June 18, 1998
I peeked in the cave.
'Come in, boy.'
I skipped in happily. I was having a very good day today. I had drugged Robin so that he was fast asleep and couldn't annoy me anymore. Luna was busy playing with her dolls somewhere.
'Hi, Nabe!' I said cheerfully. I was about to go and hug him when I stepped on a rock. A rather sharp rock at that.
'Ow, ow ow ow ow. . . ' I probably looked and sounded like a complete idiot, hopping up and down on one leg, clutching the other one, making a weird face and sort of squeaking every time my poor foot touched the ground.
'Stop that, boy, you look like a chicken. Why aren't you wearing any shoes?'
I finally managed to jump away from the rock that I was repetitively hopping on. ''They broke.' I sounded sad even to my own ears. I never realized how much I missed my shoes till they had broken. I had been on my way to Nabe's cave, when I saw Susie (a doe) and I started following her. I hadn't talked to Susie in a long time. It was sorta a one-way conversation when it came to me and my animal friends, but that was fine with me. I liked one-way conversations. That way whenever you said something stupid or stumbled on your words no one would be there to point it out to you (yeah, Robin.).
Anyway, I was following Susie when I tripped on a rock and fell into the stream. My shoes had bent backwards and broke. My foot had bent too, but after a few painful tugs, I had managed to get it facing in the right direction again.
'Well, if they broke, you should go get new ones, eh? What about that?'
I shook my head. 'I would have been late for class.'
'You're already late.'
I nodded. 'Even more late. I had to go back home to put my shoes back. The tailor said he could try to fix them but I should get new ones anyway, because I'm growing.'
''Too right you are, boy. Still, I am giving you a free pass. Go and get yourself some shoes now, and then come back.'
I shifted from foot to foot nervously. 'Well, sir, the thing is. . .'
'What? Oh, actually, Zelf, I'm going with you. I don't trust you at a store by yourself. You might have learned too much from me and start pickpocketing.' Nabe grunted and started to get up.
I was indignant. 'I am not a pickpocket,' I said hotly. Then I grinned. 'Though I did take Anna's little itty jar of sprinkles the other day. They were good. . .'
Nabe looked at me sharply. 'Get out of the cave, boy,' he said. 'We're going shopping.'
We received a few stares as we made our way down to the market. I waved back at people happily. I was still in a good mood, even though the small matter of the shoes still weighed on my mind. . .
I supposed we looked quite a sight. This almost body builder-like guy accompanied by a good-looking, fit fifteen-year-old (if I do say so myself). Quite a sight indeed. It didn't help that while I was waving to the starers, Nabe was giving them death glares. I think we can all see why I attracted the most girls here.
'There it is.' Nabe pointed. I looked over to see an old dude in a rickety old shop, with a bunch of shoes hanging down on strings. We started making our way towards him. He saw us and looked scared. Well, he saw Nabe and looked scared.
'Excuse me, good sir.' Nabe's deep voice rumbled in his throat. It always did that when he was trying to be polite and not freak the other guy out of his skin. It usually had the opposite effect.
'Y-yes, Sir? What would you like?'
Nabe jerked his thumb at me. 'The lad would like some new shoes. Durable, nothing pink.'
I smiled at the vendor brilliantly. He relaxed a bit.
'And what sort of activities would you be doing in them, boy?'
I pursed my lips before answering.
'I have a six-pack!' I grinned. I started to take off my shirt. 'See. . .?'
Nabe elbowed me. 'That won't be necessary, Zelf.'
I pouted. 'Aw,' I said. I slid my shirt down.
Now the old man looked ever so slightly disturbed. Oh well. Poo him.
'Fine,' I said. 'What kind of activities, you say?'
He nodded, looking relieved.
'OK. Um. . . Nabe throws pine cones at me. Well, it started with pine cones. Then it became rocks. Well, pebbles, really. But not the type you get stuck in your shoes. Oh, and I want shoes that don't get pebbles stuck in them. And Nabe says that I need to watch my back. Does that help? He says that my back is my weakest point. And sometimes I push the nice old lady's cart. Sometimes it's a veggie cart and sometimes it's--'
'Zelf, why don't you let me do it?' Nabe said quickly.
