The Unknown Tales: A Collection of Short Stories, One Shots, and More

"We were hungry."

"You and your brilliant plan."

"Hey! It was a good idea."

"Yeah, until we got caught."

"It's not my fault the sheriff decided to take a midnight walk through an abandoned house!" Seth defended himself. Jesper shook his head and rolled his eyes. He tried to shift himself into a comfortable position, but with his hands manacled to the wall above him, there wasn't much he could do. His stomach growled pitifully. Hoping to distract himself he listened to the rain drumming steadily against the prison walls.

"At least we're dry." Seth said. Jesper cocked his head and stared into Seth's soft blue eyes with his hardened brown ones. How long had they been friends, he mused. Four. Five years? They were the village rats. Scraggly, underfed, and homeless they scoured the dirty streets day after day, night after night for scraps of food. Nobody seemed to remember where they had come from. The two boys were just a part of the village, a nuisance to more respectable folk. But Jesper remembered. He remembered what happened.

"Do ya think the deputy'll let us out?" Seth wondered. Jesper shrugged, he didn't know. Sometimes they stayed for a few days, others a few hours. The deputy, unlike the sheriff, had a soft spot for them he only let show while alone.

"Probably will let us spend the night."

"I just want food." Seth lamented.

"You always do." Jesper nudged him with his foot.

"You're no better!" Seth retorted playfully. It was true. Jesper was always ravished lately. It didn't matter how much he ate, it was never enough. Seth, unknown to Jesper, always gave him a larger share of the food. His life-hardened friend was somewhere around fourteen or fifteen years. An age when most boys where growing so rapidly they would eat anything and everything and still be hungry a few hours later. He'd also noticed that Jesper had grown a little. He was still thin and wiry and not very tall, a result of poor diet, but nonetheless his body stubbornly grew.

The cell door clicked open and the sheriff walked in. He glared at the boys.

"Deputy wants to see you brats." He spat. His large mouth twisted into an ugly sneer. The sheriff was a big man, heavily muscled and brutish. He unchained Jesper first and shoved him to his feet. Jesper made a show of brushing dirt off his tattered clothes, some came off. The sheriff released Seth, who rubbed his wrists. They'd only been chained for an hour but his wrists were already raw and bleeding. He'd always had sensitive skin.

The sheriff smirked. Seth toosed his head and flashed him a sardonic smile. The sheriff scowled and herded them out the door. Jesper made sure to place himself between Seth and the sheriff.

"If I had my way you little street urchins would both be locked up in that cell until fate came callin'. Deputy's gone soft. This place used to be full of the likes of you and the streets a safe place for respectable folk." The sheriff scoffed. "Now the streets are filled with filth like you."

Jesper and Seth said nothing until they arrived at the deputy's office. There was a small dip on the polished wood from the countless times the sheriff had knocked on that same spot. He knocked there now and waited impatiently. He was just about to knock again when a muffled voice said,

"Come in."

The sheriff all but blew through the door dragging Seth and Jesper behind him.

"Here they are, sir."

"Yes, thank you, Arn. You are dismissed." The deputy yawned. He looked tired, but, despite that, was completely dressed. He believed in always looking presentable when dealing with people. Even at this hour. His greying hair was brushed neatly back, but a few wisps floated around his face.

Arn spluttered but a stern look from the deputy sent him out the door in a cloud of red fury. Harad yawned again and stirred a cup of steaming tea. He eyed the boys before him while he sipped. They shuffled their feet and refused to meet his gaze.

Remarkable, he mused, how showing a little affection in the right places could have far more effect than nothing but cruelty. He sighed and set his tea down. He rubbed his jowels before speaking.

"That's the second time this week. I'm beginning to think you boys like it here." He said. Seth scowled and Harad almost smiled. The black haired boy was a free spirit and hated being tied down.

"No, sir." That was Jesper, with the familiar tone of hurt and betrayal gone bitter.

"No?" Harad mocked. He saw Jesper frown. "Then why are you here so often?"

"It was my idea." Seth chirped up. "We were hungry."

"In the middle of the night."

"Couldn't sleep." Seth explained. He didn't need to. Harad already knew why they were roaming around at night. "We were going to go see if the innkeeper had thrown out any food. We took a shortcut through the old shop and Arn found us."

"That's not what the sheriff said. He told me you were harassing two young ladies coming back from a late night dinner."

Jesper and Seth exchanged confused looks. That was all Harad needed to know. He placed his big hands on his desk and heaved himself to his feet.

"There's some food in the back and beds for you to sleep in. Make sure you leave before Arn comes back."

"Yessir!" The boys exclaimed and, without another word, raced out the back door, pushing and shoving. Harad chuckled. It quickly faded. Arn had said nothing about finding them in the old abandoned shop. He shook his head.

"It's late. Probably missed it." He said as he fished the key to his office from his pocket and locked the door behind him. Jesper and Seth would be able to get out the back.

Meanwhile, they boys had cleared away most of the food in the back room and were contentedly nibbling at what was left. Their stomachs stretched tight to accommodate the abundance of food. Seth lay across his cot and brushed crumbs off his shirt. He sighed happily.

"I could get used to this."

"Mmmhmmm." Jesper mumbled around a mouthful of sweet bread.

"Do you think this is how kings live?"

"Hmmhmm."

"What?"

Jesper swallowed, "They've got it better. Servants who serve them with their food already cut up. All they have to do is bring it to their mouth."

"Really?"

Jesper nodded. "I once heard that one king even had his servants feed him so he wouldn't have to get his hands dirty."

"They really fed him like that?"

"Yeah." Jesper bit into a slice of cold chicken. Seth felt his eyes grow heavy. He was warm and full and now he was sleepy. He yawned hugely. Jesper heard his jaw pop.

"Goodnight, Seth."

"Night, Jes." And he was gone. Jesper stayed up for a while longer, but eventually even he could eat no more. He crawled into his own cot and was asleep before his head hit the pillow.

******************************

Contest:

Friendship

Judges:

Ithildaeforever

BananaBam03

GadSul