The Four Kingdoms

 

A cinematic wide shot of a royal family gathered around a long, candlelit stone dining table in a medieval castle. In the center, a young prince named Paulson is intensely focused on reading a large, leather-bound book while eating, ignoring the chaos around him

A Story Over Dinner

"Paulson, will you stop reading at the dinner table while we are having dinner?" asked his father.

"What is the difference? I read while you talk."

"Mind your words, Paully," his mother, Queen Helena, reprimanded him.

Paulson doesn’t even acknowledge both of them, so he never sees the dark look his mother gave him as he is still buried in his book reading, while once in a while he shoved food into his mouth. It has always been so right from the start; as the last born in the royal family, none of them want to give him any breathing space, always finding fault in anything he does—especially his elder brother and heir to the throne, Denton, with his pompous manner and pretending he is already King.

"Sometimes it’s best to ignore those who eat their book more than the protein in front of them; they tend to be having mental cases," Denton remarked smugly.

Paulson sighs. Thinking of the devil and he appears, he thought, and doesn’t seem to even acknowledge his elder brother. There was a snigger from his brother Sultan, second in line to the throne; he tried to cover it up while pretending he was choking on his food.

"You two lay off, and give him a breathing space," his only defender and sister, Arabella, rounded on them. He admires her so much; she is never afraid of anyone and always stands for what she believes in. Looking at Denton and Sultan from the corner of his eyes, Paulson hides a small smile and focuses on his book, not wanting to draw their attention with their faces going red.

"You guys need to shut your trap; Father has something to say," Wilson, third in line to the throne, cautions them in that tight military voice he likes to initiate while practicing with the army. As the third son, tradition demands he is enrolled in the military academy and may take up the mantle of leadership when he graduates, just as their uncle is the head of the army now. Their father is King, as he says, but everyone knows he is the Emperor of the Four Kingdoms.

"Are you telling me to shut up?" fumes Denton. "I’m not going to take this from a pretender. I demand an apology right now or else—"

He was cut off by his father. "You will what?" his father asks. "What is wrong with you people? I can’t even hear my voice in my own house and on my table."

"You started it, Father," Paulson chips in, still reading his book without even looking, and with that misses the murderous glare his father gives him.

"Now all of you will shut up and let the King have his say," Queen Helena told her children, looking each of them in the eyes. When she turned to Paulson, she sighed and shook her head as he was still buried in his book.

Emperor Albert cleared his throat and looked at his children. "Well, before I start, how well do you guys know the history of our Kingdom?" he asked them.

Paulson raised his hand while his eyes were still on his book, while Denton muttered, "No surprise there at all."

"Well, Paulson, will you try to educate some blockheads about our history?" his father asks him, while Denton’s face reddened.

"I’m honored," Paulson said, inclining his head in a bow, while his siblings shook their heads in defeat. "But before I start, do you prefer the original version or the half-ass version in the public that they used to feed the ignorant? Even the royals have some too, it seems."

"Mind your words, Paully," his mother rounded on him.

"Sorry, Mother. I can’t help but try to say it another way; it will not drive the point home."

"What are you talking about, Paully?" Denton challenges him, while Sultan shakes his head subtly, telling Denton to ignore him. Denton looks at the King, who ignores him and asks Paulson to continue with the original version.

"Go on, Paulson, give them the original version. I don’t even know how you came into this story, but let me hear it."

"Well, long ago," Paulson began, "there was an Empire called the Great Empire, and there were four other kingdoms known as the North Kingdom, South Kingdom, East Kingdom, and West Kingdom. Each of those kingdoms was ruled by those with ancient blood that contained the essence of magic, and every firstborn inherited this magic, and they used it to protect their Kingdom from threats and any who could invade them."

Paulson’s Story

The Great Empire was led by its great leader called the Iron Fist, whose real name is Emperor Albert the First. It was a time of great trouble, and Emperor Albert the First—or let me just say Iron Fist—used his cunning and ruthlessness to conquer neighboring kingdoms, which he did with the parting of a lot of heads and limbs, and blood flowing like a fountain.

