Short Stories

1

He whistled walking along a deserted road. The day was sunny, but the trees in the forest barely let any light through their thick, blanket like canopy. He pulled his cloak tighter around his shoulders feeling a slight chill. But despite the chill in the air, the day was pleasant.

Years had passed and the shy boy who hardly dared look at anyone was long gone. He was now a young man trying to make his way in the world. He wore a black cloak, grey shirt and black pants, with black boots. He knew he appeared slightly suspicious at first glance, but that was fine by him. His easy going personality quickly made up for first impressions. He had medium length black hair and his brown eyes shimmered in the sunlight.

He first smelled the smoke. It was close. He frowned looking up and seeing smoke above the treetops. That can't be right, he thought quickening his pace. The smoke became thicker and thicker, and soon it was hard to breathe. All around him it looked like a thick fog had rolled in. Up ahead he heard screams.

He broke through the cover of the trees and into a clearing. He paused for a moment to examine the situation in front of him. A small farm house was ablaze, the flames quickly eating away at the old wood. A woman knelt over someone lying on the ground on the ground a safe distance from the house.

"What's going on?" he asked rushing to the woman's side.

She jumped as he suddenly appeared next to her. Realizing he presented no danger she spoke in a calm voice but with a desperate and pleading undertone. "My husband is hurt, he will be alright I think, but the baby is still in the house." The sound of a baby screaming came from the house.

He didn't hesitate except to shrug off his cloak and say, "Look after this." He charged into the blazing inferno of the house and gasped as if the air had just been knocked out of him. The burning air hurt to breathe. A scream from the baby brought him back to reality. He walked quickly to the parlor, careful not to trip on anything.

In the corner of the parlor sat a small cradle. He smiled seeing the baby. He gently placed a finger on its cheek to try and calm it. "Everything will be okay," he said softly. As if understanding, the baby quit crying. He wrapped it in blankets from the cradle and held it tightly to his chest.

Just as he turned back the way he came, the doorway collapsed, sending sparks and flames everywhere like an avalanche. He closed his eyes and tried to remain calm. The heat was searing and he could feel his eyebrows burning off. The smell of burning wood mixed with the scent of burning hair. He quickly looked around for another exit. He cursed silently seeing none. I guess this will have to be done the dangerous way, he thought.

He took a deep breath, and without a second thought, sprinted forward into the inferno. He closed his eyes as he leaped through the wall of flames. Once on the other side he opened his eyes and, seeing that he was still alive, laughed. Unbelievable, he thought. In front of him was the bright and welcoming sight of the sun upon the green field on which the burning house stood. He sprinted out of the inferno just as the house collapsed behind him.

The woman stood and rushed to meet him. "You made it!" she cried, tears streaming down her face. "And you saved the baby! How did you do it?" she asked taking her child in her arms.

He smiled. His face was soot covered and his eyebrows were gone, but other than that, he had escaped unscathed. "Well, it was really quite simple, kind of like going into a burning house and grabbing a baby for a worried mother and then going back out, all the while you are struggling to breathe because the fire burns up the air and... Well, you get the point." They both laughed. "How did this happen?"

"I don't know. I went to get water from the well, and when I came back I found my husband unconscious. It looked like he had been stabbed. Thankfully the wound is shallow. Whoever did it must have thought they had killed him. I then noticed smoke coming from the kitchen. I managed to get my husband out of the house, but I was so caught up trying to figure out what was going on, I forgot about our baby. By the time I realized she was still in the house it was too late. We all would have died. Thank goodness you came along."

??? nodded. "It sounds to me like someone attacked your husband and set fire to the house."

"But why?" the woman asked. "We don't have any enemies."

"I don't know. But I will stay and help you out, if that's all right. Perhaps your husband can shed some light on the matter when he gets better."

So this is part of a prequel for Four Swords. I don't have a name for the character yet so I use ??? instead. If you have any suggestions for a name, comment and i might use it!