Luke was still hard on himself for losing the deer, but now was even more distracted by the more pressing fact at hand.
He was lost and had no idea how to get home.
Luke looked around, frightened, feeling like someone was watching him. The wind whistled through the trees, making Luke jump. Luke ran a hand through his hair, searching for the way he came from.
"Okay..." Luke said to himself, "When I walked out of the house this morning..." Luke tried to remember where the sun was at when he exited the house, "I went past Karl's stand...and the sun was just starting to rise above the horizon to my right...which means that I was headed North."
Luke scratched at the back of his neck, trying to figure out the situation. "So...all I have to do is figure out how to head back down South. Which means...I need to put the sun to my left."
Luke looked up at the sky, trying to find the sun. As he peeked through the leaves, he saw that the sun was now in the middle of the sky, rather than rising like it had been before.
"That's just...great." Luke face palmed his forehead, frustrated that it now was afternoon. "Oh...this is just great. The universe must really hate me to do this to me, right? What did I do wrong to deserve this?" Luke muttered.
"Or does this mysterious voice that keeps telling me what to do hate me?" Luke put his arms up in frustration, "Because I have no idea where to go."
"Go to that clearing in front of you," came the mysterious voice that had told him to follow the deer.
"Well, isn't that convenient?" Luke asked sarcastically, "Or I'm just going crazy."
The wind rushed past Luke and began to urgently push him towards the clearing. Luke began to stumble forward, saying, "Alright, alright, I'm going. I'm going!"
Luke slowly walked towards it once the wind stopped pushing him, unsure of what to expect. Luke even half expected for some beast to jump out and maul him.
He finally arrived in the center of it, looking up at the clear sky the lack of trees allowed to shine on the clearing. It was a beautiful place, really, but Luke still was paranoid that something was going to happen.
Unsure, Luke felt his hand rest on the hilt of his sword on his right side. Luke looked down at the simple leather handle, and the steel pummel. Hunting with a sword wasn't ideal, but Luke always kept it with him because it helped him feel safe.
It was a final gift from his father.
...
Luke remembered the day so vividly it felt like it was yesterday.
Four years ago, Bellona had been at war with Dueglestein, a country that was to the west, divided by them only by the Waters of Abdomes.
Wars or small quarrels like this usually happened every generation, in which Dueglestein wanted Bellona's precious resources and didn't have anything to trade with in return. So, just like the many wars before it, Bellona was in desperate need of fighters.
Unfortunately, that meant Luke's father, Nathaniel Doogan, who was a newly retired general in their army. He had decided that after years of battles, he wanted to finally settle down for good, opting for the silent and peaceful life.
The men knocked on their door at noon.
They were dressed in Bellona's formal guard colors, red and blue and looked like they weren't even capable of smiling. And they were asking for his father.
Luke had been playing in his room when he heard his mother answer the door. Curious, Luke peeked through the keyhole and watched.
Luke heard them talking in hushed voices, and finally his father walked up to the door, a sad look on his face as he put a hand on Sarah Doogan's shoulder.
When the men left, Nathaniel Doogan began to gather his things while his wife continued to say that he shouldn't have to do this. That he was retired. But he simply answered by saying it was his duty to serve his country.
Confused, Luke finally opened his door and asked, "Are you going somewhere?"
Luke's father sighed, his shoulders slumping as he momentarily looked at his wife. Then he crossed the room to Luke, and crouched down to his level, looking him in the eye.
Even though he was 8, Luke knew something wasn't right.
"I have to go to the warfront to be a general," Nathaniel said at last, "And I'll be gone for a while."
Horrified by the thought of his father leaving him, like he had years ago to be in a quarrel in the capital, Luke suggested, "Can't I go with you? I can fight the bad guys too!" Luke pretended to swish at imaginary bad guys with an imaginary sword.
His father laughed. "I'm sure you would. But unfortunately, the military won't take boys as young as you."
