Chapter Text
The single file line of men and women stretched long through the kingdom of South Park. These poor souls were the unlucky ones, drawn at random to become part of the royal army, to serve and protect the kingdom and surrounding areas of South Park. These people were just kids, freshly adults being torn away from any prospect of doing something meaningful with their lives like obtaining an education, working on their family’s farm, doing anything other than maybe dying to protect royalty.
The raven haired boy tried to take in his surroundings, he had never been this far into the main part of the kingdom where the castle stood, he never even left his village before. The smaller buildings outside the castle were filled with other high ranking families with riches that people like him would never see. It irked him to his core, why were these people lucky and why did they not have to lose their sons and daughters to the army? Everything was all connected to riches, which his family and everyone else didn’t have in their small village on the outskirts of South Park. But it was his home, his place of family and love and memories, and this kingdom was so distant from that, it was foreign to him.
The path of small pebbles made horrible crunching noises under his old shoes that were clearly falling apart. His shirt and pants were seen as rags by the high ranking families he passed by, but it didn’t matter, it was the last piece of his village he held onto before being violently ripped away from it. His village was just a memory now that he could look back on and smile before crying at the heavy feeling it left in his chest.
—-
Craig never wanted to leave his tiny village of Fairplay, he loved growing up here even if it was one of the poorest villages in all of South Park. He spent everyday helping his father fish in the nearby river, growing a fondness for how free the fish looked before being trapped under the net. He felt connected to it somehow, even though he was never leaving Fairplay, he loved how simple it was. Maybe he was trapped like them, but he felt it more willingly than the fish felt.
“Hey, Craig!”
Criag looked up, coming back to the world as he recognized that voice anywhere. The little girl ran to him, her strawberry blonde hair bouncing behind her in two braids that he did himself. His mother was always busy fixing people's clothes, and over the years he became fascinated with his little sister’s hair, begging to be taught how to braid it. Maybe he just wanted to learn something new. She rushed over to where he was standing in the water, her face reacting to the sudden drop in temperature.
“Dude, how long have you been standing in this?! It’s fucking freezing!” Tricia screamed as she sluggishly made her way to her brother.
“If you actually pulled your weight around here, you would get used to the temperature,” Craig smirked and Tricia responded with a frown. She hated fishing, she hated hurting any living thing, so she spent most of her time doing other errands around Fairplay that made her vital to their little river village, the same way his mother was.
“You know I hate what we do to these little guys, I can’t partake in that!”
Craig rolled his eyes before meeting her gaze with a smile, “What’s up, cause clearly you’re not here to help me fish.”
“Mom and Dad said to gather this net and you’re done for the day. The village is having our big festival again for a successful summer.” Tricia finally reached Craig in knee-deep water. The river was loud, the current was strong, but after growing up with the river and this lifestyle, the children knew how to work around it, no matter what.
“Well, can you at least help me then?” Now, it was Tricia’s turn to roll her eyes, but she reluctantly nodded. She wanted to go to the festival, there were people she wanted to see obviously, and the quicker she could help Craig, the sooner she would be able to dance under the moonlight.
They fell into a comfortable silence as they gathered the fish from the net. The South Park River was plentiful this year, having more fish than anyone had ever seen. Even though the kingdom took their fair share of fish and other materials the village had made or grown, Fairplay was still in good shape to last a long time before having to fish for the fall season. Tricia slowly dragged the rest of the net out of the water while Craig grabbed any loose fish that tried to swim away. She grimaced as he put them in his overall pockets, watching them flip around in his pocket, desperate for their form of oxygen, until they finally stopped moving around and their gills stopped moving.
“I can’t believe you do this everyday…” Tricia stepped back onto the bank of the river, Craig following right behind her.
“I mean, that’s just our way of life, nothing we can do about it. We were born in Fairplay, we were raised in Fairplay, we will probably raise our families in Fairplay, and we will probably die in Fairplay. It’s a simple life that I enjoy, I hate when life gets too complicated,” Craig smirked down at his sister, gathering the rest of the net that she left on the bank and dragging it back to the processing plant, which is just a fancy word for a beat-up building where everyone takes their catches.
“I know, I know. It’s just, sometimes I want more in life.”
“More like how?” He questioned.
Tricia bit her bottom lip, trying to think of a way to explain this without sounding insane, “I want to see more. I don’t want to see this river everyday, I don’t want to eat fish everyday, and I definitely don’t want to raise my family here.”
“Ouch, harsh.” Craig said with a forced smile.
