THORNEHAND

In a dim lit room, a young seven year old boy with straight, fair hair in a silk toga is scrunched over a book with gold leafs, cleaning them of dust. Unbeknownst, there is a thorn among the leafs. His hand passes over it and the point scars half of his palm length.

"OOuch! I should not have to do this and be treated like this.", he says ruefully.

He gets up and walks into a stone clad room with six armoured men standing at attention. He approaches one, "Beamaud, would you bring me some plaster? I cut myself." He shows his bleeding palm.

"You should not be awkward, boy. Go clean it yourself...thornehand."

"That is not my name and our name is Lefthand. This kingdom is Lefthand. We have occupied it for hundreds of years and we made it. You should attend to the king. That is me, not the one who usurped the throne. You are imposters and are right handed. We all are left handed. And you have rough faces and are ruddy." 

Beamaud raises one eyebrow and looks down disparagingly at the young man.

"Go clean your hand and and report to the penance room, thornehand."

"Where is the king's advisor, Beamaud? Not the one here but the one who attended the late king. I remember he had a nice, fair face and straight hair. Not the black, whorls of your heads."

"Go, now, thornehand. And for your behavior, you eat gruel for a week."

"Call me by my right name!", he retorted.

Thornehand turned and trudged to a wall and pushed a small plank. It opened. Inside was a stone clad room with a flat floor. The door closed behind him and on the inside of the door were criss crossing of thick thorn vines. He sat down and tried to reason with his emotions.

At the age of twelve, thornehand was alone in a foyer. There were weapons hung on the wall. He walked over and with his left hand he pulled out a long sword. He thought to himself that he will have to make his way, perhaps fight his way to the throne. He had watched others practice with swords and he will have to learn by imitating them. They would not bow so low as to teach him. He started swinging the sword around to feel its weight and practice jabbing and lunging.

Sitting, on occasion, in a garden he leaned toward the other seated person. "I thrill at seeing your flaxen hair, Emoulda. It is so uninspiring looking at the dark haired imposters everywhere in the castle. I appreciate you coming and breaking the dull routine. How do you manage to get through? They watch everywhere."

"I am lucky. I was out in the region when the coup came. The imposters did not know or see me. Thereby they don't know what I look like. So to keep it that way I come only two or three times a year so they don't memorize my visits. I'm sorry I don't dare come more frequently. Since they don't know me, I get by the guards using another name and pretend to donate to the Court."

"Brilliant!" said thornehand. "I wonder how long this ruse is going to last and when I will be able to use my rightful name. Everyone uses this "thornehand" since the coup. I did not think imposters could hold Court this long. I know they intimidate a lot but we are a savvy people and something should have happened by now."

Emoulda said, " I understand. You must have patience. The suppression is thorough. There are pockets of resistance in the hills. They have to be careful. It may take a little more time."

"Emoulda, I want it. I am older now. I will know how to do things. I sneak in when I can listen to the Court from a hidden crevice. I listen and have to bear their lies. I grimace silently when I hear them run roughshod over our fair regulations. But I listen to learn. I even have seen the throne unoccupied at times and dream about me being on the throne as I should be. I continue to secretly practice with the sword. But ever since the thorn tore my hand, my palm is stiffer for grasping it. I want my throne."

"I had heard that they will make you wait until you reach majority, and even then they may not relinquish it to you. Please be patient and careful while here. Just because you are the expected king, it won't guarantee your safety all the time.", Emoulda said.