The Kingdom and the Moors

Leah was a princess. But she was not in distress. She was the hero of her story. Wearing a tiara and looking down at her kingdom, she made a decision. She was capable of anything. The swing set was a towering castle and the backyard was the land she ruled over. The other children all played their parts. Mackenzie was a royal guard patrolling the dead grass in front of the swings. And over yonder in the moors was Dillon, the villainous wizard. He was a vulgar and oppressive boy. Leah was on her back staring up through the leaves of the great tree. The wind rustled through the leaves revealing bursts of sunlight and, if she was lucky, a hint of a cloud.

Being a Princess had its perks but often Leah wanted to go out and adventure like the brave knights who fought for her. She sat up and swung her legs over the bars of the swing set and looked down at her royal guard who had taken to swinging.

“Guard, did I give you leave to swing?” demanded her highness.

“No, my lady, but from the apex of my swing I can see a great deal more of the kingdom than I could on the ground.”

“Very well. I desire to mingle with the commoners. Would you kindly escort me into the moors?

“But my lady, the nefarious wizard dwells across the moors.”

“I know. And I would have words with him.”

“Very well, my lady.”

The royal guard Mackenzie took a few looks across the fields and then with careful precision let loose her body from the swing and landed in a tumble on the lawn. Princess Leah climbed down the wooden ladder with a regal air about her. The ancient wood was splintered under her soft hands.

“Guard! Where is my royal scepter?”

“Right here, my lady.”

Mackenzie was at her side, scepter in hand. Together the Princess and her trusted guard galloped off across the moors. The lands surrounding the castle were well groomed. The journey was long and arduous, but Leah was a tough spirit and craved the adventure. Slowly the bright sun became hidden as they crossed under an awning into the wizard’s lair. The great wizard sat on the ground playing with a toy car. Surely he was concocting some evil plot to overthrow her kingdom. He looked up at them and then ignored them and continued in his machinations.

“Attention you vile and odious wizard,” the Princess decreed.

Dillon continued to ignore her Highness. Leah was displeased and Mackenzie could see it in her scowl.

“Her Royal Highness has addressed you boy wizard. You would be wise to acknowledge her presence.”

“Go away,” Dillon groaned.

“Dillon you’re supposed to be an evil wizard,” Mackenzie whispered through her teeth.

“I’m not playing that anymore, go away.”

The Princess was not surprised that the wizard was playing coy. He was well known for his trickery. Leah was unafraid.

“Wizard I have a proposition for you. You see, I grow weary of my rank and I believe you are the only one who can assist me.”

Mackenzie looked taken aback. Why would her Royal Highness utter such blasphemies? Dillon looked up from his task with an interested eye.

“Go on...”

“I want to leave my kingdom behind for a new life and you’re just the man to help. I need you to cast a spell that will allow my Royal Guard and I to switch castes. She will take on the role of Princess so that I may live the life of a commoner. In exchange, I grant you her hand in marriage and with that my kingdom shall be yours as well.”

“Leah...” Mackenzie complained.

Leah closed her eye and turned away.

“But he’s gross.”

Leah turned and placed her hand on Mackenzie's shoulders.

“I know he may seem that way. But I knew this wizard long before he turned into such a repugnant monster. Our kindness will turn his heart and together the two of you can usher in a hundred years of peace for our great kingdom.”

“Very well, my lady, if that is your wish.”

“It is. What say you wizard?”

Dillon looked past the girls toward the swing set and grinned.

“And I can play on the swings?”

“Of course. This land will be yours to do with as you, and Mackenzie, see fit.”

“Sure then,” said Dillon, as he jumped up and ran across the backyard.

Mackenzie ran off after him.

“I call the good swing,” Dillon yelled.

“Na-uh I'm the Princess, I get the good swing!” Mackenzie retorted.

Leah watched as the two shoved each other in the distance, each vying for a spot on the swing set, even though there were two perfectly good swings. Leah was a little remorseful that she had given up her throne but mostly she was excited for the freedom it now granted her. She looked down at the sparkling scepter in her hand and watched as it fell to the ground. The world was hers to explore now and she would conquer whatever villains stood between her and victory.

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The Kingdom and the Moors was written by Daniel Weinell and illustrated by Maribel Navarro.

Brick by Brick

The bricklayer knelt in the dirt, her knees chafed and raw. The rusted trowel lay haphazardly at her side where she had moments ago dropped it. It lay half obscured by blades of tall grass. She would lose track of it. The repetition of the day’s task had ground her brain into a mushy paste. Where was Bandt today, or yesterday for that matter? He was supposed to clear the path ahead of her so she could focus on the brickwork. How frustrating she found that boy. Everyone had a job to do and everyone must do that job. She was a bricklayer as her father was before her, and her grandmother before that. Their family had worked on the Salvage Road for generations. Bandt was a foundationer. His job was to clear the old dirt road of grass and rocks so that she could continue her work. What if Kappy Lestan the ‘smith had given up her hammer for a drink? Then Bandt would have no tools for his job. The foolish boy had no regard for the circle of progress. He was probably fooling off at the nearby Passtown. The Old Road drove through many such Passtowns and each one was the same. They were stops for travelers to rest their weary feet. They were also dens of misdeeds. Work was good. Work kept the hands busy so that they wouldn’t wander, and young boys’ hands tended to wander.

The bricklayer, Jassa Loome she was called, though she couldn’t remember the last time she had heard her name aloud, stretched her back and felt a few innocent pops. She craned her neck and stared up at the sky. The Core twinkled vibrant shades of green, its nourishing light feeding the summer foliage. She had never been to the Core before but she had met travelers who had made such claims. Even the best poets failed to find words evocative enough to describe the beauty they saw there. Crystalline skyscrapers climbed across its surface, built by the noble denizens that dwelled there.

When she had been a young girl, back when the Salvage Road was forty bends shorter, she used to dream about one day stepping foot on the Core. That beautiful sphere hanging in her sky had represented so much hope and so much longing. Keep your eyes on the ground, Jassa, her father always reminded her, Everyone has a job to do.

Her father’s words lived in her. Jassa shifted her gaze past the Core towards the far side of Inworld. She could see the Salvage Road stretching upward along the curve of the surface until it disappeared in the haze of distance. The world was vast and on the clearest days she could almost see the far side. Somewhere along that brick road was Tuashi where she had grown up. Ton Loome had taken his furlough in the suburban demense that was Tuashi. He took family with a mason’s daughter named Liddy Parinuk. Their first child was called Tarin, a strong boy who took to masonry like a bee takes to a flower. Their second was Jassa who had followed her father’s profession and found it suited her well. She had left Tuashi twenty five years ago to continue Ton’s work building the Salvage Road and though she had not seen her family in all that time, she often thought of them and of home.

Where in the Surface was Bandt, thought Jassa. She couldn’t continue her work until the fool continued his. She stood and began walking back along the brick road she had laid towards the Passtown. Pausing, she looked skyward and was once more filled with the gentle warmth of hope. Try as her father had, he never could snuff out that flame. The light of the Core would be dimming soon, she may as well head back to her bunkhouse and get an early start tomorrow. But not before giving Bandt an earful.,

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 Brick by Brick was written by Daniel Weinell and illustrated by Maribel Navarro (with a little help from Daniel Weinell).

Ambivalence

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Ambivalence was written by Daniel Weinell and illustrated by Maribel Navarro.