Chapter 2

Its Kane's Birthday, but given the circumstances, he doesn't think it should be celebrated.

Kane’s birthday arrived and as he got himself out of bed there was a peculiar daunting feeling in his mind " he was not looking forward to it. He was careful not to wake Rosie, who had a bad dream the night before, so she had crawled in with him. Rosie’s sleeping arrangements switched between her own bed, her mother’s bed and if she had a bad dream then Kane’s bed.

The sunlight crept into their bedroom but despite the sun being wholly visible in the sky, the grass outside had a thin layer of frost covering it. The fireplace had the embers from the wood the night before, so Kane made a new fire. It seemed winter was approaching however there was still perhaps another month until it would turn unbearably cold.

The Maxwell home was right on the outskirts of the village. It had a fenced back garden with a beautiful rosebush and various fruits growing inside it. The garden was out of view to most of the villagers because their home kept it slightly hidden, however at the front there was only a footpath leading to the main road through the village. To the left of their home was a few acres of land with the rest of the villagers’ homes, mainly consisting of small huts. It was quite a rundown shanty type area, with a few rats scurrying around and the occasional fox. A few people struggled with food, but that was what they were born into, it was their life and everything they knew. It was something they had no choice but to put up with.

Passed the few acres of homes, was a hilly path leading to the Oakhill Wall. This was a 50 ft high and exceptionally long stone wall. The wall was a massive strength for the King as it was this wall that made the town of Oakhill so impenetrable and so indestructible. Oakhill had never been breached, not by an army, not by a hoard of trolls and not by the most cunning of spies. There was one way in and one way out. What gave it even more of an edge was that it was on high ground, so from a battle point of view there would be no point of anyone even attempting to breach it.

Beyond the walls was where the wealthier folk lived " the Ministers, the Knights, the Dukes and Duchesses, the Lords and Ladies and obviously the royal family with their countless servants. None of the villagers had ever gone beyond the wall unless they had been summoned by someone of importance.

To the right of the Maxwell home, were a couple of wells which Kane would always use. There were plenty of other wells scattered throughout the village too, but he didn’t ever need to use them. Beyond that was about 20 yards of open grass and then Berrymore Forest. The forest was where Kane did his hunting but his mother would warn him numerous times not to go too deep, as it was known to have bandits, rapists, bears and even trolls. Trolls in the forest were hard to come by as they mainly occupied the mountain areas, but the beasts, while very dangerous, were also some of the most brainless creatures that roamed the lands. It wasn’t unheard of for them to lose their way from their homes and end up in unfamiliar territory. The forest was generally a very precarious place to go which is why most of the other villagers never went there.

King Vincent’s Kingdom consisted of three other towns beyond the forest; Greencliff " which as its name might suggest had a cliff by it and contained some of the most fertile land in all the Kingdoms. Then there was River-Ridge which lay next to the richly fish populated River Oaksprings and finally Southfalls, which lay next to a majestic waterfall and was the home of the Kings Brother " Prince Quentin. It was a prospering kingdom and each one of its inhabitants loved their King.

After Kane had made a new fire, he readied his hunting equipment. This consisted of a bow, a quiver (containing 8 arrows), a satchel of refreshments and a large sack to carry the animals he might catch. He wasn’t sure whether his mother had planned something for his birthday, but he hoped it wasn’t anything too extravagant. He made his way to the bucket with the previous days’ water inside it to wash up. He then heard his mother stirring in the next room and moments later she joined him in the kitchen. She had a broad smile on her face which Kane had not seen in a very long time and she said in a humour intended, sarcastic tone, “Well if it isn’t the birthday boy?”

Kane couldn’t help but force a smile, “Mother, keep in mind I’m not a child anymore.”

She made her way over to him, grabbed his face and gave him a strong kiss on both cheeks, “Look at you all grown up, but remember no matter what you say, you’re always going to be my little baby.”

Kane smiled as he slightly had to look down at her. “I hope you don’t ever say that in front of Rosie, she thinks I’m made of iron, it might change her opinion.”

Eleanor chuckled, “Don’t be silly, she’ll always see you in that way.”

Kane looked a little less certain than his mother, “I hope so; I guess I just can’t ever lose a fight in front of her.”

Eleanor said with a hint of concern, “And the best way for that to happen is to just not get into any fights.”

Kane nodded, “I agree, but you know how it is around here, people like to make trouble. I won’t intend for it but I might get dragged into something.”

Eleanor replied sharply, “Well… just don’t go looking for trouble.”

Kane responded obediently, “I won’t, I never do, but if trouble finds me, I’ll need to defend my honour. You and I both know that the people around here will sniff out any weaknesses like hounds.”

Eleanor changed the subject, “Enough with that kind of talk, this should be a happy occasion " it’s your birthday. Listen, I want you to come back a bit early from hunting, me and Rosie have a surprise for you.”

Kane acted annoyed but was secretly half pleased, “Mother, I said I didn’t want anything.”

Eleanor smiled, “I know what you said but you deserve something, I’ve been so proud of you, how you’ve put up with everything and how you’ve taken care of your sister so well, just playing with her and taking her mind off of your father.”

Kane shrugged his shoulders, “What else was I going to do?”

Eleanor gave him one last kiss, “You’re such a good boy, before you leave say goodbye to your sister, she hates it when you don’t say anything.”

Kane replied defensively, “I only don’t say anything because I don’t want to wake her.”

His mother urged, “I know, but she gets upset if you don’t.”

He then made his way back into his bedroom where Rosie was fast asleep. He sat on the bed next to her and leaned over her. “Rosie,” he whispered, “Rosie I’m going hunting, I just wanted to say goodbye so you won’t attack me later.”

She groggily awoke and murmured, “Can I come with you? I promise I’ll be good.”

