Chapter One - Of Dreams and Lost Innocence

 

 

Chapter One

Of Dreams and Lost Innocence

 

     The man burst into the room, slamming the door closed behind him as he rushed over to the woman standing near the small fireplace. Sweat glistened off his round face, and his eyes were wide with fear as he looked upon her. Trying to catch his breath, he placed his large hands on her shoulders as he soon began to speak.

     “Lucille, you have to get David out of here right now!” the man said, his words seeming like that of an urgent warning.

     “But Tobias, what ever is the matter?” the woman asked, seeming almost worried by the other's odd behavior. The woman wasn't one to panic easily, but from what David could tell she seemed to be close to that right now.

     “Listen to me, Lucille,” Tobias began, his words faltering as he caught his breath. “You have to get David away from here. The men...they all know about his mark and are coming to do away with him right now!”

     “What!” his mother cried. Pulling herself from the man’s grip, she backed herself against the wall, as if doing so would free herself from the truth of his words. She glanced down at him in the floor for a moment, and he saw the tears starting to form in her eyes. Putting her hands to her face, she then seemed to try and hide her tears.

     “I ran over as soon as I found out,” Tobias said in his husky voice, still touched with fear. His white shirt was nearly transparent, so soaked with sweat, as if he’d literally ran all the way to the small farm. Knowing Tobias, he probably had. “Look, they’re right behind me, Lucille. You have to get David away from here right now!”

     “But, dear spirits, how did they find out,” she asked in a near whisper as she tried to hold back the tears that now flowed down her pale cheeks. From the way she had spoken she hadn’t expected an answer, but the big man answered anyway.

     “He’s here, Lucille,” he said in a low voice, looking over at her. Fear had crept back into the man’s eyes, as if reflecting what he’d seen, or what he was about to see.

     His mother’s eyes widened. He now saw pure and unbridled terror dancing madly in her lovely green eyes as she shook her head, not wanting to believe him. “No,” she whispered more to herself than anyone else, than again more strongly.

     “He got the people all riled up ‘bout David’s mark and is leading a group of men on over to take care of him,” Tobias began to explain. “He’s a soldier now, dear spirits. He’s working for the Empire. Why the Empire wants to kill a defenseless little boy is beyond me,” the large man said firmly, while at the same time seeming disappointed.

     “That traitor, I should never have trusted him,” his mother growled through gritted teeth. Flat against the wall she tilted her head upwards. “By the Gods, don’t let my foolishness cause David to suffer,” she spoke in little more than a whisper as tears ran down her face.

     The man went over and took her by the shoulders. “Lucille, you have to get David out now, before…” Just then a woman screamed nearby. The sound sent shivers up his spine, but it was the laughter that followed that completely terrified him.

      And it was coming closer.

     “Bethany!” Tobias said in a pained voice as he stared at the door, his face gone slack as a tear rolled down his hairy cheek. Clenching his fist, he turned toward them, the fear in his eyes now replaced with a hatred and pain David had never seen before. “Get David out…”

     Before the man could finish, his mother was behind him, the skirt of her light blue dress sweeping across the floor as she rushed him down the hall. His small feet made little noise compared to his mother’s hurried footsteps, her words of panicked fear urging him onward. Behind them, he barely caught sight of the big farmer picking up a large ax from against the wall. Curious, the young boy couldn’t help wondering why the big man wasn’t following them.

      There was a crashing sound behind him, followed by the sound of many footfalls entering the small farmhouse and the unsheathing of swords. He knew that he had to keep running, but he was so scared that he was nearly paralyzed with fear. He didn’t know what he would have done if his mother wasn’t there pushing him onward, and he was too scared to think upon it. All he knew was that they had to get away before anything bad happened.

     He could hear Tobias let out a primal scream, followed by the screams of others. This lasted only a mere moment, followed by the thuds of people falling. After a few fell, the screams ended, replaced with a man moaning in pain that was abruptly ended with a wet thud. Then the footfalls started again, the sound of five or six men following towards the hall.

     Without notice they came to the end of the hall, his mother opening the back door in a panicked rush, turning him and telling him to run. The look in her teary eyed face was one of fear and sadness, and though he barely caught her words, he thought he’d never forget them.

     “I love you David, and I always will,” she said, kissing his cheek. “Now run, hurry!” And then she was up, pushing him out into the cool night air, urging him on with her words. “RUN!”

