It was a beautiful morning as the sun arose, illuminating the forest's scenery. Looking at the sky from on top an oak tree that grew beside their cabin, Rowen watched the sunrise. He could feel the warmth that came with it upon his face. He took in a deep breath and let out a satisfied sigh. He had dark hair like his father and his mother's green eyes.
He looked at the open field where his sisters, Rena and Rogue, were playing what seemed to be; steal the egg from the chicken and have it chase you. Why they thought having an angry mama bird chase them around was fun, he did not know. He watched as the hen chased them across the field to a point where they both spilt in opposite direction. The hen followed the one that held the egg which was Rogue, unfortunately for it that was part of their plan as Rogue was the faster one. She jumped over a patch on the field, the hen did not see it fit to follow suite so it just ran right over the patch and with that it sunk splash into a gully pit set up by the twins beforehand. The hen struggled to come out, flapping its wings vigorously but to no avail.
"Poor hen", he muttered.
His sisters had always been the mischievous types, always causing trouble everywhere they went. They are known as the hurricane sisters but despite their tendency to rick havoc, he considers his sisters to be the perfect duo. They both had brown hair just like their mother but had their father's dark eyes. You can only tell them apart by their distinct behaviors. Rogue is the muscle of the duo. She is restless, steadfast and fearless in every sense of the word and very protective of her twin sister, Rena. She normally just does things without thinking it through first and it's left to Rena to help get her out of it. As for Rena, needless to say, she's the brains of the duo. She is usually very passive and frail, the polar opposite of her sister.
Rouge is the one who normally leads them both into all their mischiefs but don't be deceived behind that innocent and seemingly helpless appearance, Rena is as crafty as they come, always the girl with the plan and the mastermind of all their operations and even their escape plans, which normally involves putting all the blame on him. There was a time that their father found his favorite sword in the pig pen, smoldered in mud and gunk. Rogue had apparently taken the sword to see if it could be used as some kind of poking stick to mess with the pigs. The pigs did not take the threat lightly and charged at the fence of their pen, where Rogue had been standing on top, causing her to fall and thereby dropping the sword inside the pen. The pigs were not about to let her take it back without a fight. They glared at her with eyes that said "I dare you to try and reach for the sword". Rena had been standing there the whole time watching as everything transpired. The pigs took formation, encircling the weapon of their oppression, waiting for any of them who would be stupid enough to reach out.
"Darn pigs!!" cursed Rogue.
"I don't think insulting the pigs will make them eager to return the sword", said Rena plainly.
"Father's going to kill me" Rogue complained.
"Don't worry, I have a plan" Rena assured her.
They ended up leaving the sword there. When their father came back from going to sell the game he had hunted, in the village of Lingard which was just outside of the forest. He entered the cabin with the mass of nastiness that used to be his favorite sword. He had somehow gotten past the brigade of angry pigs and reclaimed his sword without even the slightest stain on his clothes from the struggle.
"Who did this?" he asked fuming with rage. The twins made no haste to point their fingers at their brother who had just woken up from sleep.
"I saw him slicing hay soldiers with the sword out back" Rena said her most innocent voice yet. At first he was clueless as to what was happening but quickly caught on when he felt his father's rage directed at him.
"I didn't do it" Rowen retorted.
"I'll be the judge of that" said their father, Sir Gregory Cromwell. He had always told them the story of how he was a decorated knight of valor in the kingdom of Artaz and how that sword had been given to him as a reward by the king of Artaz. He matched past them and made his way to Rowen's room. After a brief moment their father came out with the sheath of his sword in his other hand.
"What do you have to say now and before you deny it, I saw the heap of battered hay soldiers out back" said his father, the hostility in his tone very clear.
Rowen looked at his sisters not knowing whether to be angry or impressed that they had managed to implant the sheath into his room without him knowing, just how devious can two seven year old be and he was four years older. But what struck him most was how they had used the hay soldiers against him. It was true that he had been hacking away at those lifeless dummies throughout most of the day but not with his father's sword, after all he was very much sane.
"I---" he started.
