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Chapter 3: Henrik's History

Seraphina's eyes locked onto Katalin's, filled with determination. "We've stationed lookouts along the roads to alert us if guards or Lord Tamas's men reappear," she declared, her voice both firm and reassuring. "If they come, you and Garren must make your escape through the rear of the smithy and remain concealed until it's safe to re-enter."

Katalin nodded, the thought of fleeing Butterridge was daunting, but it was a challenge she knew she must face.

"Follow me," Seraphina instructed, leading Katalin by the hand into the bedroom she had shared for years with Henrik.

As Katalin stepped across the threshold, memories washed over her--the solid thump of her father's boots, the rasp of his pocketknife sharpening, his hearty laughter when she playfully bickered with her mother.

Overwhelmed, tears welled up in Katalin's eyes. She collapsed to the floor as sobs wracked her body, unleashing the heartache she had pent up since his death.

Seraphina immediately knelt and wrapped her arms around her daughter. "Oh Katalina, I'm so sorry," she murmured, voice thick with emotion. "When you first fell ill, I knew Henrik had died. He warned me you would inherit his abilities, but I never imagined such agony. I wrongly blamed you instead of helping ease your suffering. Can you forgive me?"

Katalin lifted her head, eyes wet but resolute. "Mama, I hardly remember anything from those feverish days and nights, just fire in my veins. I don't recall what you said or who visited. Only pain and confusion."

Seraphina exhaled relief that her harsh words were forgotten. They sat in shared grief, two women bound by love and loss.

After some minutes, Katalin sat up, brushing the last tears from her cheeks. "It was my fault what happened to Father and Gregory." Her voice turned brittle. "I should never have let Gregory see--"

But Seraphina waved a hand, cutting her off. "Gregory made his choices that night, just as we all do. And it wasn't your fault that maggot-livered idiot of a nobleman's son goaded Gregory into a fight."

"Mama!" Katalin exclaimed, shocked at such coarse language.

Unrepentant, Seraphina shrugged. "Well it's true, isn't it? I loved Gregory like a son but the boy was too sensitive sometimes. And as you would say, Laszlo has always been a pig."

Seraphina then leaned in close, her voice dropping to a satisfied whisper. "Just between us--I'm glad you crushed that empty head of his. If someone had done it years ago he may have grown to be a better man."

Katalin stood and helped her mother up. Seraphina led her to an oak chest and shifted aside blankets to reveal an ironclad box. Inside lay quality gear from Henrik's wandering days - a sturdy backpack, cloak, waterskin and more.

"He planned to wander again someday," Seraphina said. "But after we married...well, he once told me he had sworn off love. After the agony of losing his first wife and children, he couldn't bear going through that again."

Katalin froze in surprise - her father had another family? Sorrow pierced her heart at how little she knew of his long history filled with love and loss.

Seraphina gently squeezed her arm. "There is much you still need to know about your father, Katalin."

Blinking back fresh tears, Katalin ran her fingers over the well-worn leather and fabrics, imagining her father using them. She would carry a piece of him on the uncertain roads ahead.

They moved to the small bedroom Katalin had shared with Gregory. She sat heavily on the quilted bed, picturing his kind smile and messy hair. "I miss him, Mama," she murmured.

Seraphina sat beside her, putting an arm around her. "I miss him too," she said softly. They shared a few quiet stories - his awful singing, the way his eyes lit up discussing his craft. The pain was still so near.

As they talked, Katalin stood and began packing essentials into her father's backpack, mentally preparing for the road ahead.

She halted as her eyes fell upon the polished wooden butterfly on the dresser, intricately carved wings outstretched. It had been a gift from Jasper Coppertoes when she was small. Katalin lifted it gently, overwhelmed by memories of a more innocent time. She traced the delicate grooves carved by a master craftsman's steady hands and wondered if she would ever see the carving or her home again.

"Oh mother, what have I done?" she whispered, voice cracking with emotion. She felt on the verge of tears, the weight of recent events suddenly pressing down.

Katalin shook her head angrily. "It isn't right that Laszlo and his friends got away with murdering Father and Gregory."

