The Castle and the King

Chapter 1- Race Against the Sun

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And now...

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           A cool breeze awakened Casiaq from his slumber.  He had leaned against a towering tree and took a much-needed nap.  His body was now aching from his makeshift bed of bark.  He stretched his arms high into the air and glanced at the sky.  His heart sank.

“I slept too long!” He gasped as he sprang to his feet and began gathering his belongings.  He tossed a musty sack full of his goods onto his back and began to run toward the west.

Casiaq quickly began to pant from his fierce sprint.  His eyes were fixed on the sun.  It was just beginning to touch the horizon in a fast descent.  Panic flooded his entire body.

“I’ll never make it!”  He continued his pace for nearly three grueling miles, weaving in and out of the moss-covered trees of the forest.  Only a quarter of the sun peaked over the mountains now.  His gaze continued to be fastened on the light, his only source of hope.

He could barely see as the sun finally ducked behind the mountaintop, but Casiaq knew he was within a few hundred yards.  Then he heard it.  The low growl caused his already exhausted chest to tighten.  He could hardly breath before, but now he ached so severely that his eyes began to water.

He was aware of every scent, every sound.  He could hear his heartbeat.  The sound that pushed him forward through the pain was the sound of paws galloping toward him.  His pace was quickened beyond what he had ever attempted before.  All he had to do was make it through the door.  He dare not yell out for the door to be opened for him.  Making more noise would make finding him even easier.  He would have to enter on his own.

The growl was so close now he thought he could almost feel the breath of it.  He was bumping into unnoticed trees in the now darkened night.  Threading between the trees was quite impossible at such a speed, but he would never slow down.  It would seal his fate.  Then he reached it.  The familiar path was not more than twenty yards long.  He ran this path many a time with his eyes closed for such an occasion as this.  He had only hoped it would never come to pass.

He reached for the door, but his momentum was too great.  His body slammed into the door.  He twisted and pulled the knob, grateful that the latch was still unfastened.  The large door swung open and he jumped inside, pulling the door closed behind him. He felt for the latch and the wooden beam.  He pushed the latch into place and dropped the beam across the door.  As the beam fell into place, there was a crashing thud against the door.  It  knocked him off his feet.

“You imbecile!  You could have doomed us all!” came a frantic, loud whisper through the darkness.

“It’s okay now, Shilan.  I’m sure Casiaq has a good explanation of why he endangered his entire family.”

Casiaq lay on the floor gasping for air, too out of breath even to apologize.  He was thankful the lights were all out, and the room was completely dark.  He was safe.

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The cave dwelling was dark as usual.  It was dinner time.  All activities that could be done without light were saved for the evening time.  Food was typically cooked over a fire just outside the cave before the sun went down and then the fire would be completely extinguished.

Casiaq sat at the opposite end of the table from Patre, his mother’s father.  Shilan, his sister sat to his left and his mother to his right.  They sipped the stew in silence for several minutes.  Then Patre finally spoke up.

“What brought you back to the cave dwelling so late, son?”

“I was on an important errand that took all day.”

“An errand important enough to risk the lives of you and your family?”

“I should have been able to get back in time, but I was delayed.”

“There is too much at stake for you to simply be ‘delayed.’  Where did you go?”

“I cannot show you now.  It will have to wait until morning when the light returns.”

“I will decide what waits until morning, boy!  What was your errand?!”

Casiaq dropped his spoon into his bowl, sighed, and got up from the table.  He felt his way to his musty old sack.  Metal clanged as he opened the mouth of the sack.  He made his way back to the table.  He reached to the right for his mother’s hand.  When he found it, he placed in it the item he had retrieved from the sack.

His mother felt of the item.  “A kettle?  Casiaq, where did you get this?  The closest metal master is a good days journey.”

“Half a day if you are running,” corrected Casiaq.  “There is an inscription on it that you were supposed to read in the light tomorrow.”

His mother was without words.

“It says ‘Pearl.’  I thought you would like it.”  Casiaq sounded defeated.

“A kettle is not worth your life, boy!”

“Patre,” Casiaq’s mother managed to speak through her tears.  “This kettle is very valuable to us both.”

The remainder of the meal was again silent except for the sounds of their spoons on their bowls.  Occasionally, a sniffle was heard from Shilan who had, for once, chosen to hold her tongue.

finally..

7:42 PM, Apr. 22, 2009 .. Posted by Anonymous

i finally got to read some of it! just the first chapter though! it sounds great so far!

great so far

1:37 PM, Apr. 30, 2009 .. Posted by Anonymous

Hey Charity!! Love it so far!! Please keep writing.
Kyle