"Don't even bother, I'll have you clean the pig's pen until your arm's fall of as your punishment boy", said his father without even given him the chance to defend himself. Rowen knew that this was just his father's way of forcing him to clean the pen because he couldn't make the girls do it. That was really the most tenuous punishment he had ever faced. This happened about four years ago before his sisters got their title as the hurricane twins by the villagers in Lingard, always getting up to mischief every time they drop by town.
Rena had just joined Rogue at the edge of the pit where the hen thrashed around trying to come out.
"I think we went too far with this one" Rena pointed out.
"Well we had to get the egg away from it somehow. Who knew that hens could be so fierce?" replied Rogue.
"What did you expect", said a voice from behind. The girls turned in surprise to see their mother standing behind them. She was wearing a silk dress and leather boots. They didn't know how she had gotten behind them without them know. She looked down at the girls with a smile on her face that sent a chill down their spine. She walked past the both of them and knelt down pulling the hen out of the pit. She faced them.
"It's only natural for a mother to fight for her young", she said in a gentle voice. This gave them a bit of relief as they started to relax probably thinking they would get out of this situation scot free.
"You girls are in big trouble", she reassured them.
"YES MAM!!" they both chorused taking an attentive stance. She then called out, "Rowen get out here". He had been watching all that had transpired from the safety of the oak tree just so he wouldn't get involved but his mother had other plans. He could just remain up there and hope that she doesn't come looking but he decided against it.
"Best not to get on her bad side", he thought before jumping down from the tree and making his way through the field to his mother.
"You called mother", he stated.
"Yes, I'll have you supervise your sisters in cleaning the stable as their punishment", she replied.
"Why do I have to do it, I didn't do anything wrong", he complained.
"Well you just watched as your sisters carried out their mischief, so you should not have any problems watching them carry out their punishment", she replied.
He let out a sigh. "Fine if you insist mother", he said.
"Good! Now if you excuse me, I have to go wash up the hen". She left them on the field and made her way to the cabin.
"Okay you little rascals, since you got me involved I'm going to make sure you work until you lose your limbs" he said in a playful tone and with huge grin across his face.
"NO!!" the girls chorused with laughter as they raced off in the opposite direction of the stable.
"Hey STOP!! You girls better get back here or else---" he shouted before running after them.
After going through a series of traps laid out by the twins, he finally caught up with them and pinned them both down. He often wondered when his sisters found the time to set up such elaborate traps.
"You girls just wasted most of my morning, I hope you are ready to face the consequences", he said to them as he marched them towards the stable.
They got to the stable and found that the place was a mess, from the pile of horse dung to the heaps of hay scattered all over the place.
"Sir Lance!!" Rogue called to the horse in a disappointed tone as he was in his stall adding to the heap of dung. Nothing like a great white stallion pooping all over the place.
"Serves you girls right, it seems Sir Lance has been on a frenzy from eating something that did not quite agree with him. What could it be?" he asked facing the twins with an eyebrow raised showing his suspicion. The girls adverted their eyes and whistled lightly obviously showing that they had a hand in it.
"You can't make us do this", Rogue said standing her ground on the matter.
"Well I could always just go and tell mother that you might have had something to do with the constipating horse though I'm sure she already had an idea", he told her with a grin. She backed off knowing she had lost.
Rena wrapped her arms around his right arm, "Please can you help us out?" she asked him with her most endearing puppy eyes. It was always a sure last resort with a 100% accuracy but he was not going to give in this time. It took all he had to advert his eyes from hers because they were so compelling.
"Nice try but I'm not going to give in" he said with his head raised up high, obviously pleased with himself that he broke out of her compulsion. He turned towards the entrance of the stable
"I'm going to remain outside until you girls are done" he said before he stepped out of the stable. He knew that if he stayed there much longer he'll probably give in to Rena's compulsion. That girl could be so convincing at times. Every time they pinned a blame on him all it took was her to give him one of those puppy eyes and tell him that they were sorry, he would fall for it and just laugh it off. Mother seems to be the only one that doesn't fall for it. Between Rena and his mother he could not tell who was scarier. His family had its up and downs but he loved every moment he spent with them and wished that it would last forever but it seemed fate had other plans install.
