This chapter's quite long as well but in my opinion it's a lot more eventful than Chapter One (or Part 2). I'm grateful for any criticisms and comments as always. Cheers and I hope you all enjoy it
Chapter 3
Kira’s face had been kicked several times by the thoughtless and angry men. Blood dribbled down his nose and onto his clothes. All the while he sheltered Jasmine from the stampeding horde.
A whirlwind of dirt and dust was conjured by the violent crowd. Even when they had passed the whirlwind refused to subside for several minutes. Finally, the whirlwind lost energy and the dust settled. There lay the bodies of a boy from Ninos de Dios and a girl from Al-Baraka.
Jasmine and Kira were huddled tightly together in the lonely square. Kira opened one of his eyes.
“It’s over!” He exclaimed joyfully. He let go of Jasmine and lay laughing on the floor of Tai Pei square.
“Kira,” Jasmine snivelled, “I want to go home.”
“Me too,” stood up again and lifted Jasmine from the floor as well. “Aisha will be glad to know your safe.” He began walking towards Ninos de Dios.
“Wait!” Jasmine yelped. Kira stopped and turned around.
“The crowd’s running up the road I normally take from my house. I don’t know any other way to get back to Al-Baraka.”
Kira immediately realised her dilemma. He couldn’t leave her now.
“Don’t worry Jasmine; I’ll walk you back home,” Kira smiled. “It looks like we’ll have to go the long way though.”
* * * * * * * * *
The two walked for what seemed like endless stretches of cobblestone roads and alleys. At times, Kira required Jasmine to climb over walls to take shortcuts and this proved more difficult than initially anticipated. Jasmine was not used to climbing over walls and so she took a lot longer than Kira and frequently needed assistance.
“I still can’t believe the King of Meggido would allow Tai Pei to use the Western Chinese people as slaves!” Kira began, “That’s not fair!”
“The King does a lot of unfair things. He can do whatever he wants – he’s the King.” Jasmine answered.
“Soto thinks the King is a good man. He thinks that because so many people still choose to live in Meggido it proves that he only punishes the people that are bad.”
Jasmine pondered the idea for a while.
“My father told me that the King is a bad man. But he also said that everyone sticks around in Meggido because there’s so much money here.”
“Not in Ninos de Dios.”
“He says that even though Ninos de Dios appears to be very poor – there’s enough money circulating through the area to fuel a small country.”
“It doesn’t seem that way.”
There was silence for a while, Kira refused to believe that Ninos de Dios was collectively richer than a whole country. He wondered whether it might be enough to fuel Japan. He dismissed the idea as impossible.
“Anyway, people don’t mind if their rulers do bad things now and again as long as they remain happy. My father said that when times are good no-one complains.”
That’s true, Kira thought. Then he thought again about the Chinese. How can a man make someone his slave? He was interrupted in his thoughts.
“Out of the way!” A soldier called. Jasmine and Kira immediately moved to the side of the path but looked down to see why the soldier needed space in the first place. The soldier was armed with a whip and Kira did not dare to ask him. Then the answer walked up the road, literally. A column of men pulling cartfuls of white rock struggled up the steep road.
The King of Meggido had enslaved the local populace in a region of North India. It had only recently become clear as to why the King had passed the ‘whitewash prohibition’ law in Al-Baraka. He ordered the women and children of the region to mine marble and the men to transport the marble to Meggido.
The marble had finally arrived and the King would be using slaves from India as well as slaves from China to begin construction on a symbol of power unparalleled in beauty and might. Raphael, the man who was missing his left eye and right hand, would be the chief architect of the project. The King planned to build the marble palace at the highest possible point of the mountain. The palace would represent the epitome of power. It would be the only ‘white house’ in Al-Baraka.
He wanted his palace to be finished as quickly as possible and so he had made a proposal to Tai Pei. Tai Pei gladly agreed to offer some of the Chinese population as slaves for a large sum of gold. Greed can turn a man against his own people. The problem was that Tai Pei already felt that the Easterners were elite and the Westerners were inferior due to the vehement nationalism in the Eastern Kingdom. It didn’t take him long to pick his slaves.
“But you’re all Chinese – what’s the problem?” A man would ask.
