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i apologise for the long wait but i'll be posting once a week for at least a month.
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"Two birds swooped through the air, glancing off of each other, clashing with their black talons and razor-sharp beaks. The largest of the two flew upwards and dived back down, slamming into the smaller. Feathers floated onto the island of white flowers.
A splash hit Kain's back as the corpse of the loser hit the water, and in front of him, a cadet hit the floor, crushing the flowers below him.
He stood silent and still for hours before the endless duels had finished. Finally, the tournament had come to an end, and Lord Braemoor stepped forward again.
"Splendid show", He clapped.
His son stepped forward and held his hands behind his back.
"Cadets, form up" At the young lord's words, every cadet moved into place.
Kain struggled to find his spot, four from the front. They all stood in ten-man columns; Kain tried to count how many men the columns reached but lost count.
"My lords, you wish to call one of these cadets your squire; come forward" The young lord smiled softly.
The youngest of the two golden lords came forward and picked out the golden cadet. He stepped out of line and walked over to his new master.
'Must be nice to have a knightly family, ' Kain sighed.
"Arthur Grey." A giant man stepped forward, cutting off a terrified, rat-faced noble.
The sword on the man's back was taller than Kain and sat only a finger's length from the ground, and his eyes were the colour of fresh spilt blood.
"Finally" The tidal knight steps out of line and stands next to the giant.
A few other cadets are chosen, none of whom Kain could remember. The bird-helmed, feather-cloaked knight stares deeply at Kain before turning away and leaving the bog.
'They'll pick me' Kain straightens his posture.
Lord after lord chose a squire; even a lady stepped forward and chose a cadet to join her personal guard. Until Kain and countless others were left, and the lords began to think more and more.
The other cadets followed their lords off the island and waded through the muddy water with lowered heads. Kain watched as they staggered through the bog.
Alone on the island, he stood watching as the last few disappeared into the east. It was only him and the bird circling above.
Soon enough, the bird landed and began to pluck the crushed flowers from the island, weaving them into squished and deformed rings as he had done before.
For hours Kain watched the bird make ring after ring after ring until it had a pile big enough to peek through the flowers around it.
He lay on the floor in the heavy armour surrounded by white flowers. The blood-soaked flowers had turned a sickly reddish-orange, and the cloak stained where he had wiped the dagger.
'click-click-click' the bird jumped onto his chest plate. Its black talons rattled against the steel.
As Kain stood, the bird flapped its wings only three beats, and instantly it was above him. He stepped down into the cold water and trudged back through the path. The troop of nobles and knights were still in eye shot, heading back to the castle.
Ser Finnian looked over his shoulder to see the boy stood alone in the light of the sun. Kain's shadow stretched out, yet not even that could reach the knights or their squires, so he turned away and walked. By the time the sun had set, Kain had eaten what was left of the dried meat and spotted the weak flittering of a fire in the distance.
As the sun sank deeper and deeper through the tall trees that surrounded him, Kain began to quicken his pace. Leaves crunched under the foot of some beast stalking the trail. The darker it got, the more a boy Kain became. Behind each tree a monster lurked, each noise some ghoul waiting for its chance to strike.
A bat rushed by the side of the boy's helmet; he jolted to the side and reached for his sword only to loosen his grip. The sound of his heart rang through his head.
Countless chirps and chitters echoed through the forest. A skinless face peeked from behind a tree, the two hollow cavities where its nose ought to have been whistled and its red-raw skin seemed to glisten and melt in the moonlight like a dripping candle.
It made no movement, nor did its empty eye sockets so much as twitch when the greatsword tip pointed at its exposed flesh. Kain froze for an instant before sprinting down the road.
Bushes and branches slammed into his armour as his frantic dash led him off the path and deeper and deeper into the woods.
The faint glow of some distant campfire guided his way through the dark void like a star in the night sky.
Dry firewood crackles in the flames. Two men sat talking amongst themselves in gentle, hushed voices. Their eyes widened, and fingers crawled across the floor like a pair of fleeing spiders, wrapping around the haft of an axe and the hilt of a sword.
Kain's heart beat like a wardrum inside his chest as they stood to greet him. Before he could utter a word, they were on top of him. The first left a shallow gash in the armour with a swing so heavy it knocked Kain backwards a step; the second spun the loose helmet, and all of a sudden the floor met Kain, filling his visor with mud and his mouth with blood.
"Siena", he gurgled as his vision blurred.
That little white island, its bright white flowers and a beautiful girl playing about them flashed in the boy's mind before his heavy eyes began to close.
'They are going to kill me', he thought, forcing an arm into the mud, yet he could muster no strength. The mud below seemed to pull down the more he struggled out of its viscous grasp. A foot or a hand or an axe placed itself hard in between his shoulder blades, but the boy could not tell.
'I am dead already', he sniffled at the thought.
'Siena', his eyes burst with tears like some great dam before his eyes seemed to lose something behind them.