Chapter 56 - A Pact Between Brothers

Skyle woke up as the sun hit his eyes. He couldn’t recall the last time he got to sleep in this late, so he was genuinely surprised. Then again, it had been a long time since he was able to sleep without having to worry about whether he’d wake up inside the belly of some hideous beast.

All in all, it was a good morning.

There was, however, a nagging feeling in the back of his head that he had just forgotten something. It was important, but as he rolled around in his bed and tugged at his blanket, he couldn’t for the life of him remember what it was.

Frustrated at the lack of progress, Skyle’s stomach growled its dissatisfaction. Shaking his head, Skyle decided it must not be so important after all, and kicked off his blanket to rise to his feet. As he did so, he noticed a corner of his bedding was rather damp. It was the same corner where Ash slept every night, right beside him.

“Still mad at me. Figures. Stubborn cat,” Skyle chuckled in his head. Still, he did owe Ash an apology. If nothing else, the silly tiger would keep licking the fur off the blanket in order to conceal the fact that he had been sleeping next to Skyle. That was all fine and good, but snowblade tigers had tongues that could, if not carefully controlled, stiffen into thousands of tiny spikes that would shred his blanket if he let Ash continue.

He certainly wouldn’t put it beyond the temperamental cat to let just a little too much force enter its tongue one of these mornings, and snag a huge hole in it before he realized his mistake. Then both Ash and Skyle would be in for it.

“Come think of it, da will probably take it off my wages, but I’m already so deep in the red, a blanket or ten won’t matter all that much.” Skyle noted dryly in his head, while carefully checking for snags before putting his blanket away.

Skyle’s room was at the very back of the house. It was a homey little room with a wide window that faced the sun when it rose up over the east slopes of the majestic Blackstone Mountain. A narrow bed with a thin mattress filled with feathers was one of the few luxuries Skyle had been entitled to as a member of the Farrow family. Every member of the family had one, since Adrienne Farrow had insisted that mattresses filled with wool or worse yet, straw, would just not do. Hence, every night his family could float off into dreamland on the fluffiest feather mattresses on this side of Sunny Meadow.

Besides that, Skyle also had a small desk where he kept several of his favorite books. These were very costly affairs that had his father hemming and hawing, but his mother had once again put her foot down. She would not let her children’s education be compromised.

Thus, each child of the Farrow family received one book every year, starting from their sixth year. This was when their mother typically finished their course and each child could competently read by themselves. Of course, oddball that she was, Kassandra had begun to read at the tender age of four. As for Reikard, he had struggled with his letters, but had finally caught up by his seventh year.

The titles on the desks of each of the children were as particular to each child as one might think. Kassandra’s collection included titles such as “The Princess of Evermoor Kingdom”, “High Court Etiquette of the Imperial Age”, and “Adventures of the Enchanted Unicorn of Seles”.

Reikard’s books featured “The Knightly Vows of the Champion Paragon”, “Secret Histories of the Orders of the Old Kingdom”, and “Tales of the Little Worm that Could”.

As for Skyle himself, his own desk held titles such as “The Elemental Master: Awaken the Power Within”, “Nightingale and the Enchanted Arrow”, and “Tales from the Tiger’s Den: How I Befriended a Wild Snowblade Tiger Streak”.

This last one was as much for his own curiosity as it was for Ash’s sake. Curling up by Skyle’s feet as he read from this book was one of the few things that could convince the lazy teenage tiger to do any productive work at all. Thus, of all the books in Skyle’s collection, the pages of “Tales from the Tiger’s Den” were the second most worn out of all.

The most tattered pages belonged, of course, to “The Elemental Master”.

“Much good it’s done me”, Skyle scoffed.

This brought a pang that made him grimace, thinking of the chance he had back at Sanctuary. He could have been wielding the power of the elements this very instant. Yet, he did not regret his decision to save Leon’s talent. If he had to do it over, he was proud to find that he would make the same choice. He could only hope that this would never change.

“You said I would regret it, but I will not allow myself to walk that path,” Skyle silently vowed to himself.

Cracking open the door to his room, Skyle walked to the room opposite his. There were actually six different bedrooms in the house. Harvesting elenium crystals was semi-seasonal work, and during the harvesting season they would sometimes hire outside help. Mostly it was old man Arthos and his sons who would come and stay for a couple months at a time. They lived deeper within the Felwood Forest that lay just beyond the borders of their farm. Their hut was built right by shores of Lake Solace where old man Arthos and Skyle’s father spent too much of their time fishing.

Most of the year, there were two empty bedrooms in Skyle’s house. Now, one was occupied by Leon while Emil was temporarily sleeping in Reik’s room.

According to his mother, Leon was in even better condition than Skyle had been. There had been no visible wounds on his body, but Adrienne Farrow likely had seen the faint ghosts of the ordeal the boys had been through in his eyes. They hadn’t asked any questions yet, and decided instead to give the boys some room while they recovered in peace.

