The Climb

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My chains rattled as I approached the iron bars. The plate of food - if you could even call it that - was small, and dusty. The guard was old, but burly. My predicament was... warn, but particular.

Sentenced to ten years behind bars for obstructing the Magister's wellness. His wellness equating to two loaves of barley, which I pilfered to feed my sons. A noble, true theft, I know. But performed more out of spite than anything magnanimous.

The boys weren't really mine, you see. I found them on the side of the road as you might an old wagon wheel. They were small, they were crying, and I was empathetic. And drunk. Mostly drunk.

As I sat in my dingy sell, eating my dingy food, I reflected on my life. Or lack thereof. What a wasteful existence. Truly. Failed at everything until i became a thief, then failed at that too. Pathetic. I put down my bowl of mush - I wasn't really hungry. And even if I died what difference would it make? Only for the better I reasoned. For one thing, the other inmates will have more mush for lunch.

The boys are probably feasting on that barley. At least I did that right, I didn't let those boys starve. Hells on Earth they deserved better than her. But it was either her or death. And as hard as it is, life is still filled with... well, life. Unless you are unjustly confined to a small cell - that in particular isn't exactly living.

Escape was possible but not probable. A large grate replaced her ceiling. It was great when it was sunny and terrible anytime else - she was sneezing for a week now. She'd probably die from the cold soon enough. That would be nice. But the grate did allow for an escape if someone were to open it. Doubtless, she wouldn't have the strength to climb up, but it was a possibility.

The same way that flying a dragon was a possibility. I chuckled at that, then got angry because I brought levity to my gloomy mood. Who would risk their life to help someone like me? It was so preposterous it almost made me laugh again. No, despite what my younger self lead me to believe - dragons weren't real.

A banging on the bars shook me awake. I was shivering to the bone, barely managed to get up and get my bowl of dinner mush. The moon hung high and I realized that I'd slept through the entire day. Again.

This time I ate. More because I'd forgotten my previous conviction than a change in sincerity. Halfway through I remembered my promise and almost emptied the bowl on the floor. But no, I was hungry and I wanted to eat. Wish life was always this simple.

A while later I was angry again. Angry for eating. Angry for continuing this pointless existence. I threw the bowl against the wall, then picked it up, then thought about keeping it, then broke it in two. As weak as I was, breaking the thing was easy.

I was good at breaking things, you see.

Something hit me on my head, forced me to look up. Two shadowy figures stood above, backlit from the moon. My heart sank then soared at remembering the stories - some prisoners got executed at night, in secret. But then I thought: who would execute you in secret? They'd probably do it during a sparring session as an afterthought.

For another thing, there was also the rope that hit her head.

"June! Psst." One of the figures said in a loud whisper. "June!"

"We're here to get you out, mums!"

Dallin and Liral. The boys. What were they doing -

They are rescuing you, fool!

My heart sank again, "No. No! Please..." I shook my head as I spoke, uncertain they could even hear my hushed tone. "Leave... please, just get out of here. Now!" The last thing I wanted was for them to share in my punishment.

Stupid kids with their stupid naive notions. I should have never -

"We aren't leaving without you!" Liral slammed his fists in the stone.

"June! Grab the rope! Hurry!" Dallin pantomimed climbing a rope.

"W-why?" I croaked.

"What did she say?" Liral turned to his older brother.

"She asked, 'why'?" They both shrugged. "I think they gave her bad food." Liral nodded at his brother's wisdom. Dallin pantomimed again, "June! Hurry!"

This must be a dream. Must be! I refused to believe it. Refused! But as with everything in my life the surprises came fast. You either reacted to them or you ended up in a cell. I didn't want my boys ending up in cells.

So I stood up and grabbed the rope. My grip tight at first with renewed conviction, but then it slackened from the aches. Regardless, I climbed. It was slow going, but I climbed. For them. The guards would be coming anytime now, she had to be there to support her boys.

But she was so tired. So unbelievably tired. Push harder you worthless, sack of scum! Harder! As she ascended her arms started to give way and she slowly began slipping back down...

After what seemed like hours, she noticed she was still ascending. With a start she realized the boys were dragging her up. She choked a sob for the poor lads, working so hard for nothing.

Once she was up she would send them home and return to her cell. There was no way she was turning them into criminals over someone like her. It was best they forgot about her.

Then... I found myself outside. Dallin and Liral holding their knees and huffing hard. I lay on soft ground. Somewhere in my mind a notion occurred that the guards take better care of the grass than their inmates. But it fled soon after. I wanted to say so much, I wanted to grab my kids and throw them over the wall.

A feeble. "Why?" Was all I had left...

"We-we'll get you out... soon. Soon, June."

"Give you some of that good food you gave us!" Liral recovered fastest and was now helping me up.

"We did well, June!" Dallin came over. "Put the guard on watch to sleep and everything!"

"The patrols..." I managed.

"We did as you told us!" Liral was jumping now, but still whispering. How precious. "We planned and waited for the right moment. Took us weeks! We... Dallin thought you might be dead when we found you..."

"Hey! That's not what I said!"

Liral set his lip, looking at his brother in that stubborn way of his.

They both helped me get up and were escorting me to the prison gates. The place was so quiet it felt like a graveyard. They did well. If I wasn't so exhausted, I might've been proud.

Proud of... her boys.

I found myself smiling.

"Was it the air, you think?" Liral asked when he saw my grin. "Oh, no. She's still sick!" when he saw me crying.

"What is it, June? You want to rest?" I nodded and they set me down by an old oak tree. "I'm sorry. I forgot how tired you must be."

I waved the comment away. "My boys..." I took a deep breath. "Why?"

Dallin cocked his head, he seemed more amused than anything. "You saved us. It was only fair."

"Yea! We weren't gonna let you rot in some cell!"

"We're a family."

"And family sticks together!"

I burst into laughter previously thought forgotten. Unreachable. Impossible. Like... "Y-you boys didn't find a d-dragon by chance?" I managed through sobs of laughter.

Confused, they carried me down the empty road, sobbing like my nameday, back to our house.

I like this one more than the last one. 😁 The text just flew out of me and it was fun to write. I swear I'm not writing another court scene ever again. Hope the rest of you enjoy. 😌

Stay safe out there.

Obligatory shout-out to the 🍕PIZZA🍕 gang, 🤙 gang. 🤙

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Have a great start to your week! 😏