Chapter 10 A Walk in the Dirt

The afternoon sky was covered in thick grey clouds. A damp, chilly wind blew through the open doors of the carriage as it came to a stop at the edge of the market square.

Aurelia stepped out first, her boots sinking slightly into the soft, wet mud. She turned back and watched two guards carefully lower Kaelen in his wheelchair. Kaelen wrapped his thin coat tighter around his shoulders, his face pale against the grey backdrop of the town.

"Why did you bring me here, Lady Aurelia?" Kaelen asked, his voice trembling slightly from the breeze. "The mansion is much warmer."

"That is exactly why we are here," Aurelia said, looking out at the rows of broken wooden stalls. "You sit in your study all day, Prince Kaelen. You need to see how the real world lives in this place. Look at them."

The market square was filled with thin, starving peasants. They wore dirty rags, their faces and hands covered in dark grime. No one was laughing, and no one was talking loudly. Instead, they stood by their near-empty wicker baskets, staring at the royal carriage with deep, silent anger.

Aurelia began to walk down the muddy path, her pace slow but firm. Kaelen slowly rolled his wheels to keep up beside her, his movements appearing difficult and heavy. Captain Boros followed a few steps behind them, his large arms crossed over his chest, keeping his eyes on the unhappy crowd.

"Look at the prices of the grain," Aurelia muttered, pointing to a small stall where an old woman was trying to sell a tiny handful of oats. "It is three times higher than it should be. Your older brother, Crown Prince Cedric, takes everything from these people. Your royal family fills their pockets with gold while these families eat dirt and starve."

Kaelen looked down at his lap, his expression full of deep sadness and shame. He looked like a boy bearing the weight of sins he did not commit.

"You are right, Lady Aurelia," Kaelen said softly, his voice full of regret. "It is terrible. My father and brother only care about the luxury of the Capital City. I always knew things were bad, but I did not know the people here were this miserable. I wish I had the strength to change it, but I am just a useless exile in a chair."

Aurelia glanced down at him, her sharp violet eyes softening just a fraction before turning cold again. "Wishing does nothing, Kaelen. Tears do not buy grain. Weakness just allows the corruption to grow until it destroys everyone."

They walked deeper into the crowd, passing by stalls that sold nothing but rotten vegetables and muddy water. The whispers around them grew louder and sharper. The peasants glared at Aurelia's fine clothes and Kaelen's clean wheelchair. The tension in the air was thick, like a storm about to break.

"They hate us," Kaelen whispered, pulling his coat up to his chin. "We should go back, Lady Aurelia. It is not safe."

"Let them hate us," Aurelia replied flatly. "They should hate the crown. If you want to survive here, you need to get used to their anger."

Suddenly, a ragged man with wild, bloodshot eyes rushed out from behind a broken wooden pillar. He held a small, rusty knife in his right hand, his teeth bared in pure desperation. He did not care about the guards or the consequences.

"You royal monsters!" the man screamed, lunging straight toward Aurelia. "You take our food! You kill our children! Die!"

Aurelia’s eyes widened. She reached down toward her side to draw her small weapon, but her fingers slipped against her belt. The man was too fast, his desperate leap bringing the rusty blade inches from her face.

Kaelen did not flinch. He did not scream like a coward. His thin hand remained flat and steady on his cane. For a split second, his dark eyes shifted toward Captain Boros, giving a short, nearly invisible nod.

In that exact instant, Boros rushed forward like a charging bull. He raised his massive arm and struck the attacker across the face with incredible force, knocking the man completely off his feet.

The rusty knife flew out of the man's grip, landing with a soft splash in the deep mud. The beggar hit the ground hard, gasping for air as Boros stood over him, raising his heavy boot to crush the man’s chest.

"Stay back, you scum!" Boros roared, his face twisting into a brutal grimace. "I will break your neck!"

"Wait, Captain, do not kill him!" Kaelen cried out, his voice suddenly full of panic and terror. He rolled his wheelchair forward with sudden speed, putting his own body between Boros and the fallen man. "He is just hungry! He does not know what he is doing! Please, let him go."

Aurelia breathed heavily, her hand finally resting on her weapon. She stepped forward to check on the situation, her eyes landing on the beggar lying in the dirt.

The man was shivering violently, but he was not looking at Captain Boros, who was still hovering over him with an angry fist. Instead, the beggar’s wide, terrified eyes were fixed entirely on Kaelen.

That man was not afraid of the captain's fist, Aurelia thought, a deep, slow suspicion flaring up in her chest. He looked at Kaelen as if his soul was about to be torn out. Why would a desperate assassin be terrified of a crippled prince?

"Are you alright, Lady Aurelia?" Kaelen asked, looking up at her with genuine worry. "That was very close. Thank goodness Boros was here."

Aurelia did not answer immediately. She kept her violet eyes locked on her husband’s calm, pale face, trying to find the missing piece of the puzzle.

"I am fine," she said slowly, her voice dropping to a low whisper. "Let us go back to the mansion. I have seen enough for one day."

Kaelen nodded quickly. "Yes, please. It is getting very cold out here."

As they turned back toward the carriage, Aurelia walked slowly behind his wheelchair, her eyes fixed on the back of his head. The invisible net around the town was becoming more obvious, and for the first time, she began to wonder if the spider weaving it was much closer than she thought.

Previous Chapter
Next Chapter