“Eat while its hot boys.” James smiled.
“It’s Ashton right?” Seth asked the boy at the bar.
“Yes, Ashton Rayne.” The boy said with a smile on his lips looking over the twins.
“You must be Seth.” Ashton said. He reached out and clasped hands with Seth briefly and then turned his head to look past Seth.
“That makes you Garret then.” Releasing Seth’s hand he then extended it to Garret.
“It’s nice to meet you.” Was Garret’s reply, Seth merely nodded his agreement.
“Your father has been telling me all about all the extra work he is going to have to do when you guys leave today.” Ashton added. “It seems we all are leaving things unfinished behind us.” He trailed off on this last part as if thinking of something far away.
“Well boys.” James said. He didn't like the mood this last statement from Ashton was bringing out. “Eat your fill, you got a long journey ahead of you. If you need more food just holler I'll be in the kitchen.” With that James turned on his heel and walked through the door to the kitchen. The boys, all three, watched him go uncomfortably each seeing the tears gathering in the big man's eyes.
The twins seated themselves beside Ashton, Seth the nearest, and began eating. They each had a heaping plate of scrambled eggs, day old bread, cheese, and fried pork. This was to be their last home cooked meal for a while, and it seemed James wanted to make sure it lasted.
Ashton, being the first to sit down to eat was the first to finish. Being a good guest, patient to let the twins eat, related to them his journey from home to here at Vineleaf. He also told them as much as he knew about The Choosing ceremony, much of which they had already been aware. Ashton then told them about his older brother, Alex, who was already in service to the Kingdom as a healer.
“I have the gift too.” Ashton stated proudly, and then continued. “Though I’m not as advanced as Alex had been when he left.”
With Ashton’s last words, the twins shoveled the last of their food into their mouths, as the door to the kitchen again swung open. James came out of the kitchen looking fully composed. He rounded the bar without a word and went to stand by the front door of the inn. Taking his meaning, all three boys dismounted their stools, and picked up their packs hoisting them onto their backs, and cinching down the straps until they were snug and comfortable. Looking at the three of them James gave a big sigh as his shoulders again slumped, and heaved the door open, walked briskly through, the three boys following behind him.
Outside the sky was changing from black to blue, the sun still hidden behind the mountains to the east. The air was cool, but dry, and there wasn’t a cloud to be seen in the sky. Today it would not rain. To the Twins’ surprise, their entire village was gathered just outside the inn. Everyone was watching them, taking in their new attire and nodding in approval. Most importantly though, Jack, Emily, Rose, and Samuel smiled at them, knowing they had done their best for the boys, and for that the twins would be as prepared as they could be for whatever lay ahead for them.
James was the first to take the three steps down into the awaiting crowd. He was greeted by stiff handshakes from the men, and hugs from the women. By the time he had thanked everyone in turn for coming, and greeted them all, his tears ran freely down his cheeks. The look of composure he previously had fixed in place had been lost somewhere in the small crowd. Seeing their dad in such pain both the boys’ too began to get misty eyed and walked down the three steps to tell everyone they loved, good bye. It wasn’t until Garret had picked up the toddler Samantha, the youngest daughter of max the butcher and his wife Ellen, that he started crying openly. He would miss her tremendously. She was very much like a younger sister to him, he had spent many afternoons teaching her new words, playing peek-a-boo, and running around with her little body on his shoulders pretending to be a horse. Garret tried to imagine how the years to come would change her little face, and it broke his heart. For Seth it was when he hugged Rose, Emily’s sister, which caused him to start crying. Rose was very much a mother to Seth and his brother, as was Emily. It had been Rose however that had taught Seth to read, and to write. They had spent many nights with Rose reading a book from her small collection Seth on her lap listening intently. He remembered those nights now and they tore at his soul.
