Youuu Guysssss

I'M STILL ALIVE! And you naysayers gave up hope... Tsk, tsk, tsk!

Youuu guysssssss, should also know that this is probably the first time in my whole life I've said naysayers. It feels awesome.

And youuuu people dudes guyssss should know that I'm really hyper.. Might be the soda. Might be because this is the first time all day I've had energy. I live in a house of plagues and diseases... We all start coughing at once, it's actually kind of amusing.

And now yoooou guuuuys are reminding me you come here for story and not my life story.

Alright, seeing how my last post was March 16th, you guys might want a catchup...

Tom made his way to Qirmizi and met a hot princess named Alisha. Hopefully you remember she had been kidnapped, but something happened and she ended up in Qirmizi instead of being held for Ransom ransom. There was a fire at the palace at the same time Tom got captured by the captain of the guard. He escaped, but the captain of the guard hates his guts and beat Tom up once already. Tom also got a job with Esaria, a seamstress. She has a shifty looking husband, Ruvr, and a badly influenced son, Sarid.

Well, I stink at recapping, but there is always the handy links below, and hopefully you will be refreshed after you read the next chapter.

Oh, that and I still don't have a title. I'm great at this. :D

First Chapter

Second Chapter

Third Chapter

Fourth Chapter

Fifth Chapter
Sixth Chapter
Seventh Chapter
Eighth Chapter

His legs hurt. A lot. Tom swore under his breath. Esaria had him running up and down every street in Qirmizi. Plus, he had to carry handfuls of dresses, then racks and racks of thread. And if one thing, one little thing was messed up, she would threaten to flay his hide or something. Not to mention it was one of the hottest days Tom had ever experienced. But did he get a water break? No!  He had to watch Esaria and Alisha lounge about the shop, drinking their fill, while he constantly ran around under the heat and did real work. He was going to hurt Esaria…

                Alisha had the greatest time, of course. Yes, she said all the dresses were beautiful and Esaria was so nice. She didn’t know the first thing about someone’s character! If she thought Tom was her hero, then she had serious problems with evaluating people. He scowled and pushed the door to the house open. Esaria and Alisha were already inside, of course, because they sent him on to pick up an order right before the market was closing. The sentries had given him a tough time over it. Everyone was giving him a tough time about everything.

                Tom headed straight up to his room, ready to completely crash.

                “Tom, set the table!”

                Tom cursed louder.

                “Now.”

                Tom turned around and walked back down the stairs. Esaria watched him, eyebrow raised. Alisha smiled at him. He didn’t smile back. He grabbed the plates and dropped them roughly on the table and turned to go back up to his room.

                Alisha’s smile was fading.

                “Thomas.”

                Tom turned around once more and fixed the plates shortly. He glared at Esaria. “Can I go now?” he said.

                Esaria tensed at his behavior. “You may go now. But when Sarid and Ruvr return, you will come down. You will treat them with respect. You will not curse again.”

                Tom groaned. “You can’t do this! Any of this!”

                Esaria’s face softened. “Tom, I am not doing this alone. You are letting me. You are listening to me, and that’s a good thing, not just because I want you to. Because you can learn to obey someone. If you can’t do that, you can’t get anywhere in life.”

                “My mother is dead. Don’t try to be her.” Tom slammed the door as he threw himself on the bed.

“You never told me how yours parents died.” Alisha said quietly, walking in the room shyly.

                Tom lifted his head from the pillow. “And though it might shock some, you aren’t my real sister. Just let me sleep,” he snarled.

                Alisha sat on the bed by him. “I want to know.”

                “I don’t want this job,” Tom said, letting his head fall back on the pillow and speaking through it. “I don’t want any of this. I’d rather be a runaway.”

                “Then why don’t you?” Alisha asked.

                “Because. Because I don’t know! Because I want to prove her wrong and I want to become something more than absolutely nothing. A slave is worthless, they tell you it enough. Not that you would understand. You are the one who tells a slave they aren’t good enough,” Tom muttered. He looked up slightly, wanting to see her reaction.

                She frowned. “But… my slaves are nice. I like them.”

                Tom rolled his eyes. “But how do you treat them? Like dirt? You would never feed them the same food as you. Let them wear the same clothes as you. Let them harm you or yell at you or say you are wrong. You are the master. You are always right. Always more powerful.”

                Alisha shook her head. “I, I’m not. I don’t, I’m not mean,” she said, seeming lost.

                “Maybe you don’t try to be mean, but they always are.” Tom growled. He glanced at Alisha and sighed. He sat up a little. “No. You would probably be a nicer master than most others.” Maybe only because of your ignorance, but it equals the same. He gave her a small, reassuring smile.

                Alisha smiled and leaned her head on him. “Good. I don’t want to be mean.”

                Tom heard Sarid and Ruvr come in downstairs. He groaned. “Tell Esaria I’m ill.”

                “She’ll be mad.”

                “I’m going to go mad…” Tom said, standing. “I hate this place,” he muttered.

                “You can’t mean that, Tom. Esaria is nice. Maybe she yells at you a lot, but she is nice. And she gave you a job and a place to stay.” Alisha said, following him.

                Tom scoffed. “I mean it completely. She is arrogant and self-centered.”

