RELM: Awakening The Golden Knight

“Fifty-eight, fifty-nine, sixty!” Mikala turned around quickly causing her short curly hair to bounce. “Ready or not, here I come!”

She took two steps away from the oak tree she had been counting under and grabbed a thick rope that was tied to a branch high above. Pulling herself up to the second knot of the robe, Mikala scanned the yard for her brother, Randince.

“Remember it’s my birthday, Randince, so you’re supposed to let me win.” Mikala hollered into the deserted yard.

Swinging back and forth on the rope, she examined the yard in sections. Looking to the left, Mikala surveyed the fields that lined the side of their house. With winter on its way, they had to cut down the unsold cornstalk and store it in the silo. Mikala smirked; with the fields cleared she knew Randince had few places to hide. She continued her gaze to the right, trying to catch a glimpse of anything out of place or moving, but the farm was stagnant.

Mikala’s gaze passed over the barn. The flimsy shed resembled something closer to a pile of wood than anything fit to hold a cattle of cows or a sounder of swine. She stared for a moment at the rickety barn doors, but they were closed tight and showed no sign that they had been opened all day.

Next to the barn Mikala could see her eldest brother Landon, he was brushing the back of Bobo, one of the family horses. Landon tending to the horses meant two things: Landon had gotten a late start on his chores and Mikala needed to look elsewhere for her hiding brother. If Randince had come anywhere near Landon, there would have been a squabble and a few tools tossed about. The two brothers couldn’t be left alone for a few minutes before irritating one another. Since Landon didn’t look the least bit perturbed, Mikala was positive Randince sought refuge somewhere else.

Mikala turned her head slowly until she was facing the house. The two-story home was in bad shape. The house’s green paint was peeling on all sides. In some places giant circular chips of paint had been blown away, revealing the hideous yellow paint underneath. There were several shingles lining the ground around the back door and the gutter on the right side of the home threatened to fall onto anyone who came near. The only redeeming feature of the dwelling was the tall sunflowers that wrapped around the home.

Mikala had always been fond of the sunflowers. When all the plant life around the house began to die, the sunflowers continued their reach for the sky. As Mikala stared at the flowerbed she saw several of the plants begin to sway.

“Gotcha,” she whispered. Mikala jumped from the rope causing her long orange shirt to come untucked. Free from her waistband, the t-shirt fell to her knees forcing her to shuffle her feet as she entered the towering flora. She followed the swaying flowers and when she believed she was close to her target, she pounced.

“Found ya!” Mikala landed right in front of a stone garden gnome. The gnome was dressed in yellow overalls with a pointy red hat adorning its head.

“I’ve never seen you before,” Mikala tilted her head and spoke to the gnome. “Are you my birthday gift?”

The gnome statue was frozen with its arms held out in front of it. Mikala giggled to herself; the gnome looked like her grandfather when he had lost his glasses. “Have you seen my brother? He’s the one with messy hair.”

She looked into the gnome’s eyes which were looking up at the kitchen window.

“He’s in there?” Mikala scrunched her face up. “He knows the house is off limits. That cheater!”

While she was a little annoyed that her brother was breaking the rules, Mikala was not surprised. Randince had never been keen on following any of the house rules. If their grandfather forbade Randince to do anything, there was sure to be a fair amount of stomping, groaning or a slammed door to follow.

“Keep very quiet,” Mikala whispered to the gnome. She then climbed a wheelbarrow that leaned against the house. She rose to the tips of her toes and peered through the window into the kitchen.

Unfortunately for Mikala, her grandfather was the only one occupying the tiny room. The plump old man grabbed a bowl from the kitchen table and walked it over to the sink. A sudden burst of laughter erupted from deep within his throat.

“What’s so funny, Gramps?” Mikala poked her head through the window.

Startled, Grams yelped, “Oh, nothing. I was, uh, I was,” he darted a glance at the bowl in his hands, “doing dishes,” he finished lamely, dropping the bowl into the water filled sink. Mikala watched as soap bubbles drifted over her reflection in the murky sink water.

