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"The Insurrection" by Antram444

The whole piece SCREAMS RUSHED. I'm awfully embarrassed of it. I didn't have enough time to finish it [was for a competition] so I would like editing on how it is. I've already submitted it, but I like this piece and I'm going to work on it some more. I still had a 1000 words to play with, which really bums me out. I could have done so much more with this. Goes to show you not to leave everything for last minute work. =[

Category: Short Story

Tags: Short story, flashback, The Insurrection

You can do an inline review of this work in the review tab.







The Insurrection




“I don’t think he is going to live,” one whispered. He was quickly hushed down when the dying man stirred. The king’s most skilled healers surrounded the ill man.


“Commander, how are you feeling?” the lead healer tentatively asked.


“Water,” rasped the commander in reply.


An apprentice ran up with a full glass, spilling some on himself in his haste. “Here, Commander!”


The Commander shooed off all offers of help. The healers could only watch as he feebly tried to drink. After a few painful swallows, the Commander set down his glass.


“I need you to find me the first low ranking person you see.” The healers all looked at each other, trying to understand such a strange request. “Now!” roared the commander with the little strength he had.


***


Footsteps echoed on the cobble-stone walkway. The healers quickly stood up from their waiting position. They had been sitting outside of the infirmary for a while, and this was the first person they heard. As the person rounded the bend, the healers all sighed collectively. The person was a duke. The commander had specifically requested a low ranking person.


“What are we going to do?” The healer who spoke wrung his hands. “We can’t just wander off in search of a lowly person. What if the Commander calls out in need?” The healer sighed and rubbed his temple with sweaty palms.


“And there aren’t enough of us to have some stay and some go.” This healer looked around at the small group of men.


The lead healer roused himself off of the cold, wooden bench. “Now, now men. Don’t give up so soon. Look at this place!” He swept his arms around to emphasize the large size. “Soon someone will come by.”


“Umm…. Excuse me, sire.” The lead healer felt a tugging at his cloak. “Can I help you with something?”


Irritated, the man looked down to see a stable boy. Mud steadily dripped from the boy’s boots and straw poked through his tousled hair. As the healer looked the boy over, a slow grin broke across his face. He arched an eyebrow to the other healers as he slid his hand behind the stable boy, propelling his forward.

“Yes, my dear boy. I have just the task for you.” The stable boy looked into the healers eyes, and for some reason, what he saw frightened him.


***


The stable boy was pushed through the doors of the infirmary that led to the Commander’s room. He spun on his heels to see the door slam shut. All alone. The smells assaulted his nose and caused his eyes to tear up. For some reason, he thought, all hospitals have that sickly sweet clean smell. The boy’s eyes roamed over the sharp instruments that were scattered everywhere. He longed to be back in the stable, where he knew what he was doing. Being around horses soothed his nerves. He couldn’t help but marvel at the thought that people actually became better with surrounded by these glaring white walls. The whole hospital had a sense of a façade. It seemed that the outward appearance made you want to think of soothing things, but after further look, one couldn’t help but noticing the smell, the instruments, the brightness of it all. All masked the scent of death. The stable boy started towards the door. If the healers weren’t waiting outside, maybe he could slip back to the stables.


“Boy, come towards me.” The stable boy stopped when he heard the ragged voice. “What is your name, boy?”


“Stephan, milord. If I may ask, who am I speaking to?”


“Stephan, my boy, you are speaking to the War Commander of the Realm.” The Commander started coughing and blood stained the white sheets.


“Commander! I had no idea I was speaking to you! The healers just shoved me in here without explaining themselves.” With this comment, Stephan stepped into the Commander’s room. Stephan thought he heard the Commander gasp and quietly whisper,


“Ah… the irony!”, but decided that his ears were playing tricks on him.


“Stephan, grab a chair and sit down. I have to tell you a story.”


“With all due respect, Commander, shouldn’t you be spending your time fixing your affairs because of, umm, your condition.”


“Don’t beat around the bush, boy. I am dying. There is no cure for the swamp disease. Thank you for concern, but all of my affairs are in order, except for one thing. And that is why I need you.” The old man smiled at the boy’s confused face.