Both boys felt homesick already. They hurriedly said their farewells to everyone, and came last to their father. James stood now with his shoulders thrown back, his face in a pain stricken grimace, trying with all his might to hold back the emotions that tore through his body. He gathered both of his sons up in his arms, hugging them so tightly it made breathing difficult. The twins hugged him back just as fiercely. When the hug relaxed, and they were all able to breathe once again, James took a step back and looked at his sons. He looked from Seth’s eyes to Garret’s and back again looking back and forth.
“You boys be careful now…" James choked. Blinking his eyes a couple of times, an attempt at fighting back the tears, he then continued. “You look out for each other, and keep each other safe.” The twins nodded as he continued. “You’re all I have, and as much as I wish I could, I can’t come with you. From here on all you have is each other, that’s more than some have, and more still than many deserve. Don’t you go worrying about me, I’ll be fine, Emily and Rose will see to that. You just worry about yourselves and each other. Dammit keep safe and don’t do anything stupid. Don’t go trying to be a Hero and get yourself hurt. You bring yourselves back in one piece, whenever that may be, and I will be here waiting.”
All three of them, tears streaming again, gave each other one last hug. Wiping the tears from his cheeks James continued.
“Now you boys get going, Ashton’s waiting for you just down the path there.” He pointed down the small path leading into the woods to the south. Sure enough Ashton was there just down the trail sitting on a tree stump, again reading his book. The twins both nodded to him, wiping the tears from their cheeks, turned to head down the trail. James grabbed each of his sons’ shoulders, nodded once as if in farewell, turned and began walking back towards the inn.
Garret and Seth watched him trudge, shoulders slumped, up the steps to the inn. James got to the door and paused as if to turn around for one last good bye, his shoulders sagging a bit more, he heaved the door open and walked inside, never looking back. The twins watched the inn for a moment longer, then with a shared look of pain and remorse, put on as best they could a pair of determined faces and slowly walked to where Ashton was waiting for them.
The twins walked down the path to where Ashton sat waiting patiently. They paused briefly, just long enough for him to put away his book and grab his things, then started off back down the trail, Ashton falling in alongside them. An hour passed with them walking in silence, the twins dwelling on their home, their father, their past. Ashton had inhaled loudly several times in this hour as if to say something, then thinking better of it decided to let the twins brood in silence. Again Ashton took a deep breath, hesitated, and tired of the gloomy silence continued.
“You guys have a very nice father.” Ashton stated whole-heartedly, and continued.
“He didn’t charge me a single copper to stay last night, nor did he charge me for my food or drink.”
Both Seth and Garret were looking at Ashton now, each with a small grin on their faces.
“You know…” Ashton continued. “You guys are really lucky.” Again the twins waited for Ashton to continue, looking at him with questioning glances. Ashton noted their looks and again continued.
“Twins are really rare. So it occurred to me that sure sometimes a kid might go to The Choosing with a neighbor, or a cousin, or even a good friend, but how often does anyone get to go with their brother or sister? It just seems to me that you guys are lucky kind of like you get to take a little bit of home, of normal everyday life with you.”
Garret thought on this a moment and nodded in response, his mood lifted a bit. Seth too pondered Ashton’s statement and
realized that indeed he was quite lucky having his Garret along with him. Seth imagined what Ashton must have felt leaving home alone, traveling two days through the mountain passes alone until he reached Vineleaf.
“You know Ashton.” Seth began breaking his silence for the first time. “You are absolutely correct; we are indeed blessed to be twins. However, when I say it’s nice to not be going to The Choosing alone, I say it meaning not only am I glad to have Garret along as my brother, but to have you along as well as a friend.”
“That goes for me too Ashton.” Garret added.
Ashton smiled at them both, glad the silence was over. He had had enough silence traveling through the mountains by himself, he was glad to have company.
