Unblinded Faithful

Chapter 3: Furtive Sheen

The misty streets of the city look gloomy as ever as Aide makes his way down to his and his father's house. The sun is just about to set as the sounds of the shopkeeps in the city square closing for the day echo throughout.
The faint smell of ash tingles Aide's nose as he reaches the doorstep. The smell of home.
He takes a deep breath, "Hopefully he's not here yet," he says, and puts his hand on the doorknob.
While finding the clearing was quite the adventure, if he told his father what had happened he would be very displeased. Wandering into the forest alone and getting hurt isn't exactly very commendable.
Whether it be a scolding or worse, the boy does not care to find out. He shakes his head at the thought and tries to turn the doorknob.
"Kiddo?"
"AH!" Aide jolts and lets go of the knob, and the door swings open on its own. "H-hi, Dad, how are you?" the boy says, trying very hard not to seem like he's hiding something.
"...You're hiding something, aren't you..."
*Gulp*
His father sighs and looks at Aide with a disgruntled look on his face. Sensing that he's in trouble, he fiddles with his hands in anxiousness for a moment before apologising.
"I'm sorry..."
His father glares at him for a few more moments, then sighs again as his expression breaks into a poker face. He walks up to the opened door and closes it.
"Aide, could you come with me?"
"Yes..." the boys says while drooping his head.
Walking in a semicircle around the house, the two make their way to the back, a place Aide rarely goes to.
Three scarecrows made of hay stand one after the other in a line, and bows, along with swords in sheaths and others made of wood are scattered about the place in racks.
"Dad... Why are we in the training yard?"
The father plucks a sword from the centre rack, then tosses it Aide's way.
Catching the sheathed sword in his arms, Aide stumbles back a few steps from the weight and then makes a bewildered expression.
"Check it out," his father says. The boy hesitantly unsheathes the sword in response. He pulls it about a quarter of the way before the glimmer of the blade points at his eye and makes him flinch.
It's a longsword made of very fine steel, no doubt about it, and it looks quite expensive to boot. Aide has never seen a sword like it, and lightly gasps in shock.
"What's this...?" the boy asks, tilting his head to the side.
"What you have in your arms there is Dorothy. She's been here with me ever since my old commander gifted it her back in my day."
"And why are you giving me this?" the boy questions as he straightens his posture.
His father takes a wooden sword from the rack and walks up to the boy. He pushes the sheath towards him and it closes shut with a click.
He takes a rope from around his belt and ties it to the sword to bind the sheath using his only hand, and rips the end with a sharp metal piece sticking out of his vest.
He says, "Today's the day Dorothy becomes all yours," before moving a few steps back and taking a fighting stance fit for a commanding knight. "And for the low, low price, of a gruelling daily training regime."
"Huh...?"
"You heard me. Now c'mere and hit me."
"Y-yes..." Aide, still bewildered, takes a meager stance, slightly shaking in his legs.
"...You still always answer with a yes, even when I ask the most absurd things of you, I swear... No matter. This is exactly why I want you to be independent as soon as possible. Now go!"
Aide plods over and strikes with the still sheathed Dorothy, "H-hya!" *clack*
"That was weak! Put your back into it!"
*Clack, clack!* The boy continues to attack with all he's got, and his muscles start to ache more and more with each impact.
"Listen here kid-" *clack* "-if you were going to get into trouble-" *clack, clack* "-behind my back..."
He moves his sword towards his son to attack, skillfully lowering his speed so that the boy could defend, but as soon as he does, *CLACK!*
Dorothy flies off Aide's hands and spins on the floor "...You're going to have to be able to take care of yourself," he says, exhaling and gesturing the boy to pick the sword back up.
The boy's hands are trembling and he's out of breath, and yet, after moving his body so much, "...Yes, father," a small fire of determination was set alight inside his heart, and he takes his stance once more to charge forward yet again...
Since then, time for Aide has been going by in a flash.
He would wake up in the early hours of the morning and his father would teach him how to wield a sword through either rigorous exercises or repeated swinging motions of Dorothy, and occasionally even mock duels, lasting until noon.
After that, the boy would be too exhausted to do anything, so he would simply eat and lay in bed until it's time to sleep.
His father kept mentioning something about knights usually starting their sword training when they turn five, and how he has to make up for six whole years if he wants to be anywhere near as good as he needs to be. As if the panting and shaking Aide needed to hear that.
Despite his desire to do so, Aide was completely unable to go anywhere near the clearing he had discovered before. His exhaustion was simply too great for him to be able to move such a long distance. That is until today.
He had been training for a few weeks now, and his body is finally getting just the slightest bit used to the draining routine. Feeling determined, he gets out of the house after his sword training and sets off towards the woods.
Reaching the mouth of the forest, Aide stops for a moment to take in the scenery once more. The familiar sounds, smells and sights of the forest feel so refreshing when compared to his training that he simply cannot wait any longer! Even though the forest looks just as unremarkable as it was the first time he visited...
This is also his first time going out to the forest alone. The pit a pats in his chest are driving him forward once more as he walks towards the trees.
The path forward is as easy as ever, though his morning exercises make moving quite painful. The fog around him grows heavier and dissipates yet again as he walks through, and the greenery of the clearing welcome him for the second time.
He is ready for the increased sensitivity of the clearing. He will slowly get closer and, taking his time, he will let his body get used to the change. He is not going to panic.
At least that's what he thought, as walking closer to the central tree of the clearing doesn't seem to have changed his perception at all.
He scratches his head as he very slowly and carefully walks over to the centre.
Nothing is happening. Aide starts to feel uneasy. His careful walking breaks into a sprint, and he frantically tries to examine everything in his surroundings.
After looking around he finally finds something... Lying in a bed made of flowers, the body of the woman he had found before lays there, completely motionless.
Aide makes his way over and, through a heavy sense of foreboding, he holds his hand against her wrist to check for a pulse.
Just then, Aide finally realises what this uneasy feeling was.
"She's... dead..."