•|•|•

"The Kings Trials."

•|•|•

MR. OGUSTUS CLOSED the door, hobbling towards us. Taking his usual spot leaning against his desk with his cane propped beside him, he released a sigh, folding his large arms, "Questions?"

Every hand in the room except mine shot up, but even so, I had questions of my own. It seemed we all wanted to know what we had just witnessed,

"Lovely," he grinned, skimming through the classes, "Aiden?"

It amazed me how fast he memorized each one of our names in 8 hours. I only knew two other people excluding Claire and it was solely because they loved to ask questions.

Naaka and David, David and Naaka.

Aiden sat beside me to my left, in the last row, beside the wall, directly by an open window that showed off the Crown Court.

"I do not understand what I had just seen, sir." he quite plainly put.

"Is that so?" Mr. Ogustus chuckled.

"I mean, why do we even have such...sports? If I could call it that? It was bloody and violent I'm not sure we should be participating in things as horrific as that," he trailed off, his sandy blond hair falling over his face as he asked, paired with intricate light blue eyes that looked almost grey.

He was good-looking in his own right that was for sure. How I hadn't noticed him till now was a mystery to me. It just went to show how captivating Mr. Ogustus' stories were.

"It seemed..." he trailed off, "dangerous, wrestling and boxing matches are safer than that."

Well, Aiden had a point because the whole close hummed in agreement. It was then I noticed the unsure expressions of my peers. I believed I knew what was going on in their minds as it was going through mine.

No part of what we had witnessed was humane. It seemed like an illegal underground fight.

"The Arena is not a sport," Mr. Ogustus explained calmly, his eyes trailing over everyone as if understanding our displeasure, "but yes, it is dangerous, especially if done outside the Dome."

He paused, as silence fell around him.

"Most of you, however, will be relieved to know you do not have to participate in the fights that happen there, at least not full-on forced ones like the one we just witnessed. I assure you all who participate in the King's Trials come of their own accord and are rightly trained."

My eyebrows furrowed at this, still with questions of my own, as did others whose hands went back in the air.

Mr. Ogustus raised a hand and the rest fell. He grabbed, his cane moving toward the board, taking a piece of chalk,

" I believe each one of you knows why you are on Kingsland," he jotted a word down.

Society.

"That is what you wish to become a part of. You desperately want to fit back into it and the only way to do so, the only way you were told was possible is by going through Kingsland." He paused trailing back to us, "The outside world looks to Kingsland to train the convert population into normal law-abiding citizens..." he placed both hands behind his back, wise eyes skimming by each one of us, "That is what you must become, law-abiding, but if you still believe in normal, pity is all I have to offer."

He turned back to the board jotting a list of words. When he finally turned and I could see what he was writing I was curious to find out what these were.

Graduates

Trackers

Heroes

Knights

"Graduates, " He began tackling the first listed word, "by the end of next year, all of you will become just that. Capable Law-abiding citizens will be ushered back into society, less feared and more acceptable. That is the closest you will ever get to normal."

He moved on, leaning against the side of the desk,

"Trackers," he continued, "to all those who wish to invite other converts who are too afraid to visit Kingsland because of the heinous crimes the outside world has fabricated against us, will venture to become it. It is a program that is funded for recruitment. Those that show potential are listed or selected for this program to travel the world in search of converts in the jungles of India, deserts of Africa, cities of the Middle East, anywhere, for anyone willing to come to Kingsland. There is a junior program of trackers that is currently running as we speak. The next selection is in two months after the first trial."

Trackers.

I glanced over at Claire. Those must be the people from Kingsland that came to visit her family. I would think so.

"Upon graduating as a certified tracker, you are eligible to be selected to work in the fields, in different branches of the Kingsland organization. This is what you must strive to be. To be a helper to your fellow converts, to bring them home, among people they will feel normal around. It is the least you can do for fellow dilects."

He glanced over at the board, aiming for the third one on his list.