“No. We are Easterners. They are not.” Tai Pei would reply. No-one really understood his logic.
“There, you should be able to find your way from here.” Kira pointed at a sign which read ‘Al-Baraka – straight ahead’.
“How?” Jasmine asked, slightly embarrassed.
“Well there’s a sign pointing to Al-Baraka here – surely there will be more.” Kira answered.
“Kira, I can’t read.” The words which were released upon necessity from Jasmine’s mouth alarmed Kira. He stared at her and wondered how a boy from Ninos de Dios could read whilst a girl from Al-Baraka could not. “My father never thought it was necessary.” Jasmine pre-emptively answered the thoughts that Kira fostered.
Her father thought that the wealth he had amassed would be more than enough to last her a lifetime. He expected her to marry a rich nobleman who would look after her so well that she would not need to work. Kira was still grappling with the fact that a family who could afford food and shelter for hundreds, maybe thousands, found it unnecessary to provide their daughter with the basic yet invaluable skill of literacy.
“I’ll walk you all the way to Al-Baraka then.” Kira finally announced.
“I’m sorry for being such a burden.”
“No, not at all – any friend of Aisha’s is a friend of mine.”
They continued walking along the path.
Each of the entrances to Al-Baraka was like a gate to a secretive and highly protected world. The thick, white walls menaced people who were not used to such a sight. Kira was stopped by a guard as he and Jasmine walked closer to the gate.
“No further.” He said. It was obvious that he had judged Kira was not a resident of Al-Baraka by his torn, ragged and dirty clothing.
“Are you alright m’lady?” The guard also noticed the dust and dirt which clung onto Jasmine’s satin silk dress.
“Yes, I’m fine thank you. Could you give me a moment before I go inside?”
“Of course m’lady.” The guard answered.
Jasmine and Kira walked out of earshot of the guards.
“We’re both wearing dirty clothes – but he treats me so differently.” Kira said.
“To them, it’s about what clothes you wear, not how dirty they are.” She answered. They looked at each other for a while as she struggled to come up with the appropriate words. “Thanks,” it was a start, “I don’t think I could have escaped without you. I really owe my life to you.” Kira scratched his head nervously at what she said.
“It was the right thing to do. You don’t need to thank me for it.”
Jasmine looked down at the ground for a while. Then, she looked back up again.
“Well if there’s anything I can do for you, don’t hesitate to ask.” She smiled. Jasmine embraced Kira once more for what seemed like a long minute. When she finally let go she began walking back to the entrance whilst glancing back at Kira frequently.
The sun began melting into the horizon and the crimson sky reminded Kira of his horse in Japan. The sky reminded him of the field of cherry blossoms, his father, his mother…
“Oh no…” Kira realised it was nearing night-time and his mother, Aisha and Soto would probably be worried beyond belief about him. He could not bear to even imagine his mother crying. At a speed he did not believe was possible for him to achieve, Kira began sprinting down the streets of Meggido towards the slums of Ninos de Dios.
* * * * * * * * *
Kira’s mother and Aisha began crying tears of happiness as they saw Kira run down the hill and into the slums. Soto began laughing and waving excitedly at his returning friend.
“Kira!” His mother was the first to embrace him. “Aisha told me everything. I’m so proud of you!” The tears continued to rain down onto Kira’s head.
Kira turned to Aisha after his mother let go of him.
“Is Jasmine okay?” She asked.
“Yes. She’s back in Al-Baraka now.”
Aisha immediately hugged Kira. It was as if he was a hero – he loved the attention. Soto walked over to the Japanese boy hero.
“Good job Kira.” Soto shook his hand. The celebrations seemed to subside as both Aisha and Soto returned home to their parents for dinner. Kira also sat down for a meal of chicken and rice with his mother.
“So, she lives in Al-Baraka?”
“Yes, but she’s different to the other people that live there. She’s much nicer.”
“Oh, that’s good to hear. I’m sure she’s grateful that you saved her then.”
A smug smile formed across Kira’s face as he began to bask in his newfound glory.
“By the way, I recently spoke to your Kendo master.” His mother said. Back to reality, Kira thought. “He says that you show a lot of promise in Kendo. He wants to give you some private tutoring.”
