EVERYONE HAS THEIR OWN DEMONS

Once upon a time, there lived a shrewd and unjust king. The streets of his kingdom were in peril. The wealthy landlords often oppressed the poor. They offered hefty gifts to the king to turn a blind eye on their vicious acts. The poor people never revolted as everyone knew that one thing the king was good at was his skills on the battlefield. Time and time again he saved his kingdom from various demons which lurked around. So, to be alive and safe, they continued to get oppressed by the wealthy landlords. The king had only one son, who was destined to be the next ruler. But the king was sad, as he was nothing like the son he wanted. Prince often strolled around the lush green parks of the palace, singing and dancing. The king tried to teach him the ways of the battle by force, but he was always aloof in his own world. He wanted his son to accompany him to slay the demons who tormented the streets, but he always goofed around or ran away from his training. “Why do I have to slay demons when I become the king dad? I’ll hire a 1000 of the best soldiers to do that for me.” The prince always ignored the warning signs from his father. “Then one day one of those 1000 soldiers will be backed by these people and dethrone a weak king like you.” The king knew that his unmatched valor was the only thing which was stopping these people from revolting. He knew loyalty was absent in this kingdom and his ways of keeping the wealthy, wealthier and poor, poorer made his kingdom a fragile one.


   As time passed, the king became older and older. The prince grew to become a handsome young man. But, the whole kingdom knew how carefree and weak he was on the battlefield. The king knew how much his son wanted to be the king. But, if he gave his throne to a weak prospect like him, it was a direct invitation to the countless people who were ready to pounce at that opportunity. So, to make him understand his responsibilities, he made a harsh choice. He called the prince to his chamber and said, “Son, I am getting old and soon you will be the king. But looking at your ways, I don’t think you are fit to sit on that throne.” The prince was shaken, “What? But dad, you know I dreamt of sitting on that throne from a very early age. It was the only thing I asked you to give me, and now you are saying no! If not me then who?” The king waved his hand. The most loyal chieftain of his expedition group, who was a constant in his demon slaying stories came in with his son. “This young man is Albert. He is the son of Henry and already helps us to clear out the demons. His valor is unprecedented. His father has taught him even the minute details of demon slaying. I want him to be the new king.” The prince was at a loss for words. He stared at the brawny man standing alongside Uncle Henry. Then turned his gaze straight to his father. “What I have to do to be worthy of the throne. Just tell me and I willl do it.” The king smirked and said, “Alright son, there is a demon tormenting the citizens in the south end of our kingdom. End its torment and I will crown you the king the day you return with its head, without anyone’s help.” The prince’s eyes gleamed at this opportunity. “Then for this throne, I will bring the head of that demon to you dad. Just you wait.” He stormed out of the room. Henry came closer to the king and asked, “Your Highness, that demon is a pretty strong one. Even our 100 men party was unable to behead it. Isn’t this too harsh for the prince?” The king replied, “He must conquer this demon to show the civilians and the uppers his might and announce that he is worthy. Don’t worry. I have sent the best demon slayer of this kingdom to teach him and groom him.” Henry’s eyes grew wider, “That bounty hunter?” The king smiled “Yes. He took a hefty sum to teach and protect the prince in this expedition. I am sure he is the right man to knock some sense into my son.”


                     The prince rode his horse into the vast wilderness of the south. With every gallop, the road became thinner, darker and lonelier. His heart started pumping hard as night started engulfing the already dark forest. He spotted a nice spot and lit a fire to camp for the night. As soon as he closed his eyes, a crumpling noise made his spine tingle. He unsheathed his sword and stood up. “Who’s there? Show yourself!”  The sound kept coming closer and closer. The prince backed up, little by little until he stumbled over a tree. As he stood up, something slimy fell onto his head. He looked up and saw 4 pairs of large eyes glimmering in the bonfire’s light. Soon, what he earlier thought was a tree, started moving. Large pincers, bigger than his body, became visible. “Whaaaaa.......”  He screamed and started running forward blindly. He stumbled over a rock on the ground and fell on his back. The large spider came crawling right above him, he could see his own reflection in those big beady eyes. He hastily searched for his sword in the darkness but with no luck. “Arghhhh....” He screamed and fainted as the giant spider opened his pincers and came down to make him his next meal.  


