The Crowning

The Crowning

After the fifth world war, every country was decimated. Yet, there was still a hierarchy that existed. There was the still the rich and the poor….then me. I wish I was poor. I have nothing. I’m not friends with anybody. The poor don’t even want to hang out with me. I’ve resolved to the fact that I don’t belong here; however, I don’t have any way of leaving this place.

Now, you may ask, how do I survive… Well, when the rich don’t want to do something, they hire me and pay me in food and water. Well, I guess its food. It looks like table scraps that the dog won’t even eat. But, it keeps me alive and luckily we live in a warm climate. At one point, I heard that we currently live in some place that used to be called Southern California or Mexico, I can’t remember, nor do I care. All I see are wastelands for the most part except for a few cities that have recently been constructed.

Anyhow back to me. I know that my life doesn’t sound so great, but for a typical day, I think that I have it good. I sit on the beaches and watch the waves come in and go. I wish I could get on a wave and sail out of here, but I assume that there would be nowhere to go. The information that we receive is limited and for all that I know this is the only place that exists. However, the other day I heard that there is a city on the North, Central, and Eastern sectors.

Anyhow, I usually fish w/ my fishing pole and rub a couple flint rocks together to make a fire to cook them. There is a crick nearby where I can get some water. I tried drink from the big water by the beaches, but it was so salty and tasted terrible.

I digress, I mean what else am I supposed to do.

Oh yeah, tomorrow is the Crowning. It is the day that someone from each sector gets chosen from an elder to be the next ruler of the sector. It happens every 10 years. Basically, there is a heart shaped necklace that is worn by the new successor. I liked the previous elder as he was kind and created an area for the poor, and yours truly, to have a shelter. The previous 3 elders tried to banish us but he didn’t know where to put us so they eventually left us alone.

Anyhow, I know who the next successor is as he is the biggest jerk that you ever met. It’s supposed to be a secret ceremony and the town isn’t supposed to know until that day, but he was such a braggart to me letting me know that I’m worthless to him. His name is Ilan and he is my age and always bullies me. I’d do something about it, but if a poor person, or myself, were to harm or retaliate against an Elite, jail is the sentence..possibly death. So, I can’t do anything or I’d go to jail. Now, the only saving grace about him is his sister Mabel. She has long curly hair, blue eyes, and has a smile that I would do anything for. She has smiled and waved to me on many an occasion but won’t do it if Ilan is around for she knows he will try to beat me up. I sit up late at night wishing that I could court her, but this would never happen in a million years. I fall asleep to the waves w Mabel in my dreams.

The next day I decide to stay at the beach and avoid the town center. I know everyone will be there to see the Council accept their new peer, Ilan. There is nothing special about him. I know that I’m smarter than him, faster than him, and probably stronger than him, but the only difference between us is that he was born into an Elite household. Based on how sweet Mabel is, he is probably adopted.

As I get my fishing pole out to grab some food for the day, I hear someone running towards me on the beach. As I turn around to see what it is, Ilan hits me from behind and pushes me tumbling over on the beach. I’m still woozy from the fall and grabs for my knife that I filet the fish with. He looks at me w anger and goes “I saw you waving at my sister the other day. How dare a piece of scum even look in the direction of my family. Nobody is around, I ought to kill you right now”

I finally staggered and got back to my feet and got into a fighting stance. I looked around and nobody was here to help me……or him for that matter. In the sun that heart shaped locket glared brightly and I couldn’t help but stare at it. He looked down to see what I was staring at and said “That’s right in a few hours I will be the king of this area and my first order of business is to hang you.”

I didn’t have a weapon on me, but I knew that I was smarter and faster than him. So, I bent down to pretend to tend to my leg when I grabbed two handfuls of sand and threw both handfuls in his face. He didn’t expect me to fight back as he was temporarily blinded. I then took my fishing pole and whacked him in the face and whacked him in the arm a few times until he dropped my knife. Meanwhile he is starting to get his eyesight back and lunges at me w/ all of his might….except he lunged straight into the knife that I held for protection purposes only.