“Just take a seat, Stephan. I have a lot to tell you in a very short amount of time. I must be quick about it.”


When Stephan was seated, the Commander began to speak again. “I’m going to tell you a story about The Insurrection.” At these words, Stephan paled and started gulping for air. His knuckles turned white as he gripped the chair.


“The Insurrection?” Stephan squeaked. His eyes darted around. This wasn’t a topic he wanted to discuss with the failure.


The Commander sighed and rubbed his wrinkled forehead. “Yes. Except this time, I am going to tell you what really happened, and not the lies that everyone believes.”


Stephan mouthed the word ‘lies’. “I


“If you give me a moment to tell my story, you might understand.” Stephan’s face burned red at the light admonish in the Commander’s voice. After a mumbled apology from the boy, the Commander continued.


“The Insurrection was caused because of the famine. It has been almost forty years since then. The Insurrection came about in the year that I was named War Commander, and it was my duty to protect the royal family and nip this revolt in the bud. One of the many reasons that the Insurrection got as bad as it did was that neither side could see the other’s point-of-view. The peasant’s,” at this the Commander raised his left hand, “all thought that the nobility was hoarding their share of the emergency grain supplies and not distributing it among the fiefs.


“On the other hand,” the Commander raised his right hand, “the nobility had distributed all the food they could. When their people rose up against them and stopped working the land, the nobility couldn’t bargain with the people who weren’t affected by the famine because they had nothing to trade with.” The Commander sighed as he remembered the violence that broke out. Stephan, though, was captivated. The Commander was speaking about one of the bloodiest civil-unrest periods in this kingdom, yet the way he strung the words together and emphasized them with his voice brought the story to life.


“I was different.” The Commander continued. “I was born into nobility, but that’s where it ended. In everything but name, I was a peasant. Money was sparse back then, and I knew all too well what it felt like to be hungry.


“Because of this, I could understand the peasants and the nobility’s view-points. But my job wasn’t peace-maker. It was War Commander. I vowed to myself that if there was a way to end this riot peaceably, I would do it.” A tear ran down the old man’s face.


“You are the first person to hear this version. I’ve told this story countless times, but now it is time the true version is known.”


Stephan scooted to the edge of his seat, leaning forward to hear the Commander better.


“It was the first time the public masses were able to breach the palaces walls. Sheer force outran training. In the confusion, I was knocked unconscious by some huge farmer with a pitchfork. I don’t know how long I was under, but it couldn’t have been for long because the fight was still going on. It was sickening. The peasants had such bloodlust on their minds that they didn’t care who suffered.


“When I regained awareness, I realized something terrible had happened. The Old King, queen, and prince were no longer with me. I panicked. My duty was to protect the royal family. To protect them with my life and I failed. They were gone.


“I started running, pushing people out of my way no matter who they were.” The Commander wildly gestured with his hands to emphasize. Stephan watched wide-eyed. “I was in my prime and I was frantic. The people I pushed down stayed down. I searched for a very long time. Then I found them.” The Commander’s voice broke with emotion. A sob racked his frail body. He coughed, adding more blood to the already scarlet-white sheets.


“Milord, are you okay?” Stephan’s forehead creased and he hesitantly stretched out his arm until his hand rested on the Commander’s bony shoulder. Stephan could feel the tremors through the thin clothing.


“They were dead, all three of them. Even in his older age, the Old King was a ferocious warrior. Ten men surrounded his fallen corpse and had three swords sticking through him. The queen’s body covered the prince’s. Both were killed by arrows.” Tears rapidly flowed from weary eyes. “I had failed. My two lieges and the hope of the future lied at my feet, dead.”


Crash!


The Commander looked up to see Stephan on the floor. Stephan trembled. His huge eyes

met the Commander’s.


“All three? No! That can’t be true! The prince couldn’t have died. He is the king now.

King Philip is alive! I saw him yesterday. In fact, I groomed his hunting horse and helped

him mount up. Could a dead man have gone hunting?” Stephan shook and knocked over

the Commander’s glass of half-drunk water.



