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 Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2011 9:47 pm
Far from the walls of the Red Kingdom, Ian and his wife cared for a fairly prosperous farm. He kept sheep and sold the wool. His wife tended a garden from which they took most of their food. They were fairly self sufficient, using the money they earned from the sheep to keep themselves comfortable. Other than the occasional wolf or kage picking off a sheep or two, life was quite boring.
Boring as his life was, Ian had been particularly excited the past few days. His wife was pregnant and the new baby was due any day now. Ian finished his work with the sheep and whistled for Tick, his dog. They walked back to the farmhouse together. As Ian got to the front door he noticed something tacked to it.
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Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2011 9:48 pm
Ian Gerig,
You are to report to the Red Kingdom for questioning about illicit activities.
You are to appear before the council in three days time.
If you should decide to refuse this summons, you will be arrested and held in prison for no less than 2 years.
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Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2011 9:49 pm
Ian sighed and entered the house. Tick followed behind him, sensing his owner's change in mood. "I'm home Marie." Ian kissed his wife hello and wrapped his arms around her.
"Welcome home." Marie turned and continued kneading the dough she was working with. "Have a good day?"
Ian was not sure how he was going to keep the trip to the Red Kingdom a secret. Even if he managed to leave and return without her knowing where he went or why, he could not leave her when she was so close to birth. She'd have to come too. "Darling, we... we need to travel to the Red Kingdom."
"I told you Ian, I don't need to go there to bring our baby into this world. My mother gave birth in her home to myself and all of my siblings. I will do the same. There is no reason to travel so far from home."
"You don't understand Marie. We have to. I have to, and I don't want to leave you here alone."
"Why? Why do you have to? Can't it wait?"
"I have to be there in three days. If I don't go, they'll arrest me" Ian handed the note to his wife. She was typically a level headed girl. She had been through this pregnancy without any major worries. Even after having lost their previous child to a miscarriage. He hoped that this news would not upset her too much.
"What have you done Ian?"
"I don't know. I haven't a clue why they are summoning me. I'm sure it is all a misunderstanding, but you know that this can only be fixed if I go."
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Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2011 9:50 pm
It took two days to reach the Red Kingdom. Ian had fashioned a sort of rickshaw for Marie so she wasn't forced to walk. He pulled her along, with the help of Tick. It was slow going, but they got there in time. Just in time in fact. They were only a short ways from the walls of the kingdom when Marie went into labor. Tired as he was, Ian rushed to the kingdom as quickly as he could. He approached the guards at the gate.
"Please, my wife. She's having a baby. We need to find her a place to deliver. Please!"
The guards let him pass. Ian scrambled into the city streets. A kind woman caught sight of him and led them to her home. She had been a midwife for many years and was a great help to Ian and Marie. It wasn't much longer before their baby was born. A beautiful baby girl.
"Ian, let's call her Renè, after my mother." Marie held her daughter and smiled, "Little Renè Gerig." Ian grinned. His baby girl was the most precious thing he'd ever seen. They stayed the night at the woman's home. The three of them slept together as a family. Ian's trial lay heavy on his mind, but it was difficult to worry after witnessing the successful birth of his daughter.
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Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2011 9:51 pm
Ian shifted as he looked over each face of the council. Every one of their faces was unreadable. They looked cold and indifferent. The room was dark and stifling. Ian's heart was pounding. He wasn't even sure why he was standing here. What could they possibly think he had done.
"You are Ian Gerig?" The woman seated at the middle of the council members spoke first.
"Y-yes. Yes I am."
"You live to the Southeast of the Red Kingdom correct?"
"That's right."
"And you claim to raise sheep?"
"O-of course. I inherited the farm from my father."
"Do you raise anything else?"
"I don't follow you. I have a few other animals on the farm, but we only breed the sheep and occasionally my dog." Ian was beginning to panic. Where were these questions going? What had he done? "Excuse me, but... what exactly am I being tried for?"
The woman continued as if he hadn't asked. "So you deny the allegations against you?"
"What? What have I been accused of?" His voice was rising. He didn't like the way this was going. It felt as if the council had made up their minds about him before he spoke his first words.
One of the other council members spoke next, a few people away from the center. "You have been keeping and raising kage. You have been aiding the Neverlin mages in spying on the kingdom. You are a traitor to the Red Kingdom."
"A t-traitor? I most certainly am not!"
"We have substantial evidence to the contrary."
