Crown On Fire

I

The rabbit had no idea I was there in the bush, stalking him. I slowly drew my arrow back, pulling the string of my bow taught. Wait ... breathe... let go. The arrow whistled past me, and buried itself through the hare's head, killing it instantly. His life was the last I needed for the day.

 I collected my prey, and began the walk back to my home. The sun was just over the horizon when the faded white walls of the abandoned church became visible through the tree line. Beside the church grazed my horse, Nocturne. Her dark brown coat shimmered in the early sunlight that leaked between the trees. She looked up as I approached, acknowledging my arrival with a swish of her tail, and continuing about her day. 

"Good morning to you, too." I whisper to her, as I duck through the entrance of the church. The doors of the church stopped moving long before I made this place my residence. One door precariously hung off its hinges by a thread, and the other had completely fallen in. Nature had taken over the doorway instead, covering it with a curtain of ivy. When I first came here, I decided not to trim the ivy; the natural, abandoned look is a better disguise. An outsider will see the ivy, think that this place hasn't been touched in years, and simply move on. 

Inside the church, I step around the piles of broken tile. Like the doors, the ceiling had caved in long ago as well, leaving the surrounding trees as the only roof. I continue down the aisle. Some of the pews remain in good shape, others not so much. The last pew on the left is where my belongings lie, the only indication that someone resides here, besides the horse outside. A simple cot and blanket up was shoved up against the wall, under the last bit of roof remaining. I decided to take my chances; I'd rather have the roof fall in on me then wake up with pneumonia from a cold, rainy night. I grabbed my horse's saddle and bridle, and headed back outside. I had to go into town today to trade in these rabbits, and get a few supplies on the way out. 

I spend the majority of my ride into town contemplating the upcoming winter months. No doubt, roughing it in the church would be tough to do, even for me. And my mare, she'll need a heavy supply of hay once the grass turns yellow, and snow covers the valley. We could travel South, but that means traveling close to the Capital, which is a risk I'm not willing to take...yet. 

Nocturne's ears flick forward as we edge closer to the town border. A crow caws at us from atop the welcome sign. The town's name, Fallholt, was the only thing etched into the wood: a welcome sign with no welcome. To be fair, it's not like they get visitors here. It's a border town, on the edge of the Crown's territory. Its residents are a quiet type of people, who mind their own business and tend to their fields and flocks. Hat's off to Bane for finding this place after everything went bad. It really is a criminal's perfect hideaway. 

Angry shouts reached my ears as I neared the town's central square. A mob of people crowded around the local tavern porch. All is not well in the kingdom, I thought, keeping my distance. In the past few months the rebellion had gone from mere rumors and whisper to out right action. People were tired of the inequality in the kingdom, so, so tired watching the nobles indulge themselves at grand balls and parlor room parties whilst the rest of us struggle to get food on the table. 

I steered Nocturne away from the protestors, giving them a wide berth. No need to get involved in something so futile. I caught sight of Bane, tipping my head at him in greeting. He stood on his porch, watching the protest with crossed arms and a stiff stance. At first, you'd think he was disapproving of the mob, but I knew better. His gray eyes held a bit of pride in them. Bane was once a revolutionary, along with my father, and his arms had the scars to show for it. 

"Morning, Bane", I greeted him as I dismounted, my boots hitting the dry ground with a thud. 

"Morning, Adler", he replied back, stepping down from his porch to help me unload my catch. Bane was a butcher. He'll strip the rabbits of their pelts, sell them, and skin their bones of their meat. I tied Nocturne to one of his porch columns, and helped Bane bring the rabbits inside his shop. The place had an odd fragrance of salt mixed with old wood. The shop, like many others in the town, was an ancient structure, with uneven floorboards and slanted roofs. One bad storm could blow the whole town away, literally. I set my share of rabbits on the counter as Bane disappeared to the back.

"I'll be out in a minute", he called, his voice muffled through the wall. I took my leave, and headed back out on the porch. Taking a couple steps away from the doorway, I leaned up against one of the porch's columns. It creaked under my weight. From the shadows of the porch I watched the protest carry on. A boy, about my age, riled up the crowd with his speech about the Crown's empty promises, his arms flexing with anger and his raven hair falling into his eyes from time to time. We are all aware of how the Crown treated Fringers, but there is nothing that can be done. The Crown has armies at their disposal; we have farmers. 

"These protestors are idiots," I remarked as Bane walked back out onto his porch. Bane squinted over at them as he handed me a bag of coins, the profit from my hunt. Bane leaned against the column next to me, crossing his arms. His head dipped ever so slightly into the sun, and I could see that his brown hair had more gray in it than usual. He was getting old. 

"Those rebels were inspired by your father, you know? They idolize him, for what he did." You mean for how he died. I bit my cheek to stop myself from saying the words. Instead, I spoke another truth. 

"My father was a fool for taking on the Crown. He lost everything."

"You mean you lost everything," Bane retorted. I clenched my jaw. I did lose everything. The web of disfigured skin on the side of my face throbbed, as if it was agreeing with me. When my father didn't back down, the Crown decided to make an example out of us. The flames that burned through our house that night screamed "this is what we do to traitors.". Sometimes, late at night, I can still feel the unbearable heat dance across my skin. Yes, I lost everything. Bane sighed, turning to face me. He paused, meeting my cold gaze. 

"I'm sorry for what happened, Alder. But at some point, you have to understand that your father started this," he raised his arm, gesturing back to the mob, "because he wanted a better future for you." I snorted. 

"Oh, yeah?" I spun on my heel, tearing down the poster that hung next to Bane's door. I didn't have to look at it to know what it was. I held it up to Bane's face, stepping closer. We were almost face to face. "And look what good that did me." Bane didn't even look at it. He walked back into his house, and closed the door. 

I dropped the poster in my hand, and it floated down to the hardwood, flipping over as if to mock me. I stared at it. The drawing of my face stared back with the usual dark ink words plastered under it:

W A N T E D

A L D E R  B L A C K 

F O R  H I G H  T R E A S O N

...