“The fever must have addled your brain for you to talk such nonsense.” Stephan backed

away slowly.


“Stephan, m’boy, take your seat, the story isn’t over.” The Commander’s soft eyes met

the boy’s wild gaze for the second time. Taking a deep breath, Stephan took his seat.


“As I was saying, all three died without me to protect them. I threw myself on the ground,

determined to kill myself. How could I live with such failure? The three people who

desperately needed me died alone.


“Just as I was about to take my life, I heard a small boy sobbing. My nature is to protect people. I couldn’t just drown in my own sorrow when people still needed me. I followed the sound until I found the boy huddled behind a shield, trying to hold an unfamiliar weapon and wipe away his tears. I reached down towards him.


“‘What’s the matter, boy?’ I asked him.


“He looked up at me, trembling. His large eyes welled with tears. ‘I couldn’t do it,’ he told me.


“‘Couldn’t do what?’ I thought he was hiding from the battle going on. His uniform was clearly palace livery of a servant.


“‘I couldn’t save the king. I tried to help him fight off those men, but he told me to hide. To save myself because the kingdom needed me someday. And then he was stabbed and he fell. He didn’t get back up.’ The little boy started hiccupping uncontrollably. ‘I killed the man who killed my king.’


“I started crying as the boy told his story. I picked him up off the ground.


“‘Lad,” I told him, ‘you did a courageous thing. You stayed and fought beside your king. Not many grown men would have done that. The king would be proud of you. I’m proud of you.’


“I hugged him. As he clung to me, a plan started forming in my mind.” The Commander twisted the sheets between gnarled hands.


“The public couldn’t find out about the prince’s death. Anarchy would overcome the kingdom. The public would try to pick one of their own for a new leader. All the nobility would nominate one of themselves. Other countries would become involved and try to influence us while we were weak. The kingdom would crumble. Anarchy would break out and kill us all faster than anything else. I knew if I was to save the country, I had to act. Now.


“When the boy looked at me, I saw that he was roughly the same size as the fallen prince. Even kind of resembled him. Both had blue eyes and brown hair. They even looked to be the same age. The prince wasn’t well-known to our country. He had been at school in the neighboring country for most of his life. The more I thought about it, the more I realized my idea might work.


“‘Boy, do you believe what the king said, about your country needing you some day?’ The boy nodded to me. ‘Well, today is that day. You need to become the prince. Whoever you were, you are not anymore. You are Prince Philip.’”


“The boy thought I was crazy! ‘I’m just a stable boy!’ he told me. ‘I can’t do that! It’s high treason!’


“Eventually, I convinced him and the next day I presented him as Prince Philip, the only survivor of the royal family. No one questioned me. They all assumed that he was the prince. No one looked behind the physical appearance.


“After a few months, the Insurrection died down. Rain came and the famine ended. And I still had a stable boy as a prince. I taught him everything he needed to know to be a ruler. He’s turned out to be quite a good one.” The Commander looked up from his sheets. Stephan stood there, mouth open.


“You can’t be serious!” Stephan shouted.


“Why would I lie?” The Commander simply stated. Stephan could see the truth etched onto his face.


“I have to tell everyone! They must know the truth!” Stephan turned to run out of the hospital.


“Think boy! Who would believe you? You are simply a servant. Everyone would just think you are giving yourself airs saying that a stable boy such as yourself is the king. Besides, I deceived everyone so that no one would know! If this news broke out and people did believe you, anarchy would sweep the kingdom. King Phillip would die and everything I and he worked for would have been for nothing. You can’t tell anyone! I am telling you because I don’t want the truth to ever be forgotten. By telling you, I am ensuring that our true history will be remembered. I am telling you because everyone thinks I failed during the insurrection by letting the king and queen die. Yes, I failed. But I have also made it possible for a new future. I am not telling you so that you think highly of me. I still wonder if I did the right thing, but then I look out my window and see a happy kingdom. A prosperous country with people that love their king, and then I am convinced.


