"Father, tell me again of the story of the snake." I pleaded as I settled onto the hard bed. In the midst of our daily ramblings, he'd said something about a snake to my brother during dinner, but my mother refused to let me listen. She had shut him down before he could even begin. My father, Jonathan Stark, had a knack for telling stories. I had always enjoyed hearing them, no matter how fictitious they sometimes sounded.
"You want your mother to kill me?" He asked.
"I won't tell. I promise" I tried. He was known for his incapability to refuse my pout, and I had no shame in using it.
He smiled and sat down beside me on the side of my bed, trying to fit his large body on what was left. His dark chestnut hair was untamed and the bags hanging from his green eyes showed his exhaustion. "It all began when I had gone out to fetch the fresh meat for dinner." He started. "As usual I went out into the wild and brought back the grandest hunt-"
"I thought this was a fisherman's village. Trout is barely a grand hunt." I said to him. We lived in King's Port, in Coroix. It was small, but I loved it.
He turned to face me, rather stumped, but quickly spoke, "This time I'd set out past the villages that surrounded us." he clarified. I could've dismissed him, though I decided to let him continue on telling the story. "The hunt was mighty, and I wanted to come home and share my fantastic victory with my family, though when I got back to the house I found the ground riddled with the tracks of a serpent. Not just any serpent, an anaconda."
"An anaconda?" I said with a laugh. "In this part of earth?"
He hit me upside the head, "Are you going to let your father finish telling the story." He said.
I chuckled and tried to say nothing for the rest of the story. "So" he said, continuing. "There you were wrapped into the firm grasp of the god of snakes. The first instinct I had was to run and jump at it. Good thing you have such a strong father. I trapped the snake with my grasp and choked it out until it took its last breath."
"I thought-" I began, though stopped as soon as I saw the firm glare of my father. "Never-mind"
"You know lots of young men your age would love a father who would save them from giant snakes" he said to me.
"And lots of young men my age are more gullible." I commented.
He laughed and threw a pillow on my face as he got up. "Try and rest well," he said, blowing out a candle. "Don't let the logic get to you" he walked out after saying goodnight, shutting my door behind him.
I shut my eyes trying to get the most rest I could get before the full day of work I had ahead of me. And it would've been a glorious rest. That was until around the third hour of the day, my world flipped. There was a loud sound that woke me from my bed. Light blared through the window and men shouted. My older brother, Andrew came busting through the door and grabbed my arm. "We gotta go!" He said.
"Whats going on?" I asked.
"No time to explain, Aven let's go" I did as he asked, and followed him through the house. He stopped around the corner of the living room and told me not to say a word.
I kneeled beside him where I watched three heavily armed men intimidate my father. "Where are the boys?" The one in the middle asked. Scary metal helmets shielded their faces from recognition. I could make out only the symbols that decorated their armor. The seal of the Kingdom of Kaer Brun.
"I have no sons." our father spoke. I wondered why he would ever say something like that. That was until they spoke again.
The man who seemed to be in charge pulled out a script and spoke, "Says here you have two sons of army age, one of another man." He laughed and said, "What your wife got lonely while you were at work"
"Surely you are mistaken. There are no women or children that live here" My father said biting his tongue. "Now if you don't mind, you're letting in the winter chill"
He opened the door for them to leave, but the man refused to back down. "You understand that this is an invasion right?" The leader asked, "Give us the children, or I will find them and run them through right in front of you, bastard or not" he threatened.
Jonathan shut the door and looked around in thought. "He's no bastard. If you were smart enough to realize it clearly says orphan on those documents."
The soldier chuckled and looked back at the papers. "The more reason we shall take him. He is after all illegitimate."
That was when Andrew took his hands and put them over my ears. I didn't fight him. I knew he didn't want me to hear this conversation for reasons I hadn't known. Though my eyes were still working. I felt like I could see the last vein on my father's head burst. I watched as my father lost it swiftly drawing the sword of one man who wasn't quick enough to stop it.
What I saw next could only be described as epic. I watched my father swing his sword without missing a beat. He sliced the men down until they could barely stand. He tossed the sword to the side and wiped their blood from his hands. "Dad" Andrew called.
My father spun on his heels with a look of horror on his face. "Andrew, Aven." he said running to us.
"I wanted to go, but I didn't know if you'd be okay." Andrew said.
"Your priority should always be yourself and your brother." my father said.
"Understood" Andrew responded.
I looked up at my father frozen in awe with a grand smile across my face. "What's wrong with him, is he traumatized?" My dad asked nervously.
"That was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen," I said to him. "You were like a hero"
"Like a hero?'" he repeated. "That's the best I get for saving your life. I am a hero"
"Well you didn't bother to spare any lives, so i'll leave it as I said." I responded.
He looked back and scratched his head. "I guess the time for medical assistance has passed."
"I'm even starting to believe that the story about the snake was real" I commented.
He pointed a sharp finger at me, "That story is all but folklore." He said. I chuckled, and he embraced me. "You must go now"
"Go, what do you mean?" I asked.
"They've been rounding up boys to join their army. Seems their war is reaching its limits and now they've invaded Coroix, forcing any man of age to train, or serve." he explained. "The only way for you to remain safe, is if you go with your brother to a safer location"
I was surprised. Father had told me about the war between Coroix and Oridia. He had served when he was young, and so had his brothers. Though we lived on the outskirts of the kingdom. How could they find us?
"And what of mother?" Andrew asked. "And you, you aren't coming?"
"Your mother is distracting them for as long as she can. Once they discover my indiscretion they will stop at nothing until I am dead" he explained. "This is the only time I can buy you"
Andrew took my hand. "I will take him to Farendale, we'll be safe there"
"But what if they come for you?" I asked with water starting to well in my eyes. "What if they kill you"
He smiled reassuring me. "You've no faith in your father, Aven."
"I can stay, I'll fight too." I said to him.
"I'm supposed to be the hero in this story" he said to me, "you'll get your chance" he kissed me on the forehead and stood to face Andrew. "Take him before they send more."
Andrew nodded, and dragged me out towards the back door. In the last moments I saw my father draw the sword again as more men busted into the house. Andrew and I disappeared into the dead of the night hidden by the forest.