She turned to her mother. "Why did I have to confront Laszlo alone? Where was Cassius?" There was an edge of hurt and accusation in her voice.

Seraphina patted the quilt. "Come, sit. I will try to explain."

As Katalin joined her, Seraphina said, "First, understand - Cassius loves Lord Alaric deeply, believing him wise and fair."

Katalin listened intently, realizing she hadn't considered her brother's view.

"Cassius believes the Duke held an impartial tribunal," Seraphina continued. "He sees the punishments - banishment and disinheriting Laszlo - as just."

Katalin blinked in surprise, "Laszlo was disinherited?"

Seraphina nodded, "Yes. And with no other male heirs, who will succeed Alaric is up in the air. Who knows what will come of it."

Seeing her daughter's sadness, Seraphina went on. "Cassius respects the Duke's ruling. He could not openly defy it to join you."

"I didn't know," Katalin said softly.

But her jaw tightened with determination. "Those punishments weren't enough," Katalin said. "Only their blood can repay Father and Gregory's deaths."

Seraphina squeezed her hand gently. "I know, dear. Just please see Cassius cares too, though his duties differ from yours now."

Katalin nodded, grasping her brother's conflicted position.

"Alright Mama, I understand. Thank you," Katalin whispered.

Seraphina took Katalin's hand again. "There is something else you must know. But remember what I said - Cass will support you. Always."

She fell quiet then, clearly reluctant to continue.

"Mama?" Katalin prompted. "What is it?"

Seraphina rubbed her temples, eyes downcast. "Give me a moment. This isn't easy to share." She took a deep breath before revealing the truth. "Henrik...wasn't Cassius' father."

Katalin bolted upright in shock. "What!" she exclaimed, whirling to face her mother.

Seraphina grinned ruefully and patted the bed, motioning for Katalin to sit back down. "Get no crazy ideas now - I was always faithful to your father. But I'll explain everything, I promise."

She waited for Katalin to resettle herself before starting her tale. "It began a long time ago when I was a girl and my family lived and worked at Stonehaven Keep."

"My family served Stonehaven for years," Seraphina began. "My father guarded the Count, and my mother worked the kitchens. As reward for their loyalty, my brother Torin became the blacksmith's apprentice while I trained as a lady's maid."

She continued, "I grew close with Lady Rosamund, the Dowager Duchess. To improve my conversation, she had me schooled in dancing, reading and reciting poetry. During my ample free time I often visited Torin at the forge - it was magical seeing lumps of metal transformed into fine tools and weapons."

Katalin listened raptly, realizing she knew little of her mother's past. Though she had met Uncle Torin, Seraphina had never shared much until now.

"Over time, I became friendly with some of Torin's fellow smiths - including the master blacksmith he was apprenticed under, your father Henrik."

Katalin looked puzzled. "Papa was already a master when you were young?"

"More astonishing - when I mentioned him, my mother said he had been at his forge since her own girlhood."

"How can that be?" Katalin asked incredulously.

"I wondered the same," said Seraphina. "So I started questioning Torin whenever I visited. He had picked up some snippets about Henrik over the years as his apprentice. But I didn't get the full story until after your father and I married."

"But know that strength and visions are not your father's only gifts," Seraphina noted. "There is also extraordinary health and lifespan - he was over two centuries old when he was killed."

Katalin's eyes went wide. "Two centuries!" she exclaimed. Then her brow furrowed in confusion. "You know about the visions? The auras and colors around everyone are so confusing. Can you explain them?"

Seraphina shook her head. "Henrik described them - he saw auras too. And not just around people but also around the metals he worked at the forge. But I don't know anything more about them. Hopefully his journal explains more."

After thinking a moment Katalin shook her head, astounded. "But how could Papa live so long?"

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Seraphina urged Katalin to keep listening and she would explain.

"When I was little, Duke Edgar ruled Stonehaven, but then he was still a Count. And before him was Count Cedric. It was during Cedric's rule that raiders attacked Stonehaven," Seraphina continued. "Your father was among those captured and imprisoned after the battle."

