The Beast Master

Chapter 1

The shining light hit upon my face as I was doing my usual chores. I had to feed the animals,  check the fences, and collect the eggs. It seems easy but it is very time consuming.

It used to be easier tending to the farm before, but its been harder ever since the workers left to find better work. Not to mention that my mom and little brother had recently died of pneumonia. Now its just me and my dad.

I just finished school a few months ago. I had planned to find a job in the kingdom but I felt obligated to stay with my dad. He couldn't even make his own lunch, let alone take care of the farm by himself.

It gets lonely sometimes. Even though I have my dad he is always busy. He's either working, eating, or sleeping. With all the time that I spend working on the farm I don't have any time to myself.

"Peter get inside."  I hear my dad yell from inside. I run inside the old house all sweaty and tracking mud all over the floor."Yes." I tell him. " Son, I need you to go to the lumber mill to pick up some wood I ordered to fix the barn roof."

I'm surprised that he asked me to do something like this. He usually does it himself but I guess that he's realized that he's not getting any younger."Okay, can I take the carriage?" "Yes the carriage, and also this bag of coins. It should be enough to pay for the wood. Now go and be back by nightfall." I run out the door with an anxious face. I always like to visit the Kingdom. It feels like a celebration everyday. I get on the carriage and ride it to the kingdom.

Chapter 2

As I rode in the carriage on the dirt road I carried a crossbow just for precaution. Since I was traveling near the forest there would be a chance that I would encounter a  beast. These creatures were very dangerous and you couldn't face them unless you were a beast master.

I always wanted to be a beast master as a child. They always seemed so gallant and heroic. And their beasts were so monstrous it seemed very appealing to the crowd.

The beast masters are people who were born with a very special gift. They were able to tame the wild beast in the forest and use them to fight other beast masters in the arena . They were awarded with fame and wealth. Some are even given a place in royalty.

My father had once taken me to watch them. They attacked each other with such ferocity and brutality. And who could forget their beasts. I remember seeing one beast master having a unicorn. It had a elegant, shining mane and a long horn. I remember seeing that horn going into the heart of a werebear. I've never been able to look at a horse the same way again.

I was already near the lumber mill when I saw something resembling a parade going inside the castle gates. It looked like soldiers on horses or something like that. I continued going to the mill in hopes that they might know what's going on.

I was about to walk in the mill when the owner, George, walked out the door and bumped into me."Hey George I was about to pick up the wood my dad ordered from you." " pal, I'm about to head to the kingdom." "Oh yeah whats all that about. I saw a bunch of people going into the kingdom just now."

"You didn't hear? It's the new kings coronation today. All the beast masters are going to watch." As soon as he finished that last sentence he dashed away towards the kingdom.

I guess now I had to wait here till George came back. Then again, I could just spend some time at the coronation. Yeah I think I'll do that. At that thought I ran to the kingdom hoping I could get a good view.

Chapter 3

I was a bit less than a mile away but I could still hear the roaring of the crowds cheering multiple beast masters names such as Argon the shape shifter and Leon the zodiac summoner. All of them were given titles for their  specific attributes and beasts they used. My personal favorite was Luke the pack leader who enjoyed using wolves.

I stood at the front of the entrance to the kingdom where all the beast masters were marching to the castle. They were waving at the crowds and some were over acting and started blowing kisses at the crowd. It was understandable that some of the women were doing it but when the men did it, it was a bit awkward. I managed to get to the front of the crowd and get a good enough view. Now if there was only something to do about the noise.

The crowd began walking towards the castle to see the coronation. at the front of the castle the best masters stopped as well as the crowd. Then a men stepped out onto a stage who I assumed was supposed to be the new king. He looked very young. He looked about nineteen or twenty like me. The crowd cheered the name Nicholas so that may have been his name. He raised his hand and the crowd went silent.

"Hello my loyal subjects. I'm proud to announce that I will be your new king. May the kingdom grow and prosper under my reign." Then a man behind him put on the royal crown and the crowd applauded. After that the coronation was officially over so I turned around to go get that lumber from George. I looked up at the sky and it was going to be dark so I started to run.

I had ran less than five feet when I ran into somebody and we both  fell to the ground. I looked up to face the person I ran into. He was big and buff, and he also had a huge scar on his face nearly going over his eye. I tell him sorry and begin running a bit more cautiously, but a hand reaches for my foot and makes me trip and land hard on my face. It was the man, and he was pissed.

“What the hell was that for, I said I was sorry! " I said." That wasn't very nice you know. You made me drop my bag of coins and now they be gone. I'm gonna need you to pay me back. With interest." He was definitely pissed. And I was absolutely screwed. The man grbbed me from the neck and began to chocke me. He then saw  the bag of coins hanging from my waist. He grinned and took the coins. Then he dropped me and started to sprint away.