"We need to leave here, and soon," Agnar said, surprising his sons.
"Leave the village? But where would we go?" Kiyan questioned.
"Raldon city. " Agnar replied.
Raldon City, along with Venus, were the big cities in the Mulgard kingdom. Around them were several villages.
"Will we move there permanently?" Kiyan asked.
"Perhaps, we will," Agnar replied.
"Remember, I once told you of Demas, your cousin who had invited us over. I sent him a letter stating we would be there. I planned to tell you both, but with what happened last night, I forgot."
Leaving the village put a gleam in their eyes. For a long, the twins wished to leave, hoping life would be better elsewhere. Getting to meet a relative was a plus. Not to mention finally getting the answers they longed for.
"Tomorrow is when we leave," Agnar added.
'We need to start packing.' He wanted to say. But what did they have to pack? Food, and clothes, they lacked. The thought of this saddened him.
"I need to get some things for the journey. I will be back." He turned to leave.
"Father ?" Kiyan called out softly stopping Agnar. "Why don't you use the money we got? I know you would disapprove, but, you don't have much. The people will overcharge you for whatever you purchase. I mean we got it for we needed it. It will be a waste if we don't use it. We can't return it either." He pulled out two gold coins from the pouch still hung on his shoulders.
Raten carefully watched their father's reaction. Usually, he would get furious at the suggestion and they would get whooped. But today was different. He looked defeated, saddened, and hadn't flinched at all.
"Please Father, take it." Kiyan moved in front of him with his arm stretched out. Agnar had remained unmoving. Sighing Kiyan took hold of his hand, placed the coins in it, and closed it.
Though it stung Agnar that they had to live off stolen money, he had to admit they needed it.
"What other option do I have ?" He clenched his fists. "I really did fail." He mumbled and walked off, closing the door behind him.
"That went well," Kiyan said.
With nothing else to do, the twins decided to practice magic. It was the only thing that kept them occupied. It wasn't till late that their father returned. With everything they needed ready, they had dinner and went to bed. Early the next day, they left for Raldon.
*******
"I see they are leaving." One of the neighbours spoke seeing them put their things in a carriage.
"What a beautiful day it is. This village will finally have peace."
"I hope you never return!" The little boy, Torrance, yelled as they rode off to which Kiyan stuck his tongue out at him.
"Goodbye now!" The people said.
"They seem very happy." Kiyan noticed.
"Shouldn't we tell the healer we are leaving? He did say he was a friend of yours." Raten said as they left the village.
"We don't need to. Besides, he will find out soon enough." Agnar replied. No more words were spoken as they rode silently to their destination.
Unlike Venus, which could be journeyed to and back from the village in a day, Raldon was much farther and would take more time.
"How long till we get there?" Kiyan asked, breaking the silence.
"If we keep up this pace, we would be there by dawn," Agnar replied and they resumed their silent ride.
While Agnar sat silently, the boys would occasionally look around, admiring the greenery and structure of things. They would often comment on what they saw, moving and asking their father countless questions.
"As much as I know you both are not used to staying idle, I need you to stop moving too much, and please be quiet. I'm beginning to get a headache." Agnar complained he could no longer tolerate their exuberance.
"Sorry father." Both boys apologized in unison and sat quietly.
Hours went by, the stars soon flooded the sky. Raten and Kiyan eventually fell asleep, resting on their father's lap, while he watched over them. Sleep was far from him.
He knew to be alert for times like this, a band of thieves attacked travellers. The kingdom had done well to suppress it, but one can never be too safe. He only hoped they would have no such encounter.
After hours of riding on the carriage, they finally got to Raldon. The sun could be seen slowly rising to the sky, giving light to the people.
Rubbing his eyes, Raten sat up and looked outside. "Have we arrived?" He asked.
Its large walls stood firm, with the flag of Mulgard - which was purple with one red line cutting across it - hung freely on either side. Two Knights each stood at each gate - north, east, west, and south, of Raldon.
"We have," Agnar confirmed.
*******
In a shed, a man who looked to be in his mid-thirties could be seen setting up his farm tools. He looked to be young but the few wrinkles on his skin and his grey hairs told otherwise.
A young lady, who was his house help, was busy cleaning up. The sounds of objects moving and clanging against the wall, as he sang and whistled, completely drowned out the sound of knocking on his front door.
"He's not answering, are you sure he's home ?"
"I am sure. Where would he go so early in the morning when he's expecting us?" The man replied, knocking a bit louder this time. "Come on out, little one!"
Walking into his home through the backdoor, he heard the sound of knocking, followed by yelling.
"Little one?" The man wondered and hurried to the front door.
*Knock, knock, knock...
"I'm coming!" He yelled and walked up to the door. Pulling the door open, he stared at the man in front of him. With his red hair and brown eyes, he wasn't someone the man knew.
"How may I help you ?" He asked.