'He moves a lot and wears about one pair for. . .' he turned to me. 'How long did your other pair last?'
'Dunno.'
Nabe turned back to the old man. '. . . for a long time,' he continued. 'Not too much sole, no square toe, light leather would be good.' The old man looked at me. I was jumping up and down again, not because I stepped on anything but because I wanted too.
'See?' Nabe said, pointing at me. 'Find shoes for that.'
I wiggled my foot at the old man. 'I still have all five of my toes on both feet,' I informed him. 'Who knows how long that will last,' I muttered as an afterthought.
He winced. 'Alright, sir,' he said shakily. 'I think I have just the right thing. . .' He disappeared into his shop for a moment, then came out with. . .
I was at the counter in an instant, eying the shoes greedily. 'Yes,' I said. 'Those will do.'
The shoes were BRILLIANT!!! They were dark brown, unlike my old ones, which were tan. The had no laces and were slip-ons, like my old ones. They reached till just above my ankles. My old ones stopped there. They were made of light leather, like my old ones. I slipped one on. They fit! And they would probably last me for a few years. They were flexible, too, thin-soled. I liked them.
The old man looked slightly incredulous. 'I'm glad you like them,' he said. 'No one else would buy them, so they're half price. I want to get rid of them.'
'How much?' Nabe said. I froze suddenly. Uh-oh.
'Two silver.'
Nabe nodded. 'Cheap,' he muttered, leaning forward. He must have looked scary.
The old man's eyes widened. 'They-they're good shoes, sir,' he gulped. 'I promise! Six months refund!'
Nabe nodded and drew back, satisfied. 'There you go, Zelf,' he said to me.
I swallowed and looked down. 'Um. . . Nabe,' I said.
He sighed. 'You're broke, aren't you?'
I straightened up. 'I am not broke!'
'How much do you have, then?'
'On me? None at the moment.'
'How much do you own?'
'. . . More than nothing.'
He sighed again and dug into his pocket (he had a pocket?!?). 'You could have told me, Zelf,' he said. 'I would pay for you anytime.'
The old man raised an eyebrow at me. 'No doubt a nice, strong lad like yourself could earn himself a little gold?'
I bit my lip. 'I don't really have a job. . .'
The old man tutted. I frowned at him and settled my resolve. 'I'm going to get some money,' I said. Nabe looked up. 'Stop,' I told him, holding my hand out to him. 'I will pay.'
'Zelf. . .' he began.
'Be right back!' I said. I ran in the direction of the palace.
I waved to the palace guards.
'Oh, c'mon. Let me in. You know me!'
They didn't say anything. Stupid guards. Remind me never to grow up to be a guard. I wanna be an assassin!
I supposed there was only one option left.
'WILL!!!'
'Let him in!' Will called from some random room in the palace.
They let me in. Yay!
I looked at my rather pathetic stash of coins. One silver, three copper. Joy.
The coppers my dad had given me. The silver the King had given me for some random reason. He might have also given me the "start with little, make more" speech, but I hadn't really been paying attention.
I shifted around in my drawer, looking for more but knowing I would find none. Finally, with a sigh, I took what little I had and left my room.
I then bumped into His Royal Majesty, the King of Endora. Usually I bumped into His Royal Majesty, the Prince of Endora, so you can imagine my surprise when he turned out to be taller than my waist.
'Zelf.' He sighed. 'What are you doing? Aren't you with Nabe?'
I shook my head, and then nodded. 'I was going to get some money so that I could buy myself new shoes.'
He looked down at my bare feet. I curled my toes.
He then gently opened my hand. I looked down. Apparently I hadn't taken little and made more.
'Zelf,' he said. 'Is that all you have?'
I nodded rather miserably.
He sighed. 'Come with me, Zelf,' he said.
He handed me a big bag. It was the biggest bag I had ever seen that contained money. I peeked inside and my eyes widened in shock. Inside were hundreds of shiny gold coins.
