Kindle Scout Results

Yeah...
Not so much.

So now I am free to publish "Levels" on my own, after I pass it by a few other folks who might (but probably not) be interested.

First up, a thorough proofing and editing of the manuscript.

Stay tuned and thank you to anyone who nominated the book.

Chapter Twelve - The Facts Confirmed

Hi

Thanks for reading so far, previous chapters are in the blog.

 

If you have a moment please hop over to kindlescout and take a look at my new novel "Levels." If you like the small section they have there, please nominate the book. If you do and Amazon picks up the novel, Amazon will send you the full novel as an eBook when it is published.

Amazon's Kindlescout page

Thanks

 

Twelve – The Facts Confronted

 

It was like a waking nightmare. “Uh, so pleased to, uhm, meet you.” I could not even look her in the face, least I see her expression. I turned back to the King, hoping my face was not too enflamed. “But really now I must leave. Thank you again, your highness. I= I will consider your offer and, uh, get back… to .. you.”

I tried to bow but instead stumbled. My face then truly flushed I turned and all but ran out of the curtained area, past faces that showed concern, shock. I walked quickly across the stands, past the range, and into a stand of trees on the other side. I leaned up against a tree breathing heavily, certain that I would be sick. I willed myself not to throw up.

Just an hour earlier I thought I had come to understand how this new world worked. Now it felt like everything that I had been able to build up and understand about this place had just come crashing down. As I stood there, leaning my arm against the tree, the past five days again came into focus but now through a different lens. I had been a fool. No, I was a fool.

As I stood there something else was bubbling up in the back of my mind—despite being in a strange and sometimes dangerous land, I was now in real danger for the first time. Not many men I knew would take kindly to a guy making time with their girl on the eve of their wedding and I knew that the king I had just met would be worse than most. I had to get out of that place and back to the mountain.

I turned and left the closed off area without a word. I moved as if in a fog out into the daylight of the archery field and then off the edge behind the stand, into the light sprinkling of woods, not even knowing where I was going. In the back of my mind I thought I should find Walter and Jet, but had no idea of the direction I was headed. Then I heard a voice.

“Eric?”

I turned and saw at Karn, she had followed me into the wooded area.  Her face streaked with tears but still beautiful. Seeing her made me physically ache. Right then I wasn’t sure if it was with love or embarrassment.

“Go away, Karn. I guess you had your laugh, had your fling. Go, before someone sees you here.”

Karn’s face went dark. “You think this was a fling? That I was laughing at you?”

“Well, weren’t you? What was this, some dare from your friends? Mix with the common people and see what sort of trouble you can get into?”

“No! No. I mean, I did go that first day to see what it was like for everyone else. Not on a dare though. You have no idea what it is like to be separated from everyone else. I just wanted to experience life a little. I certainly didn’t mean to fall in love.”

I felt my face go flush, and I spoke before I even thought about what I was saying. “We’re not in love, Karn; nothing like it. If you think that you’re fooling yourself. God knows I was fooled.”

“Stop being so hateful, Eric. This isn’t like you!”

“How would you know, Karn? We barely know each other. Heck, I guess I don’t know you at all. Of course I’m hateful! What else can I be? I just got played with like a toy.”

“I wasn’t playing with you, Eric. You have to understand that. Do you really think I would do something this foolish right before my wedding, with all that is at stake? What I felt, what I feel, is real Eric. More real, deeper than anything I have ever felt.”

“You are young and full of dreams.”

“I know what is real!”

“How can this be real? This is all just… just some young lover’s daydream…!” I turned away, ready to leave, but when I looked back I could see the hurt in her eyes. I could feel my heart, so hardened when I saw her follow me, I could feel it melting, yearning for what I had felt with her these past few days. My brain was yelling at me to walk away, but my heart won the day. “Fine then—prove it. I know how I still feel for you, Karn. If you feel the same, come away with me now. We can slip out tonight.” I must have sounded crazy, but at the moment it seemed like the most sensible plan I could come up with.

“And go where? I’m a princess, Eric. People will know me and for sure will look for me if I run away. Not to mention the whole peace my father has constructed with Williams will be ruined. Decades of war are being brought to a close, Eric. The lives of my people and his people finally put to peace.”