Kira thought about this for a while. He disliked practicing his swordplay and disliked the idea of extra practice even more. Though he enjoyed sparring sessions he generally only enjoyed Soto’s company within lesson time.
“Kira, listen to me,” She could sense Kira’s discontent, “Your master has links with the military and police of Meggido.” Her large eyes gleamed with the faith she had in Kira, “A recommendation from him could make the difference for you when it comes to getting a job.”
Silence ensued in the small, metal house. Kira wondered why he had to take a job in the military if he hoped to survive in Meggido. He pondered whether it would be possible to take up a different profession.
“Kira,” She spoke once again, “This isn’t Japan. Being an officer in the military or a policeman would you lift you out of Ninos de Dios.”
Kira hated officers and policemen.
“Okay. I guess I could use the extra practice.” He answered whilst chewing on a mouthful of rice and chicken pieces. Kira’s mother grinned with relief.
“Thank you Kira. I promise you, everything can only get better from here.”
That’s what he and his mother had always hoped – that’s what everyone in Ninos de Dios had always hoped.
Nothing more was heard from either of them except the occasional sounds of their fingers on steel plates as they continued their meal. Kira’s mother looked up again and winced.
“You’re bruised.” She pointed to his eye. Kira immediately felt the bruise with his left hand and flinched.
“I got kicked in the face a few times. It’ll go though.” Kira’s mother looked at him admiringly.
“And you didn’t even cry.” She felt proud to have raised her son for this long without the help of her husband. She looked forward to the years in which she would witness her little boy gradually turn into a real man. Kira finished his meal while his mother was lost in her thoughts.
“I’m going to go and see Aisha and Soto.” He interrupted.
“Be back before dark.”
* * * * * * * * *
Soto laid on a smooth rock amidst a favourite grazing area of mountain sheep. Construction was prohibited here due to the fact that the land was necessary for local farmers in the rearing of their livestock. Lamb and chicken were the most commonly consumed meats in Meggido and though much of it was imported, the King liked to believe that the local meat which was domestically produced projected Meggido’s self-sufficiency. However, it was impossible for a sane man to say that Meggido was not reliant on the global economy for its own prosperity.
Kira reclined on the grass and continued speaking to Soto whilst Aisha gazed at the busy, neighbouring sea. Kira told Soto about the private classes with his Kendo master, Master Yama-yoto. Then, Soto surprised Kira.
“Wow! So we’ll both be getting private lessons together!”
A sense of relief overwhelmed Kira.
“So I won’t be the only one!”
“No, but he did tell me that it was just the two of us.”
Kira’s initial relief turned to confusion.
“He didn’t speak to me directly…”
“That’s because you were still walking Jasmine back. He told me when the classes were, where they were and who was attending.”
The mystifying trance the sea had cast on Aisha was broken by the utterance of Jasmine’s name.
“Soto, why didn’t you help Jasmine? You always speak about honour, chivalry and doing the ‘right thing’ but it was Kira who saved Jasmine in the end.”
The Egyptian boy initially found it difficult to respond to his friend’s question.
“I was busy saving you!” He laughed it off but Aisha persisted.
“I didn’t need saving.”
“It was dangerous.” Soto defensively replied.
“Kira still helped her! Why couldn’t you have been more like Kira?”
There was silence for a while. Kira began sweating profusely and tried to distract himself by gazing at the sea. He did not want to be involved in this conversation.
“What’s the problem anyway? She’s safe isn’t she?” Soto broke the silence.
“The problem? The problem is that you didn’t help your friend.”
“She’s your friend, not mine! I’d never met her until then.”
“You said ‘any friend of Aisha’s is a friend of mine’. Did you really mean that?”
“What are you trying to say Aisha?”
“I’m saying you’re a coward.”
Soto sprang from his rock, angry at his provoker.
“I’m not a coward. Take it back Aisha.”
“Why should I?” Aisha stood up.
Their eyes locked in fury. A hateful aura emanated from the two children.
Kira could not ignore the argument any longer.
“I still can’t believe Tai Pei would enslave his own people!” Kira interrupted in an effort to distract them. Aisha and Soto continued glaring at each other but eventually they each took their turns in answering Kira.
