their way through the crowd, with Joe leading the way to his little cottage in the woods.