Epilogue

THe outcome of everything

The Game

by omegax45

Epilogue

Joseph wiped the sweat off his brow with the back of his hand, wishing he had a clean rag.  The merchant that sold ice had given him some ice shavings as payment for shining his shoes, and what was left of the ice had melted in his cup.  The water was still cool, though, despite it being a hot summer day, and the young man was torn between using the last bit of water to wash his rag, or keep it to quench his thirst later.  It was already late and he didn’t want to miss any customers that may come by while he went in search of more water.  Many were paying quite well today.

So much had changed in the kingdom of Mistral in such a few short months.  Her Majesty Queen Usio had been found by the royal soldiers dead after being slain by demons.  The noble girls and Rose were also attacked but saved thanks to Dios coming to their rescue.  Some of the noble girls he was too late to save, but he was very thankful that Rose was okay.  The families of the noble girls involved demanded compensation for the suffering their daughters went through, especially the ones that kept saying Dios was the one to had killed their queen and were basically considered traumatized.  It is uncertain if the high council had settled such disputes, but Joseph was certain that was the least of their concerns.

As it stood, the royal household was gone with the death of Queen Usio.  So far, a steward was taking care of the affairs of the kingdom, and he was loved by many.  Not surprising, sine he was a retired general from the royal army that had traveled all over as an ambassador for the kingdom.  In the time he had been ruling, he had removed many of the crooked soldiers and replaced them with kind soldiers that used brute force as a last resort.  They rarely asked him to move from his spot and all of them became recurring customers.  He even learned how to polish armor from them, which earned him even more coins for his family.  As luck would even have it, he believed he should have enough money at the end of the summer to either purchase a small home or a spot of land to build one.  No more sleeping in garbage off some makeshift shelter of broken wood and bricks.  Taxes were also cut for the commoners while the nobles and the rich families were complaining about having taxes raised on them.  Joseph wanted to laugh every time he saw the nobles walking by and grumbling about it.

He had seem Rose once after the incident.  He was surprised to find out she was, in fact, a noble and the daughter of the royal doctor.  Her cousin Tulip had gotten her father to give Rose a dowry due to him selling all of her possessions years before.  Many of the poor people glared at the detestable man that made it sound like he was doing Rose a favor.  Even Joseph himself had to restrain himself from striking the man.  Dios had offered his thanks, but the murderous aura he gave off even had the young man shivering where he stood.

“Joseph,” he turned to see a girl running up to him, a bright smile on her face, “Here!  I got this from a new vendor in town.  He calls it iced milk.  It’s really good!”

“Thanks Tiffany,” Joseph accepted the small bowl and swirl the white cold concoction around with a spoon before taking a bite, “It’s so cold!  So creamy!”

“I know right,” Tiffany beamed, “Mom’s grabbing a few things for dinner tonight.  Do you need anything?”

“No thank you,” the young man smiled gently, “Besides, we’re supposed to be saving for  a house.  We need to make every coin count for it and not spend so much.”

“I know, I know.  But Joseph, we never got to have such things before!  Can’t we splurge a little?”

“No, Tiffany.  I’m trying to get us a decent house before winter comes.  Do you want a nice house, or a house that will fall apart at a simple breeze?”

“….Nice house.  But we always lived outside.  Couldn’t we wait one more year?”

“Remember when Charlie got sick last year and Rose and I both used all of our money to buy medicine for him?  Or do you want that to happen again?”

“… No,” Tiffany looked down and Joseph felt stab of guilt at seeing her crestfallen face, but he needed Tiffany to understand.

“Look at it this way.  With a house, all of our stuff can be safe from getting wet or stolen.  Please be a little more patient.  Once we get the house, we’ll be able to buy actual beds to sleep in or that nice dress you keep looking at.”

“Okay,” his sister beamed brightly at him, “I’ll try to be more patient.  I’ll see you at home!”

“Bye Tiffany,” Joseph waved as is sister ran off, “and be careful!”

“That your sister,” a soldier walked up to him, “She reminds me of my own daughter.”

“Yep,” Joseph smiled, “The joy of my family.  Would you like me to polish your boots or your armor today sir?”

“Both please,” the soldier handed him a small bag of coins before taking off his armor and sitting on the boxes that made up a chair, “No rush.  I need them shiny for tomorrow.”

“What is going on tomorrow sir,” Joseph asked as he began polishing the breastplate.

“The high council has finally made their decision.   A new ruler will be crowned, and Sir Julian can retire.  He’s been telling everyone how he misses his family.  He wants to see his grandchildren.”

“I could imagine,” Joseph placed down the breastplate and began polishing the helmet, “How long has it been since he last saw them?”

“A good several years I would say,” the soldier picked up the breastplate and inspected it before placing it back on, “Nicely done, kid.” 

“Thank you,” the shoe shiner beamed and handed him the helmet before moving to polish his shin guards and boots, “Sir Julian will be missed, though.  He has done a lot for poor folk like myself.”

“Same here, kid.  I would still be on the streets begging for food had it not been for him giving me my job.  

“Hm,” the soldier stood up  and examined his boots, “Tell you what, kid.  If you ever want to work in the castle and polish armor, you let me know.  I think I can convince the captain we could use another polisher.  Make good money.”

“Really,” Joseph’s eyes lit up before he calmed down, “I’ll think about it.  I have my mom and siblings to take care of, so I have to talk to them first.”

“I understand.  If you ever decide to, you can find me at the castle doors during midday.  Name’s Ronald.  Thank you very much.”

“You’re welcome,” Joseph smiled as the soldier walked away.  He opened the pouch to count his earning and his eyes widened to the point they looked like they would fall out.  He looked up to see Ronald gone and he looked back down to make certain his eyes weren’t deceiving him.

Inside the bag were a bunch of gold coins.

“What’s got you so shocked?”

“Rose,” Joseph looked up with a bright smile as he saw the young woman walking up to him with Dios behind her, “When did you get back?”

“Just now,” Rose replied, “We were on our way back when we heard about the high council finally making their decision.”

“I just heard about it too from one of the soldiers,” the shoe shining boy placed his items away, “Paid me with all god coins too and even offered me a job at the castle.”

“That’s amazing Joseph.  You’ll soon have your own house in no time.”

“Did he happen to give you a name,” Dios asked.

“Ronald, he said.”

“Is something wrong Dios,” Rose asked in concern.

“I happen to know him,” the paladin answered, “I had rescued him when he had been used as a human shield by enemy soldiers.  Sir Julian allowed him in the royal army upon my referral.  Do you know what his shift is at the castle?”

“He said during the midday at the entrance.  Why?”

“I was hoping to see him again while we’re here.”

“We should,” Rose smiled, “Who knows when you will see him again.”

“Yes,” the paladin smiled gently at his wife.

THE END  

Author's Note

Thank you everyone for your patience and I hoped you enjoyed my story.