     The sound of crackling wood woke him up. Startled and shocked, he started checking his body for injuries. “Relax. I killed it before it took your head off.” He followed the voice to see a messy haired man sitting on the other side of the fire. “Hey thanks for saving me. I’ll tell my dad to pay you plenty after I return.” The guy took out a small diary and started writing something. “Yes of course. To save a noble like you, I should charge accordingly. 60,000 gold coins should be enough. You can eat the meat that’s been roasting, I ate plenty when you were asleep.” The prince lifted the big chunk of meat, roasting delectably in the bonfire. He started eating as he was already famished by all this travel. “Mmm... this meat is chewy but tasty. I don’t think I have ever tasted meat like this before. What is this?” The other guy chuckled, “Well you helped me catch this, have you already forgotten?” The prince stopped chewing and spat it out. “Th... that...spider!?” The guy nodded and started laughing. “I am Azrael, a bounty hunter for demons. I was hunting for this arachnid demon and was preparing my bait. Lucky for me, you offered yourself as bait. So, thank you for that. I’ll give you 5,000 of the 15,000 gold coins I am getting for this. Or maybe 2,000 is enough as you are a noble judging by your clothes, sword and fancy horse.” The prince gargled his mouth with some water and then replied, “I am prince Kayle of the great King Jon the IV. I am here to kill a demon named Gargoyle who has been tormenting our kingdom. Can you help me finding and killing it?” Azrael denied as he stood up, dusting his clothes. “Look son. That beast is a tough nut to crack. I don’t kill demons who don’t have a bounty on them.” He lifts his shirt up to reveal a big scar on his chest and then continues. “You see this? That demon did this when I was young. Well, I know for a fact that I can kill that demon and get my revenge. But, everyone has their own demons to conquer. That gargoyle isn't having any coins attached to its name. So, your highness, you’re own your own.” Kayle felt dejected. He kept looking into the fire. There was no way in his current condition he could fight any of the demons, set aside the mighty gargoyle. He looks at his frail body and then towards the chiseled body of Azrael. He knew he was nowhere near the level of killing even that arachnid demon. And that’s when it struck him, “Ok don’t kill that demon for me. But can you teach me how to kill demons? I’ll travel with you; help you and you teach me everything you know. I’ll pay you for the skills you teach me. And when I am ready, I’ll take down that demon myself.” Azrael turns his back towards Kayle and smiles. “So, you help me with my bounty. Don’t take any cut from me. I just have to teach you and you pay me?” He turns towards Kayle, shimmers from the bonfire, lighting up his bearded face. “Sounds good to me Prince.” Kayle’s face lit up like the sun. He finally was one step closer to becoming the next king. “But first thing in the morning we have to take the arachnid head to the bounty hunter’s guild to get the payment.” Kayle looked around; the head was nowhere to be seen. Azrael understood his confusion and started pointing towards Kayle’s direction. “Where?” Kayle still was unable to find it. Azrael chuckles and replies, “You had a nice nap sitting on it.” Kayle turns around and then finds the large pincers shining behind him. He screams in horror as Azrael falls down laughing.


