The Gizmo- The Heroes Quest

Chapter 27- Flashback

The king rises to his feet, his twelve ministers following suit. Being shorter than his retainers, he did not have the appearance of a king at all. Only the golden crown, red cloak on his back and air of authority he radiated proved his authenticity of being the king.

A black, straight haired man with a slim body steps into the room, his back straight and footsteps as elegant as possible to retain his poise . He looks rather familiar.

"Papa, I have retrieved the sacred gem stone" he says respectfully, his head partially inclined and his hands offer the gemstone like a worshipper to their god. The king takes the stone and throws it at his face, venom and disgust poorly concealed in his voice.

"Yuuji, how long did it take for you to retrieve this one stone? Your eldest sister, Sapphire arrived from her mission ages ago. Compared to her, you are just filth"

"Pardon me, Father... I promise that I will not fail again"

"I don't need your apologies! Go bathe the horses that you have dirtied."

Yuuji walks away with teary eyes, no longer able to preserve his calm and cool demeanour. The surroundings suddenly shift.

Now, it's a stream, a few miles away from the kingdom. On a rock sits Yuuji, who is washing the royal horses. A blonde, springy-haired woman strolls towards him as she comforts him, "I overheard the conversation, whatever Father told you was really cruel."

Yuuji ignores Sapphire's talk and continues scrubbing the horses' back.

"Yuuji..." Sapphire attempts once again in a comforting tone. However, her disturbingly did not have the comfort her voice held.

"I don't need your apologies, sister. It's just the way you are, always earning father's respect. And me?-" He pauses for a second, taking a deep breath.

"- I'm clumsy by birth and I will never even dream of standing next to you."

"That isn't what you think it is..."

"You don't know a thing!" Yuuji hurls the brush he's holding at his sister.

Angered, Sapphire shouts back haughtily, "I just wanted to take pity on you. It's still the same. I'm going to be the next in line of the throne and rise above everyone. And then, I'll shut you away in the dungeons so that you won't disgrace our family name any further." ending her speech, she storms away.

Yuuji retrieves a picture from his pocket as tears of sorrow and darkness drip from his eyes, "Mother, how much lower can I sink?"

The surroundings morph once again. This time, it's a huge banquet hall with the king and his children seated at the table.

"Soon, one of you shall get incarnated as the emperor of our kingdom!" The king says as he lifts the glass of wine towards his right. His children do the same. Among them is Yuuji, who's drooling at the rich aroma the food exuded. Sapphire pats Yuuji's back as she says, "Eat up. You may never feast your eyes on such a delicious meal ever again" her tone is even, but there is something Yuuji could not pinpoint underlying her words.

Yuuji recalls the incident the other day as he nods. He drinks his wine and digs into the chicken steak at once. But why aren't the others eating?

Suddenly, dizziness hits Yuuji like a ton of bricks and he crumples to the floor in a heap. The wicked smile that breaks out on all the other's faces reveals it all. His mouth open and closes like a fish, but no words come out. Betrayal swimming in his eyes, his body goes slack against the cool, smooth marble.

Unconscious, Yuuji is dragged along the hallway— no consideration for the scrapes and cuts his body suffers from the the rocky steps leading to the bowels of the castle— as the guard throws him into a dungeon. The door behind him shuts and a loud click reverberates through the air, leaving Yuuji to lie all alone on the rough, cold stone floor.