Lion II the Merchant of Castela

Meanwhile, in a small town, lived an 11-year-old boy. With short brown hair and honey-colored eyes. His name was Lion. Yes, he is also not the protagonist, but surely, he is the one who even unwittingly unleashed an unimaginable sequence of disasters that will spice up our history.

We will find him in a landscape quite different from that of the last chapters.

This place has dry and infertile land. There is no castle here or even a large building.

I am talking about the border between the kingdoms of Castella and Kreg, the neutral zone.

Calm down, he doesn’t go hungry and has a comfortable home, but he’s one of the few to savor this privilege in this place.

Inside this thin-walled wooden hut, we will find only two people sitting around the fire enjoying the evening, Lion and his old father.

The horses outside show us that his father is a trader. Usually, in these lands, merchants are called vultures, but not this merchant.

He was known as a fair and honest salesman, but that wasn't exactly good for his business.

Looking at the fire, Lion recalls memories of when his family was still happy. From when his mother was alive and he and his dad didn't work all day.

He remembers the first time that everyone together struggled to distribute and exchange food among neighboring villages. All out of pure goodness. They only had 3 carts and 6 horses, but his mother was sure they could make a difference.

Now they only have money to buy food and save for unforeseen events, such as repairing clothes or maintaining the cart. But this week his belly was snoring, and it hurts. A few weeks ago, one of the horses became ill, so they were fasting only with water to be able to buy medicine.

But the real reason for the silence between Lion and his father had a different cause. In the morning, his father had gone to the poorest regions and fed the villagers with the bread that they had earned by working at night at a nearby construction site.

Lion never liked that part of his father. He worked for days on end, to never achieve a better life. All because of the illogical ideals of someone who was already dead.

Lion remembers well the faces of some of those who lived in poor areas. Most had never worked in their lives. Just thinking that they lived like parasites depending on their money, made Lion angry.

They usually discussed the matter, but the conversations always ended with the two making peace in the end in memory of Lion's mother.

But this time when his father said, “So go to work alone and earn your own profit. One you can't share with me, so you can do what you want with the money.” Lion boldly replied: “You are so old, that if I left you, you would die.” And now none of them dared to break the silence.

Lion started working with his father at the age of nine.

The people around him liked his services, he was treated as a man who was trusted more to transport valuable goods than a Royal servant.

The nobles in the neighborhood liked his fair prices and lack of greed, so they started to finance him. He was the best-known merchant in the region.

Now it had been exactly three years since Lion worked with his father. In a few minutes, he would become twelve years old.

A postman knocks on the door.

None says anything.

Lion goes to the door and retrieves his letter from the floor.

It had the royal seal.

“We were arrested,” Lion thought.

He opens the letter.

And he starts to cry.

His father gets up. Scared, he takes the letter from the boy.

It was an invitation from the king himself to become an official citizen of Castella and a Royal Merchant inviting him to live in the capital.

Lion's father started to cry too.

They hugged and Lion's father whispered: Happy birthday.

 For both of them, it was like making a dream come true.

In a week all their things would be in the carriages going to the capital.

For Lion, it was a time of high expectations and goodbye to old friends.

He ran through the streets shouting out loud, spreading the news.

Some said, "You will become a prince and live in a castle that is warm even in winter!"

Others replied, "Eat banquets daily and bathe in a bathtub!"

But there were also those who complained "You are going to leave us to become noble, you will forget us"

To those, he refuted, "I'll be back! With fruits and cheeses of all kinds! And anyone who says bad things to me won't win any!" Deep down, he felt guilty for leaving his dearest friends, in that no-man's-land.

Still, not everyone wished him luck. Lion's best friend, Hasad, for example, has decided to ignore him since he heard the news. Unexpectedly, two days before Lion moved, everyone seemed to be following Hasad's example. Lion already felt like he was away from home and would never return. Still, knowing that he was moving to the capital filled him with joy. Those emotions fought hard in his heart for control. Should he be happy? Or sad? In the end, he concluded that he also didn't like his friends anymore. "They are just fools who abandoned me when I was no longer useful to them!"

Thinking like that and without looking back, he climbed into the coach that would take him to Camelot, the capital of Castella.

It was a long, confusing and silent trip.

When they arrived, Lion was still in shock at the sudden events, but his mind returned to the present as he contemplated his future home, the royal castle of Camelot.

