A Life Beyond by Mark Church (e book reader txt) 📖

'I thought we were all going to be put in the same class together' said Harvey as he started to feel a bit uneasy just like he did at Longmeads at the thought of not being with his friend, the King offered his reasons for doing this to the children,

'We must separate you so you aren't influenced in any decisions you make by each other, this ensures that any progress you make towards the final test is born of your mind alone'

'Oh great, bottom of the class again I bet!!' moaned Harvey as he looked even more upset by this,

'Don't be so hard on yourself young Harvey' smiled the King 'you may just surprise yourself here, this schooling is more of a...guideline shall we say, into what we would like you to become'

'Oh that helps!!' said Harvey 'it's still school though, I couldn't stand it then and I'm sure I won’t feel any different about it now',

The King knew that Harvey would be the hardest to get through to so made sure he had something good to aim for and appealed to his more excitable side,

'My dear boy, I can see that you are uneasy about what you are about to go through but let me explain that this schooling is beneficial to your future here with us, you will learn so much about yourself, you will learn thing that will keep you safe from harm, you will learn how to defend yourself and how your mind can manipulate the world around you, if you're strong enough I mean, all in all it's a schooling that may just save your life one day'

'Ohhhh right, if you put it like that then...where do we start??' a smile had spread across his face at the thought of something exciting happening to him for once,

'But remember it's not all easy going Harvey, the path ahead is filled with pitfalls as well as highs, and the learning you will be doing will require a lot of concentration' the King hoped to see Harvey's demeanour change, which it did, meaning he was fully focussed on what was going to be happening to him here.

'Right children, Daniel you are to stay here with Lady Willo as you know, Lillie and Harvey you are to follow me please'.

Off they went out of the classroom leaving Daniel standing there with everyone just looking at him, he felt so uneasy as he made his way to his table, he pulled the seat out which creaked and screeched across the wooden floor as he did it, hoping no one had noticed it he sat down as if nothing had happened, he turned to his right and smiled at the girl sitting next to him who just stared back blankly, her eyes burning deep into the side of his face,

'Hello…' He said 'I'm Daniel...I'm new here', the girl just kept staring back at him, mouth wide open, without even moving throwing him a look that seemed to suggest she had never seen anyone like him before,

'Oh ok…' Daniel said and turned back towards the front of the class to be met with the face of Lady Willo staring back at him with a look that said ‘are we ready to start’, Daniel smiled nervously at Lady Willo as he shuffled in his seat and adjusted his robes before looking straight ahead waiting for the class to begin.

'This way Lillie...this is where your class is' the King said as they reached the most colourful door she had ever seen, beautiful carvings filled every inch of it, carvings that seemed to depict a happy environment within, a scenery which showed all of the town laughing and dancing to some sort of festival.

Lillie was enchanted by its beauty and couldn't wait to meet the people behind the door who had created something so beautiful,

'The door opened and a beam of beautiful sunlight filled the corridor as the teacher in the room filled the doorway bathed in a glorious glow,

'This is Mr Flora..' said the King, stretching out his hand to introduce Lillies new teacher,

'Ahhhh Lillie...that is a most beautiful name' replied her teacher 'Lillie, like the flower, and my name is linked to flowers, It's like you were meant to be put in my class, how wonderful' he beamed, Lillie smiled back knowing she felt instantly comfortable in her surroundings, Mr Flora could see that Lillie knew she belonged in his class and had the biggest smile spreading across her face as she turned to face her new classmates who seemed just a happy to see her as she was to be there, a few of them waved in her direction causing her to smile back,

'Welcome to your classroom then Lillie' said Mr Flora, 'we are known as ‘The Wallbloom’, a nod to the flowers that grow up our castle walls, I feel that you will fit right in Lillie. I have kept a table clear in the centre of the classroom for you so you can mingle with the rest of the class, feel free to chat to your new class friend's and get to know them well, we try to encourage social interaction so no one feels out of place',

'Oh thank you sir' Lillie beamed as she walked over to her seat with everyone in the class wanting to say hello to her, the King pulled Mr Flora to one side and said,

'I hope that this child will be allowed the room to grow Mr Flora, I don't want a repeat of what happened last time!!'

