Original Fiction by Anu Kumar
Take a Break: Flash Fiction about a Former Kingsguard Working in a Tavern, a Trashed Beer Cellar, and a Suspicious Enchanter
“What in the king’s name are you doing!” the warrior spat, “Can’t you read the sign outside? We’re closed. Also, you’ll have to pay for all the beer you just wasted.”
Rajamegnon had faced many things in the king’s guard, but his experience didn’t include a trashed beer cellar with a passed out enchanter in the middle of it.
When he was younger, he’d always dreamt of being in the king’s guard. Seeing his uncles and cousins put on the lustrous red and gold uniform had caused envy, the magical armor glamouring their muscles and filling their facial hair. The guards were only second to the king’s enchanter’s council. So when the coup happened, he was ready to defend his king. Only he had been too late, and when the palace finally established the guards had been dismissed, all of them returning to civilian life and taking up jobs in local places.
Rajamegnon had thought of working in a brewery, and today was the day to check up on the deliveries and take stock.
