The next morning alongside the raising sun, Richard woke up ready, taking the big piece of paper, he spent the night working on, he packed his books, and ran back down taking his breakfast with him as he walked past Marya. Brian smiled at his daughter as if flexing the little reader's resolve. Looking back at him she said "If you think it ends in a day you are delusional father, there is still time until he swallows the reality"
Reaching the small market of the capital Richard went to the same place he sat in yesterday, with the same street, he laid the books down on the carpet he brought, took the piece of paper and laid it upon them
"Two for a one deal, free samples available" was written on it, he opened some books up, and sat down with a smile
Time passed, people passed by getting their necessary needs alone, there wasn't even a glance towards him, he tried telling some people about how good his books are, trying to put it by force in some passing hands, people left him and went away, as if he was a crazy man
Although he noticed a small eye peeking at him from the same alleyway like yesterday, but he did not mind it much
Same like last day the sun rose to the top, her light shined on unsold goods, Richard's face crumbled alongside all of his hopes
"I am I, the problem?" he asked himself, at the corner of his vision he caught, glimpse of the child's eyes that have been watching him since yesterday, opening his backpack he took some food out noticing those curios round white balls following his full hand as it goes up and down, from a side to another
Richard cut his meal in half and wanted to get closer, but as soon as he faced the child's direction he ran away, "Wouldn't you like to munch munch with me?" said Richard to the dark alley, the whispers of the winds were the only replies
Trying to push the kid out he said "I guess I will be eating it all, by myself, not leaving anything!", once again the winds were the only thing that walked out, he went towards one of his books, staring at it with hesitant eyes, as he cut a paper from it closing his eyes and looking the other way
The young reader went back in front of the darkness, putting the food on the paper as he said "You can have it, whenever you feel like it"
Richard sat back down, bored and disappointed in himself, his attention was caught be the small skinny hand that took the food fast and sprinted into the depths once more
He ate and packed his stuff, going back once more under the light of the moon into his lonely room, Marya spoke to her father "I guess he did not figure it out"
"He will, with time he will" replied her father
Richard sat on his table, he took a deep breath and started once more his work, this time making sure the cover of the books is as colourful as they can possibly be, and once more the night passed
Waking up full of energy he once more walked past the daughter of the baker taking his food alongside him, he ran down stairs greeting Brian as he left
The baker still had that smug as his daughter said "You think his the first to come to the capital with those hopes and dreams from those fake stories"
"Well, he surely won't be the last" said her father picking some bread boxes and packing them up into some leaving carriages
"The sad thing is that you are right" replied his daughter
The little reader his eyes full of fire as they were the first day he sprinted towards his designated place, carpet flat with colourful stories filling it from one side to the other, but no hands seeking their warmth
Once more he sat there, staring at the glowing colours, "Sigh, It is time again I guess" said the boy taking out his food, this time he looked at the alley, and surely there it was, those little glowing eyes in the dark that are too shy to stay in contact with his, Richard had some paper ready for this situation, taking half his meal to the doorstep of the curios little kid
This time while Richard was walking back, once he found himself out of the viewpoint of the alley he sprinted to the side, by his right the food sat on the ground, his back shielded by one of the two tall buildings that created that pitch black space
And in no time a hand moved out, it tried snatching what caught its attention back into its comfortable space, but the young reader was ready for it, he gripped the boy's hand and pulled him fast
To his horror, it felt as if griping to a pen, his armes couldn't be thinner, his clothes are nothing but a dirty rug hanging from hi shoulders and tied around his belt with a little worn-out rope. Bare feet, blackened by what lays beyond the light. Eyes as hallow as his stomach, if such a thing was a sleep you would mistake him for a dead body, every bone was visible from his skeleton
All of that was noticed by Richard in less than a brief moment, for the scared young boy scratched him in fear across the shoulder with his long nails, the young reader stunned from what he just witnessed moved back letting go, as his hands left a mark on the sticks the little kid had for hands
Taking the food and running towards the depths without looking back, "Don't expect any thanks from that little thing" a voice said from behind Richard, it was a man in his 30s, a merchant he was, and right beside the readers book he sat his little tent of goods, selling vegetables, fruits, and whatever he could get his hands on
"I have been taking care of his food for just before you came here" said the man "He wasn't alone though, there was another with him, I am not sure if it's his mother or sister," said the merchant
