Hoping Against Hope
“Well, thank you for this adventure.”
The prince returned to the castle, satisfied to have seen more of his kingdom. But the moment he stepped inside, that feeling vanished. The iron and steel that formed the enormous walls seemed more like a prison - an invisible cage that, despite its golden glow, suffocated him.
“It was my pleasure, Your Majesty.”
Esra had been his guide through the surrounding villages, leading the prince through places he knew as well as the lines on his own hands-places where people still smiled despite their hardships. But now, as they passed through the castle gates once more, a deep, biting cold settled over him. He wished he hadn't come back.
Leonay returned to the never-ending ball that would last until morning. Esra, meanwhile, returned to his post.
“Are you the new recruit?”
Esra was standing near the entrance to the castle gardens when a deep voice interrupted his thoughts. Two figures emerged from the shadows. One of them was clearly a captain, judging by the insignia on his cloak. But it was the other one that made Esra's pulse quicken.
“I... I think so.”
His voice wavered.
A monstrous being loomed before him. Esra wasn't sure if it was a man or a beast. It had the shape of a man - perhaps - but its face was grotesquely distorted, its massive frame a twisted fusion of flesh and shining metal. It was the kind of nightmare that had no place in reality.
Once, Akrida-no, Zoe-had been filled with magnificent creatures. But the day Perez took the throne, they had been wiped out in an instant.
“General Silas to see you. Louis!”
The captain snapped his fingers. Before Esra could react, the creature grabbed him and threw him over its shoulder.
“Let me go!”
He struggled, but his resistance only earned him more blows. He could hear the laughter of the other soldiers, but no one stopped them. They dragged him through the castle corridors, the sound of his own gasping drowned out by the pounding of his heart.
By the time they reached the dungeons, he was barely conscious. They threw him to the ground, his blood splattering on the cold stone floor.
“A word of advice.”A shadow loomed over him. Esra forced his blurry vision to focus and saw General Silas crouching to meet his eyes.“ I don't like being contradicted. You may be the prince's little friend, but to me you're nothing more than a shepherd boy.”
Esra couldn't lift his head. He barely had the strength to breathe. So Silas did it for him, gripping his chin and forcing their eyes to meet.
“From now on you will stay in the dungeons.”
Silas of Agan had once been a simple carpenter when he met Perez. They had gone from friends to war allies, from idealists to conquerors. Perez made the plans. Silas carried them out-with cruelty.
Power corrupts. It transforms.
No one would have believed that the son of humble villagers would one day craft the kingdom's deadliest weapons and most inhumane methods of torture. Yet here he was - the most feared general in all the realms, the man responsible for shaping an army that inspired terror.
Esra tried to move, but the pain burned through his body like fire. He let out a choked cry. He longed for the fields, for the peaceful sound of his sheep, for the fresh air of the open plains. He would have rather starved in the cold than rot in this place.
Then a voice.
“Hey.”
It was low, barely above a whisper.
“Kid.”
Esra turned her head with difficulty. A bony hand reached through the bars of the cell next to him.
“Hi...”
His voice was rough. He coughed and tried to clear his throat.
“Here.”
The hand handed him a piece of cloth, stained but clean enough to wipe the blood from his face.
“Thanks”
Esra pressed it to his wounds, wincing at the pain. The injuries would scar, no doubt.
“I still can't believe I helped raise that boy.”
The old man's voice carried the weight of sorrow.
Esra frowned. “What?”
“Silas,” the stranger murmured. “He's not the same boy I watched grow up.”
Esra's mind reeled. He drew closer to the bars, straining to see the face behind the voice.
“Who are you?”
“Aidan.” He paused, then asked, “And you?”
“Esra.”
The cold of the dungeon began to seep into his bones, but curiosity kept him awake.
“You knew the General?”
Aidan let out a weak laugh, followed by a series of dry coughs.
“Boy, I knew the world before Akrida.”
Esra's chest tightened.
“Do you know about Zoe?”
“I do. Do you?” Aidan asked, interest flickering in his weary voice.
“Yes. I have a friend who talks about it a lot.”A sharp pain shot through Esra's ribs, but he ignored it.“ Zoe. A kingdom of peace and justice. Sounds like a fairy tale.”H e had grown up in a world ruled by Perez. It was the only reality he had ever known.
“It's not a fairy tale.”
Aidan's voice hardened.
“It's history. Zoe was real. She was everything Akrida could never be.”
Esra shook her head. “Then why are there no paintings? No books?”
“Perez.”
The name was spoken with sadness.
“He erased everything. Destroyed the art, burned the books, tore down the monuments. He wanted Zoe to disappear from history. Now there are only a handful of us left who remember the truth.”
Esra exhaled slowly. “I believe it. Perez is capable of anything.”
“Your friend is right. He didn't win Zoe with strength. He won with words. After four years of war, the people were exhausted. They only wanted peace, even at the cost of their souls. Perez knew this. He had a way of making people believe him, even when he was lying.
Aidan's voice grew distant, lost in memory.
“So the king surrendered?”
“For a moment, it seemed he had. On the last day of the war, he walked out onto the battlefield, wounded and alone. He looked... like a lamb. Fragile, broken, like the rest of us.”
Esra hesitated. “My family raises sheep. Lambs are like that. Innocent. Defenseless.”
Aidan's laugh was bitter. “Exactly. He played the role of the weak lamb. But he wasn't weak. He didn't let others die for him, while he sat safely in his castle".
Esra sighed. “Yes. He was clever. But that doesn't change the fact that we are now ruled by a tyrant.”
A glimmer of hope lit Aidan's eyes.
“You don't know about the prophecy?”
Esra narrowed her eyes. “Prophecy?”
The old man's face softened into something like awe.
“When the harshest winter is over, look into the fields. A flower will bloom that will restore the crown to its rightful place. That flower will lead the way for the one who was promised. The first and only true king. He will return to rule with justice and restore Zoe.
He recited the words like a holy hymn.
Esra stared at him, unimpressed. “This prophecy has some problems.”He shifted, wincing at the pain in his ribs. “Perez is the only one who controls the fire now. The magic is gone. And after all this time, why would the rightful king return now?”
Aidan’s eyes darkened.
“Because this is the worst winter, boy.”He leaned against the bars, his voice barely a whisper.“ Akrida’s lands are barren, her magic exhausted, her creatures extinct. The kingdom is on the brink of war. There is no hope left. Only the return of the true king.”
"Yes..."
Like so many others in the kingdom, he had lost hope.
The present was terrible, but every other season before this one had been filled with the same struggles, the same unrelenting pain. He had watched his father work himself to death, but it had never been enough. His brother, desperate to help the family, had enlisted in the army-he never came back.
How could anyone believe in hope when winter lasted all year?
"Esra, we must keep this faith alive. It's the only thing we have."
Esra didn't answer right away. He just stared at his bruised and bloodied hands, tracing the deep cuts with his fingertips.
"It's been a pleasure talking to you, Aidan."
He didn't say he agreed. He just let the silence settle between them.
A small chuckle came from the other side of the bars.
"Can I ask you a favor?"
Esra turned her head slightly and listened.
"I need two letters delivered to a messenger. But don't mention my name."
Esra frowned. "Of course. But... why were you arrested? You don't seem to be a dangerous man."
Aidan exhaled slowly, a wistful smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
"I have too much hope for a kingdom built on ruins."