“Craig, you know I love you and Mom and Dad, but this village isn’t for me, this kingdom isn’t for me. I want to see more out there in the world than one river. This village is so small we don’t even have a school anymore! I want to learn and I want to do something with my life.” Tricia breathed out, following closely next to her brother. She knew her dreams were just dreams, but why couldn’t they be her reality?
“I know the school was shut down, and I’m sorry that you feel this way. Why are you just telling me now?”
“I didn’t know how you would take it.”
Craig stopped in his tracks, his sister also stopping. He turned to look at her, bending down so they were on eye level. Although she was four years younger than him, she hadn’t hit her growth spurt yet. Meanwhile, Craig never seemed to stop growing, constantly having to have his mom make longer pants and overalls for him.
“You know I believe in you, Tricia. If you want to do something, then I’m going to support you, no matter what. I’m just worried that it’s not going to match up to what you want and you’ll come back here heartbroken at the cruel reality of the world, but I will still support you no matter what happens,” he gave her shoulders a small squeeze before standing back up. They both continued walking to the processing plant, passing by houses and other miscellaneous buildings in a comfortable silence.
Craig looked to his left and saw their old school building, still sitting vacant. Fairplay was so small that the royal family deemed it unnecessary for the school to continue operating when Craig graduated fourth grade, something he never truly understood. He loved being in school, learning about subjects that made the world as complex as it was. He especially loved the astronomy lesson, he loved looking up at the sky and being swallowed by the stars. It was like a vast ocean he wanted to swim in. But that was all cut short when his teacher had to move back to the kingdom to teach the high ranking families and he was stuck in the nets of the river.
Craig wondered if other small villages and towns outside the kingdom experienced the same hardships Fairplay faced. He would never know, of course, because he never wanted to leave his hometown. He was comfortable, he was content, he was destined for a decent life here, it was familiar.
Knock, knock, knock.
Tricia knocked on the door while Craig was lost in thought of what life would be like elsewhere. A tall man with flaming orange hair answered the door.
“Good afternoon, Uncle Skeeter,” the children said in unison with smiles. Skeeter returned the smiles with one of his own.
“Hey kids, come on in and place the fish on the table. I’ll put them in ice later.” Skeeter moved out of the door frame so the children could get through, having some trouble with the net, but eventually all filing through. Craig slammed it on the wooden table, retracting the fish from his pockets to join the ones in the net on the table.
“Are you going to the festival, Uncle Skeeter?” Tricia questioned. Craig turned around to join them by the entrance, hoping to leave soon. He wanted to freshen up before the festival began.
“Yeah, I’m sure me and Red will make an appearance. I just have to make sure that all the fish are in ice first so nothing gets rotten,” Uncle Skeeter opened the door, the children filing out quickly and walking with great speed. “But, if I don’t see y’all tonight, make sure to tell your dad that I still hate him,” Skeeter yelled after the children before shutting the door.
“Do you really think they hate each other?” Tricia asked after a long period of silence.
“Of course they don’t, they’re brothers, family, you can’t hate family.”
“You don’t think we will ever hate each other, right?” Craig peered down at his sister, trying to catch the look in her eyes. She was looking down at the dirt path, not able to meet his gaze.
Craig looked back up and saw their house in the distance, “Of course we will hate each other, but we will also love each other because that’s what family does, we drive each other insane.” Tricia snuck her hand into Craig’s, holding it the rest of the way home.
—-
The music was blasting, the fire was roaring, and the people were dancing like no tomorrow. The festival started earlier that afternoon and continued well into the night and early morning. The moonlight was serving as the spotlight for the dance floor, which was just a dirt patch in the middle of Fairplay. The music was bouncing off the buildings, from the guitars to the flutes to the drums and more, it felt like the angels could hear it from the Heavens.
Craig was watching his sister get twirled around by a boy her age. He was totally in love with her, but Craig knew that even the boy could not keep her tethered down to this village, nothing could. He wondered if he would ever experience a love like that, so rich and eye opening and the feeling that if they ever left your sight your eyes would burn. Doubtful though, he never paid attention to shit like that.
He took a slow sip of his beer and stared at the fire. It was warm on a cool end-of-summer night, something he was grateful for. He was sweating in the river earlier from the blazing sun, he much preferred night anyway. Past the fire, his cousin caught his attention and she made her way over with two pints of beer.
“You’re looking a little low there, want me to top you off?” Red questioned as she finally reached her cousin. He nodded in response.
Craig was grateful that he had extended family in his village, everyone else in the village didn’t seem to have any extended family. Most of their extended families settled in other villages when they found someone to marry, and most of them never saw them again. The villages worked hard, there were usually little to no rest days for whatever the other villages do. Craig didn’t care, Fairplay finally had some time off and he didn’t care about the other villages.
