Born to be a slave.

15

I was sitting opposite of Edmund by a dinner table, together with his parents. I greeted them respectfully. Both of them seemed to be in a calm mood and I hoped it will stay that way. My master motioned for a servant to bring food for all of us. I felt very uncomfortable. I was in no place to be present at dinner with so high-class people. Also, I could feel jealousy coming from girls serving us. I would be happy to have my meal with other workers, but Edmund's thoughts were different and I was in no place to object his wishes. 

His mother's hands moved quickly and elegantly with the silverware in her ladylike fingers. Father looked very confident and proud, as he took the first bite of prepared supper. Their son wasted no time and started his meal, but me on the other hand, like every other time, hesitated, before making a try to get a correct hold of fork and knife. I was definitely better at it, than the first time, but could not be compared with the skill of my owners.  

"How was your day?" asked his father, breaking the long silence.

"Nothing special happened. Just studies and endless homework." Edmund replied nonchalantly.

The rare conversations they had always sounded so awkward and distant. I could see, that his dad tried to communicate with his son, but Edmund's answers were short most of the time. It was small talk, which lead to nowhere after a few sentences. Sometimes I could not understand who was avoiding who. His father stopping his interest suddenly or Edmund making it noticeable, that he wanted no more word with his old man.

His beautiful mother said nothing the whole night. She seemed to be occupied with her own thoughts and paid the least amount of attention to anything around her. 

Time after time I gazed on Edmund's unnatural eye color and on those of his parents. Why did he look like that? Who was he? What was he?

He gracefully placed cutlery beside his plate and stretched his arms up in the air. I could see a glimpse of sleepiness in his strange eyes. I was still nibbling on some remaining food bits on my plate. Edmund was ready to leave and I knew it will be a time for me too, whether I have finished my meal or not. 

The next moment I lifted my eyes, his sight was set on me, unwavering and strong. What was in his mind? 

If I would feel more confident, we would have had a staredown a few minutes long, until one of us spoke, but my eyes came down a couple of seconds after I met his gaze.

"Thea lets go."

"Yes, Edmund."

In an instant, his mother's eyes came up to me, but gladly she said nothing. Every time I mentioned her son's name, she made that reaction. Clearly she was not pleased with a way I was told to address him, but I could not disobey her son, nor she seemed to be willing to go against his wishes too.

"Where are we going?" I asked, my voice was gentle as a breeze of wind when we turned in some other direction than our usual one.

"To the garden."

We went through one of the archways leading to a garden in a middle of his huge house. In the middle of it, a round circle of colorful stones decorated the place. Around it - a few benches for relaxing and in the middle of it a small, very shallow pond with crystal clear water which was making a sound of running water.

"You have two choices now, Thea. You will learn how to count or... The things about the world you are living in. Clearly you know none of these things, right?"

Once again I felt very stupid in front of him, but he was correct. I knew nothing of the world around me. Not where I lived, nor what this world was about outside of my own.

"No... I know neither... Sorry, Edmund."

"So... Which one?"

"Now?"

"Yes, of course." he did not seem surprised as I was.

Hesitantly I sat on one of the finely decorated stone benches and waited for what he had to say.

"Then... I want to know about...."

"...I know." Edmund exclaimed. "So... Where do I start..." he was in thought for a moment. "We all live in a country called Hadria, well it used to be a country. Now it's former glory has disappeared and land belongs to many high born nobles, including me. The land each of us own is ruled by it's rightful 'king'. Each country has it's own rules, customs, whatever the Lord has decided goes and no one from the outside has an effect of changing it. There is Warwick, Stratfordshire, Northhire, Almeck and also one of them is Wiltshire."

"...so Wiltshire is your country....?"

"Correct."

"But why there is not just one country, like before... Hadria...?"

"Because the king who ruled it died many hundred years ago. Nothing of his dynasty was left behind and nothing holds the land together after he was gone. War and chaos split our land between many nobles." Edmund averted his eyes in a distance and continued. "Only the blood of the old King can bring this land together again."

"I don't understand. How can it happen, if there is no one left from his family? Will it ever happen? How can it be seen, if anyone has a King's blood?"

"That King had a very specific trait, that no one else possesses. A mark that gets passed down to the next generation and a mark that grants a right to be the next king. And soon there will be a King again, who will unite this land, as it was once before."

"How... do you know it? Who will be the new King?"

There was a long pause from his part like he did not want to tell the rest. Was it some kind of secret?

"Right now you are looking at the next King, Thea. A King, who will unite all countries will be me."

I was really shocked hearing his words, all that came out were empty words with no sound. Was he talking truth or was Edmund making fun of me again? I could not tell. His sight was still set in the distance, far, far away. He did not look happy nor proud of the position he claimed to be in.

"The special mark of a true King is my unique eye color. Only he and his family possesses it. For three hundred years no one had seen a sign of his bloodline until I was born. And from my first days, I was granted a power no one in these countries has. All because of my true bloodline."

Everything came in place suddenly. All the bugging questions and mysteries about him were just revealed by Edmund himself. 

So Edmund will be a King of lost Hadria.