A Rat's Fate

Why are they here? Tax collection isn’t for another couple of days. They wouldn’t be
shipping something important through here. Have they come for criminals? Before
the soldiers notice me, I slip away into the shadows. I have to get to Ren’s house
before they do. There should be a lot of people in the slum’s centre right about now. I can blend in there. I make my way over, turn a corner and run straight into a
soldier. He’s big, especially for a human. The top of his head reaches my nose. I
quickly say “I’m sorry, I was just heading to someone’s house and I was taking a
shortcut and-”

He stops me. His burly voice resonates through my ears “Whoa. I don’t care. We’re
supposed to be ‘nice’ today, so I don’t care. Head to the centre of the slums. We’re
gathering all your kind there for military recruitment. It’s mandatory. Hey, do me a
favour and let some of your friends know got it? Thanks.”

He pats my shoulder, walks away and starts knocking on some doors. What’s
mandatory? Recruitment or that I head towards the centre of town? I should do as
he says though and let my others know. I don’t want anyone to suffer because they
didn’t head out. As I make my way over, I knock on some doors. I think they’ll listen
to the voice of someone who’s not a soldier. Even if apparently, I look like I bring
trouble. After I knock, I see a few of them come out and follow me for a while. We
get to the centre and I see a giant crowd of us. Elves, dwarves, jarcoba, and saurians are all gathered awaiting the recruitment. Most of the population is just elves.

We’re taller than the other races with protruding-pointed ears, vibrant coloured
eyes, and flowing golden or pale hair. Except for me. I have short dark hair. There’s a good number of dwarves who are just beards with legs and crazy strong arms.
They’re the shortest of all the races. The rest of the population is made up by the
beast races. Saurians are essentially monstrous bulks of scales and muscle. They
earned the nickname lizardmen from the humans with good reason. The jarcoba are a fox-dog-like people. Even when they’re well fed, they look lanky and malnourished. And they almost always have mohawks running down the length of their back to
their tails for some reason, and run on all fours.

To get to Ren’s house, I shift through the crowds, slowly making way to his house. At least I don’t have to worry about blending in. After stepping on a few toes and
brushing past hundreds of people, I find some leeway and rush towards Ren. I run against the crowd until I find his family. His sisters and parents are surprised to see
me. His father says to me “Kar’Desh, what are you doing here? Where’s your family?”

“They were still asleep when I left then I got lost in the crowd. I was going to ask Ren to help me get to them.”

Ren speaks up before his father has a chance to respond. “Sure.”
He turns to his family and says “There’s easy access to the roofs over there. That
should keep you out of the crowds and safer than most.”
He looks back at me. “Let’s go.”

We rush up to the roofs and run on top of the buildings to my house. Looks like the word is almost here. I let my family know what’s going on and take them up to the
roofs as well. We all make our way over to the gathering with my sisters riding my
shoulders, meet up with Ren’s family, and sit and watch. We made sure to sit close
enough that we could clearly see the stage without drawing too much attention.
Although there's not as many people as I expected on the roofs. Eventually,
everyone seems to be here and it begins.

A human crier comes onto a makeshift stage the army has prepared and announces “This is truly a special day for all demi humans! Her majesty, the princess herself in
all her glory, princess Aurora has come to speak with you!”

Murmurs erupt from the crowd. I turn to the others. “The human princess made her way down here? I figured the general might show up to recruit us, but the princess?” More murmurs as Aurora walks out to the stage. She… She’s enchanting. She’s
unbelievably gorgeous! I can feel my mouth fall agape as I revel in her beauty. She
displays an air of elegance and grace unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Her glorious
black hair flows in the wind like the gentle waves lapping upon the shore. I’m too far away to clearly make out her facial features, but from what I can see, she has a smile of an enchantress and the face of a succubus… Without all the murdery tendencies.

