BAM!

A drunktard slammed his cup of ale on the bar counter. "Why man…wh-burp…did she leave BURP~~me…."

"I think I know why." The bartender said.

"What?"

"Nothing dear customer. Please keep indulging in me."

"How do people like this stuff?" John asked the nun, the two of them sitting a few tables away from the counter. "Do you want to know why drinking was invented?"

"Uhhh I assume enjoyment, no?"

"Incorrect. It's because they can escape reality. Or at least, they try to. Alcohol is a way to momentarily suppress that pain. Like that guy over there…he's pouring his heart out." Alice boldly pointed at the counter.

The man hearing what the nun said, walked over to the her, slobbering everywhere. "What did you say about me?" The idiot pressed.

John began reaching into his pocket, preparing for a fight. "Clap…there's a church to the east. Perhaps the father there can help you." The nun proposed.

The mans face instantly did a 180, getting on his knees in front of the nun. "Will God truly accept someone like me?" The man asked, his hands interlocked. "Well of course. He accepts all."

The man wiped his tears and boogers from his face. "It's just that…that I killed her."

"!" John immediately reacted, grabbing his knife from his side and aiming at the man's shoulder. The nun caught John's arm before he did any damage. The drunktard whimpered and stumbled to the ground.

"Nuh-uh." The nun waved her index finger left to right. John pushed away, walking outside.

The nun lowered herself to the drunktard. "Head to the church." She coldly said. Right away, the man got up and hurriedly left.

She dusted her clothes off and strolled outside. Seeing John run into a nearby forest, she followed. "John!" She called out. "Where are you!"

"Why did you stop me? Not to mention how?"John asked, appearing from the bushes. "There you are John~I stopped you because you don't have the right to choose over life and death."

"You say that yet you saved him did you not? You chose for him to live, no?!"

"Oh please…you were aiming for his shoulder. You're not ready to take a life yet. And even if you were I still would've stopped you."

"Answer my question…." John quietly threatened. "You say that even when you just saw me stop you with ease?"

"…" John had no response, his eyes fixated on her. Not wanting to stand anymore, she sat on a nearby log. "You know," she continued. "You have yet to ask my name?"

"I'm not too concerned with your name right now."

"My name is Alice. So, call me 'Sister Alice'."

John wanted to pursue the conversation more, but gave into silence. He couldn't beat her in a physical fight nor a fight between words. 'Who the hell is this damn nun?!'

"Now then," Alice hopped off the log, clapping her hands, a smile on her face. "Let's head to Lunden."

*********

Inside of a small stable-house in Lunden, "yahooo!!" Constance yelled in excitement, jumping up and down. "Calm down." Marie commanded.

"Calm down? Marie! We just got accepted into the jousting tourney! I can't wait to tell Sir Adam!"

"Did you seriously forget?"

"Forget what?!"

Marie squinted her eyes at Constance, ignoring him, and heading upstairs. 'What was that all about?…eh whatever.'

Constance grabbed his wooden sword and left the stables. His smile lit up the gloomy streets, the civilians not knowing how to react to such happiness . 'It's such a good day.' Constance thought, holding his hand over his head, covering the sunlight from hitting his eyes.

BAM!

"Gah…what the…" Constance found himself on the ground, rubbing his bumpy head. He picked himself up, looking around, his vision still blurry, and saw multiple outsiders running down the streets.

The actual citizens of Lunden all ran into their homes, bringing the kids in, locking the doors, and such. A few moments ago, the street was lively, but now it was as silent as the night.

"Hurry to the palace!" One of the running men commanded to the others. They all had papers in their hands, dropping many of them. After around twenty men passed by Constance, the street became clear, everybody opening their doors and picking up the accidentally dropped papers.

Constance may be hard-headed, but he could tell he too needed to check it out. He grabbed the closet paper to him and quietly read it aloud to himself.

"A villager settlement in Gwynedd has become occupied by the D-….DANES!" Everybody gasped at Constance's words.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

He grabbed two more papers and went home.

SLAM!

"Marie! Marie!"

Marie slowly stepped down the stairs, "what?" She asked. "Look at this!" Constance handed her the paper.

"We regret to inform the king that a local village in Gwynedd has been overtaken at the hands of Danes…what?!"

The paper was a letter written by two different people. As to why? Neither of them knew, but they both practically said the same thing. The names were also unfamiliar to them.

"Henry Smith the fourth?…" Marie spoke.

"And Richard Turner…" Constance finished.

**********

"Where should we go to celebrate?" Adam asked himself, heading through the woods. "You know…John is at the age where he could start drinking?" He lightly chuckled.

Reaching his village, he smelt a putrid smell, forcing him to pinch his nose. He hooked his horse up near the exit of the woods and left it.

He remained at crouch level, sneaking around in his own village. The very grass he use to play on was now turned to ash. Hell was brought down on his village. Even the houses had been burnt and the people whom he cherished all laid out on a pile.

Adam put his hand in a fist, cutting himself with his nails. The blood dropped down and momentarily he thought of doing unjust things. 'I'll kill them…I swear it!'

"Peak-a-boo~~" An ominous voice whispered in Adam's ear. "!" He attempted to turn around, swinging his arm, but was met with the bottom of a foot.

SPLASH!

He landed in a puddle filled wit the blood of his people. He clenched his jaw and raised his sword at the man who was clearly no joke. He stood much taller than Adam, his maroon armor reflecting, and his two horned helmet.

Toke.

"What did you do…what did you do to my village!?"

