Previous Chapter
Table of Contents/Chapter 1
Oh, that's awesome. I thought the last time I updated was way back in August, but apparently I updated once then,
and once in October. Sweet. Well, this is the start of part two. It's a good estimate to say that we're 1/4 of the way through this book. I liked this chapter, though after rereading it I felt like I tried to put too much into one chapter. More specifically, I rushed the chapter so I could fit it into 10 pages on the doc file. Which is the average I'm shooting for each chapter. It is supposed to be a work in progress, though. So maybe I'll come back and add another page or two later. Besides that, I liked it.
I wanted to update on the 21st, which was the 1 year aniversary of posting chapter one, but oh well I guess. Within one year I got in just under 7 chapters. Not quite as fast as I'd like to go, but at least this way means it'll be 4 years for me to write the book, as opposed to 5 or more.
My next break from school won't be until either the beginning or end of March, can't remember. But look to that as more than likely being the next time I update. Til then, enjoy.
Part 2- Harvest
7- A Nightingale
Caden blinked. The sun had finally risen to a point that made looking eastward impossible. “God damn it.” He muttered. He looked down at his hands, which were resting on top of the wall. The fingers ran along the ragged stone blocks. He looked over the wall towards the ground, but perspective blocked his view of the base. Hand over the edge, pull, foot jumps up. He sat down on top of the wall; legs crossed, and tried to look over again. Some bushes and shrubs ran along the bottom of the wall. A tiny bird fluttered out of one of them. The height scared Caden, but at the same time it almost intrigued him. He looked at the ground below. It was so far away and yet oh so close. Caden let out a sigh, and muttered something under his breath. His voice trembled. He looked towards the sun, and remembered what his mother had told him.
He could remember it so clearly. It was a random memory, clear and vivid, in the midst of a murky pond known as unconsciousness. “Caden, I know how hard it is for you to understand this,” her voice was practically ringing around him. Vincent even tried to help soothe him. “It’s ok little guy. Everyone has to die eventually. He’s in a better place now.” A body was never found. Nelbeck and his legion went through hell after what they had tried to do, but even more so when the hero of Rosehunt was nowhere to be found. A few days later Nelbeck left the city. Strangely enough, despite his infamous accolades the city chose to uphold Leonardo’s banishment, whereas the Klimber Elite Units were permitted to return.
Vincent eventually convinced Sarah to move in with him. “Is it ok if I became your new daddy?” Caden faintly remembers that he just nodded quietly. “A monument is all that’s left of my last one, sure why not?” Caden thought to himself. His mind began to race around everything. His eyes began to burn. His chest began to ache. He looked toward the sun, and then gradually looked down towards the ground. So far, and yet... Suddenly, a hug from behind broke his trance.
“So, you eating worms, or are the worms eating you?” A girlish giggle bubbled in the air.
“By the gods, Sam! You nearly scared me to death!” Another giggle danced in the air. As soon as the hug was released Caden climbed down from the wall. “How long have you been here?”
“Not too long.” Sam giggled again.
Caden scowled at her. “Why are you so happy today?”
“Because today’s a special day.” Caden raised an eyebrow. Sam smiled and rolled her eyes. “I’ll give you a hint: it has to do with me, and also with us.”
Caden brought both hands to his face and let out a low moan. “I’m sorry Sam. I forgot.”
“I figured you’d forget. It’s all right.” She sighed a little and leaned against the wall. The light breeze and chirping of birds seemed to lighten the silence which lied between them. No topic or ideas of what to say came to his mind. Eventually he just rolled his eyes and started pacing along the wall. “Do you at least know what today is?” She picked at a loose piece of stone.
Looking behind him, he blinked and nodded his head. “It’s your birthday.”
“And?” Her tone remained annoyed, but its previous happiness poked through.
“And today is the fifth year anniversary of our moms forcing us to endure each other’s presence?”
Sam turned to him with a slight grin. “Oh the humanity.” She looked out to the Maple Plains. “It’s beautiful today, isn’t it?”
“I guess.”
“How did you sleep last night?”
“Good.” Caden did another pass. Looking at his feet the entire time.
“As per usual?”
“Yup.” Caden turned around again, and began pacing slowly once more. Sam abruptly turned and wrapped her arms around him. “What’s that for?”
