“Thank you, Mother. It’s wonderful.” He grabbed the jacket and put it on. The soft fur of the coat would provide excellent insulation for warmth during the cold winters of the outside world. He bent down to give her a hug and froze when he saw the men approaching the front door. He didn’t know at the time who they were, but when you lived a life away from others, any visitors you didn’t immediately recognize were suspicious. He quickly pulled his mother to her feet and called for his father. Guiding his mother toward the back of the house, Daniel saw his father pass by one of the windows to his left, headed toward the men approaching the front of their home.
“Who are you?” his father inquired as he rounded the side of the house. “And what business do you have on my land?” Daniel heard a loud crunching sound and the thud of something heavy dropping to the ground. The maniacal laughter that followed turned Daniel’s blood cold. His mother pushed past him and ran for the front door.
“Troy! Troy!” she yelled as she reached the door and yanked it open. The men outside turned at the sudden movement, but did not even reach for their weapons as she lunged to her husband’s side. “Oh, Troy!” she sobbed as she knelt next to him and pulled him into her arms. She pulled a scarf from her pocket and pressed it hard to the cut on the side of his head where he had been hit. Daniel stood in the doorway, frozen by what he was seeing. He watched as his father’s eyes fluttered open and focused on his mother’s face.
“Wha…?” he mumbled. He turned onto his side and tried to stand. Two of the soldiers stepped forward; each grabbed one of Troy’s arms and pulled him up to his feet. They continued to hold him as he wobbled from side to side, unable to balance.
“You’re coming with us, mate,” came the gravelly voice of the larger of the two.
Daniel’s mother leapt to her feet and pressed close to her husband’s side. “No. No, you can’t,” she pleaded with his captors. Two more men approached her. As she turned to face them, the one to her left hit her hard in the stomach, dropping her to her knees gasping for air. Troy lurched forward reaching for his wife, but was yanked back. He was still groggy from the blow he’d taken to the head and was unable to free himself. Despite his protest and struggling, the men chained his arms and legs. One of the mercenaries grabbed a handful of Imogen’s long black hair and pulled her to her feet next to her husband. Then they bound the two of them together.
Daniel regained his senses at the sight of his parents being restrained. He rushed the closest of the men, and while his speed allowed him to surprise the warrior, Daniel did not have the strength to overwhelm him. He attacked repeatedly, moving in and out of their ranks trying to find a way to take the man down and disarm him. Still young and not nearly as strong as his opponent, he lacked the power to do so.
“Daniel!!! Daniel!!! Stop it! Stop it now.” He paused to take a breath and heard his parents yelling at him. He turned and looked at them, shocked at their request. “Go,” cried his father, blinking hard to focus. “Go get your brother. Get him and stay away from here until we’re gone. They’re not here for you. You’ve got to go and find him. You’ve got to take care of him now. You’re in charge. You can’t save us, but you can save him.” Daniel could see the agony in his parents’ eyes at the realization that they might never see him again. Daniel saw movement out of the corner of his eye and turned just as one of the men hurled a large spear at him. Dodging quickly to his right, Daniel turned and caught the staff as it passed by him. Raising the weapon and extending his arm behind him, Daniel prepared to throw.
“No!” his father called. Daniel’s eyes flickered to his dad who was now straining forward against the chains that held his wrists. “Go and get your brother. Leave now, run. Don’t give them a reason to chase you.” Daniel struggled with the decision. He couldn’t just stand by and let his parents be taken, yet his little brother would be lost if nobody stayed behind to take care of him. Daniel couldn’t risk being killed, not with their parents being taken away to slave camps. Daniel looked back to his parents, tears welling up in his bright blue eyes. “Go,” his father stated, looking at him with gentle pleading in his voice. “Take care of your brother. Take care of yourself.” Dropping the spear, Daniel began backing away. The men heckled him as he edged closer to the forest. Hatred burned in Daniel’s tears, and they felt hot as they fell slowly down his cheeks. When he finally reached the trees, Daniel fled. He ran as fast as he could, searching the forest for signs of his brother who had wandered off in the morning in search of new animals.
