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Amazon
Category:
Young Adult/Teen
Publisher: Amazon
Copyright: Dec 27, 2013
Price: $0.99 (eBook)
Coming of age is a challenge for all young men. More so for Kai than most. He knows nothing about his history and is locked in his room every night, for reasons he has never understood. But a surprise dinner with unexpected guests will reveal to Kai a future he could never have imagined.
Coming of age is a challenge for all young men. More so for Kai than most. He knows nothing about his history and is locked in his room every night, for reasons he has never understood. But a surprise dinner with unexpected guests will reveal to Kai a future he could never have imagined.
Excerpt
The young man stood in the tower window as he did each night, gazing out at the moon shrouded in a deep hazy mist. He had stood at this window so many nights, for each night: for as long as he could remember, he would be locked in this room.
He was never told why he was locked in, it was as though he was a prisoner, although he had always been treated with respect and kindness. He had been educated in the same way a noble would be. He knew nothing of who his family was, except that his name was Kai and he had been brought to the castle when he was very young. The thing that made him different from the other boys in the castle was that he had pointed ears. Nobody ever referred to them, not even the other boys. He had had various different teachers over the years, although the only constants in his life were Bennard who portrayed himself as a healer but who in fact had much more knowledge than that of a mere herb man.
In addition, there was Avalynka, who would come from time to time to teach him the niceties of court life, although he had never been to court and could not imagine ever needing this knowledge.
Even though he had always been treated well, there was a time when he had contemplated running away and he had spent many nights planning his escape. His mind was in turmoil, for whilst he was a prisoner, this castle and the people in it were the only ‘family’ he had ever known.
One day when he was almost certain of his decision to leave, Bennard began his lesson with a tale of politics, murder and manipulations of court life. When Bennard taught Kai, it was always in the form of a discussion and never boring.
“Well Kai, let us discuss the intrigues of court life shall we? As you know, there is the High King and then there are the minor Lords and landowners all vying for the favors of the King. Sadly, the King no longer has the power he had once wielded. Sometimes battles are fought and alliances change. There are those who flow with whichever way the wind blows to curry favor with the most powerful at the time.”
“Which one are you Bennard?” asked Kai. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he felt ashamed, for over the years he had come to know that Bennard was an honorable man.
With a slight smile, as though he knew already what Kai was thinking he continued as if the question had not been asked. “There was once a great and honorable Lord, who was cousin to the King. He was also related to another great family from across the ocean. All of his life he had been staunchly loyal, always by the King’s side through the good times and the bad. One day when the Lord had traveled with the King to the Northern Borders to do battle to protect their lands from raiders, a band of renegades disguised as weary travelers and wearing the King’s colors arrived at the manor of the great Lord. They were given food and rooms to rest, as was the hospitable ways of this household.
Once the house had settled for the night, the renegades struck. They killed the Lady of the manor, her children and anyone who stood in their way. There was only a small contingent of soldiers at the manor and the renegades killed without conscience; it was swift and bloody.
When they had ridden out, the rest of the household staff came out of hiding, for whilst they were loyal to their Lord and Lady they were not fighters and were understandably afraid.
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