I look over and didn’t know what happened next. But, in a few mere seconds Ilan fell to the ground dead. Anger, shock, pain, and then I was terrified of what I had done. Nobody cares or would believe what had happened. I killed an Elite and that is all that would matter. In a few hours if he doesn’t show up to the town square I’m sure that they will send out a search and rescue party for him.

What have I done? I will certainly be put to death today. I fell to my knees and stared at Ilan’s dead body. Panic had set in and kept me in a paralyzed vegetative state. Yet, as the sun shines, the glare and reflection of the heart shaped locket pulls me out of my trance. I take the necklace off of Ilan and put it around my neck. It looks good and feels nice and heavy around me. I’d admire it and then wonder if Ilan’s robe fits me. I take the robe off of Ilan and put it over me. It fits perfectly. I start to wonder if I could be Ilan for the day. Then I remember that it’s a secret ceremony and I think only Ilan or Mabel knew the truth. Nobody in the town knows who the successor is unless that dimwit bragged about town, but while in town yesterday I heard a lot of speculation as to who it could be. Maybe I could pull this off but first I need to get rid of this body.

I look up at the sun and realize that the ceremony is going to start in 1 hour. I carry Ilan’s lifeless body up to high ground towards the cliffs. It takes a little while but the sun beating down isn’t helping things. As I start to push Ilan off of the cliff, he wakes up from his death trance and as he is falling, he grabs onto the necklace that is hanging around my neck. He is looking up at me w/ a devilish grin and is now pulling me down to certain death for both of us.

I was just about to fall when someone comes running next to me and kicks Ilan in the face. Ilan was more shocked then hurt and fell to his death, or should I say second death. I turn around and look up and see Mabel. Did she just kill her brother to save me?

Mabel stood up and helped me up and said “I came to the beach w/ my brother. I saw the whole thing. When I saw you put on the necklace and robe, I thought that you could pull it off. If my brother was the King of this sector, he would be a tyrant. I’ve seen the devil in his eyes. I’ve seen your eyes and you have kind eyes and I think together we would be a good King and Queen”

Now I didn’t know if I needed to be scared or frightened of this woman who basically killed her brother, but at the same time I was Thankful that she saved my life. I was both frightened and turn on at the same time. I took her face in my hands, looked her in the eyes, and gave her a kiss like there was no more tomorrow. After our kiss she smiled at me and said “its time to go”

The ceremony had already started and as we got closer, Mabel put the hood over my head covering me. The Council was getting impatient waiting for the town successor. As I got closer, I heard people yell “There he is!!! There he is!!!!” I waved to everyone careful not to remove the hood off of my head.

I walked up to the Council and all that they needed to see was the heart shaped necklace. They had someone put a stamp that can’t be removed from my hand. Now, I’m officially the King of this sector. The Council gave me key to my new Abode and when we went back outside, the Council welcomed me as the new King. As I took off my hood, the whole town gasped because I was not who they expected. They expected an Elite or a wise scholar….or anything…but me. Mabel came up to me and planted a big kiss on my face in front of everyone including the Council.

As I took to the podium to give my speech, someone yelled out “Ilan is supposed to be the King”. Mabel turned to the guards and said “remove him”. The guards figured that the Council just appointed him so it must be legit gagged and bagged Ilan’s friend. Then Mabel stood up and said “Any more comments?”

I looked over at Mabel and gave my look of approval and resumed my speech “Country men, Country women lend me your ears. I will be a just King and a Fair King. We will be prosperous and everyone will have value and worth in this Kingdom and not just the Elite”. Then cheers and praises and Long Live the King Chants were heard through the town..

The Council did not care who I was nor who I used to be. They had to get moving to the next sector to crown the next king.

We’ve had a peaceful first few years and it seems that everyone was prosperous.

I love Mabel with all of my heart. Yet two years later, I still sleep with one eye open because if she could kill her brother without a blink of the eye, who is to say what she could do to me. After all, to be the Ruler of this sector, all that one needs to do is take this Heart Shaped Necklace off of someone and put it on themselves.

Maybe I’m just, cough, going paranoid but did those, cough, cookies that she made specifically have a hint of arsenic in, cough, the…..