The two quickly made their way out of the cemetery, all the while looking over their shoulders, they made their way through the surrounding bushland and onto a little used path that would lead all the way to the coast.
They walked for many hours without words, the two were tired and in no mood for conversation, they reached a fork in the road, they needed to follow the road to the east but it was a perilous stretch of road, well known for bandits, Nathan dropped his bag to the ground.
He looked down the path, it was long and straight, the skies ahead were darker, cloudier.
“Something tells me to stay away from this path” said Nathan, as he spoke the rain started to fall, it got so heavy that they could barely hear each other.
“How about we camp just off the road tonight and continue tomorrow” shouted Marteen, Nathan closed his eyes and exhaled, like a weight had been lifted, he walked into the bushes to find a place to camp, Marteen looked down the path, his gaze fixated on the road ahead.
Just off the path was a flat grassy area, the trees above provided some protection from the rain, while the grass made for a comfortable place to sleep, Nathan laid down and put his backpack behind his head, Marteen surveyed the area before laying down next to him.
Marteen looked up at the tree line above and smiled, “afekirhalehu” he said before closing his eyes and going to sleep.
The next morning Nathan was woken by the bright sunlight beaming down through the trees, there was a sweet smell in the air, like spring time when the flowers are blossoming.
The sun was suddenly blocked, Nathan opened his weary eyes to see three wet, filthy rank smelling men standing over him, Nathan quickly looked towards Marteen but he was gone.
One of the men kicked Nathan in the side, he gasped as the air was knocked out of his lunges.
“On your feet” one of them growled, Nathan slowly got up, cradling his ribs.
“Not safe for a pretty boy like you to be out here, “where you ‘eaded” said one of the men with an accent almost as thick as his intelligence, Nathan didn’t reply, “Oi! You was asked a question” shouted one of the other men, “None of your business!” said Nathan defiantly, one of the men kicked Nathan again knocking him to the ground.
“We was just bein’ polite, now you gone and offended us, you’ll have to make it up to us somehow” said one of the men, Nathan struggled to his feet, he turned to face them in defiance, two of the men rushed at Nathan grabbing at him in an attempt to restrain him, Nathan swung his fist, landing a blow on one of the men, only to realise that it hurt his hand more than it hurt the man.
They twisted Nathan's arms behind his back so hard that Nathan’s bones began to crack, the third man stepped forward, he removed his belt, his pants dropped to the ground revealing his small filthy lice ridden genitalia.
The man smiled revealing his black rotten teeth, as he stepped forward, Nathan struggled but they held him firm twisting him until he was bent over, the third man roughly yanked down Nathan's pants revealing his lilly white arse.
Nathan closed his eyes, trying desperately not to vomit, he braced himself, then heard a cracking noise, at first he thought he was having an out of body experience because he could feel nothing, then he realised that the grip on him had been loosened.
In a hurry Nathan pulled his pants up, in his desperation he tripped over, he turned around to see Marteen making mincemeat of the three men, he moved with grace and precision, like a deadly dancer.
Marteen stood silently above Nathan, the three men unconscious around him, Nathan looked up, his mouth just about scraping the ground, Marteen sat down and smiled from cheek to cheek, “You are very lucky I was here, you were about to experience a life time’s worth of man love” Marteen said.
Nathan could not see the funny side, “While I am very grateful, I don’t think it’s overly funny” said Nathan, “From where I’m sitting it is, did no one ever teach you to fight?” asked Marteen.
“No, where I’m from, it’s not on the curriculum” Nathan snipped, “We have a few more days until we reach at the coast, I will teach you what I can” said Marteen, “That’s not necessary” Nathan sighed, “Really!?”, “I don’t know where you’re from, but there are far worse men than these three in the kings country” Marteen said.
Nathan grabbed as his sore chest, he felt a large bruise growing, grimacing, he turned to Marteen, “Maybe you’re right”. “ I know I’m right, your training will begin right after I fix up your chest” said Marteen in a no arguments tone of voice, before he knew it Nathan was lifted off the ground and contorted around Marteen, “This may be a little bit uncomfortable” Marteen grinned.
