“Can you tell me that tale again, Bari?” Gabi asked with poorly hidden excitement. “The story of the Knights of the Red?”
“Gabi, aren’t you tired of that story?” Baraqiel answered from their hay bed. “It’s been eight nights already.”
“Please Bari.”
“...Oh fine. I just can’t with those eyes.”
The fire of the hearth burned slowly, gently, its flames softly licking the underside of a small black pot. As bubbles rose on a cooking stew, Gabrielle stirred firmly to make sure none of the yummy parts sticking to the bottom were left there to burn. Sitting by the center of the one room in their tiny mud hut, her frame was barely illuminated by the tiny bonfire. She wasn’t exactly a master chef, in fact this stew was probably her magnum opus and it was little more than water, poultry and a few veggies collected from a mountain nearby.
Gabi was a young fifteen year old girl, short and thin, whose brown skin carried with it the scars of a difficult childhood and the marks of neglect. Her red hair was loose, wavy to her shoulders; it attracted the looks of nasty people, and some jeering from children in the village, and yet she couldn’t help but feel proud of it. She liked it, even if the world around her didn’t.
After all, red hair is the mark of a witch.
“This is almost ready. Let me help you up”, said the cooking girl, standing back up.
“I can move just fine, Gabi…” Baraqiel protested.
“Come on.”
On a corner of the hut, there was a bunch of hay and old fabrics that the children called their ‘hay bed’. In the darkness, there rested a thin and sickly young child. Baraqiel’s skin was thin and littered with the marks of what had once been a thousand little wounds, scars from needles that pierced every inch of their body, leaving darker blotches all around. Their hair was long, longer than Gabi’s, black and curly, and their eyes were dark brown pools of patience and understanding.
Gabi’s own blue eyes often looked at them, trying to catch some of that patience for herself.
The young kid was carefully picked up and slowly helped onto their feet. After making sure her companion was steady, Gabrielle let go of them and patted their head, before walking over to the corner to pick up their wooden plates and spoons. Baraqiel was, after all, a very weak kid, so Gabi made every effort to keep them as comfortable and happy as she could.
This meant a big amount of effort in their already difficult life. Making ends meet was difficult when the only people home were two children with little to no skills, only one of which can actually do physical labor.
“You should worry more about yourself…” Baraqiel grumbled, just looking at the girl. “I can try and pick up the hoe for you one of these days.”
“No.” Gabrielle dismissed them.
“You are skin and bones, Gabi. You need to eat and rest.” The kid protested.
“I need to take care of you,” said the girl.
“But who will take care of you?” They sighed. Bari closed their eyes.
Said weak kid resented a little bit being treated like a defenseless, helpless pup. But they also understood that to Gabrielle this was simply out of kindness. She didn’t have it in her little brain to feel pity.
“The stew has mushrooms tonight, the ones mister Morgan said we could eat.” The girl commented as she served two plates of the thick brown mush. “I couldn’t find potatoes,” she added, with infinite sadness.
“I guess Mister Morgan does know his mushrooms…” As they sat down, Baraqiel warmly remembered the many times the man had stopped by to check on them, or share his findings. A true mycologist of a man, in the year of our saints 2035. “Thank you.”
As the young kid carefully sat on the dirt floor and blew on their bowl to let it cool down, Gabrielle’s big, unblinking eyes stared at them with anticipation. Always so impatient.
“Eat first.” Said Bari, not even looking at her. “Then it’s story time.”
The girl whined, but didn’t protest more than that. They both started to dig in, munching down salty stew without saying a word. Bari was not one to talk while eating, and Gabi was not one to interrupt Baraqiel at all, so they always enjoyed their food in comfortable silence.
This made supper very quick.
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
“Alright…” Baraqiel said, as if announcing they had finished. “The Tale of the Knights of Red, then…”
“Yes.” Gabrielle set her plates aside, having finished as soon as her little stomach was able and then laying on her belly to look up at Bari from a comfortable spot. Then, she remembered to add: “Please.”
The sitting kid sighed, taking a deeper breath and pretending to be bothered, but really, they couldn’t hide the smile on their face.
“Let’s see…” They cleared their throat, stretching a little bit and leaning on the floor once again. Baraqiel knew they wouldn’t be able to get up again without help, but right now they didn’t care. “It goes like this…”
Deep in the mountains of Mastivia, a very long time ago
Two great orders of warriors fought for control of everything.
The Castles of the East and the West.
And while they warred and bickered with each other,
always looking for more terrain to conquer,
the people living in the mountains were left to fend for themselves.
The castles of the East were masters of martial might,
their warriors being able to lift entire boulders over their heads
and wrestle the most dangerous beasts.
“Like the great Gilgamesh!” Exclaimed Gabi.
Yes. Now shush.
The castles of the West were studious of the arcane arts,
wielding secrets to bend reality to their very own will,
the forces of nature coming to their beck and call without hesitation.
“Like Merlin the Wise?” Gabi commented, a little less confident.
Yes.
They were zealous with their knowledge, never sharing a whisper of it with anyone.
And so, the people who lived in Mastivia depended on them to live safely,
being heavily taxed and abused by their rulers.
“And that’s when the Red Condor comes in!” Gabrielle interrupted again, excitedly.
Yes.
The Red Condor… a figure cloaked in red clothes, with a long red cape and a huge hat.
Who were they? It’s a secret the Knights of the Red have never revealed.
We don’t even know if they were a man or a woman!
They were a master of disguises, originally a rogue looking for coin and fortune.
People say the Red Condor arrived at Mastivia as a traveler,
and they fell in love with the land that embraced them.
So in return, they infiltrated both great castles under different names.
Wearing different faces.
Learning from both.
The Condor met many, many people in both Castles.
They formed a little group, friends with the same dream of peace and prosperity.
In secret they began gathering, and as different as they were, they put such things aside.
They learned from each other, they practiced together, they lived together.
Until their arts became one.
They discovered a way to mix might and magic, and they called it
The Way of Red.
For they were the bright red line between East and West, where they blurred together.
With their new identity, and their new knowledge in hand,
these Knights of Red fought injustice and roamed the lands doing good.
They fought great beasts, saved far away kingdoms, and recovered great treasure!
They brought prosperity to Mastivia, even when facing the Great Castles’ control.
They were heroes of the people, but most importantly, they were a family to each other
and…
Baraqiel stopped their story for a moment there, noticing the girl soundly sleeping beside him, curling a little bit to get more warmth. The young kid smiled to himself, and moved a single finger. Pushed by imperceptible winds, the covers on their bed floated one by one over to cover both children.
“... Good night, Gabi.” They whispered, getting more comfortable on the floor.
Gabrielle grumbled and mumbled something in her sleep.
Things were simple back then. Not easy, never easy, but they were simple to understand. And despite the hardships of an independent life, they were happy.
Baraqiel hoped to themselves that this happiness never ended. But they knew it would pass, like all in this life.
They never knew how quickly they would be proven right.