“What are you doing up there, anyway?” Gramps said, casually plopping bubbles on Mikala’s nose. Mikala giggled and wiggled her nose.

“There was a gnome in the garden and he led me here. I think he was trying to tell me where Randince is hiding,” Mikala said.

Gramps stared at Mikala for a moment, almost as if he half believed her, and then said, “Well, Randince is not in here.” Gramps rose up and looked over Mikala’s shoulder and out the window, “and what do I tell you about talking all that nonsense. Fairytales are for fools and beggars.”

“But I did see,” Mikala began to protest, but was quickly silenced by Gramp’s glare, “Sorry.” She wiped the bubbles from her nose.

“Wait a minute.” Mikala noticed a rolling pin lying in a pile of flour. “Are you making my birthday cake? Is it chocolate? Oh, with peanut butter frosting?” Gramp’s face turned bright red. “Ahh!” Mikala howled with glee. “It is! It is!”

“Randince!” Gramps leaned over and bellowed out the backdoor that stood adjacent to the sink. “I said distract your sister, not send her straight in here!” Gramps picked up a rag from the counter and waved it at Mikala. “Now go find your brother. I don’t want to see you back here till you do.”

Mikala licked her lips making a loud smacking noise. “Ok, but just make sure you leave some batter for me.” Chuckling, Gramps threw a handful of flour at Mikala, causing her to fall back outside.

Mikala landed in the flowerbed next to another stone gnome. This time the gnome was on his hands and knees.

“Are you looking for your friend? He’s over here,” Mikala pointed to a spot under the window, but the statue that had been there before was gone. She looked back down at the crawling gnome and realized it was in yellow overalls.

“You can’t trick me.” Mikala got down on her hands and knees and looked into the gnome’s face. “I got my eye on you.”

“What are you doing?” Gramps popped his head out the window.

“Nothing,” Mikala shoot up from the ground and dusted herself off. “Going to find Randince.” She stumbled out of the sunflowers and headed over to her eldest brother Landon, who was mid-conversation.

Confident she was going to catch Randince this time, Mikala walked slowly around the corner of the house.

“Ever since I laid my eyes on you I have never been the same,” Landon was talking sweetly to Bobo, their spotted horse.

“You’re as sweet as this sugar cube,” Landon said as he placed a treat in front of Bobo’s mouth. “No, that’s stupid.” Landon shook his head, pulling the sugar cube away as Bobo reached for it. The horse neighed at Landon angrily.

“Shhh, I’m trying to think,” Landon looked up to the sky and thought for a moment, “Hmmm, yea that’s it!”

Mikala was holding on to the fence listening intently to her brother. She watched Bobo’s head sway back and forth as the horse followed the cube Landon held. The way Bobo’s head moved in and out of the sunlight gave the illusion that a horn kept appearing and disappearing from the black spot on its forehead. Mikala marveled at the sight. No matter how angry her grandfather got, Mikala couldn’t help but let her imagination run wild.

Landon, unaware of his younger sister, continued to serenade the horse. “Your hair is like the sunset. Your eyes are like the sun. Every moment with you is even more… fun?”

Mikala snickered at her brother. “Are you and Bobo in love?” She teased.

Landon jumped at the sound of his sister’s voice. He glared at her as his face turned a bright red. “Damn it Mikki,” he drew a sharp breath. “Go play somewhere else!”

Landon chased after Mikala, tossing sugar cubes at her. Bobo neighed in protest as each cube landed just outside the fence.

Mikala darted into the barn and closed the door to shelter herself from the sugar cube missiles. She pressed her ear against the door and didn’t move until she heard Landon return to his conversation with their horse.

The barn was gloomy with the doors closed. In the darkness the cows peering over their stalls looked like hovering detached heads. The floating heads lingered over a mound of hay that could easily be mistaken for a sleeping beast. And in the corner of the room a discarded coat and pitch fork looked like a demon was rising up from the ground below.

