Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Guardians Of Fantasy-Volume 1 ❯ Corin's Story ( Chapter 2 )

Karebear1392~~Thank you so much for being my first reviewer!! I'm so glad you like the story! ^_^

 

Corin's Story

Hey! My name is Corin, I'm one of the princes of the Celestule, Sapphire, Sanction, one of the outer kingdoms, of the six pointed star. I am also a member of a rebel resistance group, and this is my story.

{A little back ground…}

I have a nice big brother, a wonderful mom, (she died when I was born) a mean father, (I think he blames me for my mother's death, he treats me like a slave, but it's not his fault, it's mine, I guess… .) Oh yeah, and my best friend in the whole world, is a talking Horse, named Crisis. Crisis is the only one I trust. (Besides Kelay, my closest human friend, I don't know, but I think I might be in love with her.) Crisis and I make the perfect team. She is part of me, and I am part of her. Where ever I go, She goes, and where ever She goes I go. If Crisis decided to go jump of the ends of Fantasy, I would be right there with her. (Thank goodness she hasn't wanted to do that!- YET. ) We're inseparable.

{Night of November 17th Fantasy year 5000}

“Sire, the word is out on the street, people are wondering why you are never seen with the youngest prince, you should do something before they get too nosy!” said Rachel, (The busy- body of the palace.) to my father, the king.

I often times heard my father's conversations, I didn't mean to eves drop, it's just that, in the under- ground basement, where my room is, you can hear a lot through various vents in the floor. I could hear my Father's conversations, the cook's yelling, the jester practicing, the small explosions that emanated from the magician's lab, the complaining of other servants, and the nightly visits my brother had with one of his many girl friends, (My brother is very popular with the ladies.)

“Very well, then, I shall just have to appear in public with the little devil.” replied my father. Those words stung deeply, and I will never forget them. I just can't understand, why does my father hate me so?!

“There is that birthday party for the princess of Jewel Crest tomorrow evening, almost every important person in Fantasy will be there!” suggested Rachel.

“Yes, that might do,” said my father, “You are dismissed.”

I heard the sound of someone walking away from the throne room. Then heard my father rise and walk toward the basement steps. I turned over in bed, and pretended to be asleep. My father came in the room, and walked over to my bed.

“Are you asleep boy?!” said my father in a harsh voice.

“I'm up.” I replied, trying to keep my voice as steady as possible.

“Son,” He said in his sly, deceiving, sugar- sweet voice, “How would you like to come with me to a party tomorrow night?!”

“Really!!!” I exclaimed, playing along.

“Yes, now, there are going to be a lot of important people there, so you'll have to be on your best behavior, okay?” added my father.

“Okay, but why don't you take Xander?” I asked, interested in what his sly response would be.

“Well,” he said, caught off guard by my question. “I thought it would be a good chance for us to get to know each other a little better, but anyway, that's enough questions, you need to get a good night's sleep. We have a lot to do in the morning.”

The next day was full of people running here and there, I tried on countless clothes that were to big. I was beginning to think I would have to put on forty pounds, before the party. After about the thirty eighth outfit, I threw the clothes at the servants outside the door, and told them to leave me alone.

When someone entered the room, I shouted at them. “I said, LEAVE, ME, ALONE!!!”

“Hey tiger, relax, it's just me!” said my brother.

“Oh, sorry.” I said, as he walked over to my bed carrying about forty outfits. My brother always calls me tiger, I don't know why, he just does!

“Oh no, no more clothes, you can go instead of me, I don't care, just no, more, clothes.” I said in horror as I looked at the pile.

“Come on, Corin, this is your chance to prove to dad you don't deserve to be treated the way you are! At least try to please him.”

“Oh, Xander, you know as well as I do, that dad isn't doing this because he wants to spend time with me.”

“Yeah, but, maybe you can make him get to know you. Now, I'm going to the market to try to find some decent- looking clothes.”

“Ok.” I replied, not to happy at the thought of trying on more clothes.

My brother returned with a handsome navy blue outfit, with gold colored accents. “I like it.” I replied, as I stood in front of the mirror.

“That's good, just one problem,” replied my brother, “It's about two sizes too big. Your just too skinny.”

“It's not my fault I don't get to eat a feast fit for a prince,” I said, in resentment, “And I'm not going to try on any more clothes.”

“Okay, okay, let's see if we can't fix it.” said Xander, as he took a piece of gold cloth, and cut into a v- shape, with long sides. When He was done cutting, He wrapped it around my waste, and pulled it snug, then tied it in a knot. “There,” he said, “An outfit, fit for a prince.”

“Thank you,” I said to Xander, “Not just for the clothes, but for the pep talk too.”

“Sure, go get em' Tiger!”

