The Choosing (2 page)

The beast sprang from the brush ahead and darted to a small clearing only twenty yards from Seth’s own cover.  This may be the last opportunity for a clear shot he would get, and thus far the best vantage Seth had received to take the beast down cleanly.  Taking a deep breath Seth drew his bow to the full, tightening his abdominal muscles as he did to assure himself a steady shot.  He drew down on the beast aiming just behind the head hoping to sever the spinal cord and spare himself from following yet another blood trail.  He exhaled and just before releasing the arrow he closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.

Seth couldn’t bring himself to actually witness the death blow of his prey, and instead just listened the fraction of the second that it took for his arrow to reach its mark.  Within an instant Seth heard the familiar shink of metal meeting bone, followed by the thud of his arrow driving through the beast into the soft earth beneath it.  Opening his eyes Seth surveyed the carnage.  Approaching the beast Seth realized that he had made a clean kill as he had hoped, and the hare didn't even bother to twitch let alone breathe or squeal.

Grabbing the tail end of his arrow Seth gave a single tug dislodging it and the hare impaled upon it from the soil below. Careful not to shower himself in blood, he pulled the arrow from his catch and placed it back in his quiver.  Seth dropped the beast into the leather sack tied to his belt and pulling his head and one arm through his short bow slung it on his back.  He had spent the entire day in the woods and had only bagged four of the small hares, but he knew his brother would easily make up for it with his own catch.  Seth turned and strode back the way he had come, no longer bothering to be quiet.  After nearly a mile he approached the trail where he hoped to meet his brother, at least he was pretty sure this was the trail.  In the forest with the light beginning to fail, Seth wasn't certain, even though he had hunted these trails nearly his whole life.

Walking alone in the quiet forest gave Seth ample time to think throughout the day, yet no matter how hard he tried to avoid it, the same thoughts assailed him time and time again.  Tomorrow he would leave home, and though he wouldn't be going alone the thought of leaving behind his life terrified him.  The uncertainty of the future weighed upon his heart and he feared the days ahead.  He had no idea what the future held, but felt certain that it would not be easy.  Seth not only feared for himself though, he also feared for his family.  Seth’s father would be alone, forced to handle all the chores that Seth and his brother now did, on top of his normal daily routine, and Seth feared that it would be too much to handle for his father.  Sure, when Seth and his brother were young, their father handled it all on his own.  However, Seth’s father wasn't getting any younger, and things that were easy in his youth may prove more difficult now, and Seth was afraid that all the extra responsibilities might take a toll on him.  Seth tried to reason that the neighbors would chip in to fill the void the boys left when they were gone, but rationalizing the situation didn't make him feel any better for he had so many worries; his father was just one of the many.  Seth also feared for himself and his brother.  Though Seth’s brother had designs for his future, Seth didn't share his ambitions.  In fact Seth didn't have any ambitions of a grand future at all.  All he wanted was to spend the rest of his days in Vineleaf, eventually take over for his father, and live a long quiet life.  Seth had imagined himself many times simply shirking his duties to the realm and just staying home to do just that, but he didn't want to disappoint his father, and didn't want his brother to face the world alone.  Thus were his thoughts as he heard the snap of a twig up ahead and better safe than sorry Seth altered his course into the deepening shadows of the trees and crept ahead silently as death.

Only an hour of light remained in the forest valley, and being stuck in the forest, in the cold dark, was not what Garret would consider an enjoyable last night at home.  His decision to head home made, he rose from the fallen tree he rested on, picking up his bow and the rabbits he had bagged, slung them across his shoulder.  He tramped through the underbrush to the familiar trail he had walked many times in his years living in Vineleaf, and hunting in these forests.  He continued down the path, always downhill, listening to the small mountain river that ran parallel to the trail deeper within the trees.  It was not long before he came to the fork in the path where he and his brother had separated.  Looking around for any sign of his brother Garret couldn’t help but hope that Seth had been watching the time.  Unsure how far his brother had followed the trail to hunt, he decided to see if Seth was close.

