The Start

 And, So I write this to you, as an ambassador of my lands, commanded to share my story, to the best of my abilities. They asked for a complete record, and in that I will deliver. 

Nonetheless,

 I will hold to the great storytelling tenant of brevity, and only share that which I consider important for the story.

The hardest part was paying attention. Grail had never been very good at that, even while younger, and in school, his attention had always been one to wander. The most interesting subjects were never enough; it was as if they lacked something substantial. To him, his thoughts were powerful; he found escape in that power from the tedium and repetition of everyday life…and now that he was thinking about it, thinking about thinking, he realized that everyday life, that repetitious and repetitive cycle, was sure a lot less boring than the daily meetings he had to attend as a scribe.

Sitting now in the corner of that dank room, his pen scribbling ink upon paper, words he heard but did not process, he worked to bring himself back into that reality, to bring himself back into that moment, and as he did so, realized that he had missed something. Everyone was starring at him, and all he had to return was a blank look.

“Did you get that boy?” An angry set of eyes, framed by a loose set of jowls, glinted over a sharp nose.

“He asked if you got that?”

“Answer him!”

  “You must answer the magistrate for he speaks for the King!” 

“Erm.” A sharp pain rose up in the scribe’s stomach, a knot of anxiety that he felt forced to ignore. Looking down at the parchment, he saw that his hand writing had trailed off mid word, “…and th…” was the last thing written.

Grail could not think of how to share this information with the angry crowd of people gathering around him, “um.”

Articulating that single syllable of defeat with as much grace as he could muster, he sweated, while looking for some sort of distraction. Not finding much, he began to articulate his words as clearly as he could,“Yes, I have it right here.”

            There was a collective sigh of relief, which Grail quickly soured by throwing down his pen and parchment and bolting for the door.No one tried to interfere with him, they just watched him pass with shocked eyes. Taken aback the head magistrate even made a “Tsk-Tsk,” although not quite loud enough for the King to here.

The King himself just watched Grail leave, confident that the young man would be brought to justice.