Mikala slowly backed toward the barn door as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. Unwilling to look away, she saw the mound of hay tremble.

“Randince?” She whispered into the darkness. “This isn’t funny.” Her hand slid across the barn door looking for the handle. “I found you, so you can s-stop hiding now.”

Mikala grabbed the handle and pulled the door open. Just as the light hit the mound of hay, a rat shot out from beneath and scurried out the door.

“Eww. Eww. Eww!” Mikala hopped from one foot to the other. “You win. I’m out of here.”

Mikala tried to race to the door, but a hand grabbed her arm. “Ahh!’ She screamed before her brother stepped into the light. “You are so mean!” She slammed her fist into her brother’s chest. ’Why would you do that?”

“Your. Face.” Randince could only get two words out through his laughter.

“Not funny.” Mikala crossed her arms.

“Oh, from where I’m standing, it’s freaking hilarious.” Randince grinned.

Mikala rolled her eyes, “Where were you hiding?”

Before he could answer, Gramps bellowed from the house, “Damn it Randince! Why is there a God forsaken chicken in your bed?”

“You’re about to find out.” Randince grabbed his sister and pulled her into a nearby closet. He put a finger to his mouth and pointed to a crack in the door. As if on cue, Gramps stormed into the barn.

“I know you’re hiding in here boy. How many times have I told you to keep the animals out of the house?” He threw a chicken into the barn. It flapped its wings frantically in an attempt to fly, but instead tumbled to the ground. “If you want to be with these beasts so much maybe I’ll let you sleep out here!” Gramps paused, crouching over to take a breath. “Randince? Randince come out here right now.”

Mikala went to open the door, but Randince grabbed her arm.

“Don’t make me count to three.” Gramps growled.

“You better go.” Mikala whispered.

“One.” Gramps called out.

“Are you crazy? He’ll go away eventually.”

“Two.” Gramps voice got louder.

“You’re only going to make things worse.” Mikala persisted.

“God help me if I get to three.” Gramps spoke through gritted teeth.

“Randince,” Mikala growled.

“Fine!” Randince opened the closet door. “What are you going to do this time?” Randince crossed his arms and stared at his grandfather. “You’ve already grounded from riding the horses. You want to give me extra chores too? I’m stuck with the worst jobs already. Milking the cows for Landon is a breeze compared to manure duty.”

Gramps’ brows furrowed. “Landon gets to milk the cows because he knows how to follow simple instructions. If you were more like your brother-”

“What?” Randince cut Gramps off. “If I were more like Landon, what? You’d actually start treating me like your grandson? You’d let me have a life outside this farm? Maybe if you stop trying to be my father-”

“Two weeks,” This time Gramps interrupted Randince. “You will not step foot out of that house for two weeks.”

“Awesome, that means I can’t come outside to do any chores.” Randince kicked open the barn door. “Good luck getting one of your precious little angels to get their hands dirty.”

Randince stormed out, knocking into Landon who’d run to the barn to investigate. “Get out of the way trophy boy,” Randince spat.

Mikala screamed after Randince, “What about hide and seek?”

“The game’s over Mikki,” Landon said as he put an arm around Gramps who seemed a bit fatigued from the confrontation.

“Come on, Mikala,” Gramps said in short breaths, “Your cake’s ready.”

***

Dinner was uncomfortable without Randince at the table. He refused supper, forcing everyone else to stare at his empty seat while they ate. Every time Mikala heard a creak in the house she’d look up hoping Randince had come down to celebrate. Even when they finally cut the cake Randince was nowhere to be seen. Landon watched as both Gramps and Mikala stared down at their plates.

“Hey Mikki, I got you a present,” said Landon, trying to lighten the mood. Landon made his way over to the living room and grabbed a bag from under the couch.

Mikala broke a smile when she saw the bag. “How long has that been hiding there?”

“A little over a month now. Based on your ‘seeking’ skills I didn’t think I’d have to try hard to hide it,” Landon ruffled his sister’s hair as he gave her the present. Mikala opened the bag and poured its contents on the table; a metal circle about an inch wide and several small shards of glass fell out.