"But you don't have to tell them I'm 8! You can say I'm 12! I'm pretty tall for a boy my age, after all." In reality, Luke was actually the average height of an 8-year-old.
"Not going to happen," Sarah crossed her arms, an eyebrow raised, "I don't want my son to be in the dangers of battle."
"And he won't," Nathaniel reassured, "I'm obviously not going to send a boy to war."
"I know that," Sarah turned her head away, and Luke could see the tears brimming in her eyes, "But-but you get these crazy ideas sometimes-" Luke's mother's voice began to break, and she covered her face in her hands, silent sobs shaking her body.
"Hey," Nathaniel stood and walked over to his wife, taking her in his arms. "It'll be alright. I will be alright. There's no need for you to worry."
"But I am worried!" Sarah sobbed into his chest, "I'm worried that you'll leave me once again, and then I'll be all alone!" Luke's mother's sobs scared him, and he walked over and hugged his mother's legs as well. "I don't want to be alone..." she said quieter this time.
His mother eventually calmed down, and then Luke asked, "But what about me? What should I do when you're over in Dueglestein?"
Nathaniel smiled once again, and crouched down to look at Luke. "You need to be the man of the house. I need you to protect this family, and make sure they're safe. Can you do that?"
Luke didn't look at his father, sad once again that he couldn't help him.
"Can you do that?" his father asked once again, tilting his head as he tried to look Luke in the eye.
"Okay..." Luke finally relented.
"You'll do a great job protecting this family, Lukee," his father ruffled his hair, "But for you to protect this family, a warrior needs his weapon."
Luke's face lit up as he saw his father disappear into his room, then come out with a shortsword.
"It's too short for me now, but you can use it to protect this family." Nathaniel said as he handed the sword to Luke. Luke stumbled under the weight of the weapon, then weakly lifted it and tried to swing it around. His father backed away, dodging the boy's attacks, even though the sword was sheathed.
"Nathaniel Joseph Doogan," His mother put her hands on her hips, a stern expression on her face once again, "We are not giving our son a sword! He's 8 years old!"
"Relax, Sarah," his father put up his hands in defense, "He won't actually use it until he's...12! Yeah...12. That sounds like a good age for a young man to use a sword, wouldn't you say, Lukee?"
"Uh huh..." Luke answered, although he wasn't really paying attention. He was trying to swing the sword around at the invisible bad guys.
When it was time for his father to leave, his mother began to silently cry, covering her mouth to muffle the sobs. Nathaniel went around the house, kissing his sons goodbye and eventually his wife.
Just as he was opening the front door, Luke's mother said worriedly, "Be careful."
His father gave Sarah a crooked smile, and reassured her. "I always am."
374Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvI0qUepBTt
That was the last time they ever saw him.
...
"Oh, father," Luke said to himself quietly as he began to sink to his knees, tears coming to his eyes. "I'm so sorry. I'm so, so, sorry. I've tried my best, but I'm afraid I won't make it back home again."
It had been 4 years, but the grief still stung. He'd oftentimes tried to cover it up, instead cheering up his brothers and taking over the jobs of the house. He would hunt for food and money, cook the meals, and even tuck the triplets in at night.
Meanwhile, his mother would sit in her room most of the day, either silent or sobbing. The only times they'd interact with their mother would be at mealtimes, and even then she hardly spoke.
At night, though, when the boys were asleep, Luke would silently cry himself to sleep, haunted by the past. And every morning he'd wake up and remind himself it was a new day, so he'd have to move on.
But he hadn't.
A rustling in the trees brought him back to the present.
Luke looked around, panicked, trying to see who'd made the sound. "Who's there?" Luke asked, scared.
"Show yourself!" Luke shouted, telling himself it was just an animal.
A tree branch popped or snapped from a tree in front of him. Luke squinted as he thought he saw a figure sitting on one of the branches.
"Is someone there?" Luke asked, shaking.
Then the figure jumped down from the branch and landed in front of Luke...
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