Kingdom of Arzialla by Marilyn Arias (story reading txt) 📕

skipped a beat. I stuttered, thinking of billions of things to say and realizing none of them will do me any good. He didn’t wait for me to finish thinking of an excuse however. “Mister Callaghan, tell me. Why were you so needy to become a soldier? To give up your life for not only your family and friends, but a couple of complete strangers?”
This question again. I knew what to say but I felt like I should seriously choose my words wisely. After almost every word I hesitating, asking myself “Would it sound alright to say this? Would I create some sort of miscommunication? Would this offend him?”
“I know how it feels to… lose a family. Twice,” I quickly added. “Mila wouldn’t be the definition of a family, but she took me in and she cared for me as if I were her own son. She was like the mother I sadly was unable to live with for as long as I could to even remember her face. And it hurts to see other people suffering and crying because they don’t have a family anymore. I want to be a hero. Someone that people will recognize and say ‘He saved my daddy’, like the little boy will probably say to his friends.”
The king nodded but had a face as if he was waiting for something else for me to say. So I kept talking, waiting for a sign that I said the right thing.
“I don’t want to do all this for popularity or fame. But I want to be a good role model and show to the world that while there’s evil creatures in this world, there’s also something that you can count on and give thanks to later on. I don’t want a place such as my home village to feel like they didn’t have a hero or a divine power to pray to like we do here in Arzialla.”
“And you believe in Syveria?”
“She’s saved me countless times. But honestly, right now, I feel like she works in mysterious ways,” I said.
“She was always a strange child,” Zysman chuckled.
I let out a small side smile and Orde came back to my mind. “You didn’t answer my question though.”
He rose his eyebrows at me in question.
“Orde.”
“Oh! Well, he’s going to go through trial. Regardless that he helped save a soldier and a child, he illegally taught a minor sword fighting.”
“Your Majesty, is there some alternative for all this mess?”
“I’m afraid not, my boy,” he apologized.
“What will happen to him?”
“He’ll spend two years in the dungeon,” he said flatly. “Don’t worry, it’s not a big enough crime to execute him or have him rotting in prison.”
I nodded, almost relieved to hear that he at least won’t die. I stood up and gave a bow.
“Well, it was nice talking to you. Now if I can find my clothes, I’ll change, give you back these lovely pajamas back to you and be on my way.”
I started walking away and placed both my hands on the double door handles and pulled them open. On the other side of the door were two soldiers guarding the room from the outside. They pulled their swords out of their sheaths and crossed them in front of me, not allowing me through.
“On your way to where?” the king asked. “School is cancelled for the day and you have no home to go to anymore. Besides those pajamas are now yours.”
“Wait, what?”
“That room you woke up in would normally be the guest room but it’s yours to sleep in now. Your study room is right next door to your bedroom and--”
“Whoa, wait. What? No, I can’t. I’m sorry, but I’ve done too much damage in your village to believe that you’re taking me in,” I told him.
“Well, you’re a minor and we can’t put children in the dungeon so we’d put them under house arrest for three months. However, you obviously have no home. The fairies have taken care of the fire and damage of Mila’s house anyways so I can’t punish you that badly. And--”
“What you mean ‘they’ve taken care of Mila’s house’?” I asked him.
“Fairies may be small and individually useless and vulnerable but there’s thousands in the woods that can use their water skills to put out a fire. The ones that aren’t gifted with water would help clean up the mess together. They’re amazing little folks. They’ve even fixed up my palace in no time,” he added.
So that’s why the kingdom wasn’t as much of a disaster as I remembered it to be…
“Now, are you going to continue interrupting the middle of my sentences?”
“No, I’m sorry,” I said quickly.
He cleared his throat while he glared at me. “You don’t have a home therefore I can’t just simply put you under house arrest willy-nilly. You are enrolled in military school so--”
I opened my mouth to say that I’m not but he stopped me quickly and added “You are now.”
I gulped in surprise. How am I just simply enrolled?
“You obviously have a passion to do good and that’s what I like to know when I look at a soldier,” he answered my question. “And, honestly, I think you’re too good of a soldier to be under anybody’s roof.”
I felt a jolt in my stomach. “I am?”
“Even though I wish everybody got out of the disaster alive, every single soldier must risk their own lives to save not only their family and friends but a stranger in need as much as possible. You are not a soldier yet, but you’ve got guts of one.”
I was unsure what to say. I was baffled…
“I think,” the king continued, “you’ll be a fantastic soldier. Which is why I want you to live in my kingdom. I want to make sure you can become something beyond that.”
I felt this was too easy. I know Mila took me in right away and I wasn’t too shook up about it as I am now but only because she was an old lady and she was soft-hearted. The king, however, is supposed to be bold, wise, just. How does he trust me so easily?
“With all due respect, I feel like there has to be a catch,” I spoke.
He smiled. “I need an heir to the throne to take after me. A strong, smart one. After the death of my only son and wife, I have no way in being positive that this kingdom will survive flawlessly.”
“What are you saying?”
His eyes watched me with amusement. “I’ve had a line of students who are studying to be soldiers who wanted to be the next king. None of them interested me. None of them were born or taught or raised right enough to be capable of being the next king. None of them has the experience of such loss to understand what shouldn't happen to others.”
“And I’m guessing you like me.”
He nodded as he took a sip of his glass.
I took a deep breath, somewhat confused but still willing to hear what he wants. There has to be something he wants from me. A home, a place in military school and a crown just can’t be given away that simply. “So now what then?”

