Agis

It's been 10 years since Mother told me about the story of King Arthur. I'm now 15 years old, and work on our family's farm. Since we're peasants, I give all my money to mother since she can't work herself.

I woke up the one morning as I heard the sound of my mother making breakfast. This was a rare occurrence, since we almost never had enough money for breakfast. I quickly got dressed in my gray long sleeve shirt and my long black pants. I didn't own shoes, so I had to be barefoot. However I did have one thing of value to me, my cross. It was a holy cross that symbolized our lord and savior, and it was made of pure silver. I kept begging mother to let me sell it, but she said it was too important for something as trivial as money.

I walked out of my room with a yawn and walked into the kitchen area. It wasn't much, a fire pit in the center of the room and a way down to the cellar where we kept any spare food we had. There was a small table in the corner of the room, with two wooden chairs.

Of course, if father was home, I didn't get to sit at the table. I sat on the cold hard ground as I ate my meal. However, thankfully, he wasn't home today.

My father worked as merchant, who would always go deeper into the kingdom to try and sell goods. However he never made much of a profit.

Mother set two small loaves of bread on the table, almost like biscuits.

Mom: "Go on, Agis, you need to eat"

After all these years of being peasants, mother never lost her smile and kind heart. She'd help the neighbors whenever she got the chance, even if it would inconvenience her.

Agis: "I'm not eating until you eat"

Mother smiled at me warmly and ran her hand through my hair.

Mother: "Thank you for caring, but you need it more than me"

Agis: "I'll eat one loaf, you get the other"

Mother: "Oh all right, I can't argue with that cute little face"

She pinched my cheek and wiggled it a little.

She sat down with me at the table and started eating. Mother's bread was the best thing in the world! It was always soft and warm, crispy on the outside and soft as silk on the inside. Every bite sent a warm feeling through my body.

Agis: "Thank you for the food, Mom"

Mom: "It was my pleasure, my growing boy needs his food"

Agis: "Oh! I managed to get a small job down by the creek. The man who owns the land wants me to help fix his fence"

Mom: "The creek? That's very far away"

Agis: "I know, but he's offering me two gold pieces!!"

Mom: "T-Two gold?!"

The currency in the kingdom was kind of weird. We had three forms of currency, Copper, Silver, and Gold. One gold piece was worth 100 silver and one silver was worth 200 copper. So naturally, it was pretty difficult to earn money when the peasants all earned copper pieces.

Mom: "T-That's worth 40,000 copper pieces!!!"

Agis: "I know! We could finally have enough food for breakfast now!"

Mother's eyes fixated on me.

Mom: "That sounds a little too good to be true"

Agis: "I talked to the man, and he seems to be genuine enough. He's even letting me borrow his tools for the job"

Mother placed her hand on mine.

Mom: "Just be careful, sweetie. I worry about you when you go off on your own"

Agis: "I'll be fine! I can handle myself"

Mom: "Then how come your own mother is still stronger than you?"

My ears reddened with blush.

Agis: "I-I'm trying!"

Mother laughed a little and rubbed my hand.

Mom: "I'm just teasing you, sweetie. You've grown into a fine young man"

After finished eating, I helped Mother with stuff around the house. At about noon, I was about to leave for the creek when Mother suddenly pulled me into a big hug. She ran her hand through my hair and kissed me on my forehead.

Mom: "Stay safe out there. And where have I told you to go if you get into any trouble?"

Agis: "The old pond at the edge of town"

Mom: "Good boy"

She hugged me tighter.

Mom: "Okay, off you go. Make sure you're back before dinner"

Agis: "I will! See ya!"

I grabbed the leather satchel that Mom had given me when I turned ten, since I took it everywhere I went. I ran down the gravel road that led up to our small house. I heard Mother yell to me as I ran.

Mom: "I love you, sweetie!"

Agis: "I love you too, Mom!"

I ran through town, wanting to get to the creek as soon as possible.

We lived in a very small town on the outskirts of the Kingdom of Wind. It was a very poor town, most of us living day to day, barely having enough money for food. Plague was a huge part of our daily lives. If someone got sick, there was no way to treat them. Only the rich had the money to get medicine. But they all lived in the capital, where the King also did.

I wanted to meet the King since I first heard the story of King Arthur. I wanted to see what it was like to be a King, the great protector of the Kingdom of Wind.

I was about halfway there when my legs started getting tired, so I just decided to walk. While I walked, I started to think of what we could do with the kind of money I was getting for this job. At most, Father got 2 silver a month. And that was a rare occurrence. So the amount of money we would get from this would be enough to help us move to a new town. Maybe even into the outer ring of the capital!

After I arrived at the creek, I was greeted by an old man in a large brown cloak. It covered his head, so all I could see was his face. He had a long grey beard and piercing red eyes. He was missing some teeth too.