Skyle’s hand rose to the door, but hung there for a moment while the boy hesitated. He was concerned for Leon, and besides he missed the bigger boy’s company. Still, he didn’t know how to face him. Had his talent been fully restored? If Leon asked how that had come to be, what should Skyle say? Would the truth create an awkward distance between them? Or would Leon instead feel indebted to Skyle to the point where he would do something characteristically reckless?

Taking a deep breath, Skyle’s knuckles rapped on the wooden door and waited. After a moment, Skyle knocked again, then finally gave up and just pushed the door out of the way. After all, there were no latches on any of the doors of the Farrow family.

He walked in to see a room that was quite more spacious than his own. It had a bigger bed with its own feather mattress and a simple desk. The window’s curtains were drawn closed, and under them lay the massive figure of Leon. He was snoring softly, wrapped up in his blankets with his big feet sticking out and hanging over the side of the bed.

Skyle coughed and whispered urgently next to his hear, “My lord, the Lord Marshal requests your presence at the command tent at once. I fear you have missed muster, my lord.”

Leon’s eyes immediately snapped open while he jerked himself into a sitting position. This brought his ear smashing against Skyle’s nose, sending both boys groaning to the floor.

Skyle wiped the tears from his eyes as he scowled at Leon.

“You lazy bastard, not only have you been spoiled rotten, but you have damaged the precious legacy of the Farrow clan,” Skyle hollered, holding on to his nose. It didn’t feel broken, not quite.

“You upstart peasant, they don’t teach you any better manners than to wake your betters with a headbutt?” Leon shot back with an even darker scowl.

“Betters my butt. Last time I saw you, you were crying out my name like a scared little girl while some ancient god beast snatched me up for lunch.”

“It was a dignified battle cry filled with righteous indignation and.. Oh, come here you!” Leon cried out, laughing while pulling Skyle into a bear hug.

Skyle joined in the laughter, his heart truly glad to see that Leon seemed to have recovered fully. The Guardian of Sanctuary had been true to her word, and not a single trace remained of Leon’s grievous overdrafting, or any of his flesh wounds for that matter.

After a long moment during which Leon squeezed all the breath from Skyle, they finally parted to grin at each other like fools.

“We made it,” Leon said simply, recalling the promise they had made to each other.

“I told you we would.” Skyle arched his eyebrow, suggesting that there had never been a shadow of doubt in the first place.

“Yes, you did,” Leon chuckled, throwing his arms over Skyle’s head and locking his neck in a headlock. “Take this for being such an insufferable smartass.”

“Mercy, my lord. Mercy. I fear this humble farmer lacks the brainless strength the lord has obviously been blesse-” The rest of it ended in a squeak as Leon mock-strangled him, shaking him to and fro.

“Keep talking, just keep talking,” Leon growled playfully, tightening his grip. “An inch per sentence, lets see how long till you talk yourself into sleep.”

“I give, I give,” Skyle protested in mock surrender.

As soon as Leon let him go, Skyle rubbed his neck and muttered under his breath, “Convalescing my butt. You’re stronger than that damn troll that got us into all this trouble in the first place. Why can’t you pick on someone your own size and you choke it out instead?”

“I tried,” Leon grinned, pointing to the arm that had formerly been broken. It looked good as new. “That’s how I broke my arm in the first place.”

“I thought that was my expertly delivered flying dive kick.” Skyle raised an eyebrow.

“You mean the same kick that got you that busted leg that forced me to lug you around like a sack of potatoes all over that god forsaken forest?” Leon snickered.

“Oh, that’s right!” Skyle exclaimed, slapping his own forehead. “I had forgotten to feed you and brush your coat. No wonder you’re so testy this morning, horsey. Well, giddyup. A morning ride will make you feel all better, I promi-”

The last of it was cut off by a pillow crashing against his face, which prompted a renewed bout of wrestling. Of course, Skyle had the worst of it, but not by much.

In the end, both boys sat side by side, sweat dripping down their faces as they leaned against one another.

Skyle couldn’t remember who began, but slowly they told each other of what had happened after they separated. Skyle whistled in appreciation as he heard Leon’s account of the epic fight against the spider army, especially moved when he heard the details of the third cycle spell Leon had forcefully cast to hold them at bay. Leon struggled not to gape as he heard about the ancient crystal phoenix, the Guardian of Sanctuary, and Ria.

When Skyle spoke about his final confrontation against Leena, Leon laid a heavy hand upon his shoulder.

“Listen Skyle Farrow, and you listen well. You did the right thing. Killing that murderous bitch was just about the only productive thing out of this whole entire ordeal,” Leon spat out viciously.

Skyle shook his head, still conflicted. “I don’t think either of us will ever truly understand Leena, but I don’t think she was a bad person. Are you sure she didn’t say anything to you?”

