RELM: Awakening The Golden Knight

Chapter 1: Birthday Grief

"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 gazed over the barn. The flimsy shed resembled something closer to a pile of wood than anything fit to hold a herd 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.