"What evidence? I demand to see this evidence!" Ian was yelling now, outraged at this accusation. Ian and his family before him had always been rather noncommital when it came to the Red Kingdom, but they would never work against them. The Gerig's weren't stupid.
"That is enough. We have heard your testimony."
"What testimony? You haven't let me-"
"WE HAVE HEARD YOUR TESTIMONY. You are hereby under arrest."
Two guards grabbed Ian's arms and began dragging him away toward the castle dungeon. "This is absurd! I haven't done anything!"
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Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2011 9:52 pm
"My husband is no traitor!" Marie was furious. Once she had heard the news, she took her baby and she went to the castle. This was all a misunderstanding.
"I'm sorry madam, but the trial is over. The council has decided. Ian Gerig has commited illegal acts and must now suffer the consequences."
"You don't understand. Ian has never broken a law in his life! The man can't even lie well!"
"Am I supposed to take my baby and run the farm myself?" Perhaps the sympathy act would work.
"Actually the king has claimed your farmland and part of Ian's punishment. You'll have to find a new place to live."
Marie's eyes widened. Ian's land. It had been in his family for years. Now it was gone, just as he was. "Please... at least let me see him."
"That isn't possible."
"Please! Let me see my husband!"
The man looked down at her with a sadness in his eyes. Dealing with the families was always the worst part. This poor woman was desparate. "It... it really is impossible."
"Why?"
"He... well, his sentence has been carried out."
"What do you mean?"
"He's dead madam." It was always better to just tell them. Get it over with quickly.
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Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2011 9:53 pm
Ian sat in his cell. He'd ranted for hours, but not a single guard gave him a second glance. He was tired now, but more than that he was angry. He'd never been given a real reason he was in trouble, not a believable one at least. They hadn't even told him how long his sentence was. He tried to think of Marie and little Renè, but it brought him no peace. For all he knew he'd never see them again. Renè would never know her father. Marie would be left to run the farm on her own. It was too much work for one woman, especially when she must also take care of a baby. He brought his knees up to his chest, buried his head in his arms, and allowed himself to cry. He let the injustice, rage, and sorrow wash over him. He truly felt pitiful.
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Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2011 9:55 pm
Thirteen months later he was brought before the council again. He was a broken man. He'd allowed himself to give up hope while locked in his cell. He had not been given any reason to believe he would ever be free. His only solace was the occasional, brief glimmering hope that he might one day see his family again. It was for this reason that he kept himself from giving in to death. As he stood before the council, he wondered what was going on. Had they finally come to their senses?
"Ian Gerig?"
"Yes." His voice was ragged and quiet. He'd had nothing to say for 13 months and it showed. He actually seemed surprised by his own voice.
"It has come to our attention that the evidence in your trial was... tampered with."
"What are you saying?"
"Our information was misleading. We have reopened your case and have decided that you are, in fact, innocent."
Ian almost laughed. Thirteen months he'd been locked up. Thirteen months without his family. Thirteen months with his family struggling without him. All because of a clerical error? "You mean to tell me... you've just CHANGED YOUR MINDS?!"
"We are sorry for any inconvience this may have caused"
"Inconvience? INCONVIENCE?!" Ian rushed toward the council members. It was too much for him to take. Before he got to them he was grabbed from behind.
"You are free to go Gerig. I suggest you do."
Ian continued to struggle and yell. One of the guards slammed a nightstick over the back of Ian's head. Ian fell to the ground.
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Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2011 9:56 pm
When he woke up he was outside. It was dark and raining. He struggled to his feet one thing on his mind. Marie and Renè. "Daddy's coming home." He stumbled through the streets and to the gate of the city. He walked all night and into the morning before collapsing beneath a tree to rest. After a few hours he pulled himself back up and continued the trek to his home. He was still half a mile away when he realized his home was gone. There was some sort of project going on. Something was being constructed where his family's home had been. His heart ached knowing that his family's land was being tampered with, but he didn't spend much time dwelling on it. Marie wouldn't be there now. The only place she could have gone was back to the Red Kingdom. Ian turned and began the march back to the Red Kingdom.
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Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2011 9:58 pm
When he made it back to the kingdom, he tried to think of where Marie might have gone. The last place he'd seen her was at that midwife's home. He started in that direction. When he reached her door, he took a moment to steel his nerves. A deep breath. Push the hair out of his face. Another deep breath. Maybe she'd be here and the search would be over. One last deep, calming breath and he knocked on the door.