"Impossible," Katalin whispered, throat tightening. Henrik, the man who lovingly crafted her first tools, a bloodthirsty marauder? It seemed a tale spun from nightmares.

Seraphina grasped her arm gently. "After helplessly watching his family age and die, your father's spirit broke. Adrift for years, he fell in with violent men. It always shamed him."

Katalin shook her head slowly, stunned. "I can't believe Papa was a raider."

"I know child. I have a hard time imagining it too. Now listen," as Seraphina continued. "When the raiders fled to their boats and escaped Henrik was left for dead." Count Cedric had them thrown into the dungeons and at first he was so angry he refused to send healers for the injured. Everyone assumed your father would die from his untreated wounds."

Katalin reached out, touching her mother's arm, "He must have been alone, afraid..."

"Perhaps. But Henrik never spoke of fear. Only of slowly awakening on a frigid stone floor by the dim light of a single guttering torch," Seraphina met her daughter's gaze steadily. "He described the taste of blood in his mouth and the shooting agony of his wounds."

Katalin shuddered, bile rising in her throat as she tried to fathom her strong, steadfast father gravely injured, alone and in anguish after being thrown in the dungeon.

"Yes somehow he survived, astonishing all," Seraphina continued.

"Another prisoner spun wild tales - claiming Henrik was a chained demon they discovered on an island. Their captain recruited him, and Henrik supposedly demanded the right to eat any babies from their raids in exchange for joining."

"Babies?" Katalin asked, shocked by this absurd accusation.

Her mother Seraphina sighed in exasperation, chiding "You used to be a much better listener."

"I'm sorry, Mama," Katalin said contritely, refocusing her attention.

"That's alright, child," Seraphina answered kindly. "Now where was I?"

"Papa was eating babies," Katalin smiled, her first real smile since that horrible night.

Seraphina continued, explaining that of course Henrik said the story was nonsense but even so, he was hauled from the dungeons and scrutinized by the realm's top clerics, mages, and a very old fisherman's widow known for her wisdom in such matters. They were seeking to determine if Henrik was truly a demon as the other prisoner had claimed.

After days of tests, prayers, poking, and prodding, all agreed Henrik was not actually a demon, though one cleric insisted he was in some way "god adjacent" if not a god himself.

"God adjacent?" Katalin questioned before catching herself at her mother's stern stare. "Sorry, Mama," she whispered contritely.

Seraphina continued the story. By then, it had been months since the raiders were captured and imprisoned in the dungeons. Count Cedric had eventually relented and allowed healers to tend to the injured men. Once recovered, the raiders were well-fed and cared for. Some were ransomed back to their homelands, while the rest were released only after swearing loyalty to work in service of Stonehaven.

Lord Cedric had a dream of transforming Stonehaven City into the largest and most prosperous port on the Pride Sea. He had extensive building projects underway and was in desperate need of skilled labor.

"So after the clerics determined your father was no demon," Seraphina explained, "Cedric offered him the same bargain - pledge loyalty and lend your skills to growing Stonehaven," Seraphina explained.

She went on. "When Henrik claimed to be a blacksmith, the Count quickly put him to work. It rapidly became clear he was no ordinary metalsmith, but a master craftsman with immense talent."

Katalin listened intently as her mother described how everything Henrik produced was of the highest quality and speed.

"Seeing his impressive skills," Seraphina continued, "Lord Cedric had an entirely new smithy and forge constructed just for your father's use. Henrik was given his own team of assistants and all the resources needed to employ his abilities for Stonehaven's benefit. He rapidly rose to become one of Cedric's most valued artisans."

She squeezed her daughter's hands affectionately. "Soon your father rapidly proved invaluable. When builders hit obstacles realizing Count Cedric's ambitious designs, Henrik would offer solutions gathered from decades past while wandering in far-off lands. He was even consulted on all manner of issues unrelated to smithing."

"I once attended Lady Rosamond when an old city planner from Cedric's era visited," Seraphina recalled. "When father's name came up, he fondly described Henrik's key innovations back then - how impactful they were realizing Cedric's dreams to expand orderly Stonehaven."

She smiled reminiscing. "He claimed many officials considered Henrik's innovations nearly as instrumental as the Count's own plans in achieving the orderly new design."

