Quest: Book 2

by Yufeng Zhuang

16

  Several strong guards push me on the ground, a looks more gentle guy puts a cushion on my particular place of the skin, he gives me a smile.

  "Be cooperated! Cry a bit more miserably!"

  "One!" the stick in the guard's hand beats down.

  "Ah..." I cry out loud, because I have the cushion on my ass, it doesn't hurt a bit.

  "Two!" the stick in the guard's hand beats down again...

  "Ah... Ah... Ah...!" the guard beats me twenty eight times, I cry out loud twenty eight times, and I try to cry differently every time.

  Only two sticks left, I haven't seen the guard give me the beats for a long time, I'm a bit out of patience, I just want to urge them to finish the beating, so I can go home for dinner. I turn my head and see Feshert's crooked smile.

  "No!" from his eyes, I do perceive the danger, sure enough, the cushion on my ass is picked away by him, I'm frightened out of my wits immediately.

  With "Poof! Poof!" two sounds, my bottom gets two heavy beats. A stream of severe pain comes slowly and determinedly from the skin, to the bone marrow... I open my mouth, but nothing comes out, only hissing, hissing... Sucking the air back in.

  "You..."

  "Well, this is what my father said, the last two must beat for real." not seeing my innocent eyes, Feshert turns and says, "get up, my mother wants to see you."

  I limp walking into the Royal garden, the running water and the good-looking flowers can't reduce my pain at all.

  "My father said, if we don't beat you real for a few times, it'll let the cat out of the bag." Feshert guides me in front, "so, it's worthwhile for you, you have the military position with the meal of the army sticks."

  "I don't care what military position I get or not, I will revenge!" I crack my mouth and say, "you remember this for me!"

  "Literally... But you need to remember, you are going to have to call me Your Highness."

  "Hey hey... I will have to wait and see, but aren't you the your highness yet?"*1

  In the pavilion surrounded with the stream, we see the queen Nashall. She is in a plain dress and sits on a small white stool, she has a flower scissors in her hand, she focuses on cutting the branches of an unknown plant which is put on the desktop.

  "You are here," the queen Nashall speaks quietly, "sit and wait a bit for me, I'll be ready to finish this soon!"

  "You please continue," looking at Feshert to sit down, think about my ass, I decide to give up the treatment, "it will be a little bit better for me to just stand over here."

  The queen Nashall raises her head, she gives me a smile and continues to clip the flower. I can't help but stagnated, that smile... is that true, is that nature, it lets a person's body entirely free from worry.

  Even a sound of birds can't be heard, only the stream water sounds are in the ears. I look at the queen puts down the scissors with the quiet and tasteful posture, she cleans her hand in the silver plate aside.

  "I know what you did in this several days," the queen stands up, she puts the flower on the wooden fence of the pavilion, "what I don't understand is, why do you just pick this rude way."

  "I..." don't know why, to such a kind elder, I'm actually very nervous, not to mention to tell the lie.

  "Mother?" Feshert says, "can't Kone be a guy like this? You say all these is that he pretend to be?"

  "You don't cut in," queen Nashall says, "tell me, Kone."

  "I think... It's much... More directly." I try to remember the ideas at that moment, "save troubles."

  "I understand now, is that supposed to be part of your personality?" queen Nashall walks up to the front of me, reaches out her right index finger, and points it on between my eyebrows, a bit of cool feeling that like the ripples on the water surface spreads out...

  "A sixteen years old boy," the queen looks at me in the eyes and says, "why do you hide so many things in your mind..."

  "Your Queen..." I earnestly interrupt her words in a hurry.

  "It'll be alright to call me auntie," the queen interrupts my words, "for you, this is not that great?!"

  "Yes, auntie Nashall." I surrender.

  "You are now very dangerous," auntie Nashall sits down slowly, "don't you know that yet?"

  I shake my head doubtfully.

