The Kings Promise

Is it wrong for me not to want people to look at me and see a fragile and weak orphan girl? Well to be truthful not many do. The kingdom I live in was once much larger. It was ten years ago when are kingdom divided into two.  Families were torn apart as a new enemy kingdom took place. They then tried to kill the king but my parents sacrificed their lives for his and left me behind. My father was the best blacksmith in the kingdom and was a very skilled with his weapons. My mother was highly trained to and me at three years old I could throw my daggers and hit the bulls eye without looking. I know it sounds unrealistic but I had a natural talent for it. I loved my weapons and when the war broke out I was a five year old who had a passion for weapons and the skills to go with it.

When my parents died the king tried to get me to live with him because of my parent’s loyalty to him but I didn’t want that. He was going to take me and make me into one of his children but I hid from him. I wanted the life of my parents; I wanted to be able to fight I didn’t want to be some fragile princess. I wanted to be a hero for the people. I was five yet filled with knowledge beyond my years.  I hid taking only my weapons with me and didn’t return to my home until I knew the king had given up his search for me.

Over the years that followed I gained skills in craftsmanship. I changed my name from Isadora to Iris so the king wouldn’t know it was me. I could never be to share that he wasn’t still be continuing his search for me. I took after my dad and became the country’s most skilled blacksmith yet some people still doubted me because I was a girl. Yet little did they know that I was the scarlet cloak. I fought any villains that dared to harm the weak, poor and defenceless and nobody could beat me. Over time though people began to try to find out who the scarlet cloak was and I had to be careful of my every move.

Now at fifteen years I am known throughout the kingdom for two reasons one for being the best blacksmith and two for being a secret savour. Sure no one actually knew I was the scarlet cloak. People over the years had begun to buy and trust in my merchandise and I was making a great life for myself. Then one day it took a sudden change when in walked the prince. The royal heir Prince Caspian came and asked me to make a sword for his father. I can remember his exact words

‘I’ve heard a lot about you, a girl my age who is the most skilled blacksmith in the kingdom. I had to have you make a sword for my father’s birthday. I’ve seen your work and it’s amazing.’ I was very shocked that he knew about my weapons but even more surprised that he wanted me to make a sword for his father the king. ‘My dad hasn’t had a sword made for him since I was five. He said nobody could be as good as Harrison De Leighton but I think your weapons are just as good.’

‘My father’s swords will never be replaced but I would like to add one of your swords to his collection. His last sword is over ten years old and I really want to get him something special. Even though it’s been years from the war he is still upset by it. So I want to give him something to make him happy, I want to see him like when I was a kid, when he was fun and when he didn’t carry the death of his friend on his shoulders. I know that I can’t get what my dad has been searching for years but I still want something special.’

The look in his eyes would be enough to make anyone cry apart from me but something urged me to say yes no matter how much I tried to tell myself it was a bad idea. ‘Fine I’ll do it and not just because you’re the prince,’ he chuckled at this and I waited for him to stop so I could carry on. ‘There is one condition though and that is that you help that way it will really be special. I know maybe to you it doesn’t sound special but I helped my dad make my first daggers and that makes them special to me and so to this day I will always have them on me. Your dad will love something more that you made than that of a stranger. So what do you say?’ He surprised me by engulfing me in a hug and then stepping back with a tomato red face which he tried to hide by looking at the ground and telling me it was a great idea but as long as I could work with someone like him that would probably mess it up.