Requiem
Peewit fell asleep before the fire curled up on his bed under a heavy blanket with a full stomach and sweet dreams. The night had been long, far longer than he had ever wanted to see or feel. The cold that kept the castle in its icy grip now was nothing more than silence. The ice sliding from the roof and falling onto the ground crumbling and crushing in upon itself was the only reminder of the horrors he faced earlier. He clenched his eyes shut as he pulled his blanket closer around him. He curled himself up into a small ball under the warmth trying to force from his mind the events of a Christmas many years ago.
Then, his life was very different.
He made his living trying to find work, and barely scraping enough together between jobs to buy food, pay for shelter, and make it through to the spring when work would be plentiful. He stopped being a child a long time ago. He was forced to grow up quickly when his parents were unable to work. He lost his mother to the plague the year before, and his father suffered from the coughing sickness. He knew that his days were short, but Pierre was unprepared for how suddenly his father died. He recalled leaving for work, promising his father he would return with a hot meal, and a new warm cloak. When he came home, he found his father was gone, only his corpse remained, cold, silent, vacantly staring off into the darkness. Death was never something Pierre was afraid of, it happened. What scared him, was being alone, really alone. He sat down by his father's hand, pressing the cold palm against his cheek as he quietly cried himself to sleep. He could not give his father a proper burial until after Christmas, so he resorted to interring him in an unmarked grave in the forest known as Boulder Wood.
Pierre continued to work at various farms, his small stature enabled him to move swiftly between the animals performing tasks that were cumbersome to a larger man. He earned a honest wage, and spent it on food and wine as quickly as he received it. He bought himself a lute from a merchant with his first pay, and travelled with a troupe of bards. Sadly, his years of being exposed to the cold, and his bouts with laryngitis left him with a crackly, hoarse voice which sounded worse when he attempted to sing. His time with the troupe of bards swiftly ceased and he found himself alone again. His only friend, was a black and white nanny goat that followed him wherever he went. As a joke, he named the goat Biquette, and the name stuck. Pierre and Biquette travelled the kingdom looking for work, and sometimes they found it, most of the time they were turned away. He was too short, she was too stubborn. Finally, Pierre ended up building his home in Boulder Wood. There, he lived as a thief scaring the local peasantry with his howls and roars, while Biquette would head butt them when they least suspected it, running off before they could tell what hit them. Pierre lived this life of his own device. He took what he wanted, when he wanted, with little care for the thought of others. He tried living a life that was noble and good, but nothing good came from it. So, he changed his name to Peewit, and lived the life of a rogue. So what if he was known as the "Goblin of Boulder Wood" at least he had food in his stomach, a warm place to sleep, and could sing as loudly as he wanted, whenever he wanted, with no one around to complain. He lived that way until he met his best friend. A young squire who was on a mission from the King to rescue the King's niece from a traitor who called himself the Goblin of Boulder Wood. Johan believing that the Goblin of Boulder wood was in fact Peewit, suggested that he have the job of Court Jester to the King. Peewit accepted, until tragedy struck! The King's niece was kidnapped en route to the castle! Furthermore, the kidnappers told the King that it was the Goblin of Boulder wood who did the terrible deed. Unable to believe his trust had been broken Johan raced off to find Peewit and Princess Savina. Meanwhile Peewit followed Johan, but was unable to help his new friend watching as Johan was taken prisoner by the turncoat Lord. He had to make a choice, to run away, which seemed like a good choice, or to risk everything and tell the King the truth. Something changed within him that day, he went to the King, told him the truth, and told him where he would find Princess Savina and the squire Johan. He was sure that the King would have him thrown in the dungeon, yet instead the King showed him mercy. He rode out with a company of his men and faced the traitor eventually winning the day, and bringing his niece home. Peewit fondly remembered the conversation he had with Johan on the way back. Johan asked why he returned for him, why he did not run when he had the chance. Peewit could only speak what he felt in his heart, that friendship, no matter how big, or how small, means making the impossible, possible. Johan would never know the gift he gave Peewit by helping him get a job at the castle. He would no longer live in the forest, or have to face another winter alone.
Yet, now he wondered if he was going to lose his friend to something more lovely and wonderful. He liked Kate, but he felt afraid. Admittedly, he had been with Johan on many wonderful adventures, yet none were as dangerous or as terrible as their recent battles. He hoped that whatever was happening to the world he knew, would pass. Yet, somehow in his heart, he knew it would not end without a fight. He only hoped he was strong enough to press on to the very end.