"Heroes," he paused as if thinking it over, "for those of you who show extra potential you will be chosen as one of these in a process known as The Selection. An annual end-of-year event that brings delegates from various countries ministers of defence and other NGOs that come and select potential heroes.

That's an automatic job in human terms, with fitting salaries, and stable futures. It comes with its dangers as you will be stopping natural disasters and eliminating plots from Rogue Converts and terrorists both human and convert alike, but you will be playing a good part in the overall goal," He trailed off, "and that is making this world a better place. We have only one inhabitable earth left; we must do whatever it takes to save it."

The last line caught me unaware. Mr. Ogustus had this incredible way of teaching that made it feel like he was just telling a really good story, captivating a whole room and making the hours seem like mere minutes.

"Then of course, last but not least, we have our Knights," he breathed out as if having had taught this lesson for the millionth time but still managing to make it feel like new words to our little ears, "I'm sure you heard of them, Kingsland's superhero elite force," he chuckled as if there was an inside joke, "well they're more than that, and that title, to be knighted," he spoke the word like he had just tasted fine wine, staring off into the loft space above our heads, "is the greatest honor for any young convert. To work for the Kingdom, against our true enemies, and for our King, that is true greatness."

His eyes trailed down to us.

"It is your decision which one of these paths you choose to follow. None will change who you are or take away your value," His soft eyes landed on me holding my gaze,

"Not everyone was born to lead, it is a gift and a burden few can bear."

My gaze dropped from his burning stare, tugging at my sleeve trying to fight the sinking feeling that had developed inside of me.

"Questions?" he repeated.

I side glanced around seeing that all of us were in deep thought. It was amazing how in eight hours, a man we had never seen before had caused us to think our lives over more times than we could count. I spotted one unsure hand going up from the front of the class.

"Ah, a new hand. Yes, Mr. Rolan."

A red-haired boy that looked like Anne of green gables twin, with a Norwegian accent stuttered while pushing his thick glasses back allowing me to catch a glimpse of his green band,

"Uh- s-so t-to become a tracker or any of the above. W-we must go through the A-arena?"

He seemed to have a slight stutter that seemed to be in the process of slowly going away.

It was way better than having no voice at all in my opinion.

"Exactly!" Mr. Ogustus clapped back getting up. He wrote three words in block letters.

THE KINGS TRIALS

"You must go through four levels of the king's trials. Levels one to three are to occur before the year ends. The first level is similar to the practice version we saw today. Built-in an environment where all earth's natural elements are available to you. It represents the kind of environment you will encounter if you succeed in becoming a tracker. Level two will be an environment you will encounter as a hero and then level 3, is under Knight level conditions and the last is a combination of the three."

I raised an eyebrow at this. So, he meant all we saw today was the beginner's level? Scratch that, the practice level? Claire seemed to be thinking about what I was thinking because we both exchanged unsure looks.

I believe I would be just fine being a graduate. I was not built for violence. One of Raskei's punches could put me in a comma and Thandiwe's water giants would leave me for dead.

He's over there talking level one.

More like level, I'm done.

"So, what happens to the person that wins the King's Trials? Are they given some sort of prize?" Naaka asked.

"There is no one winner youngling, if you happen to make it into level two, you are automatically eligible for tracker selection. Those that win level two are automatic candidates for hero selection. The third-level matches will be the last for this year. All winners will be eligible for knight selection. Of course, the final decision will be established in your senior year, during the last of the King's Trials in the prestigious Kings Round. Then ranks will be given according to the wins."

I had trouble taking some of the information in, but I was sure I would understand it all as we progressed.

Besides, I knew I wouldn't be participating in the so-called Kings Trials so there wasn't much to worry about other than wondering when Dad would come to visit or if Mom had already woken up.

I doubted the latter because I knew she would have called for me and Gravis would have to come and get me.

"The Kings Trials was created not for competition but to expand your dilects to their fullest potential. If you want to rank in any of these categories, you know what you must do. But for now, a moment of silence."