      Running onward into the night, he watched his little feet hurry into the lush green field behind Tobias’ old farmhouse. The late night shadows seemed to invite him to make his escape, though the pale moonlight shining down did little to calm his fear of the dark. Still, he knew he had to be brave. He had to be brave if they were to get away from the men pursuing them. However, that was when it hit him, his mother’s words registering in his mind.

     She wasn’t with him.

     Turning, he stared back the countless yards towards the old farmhouse. His mother was standing there, the five men approaching her. Pulling out a dagger from somewhere around her waist, she ran at the lead man, a big soldier with a head of long blond hair and a grim smirk. The soldier was in his middle years, seeming not much older than his mother. As she ran at him, the soldier quickly grabbed her upraised hand, preventing the strike. Forcing the dagger from her hand, the soldier shoved her back, knocking her to the ground.

     Staring, he couldn’t understand why she hadn’t left with him. She couldn’t keep them from leaving the house; they were all much bigger than her. Anyone of them could push her around just like the soldier did, and she’d be helpless to stop them. So why didn’t she leave with him?

     His mother turned and looked back at him, tears streaking her face. “Run, David! Run!” she cried, still lying on the ground where she had fallen. At this, the big soldier signaled the others to go around, pointing his sword straight out towards him.

     The other four started around his mother, two on each side. Crying out, his mother grabbed the old fletcher’s leg, trying to stop him. At seeing this, the soldier seemed to grow angry, and he took his sword and ran it through her back.

     “No!” David cried, tears of pain streaming down with those of fear. His mother cried out as well, though her screams were incoherent and ended fast as the big blond twisted his sword in her back.

     David didn’t know what to do now, losing the only ones he knew and loved. The big soldier had just freed his sword from his mother’s back, and the others were getting closer and closer as he stared at his unmoving mother, his body paralyzed by hurt, pain and fear. If only she’d get up, he knew they could get away. But that wasn’t going to happen. She was dead. Dead just like Tobias, and like he would be if he didn’t get away right now. If only he could get his body to react, instead of standing there shaking like he was now.

     And the men came closer… coming for him.

     David wanted to run, but couldn’t move. He was too paralyzed by fear, terrified so much that he couldn’t even blink. He knew he had to get away, but he couldn’t get his body to respond. All he could do was stare out at the men as they came ever nearer, grim smiles upon their faces. He could feel himself trembling as they came closer to where he stood, swords bared. They didn’t try and rush him, nor did they make any sudden moves, for they knew he was too scared to run. They knew…

 

_____
 

 

     His eyes wide and his muscles tense, he told himself that he wouldn’t let them get him. That this time he’d run away while he still could and not have to relive all of the bloodshed. That this time it would be different and that he wouldn’t have to see the truth that lies inside of him. The truth of what he was born with.

     He tried to run, but there was something holding him down, something unseen, for the men were still a good four yards away. He began to struggle, trying desperately to break free from its grip before it was too late, but he couldn’t. In horror he watched as the group of men got closer, their sadistic smiles in place.

     Please, in the name of all that is good, don’t let this happen again!

     He raised his hand, calling upon something he could hardly fathom, yet knowing it to be there, buried deep inside him. Feeling a terrible sense of eager anticipation, he watched as the soldier’s smile began to fade, his steady pace slowing. The man knew what he was facing, the truth that the others could only begin to imagine.

     For the love of whatever Gods may be real, don’t make me relive this. It’s only a dream! It’s just …

     And then he heard it; a distant voice calling as if from another world. It was a voice he remembered, and not from some distant past he couldn’t escape, but from a more pleasant time. Listening to the distant voice, he closed his eyes to the approaching men just as a bright flame lit the night around him.

     Slowly opening his tired eyes, not at all reluctant to leave the memories that still haunted him behind, he awoke from a restless night’s sleep. In an instant the lush field was replaced with a darkened room, with dusty brown curtains hanging over the only window. Dim sunlight shone through the cracks in the curtains, letting him know morning had arrived.

     “Erick,” he said tiredly, putting a hand over his eyes. His brother stood next to his bed, a slight smile on his cleanly shaved face as he silently looked down at him with his dark blue eyes. It was no surprise to see that the older youth was in a good mood as usual, for nothing ever seemed to bring him down.

     “David, so good to see you awake. You have no idea how difficult it is to hold you down when you have a mind to run away,” Erick said with a cheerful tone. The man was two years older than him and had shoulder length brown hair, unlike David who had dark blond hair that was slightly longer.

