Ring! Ring! Ring!
A young man, finely dressed, stood in the village centre, ringing the bell to signal the start of the day.
The early morning sun cast its warm rays on the little village. Ploughs struck the soil, as young men and women prepared the land for the season to come.
Children ran down the main street chasing carefreely after each other on their way to the schoolhouse, spooking a flock of birds into the sky.
One of the birds, a swallow, flew across the village, landing on a roof overlooking the blacksmith’s forge on the other side of town.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Sparks scattered as the hammer struck down on the glowing hot iron, making the finishing strikes to what he had been working on. The old blacksmith wiped his brow as he set his hammer to the side. A hand reached out, passing him a mug of water, which he ripped away with brute force.
Gulping down the water in one burst, he waited for the metal to cool before going back to work, attaching the metal rim to the edges of the leather-bound wooden shield. Attaching leather straps to the back of the shield, he gave it one final look over.
The shield was made of poplar and covered in course leather, with an iron rim, encircling the iron shield boss. A guige strap looped diagonally over the shield, with two vertical enarmes set in the middle to allow the shield to be gripped.
“There we are. See how that feels,” the blacksmith said, handing the shield off to the man next to him.
The man slung his arm through before pulling the strap tight around his forearm. Gripping onto the second strap, he swung his arm around, running through a range of motions to make sure it felt comfortable. Satisfied, he pulled his arm out and slung the guige around his shoulder and across his chest, carrying the shield on his back.
“It’s just what I needed,” he said.
“Of course it is. Did you doubt my work?” The old blacksmith grumbled.
“Why would I do that? Everyone knows you’re the best blacksmith from here to Whitmore Castle,” he said flatteringly.
“Stop yapping and get back to doing your job,” the blacksmith said, noticeably pleased with the compliment. “And don’t break your shield this time, we don’t have the resources to keep making such stupid mistakes.”
The man rolled his eyes as he walked off, giving a mock salute to the blacksmith. Wouldn’t dream of it. With his new shield slung over his back, he raced on over to the southern entrance to the village.
Turning the corner, he was forced to awkwardly side-step out of the way as a child almost barrelled straight into him.
“Sorry Uncle Luci,” the child said.
The child’s friends, all of a similar age, came to a stop, looking up at the man with wide-eyed admiration.
“It’s okay Roddy,” he said, dropping onto one knee to scruff up his nephew’s hair. “But shouldn’t you all be at the schoolhouse by now?”
The kids panicked as they realised they were going to be late for school, so they quickly ran off while waving goodbye.
“Tell your mother to drop by my place for dinner,” he called out as the kids disappeared from view. Bah, he probably didn’t hear me. I’ll find some time to drop by and invite her myself. She’d kill me if she missed out on a slice of blueberry pie.
A few minutes later and he had arrived at the southern entrance to the village.
A wooden archway wrapped over the dirt path. Existing more for decoration than for any defensive purposes, as it was so old that a strong gust of wind would most likely knock it over.
Beside it stood a ‘guardhouse’, where the guards could rest when off duty. It was more or less just a shoddily constructed roof, held up by pillars that looked as worn down by the archway.
It was awful, but it at least allowed him a chance to escape whenever the sun or rain got too heavy, so he was thankful for that.
He sat down across from the young lad who was nodding off on the table. The chair groaned underneath the added weight.
The young man woke up with a start, looking around in a panic as he fumbled for the sword at his waist.
“Take it easy John. It’s just me,” he said, tapping the young man on the shoulder to get his attention.
John breathed a sigh of relief as he slumped back into his chair. He rubbed the corner of his eyes as he yawned, his eyes trailing across the surroundings. “what time is it?”
“Just past sunrise, but you would know that if you were awake to hear the morning bell.”
“Cut me some slack Lucien, it’s not like I missed anything. We’ve found nothing all week. I don’t even know why captain is having us watch in pairs,” John said.
Lucien was about to say something but thought better of it. “Captain’s just worried. You’ve heard the rumours going around lately. He just wants to keep everyone safe,” Lucien sighed. He looked around with a frown, slowly realising that something was off. “Where’s Adam?”
