A teenage boy and girl wander the land of Eurasia the time of kings and knights in search of adventure, conflict, and redemption. To say they are merely children is a severe understatement. The boy has the soul of a warlord who has destroyed nations, killed innocent people, and taken their possessions. It was not until the girl, who was a woman at the time, came to him and readjusted his view of the world. Though he did not like what she was saying, he couldn’t bring himself to raise his hand against her. She showed him beauty and goodness in the world and in people that he was completely blind to. Her presence gave him peace that his possessions could not, so he married her. The blood of his actions, however, could not be washed away with the little time he had left to redeem himself and was cursed to live forever on the earth until it was. Though she was allowed into Heaven, the girl turned away from it and held onto the boy and promised to help him on his journey. He tried to push her away, so she wouldn’t be caught up in his punishment, but she stuck close to him. As part of his punishment, he was granted the blessing to turn into a white devil with six tendrils that protrude from his back. He can exact righteous justice on those who deserve it and the punishment will fit the crime. The girl was granted wisdom and knowledge to guide the man’s decisions and be his source of relief and happiness. The boy wears a hooded sackcloth, which is a far cry from his royal robes he once wore. It’s covered in the blood of the innocents he killed and the blood is so much so that it looks naturally red instead of brown. The girl wears a simple white and red dress similar to the one she was married in.
The two of been through times of ruin and peace. Throughout it, the girl has kept the boy under control and on the road to redemption, but in some cases, the boy’s intuition and knowledge of the fallen humanity helps him make instant judgments while the girl’s empathy has lead to the death of innocents. As much as she helps keep him on the right path, he does the same every now and then. They still continue their journey throughout the land of Eurasia to not only obtain the boy’s redemption, but to also bring justice and peace.
Part I
As the two walk along a forest path, they come across an apple tree with a woman picking fruit from it.
The girl says to the woman, “Excuse me miss? Can we have an apple each? We’ve been adventuring for a while now and some fruit would help us immensely.”
“Oh, of course you can!”
The woman tries to get more than two apples for them, but as she shakes the tree to pick the apple, three loose apples fall on the girl’s head. This enrages the boy to which he transforms into the white devil.
“You wench!” he yells out, “How dare you be so careless in the presence of my beloved!”
His tendrils retrain the woman’s legs, arms, neck, and body. Her punishment then comes on her. A single apple falls on her head. Once her punishment is complete, the boy’s tendrils release her and she runs away in fear of the two. The boy goes back to his human form once she’s clear of them.
“Are you okay my-”
He receives a hard backhand to the face from the girl.
“How many times do I have to tell you to not worry about me when things like this happen?!” she says, “Do you like getting slapped?”
“Kind of…” he says with a smirk before getting slapped again, “I was joking…”
“Hmph. Hopefully we won’t see that woman again so we won’t have trouble in the nearby town. Are you seriously eating the apples she dropped?!”
“Uh, yes? Want one?”
She takes an apple before backhanding him again. They take several apples with them as they enter the nearby town. The town has various churches and bustling marketplace since it’s a town of commerce and community. There’s an art contest being held at the art section of the marketplace and the girl decides to join in.
“Why don’t you join too?” the girl asks the boy.
“Nah. I don’t exactly…create things.”
“Nonsense. I’ve seen you doodling when you were bored and with pen and paper.”
“Yeah, but I wouldn’t call my doodling good art.”
“Just join with me for fun!”
“I guess I should, but why am I even doing this? I’m a grown man.”
“But mentally you’re a child.”
“I was a conqueror of men!”
“And now you’re my husband, which means I’ve conquered you and your men. Come on already!”
“…fine.”
The two go up to the adult who is taking the names of the participants.
“Hey kids!” a woman who appears to be a mother says, “Are you going to be making art with us today?”
“Yes mam!” the girl says.
The boy doesn’t say anything until the girl elbows him.
“Yes mam.”
“Can I get your names before you enter?”
“My name is Bella and this is my boyfriend Mao.”
“Oh! A couple drawing together eh?”
The woman elbows and smiles at a man who the kids assume to be her husband. He smiles and laughs.
“Now that I have your names, you should look around here for the supplies you need to draw. We also have hundreds of pieces of art around the marketplace, so take a look around if you need some inspiration. It also doesn’t hurt to ask others for help. Got it?”
“Got it!” Bella says.
“Yup. I got it,” Mao responds.
“The contest starts in twenty minutes, so you still have plenty of time and don’t forget. This is just for fun, but still try your best!”
Mao and Bella go around to get their tools and drawing material. They go around the marketplace to find inspiration for their work and once it’s time to draw, they put their skills to the test. Bella draws a bright picture that has a small bunny with flowers around it. She uses paint, brushes, and her finger to draw the picture. Mao, on the other hand, draws a war-torn knight in bloodied and injured, but still charging towards battle. He uses charcoal and his sackcloth to erase and draw shapes and figures. Oddly enough, Mao wins the contest. Since Bella and Mao had previous experience in drawing and their competition are just normal kids, they outclassed the others by a mile. As a reward, Mao gets a small reward of money, a fruit basket, and a kiss from Bella.