“You’re in a grumpy mood today. You ok?”
“I’m fine. Now let me get back to work.”
She tightened her embrace, and then let him go. “Since when did you care about your work? You’re just afraid of cooties.” She laughed again.
“Look, I only have to be out here for a couple more hours. Maybe you should-”
“Stay here and bug the hell out of you? Good plan!” She looked at him teasingly, the same grin still on her face. Caden shook his head and started walking away. “What was that you said?”
“
Jorshak.”
Sam started walking behind him, trying to keep up. “Well that’s mean. Only trying to be nice to you.”
“Not in the mood I guess. I kind of want to be alone.”
The grin disappeared from her face. “Ok, I guess. Maybe we can hang out later?” He kept silent and continued walking. She sighed, and then slowly fell behind. Caden sensed this, and turned to her.
“I’m sorry Sam. Yeah, we can do something later. Just let me mope in peace, please. I like having a few hours to myself before dealing with the idiots around here.”
“They aren’t all idiots. You just don’t like being around them.” Caden looked at the Southern Tower. “I’ll see you later, Caden.”
He paused for a moment. “Bye.” As she walked toward the ladder, he noticed the slight addition of drag in her step. Directing himself southward, he continued his patrol. Once he was sure that he was out of earshot of anyone, he began to mumble to himself. “Why can’t she leave me alone to finish my thoughts for once?” His voice low and lacking bass. “It isn’t like there’s absolutely nothing she could be doing right now instead, anyway. No... book on the history of something or other that she could study. Or maybe even just hang out with all her other friends that she ditches just to be with me.” Caden noticed that he was a short distance away from passing the watchman, and so he began to gingerly lower his speech until it was inaudible and his mouth was still. The watchman took his eyes off of the Ikolt Forest. He acknowledged Caden, and Caden feigned a smile in return. Out of earshot once more, Caden let out a soft, contemptuous laugh. “I don’t even know what I’ll do with myself once I get the chance to leave this rat-hole. Why is she so damn interested in me? Any guy would kill to be with her, and yet she wastes her time being my friend?” He swore, and shook his head. “But then again, I wonder how many guys she’s already been with. Maybe that’s why she hangs around me all the time. I’m her one boy friend which she knows can’t get a girl to save his life. So she feels safe around me. Like I’m some wing-clipped bird.” Caden looked out toward the Ikolt Forest. He stopped, and leaned against the western wall. He let out a sigh, laughed, and then smiled.
He reached into his pants pocket, and pulled out a small, smooth black pebble. He looked at it and turned it around in his hand. Content with the examination, he returned the pebble. He looked behind him, and peered down at the inner base of the wall. Their old house still sat abandoned on the top of the hill a short distance from the western wall. No one really wanted to move into the house of a fallen hero. Ironic. Caden looked around at the town below.
People were starting to finish up their morning rituals: scraps of potatoes and other foodstuffs were being dumped in front of grateful animals, children were beginning to gather with friends, and for the better off children, their parents were carrying home meats and bread from the market for that night’s meal. Caden smelled the cool Fall morning air. Crisp, with a mix of decay and spice from the falling leaves. Something was brought to his mind. He looked back toward the eastern horizon. “It must be about time for me to leave.” He smiled, and walked to a ladder a few yards away from him. “I’m sure no one would mind me leaving my post a little early.” After a cool survey to see if anyone was looking his way, he calmly stepped down each rung until his feet touched the stone walkway at the bottom. He walked through a row of hedges, and then crossed through a small garden behind a house. Popping out from another row of shrubbery, he saw the dark toned wood back door of his father’s house. He took another look around, before darting up the hill to the door.
The old door creaked as Caden opened it. The room smelled of dust and rotting wood. Once inside, Caden gently closed the door, and then began to perform his usual check-up on the house. Everything looked like it had the last time he’d been there. His eyes crossed over the antique cupboards and dusty trinkets that were left behind. Even after sneaking into the house so many times before, he still felt a little anxious standing in that room.