{Later that night…}

Well, we went to the party, and you already know how that went. When Selena was up there singing, she looked sad, and like she didn't want to be there. (Though I don't know why, she has a beautiful, almost enchanting, voice.) I don't know why, or how, but I felt somehow, strangely connected, and drawn to her. To this day, I still don't know why I went up and talked to her, or even how I gathered the courage to do so, but I did. My father thought I was saying something like telling her how he treats me, and asking for her help. He was furious with me, and I received a punishment that I will never forget.

When we got home, he blew up at me, telling me I could have gotten our family dethroned. He then made up a story about me threatening his life, and had me taken to the `correction room'.

The `correction room,' is a dimension caught between time, where slaves, and prisoners are taken, and forced to do heavy labor, whether they have the ability to do so, or not. If they are unable to do the task at hand, they are punished, and forced to go through a series of strenuous exercises, until they are capable of handling the job. After they have learned to fear, and obey their superiors, they are sent to serve royalty as slaves, guards, etc. For every five years you spend in the `correction room', only a day passes outside the room, and you remain the same age as you were when you entered.

I had been in the room for four and a half years. They were the most terrifying, and painful years of my life. I learned many lessons the hard way, and had the scars to prove it. One good thing about my time spent in that room, I became a stronger person, physically, mentally, and emotionally. I developed muscles, that some men two times my age don't have. I learned to have mental concentration, that, for centuries, have not been humanly capable. I also learned to control my emotions. I learned to hide the fear in my eyes, when someone ten times as strong as me was threatening me with a whip, or when I witnessed what happened to others, who were defiant (trust me, you don't want to know. If they were killed, they were lucky.)

One night, as all of us were in our cells, they came by and passed out the food. We don't often get food, since we are prisoners. It wasn't much, and we all ate as slowly as possible, to make it last longer. (I should probably stop here, and let you know, I am the youngest person to ever last more than twenty two hours, and no woman has ever lasted, so they don't punish girls in this manner- anymore.) My food was gone, but I was still hungry, my stomach was growling, and I felt weak, from malnutrition, and dehydration.

“Here,” said Andrew, the man chained next to me, (he was one of my only friends in the `correction room') as he handed me his plate. “you need this more than I do.”

“Thank you,” I said, resisting the temptation to actually take the food from him, “but I can't take that, it's yours. I had mine, I couldn't take yours too.”

“But, you do as much work for them as a man, and they feed you a boy's meal. If you can call it that, all our meals put together, would just barely fuel a man for three hours, let alone several days at a time. Besides, I can hear your stomach growling from here.”Andrew protested, as he shoved the plate in my lap.

“Thank you.” I replied, as I took it and began to eat.

The next day, I heard a commotion, and saw a group of slaves gathered around watching something. “What's going on?” I asked someone, as I made my way through the crowd.

“A man was working with the leader, moving a beam, and, he just, passed out! He's conscience now, but, he's getting the punishment of his life, poor guy.” Said the man I was talking to. (It was then that I noticed I had become so custom to the sound of a whip cracking, I didn't even noticed it anymore.) I pushed my way to the front. There, was the greatly feared leader, and he was beating a weak, frail, looking body. To my horror, the guy they were beating, was, ANDREW!!!

“No!!!” I screamed, as I ran forward, several people tried to stop me, but I kept going. I ran in front of the whip, and caught it when it came down. I yanked it out of the leader's hand, as people gasped, and whispered. I turned to Andrew, “Andrew, are you okay?” I asked, quietly, my voice shaking.

“Don't do this boy, you'll get yourself killed!” He said, in a low, painful, voice, “Please, there is no need for the both of us to die.”

“Hang on Andrew, don't die, you can do it.”

“Goodbye, Corin, I go to a better place.” and with that, Andrew died.

“NO!!!” I screamed, as the tears came pouring down, the leader pulled me up.

“You, my young friend, shall be sent back to your father, and he may do with you, as he sees fit. You are too rebellious to ever be a good slave. With that, he grabbed me, and dragged me out the door.

When we reached my father, he was furious. “He shall be taken out back, and horse whipped ten times, then he is confined to his quarters, until I make a further judgment.” He commanded. “Alexander!”

“Yes father?” asked Xander,

“You shall carry out his punishment.” He bellowed.

“But Father!!”

“That is an order, from, your King.”

“Yes Sir.”

Xander took me out back, chained me to the whipping post, and pulled out a whip. “Please brother, forgive me.” He said, as he grit his teeth, and brought the whip across my back. I flinched, not because the whip hurt, but because of the sting of knowing my own brother was doing this to me. He hit me three times, and on the forth, stopped short, I looked back at him, and saw him leaning against the wall, crying. In discussed, and despair, he whipped the side of the building seven times. He then unchained me, and took me to my quarters. He didn't look me in the eye once, it was as if he couldn't.

Just as he was leaving, I said, “I forgive you, Xander.” He said nothing, but stopped in the door way, and turned his head my way a little, then, he walked out.

And that's all the events leading up to where I am right now, awaiting my father's punishment.