It required a lot of responsibility to be him. But Marco didn't mind at all. He was born to be one the most respected and wealthiest men in kingdom. It was his fate, his duty to become the knight commander of the whole kings army. In his silver armor, shimmering as the rays of the sun landed on its solid surface, leading his fellow knights against their evil enemy, earning everlasting fame and glory in the process.
Yes.
This was his destiny.
Sadly, his life wasn't as dreamy as he had so flawlessly imagined.
No.
He soon realized there was much more to be done to earn even the slightest respect from not only his yet imaginary army, but more importantly from his own Father.
His Father was born soldier and he wanted his little son to be just like him. Powerful and fearless. Even though he really was literally dreaded, he got his position mostly because of birthrights. Marco was his only child and had this same burden hovering over his shoulders from the exact day his Mother gave birth to him.
Little did his Father know that his beloved son doesn't have to necessarily be his own son at all. His Mother was not one of the most faithful women. She was exotically beautiful. Her raven hair reaching somewhere under her shoulder blades, slightly wavy, soft and smooth as if it was asking to be touched. Tanned olive skin and piercing green eyes, which could captivate almost any man or woman within their reach. Her hips swinging ever so slightly from side to side as she was walking, proud and confident. Her pointy nose up in the air as her head was always a little bit tilted back. She was aware of her beauty and additionally she knew exactly how to use it to her advantage.
Marco was oblivious just as his Father to how crafty this woman they both absolutely adored actually is. And it was right this way. Marco was too kind-hearted, cheerful and sweet to others to accept his Mothers corruption. He wouldn't even believe if anybody told him, not even if he saw for himself, he wouldn't trust his own eyes. He would assume his mind is playing tricks on him and let it go.
This angel-like man could never take somebodys life. Or so many believed. But Marco proved them all wrong, he was strong, independent, learnt to wield his sword and shield with remarkable and deadly elegance. He protected the weak, fed the poor and punished the evil. He did steal life while in fight. He would never be able to stab an unarmed man, but he actually took pride in defeating an opponent in honest battle. No cheating, no sand in the eyes, just strength, flexibility and honor.
This was his way, much to his Fathers happiness. His little boy had grown into a wonderful man.
This was Marco Bodt. The next knight commander of his Majesty Himself.
He wanted nothing more than to serve his king, his kingdom, his Father. He trained, sparred with far more powerful opponents, he tasted the bitterness of defeat. But he got up, jumped on his feet once again, throwing his blade up into the sky, his shield, sometimes broken, still protecting his body, he never gave up.
Only once.
Death of his Father had crushed him beneath. He had no time to mourn, he had to become the knight commander now. His dreams were about to come true. But it was not right. His Father was gone. Poisoned, assassinated and Marco and his Mother were in great danger as well. He suddenly realized he never did want to gain so much responsibility. He now had to protect himself, his Mother, their fortune, but more importantly his king and this whole kingdom.
All this weighed shoulders of mere fifteen years old boy. And for all these days he spent on the training ground, for all those real fights he had been through, he could not bear this weight alone. His Mother was little to no help. She realized the threat much sooner than her son and disappeared without saying a single word of goodbye.
He was left alone. The whole world was against him. And the king demanded his young and lovable knight commander. So he ran. He ran from it all. It was an act of a coward, but the only way he could think of. His Mother took most of their fortune with her. There was only little that was left for the boy.
He had regretted his decision right away, but there was no turning back. He got on a merchant ship and sailed away from the kingdom trying to figure out what he was going to do.
Find his whore of a Mother? He slapped himself. He is never going to think about his Mother like this ever again. He was certain, she had to run away just like him. She had running in her blood and that meant he had it too.
Yes. She would never leave him otherwise.
Right.
As he was on the deck leaning on the railing, he put forehead onto it. Tears finally found their way across his reddish cheeks. They were slowly, one by one falling into the salt ocean, where they belonged. He slammed his fist onto the railing.
Suddenly, he got the sensation he was being observed. He quickly shred off his tears, turning around, his hand flying to the hilt of his sword. There was no one else on the deck besides him. The sensation didn't vanished.
Was he just being too jumpy? He shrugged his shoulders, scanned the deck for one last time before turning back to the ocean.
Then it finally hit him.
There were eyes.
Glowing golden just under the waters surface. Eyes. What kind of creature could that been? He of course read a lot stories of monstrosities the ocean could bear.
Was this a siren? Why wasn't it singing then? Shouldn't it be singing and luring the unlucky sailors to their doom in the depths of the merciless seas?
The creature blinked, the golden shine disappearing for a slight second and Marco almost got a heart attack. The eyes were that captivating he didn't want to ever look away. His body was hopelessly fighting against the irresistible urge to lean over the railing. Swing his legs and find out whom those eyes belonged to.
Instead of that, he extended his arm towards the mysterious creature. It focused its gaze on his muscular arm as if it was thinking if it should accept it or not.
Or maybe bite it off. Marco was oblivious to this threat.
All at once the golden eyes vanished, and Marco heard a scream.