John looked up at Lucien with a tired smirk. “Where do you think he is? He ran off as soon as the shift started. The bastard. He’s probably enjoying a nice breakfast as we speak.”
Lucien sighed and rubbed his eyes. “I’ll talk to him. I can’t have him running off like that. Captain will have my head for this.” Just another reason to visit my sister’s place. Hopefully he doesn’t run off before I get there.
“That’d be fun to see,” John chuckled.
“Don’t think you’re getting out of this. I’ll drag you down with me if i have to.” Lucien smirked as John’s laughter immediately stopped, his face paling dramatically. “we wouldn’t want that now, would we?”
John gulped heavily, his head rattling like a broken doll. “Mhm.”
“Good.” Lucien chuckled, his eyes trailing across the surroundings for any signs of activity. Looks like he wasn’t lying. There’s really nothing out there. I’ll cut him some slack. I’ve already rattled him enough as is.
John stared into the village, waiting for his replacement to show up. The moment he saw Arthur’s shadow he launched out of his chair and sprinted towards his house, as if the devil was chasing him.
Arthur was significantly older, and more battle-worn than John, so it took him longer to make it to the gate. He was not much older than Lucien, bordering on sixty years, but time had not been as kind to him as it was to Lucien. His face was rough and weatherbeaten; adorned with wrinkles.
His time out at battle hadn’t done him any better. He was left with a noticeable limp after his left leg was severed at the thigh. Thankfully, he could afford a wooden replacement leg, so he was still able to move around with relative ease.
Arthur hobbled over to the chair, shooting Lucien a quizzical look as he sat down.
“I found him sleeping on the job,” Lucien explained.
Arthur noticeably shivered. “poor lad. Did captain see it?”
“Do you think he’d still be standing if he did?” Lucien asked.
Arthur looked back at the village and shook his head. “Definitely not.”
Living in such a small village and having worked together almost every day for years, there wasn’t much for them to talk about, but both men were fine to just sit and enjoy the peaceful moment in silence.
And it was peaceful. For a whole hour they saw nothing aside from a curious rabbit that approached the village before being scared away by their presence.
There was a small meadow just south of the village, giving them the ability to spot anything approaching the village from the edge of the forest long before it could cause any trouble.
Sighing, Arthur pulled out a wooden cup from his inner coat, slamming it onto the table. Something rattled inside as Arthur looked at Lucien. “care for a game?”
Shrugging, he turned his attention to the cup, while still keeping an eye out on the forest. “why not.”
By the time he had answered, Arthur had already pulled out a piece of wood from the other side of his coat and used it as a divider.
Arthur picked up the cup, cupping his hand around the open top and started shaking, skilfully stopping anything from falling out. He slammed it back down onto his side of the table and lifted the cup.
Ten homemade wooden dice were left on his side of the divider. He shifted three off to the side, tossed the rest back into the cup, and set it down on Lucien’s side.
Lucien took his turn shaking the cup before setting the dice down on the table. Hidden on his side of the divider, the seven dice rolled three different results: two were swords, one was a shield, and the remaining four were blank.
Damn, no palm. Setting aside the two swords and the shield, he put the remaining four dice back in the cup.
Arthur rolled and took his two dice, handing the cup back to Lucien.
Come on. Give me something good. Shaking the cup vigorously, he slammed it down with a heavy breath. Lifting the cup, he couldn’t help but be disappointed. Damn. Both dice rolled blank, leaving him with just two swords and a shield.
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Arthur pushed aside the divider and smiled. “Looks like I’ve won,” he said triumphantly. He had a palm, a sword, two blanks, and a shield.
Pushing the palm forward, he took Lucien’s shield for himself, successfully blocking both of his swords and leaving Lucien open to a strike from his own.
“Come on, you can do better than that.” Arthur grinned.
“You got lucky,” Lucien said as he collected all of the dice back in the cup. At the same time, Arthur placed the piece of wood back in the middle, ready for the second game to begin.
Come on, give me something good. Lucien shook the cup with gusto, listening carefully to the rattling of dice. Now! He slammed the cup on the table, the dice came to a standstill. Half of them were blank, but most importantly, among the remaining swords and shields was an open palm. Grabbing the hand, he paired it with a sword and shield before handing over the rest of the dice.