A dog barked. For a moment Ian thought of Tick. It certainly sounded like him, but it couldn't be. Tick would have stayed with Marie. The door opened and he saw the old midwife's face. She looked surprised to see him. "Y-you! How can this be?"
"Dear lady... Where is my wife? Where is my Marie?"
The midwife invited Ian inside. She had him sit and made him a cup of tea. He looked ragged and desparate. She felt for him, but was also cautious. This man had been executed over a year ago, as a lesson to those that stood against the crown. How is it he was sitting here now? The dog barked again. This time more frantically. The midwife moved to the door blocking the dog and opened it. If it was really Ian Gerig, the dog would know. Tick bounded out of the room and ran to Ian.
Ian grinned. This was the first reunion of the many he hoped to have. "Tick!" He hugged the dog and scratched behind his ears. "I don't understand. Why is he here? Why didn't he go with Marie?"
"She asked me to care for it. Caring for the baby and the dog would have been too much."
"Then you must know where she is!"
"She is here, in the Red Kingdom." She wrote the address down and handed it to Ian. "I have not seen her for months. She has stopped coming here."
"Thank you. Thank you for everything you have done for my family. I must go and see her." He stood and bolted out the door. Tick followed behind him, happily reunited with his master.
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Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2011 9:59 pm
Ian ran to the address the midwife had given him. It was in a rather scary looking part of town. As he approached the door, Tick hung back whining. Ian looked at him curiously and tried the door knob. It was unlocked. Tick barked a few times and backed away. Ian began to worry. Why was Tick acting so strangely?
Ian pushed the door open and walked in. The house smelled terrible. He coughed and wiped the tears from his eyes. Dust and dirt covered most of the walls. His worry grew. "Marie!" He searched the small house. The kitchen was filled with food at various stages of decomposition. The sitting room was empty and dusty. She wasn't there. He started up the stairs. There were two rooms upstairs. A bathroom, empty, and a bedroom. As he pushed open the bedroom door the smell washed over him once again. He coughed, choking on a smell he couldn't place.
"Marie?"
A figure sat in a rocking chair, slowly rocking back and forth. She was softly humming a lullaby, but her voice was strained. The effect was quite eerie. "Marie? We- we need to leave this place..." He stepped toward her. His heart was pounding. He'd never been so scared in his life. Marie turned toward him. She looked awful. Her hair was hanging like string and missing in places. Her skin was yellowed. Her eyes sunken in. She looked like death. "M-marie? D-darling, we really must go..." In her arms she held something wrapped in blankets. It was still and quiet.
"You..." Marie's eyes widened in fear, "Leave me alone! Haunt me no more Ian! You are dead!"
Ian was shaking, "Marie no, no I am alive. I'm here. I'm going to help you. J-just give me Renè and we'll go home." He reached out to take Renè from her. She screamed, stood and ran to the other side of the room, "Demon! You can't have her!"
"Please, Marie, just give me Renè. We'll get you help. Everything is going to be okay!" As he spoke he moved toward her slowly. He reached out again for his daughter. He raised her from Marie's arms. Marie screamed again and clawed at Ian's face. "Demon! Demon! Back to hell! Give me my baby! Can't you hear her crying?"
"She isn't crying Marie!" Now that he sad it, it sounded absurd. Why wasn't she crying? Why was the bundle of blankets so stiff and cold? No... it couldn't be. That stench... it couldn't be... not his daughter. He pulled the blankets back from her face. His sweet darling baby girl... the body had begun decomposing. It hardly resembled Renè any longer. She had been dead a long while. "N-no..."
Marie took another swipe at his face. Her nails scraped across his cheek and eye. She grabbed the bundle and ran from the room. Ian's knees buckled and he fell to the ground. He'd lost everything. In the distance he heard Tick barking.
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Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2011 10:00 pm
It was mere hours before Ian had made his decision. He'd lost everything because he had been accused of aiding the Neverlin Mages. He did not know much about kage, only that they could be born of human souls. He would have his daughter back. He would finally commit the crime that had ruined his life.
It took some searching but he finally found out where he could contact a mage. The mage he found agreed to capture the soul of his daughter and create a kage using it. The mage met with him again two days later and produced a bundle of blankets. In it was the kage that Ian believed held the soul of his daughter. At the time, the whole thing seemed to be quite reasonable. It wasn't until much later that he began to question whether or not the kage was really Renè.
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