“Hey, guys!” Kevin said, sitting down next to Red. Craig hadn’t even realized he was there, that’s usually how Kevin is though.
“Hey, Kevin, what’s up?” Red smiled. It was obvious to everyone but Kevin that Red was in love with him. She would never ask him to dance though, it was his job to ask her. She was also oblivious to the fact he was equally in love with her too.
“Well… my parents said that more of the army is coming tomorrow to recruit for the kingdom, the knights stationed here apparently don’t do it themselves.” Craig and Red’s eyes widened, their jaws were on the floor. “BUT, you can’t tell anyone. I’m only telling you guys because you’re my friends and… it’s going to affect us since we are some of the only 18 year olds.”
“But they haven’t come to this village in years! Why now, when we finally are adults and are probably going to get drawn? This is so unfair!” Red’s face held an angry look, her emotions were always prominent on her face compared to her cousins. She took after her dad, her fiery, mischievous spirit was a force to be reckoned with, especially in this tiny village where everyone knows everyone.
Kevin didn’t say anything, instead just putting his arm around Red, her head falling on his shoulder. Craig watched in amazement how these two were too stupid to realize they both loved each other when this scene was a regular occurrence. Hopefully they will both see it one day and get married, falling into Kevin’s parents’ footsteps of being leaders of this town, but after this news, no one knew what was in store.
Craig turned to look back into the fire. There was no way he was going to get selected, he was too vital to this village and the kingdom had to know that. He was the strongest, the tallest, and the smartest boy in the village, he was critical in the survival of their village. He was supposed to shadow Skeeter and take control of the processing plant once he got too old. He started shadowing his father when the school got shut down, picking up on fishing like it was second nature. He just wanted to live a quiet life and maybe have a family here, teach his kids the same way his father taught him, but if his name was drawn, all of that would be out the window. Craig choked down the rest of his pint, he was going to have to drink a lot more to get through the rest of this festival.
—-
The sun pierced through the window of Tricia and Craig’s room, telling Craig to get up and start his day. He normally loved early mornings, it was the perfect time for fishing and the sun wasn’t too hot where you were sweating even while standing in a freezing river. He whipped his eyes with his knuckles, he does not remember how many drinks he had last night, but it was a lot based on the pounding in his skull. He propped himself back on his elbows, slowly opening his eyes to adjust to the bright light now filtering into his shared room, his eyes glancing over to his sister’s bed.
Craig watched as her blanket slowly rose and fell with her steady breathing, she looked so peaceful. He was relieved that she didn’t find out that the army was coming to take someone away. Since their village was so small, Kevin told them it was highly unlikely that they would take two people, especially because they were uneducated and understanding fighting skills was already hard enough. He was relieved that the army wouldn’t take her, she could still live out her dream of going away.
Craig’s nerves never changed, his name was definitely not going to be drawn, he was sure of it. The kingdom had to know how important he was here, it was recorded in all the books under Skeeter. Before Craig, his father always had the most amount of catches in both weight and amount. After Craig shadowed him, he quickly fell to number two, behind his son. The day Skeeter told the village, Craig looked up at his dad and was met with a face of proudness, his father’s eyes glossy over as he muffled happy cries behind his hand. Craig was only 10 and he was better than everyone, including his own father. Now, at 18, Craig continued to be more and more impressive to everyone, he was getting better and better, and each fishing season getting better and better for the village and the kingdom. Sure, he hated watching all his hard work go to the richest families, but he was still proud of what he meant to his people, they were the only ones that mattered to him anyway. There was no way his name was going to be drawn.
Craig rose from his bed, putting on his blue chullo hat that fell to the floor. The day his mother handed it to him as a gift was one he would never forget, even if he got amnesia. It was his 11th birthday, his mother had poured many hours into making it. The dye took forever to perfect, the yellow fuzz ball was almost impossible to manipulate, and the straps never seemed to be the same length. But she finally finished it, putting it in a wooden box for Craig to open. He was stunned, to say the least, no one in Fairplay ever got presents, but here he was, holding something that was his that his mother had made from scratch. It was perfect, he loved the dark blue color with the contrasting yellow, it matched his shirt perfectly. His mother told him it came from their heritage, making Craig almost tear up before blinking back the tears and hugging his mom. It was the best birthday he could ever ask for.
Craig slowly shut the bedroom door behind him to not wake Tricia up. He heard the hushed whispers of his parents at the kitchen table, coffees in hand. The look they carried on their faces expressed concern as Craig tried to read their eyes, but instead they both looked down into their mugs as if it was the most fascinating thing in the world.