Leon shrugged his massive shoulders. “Why would she? The whole time I was trying to kick her out of the group, and even in the last moments we only banded together for survival. Honest to god, Skyle, I never trusted her. I’m not surprised she tried to kill you, and I’m glad you’re the one who made it out alive.”

Skyle studied Leon’s features carefully, but he couldn’t tell anything from the other boy’s expression other than stony belligerence and a firm conviction in his own words.

“I guess you’re right,” Skyle mumbled.

“Damn straight I am. The only thing I regret is that the finicky Guardian or whatever she is had the gall to take away everything even though Leena died.”

“Well, she did explain that would happen regardless of whether each one of us was dead or alive.”

“It’s still a bunch of horsecrap.” Leon scowled at the air in front of him, as though he could through sheer power of will glare straight into the eyes of the Guardian of Sanctuary herself.

“At least it’s a good thing the Guardian healed our wounds when she sent us out of Sanctuary,” Skyle smiled, his eyes genuinely glad even though his chest constricted as he was reminded of what was to be his fate in five years.

Leon nodded solemnly. “I’m sorry that you had to give up so much for my sake though.”

“Hey, it was for the both of us. It was a transaction, is all. All the things we had gained within Sanctuary, in exchange of our old lives back, just the way we were before.” The lie didn’t show at all in Skyle’s expression.

Leon nodded heavily. “Still, I didn’t have to give up anything while you lost Moonshadow, the journal and even your True Sight.”

Skyle shrugged. “Maybe such power was never meant to be wielded by mortals. I might be better off this way, happy in my farm.”

Leon’s hand moved to clutch the other boy’s arm. “There’s no way in hell I’m going to let my brother rot in this little corner of nowhere. We share both fortune and misfortune, don’t you forget it. Of everything in my possession, now and forever, you need but ask and it shall be yours, my friend.”

Skyle leaned back, taken by surprise. “Woah, no need to take it to extremes, Leon.”

Leon shook his head, his eyes set and determined. “No, I mean it. Titles, riches, women. Anything and everything, I do willingly share with you.”

“Ew, women? No, nevermind that. I meant about calling my home a “little corner of nowhere”. My da might have some choice words about the way you’ve just spoken about his farm.”

Leon’s face didn’t crack a smile nor move a muscle, as he regarded Skyle with somber eyes.

“Skyle, I meant every word.”

The smile on Skyle’s face slowly shrunk, until his eyes matched the seriousness on Leon’s own face.

“Then we are in accord, Leon Draxas. We will share fortune and misfortune, and may this pact last until the sun dies and the skies fall into the sea.”

“It is agreed.” Leon’s eyes twitched imperceptibly as a deep, rumbling chuckle rose from his chest. “Now, on to more pressing matters. Till the sun dies? Skies fall into the sea? Waxing a little poetic, are we, farm boy? Is that how you seduce the pigs you cavort with in this farm?”

Skyle rolled his eyes helplessly. “Here we go again.”

Leon’s eyes were dripping with mockery. “What, scared now? Then bow before your betters and I might take you on as a page. After a few years of faithful service, if you learn to curb that mouth of yours, you might even make it to squire and be worthy of carrying my chamberpot into the fields of battle.”

“Says the guy who doesn’t even have a rusty nail to his name at the moment, let alone a sword. If you’re so fearless, oh dauntless Lord of Draxas, how about you take on a real challenge, for a change?”

“Meaning?” Leon quirked his eyebrow, this time interested in truth.

“Meaning, how about from tomorrow on you follow me in my daily ‘cavorting’ about the farm, as you so succinctly put it. Do some real work, for a change, instead of riding a horse and looking bored while you toss a few fireworks here and there.”

Leon’s eyebrows bunched up into a cloudy storm as he pursed his lips in thought.

“Well? Who’s scared now?” Skyle scoffed, his expression one of utter contempt.

“Who says I’m scared!” Leon roared, and that’s when Skyle knew he had him. “I’ll show you how real men work. Might as well repay your parents’ hospitality with some honest hard sweat.”

“So, you’re in? You sure? The duresses of farmwork might not be suited to your fair and flowery complexion, my lord,” Skyle smirked.

“Why so many useless words? I’m in! I’ll show you who’s the flowery boy here. I’ve been to battlefields dripping with gore and blood, and I’ve swung my sword against some of the best soldiers on this continent. I might as well take a vacation here and do some sightseeing while I’m at it.”

Skyle managed to look suitable impressed by Leon’s words, but deep inside he was trying as hard as he could to suppress the grin threatening to burst forth any moment now.

“Here I was worried about the hellish work da would set me on. It’ll be back-busting, grime-eating, tear-inducing labor from dawn till dusk, if I know Kendric Farrow at all. Here is all of my misfortune for you to enjoy. Leon, my brother, what would I ever do without you?”

The thought that he was selling out his friend never even crossed his mind. Besides, Skyle was sure Leon would do the same thing.

Friendship was one thing, after all. Digging latrine pits and carting waist-high piles of manure was a whole different world altogether.