Old Man: "Hello young man, would you happen to be Agis?"

Agis: "Yes, sir! That's me, I'm here to fix the fence you told me about"

Old Man: "I'm glad you actually decided to come. Most people would think it's a scam. However I'm thankful to you"

He held out a small toolbox with his skinny, bony hands.

Old Man: "You have until sunset to fix the fence, since I must be going out soon"

That left me four hours to fix it, easy. I had to be home an hour before sunset anyways, so this wouldn't take too long. I took the toolbox and walked to the broken fence. Surprisingly, only two frames had gotten out of place, laying on the ground. The nails had come off. It was almost like they were pried off.

Nonetheless, I got to work right away. I decided to take my sweet time with it, since I had a long time to complete such an easy task.

After an hour had passed, I finished the fence. I wiped my forehead of sweat and picked up the old man's toolbox. Honestly, even for an old man, the job could've been done pretty easy. Definitely something that wasn't worth two gold pieces. However I trusted the man.

I walked back up to his little shack at the edge of the creek, where he was still sitting on the steps to his house.

Old Man: "Ah, done so soon? Thank you young man"

Agis: "I should be the one thanking you, sir. It's hard finding work these days"

The old man's eyes fixated on me.

Old Man: "Young man, I would like to make a deal with you"

Agis: "What kind of deal?"

The old man held up six gold pieces, in the shape of coins.

Old Man: "I'm willing to pay you three times as much money as I promised you. However the condition is that on your way home, you must not stop for any reason. You must ignore everything else around you. Am I clear?"

I spoke without hesitation.

Agis: "Yes Sir!!"

The old man handed me the coins.

Old Man: "Remember our deal, young man"

Agis: "I will, thank you so much! God bless you, sir. Have a good evening!"

I immediately looked over the gold coins. They were real!!!

I immediately started running home, so excited that I couldn't wait to tell Mother. All I had to do was ignore everything I ran into on the way.

I never should've made that deal.

However as I ran, I saw a cart being pulled by a large horse. The cart looked like a cage made of wood. Inside, were a bunch of people, young and old, boys and girls, and anything in between. They all had shackles that bound their ankles and wrists.

Slaves. They were peasant slaves that were either born into it or were in massive amounts of debt that could only be paid off through slavery. However the debt would never be paid.

Even though I loved our King, I knew some of the choices he made were evil. The whole concept of slavery is wrong and cruel. But if anyone spoke up, they wouldn't be seen again.

I saw multiple people around my age, some younger than ten. I even saw a few of them crying. It made my heart ache, but in the end, there was nothing I could do.

I started to walk away when I heard someone suddenly fall out of the cart. It was a girl maybe a little younger than I was, her shackles smaller than the rest. She was crying and trying to crawl away from the cart. One of the slave trainers got down off of the cart and walked over to her. He had a long whip in his hand and even a long sword.

Immediately, I started to think this was a setup. The old man told me to ignore everything, but how could I possibly ignore this?!

I sprinted towards them, and right as the whip came down, I jumped in the way, taking a long gash across my chest. I screamed in pain, but I managed to stay standing. I looked up at the slave trainer.

Agis: "P-Please! Just let it slide! Don't hurt her!!"

Trainer: "Oh yeah? And why should I?"

I held out one of the six gold coins.

Agis: "Take this in compensation"

Trainer: "Make it two"

Agis: "W-What?!"

Trainer: "I said make it two, or I continue"

Just as I thought, it was a scam. They likely had this whole thing planned. Reluctantly, I handed him two coins I had got, leaving me with four. He scoffed and started walking back to the driver's seat.

Trainer: "Hurry up and get her back in there! I don't have all day!"

I looked down at the girl, and she was scared out of her mind. I reached my hand out to her and she started backing away. Her arms and legs were trembling and she was crying.

Agis: "H-Hey, it's okay. He won't hurt you"

Girl: "Y-Yes he will, they a-always do..."

Agis: "Hold out your hand"

Girl: "W-What?"

I spoke calmly.

Agis: "Trust me, please"

Though she was hesitant, she held her hand out. I then dropped two gold coins in her hand. She looked up at me in shock and disbelief. I then whispered to her.

Agis: "Before you even reach your destination, the cart will break and the cage will come apart"

I held out my other hand to reveal a handful of nuts and bolts from the cart.

Agis: "Prepare everyone for when that happens. You can then use this money to get far away from here"

She looked up at me and started crying again. She suddenly wrapped her arms around me.

Girl: "B-Bless you...! T-Thank you so much..!"

I rubbed the back of her head.

Agis: "The rest is up to you. Good luck"

I helped her into the cart, where she had already started whispering to the other slaves.

I started walking past the cart. I looked back one last time, sad that I used up all my extra money, but happy that I managed to help someone. I also still had my two gold coins from the old man.