  "The Prime Minister, more than ten years ago, he is the general quartermaster this important position in the Deity belonged coalition forces in the Against war." auntie Nashall holds my hand and Feshert's hand, then she says, “a man can put four hundred sixty thousand people's shelters and foods in good order for two years, do you still think that such a man can be easily defeated by you?"

  "Then..."

  "That's because he despises his enemy. In these days that he serves as the Prime Minister, he doesn't have any big obstacles again, the only one is viceroy Vassel." auntie Nashall continues to say, "in his mind, there is no other threats. As for you, Kone Cada, you're the first variables of the Empire in nearly twenty years. For us it’s such, to the Prime Minister is the same as well, you always give him some blows whenever he is not ready. But, now he will put you on the list of threat, no matter what, he'll prepare for you. Now you're the most to be worried about."

  "Mother, you're saying that Kone is in Danger?"

  "What do you think? Why does your father use thirty army sticks to exchange Kone the military position for?"

  "Hey hey, I don't know."

  "Little bastards," there's a smile always on auntie Nashall's face, but the smile changes like a life with everyone's emotion, "let me tell you something."

  "Now it looks like calm in the Saint Capital, actually it is already raging undercurrents. In the entire empire, only the fiefdoms of Kone father and son's are safe to you relatively. The one Kone's fiefdom is the best, because it's beginning to develop over there, there is no other power of parties enter there yet." she says, "give Kone the military position, Kone can build a large scale army over there."

  "And then what?"

  "Kone's army will be your household troops, you little stupid."

  "Household troops?"

  "Your father and I have discussed it well, you immediately go with Kone to the Darkness city together. There are a lot of opportunities for you to practice over there, you even can dodge all the disputes in the Saint Capital."

  "Do you really want me to leave?"

  "Yes, we come to play with the Prime Minister, you let go to do that in the Darkness city." auntie Nashall says to me, "Kone, you need to work hard, the more successful you are, the more strength we have."

  "You rest your heart, we must can do it."

  "You must really take this matter seriously, Kone. Do you remember all of what auntie said today?"

  "I remember, auntie Nashall."

  "There's one more point," auntie Nashall says, "auntie hopes that you do things after consideration in the future. For us, this world is full of all kinds of temptation ad dangerous. If you are not careful, you will get yourself lost."

  "Then?" I ask, "what shall I do?"

  "Let your heart to make the decision." auntie Nashall looks at me, "your heart, it will not cheat on you. In this world, in addition to your heart, what else we can rely on to guide us the direction?"

  "We..." Feshert speaks stammered, "don't we have the Deity?"

  “Now the Prime Minister," auntie catches Feshert's ear and says, "is not the spokesman for the Deity? You want him to come to you for the direction?"

  After we discuss all of this, everyone has a little bit hungry, we three people in the pavilion have some snacks or sit or stand, chatting the daily life of the family.

  "Oh, right, Kone," the queen says to me, "don't you have two beautiful fiancees?"

  "Yes," I answer with a smile, "that was what I spilled the beans to make enough to get them."

  "I don't care about that much, you go ask them to see me tomorrow."

  "Why? Auntie Nashall?"

  "You little bastard, this is about the reputation of two lovely girls!" auntie pulls my ear this
time, "you think that you're just saying it as usual? I'm going to get you married."

  "Auntie Nashall," I have the silly eyes immediately, "no need to be that hurry?"

  “Why not in a hurry?" auntie smiles and say to me, "you this little bastard needs somebody to take good care of."

  "I'm just only sixteen years old!" I'm in protest loudly.

  "You will be with Feshert together later, what if the girl he likes likes you?" auntie Nashall speaks gently in my ear, "get you married first, I'm sure that I can set my mind at rest much more."

  ............

  It's sunset, I lie on the stretcher, holding a pot of flowers that the queen send for my mother, and pretending "my, my" all the way back to the place where I live in the Saint Capital.

  (Note1: Your Highness and Your Majesty are all the special calls. Your Highness is for the prince, Your Majesty is for the emperor.)