Rojuun

Chapter 2

“Tathan . . . Tathan . . .”  He heard the voice and wondered who was calling him.  “Tathan, wake up.  Breakfast is ready.”

He mumbled something before pulling the covers back up over his head.  The bed was too warm to leave.

“Tathan, please wake up.”  The covers were pulled down.  He sat up abruptly, wondering where he was.  A young woman stood beside the bed, watching him while caressing a violet flower in her hair.  Soft morning light shone through the open shutters.

In a panic, he realized that his sword wasn’t next to him.  He searched frantically for it in the sheets before seeing it against the nightstand.  Tathan grabbed it and held it in his lap, running his fingers along the hilt and crossbar.

“Are you alright, Cousin?”  There was worry in her eyes as she stared at him.

He remembered where he was.  The young woman was Liselle and he was home in the valley.  Tathan had slept on the road for so long that he had forgotten how marvelous a soft, warm bed could be.  “Yeah.  I’m alright.”  He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.  “Did you say breakfast?”

“Yes.  We tried to get you for dinner last night, but you wouldn’t wake up.  Aunt Ellin said to let you sleep.”  Liselle looked nervously at the sword.  “She said that if you didn’t wake up for breakfast, she was going to dump a bucket of water over your head.  She’ll do it too.”

“She will.  She did it more than once when I was growing up,” he admitted with a grin.

Liselle chuckled and relaxed a bit.  “Yeah.  She’s done that to me a couple of times too.  I make it a point to wake up before her now.”

“That’s probably a good idea.  I never succeeded.  I liked sleep too much when I was younger,” Tathan said.  He stood up and looked at his sword.  For a moment, he considered leaving it against the nightstand, but attached it to his belt instead.  He shouldn’t need it here, but it had become a part of him.

“Do you need to carry that?” Liselle asked, pointing at it with obvious distaste.  “You’re safe here.”

Tathan ran his fingers along the steel wrapped hilt once more.  The sword was black as night from tip to pommel.  The sheath was also made of the same dark metal.  What couldn’t be seen with a normal eye were the runes that traveled the length the blade.

“Yes.  I must carry it always,” Tathan replied cryptically.  His voice was deeper than normal as he spoke.  “I . . . found it . . . in a dark place.  It has magic and they want it . . .” he trailed off, still caressing the hilt.

There was something chilling about his voice, which caused Liselle to shiver and hug herself.  She took a few steps back toward the door.  Tathan saw the movement and looked up.  When he saw the look on his cousin’s face, he shook his head to clear the dark thoughts.  “I’m so sorry, Cousin.  Something’s been chasing me for this sword . . .”  He stopped.  That was a lot more information than he had intended to share.

Tathan took a deep breath and stepped toward Liselle, who took another step back, bumping into the door jamb behind her.  It was obvious that she was scared of him and he didn’t blame her.  “I’m sorry I scared you.”  That was all he could think to say.

Liselle took a deep breath of her own before moving forward.  She gave him a quick hug.  “Hurry before breakfast gets cold.”  With that, she was headed out of the room and down the stairs.

It must have taken a lot of courage for her to do that.  He didn’t follow her right away, instead going to the window.  The sun had risen above the eastern mountains and begun warming the cool air.  Birds sang their early morning songs.  That had always irritated him as a child.  What right did they have to be so happy in the morning while he wanted to sleep?  Now, however, the sound brought a half-smile to his face.  It didn’t last long, but it tried.