“But I am dying. I am not going to live through the night. I needed to let someone know the true story. The true events.” The Commander spoke all of this calmly, letting the logic of his words sink into Stephan’s mind.


Before the Commander could continue, they heard a rap on the door to his room. The lead healer poked his head through. “Commander, you should rest. Let this boy go on his way; I’m sure he has tasks to finish.” The man arched his eyebrow to Stephan, indicating for him to leave, now.


Stephan rose. “I don’t know if that is the right thing to do, Commander, but I respect your final wishes. The truth will not be lost.” Stephan saluted to the Commander and bowed. He walked out of the room, followed by a flabbergasted healer.


***


Stephan and the other stable boys were mucking out stalls when a messenger boy ran up to them.


“Have you heard the news? The War Commander died last night. King Phillip is going to be choosing a replacement this week!” The boy ran off to tell his message to the rest of the servants.


“Who cares?” The speaker was one of the older stable boys. He spit on the ground. “Good riddance if you ask me. The Commander was an old geezer who couldn’t get anything right. I heard he was the one who sneaked the people who killed the Old King and queen into the palace.” The boy sneered.


Another one piqued up: “I heard that he watched the Old King die, begging for the assassins not to kill him!” This boy also spit on the ground, in memory of the War Commander.


Stephan leaned his pitchfork against the barn door. Slowly, he saluted towards the infirmary. He turned to the other boys, trying to fake a smile. “Well, I heard he ran and hid when the palace was under siege. That it was pure luck King Phillip wasn’t killed under his watch”


The other boys laughed and joked with each other. Each “I heard” more ludicrous than the last. “Whatever,” said the oldest boy. “He’s dead. Good riddance and goodbye.” The boys all filed out, ready to go to dinner since the work was done. Stephan walked out last. He lingered by the doorway until all the rest of the stable boys were gone.


Stephan saluted once more. “Goodbye, Commander. Goodbye to a true, unsung for, hero.”






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Category Name: My Thoughts

I did not enjoy this story. I am not even sure what problem the protagonist faced. This story was okay. The story would have been better if the author had introduced the problem differently and made it feel more pressing. I really enjoyed this story. The author did a good job pulling me into the story by introducing an immediate and important problem for the protagonist.

This section is for overall comments and general ideas. The score should reflect how much you enjoyed the story.

Category Name: Character Development

The characters were not dynamic, credible, interesting, memorable or unique. I don’t care about or understand the characters because they were poorly developed. The characters were somewhat dynamic, credible, interesting, memorable and unique. I partially understood the thoughts, feelings, and actions of the characters. I somewhat connected with and care about the characters. The characters were very dynamic, credible, interesting, memorable and unique. I thoroughly understood their thoughts, feelings and actions. I felt connected with and cared about the characters.

This is act of bringing a character to life on the page. It is a combination of the author’s description of the character and the character’s dialog, action, and thoughts. Though all characters should be believable, the protagonist and antagonist are usually the most developed characters.

Category Name: Plot

I finished reading the story so the plot must have unfolded, but I am not sure what the plot was. The characters did not achieve or grow by solving the problems they faced in this story. There were definite wrinkles in the way the plot unfolded leading to the final conflict. The plot was loosely tied to the achievement and growth of the characters. The way the protagonist overcame some of the problems flowed unnaturally with the story. I could see the plot unfolding through a series of escalating problems that lead to the final conflict. The plot helped me understand the achievements and growth of the characters. The way the protagonist overcame the problems flowed naturally with the st

In fiction a plot is all the events in a story, particularly rendered towards the achievement of some particular artistic or emotional effect. In other words it's what mostly happened in the story. The plot draws the reader into the character's lives and helps the reader understand the choices that the characters make.

Category Name: Dialog

The dialog seemed like cold words on paper. I had a hard time following it. I didn’t learn very much about the characters through the dialog. Through the dialog I could sometimes see the characters learn and grow while occasionally discovering new facets of their personalities. The dialog was generally consistent with the character. Through the dialog I could see the characters learn and grow while simultaneously discovering new facets of their personalities. The dialog was true to the character and it helped me understand the characters emotions.