“Good morning, honey, you’re up early,” his mother whispered as Craig joined them at the table.
“I’m always up this early.” He replied in his monotone, nasally voice.
“Yes, but we don’t need to fish for a little bit, we thought you would sleep in,” his father countered.
Craig stared at his parents, both of their eyes finally looking into his. His mother had long, gorgeous blonde hair and green eyes. His father had short, fiery red hair like Skeeter and blue eyes. His sister had strawberry blonde hair and one green eye and one blue eye. Craig had none of those features, he looked nothing like his family. His raven black hair and dark brown eyes weren’t the only features that made him stand out like a black sheep. He was darker than them, even before he spent everyday in the sun. His mother related it back to their heritage, that those genes were just prominent in him compared to the rest of the family. He knew the people of Fairplay whispered about it behind their backs, but never said anything to his face, he was the reason the village was successful. Craig didn’t know what to believe anymore, especially now that they were talking in hushed whispers behind his back.
“What were you guys talking about?” He asked. His mother glanced toward his father, both biting the bottom of their lips.
“We need to tell him, Thomas,” his mother whispered.
“I know, Laura. I know.”
Laura set her mug on the table and grabbed Craig’s hands. She looked deep into his brown eyes. “The army is coming to recruit today.”
Craig’s blank face never changed, “I already knew that. Kevin told Red and I last night.”
“We know, son,” Thomas started, setting his mug down but putting his hands in his lap, “it’s ok that you know. But Kevin’s parents have many reasons to believe that the drawing process is rigged.”
“So?” Craig questioned. He didn’t understand why that mattered.
“Well, honey, if it’s rigged, we have reasons to believe that they will rig it to pull your name,” his mother finished.
“No, they would rig it for me to stay. I’m vital for this village, they know I need to stay.”
His parents didn’t say anything, silence engulfed the room and it was hard for Craig to breath. Would the kingdom rig the drawing process for his name to be picked instead of rigging it to keep him in Fairplay, where he is actually needed? Their heads turned back to their mugs, their hands wrapping around the familiar warmth as Craig sat cold.
“Would the kingdom really do that to Fairplay?”
“We survived without you before, I’m sure we can do it again,” his father forced a smile. Craig knew he was lying, but didn’t say anything. The kingdom was greedy, they loved how much fish Fairplay was catching now thanks to Craig, they would just demand more that the village wouldn’t be able to deliver, probably working his father to death if they could.
Craig was silent, moving like a zombie the rest of the morning. He didn’t know if he should believe his parents, it seemed so out of the realm of possibility that his brain couldn’t even compute it. Not even Red or Kevin could cheer him up, everything they said went in one ear and out the other. Around midday, he found himself wandering the river bank.
He perched himself on a big rock that was splashed with water from the current. He loved this rock, it was where he always sat while waiting for the net to fill up and the fish to swim to their demise. It was comforting to him knowing this rock would outlive him, and that another fisherman would use it the same way Craig did. Maybe that fisherman will beat Craig’s statistics too. Maybe that fisherman will be able to finish his life here and be happy.
Craig shook his head at that thought, he couldn’t think like that. Things would work out in his favor, they just had to. The water felt cold on his feet, a feeling he grew to love over the years. It reminded him of what he was good at, who he was doing it for, why he was doing it in the first place. He watched as the fish swam by, these were the lucky souls that survived his portion of the river.
“Are you really going to sit by the bank all day?” Tricia called out from behind him. He turned to face her watching her walk towards the bank. Once she reached it, she plopped down next to Craig on his rock.
“Is that the only thing you came to ask?” He kept his gaze on the rushing current, watching the fish glide with ease down the river.
“No, I had to come get you. The army is drawing now.”
“Oh.” Craig glanced up to look at his sister, she was silently crying. “Hey, hey, why are you crying?” He put an arm around her shoulder. She let out a sob.
“Cause you’re going to leave and never come back and I’m losing my brother and, and, and I don’t know how to feel!” She choked out more sobs, using the back of her hands to wipe her eyes.
Craig didn’t know what to say. If he was chosen, he would have to say goodbye and never come back, that’s the price you pay as a knight. There were some positives, your family received financial compensation, you got to live in the kingdom, send your children to the top schools in the world for free, marry into a rich family, and more. But those positives meant nothing to Craig, he wanted to be here with his family, his village, his river. He loved fishing, he loved his family, he loved his village, he was content with his simple, insignificant life. But if his name was drawn, then it was all over, he would leave everything behind to protect some family he doesn’t love and would never love.
“What am I going to do without you?” Tricia whispered, breaking his train of thought and grounding him back to his rock.
