Crumbling Kingdom (Kingdom book 1)

Chapter 4

The castle is huge.  When I step through the gates with the others they all walk ahead while I stand there, frozen to the spot.  That castle is so tall and it's made out of black and grey stone with large arched windows and the front door is humongous.   I'm sure it's over ten feet high and that's all that I can tell from being so far away.

    The entire town is quite, dreary, dark and oh so depressing to be in. It's like all the life has been sucked out of this place which is very disturbing.  I have never seen or read about a place that was so, oh I don't know, sad I suppose is the correct word.

    "Do you need help?" asks a young girl, dressed in dirty rags.

    "Hi," I say, crouching down and smiling kindly.  "Who are you?"

    "I'm no one, I don't have a name any more."

    I frown, confused, "What do you mean sweetie?"

    "I've never had a family, if you don't have a family you don't have a name."

    I laugh a little and shake my head, "That's not true honey, just because you don't have a family doesn't mean you can't have a name. What about an orphanage, are there any of those around here?"

    "No, there aren't a lot of good things around here," she says.

    A bell rings in the distance, a loud echoing sound and the poor girl almost jumps out of her skin and her heart starts pounding like it's trying to rip it's way out of her chest.

    "Hey," I say, pulling her towards me and hugging her.  "It's okay, I'll protect you and help you."

    "You can't!" she shrieks. 

    "And why is that?"

    "He hates kids!  He has ever since She died and left Him without an heir."

    "Who's He and who is She?"

    "King Damien and his dead wife Darcy."

    I look at her dumbfounded, who is Darcy?  I clear my throat and smile," I know someone that can probably help us, come on."  I rise to my feet and grasp her cold, frail hand in mine.  "Come on, it'll be okay I promise," I say, tugging gently.

    She looks around nervously and shuffles after me, wobbling and looking unbalanced.  I look back and at her legs, one is normal another is thin and bent at a bad angle.  Her face is tight with pain and I feel a similar stab in my body, causing an ache that isn't mine and is misplaced.

    "Do you want me to carry you?" I ask as we walk out of the gates.  I shiver as an uncomfortable feeling washes over me.

    "No,"the girl pants, her breathing rough and ragged, "I am fine, I can do this on my own."

    "If you're sure," I say reluctantly as we continue walking down the dirt road.  We reach a shimmering area in the center of the road and the young child hesitates.  "It'll be okay, I know Aaron."

    "Who's Aaron?"

    "King Aaron," I say, and take another step towards the shimmering air.

    "King of the Shadows?" she asks, trembling all over and I can smell her overwhelming fear as she starts to panic.

    "Yes,why?"

    "I-I can't go there!"

    "Sure you can, I was just there."

    "No," she says stubbornly and plants her feet firmly on the ground.  "I can't go in there."

    "He can help," I say, frustration filling me.  "He helped me, if he can help me why can't he help you?"