Kane smiled and stroked her hair out of her face, “I know you’ll be good, but it’s too dangerous, maybe when you’re older.”

She then squeaked excitedly, “You have to come home early; me and mama have a surprise for you.”

Kane grinned, “So I’ve heard… I will”, he kissed her on the forehead and added, “Go back to sleep my little angel,” before leaving the room.

His mother gave him the usual last message of “don’t go too deep into the forest!” To which Kane replied “I won’t.”

He finally stepped out into the chilly morning and set off towards Berrymore Forest.

 

It was past midday and so far Kane had only managed to catch a squirrel, a pigeon and 2 rabbits. After being out for almost three hours and knowing he needed to get back early, he made his way to the stream so that he could catch some fish. It was about half a mile away so the fact that he hadn’t managed to catch too many animals lessened the effort required to get there. Kane was much more fortunate in this department of his hunting as the stream was filled. This part of his hunt didn’t require him to actually shoot the arrows but instead use them as spears to stab at the fish. He needed to be very steady as to not startle them and he also needed to be quick and accurate. This was something he was good at so by the time he was done he had caught 6 fish.

For the time he was out, he considered it to be a more than average hunt. He carried the sack of prizes over his shoulder and walked through the forest back home.

As he walked he began to hear the laughter of men edging towards his position. Kane looked in the laughter’s direction and saw three typically ominous men walking towards him. Kane hurriedly stuffed his sack of dead animals into a bush and made sure it was out of sight. He then jumped onto a branch of a tree; hoisted himself up and climbed further up branch by branch so that the leaves were hiding him from sight.

“I’m tellin’ ya’, you should of seen his face,” one of the men boasted, “Please have mercy,” he said in a mocking tone, “I have nothing of value.”

“What did you do?” Another man asked.

“What dya fink? I beat him and his son to a bloody pulp, I took his horses and I took his wedding ring.” There was a bellow of laughter, “The old man was coughing out blood like a gashed throat. The boy tried to fight back for about two seconds until I sunk my axe into his skull… must have been about 13 the little b*****d.”

As they laughed demonically Kane was holding his breath up in the tree, trying his best not to even twitch a leaf. Fear coursed through his veins at the detail of the man’s story. This was the first time he’d actually bumped into anyone in the forest and he was so grateful he hadn’t allowed Rosie to come with him. They continued walking by and as their voices got further and further away, Kane sat down on the branch he was previously standing on and sighed with relief. He was also grateful that he wasn’t spotted and nothing more came of the near coming together with the trio of crooks. However it proved that all of his mother’s warnings were very valid " that the forest was an extremely dangerous place. A boy was murdered and a man was savagely beaten within Berrymore Forest’s trees; and this was on top of all the other terrible stories Kane had heard. He collected himself before carefully climbing down the tree. He made sure the coast was clear and then hit the ground. Kane rustled through the bush and pulled out his bounty before running away from the scene and out of the forest.

 

As he approached his home, he looked over his shoulder to make sure nobody was following him. He decided not to tell his mother about this incident because it would only worry her, so instead he slowed to a walking pace and pretended like nothing had happened. He opened the door and put the sack, which now had blood stains all over it, into a large bucket so that his mother could sort it. Kane couldn’t find his family in the house so he assumed they were out back picking fruits from their garden. He made his way around and sure enough there they were.

“I’m home.” He announced.

Rosie ran up to him and gave him a hug. Kane lifted her off the ground and carried her in his arms.

“How was the hunt?” His mother asked.

Kane replied trying not to oversell, “It was okay, not too many land animals about so had to make up with fish.”

Eleanor smiled and said with an excited grin, “That’s lovely dear, but now, are you ready for your surprise?”

Rosie giggled with excitement in Kane’s arms, “Not really, surprises make me nervous.”

Eleanor chuckled, “Help me carry this fruit inside and we’ll put you out of your misery then.” Kane lowered Rosie to the ground and picked up a basket while his mother carried the other. They all made their way inside.

Eleanor sat Kane down at the table and demanded, “Close your eyes.”

Kane felt like he was five again at this treatment but he complied.

Rosie added, “No peaking,” and made sure his hands were covering his eyes.

Kane heard a few shuffles before his mother announced, “Okay open them.”

Kane opened them and in front of him was a small cake with a single candle in it and a medium sized wrapped box.

Kane looked up at his mother, “You didn’t have to, really. I don’t know what it is yet but it looks expensive.”

“Open it!” She urged.

Kane peeled off the wrapping and took off the lid to reveal a sharp and shiny blade with a case for it. The shiny metal glimmered as the light reflected off of it. Kane was slightly stunned and was not expecting something as good as this. “Mother it’s great, honestly, but I have to return it, this must have cost you at least a few pieces of copper, maybe even silver.”

She smiled and stated commandingly, “Don’t even think about it! We’ve still got enough left over, plus lots of meat stored… so we can more than manage.”

Kane didn’t know what to say. Rosie asked expectantly, “Do you like it?”

Kane smiled at her, “Of course I do, it’s perfect.”

His mother reminded him, “Right, blow out the candle then.”

Rosie beamed gleefully, “Don’t forget to make a wish.”

Kane forgot all about his encounter with the men in the forest so with a surprising happy atmosphere in the Maxwell home they tried their best to enjoy the occasion.

Reviews

[Jyoti_Ablaze]

A day of struggle, hard work and what not that still ended with a lovely family time.
Nicely written chapter.

[Hakim]

Thank you jyoti, appreciate the review :)

[Jyoti_Ablaze]

You are welcome.

[D.S. Dirck]

Great story and a great sense of world-building. I can tell you've put a lot of care and thought into this and it shows.

[Hakim]

Thanks for the kind words and thanks for reading.