"Was he that bloodthirsty?" asked Sultan.

"Oh, bloodthirsty is even mild," replied Paulson. "He was a mental case who killed at will, and a little mistake will either part your limbs or your head from your shoulder."

"Damn, he sounds like evil walking in the day," crooned Wilson.

"Ha, Willy sounding like a certain somebody I know," chipped in Arabella.

"Who is that somebody?" Denton asked.

"Not everything is about you, Denton," Arabella replied.

"Some people never ask; they always demand, or I’d rather say every word out of their mouth is either a demand or a command," Paulson said while sniffing the air.

"You better take your words back," Denton demanded.

At this point, Sultan started laughing.

"What is so funny?" Denton rounded on him.

"Is that a demand or a command?" he asked him.

"Whatever, just shut up."

"Will you guys shut up and let Paulson continue the story?" the Queen asked.

"Get on with your story, Paully," the King said, eyeing his other children, daring them to interfere again.

"As I was saying," continued Paulson, "Emperor Albert was a mental case, says the record," he added with a grin, "and he was as paranoid as a heart attack. He sees everyone as a potential assassin. Of course, when you part limbs anyhow, you're bound to be paranoid. It was a rough time for the people of the Great Empire until the barbarians showed up."

"Barbarians?" Arabella asked.

"Yeah, those brutes who are nine feet tall with hands larger than both of ours combined. Their skin is as thick as tree bark and very hard to penetrate; it has a scaly protection that even resists swords. Their faces are as normal as humans, but they have two large canines that can rip into flesh and bones."

"Wow, they sound dangerous and scary," Sultan exclaimed.

"How can they even be defeated?" Wilson asked.

"You're forgetting something, Willy. They aren't here, while we are, which means they were defeated. Right, Paulson?" Denton asked.

"I don't know about that," he answered.

"Please, will you guys shut up and let him finish the story?" King Albert asked in an exasperated voice.

"Thank you, Father," Paulson said, pausing and looking around, hoping everyone is focused and not going to ask a question again while he recollected what he had read from history—or rather, what Old Mickey, his secret teacher, had told him.

"So as I was saying, the barbarians are mean bastards. They first target those living in the woods and outskirts of town. Imagine going to a village to collect tax and you meet an empty village, and some of the homes still have unfinished dinner on the table. Reports were sent to the Emperor, but he was too full of himself to act as quick as he could have until an entire city vanished without a trace, and by that time, it was too late."

 The Vanishing City

The Emperor sent one of the garrisons to investigate and curb the menace that is terrorizing his kingdom. Mind you, at first he thought it was some of his subjects undermining his rule, and most of them who were too vocal back then had their heads parted from their shoulders. He was confident the problem had been solved until the whole inhabitants of a city vanished, and the garrison he sent to investigate vanished too.

"Wow! That is scary," Arabella said, looking around.

Perry

Paulson shrugged his shoulders and continued. "So, after the garrison disappeared, Emperor Albert the First was shaken. He called his generals and advisors for an emergency meeting. Now, there was a youth named Perry. He was just seventeen at that time—a handsome kid, tall for his age, with curly blond hair and eyes as brown as grass in summer. He had that smile that many maidens could dream of at night, just imagining him between their—" he coughed, "—you know what I mean, anyway."

"That wasn't necessary, Paulson," Queen Helena said, glaring at him.

"I’m just retelling history, Mother."

"Damn right, Paully," Sultan said with a chuckle.

"Boys," Arabella said, rolling her eyes.

"What is wrong with boys?" Wilson asked her.

"The only thing boys think is to get between a woman's—you know what I mean, right?"

"Is that bad?" Denton rounded on her.

Arabella’s face reddened, but she said nothing.

"Is this about Gary?" Paulson asked her.

"Who is Gary?" the King asked Paulson.

"No idea, Father. You can ask Arabella."