It was a war fortress, not a castle. A shelter and a giant maze. There were legends that mythical creatures lived in the forests that surrounded the castle. For a child like Lion, this was synonymous with adventure.

As the carriage drew closer and closer to the castle, the nostalgia left and the thought of going back to sleep in his old straw bed stopped crossing his mind.

Lion already imagined the entire royal entourage and the nobles lined up at the castle door, clapping their hands for his and his father's conquests. To be preceded by the King and his heir personally, to receive a tour of the noble's fortress and much more luxury than he ever lived.

As in any child's dream, things did not happen that way.

The castle doors silently opened and let the carriage pass inside it. He could see only a few nobles who had affairs with his father. Servants took him away from his father as soon as he got out of the carriage.

With an astonishing speed of efficiency, he had already been introduced to the main points of the castle and was now in his room.

"Cold and effective," He thought.

Lion stayed there in an unknown place without knowing what to do. Her eyes involuntarily turned red. "How stupid! I'm a noble now. I'm not going to cry just because I'm alone in a room!" He says quietly to himself as he watches his room. It was not decorated with gold as he had expected. Nor did it have walls full of wonderful paintings. Well, he had his own fireplace and there was even a sink! Luxuries he didn't even know were possible to have in a room. Every mobile like the desk and his bed looked expensive and new as it was made just for him. When he tried his bed the only thing he could think was " I am in heaven". But still, he wished his friends could see it. He, the poor salesman's son, had a fancy room for himself! Not as fancy as he was expecting, but still very fancy.

Before he had time to try to take a nap on his first non-straw bed, servants entered the room and dressed him in the colors of the yellow and orange flag. Lion had never worn such complex clothes, and he needed the maids to help him put on even his underwear. Before he was finished dressing up, more maids brought his luggage. As soon as the service was completed, they left the room without saying a word. At that moment, a terrible thought crossed his mind. "They probably dislike me because I am poor. They most likely think I am like a street dog." Trying to ignore the pain of seeing his dreams shattered before his eyes, he was ready to go out and explore his new home. Then a servant came back only to hand him a list of tasks that would occupy him all day. It was at that moment that Lion realized that not everything in the nobility was a fairy tale.

Homesickness returned to torment him. Was it possible to pass through the walls without being noticed by the guards, and then find my way back home? He wondered.

He needed to study 5 hours a day and train his body for at least 2 hours. Review requests from the people and village leaders, help his father complete and analyze documents, among many other tasks.

He told himself that he would never get used to this routine. "What was the meaning of youth for the nobles?" Reflected Lion frowning.

But he didn't complain anymore, as he knew the occasion was unique and full of opportunities. With that thought in mind, he tried to keep his composure and stepped out of the room to complete his first task. The tasks were complicated and boring, you would not have the patience to read their descriptions in detail. But I can tell you one thing. In the days ahead he stopped complaining. 

In other words, he almost did not have time to breathe. As much as he labelled the idea insane, on the ninth day, the routine seemed natural. He had become as insane as any other youth noble there.

He found himself being dragged from room to room. Signing papers in his father's name and listening to testimonials as if it were a habit. Soon he finds himself in his bed. Totally depleted of strength to reflect on why he continues to do so. Only one thing he had discovered made him happy. They didn't mind that he was poor at all! On the contrary, he worked very well with the other servants, and some had a similar story as his!

Soon he also realized that there was not anyone besides him and his father actually "living in the castle".

There were no kids to see, just travellers, merchants, and nobles from other countries and regions that stayed some nights. The castle was not only a fortress but also a giant luxurious tavern!

A very lonely one. He thought, no familiar faces to befriend, and the younger servants were always busy and eager to go back home. No one to speak to.

In the second week, after a lot of work, his teacher gave him two days off as a reward for the effort. But he warned him that his experimentation time was over and that when he returned from his little holiday, his routine would be the same as that of the other nobles.

Lion, of course, did not believe that there was any more commitment to the routine. With a frightened heart, he went out to finally explore the castle.

He flew from a stone corridor to a wooden corridor, mentally mapping everything.

He must have been near the third bedroom when he spotted a laughing blond small boy, dressed only in his pants, running towards him.

The boy did not seem to have noticed Lion, as he had continued to run in the same direction while laughing and looking back.

Lion was unable to swerve in time and was eventually knocked over by the boy.

