“As I Lay” By A. N. Modine
Abandoned by my family when I was a child due to the King’s cruel taxes, I was sold as a slave to the royal guard. The Cardinal found that I had more worth then a kitchen worker for the royal guard training grounds. I had a fascination with drawing and painting. Whatever I could find I would draw on discarded cloth or walls. I had a keen I for detail when it came to drawing and this would turn out to be my greatest and most problematic skill.
The training grounds was where all guards and soldiers started before they were sent to war or protect our King. One day The Cardinal entered the training grounds to purchase soldiers of his own. He was going to call them Templar Knights and they were to protect the church, collectors, and go on holy missions to find artifacts of great value. Upon leaving the grounds he had dropped a piece of parchment on the ground. He did not seem to notice. As he left the field I grabbed the piece of parchment from the ground curious as what it was that he discarded. I looked at it and it was beautiful. The lines and shapes that formed the different caricatures unhinged my mind into a glorious new world.
After the day grew to it’s end I had clean the dishes and as the cooks left I had stolen a ladle to bring back to my straw pad. My bed bad lied next to the hearth so I could watch the flames and keep them moving for soups and to keep myself warm. I scooped the ladle with water and added some dirt and smashed berries we had left over to form a type of ink. I grabbed a piece of sturdy straw and almost feverishly started drawing the shapes of the parchment on my arms to see if I could mimic the design. Well into the night I worked on all the shapes with such joy until I finally drifted off to sleep.
The next day, as the cock crowed. A ruckus was coming from the proving ground. Yelling had pushed into the kitchen where the dishes wer thrown about as The Cardinal confronted all the dish hands. Anger echoed throughout the room with chaos ensuing. As he made his way closer through the light’s of the morning sun his eyes caught mine. His eyes gravitated towards my arms as he pushed the head cook aside and charged at me. “Where is it you little shite?” He grabbed my arm as the pain coursed through my body. “Where is it?”
“What sir?” I stammered.
“Ths you brat. Thissss…” He paused looking deep at my arm. Angered but shock and awed by the pictures I mimicked from the parchment.
Scared and shivering I pointed under my bed. “There, sir! Over there…” He overturned my bed as he grabbed the parchment. And charged at me one more time.
“What did you do boy? Who taught you to write?” The Cardinal yells. “Answer me or be flogged!”
“No one sir. I do not know how to read.” I cried out. “I just draw. sir. Honestly, sir.” He struck my tear filled face.
The Cardinal looked at my hovel and scanned the drawings of the past and stared back at me. “We will fine the truth?” He snarled. “Guards, take this boy back to the castle!” He commanded.
The guards snatched me up and I crawled out to my fellow peddlers for help. But no one would bat an eye at me. They ignored me. They knew there place and would not speak out against The Cardinal for they knew there lives were on the line.
Upon arrival to the temple the guards threw to the floor. As The Cardinal entered they bowed. I sat hurt lying on the ground when The Cardinal approached me. He ordered me to stand up as he grabbed me and started to scan my young broken body. “Guards, leave!” The Cardinal ordered and his guards left sealing the doors. “You have a strong boy young man. You are a mess and smell like a hog. But still you have strong teeth and a good build.” He began to talk to me in reverence. “I had to show my power. But after seeing your drawings and how accurately you copied my words. I had to bring you here.” He continues, “Now I could hang you or you can be a royal scribe. I will teach what these…” He pulls the parchment out, “mean and you will learn to write and read. Make a choice.” That is how I became a royal scribe.
scarefirsttalklater 