      For the next 2 months, Azrael and prince Kayle took down hundreds of demons. Azrael transformed Kayle’s mind and body to become like a deadly demon slayer. During this period, Kayle told him about how his childhood was. How he used to neglect his training and how his dad, the king, wanted him to do this otherwise he would lose the throne. Azrael was keeping quiet about his personal life. He always showed himself to be egotistical, funny and very...very...very greedy for gold coins. Finally, the day came. Prince Kayle took down the gargoyle demon and carried his head to the kingdom along with Azrael. When the king saw his son, battle scarred and roughed up, he became ecstatic and delighted. All the civilians greeted the new king. They praised his bravery and dedication to kill one of the biggest and scariest of the demons. Soon he was crowned as the new king and commoners had high hopes for him. After the ceremony, Kayle thanked his master. Azrael and gave him that 60,0000 gold coins too as they laughed and bid farewell. But before leaving, the former king called Azrael. In private and handed him a large, hefty bag which he graciously accepted and left the palace. Kayle was somewhat confused by this transaction. He wanted to know who his mysterious master actually was. So, he unanimously followed his master from a distance. He reached a small, quite field in the outskirts of south of the kingdom, just before the entrance to the forest.

 

    Azrael was standing there. He was with his kid daughter on his shoulder and his son, who was roughly Kayle’s age standing behind them, laughing. Kayle came closer when Azrael noticed him. “Ahh... I might have taught you a little bit much. Even I couldn’t sense you following me.” Azrael laughed bringing her daughter down from his shoulder. Both the siblings greeted their new king and invited him inside for a meal. After the meal Azrael took him into the fields under the setting sun. Both stood there reminiscing about those two months. The setting sun painted the sky red. Azrael puts his hand on Kayle’s shoulder. He knew that Kayle had many questions but was hesitant to ask. So, he opens up about everything himself, “I was born here. My mum and dad themselves plowed these fields and made this animal farm. But as this place was so close to the forest, it was under constant attack from demons. Your grandfather was king then. Your father frequently came here to protect us from those demons. But the corrupt, money minded ministers preyed on this adversity. They started taking large amounts of gold from to protect us from constant attacks. My mum and dad, for the sake of my safety sold every inch of this land to those ministers. They even started taking away our crops and livestock in the name of payment. They left us with bare minimum. When I grew up, I started going for hunts with your father’s expeditions. I earned gold helping the king, to pay those greedy ministers. Soon, I started bounty hunting the smaller demons for money and to facilitate my married life. One unfortunate day, I returned from bounty hunting to find the gargoyle rampaging over my home. I was too late to save my wife. But I fought it away to protect my children. In that fight I got injured badly and became unconscious. When I woke up, my elder child told me that to save me, they struck a deal with the minister. To pay back double from now to save my life by sending me to the best doctor.  From that day, till now, I took every bounty mission to pay those corrupts. Hence, I became famous as the best bounty hunter. A few months back your father reached me to help you train. To teach you everything I knew without telling you that I was appointed by him. First, I was hesitant to leave my kids for so long. But then he told me that I would be relieved from paying those ministers and be awarded 200,000 gold coins to elevate my life if I did this. Naturally I said yes. You see son, as I used to say, everyone has their own demons, which they are fighting. Our faces are an illusion for this world. To show that we are okay, but most people aren’t. For you the demons were outside the kingdom boundaries. For me, they were inside the kingdom. These large, scary demons were nothing compared to the large bellies of these ministers and landlords. They siphoned our lives to become richer and richer. But as I said earlier, you have to fight your demons yourself. Keep fighting and God sends help for those who keep trying. Trust in the god’s plan. He sent you to help me and me to help you. You are a good lad. And now you have the power to help more people to conquer their demons. So be better, be stronger and help those who are fighting constantly. Waiting for a helping hand, because that is everything a person needs to defeat his demons.” Kayle hugs him. “I’ll try to be that hand for those in need. I’ll listen to their story and understand them. Every person has a different story, a different demon. I’ll try to be the sword they need to defeat their demons. Thank you master. I am blessed to find a master like you. I wish I make you proud by my decisions.”  The sky had started to welcome the stars. King Kayle greeted everyone and rode his horse towards his palace. He rode along the path shown by his bounty hunter master. In the following years, he become one of the most just and lovable King of this Kingdom.