     David felt a small smile crease his lips, despite the memory that haunted his dreams only moments before. Erick often had that effect on people, as if his smiles and good cheer were somehow contagious. “Thanks for waking me, I don’t think I could have taken another minute,” he replied, rubbing the sleep from his brown eyes.

     The other looked at him solemnly, or as solemnly as he could, his happy-go-lucky grin only halfway diminished at seeing that the momentary smile had faded. “The dream?” he asked quietly, leaning against the wall as he awaited confirmation.

     David sat up, unable to reply save for a slight nod. He stared over at Erick, whom didn’t share the same birth parents but was still his brother, and began to lose himself in more pleasant memories.

     He was seven years old, his mother just passing away only weeks before, when he found himself in the city of Aeryngton. The beauty and wonder of the marvelous city was greatly dulled by the loss and grievance he felt inside, now feeling just as alone as he had the many days before in the woods despite the hundreds of people around. Silently he stared at the city through tear stained eyes, its marvels only illusions of a perfect world. Its splendor seemed nothing more than momentary beauty; here today and gone tomorrow. For that’s how everything in life seemed to be...fleeting.

     It was there in the city of Aeryngton where Charles and Lydia Burchard found him, all alone in his private state of misery. They took him in and treated him as if he were their own son, never once thinking of putting him out, even after they learned of his mother and why she had been killed.

     The Burchards had two children of their own; Erick who was nine years and Daniella who was four. Both soon learned to think of him as a brother, sharing with him secrets that they’d share with no one else, and being there for him when he needed a friend. It was a family that he thought he’d never have, and a family that he feared he would lose. But days seemed to pass, one year turning into the next, and he slowly came to believe that everything would be alright this time. But despite it all, the memories of his lost mother still haunt him in his dreams, even after twelve long years.

 

_____

 

     David stood in front of the window, the brown curtains drawn back just enough to see out as he looked upon the small village of Walker’s Ridge. The village consisted of only one main road, its path leading right up to the Inner City, which in truth was Aeryngton itself, despite the small villages around it belonging to its name as well. Aeryngton was considered one of the biggest cities in all of Acerose, though in reality it was the small farms and villages around it that gave it most its size. In truth, Giberaul was a larger city, just lacking the many villages. Or at least that was what he’d been told, anyway, not knowing for himself for he had never been anywhere on the other side of the mountains. That is, as far as he could remember, anyway. 

     Giving a heavy sigh, he just stared out the window, absently running his fingers along the roughness on his left shoulder...the roughness of his mark. Where all had he been as a child, he wondered, unsure. All he could remember of that time was the last moment he ever saw his real mother...

     Closing the curtains, he put the thought away. He had other things to do than just relive old memories. For starters, he still needed to finish getting dressed.

     Seeing as he had a busy day today, he decided to dress accordingly. Despite the fact that he might be going out hunting, he also wanted to see about paying a young lady he knew a visit. Deciding to wear some of his finer clothing, a beige shirt with a nice brown sash and black breeches, he quickly dressed before combing his fingers through his hair in an attempt to style it the best he could. After all, he had to look nice this day, even if he did only wind up hunting as usual.

     Walking out of his bedroom and into the kitchen, the smell of frying eggs quickly awakened his hunger. Crossing the kitchen floor, he went over to his mother, bent over the small woodstove like every morning. Lydia was a small woman in her late forties with long, dark brown hair greatly streaked with gray, and a small frame close to a foot shorter than his, the difference showing greatly as he bent over and kissed her cheek.

     “Good morning,” he said, standing beside her at the stove.

     “Good morning, dear,” she replied, smiling up at him. “Did you sleep well?” she asked in good cheer, as was usual most every morning.

     David’s smile began to falter as he remembered what the night had brought him. He took a quick glance at Erick sitting at the table, his dark green shirt open at the top to reveal his hairless chest. Noticing his younger brother’s uncertainty, the brown haired youth just gave a faint shrug to his silent question, not being of any real help.

     “I slept alright,” he answered after a brief moment, thinking better of burdening the woman with his painful memories. He gave her shoulder a slight squeeze for reassurance, which she accepted with a brief smile.