“What the hell happened?” Blood raced to Landon’s face. He slammed his fist down on the table causing the broken pieces to bounce. “I swear if this was, if this was because-”

Gramps muttered something that sounded suspiciously like ‘Randince’. “I thought I heard something crash when I was trying to catch that chicken. That bird knocked over so much stuff I hadn’t noticed the gift.”

Landon pushed his chair out from under him. He yelled out, “Do you know how hard it was to find that gift? Every time we went into town I spent half my time looking for something perfect.”

“Landon,” Gramps said sternly. “Deep breaths.”

“He just makes me so mad.” Landon continued. “Do you know that he took his slingshot back. He’s been playing with it in secret this whole time. He doesn’t care about anyone, but himself.

Gramps spoke calmly, “Deep.” He inhaled, opening his mouth wide. “Breaths.” He exhaled slowly.

Landon closed his eyes and followed his grandfather’s instructions. He took a deep breath in causing his chest to puff out. He then quickly pushed the air out through his mouth. “It was supposed to be a fairy-finder.” Landon finally said calmly.

“Landon, you know the rules,” Gramps shook his head.

“Fairytales are for fools and beggars,” Mikala, Landon and Gramps all said at once.

“It’s just a toy.” Landon sighed. “I guess it doesn’t matter now, seeing that it’s in pieces.” Landon picked up a shard of glass and said to Mikala, “When you look through it, you’re supposed to see fairies.”

He tossed the glass back onto the table irritably, “You let him get away with far too much.”

“I’m trying my best, Landon. I’ve already grounded Randince from most every activity. Do you want me to chain him to a tree?”

Landon clenched his fist, as his face grew hot once again. “I can knock some respect into him.” Landon fumed, “He won’t miss a chore once I’m through with him.”

“Landon.” Gramps needed only say his name for Landon to understand.

“I would never actually hit him, but you should have left him out there with the pigs!” Landon yelled the last part loudly, making sure Randince could hear.

Mikala began to whimper, “Stop it. It’s my birthday and we are supposed to celebrate as a family! Why is everyone trying to mess that up?” Mikala got up from the table and ran upstairs.

She dashed straight to her bed and flopped down, ignoring Randince who was lying on his bed on the opposite end of the room. Randince didn’t look up to acknowledge his sister but instead played with his slingshot.

He only broke his focus when Mikala began to cry. “What’s wrong with you? Was your cake too delicious?” This only made Mikala sob harder.

“That’s not going to work on me,” Randince turned his back to his sister and pulled the rubber of the slingshot causing a loud twang to sound throughout the room. There was a pause in Mikala’s wailing as she looked to see what caused the noise, uninterested in Randince’s toy, she quickly went back to crying.

Randince groaned, “My god. If you stop crying I’ll take you to the river tomorrow to skip rocks.”

Mikala’s head popped up from under the sheets.

“You’re grounded, remember?”

“When has that stopped me before?”

Mikala weighed the thought in her mind for a second. “I want to use the slingshot,” she blurted out.

“Huh?” Randince asked, half listening.

“I want to shoot the slingshot like Gramps said he used to do with Mama.”

“I don’t think you’re ready-”

Mikala started to whine again.

“Fine! Fine, you can use it. Just shut up already.”

Mikala quickly wiped her face and smiled. Just then Gramps walked into the room. At the sight of his grandfather Randince threw his blanket over his head. Gramps pretended he hadn’t noticed and walked over to Mikala. As he sat on Mikala’s bedside, he placed a slice of cake on the dresser between Mikala and Randince’s bed.

“Hey sweetie, I think I can fix your,” Gramps struggled to say the words, “Fairy finder. Why don’t you come back down stairs and help me.”

“No it’s okay. I’m getting tired anyway.” Mikala said softly, averting his eyes.

“How ’bout a bedtime story then?”

“Gramps, I am officially a woman now.” Mikala said, pulling her shoulders back. “Don’t you think I’m too old for bedtime stories?”

