Discarded Gems Chapter 3

Discarded Gems


A Fable Fic


Chapter 3



Lucas awoke to his sister gently shaking him on his shoulder, and his eyes quickly adjusted to the afternoon sun peeking through the window. He yawned and looked over at Anneleise, who was staring at him intently. He stared back for a moment in silence, wondering if all he had heard was only a silly dream, but from the look on the girl's face, it was no fantasy.

"Yes?" he asked with a bit of irritation, "I was enjoying my sleep, you know."

"Let's go and find them." She answered seriously.

He let out another yawn again. "Who?"

"What do you mean 'who'? Our fathers, you nutter." She said sarcastically. "Why shouldn't we go and look for them? We know my father's name and what he looks like. And I can help you look for your parents, if you choose to seek them out..." She looked away, slightly ashamed to learn that Lucas was not her true brother, but she still felt strongly about him.

"How do you suppose we travel, and with what money? There's also the thought of where to even start looking. It's not like we can go door to door, 'Oh hello, have you seen this man?'. By the Light, Anne." He threw his blanket up and stood up from the bed, stretching his arms high above his head.

Anneleise clicked her tongue and sighed. "There's always Boswerstone. We could travel to Westcliff, and take the ship to Bloodstone and-"

"Travel like that costs money, and I'm lacking in that area." Lucas argued as he peered out the window.

"I have gold. Benn saving it since I was five." She grinned.

"And you never told me?"

"You would have taken it."

"Glad to know you trust me." Lucas pouted. He let out a long sigh and continued to stare out the window, watching the birds fly by, and he looked up at the castle that sat miles away. "I wish I were to live in the castle..."

"What if our fathers did? They could be royalty for all we know." Anneleise imagined a grand castle with her father sitting on the throne. "We could be a prince and a princess." She squeaked in excitement. "Come on Lucas, let's go and look for them. Please...?" She begged, grabbing onto his arm.

He sighed and continued to stare out of the window, unsure of what to tell her, because he wasn't even positive that he wanted to seek them out. They were gone, they abandoned them and discarded them like garbage, why would he want to face those who could care less of his existence? Deep inside of him though, he had to find out why his biological parents abandoned him, and it began to eat away at him. He turned to his sister and smiled. "Alright, let's start packing..."

Anneleise lit up and quickly stood from the bed. "Oh thank you Lucas!" she exclaimed, then took off to her room.

Lucas turned and began to search for anything he would need, stuffing it all into a leather bag he had gotten from his father, Colin as a past birthday gift. He lifted the bag up into the light and really took the time to notice just how nice it really was. Then he found what little savings he had stored away and secured it safely in his coin purse at his side, hoping that he would be able to successfully find their fathers before running out of money. "Dammit..." he muttered to himself.


X X X X


Anneleise had written a note to her parents, explaining that her and Lucas had set out into the world in order to earn money and become respectful and learn discipline. Lucas laughed at how pathetic it truly sounded, but it was better than shoving the fact into their faces that the kids felt abandoned by their folks. Anneleise hoped that they would believe it and not attempt to follow them, but they would be long gone before they read the letter. Lucas fixated the paper to his bedroom door and they crept quietly down the stairs. Anneleise couldn't help but look back at the house once they had walked several paces down the front steps.

"I'm going to miss them." She sighed.

"This was our idea you know." Lucas mumbled. "And I'm starving."

"Good thing I brought some food with us from the kitchen." She smiled, then she reached into her bag and pulled out a few slices of bread with some berries. Lucas took it and chewed at it greedily.

Their journey had been silent between the two, until they came upon a horse drawn carriage decorated in white and gold. The horse was a large brown stallion with a flowing black mane, and he trotted calmly past the siblings. Lucas quickly waved his hands at the coachman, who was a small elder man with white hair pulled back into a small ponytail. He yanked at the reins of the horse as soon as he took notice of the figures, and he looked down at them with a small grin.

"Can I help you good sir and madam?" he asked.

"Uh, yes. We're from Southcliff, and we're trying to get to Westcliff. Could you point us in the right direction?" Lucas smiled and scratched his head nervously.

"Oh yes, you will have to travel that way," he pointed a thin finger ahead of the carriage, "and it will be a very long walk."

The back of the wagon began to move, and a head peeked out from behind the silk drapery. A man with golden hair and bright blue eyes looked over and smiled at the twins, then looked up at the coachman. "Is something wrong, sir?" The man called up to him.

"Not at all, sir. These two just needed directions to Westcliff." The elder man answered.

"Westcliff, eh? I hope you're well armed my friends, or lastin' in a place such as Westcliff will be short lived." He said with concern.

"We don't have any weapons..." Anneleise said nervously as she bit her lip.

The man smiled and popped his head back inside, then they saw two pairs of feet step out, and the golden haired man was taller than they had expected. There was a shorter man with him with a very large mustache and a pipe hanging from his mouth. His golden hair bounced as strode up to them, and he bowed. "Captain Benjamin Finn of the Swift Brigade. That over there is Major Swift himself."

"Pleased to meet you both." Swift grinned. "So what can we do about these young ones Ben?"

"Well since they're walkin' off to Westcliff with their impending doom upon ytheir heads, I'd say we could give them a lift to the camp." He looked back over at the Major with the charming smile he usually wore. "I could get them a great deal on weapons too."

"Thank you, Captain Finn." The girl blushed in embarrassment.

"The pleasure is all mine love, but it's Major Swift's call."

Both the siblings looked back at the man, and he puffed at his pipe quietly. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt. They're young, and they don't deserve to perish on their way."

"Thank you so much, both of you." Lucas sighed with relief.

"Come on in children, Westcliff awaits us." Swift gestured them over, and they quickly climbed into the coach as Finn followed right behind them. "Bailey, please take us to Westcliff camp!" Swift called out to the coachman.

"Of course." The man smiled and snapped the reins, causing the horse to jolt forward and pull the carriage along.

So many questions had run through Lucas's mind as he sat across from Major Swift, whom he heard so much about from his father back home when he trained under him as a young soldier, and Lucas felt almost starstruck. Anneleise had asked all sorts of questions pertaining to her father, but even Swift nor Ben Finn hadn't heard the name before. The group of four rather enjoyed their bumpy trip to the camp, laughing and sharing stories about anything and everything.

What no one seemed to notice was the dozen of eyes watching them carefully throughout the trees and high grass, their hungry gaze following right behind.