The three continued to talk, most of the day into early evening telling the stories of their lives up until this day. Seth spoke mostly for himself and Garret, with his brother adding in details he missed along the way. Ashton told too of his past with his family in Glenvale. His father had been a soldier in the armies of Valdadore, His mother a priestess of Lorentia, the Goddess of healing. When Ashton’s father was injured in battle, and near to death, he was given into the hands of Ashton’s mother to be watched over and taken care of. She had spent months healing his wounds, and in that time they had fallen in love. Not wanting to lose each other, and there initial enlistments to the Kingdom already passed, they left their services to the King and moved to Glenvale. Here they had two children, Alex, the eldest son now in service to the Kingdom, following his mother’s footsteps as a priest of Lorentia, and Ashton, the younger son, hoping to follow his mother’s and brother’s footsteps as well.
“How do you guys make a living?” Seth asked. “That is if I’m not asking anything too personal.” He added as an after-thought.
“Well my mom continues to heal people.” Ashton said with pride. “Though she only accepts donations because some people can’t afford much, or sometimes they can’t afford anything at all. My dad however no longer wields a sword. He spends most of his time helping people build houses, and it pays pretty well. Glenvale is growing fast, I guess it’s because we are so close to the ocean, and it’s the only pass around the mountains to the north.” Ashton ended, his childish face alight with a giant smile, thinking of home.
As it were however, against his awkward boyish looks, Ashton was nearly 4 months older than the twins. This had come as quite a surprise to the twins as they compared birthdates with their new found friend.
They continued walking and talking like old friends as they wound their way southward, following the narrow trail through the forest as the sky slowly began to darken. The day had been perfect for traveling, warm, but not uncomfortable, a slight cool breeze at their backs, sunshine, not a single cloud in the sky. Though the day was fading, rapidly becoming night, it appeared that they too would have a well weathered night. As daylight was fading the three companions decided they should look for a spot to make camp. Continuing down the trail they looked this way and that searching for a suitable spot to rest for the night. It wasn’t long before Garret spotted a small clearing just off the right side of the trail where a large tree had uprooted and leaned against its neighbors, making a large depression, sheltered from the elements on three sides beneath its roots. The trio could not believe their luck, and set to making camp.
The air was cooling off a bit as the last of the debris was removed from the hollow beneath the tree, but it wasn’t yet cold enough for a fire, so the boys unanimously agreed against starting one. The twins dug their blankets out of their packs and unrolled them and laid them in their makeshift shelter. Ashton pulled a large leather hide out of his pack, which he told them was from a small bear, and laid it in the shelter as well. They all pulled food from their packs and shared with each other happily, and talked about their hopes for The Choosing. Obviously Ashton wanted to join the white robed healers who followed the teachings of their Goddess Lorentia. Garret too had no problem telling them that he was hoping to join the ranks of the army and win glorious battles. It was then that Ashton told them that there were two gods that most of the army worshipped, Gorandor, the god of honor and valor, and Vikstol the god of battle. This brought Garret’s hopes to a screeching halt. Sure he had heard of the gods, though he didn’t remember any of their names until now, but he had never considered joining a religion. After all there were no places of worship in Vineleaf, and no one there that he could think of offhand that had worshipped any god. Thinking over it a few minutes while Ashton prattled on about the differences between the two gods, and the differences in their worship, Garret came to the conclusion that if these gods were good enough for those under the banner of the armies of Valdadore, than certainly one of them would be worthy of his worship. Only when it was Seth’s turn to tell of his hopes did their shelter seem a bit too small. Seth told them he had no hopes what so ever of glory, or honor for that matter. He wasn’t keenly interested in helping the injured, though he told Ashton it was indeed a worthy cause, just he wasn’t compelled to do it. Seth, ruining the spirit of their camaraderie temporarily told them he just wanted to come home alive, after his five years of service. He wanted it to pass quickly; doing whatever it was that he was chosen to do. He did not want to put down any roots, did not want to burden himself with choosing a god to worship. Most of all, if given a choice, as few were given at The Choosing; Seth wished he could perhaps do something for the families who would lose their loved ones in the Kingdom’s wars. All were quiet for a few moments, taking in all that Seth had revealed about himself. Ashton was the first to speak.