'That's a lot,' I said.
He thrust it into my hand. 'It is but a fraction of all the wealth that I have, Zelf. Normally, I would give you money, but maybe it's time for you to start a business of your own. After all, you are fifteen now. We all start when we're fifteen.'
Oh, I kinda forgot to mention that on my fifteenth birthday, I decided to stay in the palace for all eternity. Whoops. Sorta slipped my mind. Sorry.
'Take these,' he said. 'And start a business. Did Grear teach you anything?'
I nodded.
'Alright, then,' he said. 'Become an apprentice blacksmith, then.'
'But. . . nobody will buy from me.'
'Not now, not at the beginning,' he said. 'But, if you possess any of the skill your father did, they will come flocking by the dozen, mark my words.'
I nodded. 'Alright,' I said doubtfully.
I ran outside the palace, holding the bag of gold. I was thinking about befuddling the poor owner by giving him the whole bag and asking for the change.
Then I stepped on a huge piece of something sticking out of the road.
Ouch.
As I was screaming in pain, I dimly registered Will yelling something and someone running towards me. I hopped away heroically. 'I'm okay,' I said before wincing. Well. I had one option.
'NABE!!!'
I hopped in the direction of the market, screaming his name. Finally he saw me and came running. Happy face!
'Here. . .' I handed him the bag. He took it and peeked in. His face came out looking confused.
'This is all yours!?!" he said incredulously.
I nodded. 'Now it is,' I said through gritted teeth. My foot was killing me.
He scooped me up in one motion and started heading towards the shoemaker's shop. ' That'll teach you to wear shoes once in a while, boy,' he grumbled.
I smiled at him and tried to hug him. Nabe didn't like hugs. Don't ask me why. So when I tried to hug him, he slapped me.
'Ow!'
'And that'll teach you not to do that.'
I pouted. 'Meanie.'
So, we got my shoes, I wore them for about a year or two, we got new shoes, I wore those, so on so forth.
I guess this story ends here, then. See ya.
'Come in, boy.'
I skipped in happily. I was having a very good day today. I had drugged Robin so that he was fast asleep and couldn't annoy me anymore. Luna was busy playing with her dolls somewhere.
'Hi, Nabe!' I said cheerfully. I was about to go and hug him when I stepped on a rock. A rather sharp rock at that.
'Ow, ow ow ow ow. . . ' I probably looked and sounded like a complete idiot, hopping up and down on one leg, clutching the other one, making a weird face and sort of squeaking every time my poor foot touched the ground.
'Stop that, boy, you look like a chicken. Why aren't you wearing any shoes?'
I finally managed to jump away from the rock that I was repetitively hopping on. ''They broke.' I sounded sad even to my own ears. I never realized how much I missed my shoes till they had broken. I had been on my way to Nabe's cave, when I saw Susie (a doe) and I started following her. I hadn't talked to Susie in a long time. It was sorta a one-way conversation when it came to me and my animal friends, but that was fine with me. I liked one-way conversations. That way whenever you said something stupid or stumbled on your words no one would be there to point it out to you (yeah, Robin.).
Anyway, I was following Susie when I tripped on a rock and fell into the stream. My shoes had bent backwards and broke. My foot had bent too, but after a few painful tugs, I had managed to get it facing in the right direction again.
'Well, if they broke, you should go get new ones, eh? What about that?'
I shook my head. 'I would have been late for class.'
'You're already late.'
I nodded. 'Even more late. I had to go back home to put my shoes back. The tailor said he could try to fix them but I should get new ones anyway, because I'm growing.'
''Too right you are, boy. Still, I am giving you a free pass. Go and get yourself some shoes now, and then come back.'
I shifted from foot to foot nervously. 'Well, sir, the thing is. . .'
'What? Oh, actually, Zelf, I'm going with you. I don't trust you at a store by yourself. You might have learned too much from me and start pickpocketing.' Nabe grunted and started to get up.