He just stared at me with a grin. “How often do you read?”
“Not very since I barely ever get the chance to go to the local book store. It kills me to not read though.”
“Well, lucky for you, there’s about five libraries in this palace,” he told me.
“Really?” I gasped.
“Yup,” he replied. “Do you want me to take you to the biggest one?”
“Yes, please,” I said excitedly.
He wiped his mouth with a nakin and stood up.
“He’s very polite too,” he muttered.
He took me down hallways and corridors before stopping at another set of double doors. He opened them and let me step inside. The room was gorgeous and breathtaking. The walls were all entirely of shelves of books. It didn’t stop there. There were more shelves lined up next to each other in rows. They were as high as three times my height with a long, wheeled ladder and the shelves seemed to go on for miles. There was a portion of the room that had luxurious leather couches arranged nicely with lamps next to each one. A piano sat in a corner of the room with a lamp next to it.
“Normally in family reunions, we’d stay in here, talk about what has happened recently before going to the dining room and have dinner. While we discuss various things, there’d normally be someone softly playing the piano to sooth the atmosphere.”
While staring at the bookshelves, I walked to the piano and glanced at it when I was about five feet from it. I lightly touched the keys, feeling its smooth surface.
“My father used to tell me how amazing my mother was with the piano…” I murmured.
“Oh?”
“Yeah. My sister too. She used to say how she’d play a song for her to sleep to. The sound of the keys would echo in our little house…”
“What happened to her?” he asked.
“She died. So did my father and sister,” I replied. I decided to somewhat change the subject. “My sister knew how to read music sheet so she taught me.”
“Would you play a song for me?” he asked.
“Oh, uh, I don’t know any songs. At least by heart.”
“Then… pick a song out of the song book,” he said pointing at the book that sat on the music stand. I took it and flipped through pages, looking at titles and trying to see if I knew any. None were familiar so I picked one at random. I flipped to a random page and found a song called Kiss of the Arrow. I sat down, placed my fingers on the keys and started playing, pausing to check what note to play next in each measure. It sounded very bittersweet and sad. Thankfully, it was only a page long so I didn't have to play much.

“Not bad,” he said.
“Wish I was better though,” I said, scratching my head.
“Well, now you have all the time to practice while you’re at house arrest,” he said as he patted my shoulder and started walking out the room.
I just sat there staring at the keys and then I realized something. I quickly spun in my seat and said “You’re majesty?”
He turned around and glanced at me with curious, raised eyebrows.
“Do you allow pets in the kingdom?” I said.
“Why, yes. Of course, I’ll allow Cally to live here,” he said.
I stuttered, still wondering how he can know so much. He chuckled and walked out of the room.
“And sire?”
He peaked his head back into the room.
“Can I see Orde?” I asked.
“When you've served your time in house arrest.”

I'm Done Talking To You- Anna

“SO WHEN ARE YOU OFF again?”
“On Sunday,” Jason answered as he sipped on his