Benjamin Thornton

Odi sat in the kitchen by himself, thinking when his mother came in. "Odi, your father wants to tell you something," she said as she sat down with him.

"What?" he asked. Before she could respond, Odi's father walked through the door and into the kitchen.

"I have great news for you," he said. By now, Odi had learned that whenever his father said something along those lines, that it would never go in his favor. When Odi didn't respond, his father continued. "I spoke to the king and queen and they agreed to let me personally train you to be a soldier and so one day in the future, you will be the captain of their personal guard."

"But I don't want to be a soldier," Odi whispered.

Odi's father's face hardened. "This is a great honor, Odi and you will treat it as such."

A foreign sense of determination and rebelliousness seemed to take over the previously submissive Odi for a moment. "I do not want to serve that evil king or queen." As soon as the words had come out of his mouth, Odi knew he was done for, so he might as well finish what he had started. "They abuse their people and tax them too much. The people in our village are starving while they sit in their precious castle eating till they can't eat anything else. I refuse to serve and protect those evil people."

To Odi's great surprise and relief, his father did not yell, scream, or shout. He simply nodded and smiled. He leaned forward and spoke to Odi. "I knew that you would say that, so when I got you this job, I told them that you would want to travel to Eddeathra and possibly be stationed there."

"Why would there be soldiers there?" Odi asked.

"The king is planning an invasion," his father simply replied.

If I do join the army, I will be able to travel to Eddeathra. Odi thought. Once there, I can abandon these Nites and join the Eddeathrians and finally be able to end the King and Queen's terrible reign here.

Odi looked at his father and nodded. "Okay, I'm in."

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Inside the castle, the King of Nitra spoke to his wife. "I have big plans for young Odi. Now that Icas's parents are dead, everything is in place." he turned towards the window that overlooked the poor, run-down village. "Yes, Eddeathra will be ours"