“You’re ten.” Randince mumbled from under his blanket.

“Alright,” Gramps, slightly disappointed, smiled and started to get up, but Mikala grabbed his arm. “Ok, one last story, but I get to pick.”

“It’s your birthday, you’re the boss.” Gramps sat back down. “But I do know a nice tale about a woman who grew too big to fit in her own house.”

“I want to hear about Mama and Papa.”

“Who?” Gramps was taken aback by the request.

“Mama and Papa. I want to know, why they left.”

“How about a fairytale.” Gramps backtracked. “Just for tonight I’ll allow it. Gnomes, fairies, Trolls, you name it.”

“Mama and Papa. And don’t just tell me they went off to find us a castle in the stars. I know better now.” Mikala fluffed her pillow and got comfortable as if she had already won.

Gramps sighed, “Alright, Alright. My memory is not what it used to be, so forgive me if I forget a few details.”

As Gramps began, he thought he saw Randince peek out from under his sheets. “As you know, your father’s not from around here. He traveled here from one of the cities on the coast. People like him never come this deep into Epland. There’s not much here of interest for those kind of folks, but your mom caught his eye. And him being all exotic like, your mother was swooned at first sight.

It wasn’t long after that that she had three beautiful children, Landon, Randince, and you,” He poked Mikala on the nose when he said ‘you’.

“I know that part,” Mikala groaned, “You always tell us that.”

Gramps glared at Mikala for interrupting, which caused Mikala to bite her lip to keep quiet. The old man continued, “Just before you were born your father’s village was under attack and had to recruit all its civilians to fight. Your father wanted to stay here with you guys and your mother, but he was essential to win the war. He was a great soldier, you know?”

“The best of the best, right?” Mikala’s eyes grew big.

“Even better.” Gramps smiled wide, before continuing, “Your mother pleaded for your father to stay, but he made an oath and could not leave his people defenseless. He confidently left you all under my care. Which I would say was a very smart decision.” Gramps beamed.

“Your mother, however, was stubborn and wouldn’t stay here while your father put himself in danger. She was a rule breaker, that one,” Gramps looked over at the mound on Randince’s bed before turning back to Mikala.

“Once she gave birth to you, your mother was out that door. I’ll never forget what she said, she said, ’Destiny brought this family together and I plan to keep it together if it’s the last thing I do,”

“And that was it. She disappeared into the woods, chasing after your father. She didn’t think twice about what would happen to her. None of us did; how could we have known that that’d be the last time we’d see her?”

Gramps paused and stared at the candle flickering on the windowsill. The old man’s bottom lip trembled softly.

“Well, that’s it for tonight,” Gramps tried to get up from the bed, but Mikala grabbed his arm.

“That can’t be the end.” Mikala said through puffy eyes. “Why didn’t they come back?”

“Mikala, my love, it’s not a happy ending.”

“I know, but it’s our beginning, right? And that’s happy,” Mikala said through a yawn.

“That’s very true.” The old man smiled at his granddaughter, thinking how fast the girl was maturing.

“Where was I? Oh yes. Your mother was clever. She snuck into the army by impersonating a soldier. Your father didn’t find out until your mother was deep into battle. They fought side by side, conquering all types of evil. But,”

Gramps swallowed loudly, causing his adam’s apple to bob in his throat. Mikala sat silently waiting for her grandfather to continue. Randince seemed to stop breathing. Gramps spoke in a whisper as if he were thinking aloud, “She shouldn’t have been there. She wasn’t a soldier. She couldn’t do what your father could do.”

“And your father, he couldn’t save both her and his people. No one should have to make that choice.”

Gramps paused and quickly changed his tone when he remembered he had a captive audience, “Both your mother and father fought hard to end the war. They sacrificed their lives doing so. Because of their bravery and selflessness, they earned their place in the stars and now they watch over you from the skies.”

There was a long beat of silence, before Gramps rose from the bed causing it to squeak loudly. The old man crept over to the candle and with one soft blow put out the light. He then exited the room, his footsteps growing quieter as he receded across the hall.