Squeezing her daughter's hand, she added "So you see Katalina, our Henrik was more than a blacksmith."

Seraphina sighed heavily. "But the relentless passage of time again plagued your father. As with his family long before, Henrik helplessly watched everyone around him age - fellow raiders settling into Stonehaven life, marrying, raising children. While they turned gray and stooped, Henrik remained untouched by the years, still steadily working the smithy day after day."

When Cedric's son Edgar eventually came to power, Henrik remained at his familiar forge - still sparking fires and shaping metal amid the flames' timeless glow. Edgar had grown up with the ever-present blacksmith and had witnessed the immense respect his work engendered. But as ambitious expansion slowed, people quickly forgot Hendrik's vital role realizing Cedric's vision.

As Henrik settled into an unchanging daily routine, subtle signs of aging slowly emerged - traces of silver in his beard, faint lines on his brow after long hours working the bellows.

Lord Edgar urged the stoic craftsman to wed, to continue his lineage like Stonehaven itself. But Henrik always shook his head, the memory of watching his family age and die still too heavy.

"He must have been so lonely all those years," Katalin murmured, wondering if she too might face endless solitary centuries once her friends and family were gone. The thought was overwhelming.

Seraphina gave her hand a comforting pat. "Lord Edgar tried much to help him over the years," Seraphina said gently. "When his attempts to find him a wife failed, he finally convinced Henrik to take your uncle Torin as apprentice."

"As Torin grew he and Henrik became friends but I'm certain the loneliness still wore on him," Seraphina continued. "The only times I can remember him having fun were at public feasts and festivals. I remember the first time I danced with your father. I was sixteen and it was at Lord Edgar's grand feast when he was made a Duke. There amongst the revelry in the courtyard, I spied Henrik alongside my brother Torin. When the music turned lively, he offered me his hand for a dance. By then I was a familiar sight from my visits, and he was on friendly terms with my family. I was quite honored when the respected smith, surprisingly an excellent dancer, chose me as his partner."

"Lord Edgar also found any excuse to send his son, Alaric, to the forge. He hoped that the patient integrity and wisdom of ageless Henrik might be a good influence. Edgar also gave young Alaric the duty of training Torin for the militia, wanting the boys to befriend each other so Alaric would keep returning to the smithy and Henrik's mentoring."

Edgar's plan succeeded - Torin and Alaric became fast friends. But something Lord Edgar did not expect was that I too would come to know Alaric during my visits to see Torin. We were already acquainted through my duties with Lady Rosamund. But now we became close friends. Alaric would flash that bold grin, bantering and flirting while Henrik worked and Torin laughed.

As we matured our playful banter turned to attraction. We knew no future could come of it but we began a reckless affair, propriety abandoned as we spent a heady summer stealing every possible moment. Such youthful abandon oft leads to surprises...as I soon discovered, expecting a child from our indiscretion.

While illegitimate children brought no outright scandal, some solution had to be found to discretely handle our impropriety. Edgar and those advising him decided I should be quickly married off and sent somewhere remote until the baby was born.

Despite his passion, Alaric knew his duties precluded formal ties with a guard's daughter. Yet he cared deeply and wanted better for me than handing me off to some ordinary village husband.

So he and Lady Rosamond put their heads together to scheme and came up with an alternative - I would be wed to Henrik, rewarding his decades of service with lands and a smithy of his own near the rural village of Butterridge where we could raise my child without awkward questions. Alaric respected Henrik tremendously and felt he would make a good father figure for his child. Lord Cedric approved of the plan too. He saw it as a way to finally get Henrik to accept some measure of reward for his long years of service to Stonehaven. Henrik was the last to agree to the plan. He liked Alaric and he had gotten used to my company at the forge but he was reluctant to put himself in position to have another family. Even if it was in name only. Finally Lord Edgar sealed Henrik's cooperation by promising that after fulfilling this duty he would be released from his oath of fealty to Stonehaven, permitting him to freely roam once more.