                Alisha giggled.

                “What?” Tom said warily.

                “So are you.” Alisha giggled again and rushed past him down the stairs.

                Tom stared at where she had just been with confusion. He smirked and followed her.

Alisha frowned, mumbling something almost impossible to hear under her breath.

                Ruvr turned on her, growling angrily. “What did you say?”

                “Nothing, sir.” Tom cut in quickly. He prayed to the gods Ruvr wouldn’t do anything.

                “Shut up!” Ruvr snapped at Tom. “Let me hear the girl!”

                Tom bowed his head and shot a look to Alisha.

                She appeared nervous, but not terribly scared. “I, I said that wasn’t very nice. I mean, it’s not Esaria’s fault if you cut yourself.”

                “Alisha,” Esaria tried to stop her.

                “And she is your wife. You don’t treat her very well, do you?” Esaria kept trying to break in, but Alisha wouldn’t have it. “My father would never do that. He treats Mother like a queen. You hit your wife and insult her. It’s mean.” She paused. “Sir.”

                Ruvr screamed. “Out of my house! Now! Both of you!”

                “Ruvr! She doesn’t mean it! She doesn’t know!”

                Tom stood and motioned to Alisha hurriedly. She pursed her lips. Tom dove to put a hand over her mouth as she went to speak. Ruvr threw a plate at them, and Tom tugged Alisha out. He looked back to see Sarid, appearing very smug. As soon as they were a good distance from the house, Tom felt free to swear just this once. He didn’t care about what he did in front of Alisha anymore. She could and would deal with it.

                “Heard that, Thomas.” Esaria sighed, appearing to the left of them.

                Tom squinted through the dark at her. “Why are you here?”

                Esaria frowned. “Because I knew I should get out while I can. Much like you two… Sad, isn’t it?” She put an arm around Alisha. “Are you okay? Tom… I have to apologize. Maybe my actions have been something about my marriage, that I need to control something or someone.”

                Alisha smiled and nodded. “I’m fine.”

                Tom bowed his head. What was he supposed to say? Nothing? At least now she might lighten up.

                “But this doesn’t change any of the rules. You still have expectations.” Or she might not.

Tom sighed. “Whatever... What do we do now?” he asked.

                Esaria frowned and looked down. “I’m not too sure, really.” She brushed her hair back away from her face. “When Ruvr cools down, I’m pretty sure I can go back, but I’m not too sure he’ll let you two...”

                Alisha frowned. “I’m, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get us kicked out. I didn’t know,” she said, beginning to cry.

                “Oh, no, Alisha!” Esaria said, hugging her. “It’s not your fault. I promise. If I had been any braver, I would have said that myself.”

                “But Tom says bravery is stupidity,” Alisha sniffed.

                Tom looked at his feet.

                 Esaria glanced up at Tom, seeming amused, but not angry. “Well, Alisha, isn’t that what all the cowards say?”

                Tom glared at Esaria, turning red. He opened his mouth to say something, but finally sighed and closed it again.

                Alisha giggled. “I see,” she said. She wiped the tears from her eyes.

                Suddenly, a trumpet sounded in the distance. Tom glanced at Esaria while more trumpets joined the first.

                Esaria frowned. “It’s coming from the palace. Come on,” she said, beginning to head that way. She glanced at Alisha. “Stay close.”

                Alisha nodded. Crowds began to form, filling up the streets in one single flow for once. Everyone was headed to the palace, and murmurs began spreading throughout the town of why. They all seemed to lead back to the same thing, though: the fire. Tom shivered as he remembered where he spent the time during that, flash backs of any of his many times in a cell. He glanced over at Alisha to make sure she hadn’t gotten lost. Esaria seemed distant and very worried at the moment, so he doubted she would notice quick enough if they lost Alisha. Just then, as he scanned through the sea of faces, he thought he spotted Sarid. He paled and looked down, hoping Sarid hadn’t seen them.

                “People of Qirmizi!” A voice boomed. Tom reluctantly turned to the burnt palace, whose black stood out against the blue sky and the red walls. A heavily built, but fairly short man stood on the balcony. Tom couldn’t tell anymore from the distance. “We mourn the loss of our last Emir woefully. But this is no longer the time for looking back! We must look forward, to the future, to rebuilding of the city, in greater and more prosperous ways!”

                The crowd roared in agreement with the man.

                “I promise you that I will do everything I can to help Qirmizi grow as your new Emir,” the man continued. The crowded cheered even louder at this, right before the man disappeared back into the palace. Tom frowned as he felt a distinct tug on his clothes. He turned to see Alisha, looking on edge.

                “Why are they so loud?” she asked nervously. “I don’t like it here. Let’s go,” she said, grabbing Tom’s wrist.

                Tom pursed his lips and looked around. “Yeah, hold on. Where’s Esaria?”

                “Tom!” Alisha yelled, tugging his arm. “Come on!”

                “No! We have to find Esaria!” Tom yelled back.

                As if on cue, Esaria appeared out of the crowd, looking rushed. “Let’s go. Now!” she yelled, hurrying through the crowd. Tom glanced at where she came from, but he didn’t see anything. Alisha yanked him toward Esaria, and they went exited the crowd.