Category Name: Setting

The setting created a haze in my mind that detracted from the story. I am lost in time and space because I don’t know when or where this story takes place. The setting was described adequately, but not well enough to bring it to life in my mind. The setting did not add to or detract from the story. I am pretty sure I know when and where the story takes place. The author engaged all of my senses while vividly describing the setting. The setting helped me better understand the setting and plot. I know when and where this story takes place.

The setting is where a story takes place. The choice of setting and its description helps the story come alive in the mind of the reader. Appropriate setting contributes to the plot and mood of the story.

Category Name: Mechanics

The story contained so many mechanical errors that it was hard to follow the plot or understand certain sentences or paragraphs. Occasional mechanical errors were distracting, but these errors did not inhibit me from being able to understand the plot or connect with characters in the story. I rarely if ever noticed mechanical errors. As far as I could tell, the writing was clear and correct.

Mechanics includes sentence structure, verb agreement, grammar, spelling, voice, punctuation and aspects of basic style.

Note: The purpose of ReviewFuse reviews is NOT to provide comprehensive copy editing, but rather to "ignite creativity." Reviewers should not feel obliged to point out every grammar or spelling error (though they certainly can if they wish), but should focus on this area only to the degree that errors make a story hard to follow or understand.

Inline comments are the most helpful and important aspects of your review.

Click on a paragraph or highlight text from the paragraph to provide inline comments. While detailed grammar correction is welcome, the purpose of inline commenting is to spark the author's creativity. This is best done by expressing feelings, questions, and concerns you have about the story while you are reading.

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7. The Insurrection

8.

9.

10.

11. “I don’t think he is going to live,” one whispered. He was quickly hushed down when the dying man stirred. The king’s most skilled healers surrounded the ill man.

12.

13. “Commander, how are you feeling?” the lead healer tentatively asked.

14.

15. “Water,” rasped the commander in reply.

16.

17. An apprentice ran up with a full glass, spilling some on himself in his haste. “Here, Commander!”

18.

19. The Commander shooed off all offers of help. The healers could only watch as he feebly tried to drink. After a few painful swallows, the Commander set down his glass.

20.

21. “I need you to find me the first low ranking person you see.” The healers all looked at each other, trying to understand such a strange request. “Now!” roared the commander with the little strength he had.

22.

23. ***

24.

25. Footsteps echoed on the cobble-stone walkway. The healers quickly stood up from their waiting position. They had been sitting outside of the infirmary for a while, and this was the first person they heard. As the person rounded the bend, the healers all sighed collectively. The person was a duke. The commander had specifically requested a low ranking person.

26.

27. “What are we going to do?” The healer who spoke wrung his hands. “We can’t just wander off in search of a lowly person. What if the Commander calls out in need?” The healer sighed and rubbed his temple with sweaty palms.

28.

29. “And there aren’t enough of us to have some stay and some go.” This healer looked around at the small group of men.

30.

31. The lead healer roused himself off of the cold, wooden bench. “Now, now men. Don’t give up so soon. Look at this place!” He swept his arms around to emphasize the large size. “Soon someone will come by.”

32.

33. “Umm…. Excuse me, sire.” The lead healer felt a tugging at his cloak. “Can I help you with something?”

34.

35. Irritated, the man looked down to see a stable boy. Mud steadily dripped from the boy’s boots and straw poked through his tousled hair. As the healer looked the boy over, a slow grin broke across his face. He arched an eyebrow to the other healers as he slid his hand behind the stable boy, propelling his forward.

36. “Yes, my dear boy. I have just the task for you.” The stable boy looked into the healers eyes, and for some reason, what he saw frightened him.

37.

38. ***

39.