I was indignant. 'I am not a pickpocket,' I said hotly. Then I grinned. 'Though I did take Anna's little itty jar of sprinkles the other day. They were good. . .'
Nabe looked at me sharply. 'Get out of the cave, boy,' he said. 'We're going shopping.'
We received a few stares as we made our way down to the market. I waved back at people happily. I was still in a good mood, even though the small matter of the shoes still weighed on my mind. . .
I supposed we looked quite a sight. This almost body builder-like guy accompanied by a good-looking, fit fifteen-year-old (if I do say so myself). Quite a sight indeed. It didn't help that while I was waving to the starers, Nabe was giving them death glares. I think we can all see why I attracted the most girls here.
'There it is.' Nabe pointed. I looked over to see an old dude in a rickety old shop, with a bunch of shoes hanging down on strings. We started making our way towards him. He saw us and looked scared. Well, he saw Nabe and looked scared.
'Excuse me, good sir.' Nabe's deep voice rumbled in his throat. It always did that when he was trying to be polite and not freak the other guy out of his skin. It usually had the opposite effect.
'Y-yes, Sir? What would you like?'
Nabe jerked his thumb at me. 'The lad would like some new shoes. Durable, nothing pink.'
I smiled at the vendor brilliantly. He relaxed a bit.
'And what sort of activities would you be doing in them, boy?'
I pursed my lips before answering.
'I have a six-pack!' I grinned. I started to take off my shirt. 'See. . .?'
Nabe elbowed me. 'That won't be necessary, Zelf.'
I pouted. 'Aw,' I said. I slid my shirt down.
Now the old man looked ever so slightly disturbed. Oh well. Poo him.
'Fine,' I said. 'What kind of activities, you say?'
He nodded, looking relieved.
'OK. Um. . . Nabe throws pine cones at me. Well, it started with pine cones. Then it became rocks. Well, pebbles, really. But not the type you get stuck in your shoes. Oh, and I want shoes that don't get pebbles stuck in them. And Nabe says that I need to watch my back. Does that help? He says that my back is my weakest point. And sometimes I push the nice old lady's cart. Sometimes it's a veggie cart and sometimes it's--'
'Zelf, why don't you let me do it?' Nabe said quickly.
'He moves a lot and wears about one pair for. . .' he turned to me. 'How long did your other pair last?'
'Dunno.'
Nabe turned back to the old man. '. . . for a long time,' he continued. 'Not too much sole, no square toe, light leather would be good.' The old man looked at me. I was jumping up and down again, not because I stepped on anything but because I wanted too.
'See?' Nabe said, pointing at me. 'Find shoes for that.'
I wiggled my foot at the old man. 'I still have all five of my toes on both feet,' I informed him. 'Who knows how long that will last,' I muttered as an afterthought.
He winced. 'Alright, sir,' he said shakily. 'I think I have just the right thing. . .' He disappeared into his shop for a moment, then came out with. . .
I was at the counter in an instant, eying the shoes greedily. 'Yes,' I said. 'Those will do.'
The shoes were BRILLIANT!!! They were dark brown, unlike my old ones, which were tan. The had no laces and were slip-ons, like my old ones. They reached till just above my ankles. My old ones stopped there. They were made of light leather, like my old ones. I slipped one on. They fit! And they would probably last me for a few years. They were flexible, too, thin-soled. I liked them.
The old man looked slightly incredulous. 'I'm glad you like them,' he said. 'No one else would buy them, so they're half price. I want to get rid of them.'
'How much?' Nabe said. I froze suddenly. Uh-oh.
'Two silver.'
Nabe nodded. 'Cheap,' he muttered, leaning forward. He must have looked scary.
The old man's eyes widened. 'They-they're good shoes, sir,' he gulped. 'I promise! Six months refund!'
Nabe nodded and drew back, satisfied. 'There you go, Zelf,' he said to me.
I swallowed and looked down. 'Um. . . Nabe,' I said.
He sighed. 'You're broke, aren't you?'
I straightened up. 'I am not broke!'
'How much do you have, then?'
'On me? None at the moment.'
