John and the Rebels: Act V of Tragedy of Richard III rewritten as a narrative for a ten-year-old.
Uploaded by kankean_au on Mar 06, 2001
The boy-page held the tent flap open as Richmond and his officers emerged out. They had been occupied in there since the messenger came with the letter from Stanley and had not emerged for hours afterwards. The page had waited obediently; making sure that no one interrupted the counsel.
As Richmond came out, his kind eyes fell on the boy and he greeted him with a warm smile, “Hello John”.
He remembers my name! John’s heart filled with pleasure. His nervousness didn’t let him speak so he just bowed and smiled back. Richmond ruffled his blond hair and asked him to tend to his duties. Since the page had none, he just moved away and watched the knight pass through the ranks, instructing and encouraging the men to get ready for tomorrow’s battle.
John knew that he had made the right decision when he fled from London to join the rebels. Since he was only eleven he was not allowed to be a soldier but Sir Oxford had noticed the boy’s skill with horses and so he had personally taken him in to be his page.
He was content with the time spent in Richmond’s force although it was filled with hard chores. He was made responsible for many things and this made him proud to be a pageboy. He had met many other boys like him, who had fled from the tyranny of the evil King. Like the others his own family had suffered under Richard’s harsh rule. The Kings men had beheaded his father, being a noble. His mother had then left for another man and had forgotten about her only child. No one else to turn to, John fled to Richmond. Here he found the love and protection he had yearned for and enjoyed the hard work found in a marching army.
A cheer from the men caused John to interrupt his thoughts. He saw that Richmond now stood on a platform, his head high above the others. John looked at him with admiration and pride. The knight’s warm eyes surveyed his men in a way that filled them with courage and security.
As he spoke his bold voice carried clearly to John, “My brave men and loving friends! We have marched into the centre of the land with no resistance from the enemy. Victory is near. Our forces shall crush the tyranny that plagues this land. We shall...