บท 3: Down the Royal Road

I snuggled inside the carriage, grateful for the fact that we had managed to find one heading to the royal city so early in the day.

The carriage driver, like everyone else in the city, knew my grandmother. I sat in silence as she exchanged words with him throughout our journey to the castle.

As always, I peered through the carriage curtains, taking in the scenery as we rode by. The streets were empty. Stalls filled with haggling traders were absent from their posts. Like my grandmother, they would just be heading back from where they restocked, with their products in tow.

Like they were in my dream, wooden houses were lined up beside one another. They were all painted the same color, the only difference being a stump of wood that each owner had placed in front of their building, with their names written on it to signify their property.

I sometimes wondered why my grandmother had decided to live here in the suburbs when we could be living close to the castle in the royal city. Although I knew a few children about my age here, I felt somewhat distasteful each time we conversed. They spoke in a rural manner, unlike the intricately woven words those in the royal city exchanged.

That was where I belonged. We were paid enough silver to afford the lifestyle of the royal city, but my guess was my grandmother couldn't abandon the life she had grown up in. Maybe when I was sure I could survive on my own, I would leave this town and head out to where I truly belonged.

Seeing the same scenery bored me quickly. I drew my head back into the carriage and listened in to what my grandmother and the carriage driver had been discussing through the small window behind where he sat up front.

"-azing if they did host such an event. The people haven't had anything fun to enjoy since the princess' birthday." The driver was saying.

"Oh, please, the King merely seeks to entertain himself. If he truly cared, he would do better for us than sit holed in his castle all day, fattening up both himself and his children."

"You're as honest as ever, Liana," the driver sighed.

His grandmother had no problem with speaking her mind whenever she saw fit. It was one of the reasons there was a separate clothier for the king instead of her. The queen could tolerate her brutal honesty without yelling for her head on a platter.

"I feel sorry for the poor kids," she continued, pouting slightly. "They deserve much better."

"What else is better than living in the castle with a hundred and one servants at your beck and call?"

I couldn't see the driver's face since he was facing the other way, manning the horses, but I could imagine his sky-blue eyes were glazed over, staring into a reality far away from his. At least, until his grandmother's honesty dragged him back.

"Bah! There's more to life than that, Miguel. The royal city is one place I would advise anyone to stay well away from."

She glanced over at me as if remembering all the warnings she had given me each time I expressed how much I would love to relocate to where the grass was greener. I met her with pleading green eyes, which she laughed at before ruffling my hair.

"I cannot see why you would prefer this discomfort over a grand life," Miguel replied. He had had this conversation with my grandmother more than enough times to know what she felt about the royal city. I assumed he continued the conversation because they still had a long journey ahead of them.

"Discomfort? I don't see this as discomfort. I would rather stay here than live in a city that reminds me how much the poor are neglected."

"Fair enough."

I tuned out of their conversation, drifting into slumber. It would take about an hour before we arrived, and I wanted to be well rested. I had tried to avoid sleeping because I was worried I'd have another nightmare in the carriage, but I would rather that than listen to my grandmother go on about how she loved living in the gutters of the kingdom. I couldn't stand listening to that without feeling depressed. I filled my mind with thoughts about being knighted by the King and serving as one of his personal guards. What an inventive imagination I had.

***

"Miles," I heard my grandma's voice call out. "Wake up, boy. We've arrived."

I slowly opened my eyes, blinking furiously as I tried to clear any traces of sleep away. My grandmother had gotten off the carriage and was now haggling with Miguel over the price of their trip. After years of knowing one another, you'd think it would be an easy transaction.

Hauling myself out of the carriage, I stretched my arms out, yawning loudly as I did so. This resulted in a dirty glare from one of the neatly dressed people walking down the road. I felt my heart tighten as I straightened myself up. My tired brain had forgotten where I was.

The sun had finally come out, beginning its climb up the sky. We were earlier than we usually were today. I smiled as I looked around, comparing what I saw to the boring mess back where I lived.

Every building looked classy and intricately built, unique to the homeowner. They were pretty big as well, each house having nothing less than two stories, compared to their hut back in the suburbs. The streets were lined with luscious trees and hedges, neatly trimmed and well taken care of. This was the life I truly wanted to indulge in.

But that wasn't even the best part. Not so far off, crested on a hill surrounded by walls thicker than the ones that surrounded our nation, stood the castle, a massive building with four interlocking towers at each edge and a wider structure in the middle, completed with a grey flag perched on top. I couldn't see it from here, but the flag bore the mark of a deer, the sigil of the royal family.

"You've seen it time upon time, Miles," my grandmother said, grabbing me by the arm. "Stop gawking and follow me. I have a few things I need to buy before heading up there."

I let my eyes linger on the castle for a second longer, admiring the well-built structure that towered above the rest of the people.

'One day,' I thought to myself as I trailed behind my grandmother, my mind on a future I had imagined.