The world of chess

John was ordinary man, working on fine shoes for the nobles. Some were old and raggy for common folk, other were made of the rarest materials only found in certain parts of the world. He lived in the kingdom of Chesterton, all alone. No wife, and no children. John was very lonely, and had no siblings, or old family members. John looked in admiration at all the shoes he had made. Fine, tall, black boots for young men. Pretty shoes for pretty girls. Some shoes for people who only have so much money. But John rarely made much money. He had come to this part of the world, only recently, and the place was new to him. But John watched dreamily through his window, as she stared out and saw fine royals in handsome suits, but it was the boots that inspired John’s eye. That would be great, but his true dream was to be a knight. John sighed, a guy could dream. But John didn’t want to be stuck in his raggy shack. He wanted to do something great. Something amazing. Something to impress the king. John was tired of this life, he wanted something great. No matter what he had, he just had to have more. His dream was that his shoes could appease, but the king himself! Well, that would certainly make him rich, but for common folk, John was sure that something else was in mind for him. And he did desire more than what he had. John has no clue what was in store for him, but he was sure it was going to be amazing. And as John gazed out his store window, he could see people. All sorts of people. The tall and the small. Yet, nobody seemed to think about the shop. John walked away from the window, as he heard a small knock. John turned around, heart beating, faster and faster. He opened the door, to see a rich looking woman standing at it. “Is this your shop?” She asked. John nodded. “Yes, it is, and i’m more than proud to own to it.” He said, with a smile. “None of these shoes will appeal.” The lady said. “I am Katrina, the duchess of Chesterton.” She said. She looked at all the shoes. She noticed some of them were plain, some were fancy. “Tell me.” She said smiling, “where do you get the materials for these shoes?” She asked, in a sophisticated, snobby, voice. John felt, a little bubble of joy, maybe she wanted to buy a pair, or two, or three or four. “Different shoes,” John explained, “Sometimes I’ll use leather, which is what I use mostly, sometimes animal furs or scales are a great addition to add onto it.” John went on. “Jewels are very rarely found, but if I could add some rubies to my shoes, people would surely want to buy them.” He said. “Sometimes I even melt gold into liquid and form it into a shoe.” John finally ended his little tour. Katrina clapped her hands. “Golden shoe?”She asked, with a sudden sprout of curiosity.  John nodded. He made them sometimes for display, or to attract customers.  “Will you show me that miraculous golden shoe of yours?” Katrina asked. John walked carefully, as he picked up a box from a shelf. He brought it down and lifted off the lid.  Katrina squealed with joy.   “I’ll give you five times that golden shoe’s weight in gold!” Katrina said. It was very hard to disagree.  John nodded. “Yes.” He said. He watched with delight as Katrina handed him bags and bags of gold. “Is that enough?”  She asked, happily. “Yes!” Said John. “Yes, it is!”Katrina gave a satisfied smile. “Would you like another one?” John asked. “Everyone has two feet.” He said. But Katrina shook her head. “This isn’t for me.” She said. John’s smile faded. “Then who?” He asked. “That’s none of your concern.” Katrina said. “Would you like to buy anything else?” John asked. “No, I got what I came for.” Katrina said with a wicked smile. She walked slowly out the door. Questions flashed into John’s mind. Why did she only want one shoe? Who was she going to give it to? And why? John looked at all the money. He hoped he hadn’t taken part in some evil plot. But still, it was more than John had ever needed. He was content. But John still wanted to know what Katrina was going to do with that shoe. He wanted to know, but he knew not to be so nosy. And in the meantime, Katrina was in the throne room. She curtsied. “Your highness,” She let out a low giggle, “my pleasure!” She said. The king looked at Katrina. “Why are you here?” He asked, with a bit of anger. “I’m your duchess, and I was coming to present you with this gift.”Katrina held out the pretty gold shoe, that John had made.  The king looked at it. “My, my, what a beautiful piece of art.”  Said the king.  “Yes, but there’s a small price.”  Katrina grabbed the shoe.  “Than you can’t even call it a gift, can you?”  The king asked. Katrina laughed. “You amuse me.” She said. “I ask for so little, just a tiny favor.” She said. The king arched his eyebrow. “Such as…?”  Katrina laughed again, something the King really didn’t like.   She smiled very wide.  “That when you die, I will inherit the kingdom.”  She said.  The king knew, that if he was dead, he wouldn’t face anything bad. Besides, he trusted Katrina. “Of course, m’dear.” He said. Katrina happily curtsied and handed over the shoe. “I will take your word on that.” She winked as she walked away. John was wondering about his newfound fortune. Katrina had payed much more than it was worth. John shook his head. She had to up to something. He grabbed his coat and put on his finest shoes, walked out the door to look for Katrina. He found her in the castle garden. “Oh, Katrina, who did you give that shoe to?” John asked. Katrina sighed. “The king, as a token of my loyalty.” She said. “Well, why did you pay about five times it’s worth?” John asked. “Well, a girl will do anything to help her king.” Katrina said. Just then, the king came in the palace gardens. “Young man, are you threatening my duchess?” He asked. John shook his head. He bowed. “Your highness,” he said, “me and the duchess were having a topic exchange of ideas.” John said. The king shook his head. “If that were true, you’d be conversing a conversational conversation.” Said the king. “Lies!” He demanded. He pointed to John. “Seize him!” The king ordered. And John could feel himself being dragged away by the king’s guards. Down to a nasty prison. Katrina smiled. “Thanks for saving my life.” Katrina said even though she never really was in any danger. “It’s no big deal,.” Said the king. He and Katrina had been good friends as kids. Both always were wealthy with fancy tastes. John felt terrible in the dungeon. He never had done anything wrong.John looked at his memories, of when he first met Katrina in his shop. Under all that fancy duchess stuff, was a monster. And John was sure, she had some evil plot in mind.  And just a few days later, who showed up in the dungeon,  but the king himself! John was shocked.  “How did you end up here?” He asked. The king himself acted surprised. “I-I don’t know.”  He said. “I went to sleep, and I woke up in this place.” He said. “This palace for rat’s! And all things gross.” Said the king.  John could barely hear voices from the castle. Only the king knew where the dungeon was, and he had told one person. Katrina! “You woke up here?” John asked. The king nodded. Then he pointed to the ceiling. There were voices, it sounded as if Katrina was talking to a crowd. “Listen.” Said the king. But John shook his head. “No, who put you here?” John asked. The king put his head in his hands. “I told you, I don’t know!” He cried. Tears flew from his royal face. John stopped at nothing to calm down his king. “Relax, who do you suspect brought you here?” John asked. The king’s face went pale. “No, sh-sh-she wouldn’t.” He said. John sighed. “Who?” The king shook his head. He tried to picture the image in his mind. “Who?” John repeated, and the king felt that it was the only logical way for him to end up in the dungeon. “Me and Katrina were the only ones who know where my dungeon is.” Said the king. He grabbed at the bars. He pulled tight at them. Nothing happened. John took a deep breath. “Relax.” He sad. “I should never have told her my secret.” The king began to sob. But John didn’t feel so down. “Relax, those tears should provide enough drinking water.” But the king was still sobbing, thinking about his regrets, and moaning about how he was a terrible person. “You don’t know who to trust, so I won’t trust anyone, ever again.” He said. “I can’t afford to regret anything.” The king said. He shook his head. “Again!” The words echoed across the dungeon as they repeated. The words traveled across. The dungeon was right underneath the castle.  There was a trapdoor leading down to it.  Also of course, the past prisoners knew where it was.  “Someone can save us, the people who were in here before us!” John said. The king shook his head, in sadness. “We have no way of contact.”  He said.  But John only smiled. He pointed to a contact tube.  “Where does this lead?” He asked. The king wiped away a tear. “The throne room.”  He said. John carefully yelled through the tube. He said everything. Where the dungeon was, and asking for help.In the meantime, servants were carrying trays of food to Katrina, who had become Queen.  Soon the servants heard the message. 