“Congratulations young man!” the mother says, “I’m sure your parents are going to be very proud of you!”
“I-I guess so.”
Bella and Mao go to a fountain near a church to eat the fruit basket.
As Bella drinks in the feel of the town, she says, “This reminds me of my hometown.”
“That’s where I first met you. I came to raid your town, but you came out by yourself and got me to back off.”
“I’m that special, aren’t I?”
“Most towns don’t have a single woman coming to meet an army. Special isn’t half of it. I’m sure your parents were worried about you when you did that. What do you think my parents are thinking about me right now?”
“I’m sure they’re proud of you for changing.”
“I don’t know about that.”
All of the sudden, two girls run by and push the two into the fountain then run away.
“What was that for?!” Mao says as Bella tries to keep him calm.
A man helps the two out of the fountain while saying, “Don’t mind those two. They’re not used to losing so they get a little mad when they do.”
“Thanks mister,” Bella says then waits for him to leave to tell Mao, “I remember girls like them when I was little. They’re nothing, but jealous princesses who are full of themselves.”
“What do you want to do?” Mao asks with a bit of curiosity.
“The same thing I did to them years ago. Get revenge.”
Both Mao and Bella deviously smile at the different ways to get revenge from Bella’s innocent but humiliating ways to Mao’s harmful but simple ways.
“What are you thinking Bella?”
“I’m thinking that we should return the favor of them cleaning us.”
Bella gets several pale of water that are from the bathrooms and the two get on top of the rooftops. Mao uses his man tracking skills to find the girls and finds them with their friends. Bella and Mao wait until the girls walk closer to them to pour the water on top of them. Once they do, they quickly dump the water on top of the girls then sprint away as they hear their screams. The couple laugh then reward themselves with a little dinner date at an outside restaurant. Mao eats a steak while Bella eats fish.
“I didn’t know you were like that Bella.”
“What do you mean?”
“That you take revenge in that way. I thought you were a very forgiving person.”
“I am…most of the time, but I can’t stand prissy little girls like that.”
“Did other people in your town know you were like this?”
“I kept it secret from them, so I could always get away with what I did.”
“Do you know I like you more and more with each day?”
“I do.”
Before they can kiss, an incoming parade catches their attention. The town is celebrating the death of the tyrant that was Mao. They have fake statues of Mao and Bella that are half destroyed and covered in drawings.
“Hoorah! Hoorah! The demon Mao is dead and is rotting in hell! Praise be to God!” they say, “May all the earth rejoice in his absences! May we rejoice also in the death of his useless wife who tried to make him pay for his sins, but failed.”
“Mao…This isn’t right. No one’s death should be celebrated like this!”
“I don’t mind it.”
“But!”
“I don’t mind it! I’d celebrate my death like this too because of the things I’ve done.”
Mao sighs as he turns to watch the parade as it passes by him. He watches how happy everyone is that he died and how they celebrate it with streamers, confetti, and fireworks.
“You know Bella, I’m happy that I died. I’m even happier that I got the chance to redeem myself and that you didn’t go to Heaven to help me out. The reason why I don’t really mind what they’re saying is because your opinion of me is all that matters…Bella?”
Bella has moved from her chair and is now in front of the parade.
She yells out, “What is wrong with you people?! No one’s death should be celebrated no matter how horrible they were! Stop this celebration at once!”
The crowds don’t take too kindly of Bella’s defense of Mao and start yelling at her and throw stones and various hard objects at her.
“Bella! You bastards!” Mao says as he transforms into a white devil.
The sky turns black as judgment is going to be dealt. Mao shields Bella from the projectiles and the crowds are shocked by Mao’s appearance.
“You people are just as evil as the people you mock!” Mao says in a demonic voice, “What kind of people praise death and throw things at a child wiser than you?!”
Mao’s tendrils spilt into multiple tendrils to catch everyone and hold them as they are judged. The things they threw at Bella levitate and get thrown back at them harder than they were thrown. Hard rocks then fall from the sky to ruin the parade and rain on the marketplace. Mao carries Bella out of the town as the rocks pelt everything and everyone around them. Though no one in the town is seriously hurt, houses, shops, and the other buildings and streets were heavily damaged. The people of the town then prayed for forgiveness as they rebuilt what was damaged because of their actions. Mao and Bella are now far away from the town as they continue Mao’s journey for redemption.
“Mao…I’m sorry you had to see that parade.”
“Like I said I didn’t mind it. The worst thing about it is that the statue they had of you had a bigger butt and chest than you did when you were that age.”
“What?”
“Your actual chest and butt are smaller and I’m not trying to say that it would be better if those parts of you body were bigger. I mean that’s probably the inner teenager in me speaking, but you know. I’m just saying.”
Mao takes one look at Bella’s mad face.
“Oooooh boy.”
Mao then starts to run away as Bella swings at him while saying, “I’ll show you who has smaller private body parts!”
No comments:
Post a Comment