     He took a quick glance around the room. Erick sat at the table next to Daniella, the young girl wearing an ordinary brown dress that seemed to compliment her long hair, only a shade or two lighter than her mother’s and pulled back in a long braid. She gave a slight smile in his direction when he glanced at her, and a small chill crept up his spine. Most men would probably consider her smiles attractive, but he knew the truth of them. That smile, a slight curving of the lips, meant she was her usual, playful self, and that her tongue was as dangerous as ever. He could probably win in a fight with swords, but he rarely did in one with words, and never against her. He would just have to pray to whatever Gods may be real and listening that she didn’t choose to banter him this morning.

     Not wanting to think of what battles he might lose this day, he instead turned back to his mother still bent over the small stove. “Where’s father?” he asked, the thought coming to him at the man’s absence.

     The woman turned away from the stove and looked up at him. “Oh, he had to go in early this morning,” she said with a sigh. “You know how Fernier is, always wants them to come in early.” She smiled to herself, than added, “If Charles didn’t like making weapons so much, I’d make him find a new trade.”

     He smiled at that. He knew the man would never give up making weapons, he loved it too much. However, he couldn’t help wondering if he would if she asked him to. As much as the thought intrigued him, he thought that he’d likely never know the answer.

     “Speaking of Master Fernier,” Erick said, rising from his chair, “I’d best be going or I might have to learn a new trade.”

     “Alright, dear, take care,” his mother said, rising up and kissing the youth’s cheek at his approach.

     “Yeah, and don’t let any merchants talk you into buying something you don’t need like usual,” Daniella remarked, confirming his suspicion. He was just thankful Erick was her target.

     “I don’t let merchants talk me into buying anything,” Erick replied defensively, turning his blue eyed gaze at her.

     “Really?” the young woman asked with a coy smile. “Then why did you buy the ‘magic’ amulet that’s supposed to protect you from rabid donkeys?”

     “I didn’t buy the amulet for rabid donkeys,” the older youth stated, a bit agitated. His tone softened to nearly a whisper as he continued, no longer as confident as before. “I bought the one for rabid camels, it was cheaper. Besides,” he said with a boyish grin, “have you ever seen a rabid donkey?”

     “Have you ever seen a camel?” she asked in return, smile still in place.

     “Well, no, but I'll be damned if I'm not ready when I do!”

     At this, their mother came over in Erick's defense, quickly ending the argument. Daniela just broke into laughter, truly enjoying her little game. All David could think was that he was glad Erick was the target and not him.

     “Oh, now that’s enough,” their mother said, putting her hands on Erick’s shoulders. “I think the amulet is adorable,” she said in a motherly voice. “But please try not to buy anything today, alright?”

     Erick sighed. “Look, I didn’t want to buy it, it’s just that the merchant made it sound like a really good bargain,” he said, obviously not wanting to seem foolish to them, yet failing anyway.

     “I know, dear, I know.”

     David listened as the man soon bid his farewells, making his way out the door before Daniella could make a fool of him even further. He knew he too would need to leave soon, otherwise she might decide to target him as well, and that was the last thing he wanted this day.

     Picking up a strip of bacon off Erick's plate, he quickly devoured it with an unyielding appetite before turning his attention to the women.

     “I guess I'll be of as well,” he said, giving his mother a quick kiss goodbye before putting on his cloak. At this, the woman just turned to him questioningly.

     “Where are you going?” she asked, seeming curious as she eyed him up and down.

     “Hunting, like usual,” he simply replied, going over and taking up his bow and quiver from next to the door.

     “Dressed like that?” asked his sister, a smile on her face. “What are you hoping to do, impress the rabbits? Are you hoping that they just hop right up to you because you’re dressed so nice?”

     David smiled. “That would make it so much easier than having to hunt for them,” he said, thinking momentarily on the convenience of it all.

     “Yeah, well, no matter how nicely you dress, you’re still no Prince Charming,” Daniella stated, taking a bite of her eggs.

      He just shook his head. “Okay, so what? Erick leaves and now you have to make fun of me, is that it?” David replied, hands out to his side. “I pity the man that marries you,” he added, honest.

     “Oh really? Well at least I will marry, unlike you who have to go and try to impress forest animals,” she quickly remarked, giving him a sly grin.

     “I…,” he began, realizing he had no comeback. He didn’t want to tell them of his plans to go see Cynthia, for that was something he didn’t want them knowing about. Just shaking his head, he let out an exasperated sigh.

     “Women...,” he spoke, his voice tinged with a bit of wry amusement, “you just can't seem to win an argument against them.”