“Man it’s cold in here.” Caden rubbed his arms for warmth. He looked up at the ceiling. Between each beam and in each corner, spider webs danced and laced together into a grey, filthy puff. The eight legged beings claimed everything as their own now. Caden moved on to the bedrooms. The walls in his room were faded and bleached by the sun. Pieces of the ceiling littered the flooring. Nothing was left behind in this room, though the loose floorboard in the corner had let him down when he first explored the house. His parent’s room was similar, though they had to leave behind the large bed. Caricatures of wood animals were ingrained in the oak wood posts. Caden ran his fingers over the exaggerated ears of a rabbit and tail of a squirrel.
A loud groan of wood came from the front room, but Caden let it pass as the old house settling. A fox figurine watched from atop an otherwise empty bookcase. Caden reached up and took it off the shelf. He turned it slightly in his hands, and then flipped it upside down. Two small metal plates overlapped, forming a door. Caden slid the door open, and looked inside the figurine. It was empty, but appeared to have been used at one time as a place to keep notes or other small goodies. Caden closed the metal door, and turned the figurine upright. Sitting upright on a stump, the fox looked straight ahead into the space beyond it. Caden replaced the figurine and, now satisfied with his visit, walked out of the room. He laughed. “You take good care of the house while I’m gone, ok?” He looked around at the cobwebs and dust piles. “Good. I’ll be back in a little bit.”
Caden sighed, and then went to the back door. With some effort he pulled it open, and then struggled to close it shut. The sun was nearly at its peak. Caden slipped through the brush once more, and then popped out into the street. “Hey, watch it you! I know magic!” A group of kids were playing pretend with sticks. The tallest jumped up onto a box, and raised his arms in grandeur. “I declare myself the new king! Do my bidding or else I’ll turn you all into little pups!”
“Oh we will do your bidding oh great king. Tell us what you want of us.”
“Bring me treats from the bakery. And you, craft me a crown made from the rarest of stones!”
“Which treats do you desire my lord?”
“Yes yes, and what rocks do you want me to fetch you for your kingly crown?”
“Why, nothing but the sweetest bread will do. And as for the gems, they must be any which shine even in the dimmest light. Now go. I will wait here.”
Caden watched as the other children ran off to get their king his demands. Caden smirked, and then continued up the street. A wayward glance down an alley revealed two young lovers embracing each other. The young man noticed that they had an audience, and after whispering something to his companion, led her away with arms interlaced. Caden simply rolled his eyes, and kept moving toward the house that was at the end of the street.
It was an exquisite house; worth a small fortune. The northern portion of the town had many manors such as this one, though this was one of the few which was single story. Caden climbed the carefully swept clean steps, and peered into the window. Through the thin curtain he could see the rich blue rug in the parlor. A candle was still lit in the holder that sat upon a small table against the wall. Caden backed away from the door and walked back down the steps. He moved around to the side of the house, and peered into a window. “Caught ya! You peeping tom!” Caden jumped in shock.
“I wasn’t trying to- oh.” He frowned at his smirking friend. “Hey Sam.”
“Why don’t you ever knock?” Sam crossed her arms. “If my dad ever found you out here looking into my window, he’d have your head over the fireplace by sunset.”
“He’d probably do that if I ever knocked too. I’m probably the only person he doesn’t trust around anything that’s his. Heck he might do it if he ever saw us together.”
“Maybe not without reason. You did break a lot of his expensive wine bottles back when you-”
“Yeah yeah. Nobody ever lets me live that one down. You’d think he would just let it go, though. I was thirteen when I did that. And it was an accident. Hell, if anything it was his fault. We were playing hide-and-seek, but he took it upon himself to remind me that you were his little angel.”
“I know, Caden. He pushed you, which made you trip over a bucket and bump into the wine shelf. You never apologized, though.”
“I’m waiting for him to apologize to me first.” Caden shouted.
“Keep your voice down. Come on, let’s forget about it and go do something, huh?”
Caden looked sourly at the ground, and then nodded. “All right. Well, what do you have in mind?”
“Um, we could get something for lunch.”
“Ok, and then what?”
Sam shrugged. “I don’t know, what do you want to do?”
Caden thought for a second. He sheepishly looked at her before asking, “could we go exploring?”
“Sure. C’mon, though. We can talk about it on the way.”
