The Bright Wood

Chapter 5

The town was a mess. Buildings were burned to the ground and the still-living people and mounts struggled to regain their bearings. I saw mothers weeping over their lost children, and husbands shouting for their wives. I watched little kids cry out for their mothers while guards attempt to put order to the chaos that filled the place.

One thing that was strange, though, is that I saw no dead. There was not a single body to be seen. It seemed like they disappeared just like Cass and the huge beast that caused this mess. I guided Remora through the crowd and looked around in confusion. A dim flash came from a point in the sky and I looked up. The griffon that had taken Sir Calloway and Princess Rubell into the sky now brought the knight back. I watched the creature descend, and when it almost touched the ground, Lance jumped off of its back and landed perfectly on the ground. His griffon gave one powerful flap and arched back into the sky where it flew for a few moments and disappeared again in a dim flash.

The knight, now on the ground, came towards me and gave a sad but firm look.

"Sir Calloway, how is the princess?" I asked, printable sounding overly concerned.

If my voice betrayed me in any way, Lance did not show it. "She does not often break down the way she did," he answered. "I can only hope that in the morning, she will have put aside the anguish and be the fearless leader the kingdoms have come to know."

"So...what do we do?"

He gave a half shrug. "All we can do now is help the citizens regroup and clean up the town."

"Oh... where did all the bodies go? I swear there were people that died."

"The dead do not leave the earth in your world?"

"Um... no."

"That's strange. Here, when a soul dies and goes to the homeland god, the body will go somewhere else. No one knows where. A dead body will shimmer and dissolve into the air, never to be seen again. What do you do with the bodies in your world if they never leave?"

"We put them in the ground, and bury them."

"That's very strange." We ceased the chatter and started with the looming task ahead.

As we began to help the people with their needs, I began to think. I could not believe that only this morning I woke up in that wet, dark forest. This whole world was too much to take in at once. I picked up a piece of charred wood and threw it onto a cart that someone had begun collecting unusable pieces of buildings on. How could this whole thing even be possible? I picked up a piece of broken stone and threw it on the cart. It was possible that I was dreaming, right? I mean, in a little bit, I would wake up in my bed at home.

I eyed Lance on the other side of the town square. He was talking to two women, one who was weeping hysterically and the other was comforting her. He nodded at them, concluding some conversation with the less hysterical woman, and looked around. His eyes found me and he walked over. I met him in the middle of the square.

"Prince Connor, conditions here will be bad for days to come. This is your kingdom. You may decide what to do."

Suddenly, I had to decide what to do about this mess? I never asked for this, but I shook those thoughts from my mind. I thought a bit and an idea came into my head. Lance had comforted the princess by telling her to sleep and worry about things tomorrow, so why not do the same for these people? Though not all people actually had a place to go right now. I asked Lance, "How many spare rooms are there in the palace?"

"Are you thinking to house the people who lost their homes there?" His look was almost of bewilderment.

"Yes."

"Oh," hesitating, "there are not enough for all the families."

"But how many are there?" I pushed.

"I'd say you can take in seven or eight."

"Okay." I turned and climbed onto the cart that was filled with rubble and addressed the people, "Hey, um, people of Arpton. Can I have your attention?" A few people around me turned to hear what I was saying which caused the rest of the crowd to turn and stare. "Hi, I'm Prince Connor. Um... I don't know what happened earlier, and I'm really sorry it did--"

"How do you not know what happened? We were attacked by a vice. That's what happened, and it's your fault! If you had not come, I would still have my wife and children with me!" People around the man that spoke muttered in agreement as another spoke up.

"What he says is true. You came to our town and that beast destroyed many things... including my bakery!"

"And my mount is gone!"

"My husband is dead!"

A thousand voices began voicing their frustration. I didn't blame them because if I had just lost someone I cared about, I would be blaming someone the first chance I got as well. "I was not supposed to tell you guys this, but things like that are the reason I was brought here." Over the clamor, not many heard me, but those that did quickly quieted and turned towards me with wide eyes. Their disbelief caused the noise to gradually die down again. "Please, don't blame me for the horrible thing that just happened. I want to help."