'How much do you own?'
'. . . More than nothing.'
He sighed again and dug into his pocket (he had a pocket?!?). 'You could have told me, Zelf,' he said. 'I would pay for you anytime.'
The old man raised an eyebrow at me. 'No doubt a nice, strong lad like yourself could earn himself a little gold?'
I bit my lip. 'I don't really have a job. . .'
The old man tutted. I frowned at him and settled my resolve. 'I'm going to get some money,' I said. Nabe looked up. 'Stop,' I told him, holding my hand out to him. 'I will pay.'
'Zelf. . .' he began.
'Be right back!' I said. I ran in the direction of the palace.
I waved to the palace guards.
'Oh, c'mon. Let me in. You know me!'
They didn't say anything. Stupid guards. Remind me never to grow up to be a guard. I wanna be an assassin!
I supposed there was only one option left.
'WILL!!!'
'Let him in!' Will called from some random room in the palace.
They let me in. Yay!
I looked at my rather pathetic stash of coins. One silver, three copper. Joy.
The coppers my dad had given me. The silver the King had given me for some random reason. He might have also given me the "start with little, make more" speech, but I hadn't really been paying attention.
I shifted around in my drawer, looking for more but knowing I would find none. Finally, with a sigh, I took what little I had and left my room.
I then bumped into His Royal Majesty, the King of Endora. Usually I bumped into His Royal Majesty, the Prince of Endora, so you can imagine my surprise when he turned out to be taller than my waist.
'Zelf.' He sighed. 'What are you doing? Aren't you with Nabe?'
I shook my head, and then nodded. 'I was going to get some money so that I could buy myself new shoes.'
He looked down at my bare feet. I curled my toes.
He then gently opened my hand. I looked down. Apparently I hadn't taken little and made more.
'Zelf,' he said. 'Is that all you have?'
I nodded rather miserably.
He sighed. 'Come with me, Zelf,' he said.
He handed me a big bag. It was the biggest bag I had ever seen that contained money. I peeked inside and my eyes widened in shock. Inside were hundreds of shiny gold coins.
'That's a lot,' I said.
He thrust it into my hand. 'It is but a fraction of all the wealth that I have, Zelf. Normally, I would give you money, but maybe it's time for you to start a business of your own. After all, you are fifteen now. We all start when we're fifteen.'
Oh, I kinda forgot to mention that on my fifteenth birthday, I decided to stay in the palace for all eternity. Whoops. Sorta slipped my mind. Sorry.
'Take these,' he said. 'And start a business. Did Grear teach you anything?'
I nodded.
'Alright, then,' he said. 'Become an apprentice blacksmith, then.'
'But. . . nobody will buy from me.'
'Not now, not at the beginning,' he said. 'But, if you possess any of the skill your father did, they will come flocking by the dozen, mark my words.'
I nodded. 'Alright,' I said doubtfully.
I ran outside the palace, holding the bag of gold. I was thinking about befuddling the poor owner by giving him the whole bag and asking for the change.
Then I stepped on a huge piece of something sticking out of the road.
Ouch.
As I was screaming in pain, I dimly registered Will yelling something and someone running towards me. I hopped away heroically. 'I'm okay,' I said before wincing. Well. I had one option.
'NABE!!!'
I hopped in the direction of the market, screaming his name. Finally he saw me and came running. Happy face!
'Here. . .' I handed him the bag. He took it and peeked in. His face came out looking confused.
'This is all yours!?!" he said incredulously.
I nodded. 'Now it is,' I said through gritted teeth. My foot was killing me.
He scooped me up in one motion and started heading towards the shoemaker's shop. ' That'll teach you to wear shoes once in a while, boy,' he grumbled.
I smiled at him and tried to hug him. Nabe didn't like hugs. Don't ask me why. So when I tried to hug him, he slapped me.
'Ow!'
'And that'll teach you not to do that.'
I pouted. 'Meanie.'
So, we got my shoes, I wore them for about a year or two, we got new shoes, I wore those, so on so forth.
I guess this story ends here, then. See ya.