THE LAST KEEPER

”What is your wish, son? I will give you whatever your heart desires. A rule is a rule, and I am a man of honour,” Vanka asked when sir black was thrown at his feet. He had been battered so badly he wasn’t able to stand, and the other reason was that he wanted to appear as humble as possible. He stooped so low his head touched the earth. He had mastered the art of licking boots since he was young, so the act had been perfected.

”Dear King. Sovereign ruler of this prosperous land of Vanka, whatever shall a filthy man like me ask of you?” sir black sang praises, and humans would always be human, and praises always softened even the hardest of hearts.

”What could such a humble servant of Vanka have done to deserve being in prison?” the king asked, moving forward on his seat.

”Your servant is guilty of standing in front of the sovereign ruler of Lanka, and for that, I deserve to die. Simply asking for more could be greedy. It is my dying honour to have breathed the same air as the sovereign and most powerful ruler across all the lands.” sir black licked his boots even further. If he stooped any lower, he could have lain flat on his tummy and become one with the earth.

”I could have thought you’d be prideful after taking down my champion of five years,” the king said, his ego having been stroked by sir black’s humble display.

”My apologies, dear king. For this wrong your servant deserves to die. I only did it out of desperation. Your servant is not long for this world, and I only got myself in this situation out of desperation,” sir black said, wiping away a tear at the pitiful lie he was about to spew. He had set the bait of being humble, and now all he had to do was sound as pitiful as possible to have the king in his grasp before he made his final move.

”Such a kind man indeed. What desperation could have dragged you to even fight my champion? say your wish, and i the sovereign ruler and most powerful son and ruler of Lanka, will fulfill it,” the king said, his chest swelling.

”I dare not disturb the king with a mere wish. I only wish to see my brother in the no-return prison of the land of Lanka if only to say goodbye before I depart from this world,” sir black coughed, wiping away blood. Silence stretched for a while, and sir black dared not move his head. The king might have given his word, but what he had asked was too much even for a king to just grant. Even so, he had already licked his boots so much so that they could slide his fat body down a mountain.

”It must be such a tragedy for such a man of integrity to have a brother so sinful he had to be put in the no return,” the king sighed.

”Loving such a person is even a bigger tragedy, sovereign king. Yet blood ties are prisons we can’t escape from,” sir black said, touching what every human could relate to the most. It was true that blood ties are the only prison one can’t escape from. He might have killed his father, who was a minister to this world, yet he had never been able to escape the reality that even in death, he was still his father, and killing a parent, even a monster, was still a sin that even nature condemned. Perhaps he was a monster because he had been born by one, and he was no better than his father in the things he had done.

As father and son.

”A wise man indeed. Who can escape the prison of blood ties? What a person you share blood with does can not be escaped. I don’t regret killing all my siblings to never have to endure betrayal. You should do the same,” Lanka said, and of course, it was common knowledge that when King Vanka took over the rule of the land of Lanka, he wiped away all his kin, even the children, both male and female. Women could never sit on the throne of Lanka, yet he had not spared them. He had claimed that women give birth to men as long as even a spec of loyal blood ran in their veins; he was still a threat. The man was ruthless. He did not have a weakness, and perhaps only his son could dare challenge him in the future. If he didn’t kill it first.

”You are wise, my king,” Sir black said as the king finally stood from his seat.

”Grant his wish, but the rule stands that those of the no-return prison should not see the light until they die. Make it quick and say your goodbyes. Though you are not long for this world, you should count your brother as not long for this world either, well, that is if he is still alive down there.” The king went to turn around, but sir black spoke again.

”i have one more wish for the king of this sovereign land.” The king stopped but sir black knew better that he had already pushed the man so far and he did not have much patience.

”I dare ask the king that I be granted a bath and a change of clothes so that the last image of me my brother sees is the best of me.” he almost begged as he moved on his knees quickly almost clinging to the king’s boots.

”Make sure it is done so,” the king said without turning around before he continued walking his guards right behind him. sir black maintained his position on the ground even longer after they had left. He only lifted his head when a bulked prison guard picked him off the floor as if he were dirt.

just because the king allowed for him to have a bath did not mean the guards had to it right and as it turned out unlike the king who had accepted the death of his champion well maybe he had grown bored of him winning and wanted someone to take him out so that he the fights in the pit could get more enjoyable, the guards were not happy and if not for the fact that if they disobeyed king Vanka he they could die with their entire family, they could have beaten him to a pulp.

He was thrown into a large basin of cold water. freezing water, and he almost died of shock.

”Why do you look at me with so much hate? I won fair and square,” sir black articulated each word with mockery, looking at the prison warden who had carried him and chucked him in the cold water.

”What was the liquid you poured into Tofara’s eyes?” he asked, and it seemed the warden had a personal relationship with the guy.

”I can show you if you come closer,” sir black said, opening his mouth to show them his half-burnt tongue, and the three men stepped back. He could have lost his tongue if he had delayed taking the antidote for a split second and lose its chance of regenerating. Even now, with his broken and dislocated jaw and half a tongue, he had trouble speaking. It was a wonder he was able to talk with the king without screaming every time he stroked his ego. Well, nothing could be achieved without a little sacrifice here and there.

sir black placed both his hands, and with a little groan, he returned his jaw to its original position, and it snapped in with a snap that had everyone in the room looking at him as if he was sick in the head, and on that they were right. well he could just walk around and keep struggling to speak with a broken jaw. The jaw being crooked might have earned him some pity from King Vanka, and his speech about dying soon might have sold the deal, but that was out of the way, and now he needed to look his best to meet his ’brother.’

”I don’t know what kind of poison you used to burn Tofara’s eyes and why you want so much to go to the ’no return’ prison to see a damned who I doubt is your blood brother, but I will tell you this. No one stays in that place for more than two years without losing their mind. So if your brother has been there longer. You won’t be able to get what you want from him. Nor will he remember your face,” the prison warden snickered.

”Well, I’m not long for this world, and I only wish to see the face of my lovely brother before I go,” sir black said with a humorless smile that was creepy to anyone who saw it before he cackled. well he had come so far to give up now, and he was not going to live empty-handed.

”You are sick,” the prison warden said with disgust before turning around. ”I can’t believe Tofara lost to such filth. What a shame,” he said over his shoulder as he walked away. sir black laughed even harder. He had gotten used to those words; they started to sound like a compliment. He had, however, never understood whether he was sick or if it was the world that was sick. Perhaps they both were.