Chapter Twenty: “Feed My Sheep”
“Isa… sir!” She backed up and looked at him. She bowed slightly, for he was the son of the king. “I mean your Highness.” She moved and knelt down.
He smiled and knelt down in front of her. “Stand up…” He took her hands and helped her up. “Why are you here alone? Why are you not in Ceolum?”
“I stayed here with Petre.” She responded, but she had a feeling that he already knew the answer.
“And where is Petre.”
“He ran away…” She looked down, wrapping her arms around herself.
Isa placed his hands on her shoulders. “Come along. There is a village nearby. We should go there. We will find Petre there, and then I will take you home.”
“Home?” She wrung her hands. “But my home is gone. My grandfather is gone too…”
The king’s son gave her a look of sorrow and pity; it was as if he felt sorrier about the loss of her grandfather than she did. “I am sorry little one. But you may find joy in this circumstance.”
“How?” She looked at her feet. “I lost everyone I loved, and then I got locked up in that horrible prison. I am so far away from Ceolum. And I have done bad things. Would you and the king even want me in your kingdom after all the times I disobeyed?”
Isa placed a hand on her head and smiled. “Do not worry little one. Now come along.” He began walking away.
Alene stared after him, wondering if she should actually follow him. The man stopped and turned around, smiling at her. He motioned for her to follow. The child bit her lip before going over to the man.
“Now, to home, Alene.”
Still she did not understand what he meant by ‘home’, but the girl followed him none-the less.
The little girl followed behind Isa. Neither of them had spoken since they left Carcere.
As they walked, the land changed. The rocky, barren, blackness turned first to dark sand and sparse plant-life, then to coarse dirt, then to a thin layer of grass. Soon the land was covered in grass, dotted with flowers, and tall trees.
After a long walk, they came upon a village. Isa smiled over at here. “Alene, we will rest here for the night. And, there is someone here, I need to speak to.”
The girl nodded. Still, she did not understand what all had happened and why.
As they walked into the village, she could see many people, ragged and dirty. They must have escaped the prison as well. The villagers were handing out food and clothing to the escaped prisoners.
“These poor people…”
“They are all safe now.” Isa knelt down beside a woman and took her hand. Alene watched in shock as the scars the woman had on her arms vanished with a touch from the king’s son.
“Isa…”
They both looked up and saw Petre standing nearby. He looked down, as if ashamed. Isa, however, gave a small smile. “Hello, Petre.”
“Isa, I am so sorry. I should not have run away from Carcere.” The man sat down on the edge of a well.
The king’s son held no expression on his face. “Come with me. You may come too, Alene.” The two followed Isa into an inn and sat down. Before either of them could say anything, plates of fish appeared before them.
“Wow!” Alene gasped in delight. “How did you do that?”
“Trade secret.” Isa gave a fun nice smile. The three began eating, but Petre was quiet and did not smile at all. “Petre, do you care about me?”
“Of course.”
“Then feed my sheep.” He said nothing more. Alene did not understand this conversation at all. She just continued to eat. A second time, Isa spoke. “Petre, do you care about me?”
“Of course I do!”
“Then feed my sheep.” Now Alene felt absolutely confused. What could Isa have been talking about? The three ate in silence until Isa spoke a third time. “Petre, do you care about me?”
This time, the man slammed his fists on the table. “Why do you continue to ask me that? You know everything, so you know that I care.”
“Then you will take care of my people here.” He smiled. Petre looked up in surprise as he spoke. “These people here, have just left a horrible prison, in which you too were imprisoned. I ask that you lead them.”
“I will, Isa.”
[Next Chapter: Isa and Alene journey together towards Ceolum]