The streets were silent, cold, eve though people walked around normally, a sense of unease was like an unheard whisper , the sun started to take a rest as shades of orange stretched forward
In the chief's tent, Baro sat alongside his trusted assistance, Pharam, Ramo, Sarom, and his body guard, Noor
"They named me, the rat of the corner" said Baro biting his lip in frustration
"Your highness, it's just a nickname—" said Pharam as Baro continued
"All the wasted years of my life, the wasted souls of my ancestors that kept them alive" said Baro "I WAS THE ONE TO KEEP THEM, ALIVE, not them, not the, commanders that went further without listening to my words, ME! the king"
"And now, they are questioning my legitimacy?!" said Baro "This is absurd!"
None dared to speak a word, with his situation any of them could get beheaded, questioning his blood was a sensitive topic, sadly the public did not know such a thing
"There is a rat!" said Baro looking down and around him, from the look of his eyes, he was paranoid, so it seemed to the present people
"I just know it, someone is plotting against me, the people would never question my crown!" said Baro
As started to look around the room, staring each of them for a moment before switching to another, heavy breathing followed
Noticing how crazy he seemed, how worried their eyes were. Baro took a deep breath and spoke
"We need to pull the weeds before they spread" he moved his gaze up and said, "any suggestions?"
"We tell them the truth" Said Sarom "Anymore lies won't be believable"
Baro did not speak anything, his face was dark staring down once more
"If we lie, it will be a matter of time before another speaks, and when that happens" said Sarom "No lies or truths will save us"
"Your right, we must tell them the truth" said Baro
Everybody was shocked, how can he go back on this so easily
"My truth" said Baro, those words confused them as his sharp gazed pierced it all "That, guy, who came back with those words of his, he shall change them to the public"
"He will say, that whatever he spoke of the other day, was out of anger, and that it is full of lies" said Baro
"You think they will believe him? He was apprehended in public wish made his words strike sharper, no matter what he says now, the image is planted deep inside their minds," said Sarom
"Say something Pharam!" continued Sarom looking at Pharam "You two were against us living on top of lies and deceiving acts!"
Pharam took a moment and then said "He is right," Sarom smiled faintly
"We need to change their mindset" said Pharam
Sarom's smile disappeared as quickly as it had appeared "What?!" said Sarom
"We can't destroy the foundation we built; it will drag us down and deep" said Pharam
"Building more will only made the fall longer; it won't prevent it!" said Sarom
"Falling now, means death" said Baro
"I told you; you can't change what they think of you anymore, you need to fix what is left" said Sarom full of disoperation*
"Yes, it might not fix the current image," said Baro "But it will prepare us for the future, with time we shall build a new without them knowing"
"Do you think you are able to live up to that point" said Sarom his voice breaking, trying his hardest to change the present
"I may live like the stories say, and I might not, but my blood shall live on" said Baro
Sarom seemed as if a spear struck him deep "You are going to force her to be married?!"
"My daughter had her fun, now duty's time has begun, if I am not blessed with an heir, she shall do the work" said Baro
"You are tightening the rope around your neck, a snake that refuses to shed skin will only accumulate rot!" said Sarom "This snake's skin is already peeling"
"You are using Vonir's quotes I see" said Baro "Well as his dearest student you know that these are thought to children they do not work in our favour"
"My words shall rise up as the truth, the changes I choose shall happen, with… or without you" said Baro as he glanced the guard behind him
They apprehended Sarom who said "Wha—what is this!" as he tried to remove their grip off of him
"You won't be punished, for Vonir refuses to choose any other disciple, but you will be chained until the new world is built fully" said Baro
"You are wishing them no good" said Sarom for he was scared for the people, he looked at the others and spoke
"You! Why are you not speaking up! Did you know of this beforehand ?!"