Like magic, she waves her hand and the crowd falls silent. She starts to speak.
“Greetings my subjects.”
Even her voice is worthy of praise. ‘Tis the song of an angel, the voice of a siren! It’s a shame its stuck on her. She continues. “I am aware that this assembly may confuse many of you as the royal family has seemingly forgotten all about your kind, the
elves, the dwarves, the jarcoba, and the saurians, which makes my coming here all
the more difficult. Solaris finds itself in a difficult position as we are in a dire need of
soldiers and people willing to fight for our city. I realize that asking this of you is
highly arrogant of the royal family, so I will offer you all that I can. I will use my
position as princess to provide for you all a better standard of living. I promise that
I will do all that I can to assist all of you.”
She went on about how she would transform Solaris into a city where elves and the
rest of the demi-humans are considered equal. If she’s serious, then she’s a fool.
Humans have never seen us as anything more than vermin, and no small amount
of changes will fix that.

She ends her speech with, “This is all I ask. Who among you will stand for our city
now?”
Everyone stands there in silence. Everyone glances between each other as if
to ask, ‘Will you?’

After moments of silence, I make up my mind. I stand and I shout to the princess “I
will stand for this city! For my family! For my people!”
A giant hole just formed in my stomach. What have I done? My mother, my siblings, Ren, his family, and the entire crowd is staring at me now. My family and Ren’s all
have horrified looks on their faces and everyone else looks surprised.

The princess calls out to me “Brave elf! Let me hear your name as our first
courageous elf warrior!”

Something is wrong with me, but I can’t back down now. “I am called Kar’Desh your majesty!”

The princess eagerly waves me down. “Come down! Let us all see this heroic
warrior!”

My mother grabs my hand and whispers “Don’t go!”

“I’m sorry mother. This is for everyone’s benefit.” I head on down to the stage
through the crowds. Some of them look surprised. Others look angry. A few are
worried. Finally, I get to the stage and get a closer look at this beautiful woman. Gah, but that’s not the reason I’m here. If what she says is true, I got my wish. I can pave a path for my family even if it costs me my life. My family can’t survive on petty
thievery forever. Something needs to change.

She grabs my arm with her delicate hands and turns to the crowd. “Let us know why you decided to stand with the city.”

Why? That’s easy. “I have decided to fight for this city because… I envision a brighter
future for all demi humans! If we can show those humans our might! They will have no choice but to respect us! I envision a brighter future for my mother! My brother! My sisters! And all of my friends! With the pay I receive from this, I will feed my entire family! No longer will we just have to live by on scraps! My service will pave the way
for my family’s future!”

Hey, that was pretty good. Although I don’t have any lofty ideas like changing the
humans view on us. I just need to escape. I look over at Aurora who is smiling at me
with that big alluring smile stuck on an impossibly soft and cheery face. By the lords, she’s a sight straight out of legends. Maybe while I’m at it I can get closer to her.
That’s a nice thought, but a human princess isn’t someone you want to get close to.

A saurian is the first to say something. He shouts, “I’ll fight for my family!”
Then an elf. “I’ll fight for all of us!”
One by one they state their reasons for fighting. One by one they have just signed on for war. Some are still skeptical, but the roar of the crowd is drowning any sight of
them out.

I feel a pair of soft hands grasp my arm again. I look over to catch her gaze. Our eyes are locked and I can feel the world around me melt away. Look away! Look away!
Gah, I can’t get out of her deadly jade gaze of beauty! Finally, she says “Thank you
Kar’Desh. You may have just secured the demi-human’s future in brightness.”
I can’t look away, and I can’t say anything. Something about her. Something about
her tells me she’s different, that she’s not like the other humans. I can only hope that it’s not my second head overtaking my usually clear thinking. What should I do?
My heart is practically exploding out of my chest at this point. How is this person, a
human of all things, so impossibly enchanting?

