Lunar Flare Book 1: Crimson Moon

Chapter 8

"Come on, Thedrick, she's sure to like you," Beowulf reassured desperately, though the jester continued to pout, his arms remaining crossed over his chest.

"Wulfy... people generally don't like me, like, I seem to have that effect," Thedrick explained, lifting one arm slightly to gesture with it.

"But I promised her I would bring you to meet her, don't make me let her down," Beowulf argued, giving Thedrick another beseeching look.

Thedrick frowned, then sighed in defeat. "Fine!" he exclaimed, throwing his arms up in the air. "But if it goes badly, I get to say I told you so."

"It'll be fine, now come on, let's go," Beowulf encouraged, stooping over slightly to take one of the jester's small hands and pulling on it gently to try and get him moving. Thedrick made a sound of annoyance, but then allowed himself to be pulled out of his bedroom by the soldier, who started leading him down the castle halls.

They wove their way through the castle corridors, Beowulf having to walk slowly so that Thedrick could keep up with his much shorter legs. Beowulf had to fight the urge just to scoop the little guy up and carry him. Not that Thedrick ever complained when he did that, but it probably wasn't fun to be manhandled all the time.

Soon they were heading out the front gates of the castle, getting the usual dirty looks from the guards on duty. Beowulf hadn't really endeared himself to the other soldiers when choosing to side with and protect the jester, but he also didn't really care what they thought, and they could fight him about it if they wanted to.

The pair made their way through the town until they reached the house which was their destination. Beowulf stepped up to the door and knocked, Thedrick hanging back and hiding behind him somewhat, looking nervous.

The door opened and a round female face appeared in the opening. She had soft features like Beowulf's, with steely blue eyes and ash blonde hair pulled back in a bun. She was looking up at Beowulf with slight surprise, before her lips pulled into a smile, eyes creasing in the corners.

"Beowulf!" she exclaimed in delight, reaching up towards him. Beowulf leaned down and wrapped his arms around her, while she pulled off his helmet and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Hello ma," Beowulf said with a smile of amusement as his mother fussed over his face.

"What brings you here?" his mother asked him in slight confusion. "Are they not feeding you well enough at the castle, do you need some more home cooking?"

"Can't I just want to see you ma?" Beowulf asked with a chuckle as she pulled away and looked up at him, handing him back his helmet. "Also, I brought the friend I was talking about," he explained, stepping to the side slightly to gesture towards Thedrick behind him.

"Ma, this is Thedrick," Beowulf explained. The jester's whole body stiffened, and he waved and smiled awkwardly at Beowulf's mother.

"Thedrick, this is my mother, Oriana," Beowulf continued, gesturing back towards his mother. He faltered though, slightly surprised by the look he saw on his mother's face as she stared at the jester. She looked completely shocked; eyes wide and mouth almost falling open. It was certainly a stronger reaction that Beowulf had been expecting, considering the last time he had visited he had described Thedrick to her so she should have known what to expect, even though his appearance was strange.

"Ma, are you alright?" Beowulf asked, cocking his head to one side slightly. Oriana seemed to snap herself out of her stupor and frowned.

"Ah, yes, sorry, everything is quite alright. My apologies, your strange appearance just caught me a little off guard," she said in a light-hearted manner towards Thedrick, but her expression didn't match her tone. She seemed almost... worried. "Now, why don't you two hurry up and come on inside and I'll get you something to eat, hrm?" she quickly turned and disappeared into the house, clearly expecting them to follow her.