“Well, I know it seems bad but the Easterners must have done something to deserve it. You heard Tai Pei – ‘the King of Meggido has decreed it!’ The King knows what’s best.” Soto believed in divine kingship. It was the idea that the Gods had placed the monarch in power and therefore he had a divine legitimacy to power.
“Slavery is wrong.” Aisha simply answered. Kira’s efforts seemed to relieve the atmosphere of tension at first but it quickly descended back into awkwardness.
Aisha began walking back towards Ninos de Dios.
“Bye Kira.” She said.
Soto and Kira were left by themselves as Aisha strode further and further away. Kira looked up and observed the darkening sky.
“Soto, we should be getting back.” Kira stared at his friend’s clenched fists. They trembled with anger.
“I’m not a coward.” He said to himself. Soto also walked towards Ninos de Dios but without saying a word to Kira.
On the walk back Kira noticed the stars which slowly began to light up the sky. He remembered some nights where the three of them used to sneak out of their houses and gaze at the blanket of stars across the night sky. Kira could not believe that in the same area they had shared so many good memories a spiteful conflict had just occurred between his two best friends.
That night, Kira slept in confusion. He was a hero for saving Jasmine and yet he could not help but feel like a villain who wrenched apart two friends.
All the while, the white marble palace was being built atop the colossal mountain. The monument which would challenge the heavens was being forged from the blood of slaves.
* * * * * * * * *
Raphael gazed at the same blanket of stars as the children from Ninos de Dios; although, he would do so from his magnificent house in Al-Baraka. The blonde, half-blind Frenchman had turned thirty only a few months ago. Raphael reviewed his career over the past ten years.
His ascension was swift and efficient – leaving his colleagues and his clients in awe. The chief royal architect should have been happy with his share of life. The King had spared his life and chosen only to snatch his left eye and right hand. A black eye patch concealed the scar of his missing left eye whilst a steel hook on a wooden base was fitted in the place of his right hand.
Raphael was not happy with this life. He had suffered the cruelty of his King first hand. He did not want people to suffer at the hands of a monster like he one had. Saphina, his wife, strolled over to the window ledge and sat beside her husband. Her long, jet-black hair starkly contrasted the white velvet dress she wore. She was twenty-four and had married Raphael four years earlier. Raphael did not avert his gaze from the beauty of the stars to the beauty of his wife. She allowed one of her hands to sift through Raphael’s hair whilst viewing the focus in his eye.
“What are you thinking?” She whispered tenderly. Raphael’s sight remained fixed on the night sky.
“Saphina – this needs to change.” Raphael answered. Saphina’s face was masked in confusion.
“What needs to change?” She questioned.
“The world needs to change Saphina. The world needs to change.” He continued to be perplexed by the clarity of the stars.
“Raphael… you’re not making any sense. What do you mean?”
Finally, her husband turned to face her.
“Meggido needs to change. Look at what that madman did to me!” He pointed angrily at the eye-patch and displayed his hook hand. Saphina remained silent.
“Now he’s begun enslaving people to build that damned marble palace!” Raphael sprang from his chair and waved his arms furiously. His wife leaned over and shut the windows in case any of the neighbours heard her husband during his burst of anger. “The palace will take more than fifteen years to finish Saphina. Fifteen years! And all the while, the people of Meggido will suffer!”
“Please… calm down Raphael. You’re not thinking straight.”
“I’m thinking more clearly than I’ve ever thought before. All these years I’ve served as his chief architect and now I’m helping to build that marble monstrosity. The more I think about it, the more I realise how selfish he is. A man like him should not be the King of Meggido.”
“So what do you plan to do?” Saphina began shouting, “You can’t just overthrow a King like him! He’s the most powerful man in the world.”
Raphael’s single eye was sufficient to form a powerful and penetrating gaze. He performed the action on his wife.
“No. It’ll take time.” He began, “But I need the support of those who are dearest to me.” Raphael gently lifted and held Saphina’s hand. “Do you trust me?” Saphina’s eyes were firmly locked onto her husband’s.
“Of course I do. I’ll support you in whatever you do. I just don’t want you to get hurt…” Tears swelled from her eyes.
On that night; a dream was born, fears were forged and the journey of a thousand miles had begun.