They walked casually down the street. The “king” and his companions were gone, and the box that he had stood on had been moved closer to the side of the road. “Sorry I’ve been in a sour mood lately. I’m not entirely sure what’s up with me.”
Sam stuck her hands into her pockets. “It’s all right Caden. Everyone has bad days sometimes. Maybe it’s the stress, or maybe you ate some bad meat.” She giggled. “Or maybe you’re in love with somebody.”
Caden humored her with a light chuckle. “Naw, you know me. I don’t need any arms around me.”
“If you say so.” He looked at her, and then looked at the houses and shops along the street. She made an abrupt hum. “How long until Harvest? Just a few days isn’t it?”
“Yeah, I think so.” Caden muttered. Sam stared at him until he noticed. “What?”
“Nothing.” She grinned, and looked away. “Want to grab something from the bakery?” The front window showcased a variety of pastries and treats. Small children were inside trying to pick which flavor of tarts and cookies they wanted. A young man leaned upon the counter, impatiently watching the children. “Hey there Joshua.”
The baker’s son looked up from the kids, and smiled warmly. “Sam! Good afternoon!”
Sam looked at the kids fighting over the treats. “Busy day, huh?”
“Mm, like you wouldn’t believe.” He lowered his voice. “They’ve been here for over half an hour. I swear I’m gonna be at least two dozen short by the time they leave.”
“Just kick the brats out then.” Caden whispered.
Joshua looked at Caden, sighed, and shook his head. “Where do you get them, Sam? I swear this one’s dumber than the one you came in here with last week.”
“Hey!” Caden began, but Sam grabbed his hand to stop him. The kids at the window were blissfully ignorant of the conversation about them.
Joshua looked away from the kids and back at Caden. “Those are the kids of some pretty important customers. They’ve been loyal regulars to my father ever since he moved his business here. Losing a few sweets is an acceptable loss.”
“Don’t have to call me stupid though.”
“So, Joshua. What do you have that’s fresh out of the oven?”
“Hold on a second.” Joshua went toward the doorway that led to the kitchen. “Watch the store will ya?” Sam nodded, and Joshua disappeared into the back.
“Such a great guy.” Caden muttered.
“He is once you get to know him. He’s probably just a little on edge today. A lot like someone else I know.” She grinned and pretended that she didn’t see him stick his tongue out. The children by the window noticed that the shopkeeper had left, and began to innocently walk towards the door.
Caden noticed this, and at the last second he moved his foot back and tripped one of the children. After the shock of hitting the ground passed, the boy began to cry loudly. One of the other children ran out the door, while the other two began yelling insults at Caden. Caden turned around and yelled right back. “I don’t care how important your parents are! You don’t steal from anybody!”
“Well why’d ya hurt him then you ugly [censored]!”
Sam grabbed Caden’s arm, and pulled him away from the kids. Caden struggled to break free. “Someone should teach you some manners you little pieces of-” A thick arm wrapped around his neck, cutting off his sentence and his breath. “Damn it, not again.” He thought. The arm pushed him forward towards the door, stopped to open it, and then threw him viciously out of the store.
“I’m sorry Mr. Vernon. Ok, yes. I’m sure he’s sorry too. Oh. All right. Thank you.” Caden sat up and rubbed the minor wound he got on his hand from hitting the street. He heard Sam walk over to him, and felt her gaze bore into him from above. “So?” He brushed dirt off his wound. “Get up, Caden.” Then quieter, “let’s just go.” He stood up, and started following her. Paying attention to stay more than a few arms’ length away. They passed through the large decorative archway on the western side of the main plaza. Sam sat down on the edge of the fountain at the center, and after a slight hesitation Caden sat down next to her.
Caden laughed slightly. “That was a stupid thing to do, huh?”
“
Xion groll. Caden, what were you thinking?”
“I was thinking that someone should set those brats in their place.”
“By acting like someone younger than them?” Caden’s face reddened. “Next time, don’t just act on emotion.” Some time crept by. There were quite a few people moving throughout the plaza. The planning committee for the Harvest Festival were setting up special decorations. The two friends sat there watching all of this blurred movement, listening to all of these happy and excited noises, and smelling all of the many fragrances which were dancing upon the wind. “So, where are we going to explore?”
