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Chapter Two As Kain and Rosa had anticipated, they found their friend Cecil at the castle gate, waiting for them with the covered basket despite how late they were for their scheduled outing. He regarded them curiously as they approached. "You were gone so long, I was going to ask what was wrong," he commented. "But from the looks on your faces, I guess whatever kept you was something good, hmm?" "Certainly was," Kain replied. Rosa started to speak, but he shook his head at her. "I'll tell you when we find our spot," he told Cecil. "C'mon, we're running behind!" "Yes, I'm hungry!" Rosa chimed in as the three of them took off running towards the town outside the castle walls. Kain had been primarily raised by his father, the captain of the agile warriors called Dragon Knights, or Dragoons. Having lost his mother while he was still in his infancy, he'd spent a fair amount of his childhood being watched over in the castle's nursery as his father travelled to distant, unfriendly lands. He'd met the orphaned Cecil early on in that nursery, as a child who also liked to play war. The two took to each other instantly, and were looked up to by the head nurse's daughter, Rosa. Before long, Kain found himself visiting the castle's playrooms even when his father was stationed at home, and the three grew inseparable. Rosa even took up archery so that she wouldn't be left out of the boys' military games, though her mother wasn't too happy about it. Her father, however, found it amusing. He was a soldier himself, and sometimes told the children tales about his work, the skirmishes he encountered while patrolling. His own father's stories when he returned from his journeys fascinated Kain. The boy vowed early on that when he got older, he would be a Dragoon just like his father, who he fancied to be the best fighter in the world. Thus, he didn't believe it when word of his father's death reached Baron, when he was eleven years old. He refused to believe it, until the day they returned his armor. It would have devastated Kain, except for one thing his father had told him repeatedly when he'd spoken of being a Dragoon. "It's not the only way to live," the man had told his son. "It may not be the best way for you. Being a Dragoon isn't all glory and shining armor - it means you have to be hard, tough... sometimes it means you have to see and do things you hate with all your heart, and never let on how it eats you up inside. You can never, ever, disgrace your fellows by showing vulnerability. You can't be a Dragoon just by wearing the armor; to be a true Dragoon, you must have honor and discipline. That is the heart of a Dragoon." At the time, Kain hadn't understood what his father meant, but he was determined to live up to that perfect image. Though he had to bite back the tears at times, the pain of his father's death caused not a ripple in his outward demeanor. Not even to his two closest friends. Life went on for the three of them, and rarely was one of them seen without at least one of the other two. Now Cecil was fourteen, Rosa was thirteen, and Kain had turned fifteen only a week ago. Since the war with Eblan had sent the best warriors away on ships to the forefront, Baron's local security was lacking. The two skilled young men had applied for positions in the town guard, and won them easily. Not that the guard had had much to worry about; an occasional pickpocket or hoodlum to throw out, that was about all that they had to deal with. The town of Baron was peaceful as always, as the three friends made their way to their favorite place - the shady area beside the river that bubbled through the town. Kneeling to help Rosa spread out the sheet that was to be their tablecloth, Cecil turned to look up at Kain. "Okay, we're here. Now tell me. What's got you so excited?" Kain forced himself to sit down beneath one of the bushes. "Well, I was practicing in the courtyard today, as usual, with some of the others. I'd just finished thoroughly trouncing Redrik and Orlege, when I noticed Baigan was standing by, watching." "Huh? Baigan almost never watches casual practice bouts," Cecil began, then realization dawned on his face. "Wait a minute. You mean...?" "Yes," Kain said with a proud nod. "He took my request seriously. But he said he had to test me first, to see just how good I was. Moreover, he needed to know if I could fight in full plate armor, rather than just those padded practice vests." "Full plate?" Cecil gawked. "On a day as hot as today? After you'd already practiced some?" Kain shrugged. "I'd been practicing in plate a little bit already, since I knew I would have to if I were to become a Dragoon. It was nothing." "Nothing? You were sweating so much, you looked like you'd fallen in the watering troughs," Rosa put in, as she began to unpack their picnic lunch. Kain and Cecil each grabbed a plate and began filling it with the meal Rosa's mother had prepared. "Not only that, Baigan pitted