40. The stable boy was pushed through the doors of the infirmary that led to the Commander’s room. He spun on his heels to see the door slam shut. All alone. The smells assaulted his nose and caused his eyes to tear up. For some reason, he thought, all hospitals have that sickly sweet clean smell. The boy’s eyes roamed over the sharp instruments that were scattered everywhere. He longed to be back in the stable, where he knew what he was doing. Being around horses soothed his nerves. He couldn’t help but marvel at the thought that people actually became better with surrounded by these glaring white walls. The whole hospital had a sense of a façade. It seemed that the outward appearance made you want to think of soothing things, but after further look, one couldn’t help but noticing the smell, the instruments, the brightness of it all. All masked the scent of death. The stable boy started towards the door. If the healers weren’t waiting outside, maybe he could slip back to the stables.

41.

42. “Boy, come towards me.” The stable boy stopped when he heard the ragged voice. “What is your name, boy?”

43.

44. “Stephan, milord. If I may ask, who am I speaking to?”

45.

46. “Stephan, my boy, you are speaking to the War Commander of the Realm.” The Commander started coughing and blood stained the white sheets.

47.

48. “Commander! I had no idea I was speaking to you! The healers just shoved me in here without explaining themselves.” With this comment, Stephan stepped into the Commander’s room. Stephan thought he heard the Commander gasp and quietly whisper,

49.

50. “Ah… the irony!”, but decided that his ears were playing tricks on him.

51.

52. “Stephan, grab a chair and sit down. I have to tell you a story.”

53.

54. “With all due respect, Commander, shouldn’t you be spending your time fixing your affairs because of, umm, your condition.”

55.

56. “Don’t beat around the bush, boy. I am dying. There is no cure for the swamp disease. Thank you for concern, but all of my affairs are in order, except for one thing. And that is why I need you.” The old man smiled at the boy’s confused face.

57.

58. “Just take a seat, Stephan. I have a lot to tell you in a very short amount of time. I must be quick about it.”

59.

60. When Stephan was seated, the Commander began to speak again. “I’m going to tell you a story about The Insurrection.” At these words, Stephan paled and started gulping for air. His knuckles turned white as he gripped the chair.

61.

62. “The Insurrection?” Stephan squeaked. His eyes darted around. This wasn’t a topic he wanted to discuss with the failure.

63.

64. The Commander sighed and rubbed his wrinkled forehead. “Yes. Except this time, I am going to tell you what really happened, and not the lies that everyone believes.”

65.

66. Stephan mouthed the word ‘lies’. “I

67.

68. “If you give me a moment to tell my story, you might understand.” Stephan’s face burned red at the light admonish in the Commander’s voice. After a mumbled apology from the boy, the Commander continued.

69.

70. “The Insurrection was caused because of the famine. It has been almost forty years since then. The Insurrection came about in the year that I was named War Commander, and it was my duty to protect the royal family and nip this revolt in the bud. One of the many reasons that the Insurrection got as bad as it did was that neither side could see the other’s point-of-view. The peasant’s,” at this the Commander raised his left hand, “all thought that the nobility was hoarding their share of the emergency grain supplies and not distributing it among the fiefs.

71.

72. “On the other hand,” the Commander raised his right hand, “the nobility had distributed all the food they could. When their people rose up against them and stopped working the land, the nobility couldn’t bargain with the people who weren’t affected by the famine because they had nothing to trade with.” The Commander sighed as he remembered the violence that broke out. Stephan, though, was captivated. The Commander was speaking about one of the bloodiest civil-unrest periods in this kingdom, yet the way he strung the words together and emphasized them with his voice brought the story to life.

73.

74. “I was different.” The Commander continued. “I was born into nobility, but that’s where it ended. In everything but name, I was a peasant. Money was sparse back then, and I knew all too well what it felt like to be hungry.

75.

76. “Because of this, I could understand the peasants and the nobility’s view-points. But my job wasn’t peace-maker. It was War Commander. I vowed to myself that if there was a way to end this riot peaceably, I would do it.” A tear ran down the old man’s face.

77.

78. “You are the first person to hear this version. I’ve told this story countless times, but now it is time the true version is known.”

79.

80. Stephan scooted to the edge of his seat, leaning forward to hear the Commander better.

81.