“That’s awfully sacrificial of you Seth.”
Seth refused to respond still consumed in thought. It was Garret who spoke next.
“How so Ashton?” Garret asked as his face puckered up in deep concentration.
“Well.” Ashton answered. “You are willing to sacrifice your life to the Kingdom by dying in battle. I am willing to sacrifice my own life to save another. Seth is willing to sacrifice happiness, to bear the burden of the Kingdom’s failures, the burden of families’ loses, the burden of broken hearts and anguished lovers. Seth is willing to sacrifice himself over and over, while we are willing to do it once.”
Seth spoke then in a low voice, trying not to let Ashton’s words sink in.
“Let’s get some sleep guys, if we pick up the pace a bit tomorrow, we should be able to reach Stone Haven by tomorrow evening.” Seth immediately lay down on his blanket, laying on half, covering himself with the other half and rolled over to face away from his brother and new found friend. He hadn’t said much to them about his thoughts about The Choosing, and yet Ashton had seen right through his vagueness, and read what his soul felt, what his mind was loathed to reveal. Ashton looked at Garret questioningly and Garret shrugged his large shoulders in response. They too then lay down, covering themselves from the cool nighttime air, slowly drifted off to sleep.
Seth lay awake a while listening first to Ashton’s words, playing over and over again in his head. He had never thought of his choice as being self sacrificial. Still it was hard for him to imagine it as a sacrifice, trying to help those that had truly sacrificed the most.
It simply felt to him as a good worthy cause, helping others heal their souls, not their bodies. Bringing closure to the bereaved just felt like the right thing to do.
Seth lay pondering his choices until he heard his brothers light snoring, as well as Ashton’s quiet even breathing. Knowing that there would be no more conversation tonight, he relaxed his hold on consciousness and let his mind drift where ever it might go. The last thing Seth saw before his consciousness was lost to darkness was an image of his mother smiling at him, that concerned look in her eyes.
Garret was the first to wake, and sitting up quickly as was his habit at home, smashed his face into a low hanging root, abruptly scaring him wide awake enough to yell at the top of his enormously loud lungs, startling his brother and Ashton awake as well. Seth quickly got his bearings, and then sa
t up scrutinizing his surroundings for whatever danger caused his brother to yell. Nothing found, he looked at his brother, seeing the root directly in front of Garret’s face, and the face of his brother, filled with rage, snarling at the root, he quickly surmised that there was nothing to worry about. Ashton sat up as well and just sat there looking at Garret like he were an unworldly creature, unleashed to disrupt others peaceful sleep. Seth then looking from his brother’s face to Ashton’s starting laughing loudly, causing both his companions to look at him, Garret still with a face of half rage, and Ashton in questioning wonder. Seth just shrugged his shoulders at them, with a smile still on his face, climbed out of their shelter and stood to stretch. Garret too began to climb out giving his nemesis, the evil root, one last menacing glare, and then crawled out to join his brother. Ashton and Garret cleared the cover of their shelter at the same time and echoed Seth’s stretches with their own.
“Eat now or later?” Ashton asked the brothers, willing to follow their lead.
“Well, I could defiantly eat now.” Garret replied and walked back to the fallen tree to retrieve his pack.
“Good enough for me.” Ashton replied. Then he and Seth both went to gather up their packs as well.
The three boys sat outside the pit that was created by the tree’s upheaval, they sprawled themselves out in a rough semi circle, their packs in their laps and each pulled out a little something to eat. They ate in silence, Seth often smiling to himself thinking about his brother’s early morning battle. Catching the little secret humor Seth noticed Ashton looking at him, then Garret and smiling. The morning meal went off without a hitch, and soon they had their bedrolls back in their packs, and had their packs on their shoulders ready to go.
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