Writing Resources from Fifteen Minutes of Fiction

Finally Here

"Green Feather?" William asked, his attention now completely turned on Person. "Green Feather, you say? Well, where is this message from Green Feather?"

William was amazed. After all these years of waiting, waiting, waiting, were all his plans that he had so carefully put together, not missing so much as a single detail, not leaving out any possibility, making everything fit together so nicely that hardly anything could go wrong, finally being seen as a real plan that could actually work? Well, he was about to find out, and he couldn't wait any longer.

"Please, Sir, if you don't mind, I would like my message now." He tried to keep himself calm, but his shaking legs and somewhat contorted face betrayed his anxiety.

"Well you see, Sir, I have orders not to give you the message unless you will do something for me."

"What?!" That was too much for impatient William, and he shouted that last word loudly, drawing the attention of several men. Struggling to regain his composure, he said in a much quieter, placid tone, "We should go to a more peaceful location to finish this conversation. Do you not agree?"

"Yes, Sir, that is a fine idea." And so they shifted their way through the crowd, until they finally burst out near a group of birch trees, huddled close together as though they were trying to protect each other from the seething crowd.

"Here is as fine a place as any, Sir. Let us stop here."

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, William asked, "Now, what is this thing you would like me to do?" He sat down on a nearby tree stump, and the relief was immense.

"Are you sure you don't mind missing the speech, Sir? It's supposed to go down in history, you know?"

William laughed. "Oh, you mean Leary's speech? Why, letting me miss his speech is the only good thing you've done so far!" Leary, the High King of Manch, who had been reigning for twenty-five years now, was giving his annual speech. They were the most boring speeches ever to have been said. They were to William at least, and all the other people who lived in and around Manch, along with anyone else who had ever had the displeasure of hearing one.

But to foreigners, it was a whole different story. They thought of Leary as one of the most honorable, just, noble kings ever to have lived. And the people of Manch did everything they could to keep it that way. Having an honored and respected king was great protection, especially at this time when kings all over the country were sending out great armies to conquer small and unimportant kingdoms to make them part of their own.

And that is why Person was so shocked at William's answer. "But, but Leary is the best king ever to have lived! Even more grand and mighty than our own great king, Lucran, High King of all Quirve! And his speeches are so great; greater even than the speeches of the Great King Labran of the Western Sky!"

Have you ever heard one yourself? he wanted to say, but instead he said, "I was only kidding. I would never miss one of his great speeches; which is why I would like to get on with this. Once again, what is this thing which you want me to do?"

"Yes, Sir, sorry." Here he paused, and took from his cloak a scroll, which he read aloud. "It reads, 'I, Lucran, High King of Quirve, ask you to take this scroll from which my good messenger is reading to you now, and deliver it into the hands of your king, the Mighty Leary. Only after you complete this task will you be allowed to receive your own message. I wish you good luck as you do what I have asked. Lucran.' "

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