Press space _ A smothered story [takes place before Jerald leaves the palace] _ KENJI! That voice . . . KENJI! PLEASE . . . HELP! Caused so much fear in his heart. Kiana! Kiana? Where’d you go? Please don’t leave! _ Kenji woke up in a cold sweat, yet he felt very hot. He brushed his hair out of his eyes, stood up and found that he’d fallen asleep sitting on the floor of his workroom. What was he doing? Right. He had been working on a hay wagon for Magenta. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. How could I have fallen asleep on the job? Kenji loved his job as the palace workman. He specialized in a lot of things- carpentry and blacksmithing to say the least. He had not slept that well for the past few nights. He sat down at his workbench and picked up his wrench. He had multiple projects he had to complete, so he started working. While he worked, he hummed tuneless songs and his mind drifted off. When his mind became focused again, he found that he had only been mindlessly tightening and loosening screws over and over. Kenji grumbled in frustration as he picked up his wooden hammer. He had to make some progress before the sun went down. An inscription written on the handle caught his eye. The grass is always greener on the other side. Happy Birthday, Kenji. Kenji didn’t even have to look at the name to know who it was from. -Love, Kiana He had read the inscription about a hundred times, but the sharp pain that he felt never went away each time he read it. Why did fate have to be so cruel? The hammer clanged as it fell onto the steel table. Why did it hurt every time he thought about her? She left a long time ago. “Some wounds are deeper than they seem.” Kenji’s head snapped up. Jerald, his apprentice, was leaning against the doorframe. “You’re not the only one who has lost someone.” Kenji looked down again. “I know and I’m sorry. I’m being selfish,” he said as he wiped his eyes. Jerald had been an orphan since he was eleven years old. He was one of the many people Kenji knew that had lost their parents in the Clash of Dragons. Most of the people who worked at the palace had lost their parents at a young age. “It’s fine. I know how much you’ve lost too,” Jerald replied. Kenji looked up and studied his face. It was always hard to tell how Jerald was feeling, since his hair was always covering his eyes and he rarely ever showed emotion. Kenji had only heard him laugh once. The eyes are the window to the soul. Kenji winced. “I don’t want anything to happen to anyone else. I don’t want anyone else to disappear.” “Don’t worry about us, Kenj. We’ll be okay.” _ Kenji didn’t sleep well the next few nights. Was he becoming vulnerable to his memories? _
Kenji was sitting on a bench in the palace gardens a couple of days later drinking a cup of black tea that one of the kitchen girls, Sarah, made for him. He didn’t like the taste, but at least it would keep him from sleeping on the job. He stared at the gardeners pruning hedges until he noticed a small worm crawling across the pathway. Kenji placed his cup on the bench. He smiled and crouched down. “Hello, little friend. Do you need some help?” The worm seemed to squeak in response. Kenji picked it up and placed it in the dirt on the other side of the path. Kenji stood up and looked at the horizon. It was covered in the clouds of an oncoming storm. Lighting flashed in the distance. He sighed and sat back down on the bench. He picked up his cup of tea and sipped it slowly. It seemed like only a few seconds later that he found someone sitting on the bench with him. Deck looked at him with concern in her eyes. “Kenji? Are you doing alright?” Kenji blinked quickly and sat up. He must have dozed off. “I- I’m fine. I must’ve dozed off. Was someone looking for me?” Deck smiled and shook her head. “No, I just wanted to see how you were doing.” She paused. “Jerald mentioned that you weren’t sleeping well. Are you sure you’re doing okay?” Kenji pursed his lips, silently cursing Jerald for bringing it up. “You don’t need to worry, Deck. It’s just . . . memories.” Deck still had a look of concern in her eyes. Kenji touched his cheek and found that his hair had fallen out of its ponytail. “What about you? Are you doing well?” he asked as he tied his hair back into place. Deck’s face slightly scrunched up. “Karter wants to meet up. I don’t really know if I want to see him. He- well, you know.” She sighed. Kenji nodded. Deck’s and Karter’s (her brother’s) relationship with each other was not a very good one. Karter had done some horrible things to Deck during their childhood, and it had scarred her. Deck shook her head as if to clear it and smiled. “Anyways. I gotta go. See you later, Kenji!” she said as she stood up and walked away. He smiled as she left but soon it slipped off of his face. _ Kenji was working on the hay cart for Magenta when Jerald burst into the room. Kenji’s eyes widened and his head snapped up. Jerald usually came into the room quietly. Jerald put his hand on the doorframe to steady himself as he caught his breath. Kenji stood up, placed his tools into his messenger bag and rushed over to Jerald. “What happened?” Kenji asked hurriedly, panic growing inside of him. Jerald pushed his hair out of his eyes to reveal a pale gray eye and a chocolate brown one. Kenji was worried. If Jerald was showing his eyes - for the first time since Kenji had met him - it meant something was wrong. Very wrong. You see, Jerald is very insecure about himself and hides his eyes to show that he doesn’t need sight to see - if that makes sense. “I have to go. I can’t stay here. They’ll - if they catch me they’ll-” Kenji felt his heart drop. What? “Who’s after you? Where will you go?” Jerald looked down and played with the scarf tied around his neck for a few moments. Then he looked up. “They were plotting something against the kingdom. They - I - I made too much noise when I was eavesdropping. They’ll - they’ll be after me. And if they know that I told you- they’ll kill you.” Jerald’s eyes welled up with tears. “I can’t let anyone else die!” he sobbed as he hugged Kenji tightly. Kenji hugged Jerald back for a few seconds. Then he pulled away and put his hands on Jerald’s shoulders. “You need to go. Don’t worry. I’ll cover for you.” Jerald smiled slightly and nodded. Kenji took off his messenger bag and handed it to Jerald. Jerald’s eyes widened and he held the bag like it was a precious artifact. “B-but . . . Kiana made it for you.” Kenji nodded. “Yes. But you need it more than I do. Goodbye Jerald.” They saluted each other and Jerald dashed up the stairs, probably never to be seen again. _ It finally sank in when Kenji went back to work on the hay cart. Jerald was gone, just like Kiana. Kenji fought back tears as he thought about what Jerald had said. Who was plotting against the kingdom? Were they in the palace? Kenji knew that figuring this out would take a while, but first he had to finish this cart for Magenta. _ Music: NF - Let you down
