The Kings Teachings

The King looked at his sword silently with a look of longing in his eyes, before taking a rag from who knows where and cleaning the blood off. Picking up the woman's corpse he threw it to the side and sat down against the wall. Watching as Fred kept puking unable to properly stand up.

"I guess without that spell cast on you, your just some newbie huh? Did I use that word right? One of your kind taught it to me."

As the King mocked Fred and laughed to himself an hour quickly went by Fred was on the ground covered in his puke mixed with dried blood. In a weak and frail voice Fred asked the King.

"How many of my 'kind' did you meet?"

"Lots, well I talked with a few but heard about a lot of them."

Fred looked at the King then at the corpse of the woman on the floor. Many thoughts flashed by, before Fred stood up picking up the sword by his feet. Looking at the King, Fred moved to another prisoner.

"I heard she stole a loaf of bread, but what about this one?"

"Take the bag off him, he will wake up. They usually shout their crimes, but you can ask them."

Nodding at the King, Fred took off the bag on this one. The prisoner was a man he looked to be in his twenties. The prisoner was in a daze before looking at Fred, seeing the sword in his hands he started panicking.

"Please Sir, all I did was bump into a noble! I apologized to him I swear!"

Fred looked at this man before apologizing raising the sword above his head, Fred was getting ready to cleanly cut his head in one go. Seeing that he was bound to die the man started panicking.

"Why! Why must nobles not be punished but us commoners! Are we not people too?"

Fred swung the sword, but instead of going through the persons neck it stopped halfway through. With a sword halfway through his neck the man stared at Fred in a frail out of breath voice spoke.

"Am I just livestock to you?"

Fred in shock tried pulling the sword out of the mans neck. Attempting to swing it again to cut his head off. This swing only went one inch deeper, Fred started swinging the sword over and over again. The King stood behind watching this scene unfold as he shook his head to the side in disapproval.

After enough swings the mans head fell off. As the man was being decapitated by Fred he stared at him the whole time his eyes losing color by each passing second. Staring at the head on the floor Fred was disgusted, but he didn't puke. The room was silent as Fred stood there accepting everything that happened. The King was looking Fred up and down thinking to himself before breaking the silence.

"Fred normally each child of mine has to do this with one prisoner, but well you wanted me to teach you still correct?"

Nodding at the Kings words Fred stared at him.

"I teach two things, first the art of killing and second the art of war."

The King waved his hand and the bags of the next ten prisoners were taken off.

"Now lets start with your killing lessons, I want you to practice cutting off their heads until you can do it in one swing."

Fred nodded and walked to the next prisoner, in a daze the prisoner looked at Fred and started crying silently before murmuring to himself.

"I knew my fate if I was caught just get it done with."

Nodding Fred swung the sword, the other prisoner looked at this scene and had mixed reactions. Some started crying, others tried shouting and screaming to spare him, while some just accepted their fate.

Hours went by in the room, Fred killed most prisoners until only four remained. Like a zombie without expressions Fred took the bag off and raised his sword only to stop and hesitate. This prisoner was a child, a dirty child with long hair. Fred hesitated immensely before lowering his sword to the side. Looking at the King he asked.

"What did this one do?"

"She was the child of the mother who stole bread. Guilty by association! I think that's how it works, another of one of your kinds teachings."

Fred never studied any laws so he had no clue if the King was wrong or correct, but he still didn't wish to kill the child. Looking around Fred realized in his zombie like state he didn't look at the other prisoners with bags still on their heads. Their figures looked small, smaller than a average adult these last prisoners were all children.

"Hurry up and kill her Fred, once you killed the first one it becomes easier."

Fred looked toward the King and gazed back to the child who was huddled up in fear staring at Fred, tears streaming down her face.

"I cant do that, it crosses my bottom line."

"Oh!"

The King seemed astonished with the response before cutting the girl free from her shackles. Throwing the child his sword he looked to her.

"Kill the boy in front of you and you and your siblings will be released along with some gold."

The girl sat there listening to the Kings words, after some seconds go by the young girl jumped up and grabbed the sword before dashing at Fred. Caught off guard Fred stabbed the sword forward by instinct going straight for the girls heart. As a child going against a adult there was no hope for her to win.

The girl fell to the ground holding onto the sword that pierced her heart. As tears streamed down her face, her eyes lost their light, before she closed them she looked to the other prisoners with a look of regret and longing on her face. She glanced around the room quickly, she looked like she was looking for some kind of treasure. Soon her eyes lit up one last time before shutting, they lit up with love and dimmed down with immense sorrow. Fred followed her gaze only to see the corpse of a woman who stole bread.