In one swift motion Marteen twisted Nathan’s body so hard that nearly a dozen bones cracked, Nathan let out a gigantic burst of air and then it was gone, he stood up and to his amazement all the pain was gone, “that’s amazing” said Nathan, “I know” said Marteen with a smile, “Now let’s get some distance between us and these fellas before they wake up, then I will teach you what I know” said Marteen
For hours they walked through the forest, Marteen walked with a new purpose, he had a presence that Nathan had not noticed before; he seemed somehow taller and more intimidating, they reached a broken down barn, at the side of a small dam, the wind had become quite cold and it was starting to drizzle.
Next to the barn was a small jetty, it was rotten and broken, Marteen walked out onto the jetty and sat down, he dangled his large black feet above the water, he motioned for Nathan to sit down beside him, Nathan cautiously stepped out onto the jetty, the wooden planks were all covered in moss, each step was extremely slippery.
Nathan noticed that Marteen had closed his eyes, Nathan thought he should do the same, “What are you doing?” asked Marteen, “Closing my eyes?”, “Why” asked Marteen, “That’s what I thought you wanted me to do?” Nathan frowned.
“We close our eyes, so that our other senses can be heightened” said Marteen, “Close your eyes again”, Marteen got up and stood behind Nathan, “Tell me what you can hear?”, Nathan thought for a moment, the damn was eerily quiet, “Nothing” he shrugged.
Marteen swiftly kicked Nathan in both ribs with tremendous force pushing him into the damn.
Nathan coughed and spluttered as he trudged his way out of the water, he walked back to the end of the jetty, scowling and shaking off water, “Please, have a seat” said Marteen pointing at the jetty.
Nathan, held firm, standing his ground, “Sit!” said Marteen with a force Nathan had not heard before, he reluctantly complied. “What do you hear Nathan?” asked Marteen, Nathan thought about it for a moment, “Rain” he said, “Rain falling onto the water”, again Marteen kicked Nathan into the dam, this time with more force.
Nathan trudged out of the water in a huff and stood at the end of the jetty with his arms cross.
“What do you want from me?” said Nathan, “I just want to know what it is you can hear my friend” Marteen replied, “My friend” Nathan scoffed, “I told you what I heard” said Nathan, Marteen sighed, he sat down on the jetty’s edge and closed his eyes.
Nathan shivered in the cold, bitting his bottom lip in anger, “I hear a gentle breeze pushing the water up onto the edge of the damn, I hear two birds bobbing for fish in the middle of the damn, I hear the leaves on the trees gently rustling as the wind passes through them, I hear tiny creaks in the wood below me as they strain under the weight and I hear your breathing easing as you listen to my voice” said Marteen.
As Nathan walked out onto the jetty, the sounds that Marteen had pointed out became clear, he couldn’t believe he had not heard them before, not only that but more sounds, the dripping from his clothes, the squelching they made from each step he took, he noticed it all, when only a moment ago he heard nothing.
He sat down next to Marteen, Marteen turned and reached out, Nathan flinched, Marteen smiled and put his hand on his shoulder, “To defend yourself you must first truly understand what it is you are; every
thing you see, touch and hear is a vibration, a sound, your thoughts and your feelings are also vibrations, they affect the world around you, once you understand this fully, the world will become clear”.
For the next day and a half Nathan and Marteen walked on the edges of the tracks, they would stop wherever they could to train, Marteen was a very good teacher, each time they stopped Marteen would instruct Nathan to listen, he would close his eyes and try his hardest but each time Marteen would hit him a different way, sometimes in the face, other times in the body but every time it was extremely painful.
On the last night of their journey they stopped atop a large hill, the hill had a single tree perched on the top of it, the tree was extremely large and was very good cover from the elements, from up there the coast was visible, with the sun setting behind them Marteen called Nathan to his side one last time.
