Ink

Chapter 55

"Come on Ryder! Play with me!" The small white haired child yelled from the top of the child recreation fort. "You promised!"

Ryder sighs before pushing himself up off of the park bench. I did promise. He supposed.

Slowly, he makes his way over to the smaller boy with a striking resemblance to himself. Looking up at the sky, he sighs. It was a beautiful day, and most likely the last one of the summer. Already, there was a slight twinge of chilly air hanging around the atmosphere. Ryder used to enjoy the transition into autumn, but now, it only felt like the murder of something good to make room for a cold and seemingly endless winter.

He climbs up the short set of stairs until he reaches his brother. The little boy smiles and closes the distance between the two of them.

"It took you long enough!" That wide toothy grin always made Ryder smile (and there were very few things that made him do this). "It's time to play."

Shaking his head Ryder obliges to his younger brothers command and begins to play.

Time always seemed to slow when he released everything for the simple task of giving chase. There was nothing that gave him that kind of release in life.

He had begun work at the castle out of school thanks to a personal connection. A teacher had said to him that he had the exact attitude that it would take to work in the palace; whatever that meant. He was well aware of the fact that he was rather...abrasive at times, however, he did have more favorable traits. He doubted anyone even knew that about him, however. He usually kept to himself. The only things that others usually knew about him was through word of mouth of someone else. This didn't exactly bother him though. The only opinions that mattered to him were of his family .

He had always despised those who believed any garbage spat out by the king, and, working at the castle there seemed to be a never ending stream of sewage spewing from every mouth. Nevertheless, he remained at the castle for the sole purpose of providing another income to his family. Unlike those who lived in the inner circle of Illinkus, Ryder was born in the second sector. This was home to the working class. Those who could afford to live through their work, but would most likely never be comfortable. This did not bother Ryder at first, as he always thought his family was quite well off compared to others that he knew from school. However, he will never forget the night that he had snuck out of his bed to listen in on his parents talk about how they were going to have enough money to finish putting Ryder and his brother through school.

His mother had argued that education was the only way their sons would ever move forward in society. It was their only chance. His father suggested a trade. There were lots of uses for trades in the kingdom and it was something that a lot of parents in the second sector suggested for their children. Ryder believed that the only fear his mother really had was either him or his brother ending up in the Illinkus' third sector where poverty struck everywhere and people would do just about anything for their next meal. This is, of course, something their father deemed ridiculous. Ryder did suppose that it was a possibility, however, but then again, anything was possible.

Listening in that one night in his youth had changed his entire perspective on life. He was humbled by the fact that he now had something that made him incredibly similar to his peers. He knew from that moment on that he wanted to help his family get to the first sector. That was the ultimate sign of economic security and comfort. He knew his parents would never have to worry another day in their lives if he moved them there. It became his goal, his mission, his obsession.

He chased his brother through the child recreation fort. Crawling through small tunnels and walking across bridges was nothing for his younger brother, but, to him, it was the most difficult task in the world. Ryder had always been taller than most children his age, and, was originally quite lanky. However, once he finished growing and began to fill his now quite muscular frame, normal tasks became close to impossible. With his new athletic build came quite a lot of strength that caused him to break a few glasses during meals. Ryder supposed that he should have expected this major physical change because his father was built the same way. He suppose some things just went over your head until you were directly confronted with them.