"The royal blood is what keeps us intact, my friend" said Pharam "We can't have it go away" he stared with a darkened face as at the wide-eyed Sarom
He was taken away towards the deep part where the secret cells were built, not to be seen by the public until further notice
All hopes were lost for him, he had no power to fight back, even his tongue is now behind the bars
Some crowded sounds reached the tent, Baro left to find people standing by the gates, circling with whispers from each side
"Leave me!" said a man to the gate guards as he had his wife and child with him, alongside a backpack of his
Torches were held fighting the dark they inhabited
"You know that leaving is forbidden" said the guard by the door
"What is going on here" said Baro stepping from inside the crowd
"I wish to leave," said the man to Baro
"Well, you must know that the outside world is a mess" said Baro as he stared the man's little daughter held by her mother "None of us wants this little face hurt" as he touched her nose, the mother pulled her daughter away instinctively
"You said, there other camps" said the man as if testing the truth in Baro's words
"Yes, what of it?" replied Baro
"I wish to join one of them, I don't feel safe for my family in this one anymore," said the man
"The other camps, are surrounded, they live in constant fights of days and nights, I don't think there is a chance that you might enter any of them" replied Baro
"Then leave me roam the wilderness, it is better then living blind in here" said the man
"I can't just let everyone do as they please, chaos will erupt, the camp will be destroyed" said Baro as he turned towards the crowd
"I might not be the most pleasing, of rulers, but I wish you no harm, whatever lies entered your ears, are merely sent by the Varish to divide us from the inside"
He looked back at the man and said "They couldn't breach our walls, so they decided to plant rotten ideals in your skulls"
Baro took a deep breath and said looking at the man's daughter and stretching his hand towards her hair "I have a daughter two, I know how you feel trying to keep her—" his hand was hit as the man said
"Don't touch her you rat!" Baro's smile disappeared as his eyes became one of demons staring up the man who just realised his mistake, colour drained from his face
Baro was about to speak what he did not wish but he started to calm himself down seeing the stressed crowd behind him, he thought with a nice reply his image shall become cleaner
Before he could reply cheerfully a sound came from the crowd
"The chief is threatening the man!" said the voice, it was a man smiling behind a rob, his face was unseen, but the smile was, half of It at the very least, all Baro was able to see was the left side before it disappeared
"The rat!" said Baro to himself
"Did he just threaten the man?!" said another voice in hiding "I just heard him whisper it!"
Baro understood what was happening, whoever wished him to be no more, is inside the camp, not outside of it
"No—No, no way, I wanted to say to the man that we wish to fix the situa—" said Baro as he was cut by the same voices once more
"He attempted to touch the man's daughter, hurt him, and is threatening him," said the voice
"Now that you say it, I did hear him whisper something" said a man from the front line
The propaganda was working; more and more people started to join in on it
"Hey, pls listen—" more voices cut Baro
"Why wont you let us do as we please, this is enslavement" said the voice, it was obvious it being one of the two in hiding
Pharam broke through the crowd standing in the front line to watch in shocks the chief noticed him
"If I allow you leaving, this will hurt the rest as much as it will to you" said Baro
"Then tell us the full truth!" said the same voice
"This is the truth! You need to believe me—" the sound spoke one last time
"Stop the lies you fake blood rat"
This was the deepest cut of the day, these words broke all his anger on them, the old man couldn't handle it anymore
"YOU LITTLE RATS!" said Baro "YOU THINK I'M THE MONSTER?!!"
"OHOHO, you want to see the real monsters?" said Baro as he went towards the side where Jason and his friends stood
He pulled Jason out and walked towards the centre
"Look what the real monsters did" said Baro showing the scars over Jason's body, removing his upper clothes as if he was some kind of animal
"You still think of me as the bad guy?!" said Baro as he took the torch out of A guard's hand
"Look what real monsters did do" said the chief bringing the fire closer to Jason's face who was already trying to break free
Jason's eyes went blank once they felt the heat, seeing it get closer, the memorise, the screams and laughs, all went back to him at an instant
His legs started to fail him trying to carve a path forward digging in his place as Baro pulled him back
Baro's eyes were fixed on Jason, the crowd was silent
Fara was sitting in her tent treating a child's injury before she heard the loud sounds go silent
"Did they finish what ever bothered them?" she said as she heard her father
"Is this...?" she said as she looked back at the child and said" I will be back" with a smile before leaving the tent
"See what the real monsters did! You wish to go and seek shelter with those guys? Good luck!" as he pulled Jason closer than any other time, the fire reached right beside him, wish made him instinctively punch the chief in the jaw
Some blood dripped as the chief looked back and said "you rat!" raising his hand upwards meaning to hit him with the torch
"Dad?" said a voice, a close voice to Baro, looking up it was his daughter, she was shocked by what he did, and what he was about to do
But what truly horrified him, was the silence, this silence was no good, the terrified eyes of the crowd, the shock painting their colours anew
Jason managed to ran away jumping into the crowd and further
"Jason!" said Fara as she followed after him
Baro's image was completely destroyed, he looked around, Pharam was staring him in fear, and so did Ramo who just appeared
This snake, has finally shed its skin, but at what cost?