THE GOLDEN HILT 15 | THE ORPHANS | PART 2 | MEDIEVAL SERIES

ADVENTUROUS MEDIEVAL SHORT STORY SERIES

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THE GOLDEN HILT

The boy walked in the cold streets of the city, the cold wind slapped at his face burning it like fire. He shielded his face with his hands and walked in the silent street, he looked around him, he seemed scared. He was a young boy in his mid-teens; with fine long hair and a sword with a golden hilt. He looked around him and walked down the street. There was nothing as far as he could see, nothing except the cold wind accompanying him and the silent, empty street.

He walked and speaking to himself, as he clutched the hilt of his sword saying,” Don’t worry you are not alone.” He kept saying this and walked when suddenly someone walked out of a gap between two walls saying,” Yes, boy. You are not alone.” He was a tall man, taller than any he had seen. The boy could not see his face but only his dark silhouette, walking towards him with a sword in his hand. The boy stepped back as the man walked forward. He unsheathed his sword and brought it between himself and the man, the man laughed at him. It was a rasping laughter,” Do you really think that you can beat me boy?” The boy stepped forward and gave the hard blow at the man; he only laughed and blocked it. Then he walked forward and hit back at him, it was such a hard blow that the boy’s sword broke into two.

The boy was shocked at this and looked at his sword, but the man was not done he came for another blow and this time he got the boy and sliced him into two. The boy’s body lay on the empty cold street and the man, who was Lykos, smiled at the body of Lakmeer as it lay motionless.

Lakmeer opened his eyes and sat up, he looked around and saw the children staring at him. Loki grimaced while Ares came near him, beamed and said,” Come on Lakmeer, breakfast is ready let’s go near the fire, it is cold here.” Lakmeer got up and went to the fire to sit with the others. There were around ten to fifteen children, most of them younger than him. Except Ares and Loki who were nearly his age while the girl called Helen, was elder. She walked with a bowl in her hand, steam was rising from the bowl, she smiled at him kindly and handed the bowl to Lakmeer saying,” It may not be up to your liking but this is the best we can make of what we get.” Lakmeer didn’t know what to say but he made himself say,” I have had Lykos’ cooking, if I can eat that then I can eat this.” She beamed at him and walked downstairs.

Lakmeer sipped the hot soup and enjoyed its warmth going down his chest, wondering all that time where Odin was. Ares sat beside him enjoying the heat of fire as it washed his face.” Where is Odin?” Ares looked at him, but it was Loki who answered,” Odin has to do a lot of things, you have no reason to know where he goes and what he does.” Loki seemed to have more hatred for him since Odin spoke to him friendly. Ares looked at Lakmeer, ignoring Loki, said,” He has gone to see the execution.” It felt the cold fill up his body, but it couldn’t be if the execution was today then Odin would have not told him to sleep the other night. After a lot of trying he mustered the courage to ask,” Whose execution?” Ares was all casual and said,” I don’t know, but it is of some thief who broke into the governor’s house last night and got caught.” Lakmeer felt the life coming into him back again but he still felt his hands shaking.

“Why would Odin go there, and is it not dangerous for him?”” Odin has his ways to hide himself, and the reason he went to see the execution, he said he was an old friend and he couldn’t save him, at least he could see the execution. And they will announce the next execution.” Replied Ares. Lakmeer took another sip from the hot bowl of soup and now waited for Odin’s return.

Lakmeer finished the soup and got up from the fire and walked to the window to see where in the city he was. He moved the cloth and looked outside, the cold air hit his face as he did so. He saw only house tops, stretched far and wide until the wall at the end of the city stopped it. He put the cloth back as the cold was too much for him to bear. He walked back to the fire to get warm again, he sat beside Ares and held his hands near the fire.

He was about to ask something to Ares when he heard footsteps on the stairs, he looked towards the stairs and saw Odin emerge from the stairs. Odin walked at him without changing any expressions, he sat beside Lakmeer and took his gloves off putting his hands near the fire to take the heat. He looked at Lakmeer and back at the fire. Lakmeer waited for him to give some news but he made himself comfortable. He asked Helen for a cup of tea while he sat heating himself up. When the tea was brought, he took a sip and looked at Lakmeer. Then he said,” Don’t worry, Lykos is fine. We just need to get him out today. Later in the afternoon, I will show you where he has been taken and the plan to get him out.” Lakmeer nodded at him, he saw Ares smile but Loki grimaced like he always did.

Odin again began with his tea and enjoyed the heat. Later Ares got up and gestured Lakmeer to follow him. They went downstairs and out in the street. The street Lakmeer and Lykos had gone the other day was full of people buying and selling while this one was not; there was no one around. They walked down the streets, though Lakmeer thought it to be dangerous. Then Lakmeer asked him,” How old were you when the plague struck?” Ares thought for a while and then said,” Old enough to remember how horrible it was.” Lakmeer felt sorry for him, he wished it had not happened, not to Ares and not to Lakmeer and to many other children of the city.

Ares looked down the streets and then ran towards a wall, he kicked here and then there and he was on the roof of the shop. Lakmeer walked towards it and saw Ares gesturing him to do so. Lakmeer knew he could not do it so he shook his head, Ares got down and said,” Why wouldn’t you come up?” Lakmeer scratched his head and said,” I cannot do it, I will just fall down and hurt myself.” Ares smiled and said,” I guess it is true, so I can also do something not many can do.” Lakmeer nodded in approval, while Ares beamed.

Then Ares’ expression changed and he looked rather sad,” I do miss them, my father and I would usually go on hunting, though I was young for it. He said he would train me, but then all that plague happened and I never got to say Good bye.” Lakmeer saw his tears sparkling due to the sunlight. Ares looked at Lakmeer and smiled with tears in his eyes. Lakmeer looked at him and then down the street, his father might be dead, he might not return home alive and the only man who can help him reach his destination will be decapitated by tomorrow morning, if he doesn’t hurry up. He is trapped in a city where the guards of the city are looking forward to kill him. He looked back at Ares and smiled.

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