We looked at him confused, the sound of the clock filling the now open silence. The bell suddenly rang and Mr. Ogustus grinned,

"Right on time."

Chuckles filled the air as students got to their feet, shuffling past him and out the door,

"Bright and early tomorrow morning younglings!" he called after us.

___________

I stared out into the darkness around me, relishing the peace. My mind replayed all that had transpired during the day. From the red's match that had transpired to the library to this very moment. I hoped Dad was all right. What was happening out there? Day two of being on Kingsland and I already felt like I had missed so much. Kingsland was wrapped up in a cocoon, in a world of its own. I was safe here, far away from the dark-winged converts that attacked our plane.

Or was I?

After all, this was the Island of Converts. What if our attackers were here? I turned around blinking as I adjusted to the darkness, eyes resting on Daya's empty bed. It was well into the night and she hadn't yet returned.

I hadn't seen her the whole day to be exact. It was un-ladylike of her to be out at this hour but I didn't want to question it too much. I was in a new world, with new rules. I didn't know Daya that well to randomly jump to conclusions.

I took a deep breath out sitting up in bed. Walking toward the light switch I flipped in on, giving my eyes a moment to adjust to the room, before walking toward the desk. Drawing a chair out, I took a seat opening my notebook.

I was stressed for some reason-no stressed was a stretch, I believe the word for it is overwhelmed. I was overwhelmed by everything, about Mom, about Dad, about being undercover on a mission I didn't even want, about Kingsland and the King Trials about Mr, Ogustus and his mind-blowing questions about what we choose to call reality, yes, I was overwhelmed.

In this mood, only one thing has ever worked to relieve me.

Looking out the window, into the darkness and the outline of the ocean, whilst hearing the waves weave against the earth I grabbed my pen, flipped over to a new page of my notebook, neatly printing out the things on my mind.

Oceans blue, I think of you

Left on shore as we took flight

Has the tide kept you all right?

Are you safe far away from where my eyes can see?

Past the ashy skies, we fell by foreign wings

Apart from land, consumed by seas

A goodbye kiss is all there is

In all the grey dust fleeting scenes

Those moments haunt my memories

Oceans blue, I think of you.

I put the pen down, looking over the words, a familiar echo of fondness overcoming me. Breathing out I relaxed, leaning back as I stared out of the window to the darkness beyond, eyes settled on the sapphire sky. Poetry, that's what calmed me the most.

A way of speaking elegantly, in style without having to say a word.

Beautiful, the sky that is. The stars looked like diamonds that stretched on for miles.

I stood up, moving close to the window for a better view. I wanted to gaze upon the outline of the ocean below, the tumbling waves, and the peaceful lullabies of the rushing water.

I was surprised to find a diagonal view of the King's Gardens at this position which made me think back to my mother's roses, remembering I still had to sneak out and grab some. Looking on I caught sight of movement among the trees.

My eyebrows furrowed watching a dark figure moving from the shadows of the King's Gardens, coming closer as it traveled into the light.

The figure looked up and I caught my breath remembering those icy eyes. He momentarily looked my way but not technically at me, which was good.

I couldn't be a silent zombie twice in one day. He looked shady in the darkness looking, if anything possessed, a dark look on his godly features, looking around momentarily before walking off into the shadows.

I couldn't help but wonder where he was going at this time of the night or better still, where he was coming from.

Shaking my head, I closed the curtains, switching off the light. It was none of my business what anybody was doing here, I assured myself. I technically didn't even belong here. I had one job to do-

Be safe.

Being curious never brought anyone anything but burdens and responsibility, like seriously it's like in every movie ever.

There would be no story if you just mind your own business, and I was determined to keep away from anything remotely dangerous. He seemed dangerous to me and didn't have a clue why.

No, it was none of my business why Daya never came to the room that night, or why hallway boy was coming out of the king's Gardens at midnight.

Nope...none of my business.

•~•
Enjoying the story? Please vote and leave a comment to let me know! Join my discord channel (link in bio) for on going conversations!
•~•