On his third pass through a clearing to the south of the house, Daniel found his younger brother sitting, staring intently into the trees to the east.
“Shhhh,” Aidan whispered as Daniel ran to him, slowing to a jog as he grew near. Turning to glare at Daniel for his continued crashing through the underbrush, Aidan jumped to his feet when he saw the tears streaming down Daniel’s face. Aidan ran to him and caught him in his arms just as Daniel collapsed. Aidan lowered him slowly to the ground. “What is it? What happened?”
“They took them,” Daniel choked out. “They took Mom and Dad.” Daniel’s shoulders lurched as he stared at the ground in front of him, sobbing and trying to catch his breath. “They took them and I couldn’t…I couldn’t stop them.”
“Who took them?” Aidan asked, his eyes sweeping the clearing in the direction from which Daniel had appeared. “Why?” he asked, his lip quivering as the words started to sink in.
“Argyle’s men. There were so many of them. I tried to stop them. I tried. Really, I did.” Daniel finally raised his head and looked into his brother’s dark blue eyes. “You have to believe me.”
“What are we going to do?”
A loud moan escaped from Daniel as the feeling of helplessness overcame him. Sobbing convulsively, he grabbed his younger brother and pulled him into his arms. They remained in the middle of that field until well after sundown. It wasn’t until the night chill shook them more than their crying that they returned to their home. Nearly three years would pass before Argyle’s men returned.
Chapter 3
Aidan’s Denial
The gathering party strode through the woods given one task and one task only. Because they were all heavily armed with swords, daggers, balls and chains, and other assorted weaponry, nobody challenged their authority. When they arrived to claim a child, the parents, if there were still parents, would fall to their knees sobbing and begging for their mercy, pleading for their child to be allowed to stay. But there was no denying the king’s orders. Anyone who tried to flee from the gathering parties was hunted down and taken to the dungeons. While nobody was sure what exactly happened in there, continuous screams could be heard at the door to the underground jails and nobody came out alive. Those who fought back were subject to the same punishment. The soldiers came and took those on the list, leaving only the weak or infirm behind. While the few parents left on the outside were crushed to see their children go, none were willing to sacrifice their lives, or the lives of the rest of their family, to put up a fight that they would inevitably lose. The stolen children were locked in chains and forced to march with the rest, doomed to become slaves in Argyle’s mines.
On this night, however, something unsettling was in the air. None of the men could quite put their finger on it. Their skins and leathers kept out the cool night breeze yet a chill worked its way into the hearts of the men. The woods seemed to be coming alive around them. Something, some things, lurked just beyond the light cast by their torches. The soft padding of paws could occasionally be heard, but the source was never obvious. Movement could be heard in the trees overhead, yet nothing could be seen in the corners of the flickering luminescence. The mercenaries at last saw the end of the path, the clearing that opened up beyond it, and the small home that stood in the center. The night became deathly silent. An uneasiness swept through the group.
“You hear that?” a burly red-haired soldier asked the man standing next to him.
“I don’t hear not
hin’,” the other man grumbled in reply while he scratched at the fleas in his filthy beard.
“Exactly. Not the beat of a bat’s wing. Not the howl of a wolf in the distance. I don’t like this. Somethin’ ain’t right.”
“Shut up and do your job.”
As they entered the clearing, a small boy appeared on the roof of the house directly over the front door. His shoulder-length blond hair blew in the breeze as he spoke, his slender frame silhouetted in the moonlight, the light of which made his pale skin even whiter. He looked almost ghostlike standing atop the cottage, a specter of doom.
“My name is Aidan. This is my house. I know why you’re here. You’re here to take my brother, Daniel. He’s all I have left so you can’t have him.”
The boldness of his tone brought a quick halt to the procession of men, not out of fear, but out of curiosity and amusement. A few chuckles filtered through the crowd of mercenaries. Aidan continued.