"How are you going to help us?" a woman called.

"I think that tonight has brought enough stress and sadness as it is. We can deal with the rest of this mess in the morning." Some people muttered in agreement. "Is there anyone with a livable structure who is willing to take people in?"

An alarming amount of people raised their hands. At least a quarter of the present crowd was offering up space in their homes. "Okay, um, can the people who need a place to go go find someone who will give you some place to sleep? Then go there so I can see who's left." The crowd dissipated gradually. They slowly filed out of the square and went into the untouched houses. Soon, the only people who remained were the knights and a few people.

"I can see why the queen chose such a natural leader such as you." One of the guards whom I have not yet met stated.

"What about those people?" I asked.

"There is no room for them. They will have to sleep outside tonight," the knight stated with little sympathy for the people.

"The extra rooms in the palace will accommodate them," I said.

The knight turned to me. "Forgive me for speaking against this, your highness, but it is not custom or appropriate to house common people in the palace." A few of the guards began herding them out of the square.

I turned to Lance standing beside me. "Lance, they need some place to stay."

"I'm sorry, but he speaks the truth," Lance answered, not sure whether to agree with me or with the custom.

"But this seems... wrong," I argued.

"It's not, I assure you," the guard answered.

I turned suddenly to the guard. This would not stand. "Stop the guards."

"But they-"

"I am the prince of the Bright Wood, and I gave you an order to stop the guards." My words were harsh, but I figured a ruler had to be harsh sometimes. These people had done nothing wrong, and I wasn't going to let a silly old rule keep them from having a proper bed to sleep in tonight.

The knight threw me a scornful glance but obeyed my command, and left to go tell the guards to stop herding the people out. I stood back up on the rubble cart. "Excuse me, you probably thought you would be sleeping on the ground tonight." I looked at a father who was holding his young, coughing daughter --no doubt from the smoke and flames earlier-- close to him. "But I am here to tell you that I, as the new prince of Bright Wood, am going to allow everyone to have a room in the palace for the night. Even as commoners, you do not deserve to sleep on the dirt." Their look was somewhat of amazement, and I saw relief in the eyes of the father with the girl. "Um, we'll figure out what else to do in the morning, but for now, just head to the palace I guess. I'll make sure you get anything you need."

I jumped off the cart and walked towards where I had left Remora. Another guard stopped me. "Young prince, no one has ever welcomed commoners into the palace as ward."

"And why not?" I asked.

"I cannot really answer that, but I fear that some of your higher ranking citizens may not take kindly to this first act of yours," the guard warned.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"I am Sir Benton, but you can call me by my first name, Yamund, if you like."

"Okay, Yamund, in my world, all people are equal. Well, most people try to make it that way, and that is a moral that I would like to instil in this kingdom."

"It sounds good, but it has been many centuries since all creatures were equal."

"Why did it stop?"

"I'm afraid that knowledge escapes me. It may have been because it was the day evil first entered the world."

"Do explain."

"Well, in the beginning, our homeland god created everything in our world that is of natural origin. He made the earth and stones. He makes the plants grow, and one day, he made the first creatures. He called them his children. As you know, all children naturally disobey their mothers or fathers sometimes, and when this child did, it was the first evil that ever came into our world. I guess it was then that equality became a foreign thought."

"But to force your hatred onto the ones that can't even defend themselves? That's cruel."

"If you insist."

"Okay, onto the more current problem; we need some way to get the ten or so people to the palace. Is there a cart or something we can use?"

"I think you could use whatever you find."

"Okay." I walked back into the town and found Lance who was busy rounding up the people that would be staying in the castle tonight.

"Lance."

"Yes."

"Can you maybe find a cart or something to attach to a mount? We need to get these people to the palace."

"Leave that to me. You should get to the castle and clean yourself up. Find a servant or maid that can help you find everything you need. Especially some suitable clothing; the garments you have on now are dirty and charred."

"Thank you." I walked to where Remora was standing and nudged her underbelly. She took off towards the palace.