"Does they, live there?" said Richard pointing at the black path
"I don't know, but he was there for a while, little longer than I sat my tent here" replied the merchant
"And you have been taking care of them since then?" said Richard as he stood up, cleaning his little scratch for a wound with water and covering it up
"The girl that is with him used to stare at me from that same spot, but she stopped, and he started coming out" said the merchant packing some apples for a lady that came to him
"And no one even thought about checking on them? What if she got injured, or worse got sick," said Richard
The merchant sighed closing his eyes, before he opened them and pointed at the two large buildings on the side stretching towards the sky,
"You see those two? They are military barracks and weaponry storages, they have grown larger and more were built in these past years, beyond them a complexes street as dark as the mines of the twin mountains exist, there lives only the disgraced, criminals and what not," said the merchant
"You would be lucky enough if you come back alive, that in case you find your way back. Look, I have kids, and I don't want to leave them for death just to check another one's offspring"
Richard did not have anything to say back, anything would just be a failing attempt at being a hero, but a question rose from inside him "What made those barracks and storages that large anyway?" asked Richard
"But why is the kingdom staying silent about this, surely they don't lack the funding to do something about this problem, I bet he is not the only kid suffering inside, lacking education while sitting with an empty stomach"
The merchant face was obvious to be annoyed as he clenched his teethes, he said "it wasn't always like this, this king was a kind one, supplying us with our needs, building whatever could help us in the harsh winters, but with the years passing, he changed" said the merchant as the anger faded
"He started adding new laws, funding the army more and more" he said right before the breaking point where all of his anger came back in double as he continued
"Doubling taxes, Taxe this and Taxe that, that is the only thing coming out of his high walls, he stopped coming out, I guess it is true what they say, his crown is failing, and so is his mind, like the past three kings before him, he is destined to fall"
"What do you mean exactly? Could you tell me more," said Richard
"No, I wish not to see my head the next one hanging on the market doors, such things are told inside closed walls kid, and isn't this your time to be going back," said the merchant
"And how do you know that?" said Richard
"I noticed you for the past couple of days going back at the same time, I guess you live in the renting streets, if you want to not spend the night out begown now," said the merchant
Richard packing his stuff he headed away saying "Thank you for the information"
"Just don't talk about it" replied the merchant
Just like that Richard reached home, this time defeated he sat beside the counter, the baker's daughter looked at her father as if saying "Told you", while he walked to the young reader
"No luck today huh," said Brian
"Nope, nothing" said Richard looking at the unsold goods
"Did you perhaps think of the problem? maybe you are selling them in the wrong way," said the baker
"Every night, I tried using new covers, changing the tittles, lowering prices and even giving free samples," said the young reader "No matter how much I tried the silver tongue method, even if I tried going to them, they have no interest in this art"
Brian looked at him, he handed him a piece of bread, as the empty eyes of Richard stared at it laying over the table
"Not hungry, but thanks for your kindness," said Richard
Brian said to him "It's on the house, just take it"
"No really, it is not about the money I am just full" replied Richard
Brian in silent took a fancier one, painted in colours of all kinds of fruits, he slowly pushed with one hand towards Richard as he stood far, whistling while moving his eyes from staring at Richard to staring at the ceiling, as if he was just putting it there
Richard was both disgusted and annoyed as he lifted the bread and sat straight, staring at the baker who refused to keep eye contact, only giving a glance once in a while as he whistled more, his annoyed face started to go away as he started to realise the message
Brian noticed his realisation and spoke
"I know this is not my place to talk as a baker, but I don't walk around the streets trying to force my bread on people, all that I do is open the windows and doors, let the smell drag the empty bellies by the nose"
"If you do such a mindless act with your ego too high up, you will not move out of blaming the fire that baked it"
Brian leaned forward and continued "If I was in your shoes, I would step out from being a dealer, and taste my bread first as a costumer, maybe some whispers went around about it tasting bad who knows"
Taking a bite of his normal bread he said "Don't force bread onto full mouths and blame the fire that baked it,
Richard split it apart, it wasn't just all a cover, it had the same taste all the way to its roots, it wasn't all for show,
That night he sat beside the bed, the fire reflecting by his face as he stared the ceiling, he thought about the boy, about his passion, about what the kingdom is heading towards, taking a deep breath, he decided to let it go fir the night as he blows out the candle.