A Life Beyond by Mark Church (ebook reader web TXT) 📕

'Oh hello' Daniel replied 'are you ok?,

'What's your name boy??' the King asked, knowing he needed to make people believe they weren't related so there would be no jealousy towards him,

'Eh??...but you…' stuttered Daniel as he stared at the King with the blankest expression on his face,

'I asked you a question boy!!' the King replied 'and I expect an answer!!' his tone changed as he knew all eyes were fixed on him but his grandson couldn't see what was going on,

'Oooo tetchy!!' Daniel laughed out loud as he thought they were playing some kind of game 'my name is Freddie McGumball, third in line to the throne of the Land of Cabbages...Ohhhh that's a good one, must remember that' he laughed as he looked back at the King who was looking less than impressed with his grandsons lack of respect towards him in front of the rest of the school.

'Hilarious..' the King said as he sighed heavily at his grandsons response, 'your REAL name if you please, and no more back chat!!'

'Sorry!!..' Daniel said with an air of annoyance as he was trying to have a little fun 'my name is Daniel Carter...I'm twelve years old...and I can't stand brussel sprouts'

'Daniel you say...Hmmmm I've not seen you here before, are you new to Castle Erwin?' asked the King with a wry little smile spreading across his face as he looked at Daniel,

'Well yes sort of...I guess...I mean...I don't think I've been here before but I'm not sure' replied Daniel as he squirmed awkwardly on the spot with hundreds of eyes staring right at him,

'Ha ha, it's ok, I'm only joking with you, and from now on could you please pay attention as it is from this point on that your future will be decided' the King smiled as he swiftly turned on the spot and walked back towards the front of the room and climbed back up onto the platform he had been standing on, as he took a deep breath the King looked out over hundreds of expectant faces all waiting for his first day speech, as he looked across the children he could see that most of them had a look of excitement while others looked as nervous as they had ever done so he knew his speech needed to appeal to all the children, a huge smile spread across his face as he began to address the children with warmth and compassion, the class teachers dotted around the room as if forming a sort of protective barrier around them,

'Children…' the King began 'as you all know this year is particularly busy with all the new additions to the school, and I know a lot of you have spent some time here before your actual first day but I hope that this year will be one that we can look back on with a collective amount of joy and happiness and us being able to watch you all grow into the most wonderful people that have ever graced this wonderful place, but as always there are forces that lurk beyond the safety of these walls which are trying to upset the balance here, but I assure you that as your first school year passes with us you will have gone some way to being able to spot the danger signs that threaten to upset our way of living and you will be equally adept at defending yourselves with the aid of Professor Deveraux and his class for defence and wizardry…' the King lifted his hand up to the place where Professor Deveraux was sat which upon hearing his name he rose from his seat so the whole room could see who it was the King was talking about, he smiled and bowed his head slightly towards the children but didn't utter a single word allowing the King to continue his speech 'I do hope that you take his class very seriously as I have been particularly active in recruiting only the best teachers to serve at this school this year, and he comes with the most glowing reputation as one of the best defence teachers across the land….I would hate for his time to be wasted by any of you' a murmur spread around the chamber as the King paused for a few seconds to catch his breath, every child was whispering amongst themselves apart from Harvey who was just standing there completely still as if frozen and was staring at the wall at the end of the room as if

he could see right through it.

'Settle down please, all of you….Now we all know the reason why we are all here don't we children?' the King began speaking to the room again with a slightly more upbeat tone as he leaned against his platform and smiled,

'ALLOCATION DAY!!!!' the children shouted as they threw their arms in the air whooping wildly at the thought of what was happening next.

Allocation day was the most important day in the children's school calendar as this was the day that the King and his staff would give each class their own dormitory, these were to be their rooms for the rest of their school term but the rooms came with a hidden secret, something that none of the new pupils knew about and which would be revealed to them soon enough,

'So children..' the King raised his hands aloft and smiled again 'I know just how excited you all are about finding out which dormitory will be yours but if you can just contain your excitement for just a few moments more, I just need to speak to the other teachers regarding your placements' so the King stepped down and ushered the teachers to the far end of the room as a quiet murmur filled the room, followed by a rumbling of noise as the children began talking rather loudly amongst themselves now, Daniel just stood there looking rather bemused by what he was hearing,