"What does it look like?…we killed every.single.one."

"Guh….AHHHH!" Adam sent himself at Toke.

Toke turned his body, forcing Adam to swing at air. "Damn you!"

Whoosh!Whoosh!Whoosh!

Adam simply could not land a hit when blinded by rage.

The swings of agony left no emotion on Toke's face. An absolute distaste of the sight before him.

Noticing it in the corner of his eye, Adam turned his head away from Toke, looking at where his house used to be. Ash.

Next to the house, a group of vikings that are all circled around something…or someone. Through the bodies of the Vikings, Adam saw the face of his mother. Though beat up, he could tell. Isabella was brutally interrogated. To be more accurate…she was just beat non-stop.

His shocked face froze in place, looking at his creator. "Mother…"

'That's his mother?' Toke thought, his arms crossed over each other. "If that woman's your mother…then, you should know of a boy named John, correct?"

"What do you-" Adam stopped talking, realizing the danger he almost put his family in.

"Got you." Toke smirked. "Where is he?"

"What's it to you."

"Wrong answer."

Toke grabbed his sword, unsheathing it, and with one hand, aimed it at John. "Are you a warrior?"

"I'm a knight of the king you bastard."

Adam went for an overhead strike, jumping in the process, and Toke blocked it with ease, kicking the Adam who was in mid air.

Adam pitifully fought. Not landing a single hit on Toke.

Clang!

Adam dropped his sword after another impact with Toke. Slumping to the ground on his knees, Adam could no longer feel his arms. "You've never felt this sensation before have you?"

"What?" Adam arrogantly wondered.

"Life or death."

Adam once again turned his gaze over to his beaten mother, ignoring Toke as he began crawling towards her. The slippery and adherent mud obstructed his path.

Hearing the squishy sounds of footsteps from behind, Adam's face darkened more. Toke flipped Adam on his back, shoving his foot into Adam's chest.

Adam grunted in pain, attempting to move Toke's foot off of him. Though, it was more than just his chest being stopped on. His pride.

"Ack!" Adam yelped. Toke had dug his foot even deeper than before. "You want to save your mother do you not?"

Adam being unable to speak, responded with a slight nod, blood seeping from his mouth. "Then tell me the whereabouts of my son."

"!" Adam did not hide his reaction. 'So that's why he's looking for John!'

"If you understand, then nod. If you do so, I will spare your mother and allow for your voice to heal so you can tell me what I want to know."

Adam nodded.

Toke took his foot off of Adam and inaudibly spoke to his Danish men. After they conversed with each other, Adam saw everybody move away from his mother.

He reached out, half of his face sinking into the mud, and slowly, but unwillingly closed his eyes.

**********

John and Alice had arrived in the city of Worcester, a well known city in England, and quite the lucrative one. "John," Alice called. "You don't have a last name, right?"

"Yeah, but it never really bothered me. As far as I and everybody else I know of are concerned about is our first name. A last name doesn't hold much value to us."

"I see…say…if you did have a last name, what would you want it to be?" Alice asked, the two of them currently walking down the city roads, rain pouring down on them, and clouds hovering above them.

"I don't know…after all, not even the King of England has one."

"Yeah your right." Alice scoffed.

"Do you have a last name?"

"I do."

"Really?! What is it? C'mon tell me!" John annoyed Alice. Unfortunately, before Alice could answer, screams came from behind them. Being able to see it visibly, Alice paid no attention to it, not even being phased that some vulgar man is harassing a woman. However, John on the other hand was very much impacted by the screams.

The incident in the bar hadn't bothered John too much on the mental level, because he was more so mad than anything else. Still, this one reminded him of one of his friends from the village.

The village was in peace so nobody knew much of true danger. At least, that's what John thought growing up. He always thought of what it must've been like to kill or be killed in a battle. Not that he wanted to die…he was merely curious.

Regardless of what, the most important thing is that he didn't know what actual society looked like. Being isolated from an already isolated island doesn't help one's social abilities much.

He didn't know the danger of many things. He was unaware to the morally repulsive injustice that society realistically upheld.

He was always surrounded by nice people whom in return were repaid with his own kindness. Nobody did anything that could be deemed as "horrible" or "not righteous". ''Twas is the life of a remote peasant.

It would be a lie to say that nobody had ever stolen or got into a fight, but the difference is between the fact of whether of not John knew the person. He knew the people in his village. A village with not even fifty people.

John covered his head, shuddering in fear. Sounds of fire entrapping into his imaginative mind. All he could see or hear was fire.

The irregular spark of an amber yellow thundered in his ear, clouding all that he knew.

"It isn't my fault." John quivered, repeating the same thing over and over, before awaking to the sight of Alice shaking him from his shoulders, a fading rainbow behind her. Alice, trying to get the attention of John, yelled at the top of her lungs, only to be met with the reflection of herself through John's eyes. 'Who are you looking at?'

Unexpectedly, lightning struck a house right behind Alice. She yelped yet John still sat on the ground, his legs symmetrically outwards while he remained in his odd state.

'Mother…' John thought, tears forming under his right eye. Thunder followed directly after, a barrage of lightning and thunder beginning.

His eyes set about to close. Not wanting to, John struggled to keep himself awake. Alice witnessing the weird movements before her.

All of John stayed still, except his eyes. Both the rain and clouds no longer bothered the people as it slowly but surely halted.

Unable to prevent it, John accepted his fate.

"All-Father…" he soundlessly uttered, the tears falling out from his closed eyes.