APPLICANT #7

the prince of foron, kim ilsung

There’s a world out there. The little boy does not believe that the walls surrounding the kingdom are the limits of the world. He wants to run, he wants to fly, not caring if the wings of his imagination get burnt in the process. He is not afraid of fire. Not yet. He is too young to be afraid of the immensity of the world. He wants to run in the fresh grass every day, just like he is doing right now. He wants to feel the delicate feeling of nature on his bare feet, he wants to jump on the falling leaves in autumn, he wants to play with this white and cold thing that he heard appears in other Kingdoms during winter. He smiles as he remembers the word her mother used to call it. Snow. Beautiful, ethereal, white snow. He wants to see it so badly but he is not allowed to leave. His mother told him that one day, he would be able to visit other Kingdoms, to see the world. She told him that as a King, he would be able to go wherever he wanted. It was tempting – but he does not want to be King yet. He is afraid of being like his father. He turns around, watching as his mother waves at him, until suddenly, the little boy frowns. His mother is no more. He cries.

He loved the noise. He loved watching as the merchants gathered at the market place to trade their new findings and to tell the stories of their travels. Ilsung felt more at home in the middle of them than trapped in between the walls of the castle. If one was not from Foron, they would not have been able to guess this charming young male was the heir of the throne. He was jumping more than walking, excitement painted all over his face, eyes twinkling with unconcealed happiness. Once every summer, the capital of Foron opened its gates to merchants from all Kingdoms to allow them to trade their resources. The market place was crowded with people, which was a rare sight for the inhabitants of Khlamar. The security was usually so tight at the gates of the Kingdom that foreigners were rarely given the authorization to enter, and Khlamar was even worse. Some people had lived within the capital without meeting a single person from another Kingdom. But this day was different.

The Annual Meeting of Merchants was Ilsung’s favorite day of the year. He just loved seeing people coming from so far away. He had spent hours listening to a merchant coming from Aques narrate his adventure with a big white whale, or another one describing the forests of Hatio as if he was drawing a picture. This year, it seemed Luce had decided to join the party and a few of their tailors had come to Khlamar to sell clothes. He definitely could not wait to see that.

“Does your father even know you are here?”

Ilsung chuckled as he turned to the guard standing close, arms crossed on his torso. The man was old, reaching the end of his service. Since he was wearing regular clothes, the teenager assumed if was not on duty for the day. He beamed at him and shrugged sheepishly, knowing that the soldier did not need him to answer to know the King had no idea where his son was. The man laughed and ruffled his hair with affection, making the Prince laugh. Many people would have lost their head for such a gesture but Ilsung did not mind. He had always known that man, he had been one of his mother’s personal guards back when she was still in Foron. Even as he grew up, the soldier had cared for him and had covered him up several times when he had sneaked out of the castle. He was like a distant uncle, but one he really liked seeing. The man was here to pretend Ilsung was his nephew if he had troubles with foreigners, which had happened once, a long time ago. The boy smiled and looked at the market place.

“I heard words that merchants from Luce would be here?” He inquired, curious.

“It is correct,” the soldier nodded, “It is rare for people from Luce to come this far, I wonder why they decided to join.”

Ilsung beamed. Maybe an adventure? He waved at the soldier and took off, wandering in the sea of people, watching with wide eyes objects and materials he had never seen before. A few hours later, the boy found himself disappointed. He had seen the whole market place and had not found the Luce merchants yet. Ilsung was walking aimlessly, munching on a delicious almond bread coming from Aques, when he noticed a group of people sitting in front of a small tailor stall arboring a big red phoenix. The male was confused. Why would they stay so far away from the main location of the market? He walked closer until he was able to hear. The two merchants were wearing white and brown clothes, created simply but with extremely detailed handiwork. It was definitely different from the clothes made in Foron. The woman was watching her husband with an amused smile. The man, who was sitting on the edge of a small fountain, was talking animatedly to children sitting in front of him.

“Everyone had fabricated big animals made of paper. There were dogs, horses, wolves, rabbits, even griffins! They had tied their legs to trees with a rope and left them float around. At first, they all looked like pretty animal clouds. But then… the night was slowly coming.” The man’s voice changed to a more mysterious one, but his eyes were twinkling with mischief, while his wife chuckled at the silliness of her husband. “And when it was dark, the animals suddenly lit up! The rabbit became yellow, the horse pink, the dog green! The wolf was a beautiful light blue, the Prince’s favorite color.”

”And where was the Prince?” a little girl asked.

“Ah, the Prince! He was there as well, at the center of the clearing. He was holding a big phoenix made of paper. It was bigger than three men! He lit it and let it free with a smile and the bright red Phoenix flew away! And the Spring Festival started.”

The children let out ‘wow’s of fascination and Ilsung stopped breathing, his almond bread forgotten. He wanted to see those colors. He wanted to see the phoenix lantern fly up in the sky. He promised himself that day: he would go to this Spring Festival one day. 

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