“Seth you coming?”  Garret shouted in no direction in particular.

“Of course” The nearly whispered response from directly behind Garret startled him.

“Wouldn’t want to keep dad waiting.”  Seth finished.  A mocking smile on his lips.  Pleased he was able to catch his brother unaware.

Garret stared at his brother, so much like himself, and wondered silently how he hadn’t heard him coming.  It was true, Seth was more agile than he, leaner, but what gave him the advantage?  They were both tall.  Both muscled from hard work, though Garret obviously the stronger, bulkier.  Both had Chestnut hair, brown eyes.  So very much the same, but in their entire lives together, Garret could not remember a single time he had ever caught Seth off guard.  It was irritating.

Being twins, it was somehow hard to surprise each other, as if their minds, like their bodies, were so much alike they could anticipate each other’s thoughts.  It was kind of creepy to think about, yet familiar and comfortable.  Seth couldn’t help but wonder how strained their bond might be if they were separated in the days to come.  He could only hope that fate keep them together, as they had been from birth.  Being so much alike, he could not imagine them being chosen for different paths.  They turned together, and walked down the winding path towards home.

“Still worried huh?”  Garret stated more than asked with feigned nonchalance.

“I wish I could be as sure as you are that all will just magically fall into place and our lives won’t change.” Replied Seth.  “It’s just all the possibilities, all the change, all so quickly.  It’s like it’s utterly out of our control, what if something goes wrong?”

“Stop being such a pessimist Seth.”  Garret said.  “It's not like the world is coming to an abrupt halt, it’s just another chapter in our lives.”

“Yeah, a chapter someone else is writing for us.”

“Oh cut it out, everyone has to go to the Choosing, it’s not like we are the first ones.”  Garret couldn’t help but be optimistic, even excited. 

The thought of being a soldier, maybe even fighting in the wars to the south, the romanticized glory of won battles, all the tales told to him over the fires at the inn had struck a chord in his soul.  He longed for adventure.  He had been told once by a retired soldier that nearly two thirds of the people who had gathered for The Choosing went to the vast armies of Valdadore to train as soldiers.  Two thirds, damn good odds.

Seth had no notions of glory however.  He knew all too well the stories of the great wars and battles won by the immense armies of Valdadore.  Always the pessimist however, or perhaps just a realist, he remembered the stories of the fallen, and often forgotten comrades that the story tellers always mentioned with misty eyes, but never dwelt upon in their tales of adventure.  Blood, death, destruction, families broken, and love destroyed; hope shattered, soul wrenching loss.  The parts of the stories left untold, hidden between the lines of the tales.  Those were the stories Seth feared, the stories he had never been told, but he heard them, beneath the surface, the stories of those lost, that each began their final chapters at The Choosing.

The trees began to clear, as the path lead through the dense brush and over growth that would soon then lead them to the small farms of their village, to Vineleaf.  All but the last traces of daylight had faded from the sky, carrying with it the last of the day’s warmth.  Both brothers shared a sigh of relief, or was it a sigh of anticipation? Probably both.  This was the last night they would see their home for a while, and both slowed their walk to take it all in one last time. The farm houses ahead were already alight from lanterns in the windows.  Past that a few small houses stretched down the narrow road that ended at the inn.  Vineleaf was a small community, self sufficient, and everyone got along well. There were only nine homes in the valley and everyone had a role to play in order to sustain the village. They pictured the faces as they passed wondering how long it would be before they might see them again. There were three farm houses all along the northern edge of the forest.  The three families, the Briars all with red hair and freckles, the Stones dark haired and dark eyed, and the Golts with their brown hair and pale skin shared seeds, feed, and tools to keep their fields and herds growing.  As it were the food was given freely to everyone who lived in Vineleaf, and any excess food was taken to the inn for storage, and to be sold to travelers or hunters.  The first of the five remaining houses belonged to Julia and John Riser who had a small mill and bakery.  The second belonged to Max the butcher and his wife Ellen and two young daughters Tina and Samantha.  The third house belonged to Jack.  He was the village blacksmith and handyman.  The fourth house belonged to Emily and Rose, two middle aged sisters who had a loom and were excellent tailors.  The fifth and final house belonged to Samuel Cobbler who could make anything out of leather, but specialized in shoes.  The last building on the road was the Vineleaf inn.  It was the only revenue the village had and so paid everyone’s taxes to the Kingdom, as well as used the funds to purchase anything that the village couldn’t make for themselves.  The inn was Garret’s and Seth’s home.  They lived here with their Father James, who had he been 20 years younger could have been the twin’s triplet.  Their mother lived here once as well.  The twins hardly remembered her face any longer but many in the village held fond memories of her.  Those that lived here in Vineleaf weren’t just neighbors, they were family.

