Reikoku no Tamir
Chapter 1: Special Mission
My life is like a horror film...
"Bloody day, eh?"
Two longhaired hamsters stood in front of a stone-made sink in front of the huge, silver castle walls. They washed their paws of the red slime that's stench of would've made any creature wrinkle their nose in distaste. But these hamsters were used to the smell by now. Some had even come to like it.
Behind them was a neat field of short grass. A dirt trail lined it somewhere in the middle, going from the castle's door to the huge village the castle owned. The castle itself was made of stones and clay, it seemed.
"Yeah…" the other hamster replied absently. "Well that was a bit of a dull reply," the first hamster remarked. His fur was all black expect for a patch of white over his belly. Around his neck was a yellow bandana with black in the shape of fire ringing the bottom of it.
"Dull?" The second hamster echoed. He was similar, except his fur was a chocolate brown color and his belly was patched with black. His ears tips were white along with a white spot on his shoulders and knees. He wore the same bandana.
"Yeah! Usually you're crazy about these kinda days. Nowadays you've been all up and about with this 'why are we doin' this' stuff. I'd hoped after today, you'd be full o' cheer," the black hamster replied.
The brown hamster, Tamir, only looked down thoughtfully. "It's just…" He paused. The black hamster frowned. "Dun' tell me you've been thinkin' again. You know I hate it when you do that stuff. We were specifically trained to fight without none o' that thinkin'." The black hamster shook his paws in the air to rid them of wet.
"But, Meeko, it just doesn't feel right anymore," Tamir said, looking over at his friend. "Anymore! It never felt right to me, but I do it anyway," Meeko grunted, then continued after a second..
"Listen to me, child! I would know, as a more experienced knight… Why do we fight?" He asked. It sounded as if he didn't known where to start the sentence. Tamir didn't answer, puzzled. "'Cause the king tells us to, that's why! We gotta obey the king. Whether it 'feels right' or not is none o' our concern."
Tamir quickly looked over at his nasty tone to see the friendly dark crimson eyes he'd come to always know. "You're always looking after me, Meeko," he replied, smiling down at the water. "Just tryin' to teach you common sense! The king won't stand for nonsense talk like yours. Oh no! There's no point in livin' if you're gonna complain to the king!" Meeko said, taking a claw and pretending to slit his throat.
"I suppose. But, you know… What's living without complaining a little?" Tamir asked with a slight smile. Meeko shook his head slowly. "If that's livin', then I guess we're all dead, huh?" He said in a lower tone. Tamir frowned. The sound of a horn drew the two away from their conversation.
"Aw, c'mon. We just came back from a mission. Can't he at least let us take a breather?" Tamir sighed. "No breathers. Not if the king says 'no'," Meeko said, walking toward the sound of the horn. Seeing that his friend wasn't following, he turned. "You comin'?"
"Yeah…" Tamir answered after a moment of staring at the stone castle walls. He shook his paws and the two dashed across the castle grounds. In front of the castle gate were rows of hamsters all aligned. Meeko and Tamir were the last there, but no one seemed to notice. All eyes stared at the top of the castle door, where a very furry hamster stood.
The hamsters' fur looked longer than all of the hamsters' fur put together. He was black, like Meeko, but his under-belly was gray. It was becoming noticeable that the rest of his body was becoming a gray-white color, as well. His fur covered his eyes and mouth. It'd be impossible to tell his mood other than his voice, which was always muffled by the fur on his lips anyway.
The old hamster was silent for a long moment. He suddenly cleared his throat. So suddenly that it would've startled anyone who wasn't expecting it. "I congratulate you on your success today in battle," the hamster king rasped out. "But now I have another request… It has become aware to me that there could be many, many other kingdoms out there. Kingdoms that could take over Blackfire kingdom. With our current war with Redwater kingdom, I can only afford to send out a certain few of my knights on this special mission." The king paused.
None of the knights made any movement. All eyes were on the king. "Baron," he suddenly said. A hamster stomped his paw on the ground in acknowledgement. "Milo." Another hamster stomped his paw. "Tamir." Despite how surprised he was, Tamir did not hesitate to stomp his paw. "Kai… and Fox." Two more hamsters stomped their paws.
"I will meet you five tonight for dinner to discuss this special mission. You are dismissed," and, with that short announcement over, the king turned and padded away. The knights watched him silently until he was out of sight. And then, like a bunch of animals let lose into the wild, they went crazy.
They all crowded around the five knights who had their names called, asking questions like "what kind of mission do you think it's going to be", or "why do you think the king chose you". A few were most interested in why the king chose Tamir. This would be his first special mission.
"Oh boy, this is great!" Meeko cheered when the two managed to get away from the crowd. Tamir could only sigh. "Heheh., you're nervous, aren't you?" Meeko laughed. "Who wouldn't be? Why do you think the king chose me, of all knights?" Tamir asked, washing his face in the stone sink.
"Well, I had to go on a special mission first once, too, you know? Everybody does something for the first time," Meeko replied. "Ah… those were the days. Spyin' on the Greenthunder kingdom. We won that war with them because of me, you know?" He gloated. "Oh really?" Tamir muttered unbelievingly.
He put a soaked cloth on his face and let himself fall over on his back. "What if it was a mistake… I mean… why choose me, a not-so-experienced knight, with all of those other experienced knights?" He asked, his voice a bit muffled. "Experienced knights?" Meeko echoed. He paused, renaming the knights the king had called to himself. "Heck! You're right. Maybe it was a mistake."
Tamir groaned, writhing his paws around anxiously. "Well, only one way to find out, eh? Tell me all 'bout it after dinner, 'kay?" Meeko laugh, patting Tamir on the back as he slowly sat up.
My life is like a horror film, and I'm the monster that makes it scary. It seems that my life is nothing but things you'd see in a horror film, besides zombies and ghosts. Our kingdom, Blackfire kingdom, is as ruthless as they get. We're strong, so it seems no one can say otherwise. Our king is no better. He's blunt, thoughtless, and probably a bit insane. Everyday we fight and win. Then we fight, die, and win again. Then we fight, die, kill, and win some more. No one dares go against Blackfire kingdom, not that we give them a choice. It's either go against us or let us kill them. We spare no one; we hardly even spare the citizens. Anyone who gets caught up in the war or who resists us gets killed, innocent or not. The survivors we bring into our kingdom and torture with our spoiled food and high taxes. We, the knights, are called murderers by our own citizens. How wrong is it to be mocked by someone you fight to protect? Just today I was called "Papa's killer" by a young mouse. Probably by someone from a different kingdom, but it made me think. Why do I fight? I fight because the king tells me to...
Thanks for reading my first fanfic! Sorry if the chapters seem long. I can't help it(it's the way I write). I also can't judge how many chapters this story will be or when I'll upload chapters. Just rest assure it won't be one chapter a week. Stay tuned for Chapter 2: Not Gonna Give Up. Oh yeah, review, please! Emails are also fun.