“We can hide, maybe go back to my country, and let others worry about peace. It’s not your fault. With you gone it’ll be like nothing happened. The peace will hold.”

“You are the one who is dreaming, Eric. It is not so simple. It all falls to me. That’s my job. I was born and raised to be a bride my father can make peace with. I am a chess piece.”

“That’s horrible.”

“It’s life. I live a life most people never even get to glimpse. In return I have a political duty. I know my place. But… meeting you has complicated things.”

“You can’t be happy this way, right? You are not just a chess piece; you are a real person. I saw the way you were out here with us common folk.” I gently touched her hair. “You’ve got too much up here to every live that life.”

She backed off and quickly looked around. “You’re in danger. Kitsunamoshee will find us out somehow. He won’t hurt me; he can’t if he wants to inherit this kingdom. But he will not think twice about harming you. You have to go.”

“Then go with me, Karn.”

She looked at me with exasperation, “And go where exactly? “

“Like I said, maybe come back with me to my home.”

“Across the desert? How?”

“No, not the desert. Through the bamboo.”

“There is no through that bamboo, only across to the desert. I don’t know where you really came from, but no one has ever made it across that desert.”

I was confused; it was as if we were talking about two different places. But I also realized that there wasn’t time to argue.

“Think about it, Karn. Meet me at the clearing where we practiced in an hour. I’m going to go get Walter and Jet. They can take us back to a place I know I can get home through, or they’ll know where we can go and wait until this blows over.”

“Eric, wait! This won’t blow over!”

“Trust me, I’ll do whatever it takes.”

“What can you do? You have to understand this is bigger than just us.”

“Take a chance with me.”

“I can’t promise anything.”

I turned to her. The setting sun was behind her, lighting her up. She was at that moment tougher, more beautiful, than any girl I had ever met. I thought my heart would burst right there.

“I know. Just go with your heart, not your head.” I said.

“That gets me into trouble.”

I quickly kissed her on the cheek. “I hope so.”

 

I turned and ran as fast as I could back to fairgrounds to find Walter and Jet, who looked gloomy as I hurriedly told them the whole story. Jet made a small sound and threw up her arms. I stopped talking. “What?”

“What? What, he asks? Really? Get a grip, Eric! You are impossible, you know that? How does your head get you through life? You pop into this world and lay back, never questioning anything, never asking about anything, and then you get all worked up when things don’t go your way. What do you know about this country, about these people, about them?” she pointed to Walter. “Nothing, that’s what. You are a good man, Eric, but you are a goddamn fool sometimes and you are going to get yourself killed!” Jet spat on the ground, turned, and walked away.

I looked at Walter. He sighed, settling down on his front paws. He sat there for a moment chewing his cud, his long whiskers twitching. Finally he spoke, so quietly I had to lean in to hear him.

“Eric, there is a lot to be known about this country. Jet is right, you are in grave danger, you are nothing to a man like Kitsunamoshee. But there is more that you do not know about what is going on here. There is a bigger issue of what is happening in this kingdom and what will happen once Kitsunamoshee gets into power. Things are not always what they seem. We Lepus are not always welcome here. People like Kitsunamoshee don’t want us here, Eric. People like Smit are bad enough—rude, uneducated—but someone like Kitsunamoshee is flat out dangerous. The idea that he wants you to go to work for him would betray everything I think you believe. He doesn’t just want to create a new kingdom; he wants to create it without rabbits.”

“I don’t see what that has to do with Karn,” I said impatiently.

Jet swore.

“It doesn’t, directly,” Walter continued. “People in this valley have been waging war against each other, off and on, for generations. Then, almost one hundred years ago we Lepus came over the mountain. It was in our interest to have peace, so we helped to broker it. I guess in many ways that process culminates with this wedding. Once it happens then Kitsunamoshee will eventually control the two kingdoms. But he will not bring peace. Not for us Lepus. He has used us to get this far, but we now fear that once he is in power he will open the floodgates of hate against us. We have nowhere to go Eric, we cannot go back over the mountain and we cannot go into your world, either way we perish surely.”

“Then why not help me stop the wedding?”