***

As soon as Mikala’s short breaths turned into snores, Randince ripped away his covers. He was still dressed head to toe. He wore his brown riding jacket and held his high top boots in his hand.

Placing each foot on the floor softly, Randince glanced over at the small mound of sheets on Mikala’s bed. His younger sister’s rhythmic breathing persisted, allowing Randince to rise from the bed without fear. Before he made his escape, Randince pulled a trinket from his pocket. It was a hairclip he had made out of chicken feathers. He managed to color the feathers orange and green, Mikala’s favorite colors. He kissed the hairclip and placed it next to the slice of cake on the dresser.

Randince took a few steps towards the door before halting. He sighed heavily then turned around and headed back to the dresser. Reaching out, he grabbed a chuck of the cake and shoved it into his mouth.

“See ya, Mikki,” he whispered with a mouth full of cake and then finally exited the room.

Randince stepped cautiously into the small upstairs hallway. He had to be especially stealthy because the corridor consisted of three doors leading to each room and Gramps had a habit of leaving his door wide open during the night.

Randince paused in front of Gramp’s door and peeked in. Gramps was propped up by pillows; his glasses lay loosely on his face. It looked as if he may have fallen asleep while reading, but the only object that occupied his nightstand was a soup bowl.

“Loon,” Randince muttered.

Finally feeling safe to make his escape, Randince headed toward the stairs. His foot barely touched the top step when he heard a creak sound from behind him. Randince turned slowly, readying an excuse on the spot, but no one else was in the hall.

He heard the noise again; this time the creak was followed by a moan. Randince retreated from his descent and turned back toward the three doors. He followed the noise to his brother Landon’s room. Randince placed his ear against the door. He could hear Landon’s bed groan in protest as Landon rolled over.

“Papa, no,” he whimpered.

Randince resisted the urge to open the door and walk in; this wasn’t the first time Landon had had night terrors. Gramps said it happens when Landon over exerts himself, but Randince knew it started after their parents disappeared and occurred whenever they were mentioned. He wondered if Landon had been listening to Gramps bedtime story as well. Hearing about their parent’s death was sure to bring about the worst of nightmares.

Each night terror was the same: Landon tossed and turned, the whole while calling out ‘papa’ to his empty room. It wouldn’t be long until Landon’s groans turned into full-fledged screams. Randince had to make sure he was long gone before that ruckus began.

“Serves you right, trophy boy,” Randince’s heart started to race as all the feelings of the day rushed back to him. He took the stairs by two; confident the wind that beat against the house covered the sound of his steps. As he got to the first floor Randince saw that Gramps - or Landon, if he was sucking up once again - had cleaned up the mess that the chicken had caused. Other than a few feathers on the sofa, the place looked untouched.

The desk was organized neatly with a parchment laid flat on top. The bearskin rug looked as if it could rise from the floor at any moment and hunt after a long hibernation. Even the wood in the fireplace appeared to be free of any ash. Randince hated how clean it was. It reminded him of how neat Gramps needed everything; how perfect Landon was and how Mikala could do no wrong. He ripped the parchment on the desk, kicked the rug over and tossed a log on to the floor. Proud of the disorder, Randince made his escape.

As he made it to the kitchen and unlocked the backdoor something caught his eye. Pinned on the wall next to the door there was an assortment of Mikala’s drawings. There was one that looked more recent than the rest. Drawn on the paper wasa a man that looked a lot like Gramps. He was holding hands with another drawing, Randince assumed was Mikala. Landon stood off to the side feeding a sugar cube to BoBo, hearts floated in the air above them. But there was no sign of Randince. The only other thing in the picture was the giant tree that held the rope swing. This was the final straw.

The horse? Randince thought. She drew the horse before she drew me?

Randince ripped the picture from the wall and balled it up. He then tossed it out the door and watched it get swept away by the wind.

“Good riddance,” he growled. Randince then took his first step to freedom, entering the woods that lay just beyond the farm.