“Well, you’re going to do what you told me you wanted to do, go out there and see the world. You’re not tethered to this village like others, so go out there and live, for you, for Mom and Dad, for me.” Tricia finally looked into his eyes. He raised his thumbs and whipped the tears that were collecting on her cheeks. He always noticed how gorgeous his sister was, he loved how she looked like a perfect mix of their parents, unlike him who looked like a Peruvian adopted child compared to her. He used to be jealous of how much she looked like them, but then the jealousy turned into love one day as he got older and matured.
“Cmon, let’s go back to the village.”
The walk was silent once again. Neither Tucker sibling knew what to say to make this moment feel less heavy. They just walked, hand-in-hand and in silence to the village center, where everyone was waiting for them.
“Ok, everyone is here,” one of the knights said, Craig had never seen him before, “let us briefly explain the drawing process and then we will draw a name. Since this village is so small, we will only draw one.” He paused to take out a scroll and opened it, exposing a long piece of paper. “We can skip most of these since we are only drawing one name.” His eyes scattered up and down the scroll, memorizing the most important parts of the drawing process so he could reiterate it to these people.
“Mhm, ok, since this is the first drawing in eight years, we will still only be drawing 18 year olds. Both men and women have an equal chance to be drawn as well. If you do not abide by the drawing process, you will be charged with treason. You won’t need any of your past possessions, just the rags on your back. Those are all the important ones, now let us get to the drawing process! All 18 year olds, please come and stand in the front below us.” The knight ushered to the area in front of the other knights. Craig let go of his sister’s hand and walked toward them.
“Craig…” she whispered out, just enough for Craig to hear. He couldn’t look back, he doesn’t want the last time he sees his sister to be a broken, scared little girl.
The village parted ways for the children to get through, not being able to look them in the eyes, averting their gazes to the dirt. No, not children, they were all technically adults- but Craig didn’t feel like an adult, he felt like he was still just a kid, trying to figure himself out. His rags, as the knights called them, hung from his body in awkward ways as he shuffled to stand next to Red, pulling on the ends of his blue hat to calm his nerves. His face never changed from the blank stare that he always held, no matter how nervous he was. Red’s face, on the other hand, could tell a story with how expressive it was. Her eyes were on fire, her mouth contorted into a frown, her eyebrows pinched in anger, but Craig knew it was a cover, he knew she was so scared for Kevin, Craig, and her. Kevin looked like he was trying to blink back tears with how fast his eyes were moving, he looked terrified of whatever the outcome would be. His fists were clenched at his sides, ready to fight back if he had to. Craig knew it was a fight Kevin was willing to lose.
Craig peered back up at the knights, as the one from before was writing down the names onto pieces of paper and putting them in a bowl. His entire future rode on a tiny piece of paper. As the knight finished writing, he grabbed the bowl and shook it violently for the village to watch, making sure they understood that this was a “random” drawing. Craig closed his eyes, he couldn’t watch. He felt his lunch hanging in the back of his throat, ready to paint the knights in fish.
“Craig Tucker!” The knight shouted.
“No!!” He heard his mother break out into sobs somewhere behind him.
Craig opened his eyes, everyone was staring at him. He looked at Red as the tears streamed down her cheeks reflected the glare from the sun. He would never see her again. He would never see her lead the village with Kevin, he would never even watch them confess their love for each other, he would never see them get married. Her mouth was agape, mouthing the words I’m so sorry to Craig. Craig mouthed back, Please tell him how you feel and take care of these people as he turned back to face the knights. He didn’t even have to make himself known, they were coming for him without a single word. A knight each grabbed his arm and dragged him to where the other knights stood. A knight pushed his hands into his back, pushing him to a wooden carriage in the distance.
“Wait, don’t I get to say goodbye?!” Craig screamed against the struggle. He was taller and stronger than these men, but being outnumbered was not helping his case. “MOM?! DAD?! TRISH?!” He wailed out.
“God no, son, you don’t need these people anymore. Everything is waiting for you at the kingdom.”
“No, let me say goodbye! Let me say goodbye! Craig!!” Craig swung his head around back to the village he was being dragged away from. His family was being held back, his mother’s arms were wailing as she was picked up by two knights. Tricia and his father were also being restrained, watching their family member being dragged away before getting to say a goodbye or even give him one last embrace. His father’s face held a stressed look, Craig knew he was worried about the future of Fairplay. His mother’s face held a determined look, she was determined to say goodbye to her son, her baby, her boy. But his sister’s face is one he would remember in his nightmares, a face mixed with defeat, sadness, and a “I told you so” look. She stopped struggling against the restraint of the knight, her hands flying to her face to muffle her sobs. Craig couldn’t watch anymore, he knew it was the last time he would see their faces and he hated that this was the last look they had of him. He turned back around, listening to the screams and sobs of his mother.