Caden looked at her, a mix of confusion and surprise on his face. “I figured you wouldn’t want to do that now.”
“I am still mad at you Caden, but like I said you just need to think things through better next time. I’m not going to punish you or anything, though. Now please, what do you have in mind?” She moved a lock of her hair out of her face, and made another one of her cheerful, bubbly giggles.
“Uh, well.” Caden thought for a moment. A flash went through his eyes. “How about we go see how the hideout is doing?”
“Hm? Which one?”
“I can’t say. We promised each other that we would never describe it.”
“Oh!” She jumped up, and pulled him onto his feet. “Yeah! Let’s go!”
The duo walked out the front gate of the city, and started their journey to the forest that was laid out to the west. Breath like wind wound its way through the serene forest from the west, and caressed the arms of delicate maple and oak trees as it headed eastward. By the time they had entered the Ikolt, Caden had become once more lost in thought. Sam gasped and told him something, but he didn’t understand it. “What?”
“I said look at how the sun shines through the treetops.” Solar rays shined on the trunks and forest floor. Bird call, accompanied with the light rustle of leaves, froze the moment as justly as the cold shadows numbed fingers. “We’re almost there.”
Over a log eaten by moss, through a clearing, and under some brush. The trickle of a distant stream could be heard. “There.” Caden pointed through a break in the foliage. Sam looked at where he pointed, and nodded with a smile on her face. Ahead, two deer bent before a mellow river. One lifted its head to survey the forest. It stared in the direction that they were hiding. A moment later, the deer perked its ears in another direction, and its head followed suit. The other deer stopped drinking, and joined its friend in watching for danger. “Oh!” Caden gasped. Two younger deer stumbled out from behind the others. “They must have been born during the last spring.” The young deer gleefully pranced around their elders. One fell over itself, and the other tripped over his friend. After regaining their footing, they skipped to the stream and took several laps at the water. The elder deer began to move away from the river. As they stepped further into the brush, their fawn took notice of their departure, and frantically met up with them.
After a moment had passed, Sam rested her head on Caden’s shoulder. “Now hopefully we’ll have our spot to ourselves.” She stood up and climbed through the rest of the bushes that separated them from the river. Caden followed, and the two moved downstream for about a minute before reaching a tall, thick trunk of a downed tree.
Caden sat down on a flat rock. “Okay, so how’s the place look?”
“Doesn’t look too bad. Some of our things were moved around, but that could have been animals.” Sam brought a small wooden box out of the trunk. “This was where we left it.” She sat next to Caden and opened the box. Inside were various trinkets and baubles, mixed in with small colored rocks and feathers. “Do you still have yours?”
“Yeah.” He pulled the small black pebble out of his pocket. Out of one of her pockets came a white pebble. Caden thought back to that morning, and the things he had said to himself about her. Sam placed her pebble in the box, and began rummaging through the box. Caden wondered if the things he had said about her were right. Now that he was less angry, he couldn’t quite see his innocent friend doing such things. He pulled a feather out of the box, and twirled it between his fingers. “Remember the day we found this?” His face flushed.
“You sure do look like you remember.” She shook her head. “I was pretty mad at you that day.”
“You know I didn’t mean to do... that.”
“Sure, I knew you wouldn’t do something like that on purpose, though at the time I wasn’t so sure what to think. I mean, we were swimming in the river, so we weren’t exactly fully clothed, and then you tried to hold my hand and well-”
“Missed and grabbed something else entirely?” She looked at the tattered feather.
“By the time you were finished apologizing a hundred times, I had already gotten my clothes back on and was almost back to the city.” Her face was also red now from the memory. “I forgave you, but things were sort of awkward the rest of the way back.”
“So I tried to make things better by pointing out the obvious. That this was one of the biggest crow feathers I’d ever seen. I guess that worked out in the end, huh?”
“Hey,” she scooted closer to him, “I’d say so. And I already told you, that’s a raven’s feather. Crow feathers don’t end in a tip, and they’re also not as smooth looking.”
“Because this is smooth looking.” He spun the feather again, showing how the hairs of the feather were splayed. She took the large feather from him, and placed it back in the box.
