My nose is like two dark tunnels that lead nowhere. My eyes are like ripe cherry tomatoes. My ears are like caves that lead to the space inside my head. My chest is a wall of colors. My heart holds peace that is spread across the world. I live in a guitar and eat all of its cords. Quin Library Archives- Excerpt from Prince Beau Soo the 1st Journal Entry 73532



“Nayla has instructed you many times about that slave Durantis, he will see the end of you.”

The royal son of King Herbert just stared with a deliberate look of annoyance as he began to speak. The light from Solus II was low in the sky on the planet Quin painting long shadows in the courtyard below the box where Prince Alex and the priest Painter were seated.

The End of me! The Prince thought “Not only is Durantis the best fighter in the garrison, he remains loyal to my father” he said as he broke his stare and looked back at the activity below. The slave Durantis in the courtyard appeared to be a young man in his early twenties. He was a sturdy figure with a look of intensity and focus standing two meters tall under a full head of blond hair. In the late afternoon his long shadow loomed in front of him making him appear even taller and threatening to the training droid on the yard to his left. His jumpsuit only revealed patches of skin that were all darkly tanned.

“Not only is this slave dangerous to us but he is costly” Painter said. His voice was full of caution and concern for the young Prince. It was the voice from the religious leader on Quin as Painter’s church had been among the first colonists on Quin striking out for freedom.

Alex looked at the priest and though: Someday you will understand how important Durantis is to the Kingdom. Alex was the son of a King, still very young and a slender man with hawkish features.

Painter was a small man but under the dark robe stood a wiry frame strong despite the toll of old age. Painter was always looking out for the royal family he felt a true kinship to the prince. He often wondered what the Prince had planned that was important enough to risk his life with that slave.