Young Writers Society

“What are you trying to drag us into!” the man spat.

“You-you have to...” Jeffard gasped for air, “listen. The Emperor, he-”

The man kicked him again, this time in the gut. His companion kneeled close to Jeff's face and said, “These are dangerous lies you're spreading, boy!”

“Please – please, you have to understand...” The cobblestones underneath, ground into his back, digging into his worn shirt.

“All I understand is that the words you're speaking can get you and, anyone listening to you, hung for treason!”

“Leave our town! Leave! And don't come back!” snarled the first man.

“I'm trying... I'm trying to help you...” Jeff wheezed.

“The only thing you're helping us with is getting closer to our deaths! Do you even know what you're doing? What exactly you're stirring up?” The kneeling man leaned his head back and looked at the sky. “You're telling us to betray our Emperor! To work against him! Do you take us for dullards?” He looked back at Jeff and backhanded him. “Take this as a warning, to never ever come back to our town.”

“This lout would have us start a revolution,” muttered the standing man.

His kneeling companion nodded, “After so many years of civil war, we finally have peace within Liandor, and now you want us to overthrow the only man keeping it together?”

The standing man gave a bark of laughter, “He must be insane!”

“You don't remember the days of the king, boy. If you did the Emperor would seem like a saint to you.”

“The Emperor...” Jeff inhaled deeply, “he will ruin... Liandor.” The pain all over his body was terrible, his mind was beginning to cloud over. “He is... a tyrant.” He watched as the eyes of the two men widen in shock before exchanging a glance.

“You've gone to far this time, boy!” whispered the kneeling man.

The last thing that Jeff saw was the man's large hand approaching his face before everything went black.

***

Jeff awoke to the smell of hot stew and the feeling of aches and pains. He was lying on a... mattress? How did he get on a mattress? The last thing he remembered was lying on a road with a fist flying towards him. He had come to a major town to try and rally the people against the Emperor, but the crowd had turned ugly and the two men had dragged him off to teach him a lesson. Pushing himself onto his elbows, Jeff looked around the room he was in. It was wooden, but solid; a middle class family house? Leaning over the bed to look at the floor he saw that it was lined with a thin carpet. Definitely middle class then, maybe the house of a merchant, or baker or soldier?

The door opened suddenly, causing Jeff to start. A woman who looked to be in her mid forties walked in. She was tall, with an angular face and dark brown hair tied up in a bun. She was carrying a tray with a steaming bowl placed on top of it.

“How are you feeling?” she asked him as she came to give him the tray.

Jeff sat up properly and accepted it eagerly. “Thank you,” he said. “I'm okay, just a few bruises here and there probably.”

“I put some healing tonic in the stew, it should help with the aching.”

Jeff nodded as he shoved a spoonful of the stuff into his mouth.

“Don't eat to fast, you'll end up making yourself even more sick,” she warned.

Jeff nodded again, taking a smaller spoonful this time. He chewed slowly before swallowing and saying, “If I may ask, how did I get here?”

The lady raised an eyebrow. “You walked here,” she replied.

“I what?”

“I was in the crowd you had been talking to. When I saw the men drag you off I followed them. I'm sorry I couldn't help you then, but they were too strong, I could only wait and watch 'till they left. When they did, I shook you awake and guided you back here.”

Jeff contemplated what she said for a minute. “But I don't remember walking here.”

“You were extremely dazed. That last blow they gave you must have really rattled your head. When you came here you literally collapsed onto the bed and slept like you were dead.”

Jeff ran a hand through his hair and said, “Thank you but... why did you help me? Associating with me can put you in danger too.”

The lady shifted and cast her eyes down, as if remembering something unpleasant. “I have my reasons,” she said, “I'll tell you them later. For now, just rest and try to get your strength back. I'll run a bath for you, if you like?”

Jeff nodded slowly, “That would be nice. Thank you.”

With that she left the room and closed the door.

Can I really trust her? Jeff swallowed another spoonful of stew. What if she just wants to turn me in to the Emperor?

Jeff shivered at the thought, the Emperor was known to be far less then friendly with those suspected of treason, or even just speaking out against him. His fate, were he to be caught, would not be a pleasant one.

***

The fireplace roared in front of him, the heat slowly drying his hair. He watched as the flames danced in front of him; a swirling mass of red and orange hues.

“How are you feeling?” asked Ellisa as she walked into the room and on an easy chair next to him.

“Better,” he replied. “It hurts a lot less now.”

She nodded, “I added some healing herbs, they should have soothed your pains a little.”

“Why are you helping me?” He looked, into the flames. He had to be sure. He needed to know why she was on his side.

“My son-” she began. “He was... executed. By order of the Emperor.”

“Executed?” he glanced at her, she was staring straight ahead, eyes unseeing.

“Yes,” she whispered. “He had such a beautiful voice, my Lucair. But that meant nothing to such a cold monster. His father had gone to war and died for this Empire, and Lucair believed he had died a hero. That the Emperor was a man who loved his people and protected them. All he wanted... all he wanted was to sing for the imperial family, for the Emperor, but... ”

Jeff had fully turned towards her now, and could see the pain on her face and the threat of tears in her eyes. She swallowed and inhaled a ragged breath.

“But the Emperor has no love for music, for singing, and for that!” Her voice had been steadily rising as she spoke culminating on her final word.

“For that,” she continued softly, “he was killed. Executed. Stabbed and thrown out onto the street as a warning to any who dare disturb the Emperor's peace.” Ellisa was breathing heavily and her cheeks were wet, she turned toward Jeff and said, “Do you understand now? Why I saved you? Why I am helping you? That if you continue to stand against the Emperor, why I will stand by your side and by your cause?”

“Yes,” he whispered in reply, his voice raspy and weak. “Yes, I do.” He turned away from her and looked back into the fire. “But, I don't think I can do much to stop him. Wherever I speak, people are too scared to listen, let alone agree. And some of them actually think that he is a good man! There's no point speaking to an empty crowd.”

“No. No there isn't.”

He turned back towards her, surprised by her quick agreement. She got off her easy chair and kneeled next to him on the floor, looking him in the eyes.

“What you need is not a mob of angry people. You need strong connections, supporters, people who believe in your cause.”

“People like who?” He asked frustrated, “No one listen-”

“People like me.”

“Women?” he was confused, but she nodded in agreement.

“Women who like me have lost husbands, sons and fathers to the Emperor's quick hand. Women are everywhere, they are your best set of eyes and ears. You need youths whose parents have been killed or wronged. They will grow to become your most steadfast supporters and maybe even your warriors. You need the elderly who have seen far too much pain and death. They will be your advisors. These are the people you need for a revolution.”

Revolution. He had never really thought of it that way. All he had ever wanted was for people to see their beloved Emperor for the man he really was.

“That.. will take a very long time,” he said.

She nodded, “It will be time consuming and painstaking; everything must be done discretely. But he will be busy with the war, this is the best opportunity we have.

She was right, this was the best opportunity they had. They would spend time searching out recruits- or at least people who would listen, then spend more time convincing them and then possibly training them. By the time they were done, the Emperor would be knee deep in his war with Ascerai. Jeff smiled, because for the first time in a very long time things were beginning to seem... possible.