—-
The knights held onto his arms until all three pushed him in the carriage.Craig stumbled back into the seat, muttering curse words under his breath. He glanced around, its intricate designs lined the interior of the walls that showed the emblem of the kingdom of South Park. It was a shield decorated with tiny, intricate stars with a jewel in the middle. It reminded him of his youth, his astronomy class. He traced his finger over the closest one.
“You like the design?” Someone said as the carriage started to move. Craig heard horse hooves hit the world in front of and behind him. He looked up to the voice, seeing a young woman sit in the seat across from him. Her light brown hair looked matted, her brown eyes held an anger that never seemed to dissipate. She didn’t even wait for Craig to respond before continuing.
“My name is Shelley Marsh of the Marsh family, you probably have heard of us.”
Craig titled his head in confusion, was he supposed to know the Marsh family?
“Oh, I forgot, your stupid village closed its school. We are high ranking knights in the army, my mom, dad, and I. My brother is your age, so he’ll be in your knight class.” Shelley bragged with a smirk. She definitely loved to talk about herself.
“Am I supposed to care?” Craig questioned.
“Well, we’re in charge of turds like you, so you’re gonna care when I ruin your life!”
“My life is already ruined, you took me away from everything.”
“Oh please, Craig. You were just going to live the same boring life your parents lived. At least now you’ll be doing something meaningful with your life,” Shelley shrugged. Craig’s rage was growing, but his face remained blank.
“I was doing something meaningful, I was taking care of the people I love.”
“Oh, we know,” she started, “you’ve brought so much fish to the kingdom that we just had to see for ourselves what made you so great. The knights stationed at Fairplay never shut up about you.”
Craig felt a shiver go down his spine. “What… what do you mean?”
Shelley’s mouth contorted into a grin, showing her crooked teeth. “Why do you think it took us eight years to draw from your village? The army was waiting for you. You’re one of the strongest people we’ve ever seen in South Park. At least, that’s what the knights said, we’ll have to see for ourselves if you are actually all that.”
A silence followed before Craig spoke up. “So, it was rigged? My parents were right?” he asked, barely above a whisper. He really felt like he could throw up his lunch now, at least this girl deserved it.
“It normally isn’t, but sometimes when a village is so small and a person is so mysteriously good at what they do, it has to,” she said. “But don’t worry, your family will be good for life and you get to live in the kingdom that’s way better than your shabby home in a tiny village on the river.”
“You’re ruining my village by taking me away! These people can’t survive without me, everyone knows that!”
Shelley looked long at Craig, trying to read his eyes because his blank stare and monotone voice wasn’t giving any indication of anything. His eyes didn’t hold any emotion either, at least none that she saw. “You and your village will be fine. Someone will take your place and will be able to keep up with demands.”
Craig looked out the window of the carriage, refusing to continue this conversation further. He already hated Shelley, he would definitely hate the rest of her high strung family too. The trees engulfed his view of the countryside he grew to love, the river and village were long gone from his vision, and his heart was breaking.
—-
The single file line halted, causing a ripple effect of the new recruits to run into each other. Craig watched it happen in front of him, he watched the heads fall down as bodies toppled over each other. Thankfully, when he stopped to not join the pile of bodies on the ground, the recruit behind him crashed into his back, but both stood upright anyway. He turned to stare at the recruit behind him. He didn’t know what to say, the boy was crying. His shaggy brown hair was draped over his eyes, hiding the tears, but Craig heard the sniffles as the boy brought the back of his hand to swipe at the snot coming out of his nose. Craig felt sorry for him even though they were the same age and they were in the same predicament, this boy was taking it way worse than Craig was.
“S-Sorry man, I didn’t mean to run into you,” he choked out. Craig looked him up and down, he was wearing clothes that Craig remembered in school as belonging to one of the merchant villages. His chubby cheeks collected the tears that spilled out of his hazel eyes. He was heavier than Craig, but the muscles were still prominent. The boy was considerably shorter, Craig still had to gaze down to look at his face. He was still the tallest wherever he went.
“What’s your name?” Craig asked.
“Clyde… Clyde Donovan. What’s yours?”
“I’m Craig Tucker.” Clyde finally met Craig’s eyes and found warmth staring back at him. Everyone back in his village said he would make no friends, just like his childhood. They said he would be lonely for the rest of his life. But here, standing in front of this tall stranger, he felt a sense of understanding, of warmth. He was trying so hard not to wrap this newly met stranger into a hug because he was so scared, but he was able to restrain himself, maybe he finally met a real friend.
