Yesterday was a hectic day for him. His life was turned upside down. He was abducted from earth and was now in some unknown planet.
He had become the prince of this kingdom about which he knew nothing . He donned a black hooded cloak. He appeared in front of the door guard. "Do the same as yesterday, don't let anyone know except my mother. Okay." The door guard nodded.
He came to his mother's room, guard opened the door. Today she was slightly better. Eric said to the door guard to bring their breakfast.
Mother Sarah was knitting something. When she saw Eric, she said "come here, let me take your measurements." Eric complied.
After taking the measurements of his head, she got busy with her foot long wooden needles.
He gasped as he saw her knitting, she was expert at it. The complex movement of needles turned the yarn into a well knitted cloth piece, all of this was beyond him.
She questioned why he was wearing this burly black cloak. He stated his reasons and obtained a badge from her.
The guard came with food, after having breakfast with her he left the room. He felt happy as she ate fully today. Today he was sure that these emotions were not from the system, maybe it had some part in it, but it felt real, directly from his heart.
He got out of the palace and no one interrupted him. The palace was nothing fancy. It was a renovated castle, which was left to dust for decades. But it had a sturdy stone wall surrounding it.
Eric went towards the market, it was too noisy. Shopkeepers were promoting their shops.
"Today's special, two apples for one copper coin"
"Take these fresh apples, one copper apiece."
"Grains a silver for a bag"
"Fresh baked buns, two coppers for one"
He trotted past the fruit shops, inspecting everything in detail. He bought two buns, just to taste. It was not as good as the one he ate for breakfast but it was okay.
He tossed both the buns near one dark alley. Few kids ran out of it and began fighting for the buns. The kids weren't wearing anything except for torn tights. One of them had a jacket whose one sleeve was missing.
The girl wore just a tunic, which was heavily patched. He was strolling and was enjoying the dream-like scenes. But seeing these kids, he was brought back to reality.
He saw a guard running towards the kids with a baton in his hand. "You darned kids, came again to this marketplace. Today I will teach you a good lesson."
The kids fled in the dark alley. Eric saw them being trapped between the wall and the guard. The guard flung his baton at the girl who was slowest one of them. She closed her eyes, clenched her teeth. Maybe this wasn't the first time she was going to be beaten, she was ready to face the pain. But it never came for her.
She quiquivered and opened her innocent limpid eyes, a person wearing a cloak had caught the baton in the air. His face wasn't clear because of the hood.
The guard was stunned, he hadn't noticed anyone present here, but then suddenly someone came from behind and caught his baton.
Eric wanted to thrash that guy badly. But his other companions arrived wearing the same green leather jacket like the man whose baton he held.
When the companions of the guard arrived, he became cocky "Ah, you wanted to be a hero and save these kids. But do you have the guts to back it up?"
His companions thought that the hooded person was impeding the guard from performing his duties and thus walked menacingly towards the person, tightening their grips on the batons.
Before the situation turned awry, Eric pulled out the badge given by his mother. The leader of the group was a retired soldier. He understood the importance of the badge.
"You all stop!." He ordered them, then he turned to the hooded man "Sir, it was our fault. You do whatever you want with these kids. We are leaving."
The guards turned and were about to leave the alley. Eric shouted "stop!"
The guards stopped. "Sir, do you need anything from us."
"Yes, where are these kids from"
"Sir, they come from the camps outside the city walls."
Eric tossed a silver coin to the guard leader, who joyfully accepted it. "Call for a carriage"
…
"Hey, boss why did you become so polite suddenly." Asked one guard.
"You idiot, you don't know anything. That badge means he is related to the royal family. If we even give him a scratch, the family member behind him would make us disappear from the face of this world." The leader explained the importance of the badge in simple terms.
Guards quietened, they stared at each other's faces and then with eyes filled with gratitude turned towards their boss and said in unison " thank you for saving our lives, boss."
The prideful boss replied, "That's why I am the boss. And remember from next time, before making a move on someone, ask about him first."
"Okay" they all agreed.
…
Eric saw that the kids were still quivering and closely packed with each other. He didn't know how to handle them. Whatever he asked them, they would just keep staring at him, not one of them answered or said anything.
He bought a few more buns and handed them. They started munching on the buns. If not for the guards, he wouldn't have known about the camps.
The carriage arrived in front of the alley. Eric walked to the carriage, kids followed him, he need not say anything. He lifted them and put them inside the carriage.
He noticed that not a single soul in the marketplace came to inquire, why he was putting children in the carriage. They just minded their own business. If he was a kidnapper, he could easily kidnap anyone.
The carriage had wooden benches and multiple times folded blankets on it. It wasn't comfortable. However, he needed the carriage to send the kids to their homes.