'So Tobes…' he said as he turned towards his classmate who had been in conversation with the child standing next to him 'I think I get what's going on now...so the room we had been staying in wasn't actually our room?, but to me it seems we will all be staying together in one big room now, kind of like one of those big halls the Army use', Tobias placed a hand on Daniels shoulder and laughed out loud, enough for Lillie to be distracted from her chat with the girl she was standing next to,

'Ohhhh you don't know do you?' laughed Tobias ' It's so much better than that I can assure you Daniel, what the King was saying was that each class is given their own dormitory to stay in, it's so we can all get to know each other better and form bonds or something'

'Sort of like a camp you mean?' replied Daniel,

'Yes….maybe, I guess, a camp...now that does sound great, yes it's done so we can all help each other in any way which is needed, it's a place where we can study and have fun without the pressure of being in class' Tobias had been looking forward to this day for so long now that he was beginning to get extra excited at the thought of finding out which dormitory would be theirs 'I've also heard there is some sort of surprise being left in each dormitory, but that's as much as I know...now Shhhh the Kings on his way back'.

The King stepped back onto his platform and addressed the children once again 'My children...now the time has come, the most exciting day in the history of this castle...now let's get you children allocated…', a huge roar greeted the King's last comment, the children were high fiving each other and talking excitedly about what room they were being given, 'ALRIGHT children…'shouted the King 'let's get started…..step forward the class of Forest Edge' as the class stepped forward the King smiled warmly 'after much deliberation we have decided to offer you the dormitory of….Elder Siren', the class began excitedly shouting in appreciation at the dormitory they had been given 'now if you will follow your teacher Mrs Higgitt she will escort you to your new dwelling, all your things have already been placed in each room ready for you..Oh and don't forget what we talked about Mrs Higgitt, wait for my signal ok?' the King smiled as the class exited the room out of the side door and off into the echoey corridor

'Yes my King, I shall be standing by' Mrs Higgitt smiled as she left the room after her extremely excited class.

'Now who is next??...Ahhhh yes Rivers Cove. Please step forward, you have been offered the dormitory of….Lunar Fog' once again loud and excited shouting followed what seemed to be a very popular decision amongst the class as they were ushered out of the door by their teacher Mr Ragnar after being given the same instruction as Mrs Higgitt.

So for the next few minutes the King reeled off name after name of classes and dormitories, slowly the numbers dwindled until he got down to the final few classes, Lillie’s, Harvey's and of course Daniel’s. A low murmur filled the room as the last few classes stood side by side in the Chamber,

'And now the last few….step forward...Muddy Bog' the whole of Harvey's class fell completely silent awaiting their dormitory room, 'now as you may already know you three classes that are left have always been seen as a higher performing class year after year which is why I have allocated you one of the top three dormitories this castle can offer….Titans Trinity!!!' gasps spread amongst the children as they knew this was a massive honour for their entire class to be offered a dormitory as wonderful as this one 'Now Mr Scoot you know what to do, await my signal in the room please, and children do behave!!' as they all ran towards the door it seemed Harvey had been swallowed up by the number of children desperate to get to their new room, something which Daniel had noticed,

'Oh bye then Harv!!!' he said as he watched the class managed to squeeze through the door and off out of sight in a whirlwind of whoops and screams,

'I'm sure you will get to see him soon, this is the most exciting part of the day for us, don't worry' smiled Tobias as he grabbed hold of Daniel by the shoulders 'I'm so excited myself!!!, I can't wait to find out what we have been allocated!!, I'm literally bursting!!'

'Oh whoop-de-doo' laughed Daniel 'I just need a rest I'm shattered!!', the King cleared his throat which was to get the attention of the last couple of classes who were still muttering to themselves,

'Ahhhh just the two left now…' smiled the King 'now step forward….WallBloom please' a collective clomping started as the whole class moved forward at once 'now this was a very close thing between you and DawnFall as to who got the last two Dormitories but after much careful thought we have decided that you will be allocated….Star Fall',

'Oh my goodness that's the best room isn't it??' asked one pupil from Lillie’s class,

'It's just as good as the other one trust me' said another pupil, Mr Flora smiled as he held out his arm for the children to follow,

'Come along children…' he said 'we have a bit of a walk ahead of us so please do try and keep up' he smiled as an excited class exited the

room in an orderly fashion with Lillie not really having a clue as to what was going on now and seemed to be just following the crowd for once, she did catch Daniel's eye as she turned round and waved to him with a worried look spreading across her face which Daniel noticed but was unable to do anything about.

'And then there was