“Who are you?” snapped one of the rebels. The gangly sixteen-year-old boy before them flinched in fear. He wore the dark red shirt and brown pants of a stableboy for the Royal Stables. His short, curly black hair and skin the dark tan of an almond indicated he was from the kingdom of Estrellia, which was to the east of Karagot. This was confirmed when the boy spoke.
“My name is Jose Ramirez,” he said in a wavering voice, providing an Estrellian name. “I am but a stableboy. When the chaos broke out, I did not look to see where I was running and got lost.” He spoke in a thick Estrellian accent. It seemed that he was an immigrant, rather than a native of Karagot with Estrellian heritage.
“We must have mistaken the color of his shirt for royal hair,” the other rebel said to the first. The first rebel nodded.
“You may go, Jose,” he instructed. Jose didn’t need further permission. He sprinted away from the rebels as quickly as possible, his mind racing. Before he used the amulet, he had been Prince Jasper. But now, he was an Estrellian stableboy named Jose Ramirez. He was grateful that the amulet had provided him with a backstory, as he would not have been able to come up with something on the spot.
Jose headed for the Royal Stables. In the event of a coup or other attack, the stableboys were to release all the horses as a distraction. Hopefully, he would get there in time to grab a steed he could flee on. When he arrived at the stable, however, his heart sunk. Every single stall was empty. As Jose was trying to think as to what he’d do now, he felt someone grab his arm. He looked behind him. It was a rebel!
“Protect me!” Jose blurted out in a panic. There was a flash of light. When the light cleared, the rebel had turned into a chestnut mare. The horse was not nearly as fine as the horses from the Royal Stables, as she looked to be one more commonly seen pulling a commoner’s cart. But it was probably a better option for a poor Estrellian stableboy anyways.
Jose grabbed a bridle and reins from the wall and placed them on the former rebel. He would have liked to put a saddle on as well, but he had no time. He could ride bareback. Jose mounted the mare and dug his heels into her belly. The mare took off at a gallop. She was not as noble as Jose was used to riding as Prince Jasper, but she was still fast enough to get out of the city surrounding the Palace before the gates closed.
Once on the road, Jose instructed the mare to slow and patted her neck.
“I will name you Sierra,” he said in his new thick Estrellian accent. It was one of the few Estrellian names he knew. As Prince Jasper, he had ignored his studies on the neighboring kingdoms in favor of spending time in the harem. Hopefully his lack of knowledge on Estrellia wouldn’t make his cover difficult to keep. As Jose rode Sierra at a more leisurely pace, he considered where to go. He didn’t know exactly where Anya came from, but judging by her accent, she was from the Eastern Hills region. That would be the best place to start.
“Boy!” a voice shouted. Jose looked over. He had come alongside a cart. The cart was being driven by a man who looked to be in his thirties. Next to the man was a woman of the same age, presumably his wife. In the bed of the cart was a teenage girl and two young boys who looked to be twins. All were Estrellian. “What is your name?” asked the man.
“Jose Ramirez,” Jose replied.
“Where do you head?”
“The east.”
“We are headed there as well,” the man said. “We aim to return to Estrellia, where it is safe.”
“Karagot is not safe anymore, that is for sure,” Jose said.
“Yes. Would you like to travel with us?” the man asked. “There is safety in numbers.” Abruptly, Jose realized the conversation wasn’t occurring in his native tongue of Karagotine. Rather, it was in Estrellian. It seemed the amulet had granted him fluency in a language that fit his backstory.
“I am not sure,” Jose mumbled.
“Please, child,” the man’s wife spoke up. “Us Estrellians must stick together. Life in Karagot was difficult enough for those not Karagotine before the King was overthrown. Who knows how the new regime will treat us?”
Jose felt himself begin to waver. He certainly didn’t feel comfortable traveling on his own, even with the protection from Anya’s amulet. The amulet wouldn’t protect him from hunger or lack of shelter, after all. But while the Eastern Hills were in the northeast, Estrellia was to the southeast. He wouldn’t be going in the direction of Anya’s home if he traveled with this family. Then again, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to retreat to Estrellia, recuperate, and then seek out Anya. But that could waste precious time.
After some thought, Jose made his decision.