"You can start by letting us in. I believe you told us to pay a visit." The man spoke and his appearance changed.
"Agnar." The man gasped. A smile appeared on his face.
"It's Uncle Agnar to you." He returned his smile.
"Good morning." Coming out from behind Agnar, Raten, and Kiyan greeted the man. They held onto their bags.
"Are they...?"
Agnar nodded confirming his hanging question. "Are we going to keep standing here?"
"Oh, pardon me, please come in." He apologized.
"Boys, this is your cousin, Demas." Agnar introduced the man to his sons as they sat.
"I can't believe how grown they are now. They look so much like their mother." Demas smiled at Agnar.
"Really? This is what she looked like ?" Kiyan grabbed Raten's face in his hands, squishing it a bit.
"Let go of my face." Raten slapped his hands off.
Agnar and Demas both chuckled at the brothers.
"Playful, I see. Which one of you is Kiyan?" Agnar asked.
"I am Kiyan," he answered with a smile. "He's Raten. I'm taller than he is." Kiyan pointed at his brother.
"No, you're not!" Raten furrowed his eyebrows.
"I am glad you chose to come," Demas said to Agnar.
"I figured it was about time. I have a lot of reasons to be here." Agnar said in a serious tone, looking over at his sons who were busy pulling each other's hair. Demas began wondering if something had happened. To be frank, more than anything, Demas would be surprised if they had been living peacefully.
"Anyway, you are welcome to my humble abode." Demas beamed with a smile. "You all must be tired from your journey. Why don't you all freshen up first, then we can have a meal together."
"That would be nice. I, for one, am very tired." Kiyan yawned. Raten shook his head at his brother.
"Well then, I will show you up to your rooms." Demas stood signalling they should move with him. "Marie!" He called for his house help as they all sat.
"Yes, Sir." She answered and rushed into the sitting room.
"Bring the bags of my guests, no, family, up to their rooms." He said and began climbing the stairs.
"All right, sir." She nodded and moved to where the bags lay on the floor.
Climbing up the stairs, Agnar looked over to Demas and said. "I didn't know we had reserved rooms."
"Since the first day, I sent you a letter, I kept two rooms ready for whenever you would visit," Demas said. They reached the second floor of his house.
"Here we are." He said, "This room belongs to you, Agnar. For you boys, this room is yours." He pointed at two doors beside each other. Looking over at Agnar, he spoke again, "I had a feeling you would want to be alone."
Agnar nodded. "I do need space from that." He pointed at his sons who were fighting over the doorknob. One wanted to get into the room before the other.
"Enough of that!" Walking over to them, he thumped their heads and opened the door. "Get in."
"Your bath has already been prepared," Demas said a little loud so the boys would hear.
"Alright!" They replied.
"When did you have the time to prepare a bath ?" Agnar asked.
"Once I heard you yell 'little one', I knew it was you. So I asked Marie to prepare a bath for you three." He answered with a smile. "I hope you enjoy your stay here."
"I hope you don't mind bickering and squabbling." Agnar gave a smile of his own, as he patted his shoulder.
"I had children as well, Sir. I mean, Agnar." Demas quickly corrected himself. Agnar had told him countless times before to just call him by his name. He then left.
Walking into the room given to him, Agnar could see Marie setting up his bags. She had walked past them earlier.
"You are welcome, sir." She greeted.
"You can leave that, I'll do it." He pointed at the bags. She then lowered her head and left. She didn't know which bag belonged to whom, she had brought them all to Agnar's room and thought she would ask him. But Agnar said he would do it.
In the boys' room, Kiyan was on the bed, while Raten looked out the window.
"Come look at this," Raten called out to his brother.
"No, thank you. I would rather lie down. This bed is huge!" Kiyan said, rolling from side to side. "It's comfortable."
"You are really lazy." Raten sighed.
"You take that back." Kiyan sat up on the bed.
"I will not. You are lazy, and that's the truth."
"Why, you!"
"Hold it right there," Agnar said as he walked in. "Why do you always look for a fight ?"
"He started it." Kiyan pointed at his brother. Raten rolled his eyes.
"Here are your clothes." He dropped their bags on the floor. "Put them where they are meant to be and have your bath. Understood?"
"Yes, Father." They said, one after the other.
Agnar then walked out the door.
"I'm bathing first," Raten said.
"No, I am." Kiyan ran forward.
"Hey! I said it first." Raten followed his brother. He managed to grab hold of his arm. "I am bathing first." He declared.
"You still have your clothes on," Kiyan argued trying to set himself free from his brother's hold.
"So do you!"
Agnar heard them from outside the room. Opened the door and stepped in. "Is this what I told you to do ?!" He yelled.
They let go of each other and lowered their heads, as soon as they heard their father's voice.
"Clothes first, then bathe. Understood ?!" He yelled out the last word. The twins ran to the bags that were still on the floor. Pulling out their things from them, they kept their clothes in the closet.