“Laugh if you will, but I’m warning you. You won’t leave here alive if you try to take him. Leave now. Leave now and never come back. If you do that, I won’t hurt you.”
“What, might I ask, is one little boy going to do against the lot of us?” the commander asked in a stern voice, stepping forward from the rest of the men. A large sword was sheathed across his back and a deadly dagger strapped to his bare leg. Aidan had never seen a man this large, especially one with the scars to indicate a long and dangerous past. One poorly healed scar ran from just above his left eye down his face and across his throat. Aidan eyed it, but said nothing. He merely stared down from his perch on the roof, squaring his shoulders and raising his chin defiantly. It was then that they heard it. The forest coming to life. Five of the largest bears any of them had ever seen emerged from around the sides of the house, two on one side, three from the other. All took position in front of the door. Four mountain lions strode up on each side of Aidan and stood, hair raised, muscles tensed and ready to pounce. Wolves wandered into the clearing from the woods and paced nervously from side to side with growls rising in their throats. Their eyes, which seemed to glow as they reflected the moonlight, never left the men. Overhead, animals could be heard scurrying in the branches.
“This is absurd. I’m not going back to the king and tell him that I got chased off by a child and his circus.” Drawing an arrow from his quiver, one of the men in the front stepped into the clearing, nocked the arrow and drew it back to its full length.
“Last chance,” was Aidan’s response. He glowered at the men, hatred filling his eyes, his hands clenched in tiny fists at his sides as he took a step forward to the edge of the roof. “You’re making a huge mistake.”
The man let the arrow fly.
Just as it was about to pierce Aidan’s heart, a large bat streaked by, grabbed the arrow in its claws and disappeared into the darkness. Aidan trembled and then his clothes exploded into shreds around him. Where he had stood, now the largest of mountain lions perched. They saw his muscles tighten. He sprang. A frenzy of activity shook the very trees of the forest as every creature in the vicinity attacked. Birds swooped and pecked at the men, driving them forward into the clearing. Wolves, teeth bared, leapt into the group, scattering them, separating them to become easier targets. Only the bears stayed put, guarding the door to the house until it opened behind them.
Daniel had awakened from the noise and now stood in the doorway disoriented and confused. He stared in awe at the sight before him. Men screamed and ran in every direction, flailing blindly in an attempt to fight off the pursuing animals. Some stood to battle directly, but their efforts were in vain. They were taken down quickly and mercilessly. Only when the last man had been thwarted did the activity die down. Daniel watched a large mountain lion emerge from the forest edge and approach the house. The bears stepped aside as he closed the distance. It stopped about five feet from Daniel and quivered. In the blink of an eye, it transformed back into Aidan. Standing naked and covered in sweat and grime, Aidan burst into tears.
“I couldn’t let them do it. I can’t lose you too,” Aidan choked out. He dropped to his knees, shaking with exhaustion, covering his face and sobbing.
“Let’s get you inside, get you cleaned up and dressed.”
“There’s another.”
“What?” Daniel replied, his eyes sweeping the clearing for any sign of danger.
“In the trees, a girl,” Aidan gasped, trying to catch his breath. He pointed down the path in the woods. “She’s bound in chains, so she wasn’t attacked. I think she’s a slave.”
Daniel walked slowly to Aidan and gently helped him to his feet. “You get inside and get cleaned up. I’ll go get the girl.”
Aidan nodded and stumbled toward the door.
“And Aidan,” Daniel continued. His brother turned. “Thank you.”
Chapter 4
Introductions
Daniel walked quickly to the edge of the woods and peered into the darkness. Although he knew he needn’t be afraid of the animals still lingering in the area, his heart pounded in his chest as he snuck farther into the shadows. He soon found a girl bound in chains as Aidan had described. She was filthy and appeared to be exhausted from the forced march. She stood trembling, hugging herself tightly and barely stifling the weeping that seemed to be inevitable. Her head was down and her hair fell in a curtain around her face. Daniel approached her slowly, trying to whisper reassurances as he went.