Suddenly, it started to rain. I quickly ran underneath a large tree to get some cover. The tree was on top of a large hill, and was easily the biggest one I've seen around here. For some reason, I always found myself attracted to it. Whenever I was out this way, I would always stop here and relax. However I wouldn't do that today. I was too excited to get home and show Mother the money.

I continued running once the rain had let up a bit. I ran over an even larger hill that was on the edge of our little down. However, while running up, I smelled something. The one thing that terrified me to my very core.

Smoke.

Once I got to the top of the hill, I thought this was all a big nightmare.

The home I once knew was up in flames. The sounds of people screaming and metal clashing filled the air around me. I would've run away, however quickly remembered someone very important.

Agis: "M-Mom!!!"

I sprinted down the streets of what used to be my town. Bloody bodies filled the streets, with arrows and spears protruding from their bodies. Fire raged around me, somehow not being put out by the heavy rain.

When I finally got home, I tried to open the door, however it wouldn't budge. I walked back and ran straight into the door, knocking it down. I looked around, however Mother was no where to be found.

I ran out of the house, searching all over town. However there was still nothing.

Then, I remembered what Mother had told me. She told me to go to the pond on the outside of the town. Without hesitation, I sprinted for the pond.

Upon arrival, I found a massive group of what looked to be knights surrounding the pond. Right at the edge of the water, I could see Mother.

When I arrived, there was a knight in black and red armor. Their head was covered by helmet, so I couldn't see what they looked like. However they were holding a massive sword that shouldn't have even been able to be held by one hand. The metal used to forge the sword's blade was fiery red in color.

Knight: "Tell us where he is!"

Mom: "I don't know what you're talking about!!"

Knight: "If you don't know, then you are useless to us"

The knight prepared to swing his sword down on her. With fear overwhelming my body, I grabbed one of the swords that lay on the ground from a fallen person in town. I then ran into the crowd.

Agis: "Leave her alone!!"

I bursted through the crowd and ran straight for her.

She looked at me, fear filling her eyes. She got out a single scream.

Mom: "Agis!! Run!!"

I swung my sword, never once using one in my life. But by then, it was too late. My sword bounced off of the armor of the knight just as their sword drove straight into Mother.

Agis: "MOM!!!!!"

She collapsed to the ground, laying on her back. I ran past the knight and got down onto the ground. I pressed my hand onto the wound, hoping to stop the bleeding.

Mom: "A-Agis...."

Agis: "Mom, don't talk! I-It'll be okay!"

She managed the strength to reach her hand up and cup my cheek. She gave me a warm smile, even through the pain she was in.

Mom: "D-Don't be afraid... e-everything will be alright.... B...Be my strong boy for me when I'm gone..."

Agis: "No!! You can't...!! You can't leave me...!! You can't die...!!! I love you...!!!! Please!!!"

Mom: "I... I love you too, with all of my heart, Agis..."

Her hand fell off of my face and into the cold, wet dirt. Rain continued to fall, hitting her still smiling face. She looked completely at peace.

I cried into her shoulder, hugging her tightly.

This had to be some kind of cruel nightmare. But deep down, I knew it was reality. She was really gone.

I looked up at the raining sky and screamed at the top of my lungs.

Suddenly, my body became surrounded by high speed winds. A tornado formed around me, with me and Mother in the center. The knights tried to run, however the wind grabbed them and tossed them far, far away. The only one who seemed unaffected was the knight who killed my Mother. I looked into his helmet to see fiery red eyes. He then turned away from me, walking calmly out of the tornado.

The next thing I knew, the tornado had faded away. The rain had stopped as the clouds in the sky started to part, making way for the sun. The warmth of the sun hit my skin, unable to comfort me as grief and guilt set in.

I looked down at Mother's lifeless body, unable to keep myself from crying.

Agis: "I... I'm sorry...."

I laid there next to her, holding her close. Just this morning, she was alive and happy. We likely would've been able to make breakfast multiple days in a row with the money I made.

The money...

If I didn't go on that job, maybe I could've gotten mom somewhere safe, I could've protected her. I could've even given my life for her, and that would've been okay.

This is my fault...

Her last words were something she told me every day. Now I wished to continue hearing them. Deep inside, I knew I would never hear them ever again.

Mom: "I... I love you too, with all of my heart, Agis..."

Right before I passed out from exhaustion and grief, I cried into Mother's chest, wishing I could've done something to help her. Wishing I could've traded places with her...

Agis: "M-Mom.... P-Please... d...don't leave me.... I.... I love you..."

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Holy— I'm actually crying while writing this...

Guess that means I've hit myself in the emotional spot—

I hope you all enjoyed this first real chapter to the story. I look forward to writing more chapters, so let me know if you want this to continue!