82. “It was the first time the public masses were able to breach the palaces walls. Sheer force outran training. In the confusion, I was knocked unconscious by some huge farmer with a pitchfork. I don’t know how long I was under, but it couldn’t have been for long because the fight was still going on. It was sickening. The peasants had such bloodlust on their minds that they didn’t care who suffered.

83.

84. “When I regained awareness, I realized something terrible had happened. The Old King, queen, and prince were no longer with me. I panicked. My duty was to protect the royal family. To protect them with my life and I failed. They were gone.

85.

86. “I started running, pushing people out of my way no matter who they were.” The Commander wildly gestured with his hands to emphasize. Stephan watched wide-eyed. “I was in my prime and I was frantic. The people I pushed down stayed down. I searched for a very long time. Then I found them.” The Commander’s voice broke with emotion. A sob racked his frail body. He coughed, adding more blood to the already scarlet-white sheets.

87.

88. “Milord, are you okay?” Stephan’s forehead creased and he hesitantly stretched out his arm until his hand rested on the Commander’s bony shoulder. Stephan could feel the tremors through the thin clothing.

89.

90. “They were dead, all three of them. Even in his older age, the Old King was a ferocious warrior. Ten men surrounded his fallen corpse and had three swords sticking through him. The queen’s body covered the prince’s. Both were killed by arrows.” Tears rapidly flowed from weary eyes. “I had failed. My two lieges and the hope of the future lied at my feet, dead.”

91.

92. Crash!

93.

94. The Commander looked up to see Stephan on the floor. Stephan trembled. His huge eyes

95. met the Commander’s.

96.

97. “All three? No! That can’t be true! The prince couldn’t have died. He is the king now.

98. King Philip is alive! I saw him yesterday. In fact, I groomed his hunting horse and helped

99. him mount up. Could a dead man have gone hunting?” Stephan shook and knocked over

100. the Commander’s glass of half-drunk water.

101.

102.

103. “The fever must have addled your brain for you to talk such nonsense.” Stephan backed

104. away slowly.

105.

106. “Stephan, m’boy, take your seat, the story isn’t over.” The Commander’s soft eyes met

107. the boy’s wild gaze for the second time. Taking a deep breath, Stephan took his seat.

108.

109. “As I was saying, all three died without me to protect them. I threw myself on the ground,

110. determined to kill myself. How could I live with such failure? The three people who

111. desperately needed me died alone.

112.

113. “Just as I was about to take my life, I heard a small boy sobbing. My nature is to protect people. I couldn’t just drown in my own sorrow when people still needed me. I followed the sound until I found the boy huddled behind a shield, trying to hold an unfamiliar weapon and wipe away his tears. I reached down towards him.

114.

115. “‘What’s the matter, boy?’ I asked him.

116.

117. “He looked up at me, trembling. His large eyes welled with tears. ‘I couldn’t do it,’ he told me.

118.

119. “‘Couldn’t do what?’ I thought he was hiding from the battle going on. His uniform was clearly palace livery of a servant.

120.

121. “‘I couldn’t save the king. I tried to help him fight off those men, but he told me to hide. To save myself because the kingdom needed me someday. And then he was stabbed and he fell. He didn’t get back up.’ The little boy started hiccupping uncontrollably. ‘I killed the man who killed my king.’

122.

123. “I started crying as the boy told his story. I picked him up off the ground.

124.

125. “‘Lad,” I told him, ‘you did a courageous thing. You stayed and fought beside your king. Not many grown men would have done that. The king would be proud of you. I’m proud of you.’

126.

127. “I hugged him. As he clung to me, a plan started forming in my mind.” The Commander twisted the sheets between gnarled hands.

128.

129. “The public couldn’t find out about the prince’s death. Anarchy would overcome the kingdom. The public would try to pick one of their own for a new leader. All the nobility would nominate one of themselves. Other countries would become involved and try to influence us while we were weak. The kingdom would crumble. Anarchy would break out and kill us all faster than anything else. I knew if I was to save the country, I had to act. Now.

130.

131. “When the boy looked at me, I saw that he was roughly the same size as the fallen prince. Even kind of resembled him. Both had blue eyes and brown hair. They even looked to be the same age. The prince wasn’t well-known to our country. He had been at school in the neighboring country for most of his life. The more I thought about it, the more I realized my idea might work.