The crier saves me by announcing the location of enlistment and that any of us can
head into the castle at any point to sign up. Aurora releases my arm and says “I’ll be
looking for you later.”
She waves and the soldiers take her away. She’ll be looking for me?! What does that mean? Does she mean at enlistment or later, or like- gah why are humans so bad at explanation?! Either way, I should head back to my mother and the others. They’re
probably baffled.

I don’t have a chance to head back before my mother tackles into me tears
streaming down her face. I start to say, ‘I’m sorry,’ but am quickly stopped by her
asking “Why?”

“I said so when I was standing here. You wanted a chance for all of your children, so
this is mine. I can become a soldier. I won’t have to steal anymore, and I can jump
start our social standing.”

“Only if you really excel and rise the ranks! What if you’re killed out there fighting a
war for a city that has never done anything for us!”

“It’s better than if I die in a cage for stealing bread.”
That didn’t help at all. She’s sobbing as hard as ever. “Look. I promise I won’t die,
okay? I’ll go in passive and play my cards right. I have a lot of experience in running
so I’ll avoid fights at all costs.”

That helped a bit. Her tears have slowed a little. In between her cries she says, “I
don’t understand why you would risk your life for this city.”

Because this is your chance. This is Ja’s chance. Aenwyn and Elanalue’s chance. If I
have to sacrifice myself for that, I will. I won’t let you live in this rat hole of a city for
any longer than you have to. “Because mother, we don’t deserve anything. Of
course, you, Ja, Aenwyn, and Elanalue all deserve the best life you can get. But what did the elves do to deserve that? The city hasn’t given us anything because we’ve
only taken from it. I think it’s high time we start giving to the city. Maybe then, the
humans will see us as more than rats infesting its walls.”

She looks at me baffled. “When did you get so smart? I never thought that you’d be
teaching me life lessons.”

“Well, you know. I learned from the best.”
That gets a chuckle out of her. If there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s salvaging a
situation. I see Ren, his family and my siblings coming up behind my mother.

Ren speaks first. “Kar, are you really going to enlist? That’s more dangerous than anything we’ve ever done before.”
I tell him something slightly different than what I told my mother. I tell him that this
is the best way to escape from the city. And I hear chicks dig scars so that'll be a
bonus. He looks at me for a second and finally admits the obvious. “Well, I lost.
There’s no way I could become a soldier. I’m a chicken and you’re the king of rats.”

“You’re just now seeing that? Man, you have the brain of a chicken too.”

His mother butts in. “Don’t insult my boy like that!”
She doesn’t even finish saying that before she and Ren’s father walk over to console my mother. All of the children are standing back there nervous to say anything.
When I look back there, Aenwyn immediately reacts. She runs up and squeezes
my leg tight.

I can’t hear anything, but I can feel her speak into my leg “Please don’t go.”
Elanalue clings to my other leg. Ja is standing there trying to act all tough and not cry, but I can see the tears in his eyes. I motion my head, telling him to get over here,
then kneel to be on their level and take them all in my arms.

“I’m doing this for you guys. I’ll make sure to write every day I can, okay? And when I come back, I’ll have lots of stories to share with you all.”
They all just sniffle in my arms. Even Ren’s little sisters are crying a little. I guess I
became like another brother to them. His older sister, Zeale, is standing there
waiting for me to be free. I feel bad for making everyone cry like this but I even
convinced myself that this is the right thing to do.

Elanalue asks me “How long will you be gone?”

“I’m not sure. As long as they need me.”
They don’t say anything else. What can they say? What could I say? Once the sniffles have slowed, I stand up and Zeale places her hand on my shoulder, followed by a
kiss on my cheek. I always thought she had a thing for me, but I tried to stay away
out of respect for Ren, but he’s a chicken, what’s he going to do? She’s never been
one for words, but I always found that attractive about her. I look over at her and
she winks, with a sad smile. Yep. Definitely attractive. I wink back, and turn to say
goodbye to my mother, Ren’s parents, and the children.