Both Garret and Seth stopped at the bottom of the steps to the inn and shared a look of remembrance.  This was their home, it was all they had ever known, yet tomorrow they would be leaving, not knowing when or if they might return.  Light streamed through the front windows of the inn.  Smoke rose lazily from the twin chimneys that jutted from the roof from either side of the common room.  The large oak door was closed to hold at bay the chill of the night time air.  From somewhere inside voices trailed mutely to their ears. 

“It seems we have guests.” Garret thought out loud.

“Yeah, we better go see if dad needs any help.”  Seth replied shaking the thoughts of dismay from his skull.

They climbed the three steps to the door and Garret, grasping the large iron handle, heaved it open.  Blazing yellow light swallowed them through the door, and a rush of warm air greeted them with the scent of stew enticing their nostrils.  Both brothers paused a moment just inside the door to let their eyes adjust to the light. 

“Boys!” Their dad thundered from the back of the room, standing behind the long oak bar.  “Come hang your catch in the kitchen and get cleaned up there are some folks here to see you.”

“Alright.” Seth replied glancing to the seating area to see who had come, vaguely aware his brother was looking to see the guests as well.

The guests were gathered around the fireplace at the far right wall of the room, their backs to the twins.  Both brothers recognized them even from behind, and headed off to the kitchen.  Walking around the bar towards the kitchen door, Garret leaned towards his father and with a smirk and said.

“I beat him.”

“I heard that.” Replied Seth, and continued with a slightly annoyed tone.  “You always beat me but you'll never outsmart me.”

Garret growled in response and shoved Seth through the door to the kitchen, flashing a smile towards their dad as he passed.  They walked to the back of the kitchen, past the twin cooking fires to the back door. Both brothers unslung their rabbits and hung them on the pegs above the door, and placed their bows and quivers in the corner behind the crates of preserved foods.  Garret’s forehead creased, and his eyebrows came together, obviously in deep thought about something.  Seth knew the look; this was something his brother and himself did not have in common.  For some reason Garret was unable to concentrate without mangling his features, it was not a habit he shared with his father so it must have been inherited from their mother.

“Whatcha thinking about?”  Seth asked after staring at his brother’s grimace for a moment.

“Dad is cooking.”  Garret replied.  His face still entangled in thought.

“And.....?”  Seth questioned hoping for a more enlightening answer.

“Well, it’s kind of late….and only Jack, Samuel, and Emily are here.  I’m sure they would have already eaten, and Dad doesn’t usually cook a large pot of stew for just the three of us.”

“Well it is our last night at home; he probably wants to make sure we were good and stuffed before we head out in the morning.  Besides, there are four of us that need to eat.”

“Four?”  Garret’s face scrunched back up in thought.  “Who else needs to eat?”

“So you didn’t notice the man at the dining table near the window?”  Seth waited for his brother’s response though he already knew the answer.

“No, I hadn’t noticed.  Who is he?”  Garret’s was still pondering, his eyebrows trying desperately to touch one another.