"I believe Paulson was telling us about history and our kingdom," Denton said, looking at the King.

Everyone looked at Denton; even Arabella was surprised to see Denton trying to help her. After looking at his kids with narrowed eyes, the King inhaled and then looked at the Queen, who just smiled.

"Go on, Paully," he said.

"Perry is a troublemaker, but always has a good heart," Paulson continued. "He is well-liked by everyone, and he tries to help as much as he likes to find trouble."

Mischief and the Behemoth

"He is deadly with the sword and as good as a god with the bow. On this particular day, he was running away from the mob that had gathered concerning his mischief; his only solution was to hide in the woods after he got caught having it with the village head’s wife."

"That was bold," Sultan said with a grin.

Arabella just rolled her eyes.

"Paulson! Are you sure this is part of the history?" Wilson asked him.

"Of course."

"That never crossed my mind, because this is not part of the story I was told," the King said, glaring at Paulson.

"Don't worry, Father, in due time I will explain how I came about this. This is the original version from an eyewitness who has lived for eons; don't forget we live in a world of magic."

"What was his name?" Arabella asked.

"Not now. In due time you will all come to know him."

"How will Paulson finish this story if all this interruption keeps popping up?" the Queen fumed.

"Sorry, Mom," Arabella said with a grin that said she didn't mean it.

Paulson continued: "So Perry was hiding in the woods trying to think how to come out of the mess. He knew he had stepped above the line this time; his rule had been never get caught. He knew the village head, Chief Rumpy, will never forgive him. He may have been fooling with young girls, but not a man's wife—and the Chief's own at that. He figured he can't blame himself; he thought he would call the woods his permanent home now, but come to think of it, at that time, there was no control—or rather, he had no control over the situation as his heart had known it was wrong, but his biology had said damn with the consequences, take what was given and face the action like a man. Besides, she jumped on him, not the other way, but no one would believe him because of his bad reputation, so he'd rather live in the woods than face a biased judgment. After all, old man Mappy with his toothy grin lives in the woods with his daughter.

"Come to think of it, he had a good relationship with Sona, old man Mappy's daughter. He had no idea where they lived in the woods and he is so tired from the running; he looked around for a stream to quench his thirst, but there was none. Perry saw a big maple tree and decided to rest. He sat down and felt something poking at his side. He winced. He looked down to see his sword poking at him. He had a chuckle, not even remembering when he buckled his sword. He smiled when he remembered how his master used to say, 'You're always naked without a sword.' He wondered how he even grabbed it before jumping out the window. 'Damn it,' he muttered. If only the Chief had come in another hour, he would have had his fill; now he is running and hiding from a crime he never committed completely."

At this, Sultan laughed, making his mother glare daggers at him. "He never nutted before the Chief arrived!"

"Perry made himself comfortable and tried to sleep. He was just about to close his eyes when something sticky fell on his head and slid to his face. Perry gagged at the stench while wiping his face. He looked up and felt his jaw drop and body going rigid with fear. Now he came to think about it, the behemoth is snoring to even wake the dead. He thought it was his heart beating from the running."

The Palace

The Emperor was looking at his advisers with a dark glare, and many of them were averting their eyes. No one wanted to have his limbs shortened. He turned to his General. "What is the solution to the problem?"

General Flick nervously coughed to clear his throat. "Great Emperor, I'm still waiting for reports from those doing the investigation."

"And what have you been doing while others investigate?"

"Great Emperor, I have been doing my own personal investigation."

"And the outcome of your investigation?"

General Flick swallowed hard and looked at the other men around, but everyone found the table or the chandelier more interesting.

"How incompetent can you be?" He fumed as he advanced slowly while drawing his sword.

General Flick was on his knees at once as he saw the dark look. "Great Emperor, please let me explain!"

The Emperor laughed a menacing laugh while testing the keenness of his sword. "So what do you think I have let you been doing?"

"Great Emperor, I..." but he was cut off in mid-sentence by the Emperor, who raised his hand, cutting him off.

In The Woods