“Don’t listen to Katrina. We are in the dungeon underneath the palace. Help us. We can help you. It is I, the king. I am not dead. Katrina tricked you, and me. Why should you be her slaves, and follow her command.  What is she doing to you?  Don’t let her bother you. To get to the dungeon, lift up the rug by the throne, there should be a lever, pull on it, and the door will open. Help us, we’ll be rid of your tyranny!”

And before they knew it,  they were out of the dungeon.   Realizing that their king was alive, the townsfolk refused to serve Katrina. The king banished her from Chesterton, forever. “I hereby banish you from my kingdom, forever.”  And Katrina was taken away by guards, but she had another evil plot in mind.  As a child, Katrina had been given a pet dragon.   Big, mighty, and green. “If, I can’t rule that kingdom,” She said, as she was dragged away, “Nobody will!” And Katrina went to her pet dragon outside of Chesterton, it only obeyed Katrina.   She released it and ordered that it devour all of Chesterton.   So the dragon began to rampage.  But John grabbed his sword and shield, and vowed to protect the town.   He ran towards the animal, the fight was very close. But, when John had the chance… He couldn’t kill the animal, it was injured and John turned into a super softy.  He put his sword away after the long battle, and instead tamed the dragon.  He then became a knight. A true knight, just like he always wanted.

 (enjoy, and show it to your kids if you have any)

I shoewed it to my daughter, she liked it very much. Great lesson of humanity. Thanks