"Sir, where do you want to go"
"Take me to camps outside the city."
The Coachman pulled the reins, the carriage started moving. The kids inside the carriage were still quiet, they haven't spoken a word since he saw them. They kept staring at him,
"Do you want more food?"
They didn't reply.
"More buns"
Some of them nodded.
"Let's get to your home, then I will buy more buns for you." He was relieved that they understood what he said.
The carriage stopped at the city gates. He got off the carriage. Before the Coachman could ask for money, he tossed a shining silver coin to him. Coachman fumbled in his leather pouch for changes.
"Keep the change" Eric showed his magnanimity.
"Thank you sir," he replied and vigorously went to the gate of carriage and helped the kids out of the carriage. One again thanked Eric, it was rare to find such a generous customer.
Eric took the kids to the camps, it was a temporary settlement they had built using the sticks, straws, and leaves, the city wall was the main support.
A woman wearing a ragged gown was hanging clothes on a string. She saw the man bringing the kids. She flung the cloth on the ground and rushed towards the kids.
"What Happened? I am sorry if they caused any trouble. I am sorry, I am sorry…" the woman bowed to Eric and continued asking for forgiveness.
"Um, lady, they hadn't done anything. They were lost in the city so I brought them back."
Meanwhile, the little girl darted and hugged the leg of the woman. Woman saw bruises and wounds through the holes in the clothes. She teared up and lifted the girl and hugged her. Except comforting her, she couldn't do anything.
"Lady, why are you living here. Did your husband force you or there are some other reasons."
"My husband died in battle, I was living in Campbell city. I got a letter from the kingdom stating that we should go to our Dominion lord for compensation. So I and other wives decided to go there. When we reached there, they beat us and said that they used the money to pay our previous taxes. They even forced us to leave Campbell city and threatened to kill our children if we didn't."
"Hmm, then why didn't you complain to the officials of the kingdom in Campbell?"
"Sir, we tried to get in contact with them. But we couldn't find them"
"How many of you are here"
"Sir, if we include the kids it would be around a thousand people. Sir, can you help us get in contact with the royal family." She asked with tear filled but hopeful eyes. She had pleaded to the city guards but they had denied them access, thus they could only live here outside the city. Some children would sneak into the city and would be brought back if they were caught by the guards.
Eric saw the sores on her and the children's feet. They must have walked all the way here with hope of finding some help. But here also no one came forward to help them. Eric felt bad for trouble these middle aged women and young children had to go through.
Other women who had gone to the forest returned with firewood and wild fruits, vegetables, and herbs. They piled up their collections inside the tent and came out. Almost no one had ever come to check on them. What was this man doing here? They curiously surrounded him.
On seeing the increasing crowd of women, the guards on duty and some passersby came to see what was going on there.
Eric unhooked the pouch which was attached to his belt. He passed the pouch to her.
She was surprised by this gesture of the man in front of her, the pouch was heavy. She opened it and nearly fainted. She had never seen so many gold coins at one place ever in her life. She was so nervous that her hand holding the pouch started shaking, what to do with this ridiculous amount of money. She didn't even know the identity of the man in front of him.
The other women were also pleasantly surprised, they had gone to everyone they knew for help, but all of them had turned them down. Then one day when they have lost all their hopes an unknown individual comes and gifts them a generous amount.
The woman holding the pouch looked at other women around her and with much difficulty uttered "sisters?"
They too didn't know the answer, One of them who was daring enough came forward, "No one helped us, even our relatives turned us down. Then you, why?"
When the word of this generous donation spread, nearby people started murmuring. They started speculating about the identity of the hooded man. They had never heard of such a generous person, who would give 50 gold coins to help others. It was an unprecedented event in the entire Kingdom.
"Because I care for my people. Take it, don't worry, this doesn't amount to anything when compared to trouble and injustice you suffered. Your problem will be solved soon." Eric's words were more than just assurance and comforting for them. It brought a new ray of hope in their dark life.
Smiles bloomed on their dusty faces.
Eric noticed the crowd growing around him. He without bothering with anyone, quickly entered the city. Before the people get the chance to follow him. He had vanished among the crowd of people on the road.
…
Lying on the bed, Eric was staring at the ceiling. What if he returned to Earth, he would join the firm, earn some money and spend . If he lives here, he could change the life of people for better. He thought about the satisfaction he got from helping those women. Bringing smiles on their faces, it all felt so surreal to him, a tiny gesture of kindness was all it took.
Was it that difficult to choose now, what he wanted to do. System wasn't letting him go anywhere.
[ Congratulations host, It seems you have decided. Then let's start our journey. ]