132.

133. “‘Boy, do you believe what the king said, about your country needing you some day?’ The boy nodded to me. ‘Well, today is that day. You need to become the prince. Whoever you were, you are not anymore. You are Prince Philip.’”

134.

135. “The boy thought I was crazy! ‘I’m just a stable boy!’ he told me. ‘I can’t do that! It’s high treason!’

136.

137. “Eventually, I convinced him and the next day I presented him as Prince Philip, the only survivor of the royal family. No one questioned me. They all assumed that he was the prince. No one looked behind the physical appearance.

138.

139. “After a few months, the Insurrection died down. Rain came and the famine ended. And I still had a stable boy as a prince. I taught him everything he needed to know to be a ruler. He’s turned out to be quite a good one.” The Commander looked up from his sheets. Stephan stood there, mouth open.

140.

141. “You can’t be serious!” Stephan shouted.

142.

143. “Why would I lie?” The Commander simply stated. Stephan could see the truth etched onto his face.

144.

145. “I have to tell everyone! They must know the truth!” Stephan turned to run out of the hospital.

146.

147. “Think boy! Who would believe you? You are simply a servant. Everyone would just think you are giving yourself airs saying that a stable boy such as yourself is the king. Besides, I deceived everyone so that no one would know! If this news broke out and people did believe you, anarchy would sweep the kingdom. King Phillip would die and everything I and he worked for would have been for nothing. You can’t tell anyone! I am telling you because I don’t want the truth to ever be forgotten. By telling you, I am ensuring that our true history will be remembered. I am telling you because everyone thinks I failed during the insurrection by letting the king and queen die. Yes, I failed. But I have also made it possible for a new future. I am not telling you so that you think highly of me. I still wonder if I did the right thing, but then I look out my window and see a happy kingdom. A prosperous country with people that love their king, and then I am convinced.

148.

149. “But I am dying. I am not going to live through the night. I needed to let someone know the true story. The true events.” The Commander spoke all of this calmly, letting the logic of his words sink into Stephan’s mind.

150.

151. Before the Commander could continue, they heard a rap on the door to his room. The lead healer poked his head through. “Commander, you should rest. Let this boy go on his way; I’m sure he has tasks to finish.” The man arched his eyebrow to Stephan, indicating for him to leave, now.

152.

153. Stephan rose. “I don’t know if that is the right thing to do, Commander, but I respect your final wishes. The truth will not be lost.” Stephan saluted to the Commander and bowed. He walked out of the room, followed by a flabbergasted healer.

154.

155. ***

156.

157. Stephan and the other stable boys were mucking out stalls when a messenger boy ran up to them.

158.

159. “Have you heard the news? The War Commander died last night. King Phillip is going to be choosing a replacement this week!” The boy ran off to tell his message to the rest of the servants.

160.

161. “Who cares?” The speaker was one of the older stable boys. He spit on the ground. “Good riddance if you ask me. The Commander was an old geezer who couldn’t get anything right. I heard he was the one who sneaked the people who killed the Old King and queen into the palace.” The boy sneered.

162.

163. Another one piqued up: “I heard that he watched the Old King die, begging for the assassins not to kill him!” This boy also spit on the ground, in memory of the War Commander.

164.

165. Stephan leaned his pitchfork against the barn door. Slowly, he saluted towards the infirmary. He turned to the other boys, trying to fake a smile. “Well, I heard he ran and hid when the palace was under siege. That it was pure luck King Phillip wasn’t killed under his watch”

166.

167. The other boys laughed and joked with each other. Each “I heard” more ludicrous than the last. “Whatever,” said the oldest boy. “He’s dead. Good riddance and goodbye.” The boys all filed out, ready to go to dinner since the work was done. Stephan walked out last. He lingered by the doorway until all the rest of the stable boys were gone.

168.

169. Stephan saluted once more. “Goodbye, Commander. Goodbye to a true, unsung for, hero.”

170.

171.

172.

173.

174.

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