A Time of Tigers - From Peasant to Emperor

As if by magnetic repulsion, the crowd of villagers were slowly but surely moving away from the aggressive gazes of the soldiers, towards the opposite side of the square. Only a few of them were seriously engaged in sopping by now, as the tensions, and they all anticipated a dramatic conclusion.

Nila found their way back over to Judas and Beam.

"So this is it then?" She murmured, clearly uncomfortable.

"Did you manage to get much information?" Beam asked.

She nodded. "For getting information, this plan worked out even better than expected… But are you sure this is going to be okay?"

"No idea. At the very least, I'll make sure you and Judas are fine – this was my idea, after all," Beam said.

"That's not what I was asking…" Nila murmured unhappily, but Beam was already walking out ahead of them. There was no crowd to push through now – they'd all moved out of the way long ago.

There was merely a muddy patch of square, with the two parties facing off against each other. The glares of the soldiers found their way to Beam as he walked over, all of them full of venom. He did not cower beneath their glares.

Both Nila and Judas did their best not to flinch either, as they clenched their fists and their head beats quickened.

The soldiers were far more confident and domineering than they would have been on their own. A single glance at their faces told them that. The man who they had chased so pitifully away earlier was now looking almost excessively sure of himself.

His comrades turned to him to ask a question, pointing at Beam. The man nodded.

Beam closed the distance between them and posed a question to the man that he recognized.

"We met earlier, did we not?" He said, as amicably as possible.

"We did, and you interrupted the business I was in the middle of," the man said in reply.

"We heard you'd been spewing several lies as well," another one added.

Beam cocked his head to the side, and made a show of looking to Judas and Nila in mock confusion. "I don't recall telling any lies. Perhaps you misheard. Or perhaps whoever told that to you is lying. Though I can't think of why they would."

He shrugged. His words made the man from earlier bristle.

"See?" He said. "A right uppidy peasant. The level of disrespect that falls off his tongue is worthy of execution, I think. Even Lombard would agree with us – we can't risk a rebellion when our defences are already stretched so thin."

He was already reaching to draw his sword. The other two men looked to be of the same mind. Whilst he was thin and wiry, his comrades were not. One of them was thickly set, with a couple of inches in height on his companion, and the other was similarly mean-looking, with a moustache dancing on his lip every time his expression changed.

Beam hadn't done a good job of winning them over either. Not that he'd particularly intended to, but he did feel slightly regretful that he'd already managed to prove the man right.

"I would hesitate to agree with that. Lombard is looking for men to assist in the defence, should it come to that. For you three to cut down a hail and healthy servant, I think that's grounds for subordination, no?" Beam said.

"Subordination? Hah, that's a long word for a peasant," the biggest man said, drawing his sword fully clear of its sheath in a fluid and confident motion. With his steel out in the open, his comrades followed, all three of them bearing their swords and pointing it in Beam's direction.

The crowd watched on. A packed marketplace of villagers – ad a few soldiers strewn in here and there – watched the confrontation with bated breath.

"You're truly intent on attacking, despite the consequences?" Beam said, not moving to draw his own sword. He merely stood there, his arms folded.

"The only consequences will be your death, ingrate. Kill the boy and cut down that dough-faced giant behind them. We'll take the girl prisoner," the larger man said, taking command.

The thin and wiry man was only too happy to agree. There as a light of confidence in his eyes, augmented by anger and glee, as he moved to exact his revenge against Beam for his earlier slight.

Judas moved to stand beside Beam, drawing his baton. There was a clear sheen of sweat on his forehead. "This isn't good, lad. This is fucking bollox in fact…"

"Stand down," Beam told him. "If we attack some soldiers, then we really will be done for."

"Then what's your plan?" Judas said with a frown. "The fuckers are intent on killing us. You're not gonna defend yourself?"

"I will if it really comes to that," Beam said. "For now, just keep Nila safe behind me, we'll watch and see what happens."

Their conversation was done in urgent muttering. The soldiers did not hear. They only interpreted the exchange with greater confidence, sure that it was merely the fearful barkings of the dog.

"Hah! I'm sure you're full of regret now, ain't ya? Shoulda just kept your mouth shut. There's an order to things. There are kings in every jungle," the wiry man said, delighting in his newfound power, as he slowly shuffled forward with his sword extended, keeping Beam at range.

"Not going to draw that sword at your hip, boy?" The leading soldier said, contempt on his tongue. "As I thought. You peasants do things just for show. Die nameless, then."

With those words, the man took the first swing. There was a gasp from the crowd.

Though life was hard, and it was not rare for people to receive all manners of grizzly injuries during their day-to-day lives, bloody violence was still not something the villagers were especially familiar with, and many of them turned away and covered their eyes, unable to watch the demise of the boy that was just too confident.