“It is a beautiful site, is it not?” asked Marteen, Nathan took a deep breath and soaked in the cool evening breeze, he sniffed the air, he hadn’t smelt the sea for a long time, he could almost taste the salt air on his tongue, “It makes you realise how small we really are” said Marteen, “What do you mean?” asked Nathan, “This coast line has seen thousands of lives of men, empires rise and fall, and it stands today as it has all that time” said Marteen. “Nothing lasts forever, not even this coast line” said Nathan, “And that is a good thing” said Marten with a smile.
Marteen got to his feet and stood behind Nathan, “What do you hear Nathan?” asked Marteen, “Not tonight, I’m too tired” replied Nathan, “What do you hear Nathan?” asked Marteen again, this time tying a cloth around Nathan’s eyes.
His heart rate rose rapidly, then a wave of calmness came over him, he concentrated for a moment then everything became clear.
“I hear the sound of seagulls flapping their wings as they fly into the wind, I hear the waves splashing against the rocks, I hear the wind wiping up the sand and smashing it into the cliffs, I hear the blades of grass flapping into one another,” said Nathan, his concentration sharpened, the sound of wind grew stronger near his face, he raised his hand and felt a thud, he opened his eyes and to his shock he could see Marteen’s fist trapped inside his palm, he looked up at Marteen who smiled back at him.
“Now you are starting to open your eyes” said Marteen.
***
The duke rode his horse triumphantly back to the castle door, the butler greeted him with a glass of wine, the duke climbed down from his horse.
“You know me far too well” he said taking the glass of wine, he sculled it down and handed it back with a smile, “Bring me another” , “You seem happy with yourself sir” said the butler, “Yes, I suppose you could say that” replied the duke.
Throughout the Duke’s castle there were all kinds of art works, some priceless masterpieces, some raggedy messes, with all his money and power the Duke could not buy himself any good taste.
He walked through the house with purpose, marching his way to a small library at the back of the castle, hanging on the wall was an old torn parchment, he took the note out of his pocket and held it up, the hand writing matched that of the parchments exactly.
The parchment was difficult to read, part of the text was torn but he knew it was a letter written from a man to his wife, the duke had studied this parchment, his father spoke of the man who wrote it, “He is the reason we exist” his father told him.
His father had drummed into him for years, find this man, capture this man, all we have and all we will ever have depends on finding this man, he could never work out why he was so significant.
Hanging next to the parchment was a sealed envelope, the envelope had never been touched; it still had the royal seal on it as it had for nearly two centuries.
The duke lifted the envelope from the wall, he held it up against the window, vainly trying to see through it, its contents had always intrigued him, but he was under strict instructions, only open this envelope once the man who wrote the parchment had been found.
He looked at it for a moment, almost salivating at the sight of it, he placed his hand on the seal, his father’s voiced echoed through his mind, cautioning him to make sure he has the right man, for once this envelope is opened, his life will never be the same.
He pulled at the seal, the envelope slid open quite easily, he took the letter out and nervously un-wrapped it, he started to read, his eyes widening as he read every last word.
Chapter 4
Happy Families
Many years earlier…
Nathan trudged his way down a slow moving river, the ice had only just recently thawed after a long winter. Even though the sun was starting to shine, the air was still bitterly cold. Nathan wrapped himself in a thick sheep skin jacket and shivered.
He knelt down and tapped his hand on the water three times for good luck, as he always did, he slowly turned his head to see a small fish swimming past, he clasped his spear in his hand tightly, the spear was well warn, barley holding together but he had used it for many years and it had always brought him good luck.
He lifted the spear up, calmed his breathing, then in one swift motion, heaved the spear at the fish, it ripped through the water barely causing a ripple. The spear rammed into the river bed and stood out of the water. Nathan stepped forward and pulled it out of the river, there was nothing on the end of the spear
“Damn it”, he motioned to snap the spear over his knee in anger but managed to calm himself, it wasn’t the first time he’d missed. He was a reasonable fishermen but with the river being frozen most of the winter he was well out of practice, he patiently trudged his way down the river, trying again and again to catch something but luck was just not on his side.
