Interlude - A Man’s Duty

As his shaking hands pulled on the bowstring, the arrowhead wavered ever so slightly, as though mirroring the crumbling resolve of the archer himself.

“I can’t do this,” Skyle whispered through clenched teeth, squeezing his eyes shut.

A strong, heavily calloused hand blanketed over Skyle’s trembling fingers, easing the relentless pull of the heavy bowstring for a moment.

“Focus, Skyle.”

“Don’t tell me to focus, that’s not the problem here!” Skyle rebutted angrily.

“You can’t do this, or you won’t?” came the slow, mild question.

“What’s the difference?” Skyle muttered.

“If you can’t do it, then I will understand and we will go over the basics again first thing tomorrow. However, if you won’t do it, then we will stand here until your mother comes looking for us and scolds us for freezing our butts off while the dinner she’s slaved making all day gets cold.”

Skyle scowled indignantly at Kendric Farrow’s face, but his father merely grinned back at him as he would at an unruly child.

“I don’t understand why I need to learn this stuff!” Skyle complained, his small hands shaking even harder, the arrow coming dangerously close to being dislodged from the bow altogether.

“I already told you, no son of mine is going to be a defenseless little chick. The Farrows will be lions among men!” his father exclaimed happily.

“I get that. I really do. Why do I have to kill a poor little rabbit though? What has that little thing ever done to me?” Skyle glared at his father, demanding an answer.

“It is a lesson, son. A lesson which you must learn sooner rather than later,” Kendric chuckled, rapping a knuckle against the top of his son’s head. “Given how thick your skull is, I think we had best get a headstart, don’t you think?”

“Don’t try to grin your way through this, da! I can hit it, I really can. I don’t need to kill anything to prove it.”

“This is not a lesson in archery, son,” came Kendric’s calm reply.

“Then it is one on murder!” Skyle accused, bitter tears welling up in his eyes.

For once, Kendric Farrow seemed at a loss for words as the cold winter winds howled through the trees, stirring the branches above and bringing a fresh shower of snow swaying down from above.

After a deep sigh, Kendric’s hand tightened over his son’s, pulling the bowstring taut once more.

“Is that your answer?” Skyle spat out heatedly.

Another heavy sigh ensued.

“Yes, it is.”

“It’s not fair,” Skyle continued, tears blurring his sight. “I hate this.”

“I know it is not fair. Believe me, I know a thing or two about that,” Kendric muttered, running a frustrated hand through his hair. “Look, you know I’m no good with words-”

“Amen to that,” Skyle agreed emphatically.

“Shush, this is important,” Kendric said gravely, lifting his gaze to look into his son’s eyes. “Look, I wish I could stand here and look at you in the eyes and tell you the world is about hopes and dreams and love and that so long as you always believe in those things, everything will be alright.”

“Mother would,” Skyle cut in.

“She would, and bless her for that. And when the sun dies over the horizon, when the shadows creep in during the night, when the wind bites into your flesh and the rain freezes your blood, it is at those times you will be forced to take up your bow, and knife, and fight until you taste blood on your lips and your fingers are too numb to feel anything. You must fight until your every breath is a struggle and every beat of your heart is borrowed time, and never, ever give up. Do you know why?”

Skyle stared at his father’s sudden outburst in dazed confusion.

“Because your mother is right, and it is up to us to prove it,” Kendric Farrow grinned his roguish smile at his son, and though there was a haunted quality to his eyes, deep within Skyle could see a man’s unrelenting resolve to be beaten, yet never defeated.

Kendric Farrow’s smile slowly withered, contracting from the corners and continuing all the way until his eyes lost that perpetually jovial glint. Instead, the cold of winter blew through the depths of his eyes until it was all Skyle could do to keep hold of the bow instead of dropping it.

“Now, kill that rabbit and let’s go home, son. Your mother is waiting.”

Moments later, an arrow glittered brightly under the last rays of the setting sun before striking home with a spray of crimson blood.

As Skyle stood above the still-warm body of the rabbit slowly dyeing the bright snow red, his father placed a heavy hand on top of his shoulders and shoved a hard object into his numb hands.

Skyle looked down and was stunned to see it was his father’s old hunting dagger. It was always by his side, and in fact Skyle couldn’t recall the last time he had removed it for any longer than absolutely necessary.

“Here, take it,” Kendric said simply, ruffling his son’s hair.

“Da? What is this?” Skyle mumbled, staring in confusion at the dagger in his hands. It was much heavier than he’d expected for such a small thing. Of course, it had looked small in his father’s practiced grip, but they absolutely dwarfed Skyle’s own tiny fingers. The fine double edged blade was about one inch wide and twelve inches long, with an elegant but well worn crossguard. The hilt was wrapped in supple leather, with a peculiar emblem at the very bottom. It looked like it had been an eagle once, but several vicious blows had defaced its outline to the point where it was difficult to truly make it out.

“This is your favorite dagger,” Skyle blurted out, staring down at his hands in disbelief.

“And now it belongs to my favorite child,” Kendric chuckled, then winked at Skyle as he put a thick arm around his son’s shoulders. “Of course, that’ll be our little secret from your little brother and sister.”

Skyle rolled his eyes in spite of himself. “I know you tell the same thing to Reik and Kass behind my back all the time.”

Kendric put on an expression of shock. “How do you know that?”

“Because you say the same thing every day in front of all of us!” Skyle laughed helplessly, but as his eyes flicked towards the dead body of the first life he had ever taken, his hands began to shake and his smile withered.

Kendric’s hand around his son’s shoulders tightened, and Skyle could hear his father’s gentle whisper in his ears.

“It was also a gift, from the man who taught me this same lesson,” Kendric whispered, and Skyle nodded slowly.

“Don’t forget this lesson, Skyle. Your mother believes in love, and it is up to us protect that faith. For that, you need courage and strength in equal measures. That’s as fair a bargain as you’ll ever get from this life.”

Kendric’s other hand slowly tightened over Skyle’s fingers as they held the dagger’s hilt, and Skyle nodded once more.

“Don’t ever let her down, boy.”

Skyle bit his lips and nodded a third time, finally speaking in a determined voice, “I won’t.”

“Good. Good. You know how your mother nags,” Kendric finished, and Skyle couldn’t help but roll his eyes once more as he turned around and began to head home.

“Hey, you’re forgetting your prize,” Kendric reminded his son.

“It’s not my prize, it’s my victim,” Skyle called out over his shoulder. “And I think it deserves a little respect. There’s no way I’m taking it home with me. Not this time.”

Kendric paused for a moment, looking at his 7 year old son’s retreating back, and for a second his good-natured grin melted off his features and they took on the look of a deeply conflicted, guilty man.

“I’m sorry, son,” Kendric mouthed silently, and unshed tears glistened in his eyes. “I’m so sorry.”

Skyle froze in midstep, frowning, and whirled around to glare at his father.

“Are you coming or what? We are late as it is, and Mom is not going to be happy,” Skyle complained, waving the dagger in his hand excitedly. “Besides, I can’t wait to show this to Reik and Kass!”

“Coming, coming,” Kendric coughed, quickly turning his head. “Be right there, go on ahead. I’ll race you to see who gets back first, you little rascal.”

“Hah, I’m really going to beat you this time!” Skyle cried out excitedly, dashing off into the trees like a gazelle.

With a final sigh, Kendric nodded his head slowly and pressed a fist against his heart, eyes heavy and shoulders sagging. Then he lifted his gaze, and a fierce determination burned deep in his eyes.

“I will protect you,” Kendric whispered in the direction his young son had left in. “I swear it..”

“This time, I will!”