She sighed. “It’s an old feather, and wasn’t very pretty looking when we first found it, either.” Many of the other bird feathers were in much the same condition. She rested her head on his shoulder, and watched the stream. “If it wasn’t so cold I’d jump in there. I love the water.” Caden let out a suppressed laugh. “Do I need to ask what you were thinking?”
“Probably not.” They watched as the stream brought leaves and twigs along its course. Caden fidgeted, and Sam- taking the hint- sat back up on her own. “Sorry, you can rest your head if you want.”
“I’m fine.” She grinned, and then sat the box down. “I’ll be right back. Forgot to go before we left.”
Caden listened as she walked away and into the brush. He spotted a few leaves fall off from a tree at the bank of the stream. They twirled and danced around each other, before plummeting into the cold water. From another tree fell orange and yellow warriors. They clashed into each other, and then turned direction and swiped at another warrior, before they too fell into the water. A long gentleman and his pointed lady glided and swirled in the air, yet not even they could evade the current. From another branch fell a lone, small, greenish-yellow fool. He did not dance, twirl, nor gracefully dive into the river. Instead he fell from his vantage point, and simply collided with the ground beneath its branch. “He didn’t meet a watery grave like the others.”
“No, but at least the others got to experience more.” Caden jumped up off the rock.
“What is with you and scaring me?”
“What’s with you and talking to yourself?” Sam giggled. “But yeah, I mean sure he didn’t land in the water, but he didn’t get to enjoy his fall like the others. Plus the other leaves will get to see what’s down stream, while he’s stuck in the same spot.”
Caden nodded. “And that one was still a little green. But really, we need to put some kind of bell on you or something.”
“I don’t need a bell. It would just weigh me down. I think that instead you should listen for my wings.” She walked up to him. “Or my singing.”
Caden smiled bitterly. “You do a lot more than me, you know that? While I just sit around all day and think about what’s wrong with me, you read every book in Rosehunt, learn how to play instruments, practice singing, and still find time to be with friends.”
“I don’t think I really do a lot. If anything I wish there were more hours in the day. But I guess if the sun never set, then we’d never get to see the sun rise.”
“You’re also so much more optimistic than me.” He laughed. “But listen to me whining about my troubles. Like you’re some kind of a nightingale that could solve it all for me.”
“I think all your problems would go away if you realized what was important to you.” She picked up the wooden box, and pulled out the white and black pebble. “Here’s yours. Remember to always hold onto it tightly. And I’ll hold onto its sister.”
“Boy, it’s almost like you complete me.”
“Naw, that’s too romantic for us. If we ever got married, I think I’d have to kill you. It’s more like I balance you out. You focus on dealing with our bad, and I’ll help to hand out our good.” She kissed his cheek. “And that’s for tripping the kid.”
His face turned red again. “There you go again with sending me mixed messages. Good thing you aren’t my mother.”
“Ha ha,” she jokingly laughed, “but I know you don’t like me kissing you. So think of it as a punishment.” She put the box back inside the trunk. “Well, it certainly is getting close to winter. I’m freezing, and we should leave before it starts to get dark.”
Caden ran his thumb over the black pebble, and then placed it back into his pocket. “Okay. But let me do something first.” He walked over to the tree trunk, and pulled something out of it.
“What is that?”
“They’re pretty neat, huh?”
“Look like green jewels. Where'd you get them?"
“My parent’s old house. The one on the west side of the city. I found them inside an old wooden fox statue.” Caden cleaned webs and dirt off the objects in his hand. "Here, happy birthday."
"Caden, thank you, but you should probably give those to your mom. You don’t know if they might be priceless. Or if they’re some heirloom.”
“Hm, ok." He thought for a second. "But..." He began to argue, and then sighed. "Fine, I guess so.” He slipped the stones into the pocket with the black pebble.
“Can we go now? My dad won’t be very happy with either of us if I freeze to death out here.”
Caden laughed coldly. “As much as that would serve him right, you’re my only friend. And I’m ironically not very good conversation.”
“I’ll punch you for sort of wanting me dead, once we get back and it won’t hurt my numb hands to do so.”
“Great. Then it’s settled.” He licked his lips, and then hesitantly held his arm out to her. She locked her arm with his, and they began their trek eastward. To home.
Next Chapter