“Karn’s father is young still. The kingdoms will not officially come together for many, many years. He is an ally of the Lepus and will help us become part of society. If the wedding were to be off then Kitsunamoshee may well restart the war and use it as an excuse to eradicate the Lepus while he is at it.”

“Do you really think a few more years will change people’s minds about your kind, Walter?”

“It can only help. It will give us time to prove our abilities and make ourselves useful. We have plans Eric, plans bigger than you or me for that matter. It is either we rely on the peace of the current king or certain doom right now. Eric, listen; in life there are choices that must be made. Often the choices are not good or bad but shades of bad or worse. Sometimes the best course of action is simply the one that is not as ruinous as the other.”

“So you are saying I should just forget about Karn, accept nothing as being better than what could happen?”

“I can’t tell you what to do, Eric. But if you did agree to meet her, then you should go see if she shows up. You go meet Karn at the place in the wood. We’ll meet you about a mile out of town going north.”

“Thank you.” I looked at Jet but she just stared back and shrugged. I turned to leave but stopped when Walter spoke.

“Eric?”

“Yeah?” “Don’t wait too long for her. The king will surely find out soon enough and we need to put plenty of miles between us and his guard.”

“Sure.”

Jet cut in. “Eric, get your head out from under yourself. She’s not like us, not like you. She won’t show; you’re wasting your time.”

“Jet,” Walter sighed, “the boy must see his destiny unfold himself. No use stopping him.” He put a paw up. “Go, Eric. Good luck, but keep an open mind and a watchful eye.”

I nodded and left, confused. Walter was right. I had cornered myself into a terrible choice: either give up on Karn once and for all, or try to convince her to escape with me and perhaps doom the rabbits to all-out war. I stood in the clearing and shook my head. I thought back to the morning and how clear everything seemed at the time.

I resolved to do what was best not for me but for a greater good. I had no business meddling in this place; I did not even belong here. I would tell Karn that while I did still feel love for her the choice I had to make was the bad one, not the horrible one.

I felt a certain sadness, as if I had suddenly grown up.

I got the clearing just as dusk was settling in. The place itself was silent. I should have realized then it was too silent to be natural. I had just put down my rucksack when three guards and, to my surprise, Smit stepped out into the clearing.

He turned to one of the guards, “Told ya. Hey there, rabbit boy.”

I could smell the liquor from a few feet away. He came up to me and jabbed his finger on my chest. “Got a little deep, didn’t ya? I overheard you and the princess getting all lovey-dovey. Need to learn yer place, boy!”

I swung my arm up and managed to smash his hand into his face and took a few steps back.

“You little punk!” He reached for a knife on his belt, but by then two of the guards had come up and grabbed his arms.

“Enough!” the third guard said. He pressed some coins into Smits empty hand, “Get out, fool,” and gave Smit a shove.

Smit looked back and laughed, “Don’t worry, boy. If the King doesn’t get you, I will! A weirdo like you can’t hide around these parts.”

I turned to the guard who had paid Smit. “What’s going on?”

“You are under arrest by orders of the king.”

“Why, what did I do?” I turned, trying to see if I could maybe make a run for it, but one of the other two guards grabbed my wrist. I went slack.

“Not my concern, flea. We’re, just here to take you back to town. We can do it easy or hard, your choice.”

I decided now was not the time to test my luck. At this point I still thought I could talk my way out of all of this.

The guards took me into town. This was the first time I had made it through the wall gate into the actual town itself. The guards were frog marching me pretty quickly; I barely had time to take in my surroundings.

The town’s streets were narrow, lined with rough stone, wood, and plaster houses. In the dark I could see some of the houses lit by candles light or hearth fires, the people inside, talking, laughing—free and living. I hoped I would be both come morning.

In the center, behind yet another wall, was a larger stone building, what I guessed was the castle. It was plain, with none of the turrets or finials like castles in the fairytale books. Instead it was basically a long box with a pitched roof covered in thatch and mud.

The guards led me around this building to a smaller, low-lying stone building. They led me down a long corridor. I recognized that I was in a stable, but at the end was a room with several heavy wooden doors lined up along the back wall. They opened one and shoved me inside a smaller room with no windows. When they closed the door I was left in a pitch black, damp room.