The stable where he was, was northeast from the cabin along with the pigs pen, barn and well. This made it easy to see anyone who comes out of the forest towards their cabin. He stared at the road that cut across the field from the forest opening to the front of the cabin. Just then a horse rider came running out of the opening. The rider was in full armor, carrying a spear and a shield on his back and a short sword around his waist. The horse rider raced towards his home running past him as he stood in front of the stable. He ran in the same direction, going behind the barn to sneak towards the cabin. His father and mother had come out of the cabin, his father with his sheathed sword in his hand.
"Lara where are the children", Gregory asked his wife in a whisper.
"They are in the stable" she replied.
"Okay, they should be safe there but if anything happens I want you to run there and take them out of the forest" he said to her with a serious expression.
"I know Gregory" she replied with the same serious expression. The horse rider stopped in front of them.
"That is far enough. Who are you and what do you want?" he asked the horse rider. By this time Rowen had reached the side of the cabin where his favorite tree was. Rowen crouched down the side and looked from the corner.
"I'm an envoy of the King of Artaz and I've come to deliver a message to you Sir Gregory" the horse rider replied.
"I don't think that's how an envoy is supposed to dress. He looks more like someone who has been sent to the battlefield to fight", Rowen thought.
"You say you are an envoy of the king but you bear the crest of the lion belonging to the house of Tiroy" Sir Gregory said staring at the lion symbol on the horse rider's armor.
"The king has sent you a message through the house of duke Salvador Tiroy" the horse rider replied.
"I'm sure the king is well aware of the state of relations between myself and your lord so I haven't any idea why his majesty would send an envoy through him" said Sir Gregory with obvious disbelief in his tone.
"I am but a grunt. How am I to know of the state of relations that exist between lords such as yourselves?" the horse rider replied. "Lord?? What does he mean by that? His father has always told him about how he was knighted but never mentioned anything about being a lord" Rowen thought to himself.
"I am no lord" Sir Gregory replied, "I'm not of noble birth but rather was given the title by the king because of my deeds"
"Oh! Everyone knows of the great deeds of Sir Gregory, how he was given the title of lordship but gave up all the wealth, power and territory that came with it and even declined the castle gifted to you by the king" the horse rider replied Sir Gregory.
"You better watch your tongue. Despite his calm appearance, my husband is known to lose his temper very easily and believe me when I say you don't want to be on the receiving end when that happens" Lady Lara warned.
Her husband turned to her, "Thank you dear" he said, then faced the horse rider, "You've heard my wife, if I were you I'll choose my next words wisely because I see that you are fully prepared for a fight" he said as he fixed his gaze on the weapons he had on him.
"You mean these?" the horse rider asked gripping the hilt of his blade. "Well no one is stupid enough to trespass on the home of the man known as the War god and his esteemed wife, Lady Lara Fairchild" he said trying to mask the obvious fright in his voice.
"I abandoned that name a long time ago" said Lady Lara with clear rage in her tone. Rowen has never known his mother to show her anger. She always smiled and spoke very calmly to everyone despite how they treated her. Whatever it was about this guy calling her Fairchild must have really hit a nerve because he had never heard the clear hostility in her tone.
"I don't appreciate you coming to our home and bringing up our past" she continued as she fumed with rage. You could almost feel the blood lust emanating from her. The air went still and the atmosphere became heavy almost suffocating. The horse reacted to this change and staggered backwards before getting on its hind legs trying to throw the rider off its back and escape before things got out of hand. The horse rider nearly fell off but managed to hold on and wring the horse into submission.
Sir Gregory tried to reach out to his wife but she just raised her hand, "STOP!! I'm alright", she said before drawing in a deep breath and releasing it in order to calm herself down.
"You claim to be an envoy of the king" she started, "so tell us what it is you were sent to tell us".
"The king wishes for you to return to his ranks and help in the fight against that which threatens the peace of this kingdom" the horse rider replied with caution so as to not anger Lady Lara.
"I owe the kingdom of Artaz nothing. I've fought my wars, whatever the cost and now I enjoy the fruit of my labor as per the king's decree. I see no reason why I should heed this call to help the king with his fight against other kingdoms" said Sir Gregory.
"The truth is that the three great noble houses are at war with each other and the kingdom is divided. Only my lord's house remains by the king's side. That's why Lord Salvador was tasked with passing on this message to you" said the horse rider with impatience in his tone.