“I’m from the merchant town Kupa, what village are you from?”
“I’m from Fairplay, right on the river,” Craig said with a smirk, maybe if they talked about something else, Clyde would stop crying while the line was still halted.
“Sweet dude, your village is the last one on the river, what’s it like? I always wanted to swim there, we just had stupid creeks near Kupa, nothing with real fish though.”
Craig tilted his head in confusion. He lost eight years of schooling, did that many villages by the river become abandoned? “Wait, what? Fairplay is the last one on the river?”
“Yeah dude, they’ve been abandoned for years now, probably like five or six years. We just learned about it at school before the drawing.” At his own mention of the drawing, Clyde’s eyes started to become glossy. Craig was in panic mode, trying to stop his only friend now from crying.
“Hey, hey, it’s ok, we’re ok, they’re ok, everything will be fine. We have each other, right?” Craig said while rubbing the back of a stranger. Clyde couldn’t take it anymore, he wrapped his arms around his friend and gave him a giant bear hug. Craig wouldn’t mind the hug, he actually enjoyed Clyde’s company right now, but he was also crushing Craig’s chest and blocking his lungs from giving him oxygen.
“Clyde, can… can I breathe please?”
“OH, SORRY dude.” Clyde exclaimed, releasing Craig from his body and soul crushing hug. Craig smiled at his new friend and turned around just in time for the single file line to start moving toward the castle.
The new recruits were met with stares of the rich and powerful of South Park, but Craig didn’t care about those, Clyde’s words still bounced around in his head. Why was Fairplay the last village on the river? Craig distinctly remembers learning about the villages up and down the river from them before the school shut down. He remembered learning about the large fishing village of Panhandle that sat a little up the river from them and gawking at how much bigger it was compared to Fairplay. He remembered the small village down a couple miles down the river that had a 100% success catch rate that he idolized. Out of all the villages and all their achievements, why was Fairplay the last one standing? And why was Fairplay the last one to know about it?
His thoughts were cut short as the class of recruits were ushered into the castle and to one of the many courtyards that was for the knights and training. The massive courtyard held rows and rows of benches, it must be for how many are in the army because the new class of recruits didn’t even take up three rows. Thankful he already met Clyde, and they struck up meaningless conversation while waiting for someone of importance.
Finally, a man with black hair with the same colored moustache and a woman with light-brown ashy hair walked to the front of the recruits. They were holding hands. The woman looked suspiciously similar to Shelley that accompanied Craig in his carriage ride, the man just looked like a loser.
“Alright everyone, settle down!” The chatter from the recruits quieted. They all turned their heads to the man and woman who were responsible for ruining their lives. “My name is Randy Marsh and this is my wife, Sharon Marsh. We are the heads of the Royal Army.”
“So you’re the one who ruined my life!” Someone screamed from the crowd. The Marshs didn’t know who said it, they didn’t know who to punish, but a majority of the recruits cheered at the exclamation.
“No, we didn’t ruin anyone’s life! We are sorry that you were drawn at random, but serving the royal family is the highest honor in the world. You kids will experience all the amazing benefits of being in the army while doing something good with your life,” Randy countered with a smile, never letting go of his wife’s hand. It was disgusting.
“Oh, yeah, and what if we die before then?”
The Marshs remained silent, not able to come up with a counter argument. Their silence clung to the air like a disgusting humidity that was hard to breathe in. The crowd ate their silence like a terrible dinner, it made you want to vomit afterwards. Craig was right, he knew he would hate the Marshs.
“Anyway, let’s continue with…” Craig tuned out the rest of what the heads of the Royal Army had to say. He knew there was no way out of being forced to be a knight, he was already drawn and he doesn’t want to be tried for treason yet. Besides, he doesn’t want to leave his new friend behind, that kid was an emotional wreck.
Their welcome speech was wrapped up with lingering silence, the recruits surrounding Craig had more emotion on their faces, they were clearly angry at God even knows what, Craig didn’t know because he wasn’t listening. His blank stare never faltered, never changed, never broke. To the Marshs, he probably looked like the perfect recruit, his gaze never left them and it looked like he understood what they were saying.
But Craig was good at putting on an act, he never bothered to listen to authority at Fairplay and he wasn’t going to learn now. But for now, he stood with the rest of the recruits and walked to their new living quarters.
The large room was split for women to take one side and men to take another, bunk beds littering both sides, each with two trunks to store the knight’s belongings. Craig took long strides to claim a bunk bed for him and Clyde, claiming the top bunk before Clyde could say anything. Clyde sat on the bottom bunk, kicking his feet up on the unmade bed.
