No Good Deed

Bernard knew what the advisor had over him now. He blushed before he could help himself, then he went pale. It was so noticeable that he looked like a ghost alone with the grim reaper out there on the lonely street that evening.

"You see, everything comes around," the advisor said and turned away from Bernard.

It seemed like the advisor was alone, but Bernard knew enough to realize that the advisor could not come here on his own. There were soldiers and palace guards who were loyal to the advisor and would do his dirty work for him. Slowly, Bernard looked around to see if he could find where they were hidden. If they were hiding around, then they were well-hidden.

"I know what you did, Bernard, and, frankly, I don't blame you for it. What would you have done seeing the gooey eyes looking up at it, the child helpless in a cot, the parents murdered. Then there is you who have been following the law since you were born, now presented with a chance to become an outlaw for the first time. What do you do? You do something your conscience would support. You save the child. After all, nobody would know."

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"Oh, you do. You very much know what I am talking about. Tum. That is his name, the one you gave him, the one you wrote on the cot. I wonder why. Maybe saving the boy just was not enough for you. You wanted to see him as a symbol of how much you have come to be bigger than the kingdom and her rules."

"You accuse me."

"And rightly so. But forget the accusation. The boy seems to have grown into a fine, young man. He's stealing nothing but identities. However, that is no problem. Nobody is dying. But don't you see that I am not wrong. He is still a thief."

"He is not a thief." Bernard's hand had moved closer to the gun in his holster. He watched the advisory warily. Still, the advisor made no move to call any guards or draw his own gun or sword.

"He is. Maybe not in the same way his parents were. It is always in the blood, chief. Still, I wanted to thank you. That is the sole reason I called you here."

"What for?"

"For disobeying the law, my friend. The law is all-knowing, all-seeing. It is almost as if the law made you disobey it for the law to take effect."

Bernard had his hand on his gun now. He had to be careful with dealing with the snake in front of him, he knew. He had been stupid. He should have known that his secret could easily get out in the open.

"I have convinced the king to see the son of thieves after the crystal sword. It seems the luck of thieves has been on his side these past years. Who knows, he would probably succeed where others had failed. If he doesn't, well, he would be dead. The law dupes supreme."

"The law is an ass," Bernard said. The gun was out of the holster and in his hand now. "The law is a horse’s ass for allowing people like you make them and enforce them."

"Mind what you say, good sir."

"The law should have you rotting away in the dungeon, but instead it has you here, making laws for the innocent and baiting the unsuspecting."

"Be careful. Whatever you say to me, you say to the crown."

"Because you have succeeded in making the king a puppet."

"Enough of this, Bernard. I won't cross words with you. I will be on my way now."

"Just like that?"

"What? You thought there was a punishment for you for helping the law run its course?"

Bernard's hand went lax on the gun. Sheer pulled his gun quickly. His movement was fast. Bernard did not know where the gun came from. The only thing he saw was the flash of a gun. He moved quickly to the side, aware that he was too slow before he felt excruciating pain in his right shoulder. 

He was flung back and fell on the street. The man had aimed somewhere else but had gotten his shoulder. There was no way he could draw his gun with the injured hand. He lay on the ground and made pathetic attempts with his left hand to grab his gun.

"I would not do that if I were you," Sheer said, stepping up to where the police chief lay on the ground while pointing his gun at the helpless man. "There is always a punishment for everything, Bernard. You were foolish, following the boy all over the place like you were his father. You even chose to deliver the thief to the palace. Maybe you knew he was here; maybe you did not know, but it spelled your death."

"The gods damn you!" Bernard screamed.

At the same time, bullets were pumped into his head. The sound of the gun broke the quietness of the evening.

Sheer turned and walked away. It was easy. The poor people of Kora were cowards. Once they heard the sound of gunshots, they got as far away as they could from there. By the time they got back, the victim would be dead. Peasants. These were the people that wanted the royalty to listen to them. Cowards!

He joined the other streets, covering his head with a cloak, heading towards the palace. He had some message to deliver. The boy knight would be going in search of the crystal sword tomorrow, and oddly, he had more faith in the boy than in the assembly of thieves he had sent out earlier. He knew the boy's history. His parents were the greatest thieves the kingdom had ever seen, and he knew that the boy must have inherited some of that from them.

At the palace gate, he was stopped by the guards.

"Halt, who goes there?" the guard asked.

"The crown, you fool."

The guard was taken aback.

"I am sorry, my lord," the guard said.

"Blind fool," Sheer cursed and walked through the gate.

He made his way to the guards' quarters and found the man he was looking for sitting with other guards that were off-duty, playing games, and drinking.

Immediately the captain of the palace guards saw him, he stood up and moved away from his people, walking towards him.

"Has the ceremony not started yet?"

"Not yet, my lord."

"Come over here, Alphonso. We have work on our hands."

The captain, Alphonso, followed Sheer to a corner of the guards' quarters and they sat down there where the lights from the new bulbs could not fall on them.

"The boy knight goes for the crystal sword that I told you about tomorrow," Sheer said. He looked around to make sure there was no one trying to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"Does he have what it takes?"

"I think so, and I am rarely wrong. But that is not why I have come."

The captain focused entirely on Sheer.

"You have to follow them."

"Follow them? I have never gone on a quest like this before."

"You all go with your men, handpicked by you. And no, you are not going on a quest. You are going after the boy."

The captain was silent as he was trying to understand the implication of what he was being sent to do.

"You have to kill him immediately he gets the sword, then you bring the sword to me."

"But he is a knight."

"A knight?" Sheer chuckled. "He is no knight, and you would not be held responsible for anything."

"He is no knight."

"Aye. He is nobody, an imposter that the king wished to indulge."

"I hope this is true."

"Have I ever lied to you?"

"No, my lord."

"I speak the truth. Kill the imposter and bring the sword to me."

"But the king…"

"You would become the king's right-hand man. All decisions and deliberations will go through you. You will get a maiden and a castle. Do not ever forget this when next you think of questioning me."

"Yes, my lord."

"Remember, take only men that you trust. The mission is very important."

Sheer rose and walked away.