him against probably a dozen men," she informed Cecil. "And...?" Cecil prompted. "I took down every one of them with my spear," Kain told him. "Every single one. Baigan seemed to be impressed." "Seemed to be?" Rosa commented, raising her eyebrows at him. "He was most certainly impressed! I saw the look on his face when I came in." Cecil grinned. "So...? What did he say after that?" "He gave me the usual speech about how it's never been done before," Kain replied, grabbing an apple muffin. "But then he said he'd talk about it with the king." "He sounded optimistic, too," Rosa added. "Yes!" Cecil exclaimed. "Kain, that's great! A Dragoon, at fifteen years of age..." "Well, it's not for certain yet," Kain admitted. "Oh, please! The fact they're even considering it is incredible," Rosa admonished, pausing in her meal to smile brightly at him. "Don't shrug it off as nothing - this is very important. It speaks a great deal about your talent, whether they admit you or not. Think of it - the king is being informed about you." Kain stopped devouring his muffin for just a moment, taken aback by the sparkle in her eyes. She was very nice to look at, with those dark, laughing eyes, the rosy cheeks, and the flowing hair. The loose blouse she was wearing didn't completely hide the slight curves of her body, either. Kain blinked. She was beginning to look as if she were growing up, though she was almost two years younger. And he was becoming a Dragoon, maybe. "What is it?" she asked, peering at him. "Nothing much," he mumbled, his eyes returning to his meal. "I just started thinking about something." "What?" "Just..." He shrugged again. "I just realized, we're not children anymore. Not really." "Oh, that's all?" she asked. "Everyone grows up at some point, Kain. But really, what's the difference in being a child or being grown up? We're still the same people." "Adults have more responsibilities," he answered. "Children don't have to worry about anything, really. They get away with a lot more, whereas adults often can't let themselves make mistakes." "There are some things children can't do, though," Rosa pointed out. "They wouldn't let a child join the Dragoons, for one thing... and I'm sure there's plenty of good things we don't even know about yet." She smiled at Cecil, who was busy eating his lunch. "Don't you think so?" Cecil nodded and swallowed his mouthful of chicken. "I agree. Actually, I had some good news I wanted to tell you two today. Given what happened to you though, Kain, it doesn't seem quite as exciting as I thought it was a couple hours ago." "So?" Rosa said. "If it's good news, it's good news. Go on, tell us!" "Okay, well..." Cecil put down his plate. "Baigan talked to me earlier today too. Apparently, the king has decided to start up another military force. A few decades ago, Baron was training men to be what they called Dark Knights, everyone knows that story. An elite guard, kind of like the Dragoons, but more straight-forward, and with swords. The king wants to start training Dark Knights again." "Strange," Kain commented. "We're not doing so poorly in this war with Eblan that Baron really needs another specific strike force, I don't think." "So why did Baigan tell you this?" Rosa asked Cecil. "The way to becoming a Dark Knight is supposedly very hard," Cecil replied, "and very few men can focus and attain the necessary skill." He averted his eyes self-consciously. "Baigan wants me to apply." "What?" Rosa exclaimed. "You don't think that's big news? Cecil, that's great!" "Yeah, maybe... apparently I'm the best with a sword among the new recruits, and he thinks I could do it. If I can, then I have a good shot at becoming a commanding officer." "And Baigan practically offered it to you?" Rosa asked excitedly. "Wow, the two of you... both on the same day! Pretty soon you'll both be high-ranking soldiers, travelling the world and protecting Baron's honor, and I'll still be living at home with Mother and Father..." "Oh, we'll come back and visit," Cecil teased her. "Right Kain? ...Kain?" Kain had fallen silent at Cecil's news, thinking it over. He'd worked like a man possessed to try to become worthy of being accepted into the Dragoons, he'd had to practically beg his immediate commanding officer to let him speak to Baigan about it... And Baigan himself went to Cecil and simply offered him a similar position? "Yes," he answered Cecil blandly. Rosa frowned. "What's the matter, Kain? You look upset all of a sudden. I was only kidding..." "I know." "What is it then?" she inquired. "Aren't you happy for Cecil?" He shook his head. "It's nothing. A child's concern." That really was the only thing that could explain the way he felt, this senseless envy of his best friend. He'd have to put it aside, if he was to succeed in his goal of becoming a Dragoon. "And this proves we really are no longer children," he added, as much for his own benefit as theirs. © 1999 by Andrea Hartmann. |
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