"NO!!" Sir Gregory said plainly.
"But dear if Charles needs your help---" his wife started
"I've made up my mind on the matter. If Charles needed my help he would have sent one of his own men" he said cutting her words short and then he faced the horse rider,
"How do I know that you are not lying? For all I know your Lord may be one of those against the king and might seek to lure me out and kill me" he accused. He unsheathed his blade and pointed it at the horse rider.
"You best leave while you still have your limbs intact" he warned. The horse rider flinched on his horse obviously intimidated by the threat.
"You're making a mistake" the horse rider replied him.
"LEAVE!!" Sir Gregory burst out with hostility in his tone.
"Fine. Have a great day" he said. He turned around to leave but stopped and took one more look at the couple whose very presence cried out danger before he rode away in the forest. Rowen had heard everything that had transpired from the side of the cabin where he crouched. He didn't know what to make of the situation, he had just witnessed a conversation involving his parents, about things like nobility, betrayal and war. He had always thought his father used to be a normal foot soldier, not a freaking general and what's all this about him turning down wealth, power, territory and a freaking castle for life in the outskirt of the kingdom. He knew that this was a conversation he was not meant to overhear.
"I'll go and check on the children" said his mother.
"Right!! Do that" his father replied.
He knew this was his cue to take off. He raced back to the stable using the back of their barn so that his mother would not see him.
No sooner had he gotten to the front of the stable than his mother arrived. He was panting heavily from the sprint and she didn't even seem fazed. And how the hell did she get here as soon as he did without even breaking a sweat. He wondered whether his mother's super human abilities had anything to do with her being a FAIRCHILD. Apparently there were a lot of things he didn't know about his parents. She looked at him as he was trying to catch his breath.
"Why are you panting?" she asked
"Because I'm human obviously. I guess that limitation doesn't apply to you" he thought before he replied "I was doing some warm ups before you arrived. It's not easy staying fit you know". She smiled at him
"Oh! I know. Just try not to push yourself too hard" she said
She was back to her usual smiling, gentle self, nothing like how she had been when that horse rider pushed her buttons.
"So are your sisters done with the stable?" she asked.
"They should be" he replied with uncertainty in his tone.
"Okay" she said with a confused look on her face as to why her son was drenched in sweat and did not know whether his sisters were done with their work. She turned away from him and reached for the door. As she reached for the door, that was when it occurred to him that his sisters were not the type to do what they were told especially when left alone. He could imagine what foul traps his sisters had placed in store for him probably thinking he was the one who would come through the door. He launched to the door ahead of his mother and burst open the door, bracing himself with his eyes closed. He stood still for about two minutes, half expecting horse shit to hurl towards him or a huge pile of hay fall on top him. Nothing happened.
"Are you okay brother dearest?" asked Rena as he opened his eyes to see, to his surprise that the stable was spotless and they had somehow managed to calm the horse down and even clean it up along with the pile of shit it had horded in its stall. The only things dirty where his sisters who were both seating on the floor playing with what looked like hay dolls and a hay hut. They looked at him but Rena's taunting smile told him everything, that it was a mind trap meant to mess with him making him think they were up to no good when instead they did what he least expected, their jobs. His mother finally spoke up from behind
"Wow! You girls really out did yourself. I'm impressed" she said with the normal smile on her face then walked past him to the girls
"Let's get you cleaned up" she said as she raised the two chuckling girls to their feet. The girls turned to the horse
"Bye!! Sir Lance" they chorused before running out of the stable giggling. Rowen looked at his sisters, as they ran out, in dismay. He never thought they could be anymore devious. His mother started for the door but stopped at the door's entrance and faced him.
"I hope everything is alright?" she asked still smiling but he could clearly see the dark cloud hovering over her face.
"Yes everything is alright" he replied. He knew she was not dense and probably understood what had happened but she said nothing and left. He let out a heavy sigh of relief before following her outside. They walked back to the cabin in silence with his mother in the lead.