The game went back and forth once more. When each player had five dice, the divider was lifted so that they could see who had won. Lucien had three swords, a shield, and a palm, whereas Arthur had two swords and three shields.
“Look who’s lucky now,” Arthur grumbled.
No matter what I take here, I still win. Lucien grinned as he swapped his palm out for one of Arthur’s swords. They played out the rest of the round, swords clanging against shields, with Lucien left with one sword in the end against a defenceless Arthur.
They continued playing, the hours passing as they kept an eye out for any potential threats, but nothing came. They didn’t even so much as catch a glimpse of a predator wandering in the forest, let alone coming close enough to the village to be a threat.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
The village bell rang out as the sun rose to its peak. Arthur and Lucien continued playing as the sun started its decline. Every once in a while, they would take breaks from the game, either to relieve themselves, eat food, or do a more detailed search of the surroundings.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
The bell rang again at sundown, as other guards came to take over for them. They had long since packed away their game, and instead spent the time in silence observing the world around them. Relieved of their duties, Arthur and Lucien set off back to the village. Not too long after, Arthur split off from Lucien, entering his home.
Lucien set off to his sister’s house, reaching it only a few minutes later. Hope he hasn’t run off. He stretched his shoulders before knocking in the door.
“Coming!” An exuberant voice called out. The door was opened not too long after by a woman wearing a plain white apron over her brown dress. A dozen years younger than her brother, time had only just started to leave its marks on her, mostly through the stress of motherhood more than anything else. A few wrinkles built around her glimmering blue eyes but were overshadowed by her toothy smile.
At forty-eight, Lucien’s hair was already peppered with some strands of grey, while hers remained a brilliant ebony.
“Brother, what brings you here? You should be on your way home,” she said, stepping aside to let him in.
“Did Roddy say anything when he came home?” Lucien asked casually as he scanned the house for Adam.
“No, why? What happened?” She asked worriedly, closing the door behind her as she went back to the kitchen.
“Oh, nothing important.” He followed her through to the kitchen, where she got ready to prepare dinner. “Is Adam in?” He asked, pretending to be casual.
“Don’t you start anything,” she sighed.
“What, I’m just asking. Is that strange?” He asked.
She turned around, staring him down with a withering gaze as she folded her arms.
“Point taken.” He raised his hands defensively. “I just want to get to him before captain does.”
Her face dropped, having heard stories of people having to drag their partners back after a ‘chat’ with the captain. “What did he do?”
“He was supposed to watch the south gate last night, but he ditched the second it was just him and John. Things could’ve been real bad if captain saw.”
“What? He told me that you two would be swapping shifts. I’ll have a talk with him when he comes home,” she said.
“Let me do it Brie. It’ll be better for everyone if I talk to him before captain does,” Lucien said, failing to hide a grin.
“You just want to beat him up,” Gabriella said.
“Your words, not mine,” Lucien said.
“Just remember that he’s my husband.” She sighed, knowing that she couldn’t change his mind.
“All the more reason to hit him harder,” He said.
“No! That’s not what I mea-” Before she could finish speaking she was interrupted by Roderick running into the kitchen, tracking mud and dirt in from outside. “Roddy, what did I say about bringing mud into the house!”
He froze immediately, pretending she couldn’t see him if he didn’t move.
Gabriella sighed, before crouching down to look him in the eye. “It’s okay, I’m not mad. Just don’t do it again, okay?”
“Okaaay,” He said, looking down at his feet.
“Let’s get you washed up. Just wait here with Uncle Luci while I get some water,” she said before turning to Lucien. “Can you watch him for me?”
“Of course.” Lucien nodded.
“Oh yeah, Uncle Luci wanted to invite us over for dinner,” Roddy said, only just now remembering to tell her when he heard Lucien speaking.
Gabriella stopped at the door, raising an eyebrow at Lucien, who responded with a shrug.
“There were more important things to talk about, but yeah. Delia wanted to have everyone over for dinner tonight.”