And so it transpired - Henrik and I married and set up the smithy that became your childhood home. In time I delivered baby Cassius, your elder brother. Initially Henrik remained distant, we even had separate rooms, but he proved to be a kind husband and a doting father."

"Over the years your father and I forged a genuine bond, if not the dizzying passion I once knew," Seraphina related. "At some point Henrik even moved into my room, admitting bashfully that after over fifty years living at the castle he had grown unbearably 'lonely' on his own."

Katalin's eyes went wide. "Fifty years alone! Why, Gregory used to get 'lonely' every two or three nights."

Seraphina chuckled, "Yes, men can be perfectly ridiculous that way, can't they? Yet it's good having them close all the same."

"It was during those years your father finally opened up more about his long past," Seraphina related, shifting to lean against the sturdy oak headboard.

"He told me that originally he hailed from a small mountain village far to the north. Can you imagine your papa among the snowy peaks?" She smiled wistfully. "It was there that he had his whole other family - a wife and two sons."

Katalin's eyes widened, picturing her stoic father surrounded by a loving family centuries ago.

Seraphina nodded knowingly. "He confessed watching helplessly as they aged while he remained unchanged was agonizing. After their loss he swore off further bonds to avoid repeating such sorrow."

Her expression softened, gazing at memories only she could see. "But helping raise Cassius thawed that stalwart heart over the years. Your brother's laughter filled holes left hollow inside him. And with his own subtle aging, Henrik hoped this second family need not slip away as the first. When you were born he was overjoyed - with both you and Cassius the house overflowed."

"But then, when you were barely past a toddler Cassius was summoned to the keep, chosen by Alaric for grooming as a diplomat and estate manager."

Seraphina continued. "With no other children of his own, Alaric yearned to have his son close, lavishing Cassius with familial love and ensuring a comfortable future. Though unable to name him successor given the circumstances, the bond between them brought much joy."

Katalin asked the obvious question. "Did Cassius know the truth of his lineage all these years?"

Seraphina nodded solemnly. "He would have learned it anyway so close to his true father. And I am certain Alaric took care to explain it all."

"Why was I never told?"

Her mother sighed remorsefully. "I was too ashamed, hoping to leave that history buried."

"Oh Mama," Katalin comforted, "None of that would have changed how I see our family."

"I know, child. But I was content to leave those old stories be, though I realize now you deserved honesty."

Standing abruptly from the quilt-covered bed, Katalin lifted her father's leather pack. But she paused, eyes falling again on the polished wooden butterfly Jasper had gifted her so long ago.

"You will be safe here without me, Mama?" Katalin asked hesitantly. She worried that Lord Tamas might retaliate through her mother.

Seraphina rose to face her child, resolute confidence gleaming. "Worry not for me, Katalina. Between my history at court and Cassius' station there, no reprisal will reach this household. Tamas knows threatening me risks Alaric's wrath."

Katalin breathed relief at the assurance. But her mother added more somberly, "I cannot say what will become of our smithy though. Without its master smiths, the business may fail." Straightening her shoulders, she continued "Your brother and I will make plans. We will manage, one way or another."

As the two women exited the room, Seraphina stopped Katalin, retrieving a full coin purse from her skirt pocket. "Please, take this for the way ahead. You don't know how long your road may prove."

Katalin initially waved it off. "No Mama, without Father you'll need those funds yourself."

But Seraphina pressed it insistently into her palm. "I have more than you would expect. Your father was very resourceful and had many years to save for his future. Take it, Katalina."

Reluctantly Katalin accepted, secreting the purse safely within her tunic.

Upon returning to the kitchen, Seraphina directed her to sit while she served steaming stew.

Katalin settled on the bench beside Cassius, placing her packed gear down. All eyes were drawn to the plain leather book from its place on the table.

"Have you read this, Mama?" Katalin asked.

Seraphina paused over the bubbling pot to shake her head, explaining it was meant only for Katalin. Cassius too admitted he had not read Henrik's accounting, though his gaze remained fixed on the tome as Katalin slowly opened the cover.

Soon bowls were distributed, though the others only solemnly picked at the food. As they sat tense, Katalin began silently reading, immersed in unveiling her father's long-guarded secrets at last.