Kingdom Gone

TRAIN TROUBLES

I stand and walk down the row of seats to the window, Circe now intently looking through it. I take a place beside her, watching the shadows down below whiz past, like a river of oil rushing by.

Circe leans closer, her nose almost pressing against the glass. "What Kingdom are we in?"

"Sixth. We're probably in the middle of one of the eastern agricultural fields right now." I glance at my watch, the hour hand almost touching the number 2. "I think there's maybe two more stops before ours, so we should reach El Refugio de Piedra by sunrise."

Circe's gaze shifts to me. "Why do you pronounce the city names weird?"
"Because I'm saying them how they're meant to be said. I speak Spanish."

Her eyes widen to full circles.

"What? How? I thought English was the only language that survived from the Old World."

I shake my head. "The Ten Kingdoms were originally founded by four Spanish speaking nations during the Great Burrowing, a time period where countries focused on constructing these sub-level Utopias instead of fighting each other for dwindling resources. Not long after it was completed, it was taken over a neighboring English speaking Utopia. They merged, which is why the Ten Kingdoms is the largest Utopia in North America. The language is still spoken in a handful of remote villages in some of the Kingdoms up north. I learned Spanish from my time in a small coastal town in the Ninth Kingdom. Lovely place."

"On a smuggling job?" She asks.

I nod. "Yeah, back when I first started out."

Circe leans against the wall of the train car, facing me. "How did you become a smuggler anyway?"

I sigh, pressing my forehead against the glass.

We are about to embark on a journey of literally a thousand miles, facing God knows what. Maybe opening up to her early on will make her trust me more, maybe share any secrets kept in that pretty little head.

"A basic rag to riches story, I suppose. My mother dropped me off at an orphanage just after I was born, a place run by nuns in the Third Kingdom. But trust me, they were all but holy." I felt Circe's eyes on me, but I kept staring at the fields below, old memories resurfacing. "They would beat us. Sometimes with sticks, sometimes with tattered rags. But usually with their fists." I feel my hand closing into one as I speak. "They said it was 'God commanding them to punish us for our sins'. Bullshit. It was just an orphan house run by a bunch of sadists." I look up at Circe. "I was one of the few who escaped that hell hole. I lived on the streets until I was 12, relying on no one but myself to survive. That was until I met this man."

"Who?"

I shake my head, glancing at a woman a few rows down reading a novel in the low light.

"I still don't know. He wore this navy colored trench coat and a hat that covered his face. He came up to me and offered me a job out of the blue. Said he had influence that could change my life." I sigh. "Since then I've climbed the ladder, working anything from odd jobs to aiding corrupt corporate black ops. Now here I am, four years later, the reputation I've built dragging me into yet another mess."

"Wow. I couldn't even begin to imagine how hard it must've been for you. I'm sorry." Circe says, putting her hand on my arm.

I wave it away. "Don't be. I may be emotionally broken beyond repair, but at least I still have my good looks."

"Eh."

"Uncalled for."

Circe laughs, looking back out the window.

"I wonder if my birth father will allow you to come with us to the new Utopia."

"Ha! I seriously doubt it." I lean against the wall, looking over the quiet train car. "Besides, after I reunite you with Daddy, I'm retiring to the Eighth Kingdom with my fat stacks of reward money."

Circe looks at me.

"The Kingdom of Luxury?"

I nod.

"Oh. That sounds cool, I guess."

I detect the disappointment in her voice, but before I can comment, my eyes are drawn to the lady reading the novel again. Except this time I spot the reason why she's been bothering me since I first noticed her.

Shit.

I turn to look out the window, stepping closer to Circe.

"Hey. You see that lady a few rows down? Don't turn around." I whisper.

Circe nods, eyeing the reflection in the window.

"What about her?"

"She's been on the same page of that book for the last ten minutes. I think she's spying on us."

This time Circe actually did turn around and look.

"It could be nothing. Maybe she's just a slow reader."

I shake my head. "Nah, I got a gut feeling something's about to go down. I better deal with this now."

I begin to walk away when Circe grabs my arm.

"Please don't go stirring up trouble where there is none to begin with." She begs.

I smile, shaking my arm loose.

"Don't worry. Subtlety is my specialty."