When I walk to the castle, Ren and Zeale follow me although we mostly just walk in
silence while Zeale clings gently to my arm. There are many others walking in the
same direction, all with the same solemn looks upon their faces. There are a few
crazies who are excited, but most of us are couples or friends marching towards
the castle. With the castle gates in sight, I turn to them and say, “I suppose this is
where we part ways. Make sure to take care of the little mice. I’ll be sure to send
any money I make towards you guys so you don’t have to worry about food.”

“Of course, I will. You make sure you don’t die. I don’t think anyone would be able to handle that day.”

“You think I’d die? You underestimate the king of rats.”

Neither of them take it as a joke. “Don’t ever get cocky.”

“I’m not like that. I’m careful and fast.”

“On a small scale. If you’re being sent to war, it will be massive. Bigger than anything the town guards can throw at us.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine. I promise.”

We stand there in silence for a moment. “Bye Kar. We’re all going to miss you.”

Zeale gives her farewell behind sultry emerald eyes. “Goodbye Kar. Make sure to
come back alive. I have something to give you when you do.”
Even in this situation, she manages to flirt with me?

I tease her, mostly to soothe my own nerves. Although I am looking forward to whatever ‘something’ is. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you we’re flirting with me.”
I return to the serious mood as I turn to Ren, who looks uncomfortable. “Don’t
worry, I’ll send notes with the money.”
He nods and wanders off back towards the slums with my prize for surviving. I’m
going solo now. The castle gates are daunting, with towers looming over the city
and gargoyles watching me as I approach. I shuffle with the crowd to the gate
where we are taken in one by one. A scribe askes our name and age, then records it. After that a human soldier guides us through the main gates, through the castle
halls, and into an assembly room. I think they’re separating us by race. I’m in a
room full of other elves. I’m part of hundreds upon hundreds of elves awaiting for
something to happen. After a while a human walks out onto a podium.

The room falls silent as he announces “Attention! You will not enjoy this. You will not have fun. You will suffer and you will come out a new man. I will not lie to you. Most of you will die before the end of this war. We are fighting an enemy stronger than we are. Our opponent is Karvithia. A city-state, thrice our size!”
His voice turns grave. “I hope you’ve all made your peace.”

Almost immediately, he dismisses that last sentence by announcing that we’ll be
given actual food, but I can’t get it off my mind. There was probably some meaning
behind it, but the most likely is that he doesn’t expect anything from us. I can’t blame
him. We look like an army of leaves ready to crumble in the wind.

We’re corralled outside to a torch-lit courtyard and sat down at long tables. The
castle servants start passing out meals. We all get some sort of meat as well as a
random vegetable in addition to bread and fruits. This is crazy! I once ate rat and
bird meat before I started stealing, but never meat made to be eaten. I’ve heard that it makes fruits taste like gruel by comparison so when the food was placed before
me, it disappeared in a blink. The servant scoffed at that, but I couldn’t care less
what she thought. The rumors were right! I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to look at
meager fruits the same way again. I need to start stealing some chickens or
something. Oh wait. I should be able to buy them now. Being a solider might not be so bad.

I was so absorbed in the food that when I finished, I only just started to notice my
surroundings. Everyone was doing the same thing. Eating as fast as they possibly
could before they had it all taken away. Others were licking their plates clean or
gathering their crumbs up. Soon they each turn to one another and instantly their
spirits were raised. We just had an actual meal. Who knew it could be this good?
Ren’s missing out. The roar of chatter and conversations rose up around me. Soon
after the human from earlier comes before us. Despite his scarred glare, the table is only slightly quieter than it was a few seconds ago.

The human barks us all down and says “This table and everyone on it will be under my command until your training is complete! You will call me Sergeant Gore! Is that understood!?”
Some of us know what to do from watching the guards around town. I place my fist over my forehead and my feet together. The rest of us who don’t know what to do,
follow us. “Where are the words, you pointy-eared bastards!”

We chant “Yes sir!”
Training begins in the morning.