~
Banished. Just like that, my world was turned upside down and my existence was made meaningless. And for what? A crime I didn’t commit. Well, okay. I did commit the crime, but it was for really good reasons, I swear! One second I’m at the top of my game as a knight fighting dragons and searching for a lost princess, you know, the usual, and the next I’m being sent away to rot out the rest of my meaningless existence in a desolate land that kills even the most skilled of warriors, or so I’ve heard.
I looked at the judge, pleading, begging, anything but banishment! “I’ll be your maid for the rest of my life! I’ll buy you the best steeds in the entire world! I’ll trim your toe nails!” I thought I had him with that last one, considering the state of his nails as viewed through his sandals, but alas, fate would be that cruel.
“Jeremiah Axien Goodfellow, the punishment has been decided and by our old laws, we are unable to change our ruling.” He leaned closer, sneering the last part in obvious joy, “You would know that if you really were the upstanding citizen and guard you make yourself out to be.” He then sat up straight once more, wincing as if there were a foul odor in the air. “Take him to the dungeons. We’ll transport him first thing in the morning.”
He waved and two burly men planted themselves on either side of me, making sure I didn’t drop my pace on the way down the stone stairs into the dank bowels of the castle where prisoners were kept. “Funny, I’ve been putting people in here for ages. It’s a cruel irony that I should be staying here now, don’t you think?”
“Shut up and walk. If your lips weren’t flapping, we’d be there by now.” One of the guards grumbled. The other grunted his agreement as they grabbed me roughly, forcing me forward. Sheesh, considering all these guards usually see are terrified prisoners heading to their doom or raving mad men shouting for revenge, you think they’d be open to a little humor. Humor is how I tend to cope with, well, everything.
We finally arrived at my cell which looked exactly like all the other cells. They shoved me inside. “Dinner will be brought down in a few hours, then you might want to get some sleep. It’s a long journey to the cursed lands.” The guard that grunted chuckled, running a hand through his brown hair. He looked every bit like a bull that had cornered someone and was preparing to charge.