“I don’t know. I was just about to get started on dinner, and now I’ve got to clean the floors and wash Roddy. I don’t think we can go.”
“She’s baked a pie,” Lucien said, watching as both of their faces practically lit up with joy.
“Oh? Then I might be able to make it,” She said, unable to hide her excitement.
Lucien smiled slightly. “You go get the water; I’ll handle things here.”
Gabriella ran off to fetch some water, leaving Lucien and Roddy alone.
“Hey buddy, looks like you had a lot of fun. How’d you get so dirty?” Lucien asked.
“There was this really cool rabbit, with like suuuper long ears, and we followed it, and fell in some mud, then we lost it,” Roddy said all in one breath, super excited to tell someone about it.
“Oh yeah? Where did you see it? Maybe I can go and find it for ya,” Lucien said absentmindedly while setting the fire for Gabriella’s return.
“Thataway. In the woods,” he said, pointing roughly southeast.
Lucien’s face dimmed as he turned and looked at him sternly. “You went out into the woods?”
“Yeah,” he said, realising all too late that he shouldn’t have said anything. “But it’s okay! Papa was there!”
Hmm? That explains why Gabriella hasn’t seen him all day. “Glad to hear you had an adult with you. Where is he now?” Lucien asked.
Roddy pursed his lips as he looked askance.
“Is there something you’re not telling me?” Lucien asked seriously.
Roddy hesitated for a moment, avoiding Lucien’s gaze before he crumpled like a wet leaf. “Weeeelllll, he wasn’t with us, but I did see him in the woods, so I knew he was keeping it safe for us!”
What was he doing out there? He wasn’t on patrol duty; I know that for certain. Did he have to go so far out of his way just to avoid me? Shaking away his thoughts, he looked Roddy in the eye. “Promise me that you won’t leave the village without an adult, okay?” He asked.
“Will you tell mommy?” Roddy asked, almost tearing up.
“As long as you don’t do it again, I’ll keep this secret to my grave.”
Roddy nodded hurriedly, just in time for Gabriella to return with the water. “What’s going on here?”
“Secret men’s business. Am I right Roddy?” Lucien nudged Roddy, who nodded.
Gabriella rolled her eyes as she set the water above the fireplace. “Keep your secrets then. Not like I’m interested at all.”
Lucien winked at Roddy as he headed for the door. “Delia will probably kill me if I don’t get back soon. Will I see you later?”
“Tell her we’ll drop by,” she said while preparing the bath.
Lucien nodded as he closed the door behind him. Stepping out onto the quiet street, he walked back home, lost in thought. What was Adam doing out in the woods? He wasn’t on patrol; I know that for certain.
He stopped for a moment, gazing southeast towards the woods. What is he hiding? Shaking his head, he turned back around and walked home. Opening the door, he was met with something crashing into his stomach. He keeled over slightly as a pair of small arms wrapped around him.
“Papa!”
He looked down to see a head of long black hair tied neatly into pigtails. “Hey pumpkin, ease up a little, will ya?” He said breathlessly, roughing up her hair and causing her to step back with a pout.
“Welcome home honey.” A gentle, warm voice called out from the kitchen as a fragrant smell drifted into his nose.
“It smells delicious,” Lucien said as he picked up his daughter and sat her down at the dining table. Seeing her still pouting he sighed softly and lowered himself to look her in the eyes. “I’m sorry sweetie. Do you want me to fix it for you?”
Her pout immediately turned into a smile as she nodded like a chicken pecking at seeds. She sat up as straight as possible in her chair as Lucien untied her pigtails.
“Where’s the comb? Oh, never mind, found it. Jack, can you get that for me,” he said, nodding over to the shelf, where a fine-toothed wooden comb sat.
“Yes Pa.” Finishing off his line of writing, he placed the quill back in its holder and got up from the writing desk. He quickly passed off the comb to Lucien before sitting back down at the desk.
Gently combing through Delilah’s hair, he looked over at Jack, who was concentrating on the parchment in front of him. “What are you working on?”
“The teacher wants us to send a letter to the mayor, and I’ve been chosen to write the letter for our class,” Jack said, his whole being focused on writing the letter in front of him.