“Gross dude, you’re gonna dirty your bed.” Someone said as he and another boy claimed the bunk to their right. Craig peered down to take in the person the voice came from.
Even though Fairplay was one of the poorest villages, this kid looked like he embodied what the word poor meant. His face was smudged with black markings, he reeked of a smell Craig couldn’t place. His hands were pitch black, like he was purposely trying to paint his hands with black paint. His blonde hair was knotted and matted, he desperately needed someone’s help to make him look somewhat fine. His clothes were unrecognizable to Craig, he never learned about this kid’s village.
“Heh, you’re one to talk,” Craig muttered. The blonde haired boy peered up at him with a grin, there was no malice in either of their faces.
“The name’s Kenny, Kenny McCormick. This is my bunk mate Leopold Stotch, but everyone calls his Butters,” Kenny pointed to the other blonde boy next to him. He was much more put together with nice clothes that belonged to the plumbing village of Crest. His blue eye was accompanied with a milky one with a long scar running over it. Craig wasn’t going to ask where that came from, it looked painful.
“I’m Clyde Donovan, above me is Craig Tucker,” Clyde responded while Craig was still lost in thought. “Where are you guys from?”
“I’m from Crest, the plumbing village. Kenny here is from Woodstock, the mining village. That’s why he looks like this, he was just working before getting drawn. What about you two?” Butters said.
“I’m from Kupa, one of the merchant villages. Craig’s from Fairplay, the fishing village.”
Kenny and Butters nodded their heads in acknowledgement before being interrupted by older knights handing the boys their sheets. Clyde grabbed Craig’s sheets and handed it up to him. He hated the top bunk, but he was the taller one out of them, so it was just easier for them both.
“Do you guys think we will see the royal family?” Butters asked, fidgeting with the corners of his fitted sheet. Kenny watched him struggle before climbing down and doing it himself. Butters silently whispering a thank you.
“I hope not, these people are the reason we have to do this,” Craig said, jumping from his top bunk.
“You’re a fucking idiot if you think the royal family is the reason you’re here,” a new voice shouted to his left. All four boys turned their heads, watching the black haired boy fix his bottom bunk, the top bunk left empty. He stood up and all five boys took in the sights of each other.
The black haired boy sounded a lot like Randy, the head of the Royal Army. His wispy black hair was fitted under a red-brimmed blue knit cap with a red pom-pom on the top. Craig wondered if Sharon made it for him like his own mother did in Fairplay, but the family seems too war-hungry for anyone to make something as delicate as a piece of clothing from scratch. He was shorter than Craig, he lacked muscles, and he was already pissing Craig off. He was definitely a Marsh.
“Who the fuck are you?” Kenny questioned.
“I’m Stan Marsh, my parents are the heads of the Royal Army.”
“Is that supposed to impress us? Are we supposed to bow down to you? Are you even supposed to be sleeping with us, commoners?” Clyde said.
“No, no, I was just saying the royal family is not the reason you’re here. My dumbass parents are.”
Everyone was shocked and stood in silence, they thought Stan was coming to the defense of his family and their role in royalty, but instead, he probably hated them just as much as everyone else in the room did. Craig couldn’t understand someone hating their own parents, but he knew if he was related to the Marshs, he would hate them too.
“Wait, you’re related to them and you don’t even want to be here?” Butters questioned, rubbing his hands together and peering down.
“Of course not, dude. I wanted to do something else with my life, but of course since my parents AND sister are high ranking officials, this was literally my only option,” Stan breathed out, falling back onto his bed. Craig saw he looked tired, like he was dreading this day for his entire life. He couldn’t remain pissed off at Stan, he was just as screwed as every other person in this room was.
“Just don’t blame the royal family, they’re actually really nice. Them and the second in commands.” Stan rubbed his hands over his face, messing up his cap before fixing it. Craig had that habit too. Before anyone could respond, a loud voice cut through the living quarters.
“Alright new recruits, it’s time for supper and you will be eating with the royals, so don’t fuck this up! After, you are to return to these living quarters and get ready for bed. There will be new clothes for you to sleep in from the fashion department. And yes, you may take showers,” the older knight said while Kenny silently cheered, Craig wondered if he ever even showered before. “Tomorrow, we will fit you for your armor.”
Craig followed his new friends down the corridor to the dining quarters, silently hoping a meteor would strike down and crush him instead. But, as the new recruits shuffled up the stairs to the main floor, no meteor was going to come and Craig clearly pissed off God for him to be acting this way.