The day had been fast spent and it was around dusk when Rowen was doing his daily routine of sword practice with his father on the open field, with his mother and his sisters as his ever so loving audience, watching and cheering him on from under the oak tree that stood beside their cabin. His mom sat there smiling and waving while his sisters cheered him on but he had a feeling that they were only there to watch their father kick his ass. What gave it away? Well that could be the fact that they only ever cheered after their father put him on his knees or ass and most especially on his face. But today was going to be different because he was going to get the better of his father. They stood facing each other with swords in hand, him holding a normal sword and his father holding a wooden sword. Rowen took a big breath and took his stance, shifting his right leg forward and holding his sword in front of him with both hands while his father took a laid back stance with his wooden sword in one hand.
"Hmmm! It seems you are serious about fighting me today boy" said his father, clearly noticing the seriousness in his expression.
"Why the sudden motivation?" asked his father. Well for one he did not want to be the subject of his sisters' amusement and most especially he had a lot of questions he wanted to ask but since he couldn't ask with words, he decided to ask with his blade. After all, to someone like his father, action speaks louder than words.
"Let's just say I want to send a message across" he replied. His father smiled
"Then you better attack like you want to kill me boy because I ain't holding back" his father said in a serious tone. His father always said this to him in all their sword practices and always followed through with his own pronouncement of not holding back but he never took it seriously thinking he may end up hurting his father. But now he finally understood that his father could handle himself quite well, so today he was going to attack his father with an intent to kill.
He leaped forward with a slash aiming for his father's neck but his father just parried the attack like it was nothing, without even moving an inch from where he stood. He wasn't done yet, he caught himself after the parry and did a quick step back to dodge his father's counter attack. He reached in again and this time he went for a thrust to his father's face but his father just parried it again, he took advantage of the opening and kicked his father in his side before taking another step back, no reaction just a taunting smile. Next he swept his sword from below aiming for his father's leg but his father anticipated this as well and used his wooden blade to parry Rowen's own then thrusting it towards his stomach. Rowen quickly reacted and used his sword to push the thrust to his side, then he drove his blade over his father's wooden blade while pushing it and made his way up to his father's face, his father leaned backwards in an attempt to dodge the blade but it was not enough so in that last second his father shifted backwards, dodging the blade just barely. Blood trickled down his father's left cheek, his father touched the cut with his finger and then looked at it to see the blood. There was a brief moment of silence. He breathed heavily with a triumphant smile on his face at seeing the damage he had dealt to his father. He faced his audience only to see his mother cover her mouth with both hands.
"Oh! Dear" she muffled. As for his sisters, they both dropped open there mouth in awe because neither of them has ever seen their father bleed not even when a wild boar attacked their home and their father killed it with nothing but the butcher knife he had on him at the time.
"Did he just--?" asked Rogue.
"Yeah I think he just did" Rena replied her, saving her the trouble of finishing her question.
He faced his father, at this point the smile had vanished from his face. He gulped. His father was still starring at the blood on his hand and suddenly he burst out laughing.
"I knew you had it in you, all you had to do was try" his father said amidst his laughter. He faced his wife
"It seems our boy is finally owning up to his old man" he said with pure delight, while patting his son on the back. Rogue got on her feet.
"Whoa! That was amazing. I want to be able to fight father like that one day" she said with glee.
"Well then, you will have to take some lessons from your brother" he replied her. He turned to his son.
"I sensed an intent from you as we fought. So what was it that you tried to pry out of me?" he asked
"It involves the message the envoy came to deliver" Rowen replied his father plainly. His mother stood up immediately
"Rowen--"she said but was stopped by her husband as he raised up his hand, indicating for her to wait. He smiled
"So you heard? I did not which for you to know the way you did. We had planned to tell you when you were ready" he assured Rowen.
"It's too late for that. So are you going to explain what happened or not?" asked Rowen.
"I don't think we have a choice" he said as he looked at his wife. "But first, it's getting dark and I need you to go into the forest and gather some wood before we talk" he concluded.
"Are you being serious?" Rowen asked in disbelief.
"If you want to know the truth, go and gather some wood" he replied and before Rowen got the chance to protest, he turned to his wife and daughters.
"Let's all go inside and prepare for supper while we await Rowen's return" he said before dropping his wooden sword and lifting his daughters off the ground, leading them inside with his wife by his side.
Rowen was awestruck as he watched his parents enter the cabin leaving him outside. He let out a heavy sigh, with his sword still at hand, he turned from the cabin and went towards the forest.