The two fell to the stone floor, with Lion muffling the boy's fall. Before Lion had any reaction, the little boy looked at him with his unique orange eyes and told while jumping up:

— It was not a lie. He has really arrived!

Then he looked back and quickly ran while laughing, disappearing from his sight.

Lion was still trying to get up when he had to roll to the side to dodge three maids who were running and holding the hem of their dresses.

— Please! My prince! If you don't wear your shirt, we will be punished! Don't you want to see Mrs. Moli mad again? Do you want to have to apologize all afternoon again?— The maid shouted ahead to the half-naked boy.

— He's very fast, isn't he? As if he's always on fire, don't you think? — Completed a maid who had stopped to take a breath while running again.

The servants were desperately trying to reach the boy, but unfortunately, he was genuinely extremely fast.

This was the first meeting that Lion had with the heir to the throne. Keeping his first impression in the back of his mind as a souvenir. "A very interesting little boy, rich as a demon and stubborn like one too." Lion returned to reality and continued to explore the Castle, trying to enjoy every second of his free days.

Lion saw the little prince again the next day, he was sitting in one of the highest corners of a watchtower.

The view from there was wonderful, the wind was blowing, and the birds were singing, but he was crying. 

Why is a boy that has everything any kid could dream of crying?

Does he know how many kids his age die from hunger?

Lion slowly approaches the Prince out of curiosity. Lion tried to speak to him, but the prince only growled. His red eyes and his radiant orange pupils pierced Lion's eyes for a few seconds, then he shrank more while hiding his tears.

The contrast between the little prince's appearance with his wild demeanour was so great that it shocked Lion. But it also piqued his curiosity, which made him continue to try.

Lion took out of his pocket a candy he had got from one of the maids and offered it to the little prince.

The extremely fast boy picked up the candy and stopped crying, too busy eating the treat.

— Are you just a little prince or not? A wealthy and lucky child, but still just a kid. — Lion asked the little one. With a new perspective of the Crown Prince.

He didn't answer, busier with the candy than Lion.

Encouraged by the prince's quiet appearance, he began to tell him everything he had done that day. The boy listened attentively to each word while he still tasted the candy.

Out of sheer excitement, Lion began to tell his favourite fairy tales and when he found himself, it was time for curfew. He said goodbye to his new friend and went to sleep, with the realization that he had made good use of his free days.

From that day on, Lion learned something.

He was poor but lucky. Back there in his hometown, he had a wonderful father and a house to live in. And even though this wasn't much, it was in this house where he made incredible memories together with his friends from the street.

He was so lucky that now he lived in a castle! Only he made it.

Now he was grateful for everything he had and has. He did not hate his friends any more. He wanted to see them again, even Hasad, especially Hasad.

He would spend all his spare time with the little prince or trying to find him. The Prince showed him emergency exits, and shelters for all categories of accidents, . Handed him a copy of the castle plan he had stolen from the royal quarters. Lion kept it in a secret place out of fear of being discovered.

Prince didn't speak much, but he heard stories very well, especially when it came to hydras, Pegasus, dryads, and centaurs who lived in the castle forest. Lion managed to convince the Prince to wear T-shirts, and the prince convinced him to play tricks with him every evening.

Lion's longing did not diminish, but now he could share them with someone.

Lion discovered that 2 days before his first meeting with the little boy, Prince apparently went overboard with his pranks and made the whole castle suffer from hunger for one afternoon. Or from the prince's perspective "caused an accident".

Punishment for the prince's antics would finally be applied, when the Prince, on the other hand, fled the castle and was found only at deep night, unconscious and poisoned.

Due to panic and fright, the servants had forgotten to punish him. The next day they insisted on punishment, he had to apologize to all the servants involved in the dread he had caused and the mischief.

When Lion arrived at the castle, it was not supposed to have such a cold reception. He should have been introduced to the little prince, but this was postponed due to the new task that was given.

When Lion discovered this, he could not stop laughing and contemplating the interesting figure who was his little friend.

So, every day in the afternoon when the little one was free, he ran to find the only person who did not see him as a prince. But as a friend to talk and play with, his adventure companion, Lion.

At sunset, the two sat on the highest wall to watch the day turn to night, while they had long conversations that lasted until bedtime.

Lion, who came from outside the walls, had endless stories to tell, and Prince, who had always been in the castle, could spend days and weeks just listening to them.

At least until that day arrived …