“You can always talk to him face to face; he won’t bother with it if you send him a letter. The old grouch,” Lucien said.
“It’s just a writing exercise father. She doesn’t expect it to actually change anything,” Jack explained.
Lucien sat there, immersing himself in the peacefulness of the house. The quiet scratching of the quill. The dense, fragrant scent drifting from the kitchen. The shifting of his daughter’s hair under his hands as he gently combed through it. He subconsciously hummed a little tune, wrapping bright green ribbons around Delilah’s hair as he parted it back into two pigtails.
A knock came from the door as he finished tying little bows into her hair with his rough, calloused hands. “Coming.” Lucien opened the door, letting Gabriella and Roddy in. He looked behind them before closing the door. “Is Adam not coming?”
“He hasn’t returned home yet. I’ve left him a note in case he comes back while we’re out,” Gabriella said, staying back to chat with Lucien while Roddy ran to take his seat beside Delilah.
Did something happen to him? It doesn’t seem right that he’s been out all day. “Let’s just forget about him right now. Go take a seat at the table, dinner should be ready soon.” Leaving Gabriella to watch over the kids, he snuck into the kitchen.
His wife, Cordelia, had her back to the door as she slaved over a pot of steaming hot stew. Her mousy brown hair tied back neatly into a bun as she sprinkled the finishing touches of seasoning into the pot.
Waiting for her to move away from the pot, Lucien snuck forward, sneakily picking up the ladle and bringing a mouthful of stew to his lips.
“Put that down,” she called out.
Lucien froze, the ladle moments away from his mouth. He turned around to see Cordelia glaring at him, the blueberry pie in her hands. He smiled awkwardly as he gently dropped the ladle back into the pot.
“Help me take the pot out there,” she said with a smile.
Urged on by the cold sweat forming on his back, Lucien picked up the pot and carried it to the dining table, making sure not to spill a drop.
The young ones cheered at the sight of food, squirming in their seats as Gabriella tried to draw their attention so that they wouldn’t snatch any of the food early. Jack stopped writing and joined them at the table, just as Lucien poured out a bowl of stew for him.
Dishing out the rest of the food, Lucien took his seat between his wife and daughter. He took up their hands and closed his eyes. He gently traced his thumb in the shape of a star on the back of their hands. “Matron Stellara has blessed us with another year of bountiful harvest. May she continue to bless us for the years to come. With our own two hands we have worked for this feast before us, and one day when we enter her warm embrace, so too shall we bring the fruits of our labour with us.”
Everyone opened their eyes and dropped their hands. With a nod from Cordelia, everyone dug into their food.
The stew was fantastic. Thanks to the recent harvest, Cordelia was able to add various vegetables to complement the usual serving of lamb and potatoes.
Lucien savoured the rich flavour of the broth, while the children quickly devoured the stew to fuel their growing bodies. The pot soon emptied under the combined efforts of everyone at the table.
Cordelia had to fend everyone off from getting to the pie, wanting to give their stomachs a moment to settle and digest their dinner. She talked with Gabriella, asking her about her day, all the while eyeing the two young ones who were practically bouncing in their seats.
As the wait became more and more unbearable for the young ones, she eventually relented and dished out a slice of pie for each of them.
~
The moon rose high into the sky. Gabriella had returned home with Roddy, and Lucien and Cordelia had just put the kids to bed.
In bed, his arms wrapped around her, his head nestled right next to hers. His mind ran through everything that had happened today, and he couldn’t shake off the feeling that something was wrong.
“I’m worried Cordy.”
“Mm? The kids are fine. Go back to sleep,” she mumbled, half asleep.
“It’s not the kids.” He sighed. “Something’s wrong with Adam, I just know it.”
Reluctantly, she woke up. Turning to face him, she caressed his cheek. “you’re just upset that he didn’t show up for work.”
“Maybe... But I feel like there’s something wrong.” He said.
“You always think there’s something wrong with him. That hasn’t changed since he married your sister,” she said. “Just trust him, okay? Everything's fine. Now go to sleep.” She turned back around, quickly falling asleep.
Yeah. Maybe you’re right.