“Hello?” he breathed. “Are you okay? I’m not here to harm you.” She didn’t look up at him and only seemed to stiffen further. “Were you taken by Argyle’s men? Is that why you’re here? You’re being taken to the castle?” Daniel kept his voice low and made sure to stay where she could see him. The last thing he wanted was for her to get hurt running through a dark forest with her wrists and feet bound in chains. If he used his gifts, he could get to her before she’d even realized he’d moved, but he didn’t want to scare her anymore than she already obviously was. While certainly not an imposing figure to an adult, Daniel still stood almost a full head above the girl and had begun to fill out his frame, especially throughout his chest and arms. Trying to stoop a little to lessen the difference in size, Daniel asked quietly, “Did you see what happened to his men?”
At last she looked up at him, her hair parting just a little so he could see her eyes. She blinked a few times and looked around before answering. “I saw, but I can’t believe it. This must be some horrible nightmare, and I wanna wake up. I don’t like this dream. I wanna go home,” she whispered in a high quivering voice. Her lip trembled and her legs became wobbly. Daniel rushed to her side and caught her just as she collapsed. He carried her gently out of the forest and into the clearing.
“You’re going to be fine,” Daniel assured her. “Aidan and I will take care of you. Why don’t you come inside, and I’ll get those chains off of you? Are you hungry or thirsty?” Daniel asked as he stepped through the front door and set her tenderly into a chair near the fire.
The girl nodded. “Water, please.”
Daniel strode to the kitchen and returned with a glass of water and a large chunk of bread. He set them on the table next to her. “You look hungry,” he explained when he saw the quizzical expression on her face. “Now, about these chains.” He moved quickly across the room and began rummaging in a box on the floor. Crossing back to the girl, he placed a hammer and chisel on the end table before he walked out the front door. It seemed to her that Daniel had just left when he reentered the room carrying a small block of wood. This he set on the floor between her feet. “Would you like to take a drink or would you prefer I remove the chains first?”
“The chains, please.”
Setting the block of wood below the chain binding her right ankle, Daniel set the chisel in place and struck swiftly with the hammer, freeing her right foot. The sound echoed through the house and the girl shrieked at the sudden noise. Daniel heard a muffled cry from behind the closed door leading to Aidan’s room. With less than perfect grace
, the door was torn open and Aidan came stumbling from the room.
“What on earth was that?” Aidan bellowed, eyes darting to the various windows while shoving his shirt into his trousers. They were big on him, but he wore his clothes large to reduce the tearing when he forgot and changed forms while still dressed. He’d also given up on shoes and switched to moccasins as they were much easier to mend. His mother had long ago drawn the line and refused to stitch his ragged clothing, telling him that if he was going to ruin it, he’d be the one to fix it. As a result, most of Aidan’s clothes were overly large and crisscrossed with the jagged stitching of a child’s hand.
“Relax,” Daniel replied. “Just a little jailbreak.” He looked up and smiled at the girl. She smiled back and Daniel felt his breath catch. Her large brown eyes seemed to look directly into his soul before she blushed and dropped her head. It had been quite some time since anyone other than Aidan and Daniel had been in the house, much less a beautiful girl. Feeling his face begin to flush, Daniel refocused his attention on the chains. With another crash of the hammer, her other ankle was free. Two more released her hands.
“Thank you…” she paused and smiled again. “I’m sorry. I don’t even know your name.”
“I’m Daniel, and this is my brother Aidan.”
“Thank you, Daniel,” she said quietly, giving him a small nod with her head. Daniel flushed again when she spoke his name. “And, Aidan,” she murmured, “thank you as well. Thank you both for saving me. My name is Olivia.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Aidan replied as he finished getting dressed.
Olivia held the water glass in both her trembling hands and took a long drink. She placed the glass back on the table and then tore into the food. She ate swiftly and finished off the hunk of bread, her appetite satiated for the time being. A small burp escaped her lips and she giggled.
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