In the Heart of Pernelle

Episode 1 (1)

(Note, before I continue, this is going to be more like a TV-show setup, where the chapters have little to do with one another as we follow these characters on their journey. Although the over-arcing journey will be prevalent, the chapters themselves will mostly be unrelated. 

Also, since I have not planned this whatsoever, I don't know if I'll need trigger warnings or not, but if I do they will appear at the beginning of the affected chapters. Thanks for considering this dumpster fire of a story. 

PS: Pernelle is the continent this takes place on, not to be confused with Lyria, an enemy kingdom, or Zorymph, our main character's home kingdom. Yes I am too lazy to naturally describe it.

PPS: I wrote this a year ago and I have no clue if it is good. this is solely to quench me and my best friend's thirst for merlin fanfics and I just didn't want to write a full on fanfic okay thank you have good day)

The sky grew dark as Inuro knelt by the fire for warmth. No one had told him of the cold the lands of Lyria possessed in the winter time, and it was so unfamiliar to him that he hadn't brought a single warm piece of clothing besides the tunic sticking to his sweat-ridden back. He placed his hands closer to the fire to stop them from shivering as he looked around into the blackness of the night. Everything seemed alive around him, but that was nothing new. The forests of Pernelle were always livelier when their dance was hidden in shadows. 

Inuro breathed a heavy sigh, exhausted from the previous day on his feet wandering the enemy kingdom. His back ached from the constant strain of his backpack he would lug around with him, though there was nothing to be done about that. Instead, he rested his weary head on a nearby log and closed his eyes, basking in the rest he was gifted. His cheeks and nose were bright pink from the frost around him and his breath steamed from his nostrils. Still, he couldn't be happier. At the very least he wasn't rotting in a cell waiting to be executed for something he had no control over. Instead, he simply lived in secret in the enemy territory, slowly outrunning Lyria's men in search of refuge. 

It wasn't a fruitful life, but for a twelve year old boy on his own, there wasn't much more he could ask for or obtain. 

Still tired from the long day, Inuro slowly drifted off to sleep, aided by the warmth of the fire. 

--

The boy woke up to a sword at his throat. Before he could even open his eyes the sharp blade poked at the center of his neck, causing him to tense, startled. Before him was a knight bearing Lyria's kingdom colors under his chainmail, a gloved hand wielding a brown-handled sword tightly. 

"You thought you could run from us yesterday, huh, boy?" The knight said in a ferocious tone. "Gave us a good chase, to be fair." 

The knight kept his sword stiff and still pointed at the boy's neck as the child slowly sat up from his state of slumber. His brown eyes fixed with satisfaction as he stared down at him, his prize, and a sneer was painted messily along his lips. 

"But you just had to stop and rest, didn't you? Shame, too, but I guess you'll never get the chance to make that mistake again." 

The knight knelt down and picked Inuro up by the shirt and began dragging him back to a musty horse a few yards away. Inuro let out little more than a whimper as he followed along, large, elongated ears cowering back in fright. "Please, sir, I've done nothing to you."

"You don't get to speak, boy, your kind hasn't earned the privilege." The knight spoke harshly, pulling the boy along with a yank. Inuro could now see the dingy rope tied along the saddle that would surely hold his wrists, or possibly his neck. Inuro had seen it all, but that didn't make it less terrifying. He knew the capabilities of the knights, and he knew he couldn't easily get away. 

The air felt colder than it had last night, and though he wasn't concentrated on his steamy breath, it blew heavier than before. Inuro sighed a few times, not taking his eyes off the knight as he found the rope and began tying it around the boy's wrists. The knight's hands shook under his gloves.

"Damn." He'd cursed when his fiddling only loosened the knot. "It's too damn cold out here." 

Somehow it seemed like it was getting colder around the two of them, and Inuro looked around for the source. The trees whistled with high winds as the sky grew grey and cloudy, introducing the risk of a storm. So sudden and fast-changing, Inuro had little time to process the weather before thunder scared the knight so that he let go of the rope, already half fastened on the boy, and jumped a few feet in the air. The horse grew spooked as well, shuffling slightly until the rope conveniently dropped from the saddle. 

Not taking this extra second for granted, Inuro bolted the opposite way from the knight, feet pounding against the forest ground, still tired from yesterday's hike. He ignored his protesting joints and dodged trees and wilting shrubbery, hoping to clear a slight hill so that he could out run the knight once more. 

He could hear the knight's shouts from behind him and more foot steps, only making the adrenaline kick in harder and his feet fly faster. Soon he was over the hill and racing along the way, hoping the thick debris would hide his silhouette with the cloudy shadows. 

"You can't outrun me, boy!" The knight shouted, running out of breath quickly. Inuro could hear the man's heart pounding and his lungs aching, and he knew he'd already won. He couldn't stop though, and he darted every which way trying to avoid the man's grasp. 

Soon the knight's voice was a mere echo in the distance, and though Inuro felt a grateful relaxing emotion about him, he didn't stop running until he could find a place to hide. 

That place came in the form of an overgrown path, perhaps once a road, and Inuro hopped onto the withered cobblestone with delight. Along the road it was clear there was a slight clearing ahead, to which the boy could see faint buildings and structures, though there were no people, no creatures for that matter, in sight. 

Inuro jogged into the seemingly abandoned town, stumbling into what used to be a main square, a circular brick path surrounded by sad looking decrepit houses of all shapes and sizes. Most appeared too dangerous to go in, having been beaten down by centuries of weather, but the new rain overhead made little excuses for the boy as it came pouring down in icy measures. 

Inuro's eyes rested on a large pointy building in the center of the small town, a structure made of stone and wood, divine after the timeless abandonment it had faced. With little care, Inuro hurried up to the large door and heaved it open, stepping inside. With a final glance outside and the faint scream of the knight from a long distance away, Inuro shut the door behind himself.