A Light In The Forest: Chapter 2

Read Chapter 1 Here
Chapter 2 is written by Bob Leger

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"Whatcha doing, hon?" his wife called out to him from the other room.

"Writing a story, about knights and stuff."

"Ooh, let me see." She came in, wiping her hands with a dish towel, her red hair tousled unintentionally, but still, it was the way he liked it. She sat on the bed next to his desk and read over his shoulder, slowly scrolling through.

He watched her face carefully, but even after all these years, he knew he couldn't figure out what she was thinking. She frowned slightly, then smiled.

"Good start. Is it going to be about Déorah or Jthan?" she asked, pronouncing his name as Jithan.

"Not sure yet"

“Going to be tough to get them romantically involved, since she's already married, with a baby.”

"Yeah, I know. I'm thinking it's really about the boy, KBehrszhen, but he's still an infant. Gotta lot of time to cover."

“I think you're going to have to introduce a love interest for Jthan, something to confuse him a little, help to get over Déorah.”

Her eyes laughed as she talked, as they always did. He tried to think about what she said, but in truth he was thinking more about her. Married fifteen years and he still thought of her as his new bride, wondered why in the world she'd ever said yes.

"Oh, and don't forget we need some dog food," she added, as though that was part of the same subject.

He was used to the whiplash change of subjects, and he just smiled. "Okay, now get outa here and let me work."

She grinned at him and kissed him on the neck, tickling and confusing him, as it always did.

He looked over at Coffee lying on the floor next to him. She was mostly a boxer, but had a few other breeds in there too. Named after her color when she was newborn – coffee with cream that is – though now she was more fawn colored, with white socks and a white stripe on her face—good, faithful dog, great with kids. Maybe he could work a dog into the story, some kind of protector for the child.

He turned to the computer, brushing back his short gray-blond hair.

Knights and queens, desperate situations, a baby in peril, he thought . . . and that light. Where was he going with that light? “A source of some kind of power? A representation of God? A symbol for courage, or something like that.”

He left the thought unanswered for the moment, at least to his conscious mind. He knew that sometimes these stories grew from something inside him, some fear, some hope, some desire to make the world better. Some fire burning inside him, lit there by God Himself, he had no doubt.

Hey that was it! Let it grow; become more important, more involved as the story continued. Even beyond what the characters ever suspected.

He poised his fingers over the keyboard—time to get back to Jthan and Déorah. Better get them and the baby to Berothai fast, before the boy gets a chill.

A Light In The Forest

Music: Kevin MacLeod
Sound Track: Arcadia

Chapter 1

Déorah clutched her child close to her bosom as she ran into the blackness of the old forest. The rain broke effortlessly through its thick, leafy canopy. She was frightened, but brave, as the darkness seemed to steal her very breath. Nonetheless, she hurried her journey upon the narrow path to the fortress of Berothai. She tried to comfort her son, to no avail, as the rain fell heavily upon them. For now, her cloak sheltered both.

Her protector, Jthan, a knight from the king’s inner circle, followed close behind—his sword unsheathed. “The sun has its troubles shining through the forest, but the rain does not seem to have such a problem. I will find a place for us to rest.”

She shook her head in gentle protest. “They will find us. I must bring my child to Berothai. Only there, will he be safe.”

The king’s most trusted knight wrapped his arm around her waist and pushed onward through the storm. How many times, throughout the years, had he asked for her forgiveness? Truly, he regretted the hour when he and his men put the torch to each home in her village. She had captured his heart that day as she ran from cottage to cottage trying to save the children from the fire. Nevertheless, Jthan was obligated to present to his king all the plunder of war and Déorah was a part of it. At least, he had rescued her from a lifetime of slavery when he convinced the king she was beautiful enough to be his queen.

“It is life for you,” he told her. “Do not refuse him.”

In time, her hatred for them both turned into genuine love—for one as husband, the other as friend. Though, Jthan’s heart longed for more he knew she would always be faithful to her king.

But now their kingdom lay in siege. The fall of their empire was imminent. Jthan’s orders were to take Queen Déorah, and her child, KBěhrszhen, to safety. Berothai was their only hope. Nevertheless, if the light in the forest could not be found, the path to the Fortress of Berothai would remain hidden.

Their journey to Berothai met with much resistance. Food was scarce, bar the few black bilberries and an occasional treasure of hazel nuts Jthan gathered in haste. Their enemies were many, both human and beast. The knight’s sword was stained with the blood of these foes. Even a Griffin, sent by the Witch of Endor, could not escape Jthan’s sword. The scars of that battle were still visible on his face, yet he revealed no pain.

As time in the forest passed, Déorah’s exhaustion overwhelmed her and she finally collapsed into Jthan’s arms. She closed her eyes and rested against his chest until the urgency of their matter forced him to put away his sword and carry mother and child to Berothai.

When at last a light was seen in the forest he gently placed his queen under the giant buttress roots of an ancient tree. She watched as he approached the flame in the rock.

“Even the rain cannot squelch the fire,” she whispered to KBěhrszhen.

Jthan hesitated slightly before he reached for the torch that lay beside the rock. If his heart was not pure the torch would not accept the light. He dipped carefully into the flame, and to his relief, the torch received the fire.

(copyright, Debby Alten, 2009)