'My King..' replied Mr Flora 'no one could have predicted what would have happened with the child, you know I have an excellent record with the children, what happened that day was not of my doing'

'Just see that nothing happens to her, she's a very special individual' the King replied raising a finger as he spoke,

'Yes my King, I will not fail you this time' Mr Flora said as he bowed his head toward the King,

'Good good Mr Flora' replied the King 'she must have no outside influences, I need to see where she belongs', and with that the King turned on his heels and walked out the door shepherding Harvey away from the class,

'Now my dear boy just your class left and then I can finish my own teachings'

'What do you teach if I may ask sir?' asked Harvey as he noticed that they had been walking for a long time now,

'Ahhhh my boy it is a specialised teaching for certain individuals, but only a select few get to partake in this, it's more for...castle protection purposes…but it takes many years to be allowed into my chambers for that' the King said as he walked down the longest corridor Harvey had ever seen, they walked past a collection of doors, each with a class behind them, Harvey was getting excited at the thought of what his new classmates were going to be like seeing as both Lillie and Daniels classes seemed like good classes to be in,

'So King…' asked Harvey as they neared the end of the corridor 'what's my class like then?, I can't wait to meet them!!'

'Patience Harvey. We are almost there, this class has been carefully selected by the board as best suited for you apparent ability, I expect you to thrive in here' smiled the King as they reached the final door in the longest and darkest part of the castle, he knocked on the door...and nothing, no one came to the door, the King sighed as he knew the class were inside, he could hear noises sounding like the children ‘shushing’ each other.

The King knocked slower and harder this time, the sound of footsteps could be heard coming towards the door, it creaked open enough for a pair of eyes to become visible to both of them.

'K..King Casborn...Errrm hello...I wasn't expecting to see you today' said the small rounded face with a pair of rather oversized glasses on looked out from behind the battered and beaten door,

'Ahhhh hello Mr Scoot' smiled the King 'if you would be so kind as to open the door and let us in, I have your new pupil here..and he's excited to be joining your class', Mr Scoot turned his attention towards Harvey who was standing there sporting a huge smile on his face,

'This is the child?' asked Mr Scoot as he looked Harvey up and down, his eyes bulging as he looked over the top of his glasses,

'Why yes, he is a new addition to our ever expanding family Mr Scoot, so I expect you to show him the same courtesy as you did to the rest of the class when they joined you' the King's tone changed to a more authoritative tone this time which didn't go unnoticed by Mr Scoot who slowly pulled the door open which creaked and groaned as he tugged at it. The door got stuck halfway which caused a room full of sniggering to start up from behind him, Mr Scoot sighed and closed his eyes as he grew increasingly annoyed with every passing second, he looked down to see someone had put a wedge behind the door, stopping it from opening fully,

'Who put that there? Answer me or else there will be consequences for the whole class' came the high pitched response from Mr Scoot who was now turning a dark red colour as he turned towards his room full of children,

'New kid done it…'came the smart response from somewhere deep in the room, Harvey was now shaking slightly at the thought of stepping into the room, Mr Scoot reacted in his normal way towards whoever had come out with the comment by stamping his foot on the ground and wagging his finger strongly,

'DON'T ACT ALL SMART WITH ME' He shouted back 'and I don't want you to start on the new child in the class ok!!' just as he finished a rolled up ball of paper came hurtling through the air and hit Mr Scoot slap bang on the side of the head causing his glasses to fall off and hit the floor,

'RIGHT WHO THREW THAT!!!' he screeched and disappeared inside the room leaving the King and Harvey standing there looking rather bemused, the King turned to Harvey and smiled awkwardly just as Harvey was about to take a peek inside the classroom to see where the teacher had gone, he heard something slamming inside and a voice laughing as it said once again,

'New kid done it…' followed by complete silence.

As footsteps could be heard walking back towards the open door Harvey prepared himself for whatever it was coming his way but he was met by the sight of Mr Scoot again, looking a little dishevelled as he adjusted himself,

'Sorry about that sir' he said as he turned his attention back to Harvey, 'just a bit of unruliness that has been sorted for now..'

'Not a good impression for this boy's first day is it Mr Scoot' remarked the King as he stood there very patiently,

'I can only apologise sir...but it's been one of those mornings for them, something seems to have rattled them but I don't know what it is' Mr Scoot replied as he lowered his head in a slightly shameful way,

'Just make sure you get them all inline for the parade please, I don't want any more shame brought upon this class, seeing just how far behind everyone is' the King said as he then looked towards Harvey, he put his hand behind Harvey's back and looked at him straight in the eyes for a few seconds, 'and Mr Scoot...make sure you look after young Harvey here, I have already told you all about him so I expect total cooperation and absolutely NO interference from anyone, DO YOU UNDERSTAND!!'

'Y...yes my King...I understand completely, I will do my best as always...but you know what the children are like sir, a handful at the best of times, and with the new boy joining they might