As they entered the cabin Sir Gregory faced his daughters and waved at them to run along to their room. They both raced out of the living room where they had entered. He then turned to his wife
"What should we do now?" he asked
"We will have to tell them the truth. We owe it to them" she replied
"I know, I know." He said with a sigh. "What was Sabastian thinking sending that envoy? Whatever twisted game he's playing I'll crush it" he said with gritted teeth.
"Calm down dear, let's just focus on the safety of our kids. I don't think he would simply ignore our refusal to answer his call" she cautioned.
"I know dear" he said. He turned suddenly to face the entrance door.
"I hear footsteps", he said with an angry expression. "So he has already made his move" he continued. His wife faced him
"Rowen?!!" his wife informed.
"Do not worry the boy can handle himself just go get the girls" he said to her in a hushed tone.
When they entered their room, they lit some candle sticks to brighten the room. The twins climbed their beds, Rena lying flat on her bed and Rogue bouncing on hers.
"What do you think they are hiding?" asked Rogue.
"Whatever it is, it was enough to make them send Rowen into the forest by this time. He has barely been gone and it has already gotten dark outside" she replied Rogue. She turned to Rogue,
"Do you think it's something dangerous?" she asked with worry clear in her voice. Rogue stopped bouncing on her bed and got on Rena's bed.
"Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you" she assured her then brought out a necklace from around her neck. It was half a carved wooden heart and carved on it was the letter R. Rena also brought out what seemed to be in the other half of the heart from around her own neck and they placed it together. It read R+R, which obviously meant Rena and Rogue.
"Do you remember what we promised each other after we made this pendant?" Rogue asked
"Yes, that we will always have each other's backs come what may" she replied.
"Yeah that's right, so don't you ever worry, Okay?" she assured Rena who nodded in agreement with a smile on her face.
"Wait! Do you hear that?" asked Rogue whose smile had already faded.
"Hear what?" Rena asked. Rogue looked at her with a troubled expression,
"Footsteps" she replied. The fear clearly showing on her face. Rena focused on hearing and then she finally heard it
"I hear them" she told Rogue.
"How many?" Rena asked
"One, two, three, ---." She counted in her mind as she heard them encircling their cabin.
"A lot" Rogue replied, a dark shadow appeared across her face. "Let's go warn Mother and Father" she continued as she dragged her sister out of the room.
They got to the room where their parents stood.
"Father, I hear footsteps. Lots of them" Rogue reported as their mother went to embrace them.
"Don't worry your father has everything under control" she assured her daughters. He reached for his sword that sat at the corner of the room then faced his wife
"I'll draw their attention. You take the girls out the back and meet up with Rowen in the forest" he said.
BANG BANG.
"They're already at the door" whispered Rena. Their father signaled for them to get moving. His wife took in a deep breath and led the girls by their arms out of the room and to the back room, where she pulled up a mat from the floor to reveal a trap door.
"What about Father?" asked Rena in a worried tone.
"Your father will be okay, we have to go now." She said as she raised the trap door open, picked one of the candles in the room and led her daughters down the stairs that where there. Having heard the trap door close Sir Gregory unsheathed his blade and took in a deep breath. BANG BANG BANG, the knocks became louder and with one more BANG the door fell open. Two flaming dogs entered the room and started to circle him one at both sides.
"Great!! Freaking Hell hounds" he scoffed. They seemed to be sizing him up. They made the sensible call and both pounced on him from both sides. He stepped back swiftly and swung his sword in the direction of the one coming from his right, beheading it while at the same time sticking out his sheath with his left arm so as to prevent the other one from impaling him with its teeth. As the other hell hound bit the sheath, he kicked it on its side sending it flying to the wall. Before it could get its bearing he dashed forward stabbing it with his sword.
"It would take more than two hell hounds to beat me" he said to himself. He started for the door, when the dead hell hounds lit up in a blazing fury, blowing up the cabin with him in it.
The underground passage led out to a little clearing in the woods. Lady Lara and her daughters had come out of the passage.
"Let's find your brother and make our way to Lingard where your father will meet us" she told the girls in an assuring tone. They both nodded in agreement.
As they were about moving further into the woods.
BOOM!!!