The Hero: Prelude [COMPLETED]

Capital Fair

6. Capital Fair
MY EYES COULDN'T tear away from that faint scene that slowly blurred away as the crowd forced me towards the exist, to safety. I had the urge to run back down, but the security patrols were guarding the station downstairs. My hands clenched tightly onto the crumbled envelope, my body being dragged through the stone floor. The whole time, my foot never moved, the crowd streetways didn't allow any further movement other that going with the flow. When the entire dogma stopped, and everyone stopped pushing, I was on James Street, only a block away from home. They dragged me for 2 whole blocks! I wanted to cry out, were they so scared of dying? My hands clenched tighter. The disappearing crowd of people gave me the courage to look down at the thing the beggar had gave me. It was a crumbled, faintly yellowed envelope. It's funny how you can change your mind about someone within a time frame of hours. I only met him twice, but a tide of empathy arose within me. What a poor guy. Who was he being chased by? What was it did he gave me? To the king who possesses regal blood. The word rings back in my ears, like a foreign wind chime. Which king? What regal blood? There is plenty of kings in this world, who probably all claim to have regal blood from their royal ancestors. What should I do? I walked ever so slowly back home, the road below me dragging me along.
***
I seemed to be lost in thought as I open the doors. As soon as I walked into my familiar setting, I took off my shoes and peeled off my socks. I jumped onto the couch and smiled, to the ceiling. I held the envelope close to my chest, afraid it'll perish once I don't keep it close. After moments of silence, I decided to calm myself. I rise up from the couch, and carefully, very carefully, almost deliberately, I open the envelope. One corner poked out. I stuck my hand down and reached for the object, it was a key. The turquoise key didn't look like an actual key more than a ornament. It was oversized, and three times larger than your average house keys. It was dull, the corners were soft, even the corners that belonged in the door lock. It seemed old, quaint, and full of stories. It must've had lived through decades, maybe centuries.

I put the keys back inside the crumbled envelope, and slipped it back inside my pocket. I carried the food I brought onto the table and went up to my room to pack for the afternoon.
***
After an hour of packing, my new duffel bag was full of everything I needed to survive for 3 days, and my backpack, was packed with the schoolwork, and MusiTouch, where I listen to music. I took out the keys from its crumbled envelope and found it a new home in my red gift box, which I kept in the bottommost of everything, where it will be safe. Everything was set, I laid onto my bed, and fell fast asleep.

An hours later, my phone buzzed at an annoying level, more than I can bear. I woke to find a new message posted by the school system. It read:
All schools buses traveling to Capital Fair will be delayed until 8:00PM. Please be prepared to meet up with your school peers at a later time than expected. Sorry for any inconvenience.

I dropped my phone back into my bag, and fell asleep again. When I woke up three hours later, it was dark. The sun has setted, and the thin rays of moonlight was barely peering into my room. The sky was dead black, no stars, no light. I packed to leave, knowing dad wasn't home, I closed all the lights and walked out of the door.

Felix was waiting for me by my door. "Let's go." He says. I nod and followed him out to the street, where we walked for minutes in silence, carrying our luggage in our hands. Soon enough, the school bus was in visible distance from us. I walked forward first, greeting Ms.Pa when she saw us.

"Hello, usual rules take a seat in the first available spot." She held her plastic smile and greeted the next student, repeating the exact same thing. We walked in together, and took a seat adjacent to each other. I closed my eyes, hoping the bus ride would be over when I opened my eyes. Slowly, the world around me quiets into silence.

When I open my eyes again, the world had turned bright. We were also surprisingly close to our destination. We were at Chaplin already, which meant we were only 3 hours away from Capital Hills. The bus ride was much smoother than last time, and any previous years that o remember, since almost every time, I would get bus sick. This time, I felt a surge of energy in my body. The bus ride was not bumpy, which made me glad. Next to me, Felix had his black eye mask secured around him, as he peacefully snored through the rest of the bus ride. Around me, everyone was silent and tired. Reagan, was sitting alone in one of the corners of the bus, her luggage was a mere backpack. Some serious workaholics had their books out and furiously working on their homework, or trying to get ahead. I looked out the window, watching the scenes switch before me. Before I knew it, we arrived.