Chapter Two: Let Me Tell You a Story

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"Why did your grandpa have to die?" Jakob asked

"Because he threatened the prince." I responded

"But all he said was that "What would your father think of this.""

"Remember something, there are seven princes, and when the king dies, or becomes very ill, the successor will be chosen, and it is usually by the king, through a written will. If the king hears a son of his is doing wrong, then that is the same as hurting his chances as being chosen."

"I see.." He pondered over what I said for a moment.

"Now, let's go to when I arrived at Ragarok Keep...

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2:12 PM-

*Crack* the sound of my rib being broken.

*Pooh* the sound of blood coming out of my mouth

*Chhhk* *Kacha* the sound of the cell being locked.

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...

It had been two days since Grandpa was killed... two days of being trodden around to different villages with the prince saying how I was one of the ones who rebelled against the crown, how age did not matter for punishment. 'Justice' did not limit itself to those that could be treasonous, or be held to the punishments of such acts of treason. Luckily I'm not alone in here anymore... three others are in this carriage with me. An old man named Sam who, as it happened, used to be a butcher and while he had his knife in his hand watching the carriages outside, someone kicked him from behind(I think a soldier, because Sam has a weird eye which makes him look somewhat crazy, and he was staring at the prince.) and he landed in front of the prince's carriage with a proposed assault weapon.

The second of our fun little crew is a young lady named Mira, who, after the prince tried to do dirty things to her, she slapped him and he threw her in here (she's very pretty, though, my second time in my life being near a beauty though at this time I was more scared of what was happening, and after she saw me crying one night she came over and held me until I fell asleep.)

The final one of our jolly caravan was some drunken guy who threw alcohol onto the prince, beat the crap out of thirty some soldiers, then willingly walked into the carriage after Ranger Nicholas (a legendary Ranger) who happened to be at the bar nearby, asked him with a 'please'.

Now let's talk about a few hours later-

1:25 PM -

We arrived in front of Ragnarok Keep, about two or three miles away from where we were told to get out of the caravan. As we got out, our clothing sleeves were torn off, or shoes are taken off, any valuables were grabbed by the soldier (including my woolen necklace which one said he would give to his daughter) and the drunken guy watched as this happened, but nothing happened to him. No one even came close to him. I think they were a bit scared, especially since yesterday night where I guess some fatty came over and tried to pick trouble with us, and the 'no-good bastard' beat him up pretty badly, then made the guy carry him around the camp of guards while making him say "oink!" periodically.

In my hands, I held my Grandfather's head, now wrapped inside of an old, dirty cloth which the 'no-good bastard' handed to me. None of the guards tried to grab it, maybe in disgust of how dirty it was, or perhaps in knowing why it was a tad red. The once warm blood had soaked through it and now had become a dark brown mixed with the red. Some spots darker than others and the blood had turned from the smell of hot copper to the sticky and dry substance that laced around the cloth and my hands. The smell was a stench that would only follow the dead.

We walked straight through the gate, chains in all. The gates were grand and they loomed over of me, the shadow it cast went longer then I could see and its glory was magnificent. Looking back, I must say that it had to be one of the most beautiful sights I ever saw. Farmers coming through, some like Grandpa and I would go to town, a group of knights and strongmen working, and the occasional *Crack!* sound from whips, and some large man falling, stepping on a rake end.

2:52 PM-

Straight ahead from us I see a church like structure- this is also what we call the Gallows. Now you're wondering why is a church the Gallows? It's not. Underneath the church is also the prison, and those who are considered to be rebellious will also be used as sacrifices to the Gods. No, we do not believe in gods like others, we hail the Rangers as Gods, for they protect us. They are our saviors and will protect us at whatever cost they need to take even if that means killing-...

Underneath this silvery white with golden arches, is cell upon cell upon cell, and usually, they tie you up INSIDE your cell and place a type of chunky, white paste over the top of your mouth so you are unable to speak. This process is called Orientation. Within a few days of them covering your mouth in the gunk, comes the sacrifice. Now not everyone gets sacrificed- sometimes people just.... disappear. And there have been escaping attempts. Believe it or not the church members are usually pacifists. It's the head Bishops who are the ones sacrificing people. Now how does a kid like me know this? Because it's at everyone's town, under almost every church! Hundreds of years ago, around the founding of our kingdom, Grandpa said it was a decree which was made in order to honor the Rangers. Now it's used to kill capital offenders.

We walked in, side by side, past the podium, and down into a silver-plated hell. There had to be at least ten cells, but only around seven to eight people, other than us. We were marched straight to cell number three.

It's been a day since we got here...a solid twenty-four hours.

As for what happens next, I'm sure you remember, but just in case you don't...

2:12 PM -

*Crack* The sound of my rib being broken.

*Pooh* The sound of blood coming out of my mouth

*Chhhk* *Kacha* the sound of the cell being locked.

"WHY ARE YOU TAKING HIM, SAM!!"

"Hey kid, let me tell you a story." Said the old Drunk.

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