I Give Up...

King Pt.1

I look out the window into the street, the fading orange seeping into twilight purple and black. The small amount of people remaining on the street hurry to their homes and families, hoping to outrun the sinking sun. Because, if they don't get home, they risk being taken by the reapers. They basicly guard our village. And imprison us. I hop off the window and go to the kitchen to steal a snack before bed, but mum has already thought of that.

"You know that eating before bed makes you tired in the morning." She is standing in front of the cabinet, guarding it with a feirce expression and crossed arms.

"I just wanted a cracker, mum, no need to be all protective of the food." I try to get around her, but she blocks my every move with a step to the right or left.

"You go to bed right now, Jay, or I will forbid you from going to the market tomorrow." She points to my bedroom, tapping her foot.

"But mom! Tommorow is the only time the market comes in five years!" It was rare for it to come because they were scared of the King. They had all of the outside resources that we couldn't get because we couldn't leave.

"Now!" She jabs her finger to my room. I grumble and stomp to my room, slaming the door shut.

The next morning, I jump out of bed and quickly slide on my clothes, grab some money and sprint to the kitchen, grabbing an apple. Before I can leap outside to my freedom, mum stops me.

"Are you sure you can be safe?" She has a worried look in her eyes.

"Yes, mum, I'll be fine, the market is protected by our finest guards." They protect it so people don't steal the goods, thus discouraging the market from coming again.

"Alright, Jay." She finally releases me into the wild that I know will be the market.

I weave between the people buying fine silk clothes and exotic fruits, looking for my favorite shops. I finally spot my all-time best, the Dragon's Cave. It has lots of accessories for dragons, accessories made of dragon parts, and even trinkets to ward away evil dragons. It just reminds me that all dragons are not invincible, like the King.
The King is the dragon that keeps us in our small village, and creates the reapers to do so.

"Hey, little birdie. Come back for some items?" The shopkeeper knows me well, as I visit him everytime the market comes.

"Yeh, I'm just looking so far, but..." I spot a ring with a glass dragon eye in it, a beautiful creation with a jewel-like blood red iris and a pure black slit for the pupil. The ring seems to faintly glow purple, making my fingers a strange tint. I immediately pick it up and put it on the counter.

"Ahh, this little jewel of a ring. I'm afraid it will cost much more than how it looks." He raises his eyebrows when I dump all my ₱100 on the table. He takes the money and slides the ring back to me. I snatch it and quickly exit the rush, and head back home.

I show mum the ring, and she gasps.

"How much did that cost you? Is that the only thing you bought?" I nod. "But, you had ₱100 on you..." I smile, and go to my room to look at it closer.

I'm my room, I plop onto my bed and inspect the ring in every corner, cleaning the imperfect spots. I notice four words inside the ring, saying: "Fith falls to sixth." I don't know what it means, so I ignore it, and I put the ring on my right index finger. It glows a brighter purple and makes my finger tingle. I position my hand to look at it on my finger, before I notice the floor has popped up, creating a bump. I panic, trying to push down the bump with my feet, then my hands...and I push it down. I raise an eyebrow, suprised I actually did it. I then look at my ring.