He reached an old wooden cabin at the mouth of a large lake, he stepped up to the door but before he could open it two children came bursting out, a boy and a girl, Michael aged five and Sarah aged eight, the two leapt at Nathan and knocked him to the ground.
“Daddy” they yelled in unison, “Daddy, you’re home”, Nathan wrapped his big arms around them both lifting them into the air, one in each armpit.
“Did I hear something, I’m sure I heard something” said Nathan, pretending to look around for his children.
“We’re right here Daddy” said Sarah with a smile, Nathan looked down with a silly look on his face, “Whose that?” he said, the kids tickled Nathan under the arm, he dropped them to the ground and chased them into the house.
Standing in the kitchen was Nathan’s wife Sandra, a breathtaking woman tall and lithe, long brown hair that almost reached the floor, big brown eyes that glistened in the afternoon light, she smiled at Nathan, batting her eye lids, he smiled back at her like a teenage boy.
“I see we’re eating vegetables again tonight” said Sandra with her thick Irish accent, looking down at Nathan’s empty hands, “You must be getting old my dear”, Nathan was used to her dry sense of humour, he simply smiled back in delight.
This is how every night had been lately, although they lived in total isolation they were very happy.
For the next two weeks Nathan tried catching fish but his luck did not improve. One morning Sarah asked her father if she could come along, Nathan had always sheltered his daughter, he was afraid of what the world would do to her and Michael.
Frowning Nathan agreed, he knew he couldn't protect them forever, they set out into the crisp spring morning, trudging up the hills for miles until they reached the base of a large waterfall.
Nathan stepped into the water and stretched his hand out for Sarah; she gently got into the water, holding her father’s hand tightly.
“Stay close” said Nathan, “The water doesn’t move fast this time of year but it can still knock you over”.
Nathan and Sarah walked hand in hand, every time either one of them saw fish, they would stop, Nathan would hurl his spear, miss then cuss under his breath. Time and time again he would miss and Sarah would laugh to herself.
Eventually she got out o
f the water, “Where are you going” asked Nathan, Sarah walked over to a nearby tree and broke two small branches off, she grabbed a knife from her pocked and started to whittle at the wood, “Where did you get that?” asked Nathan, Sarah smiled, “Mum gave it to me, she said it might come in handy, if we actually caught anything” said Sarah.
She whittled away until each branch was razor sharp, “Give me the spear” she said, Nathan held it close, “Come on, I’m not going to break it”, Nathan reluctantly handed it over, she cut two small holes either side of the tip then jammed the branches she had made in creating a three pronged spear.
“Try this” she said with a smile, Sarah was always extremely intelligent something that continually frightened Nathan.
A fish swam past brushing Nathan’s feet, “quick daddy” said Sarah, Nathan hurled the spear at the water, it rammed into the river bed, Nathan held the end of the spear in his hand, “Come on, pull it out” said Sarah anxiously, he pulled it out and sure enough, wriggling on the end of the tip was a large fish, Nathan smiled with delight at his daughter.
For the next hour they made their way down the stream, catching every fish they could see, they had so many fish that they started throwing the smaller ones back, they arrived home with grins from ear to ear, they opened the door and announced their presence to the whole house, like triumphant warriors returning from war.
Michael ran to his father and leapt into his arms, he adored his father, he imitated him in every way, the family had been alone for so long that Nathan was the only role model he had.
The fish tasted better than they could have imagined, they savoured every bite like it was a delicacy, the fish bones piled up in the middle of the table, they sat back in their chairs feeling very content with themselves, before long they found their way to the fire place, they pulled their chairs in close and feel asleep soaking in the warmth.
For the next week they continued to catch more fish than they knew what to do with, Michael started coming along to help and before long even Sandra joined them, she was never much of a fan of the water but there was too much fun being had to miss out on.
The Constant: Episode 1 Page 3