The Boy in Red
A Genderbent Fanfiction
By Violindance7
Chapter 1: The Harvest
"Do you think she'll say yes?"
"I don't know. Why don't you ask her?"
"She'll never say yes to me. You're the one she always says yes to."
"Fine." Lucius and Val were sitting on the stone wall in front of their home, waiting for their mother to get home from the market. "Everything has to go perfectly."
"Don't worry," Val said while lying down on the wall to stare at the sky. "Everything will be fine. We've got her favorite sweet cakes cooling on the table and she trusts Pri's father."
"You got the tea, right?"
"Of course I did. Grandmother gave me enough to keep Pri's father asleep for three days. And if Grandmother asks, mother's cold is much better."
"Well I would hope so, or I'd be very concerned." They both jumped at the sound of their mother's voice as she walked up the road. Suzette smiled as they tried to cover their guilt. "So why are my boys lying to their grandmother and telling her their mother has a cold?"
"We're sorry mother. It's just, Grandmother wanted us to help her make more tea today, but we didn't want to miss the harvest. You know I've been looking forward to it all year."
"Yes, your first harvest Val. But that isn't an excuse to lie to your Grandmother." As Suzette climbed the ladder to enter their home, the boys exchanged a worried glance, until she turned around. "But if you two help me cook dinner before you go, I promise I won't tell her." They smiled as they clambered up the ladder to help their mother prepare dinner.
While the boys helped chop the vegetables and stir the stew, Suzette's mind wandered. She thought of her husband, Cesaire, and how his greatest fault was his lack of imagination. Not once in their many years of marriage did he ever give her a satisfying answer when she asked what he thought lied beyond the forest that surrounded their little village. But what he lacked in imagination, he more than made up for in dependability. Goodness knows he could drink less, especially during the day. But he always managed to cut enough wood to provide for their family, and for that, she was grateful. Theirs's could hardly be called an exciting life, and could have been a happier life. But it was a content life, and she knew, standing here with her boys, was more than good enough for her. Once she came to this conclusion, she turned around, only to be startled to find Val staring at her, with his strangely green eyes that always gave her the sense that he had been reading her thoughts. Her mother in law always chided her that she didn't keep an eye on her youngest son when he was a baby and he had been kidnapped and swapped with a changeling. It was the only explanation for those eyes, considering both she and her husband had eyes the color of dirt. She shook her head at such nonsense.
"It's good you boys are helping me with household chores. You'll both need to be able to cook if you want your wife happy."
Lucius countered, "Father doesn't help you cook."
"Yes, and that's why I'm always grumpy. Always keep in mind that marriage is about being there for each other."
"Mother, I'm eighteen and Val just turned seventeen. Don't you think it's a little early to be talking about marriage and keeping our wives happy?"
"You're both of marriageable age. You're young men and we need to start thinking of your futures."
While Suzette turned to stir the stew, the boys looked at each other and nodded. Now was the moment.
"So, Mother. Speaking of being old enough, we'll be leaving for the harvest soon."
"Yes, yes," Suzette muttered as her mind began to wander again.
"And some of our friends are going to the little campfire at the end of the day."
"Mm-hmmm," as she began to think about when she first held the boys in her arms.
"And Priam's father volunteered to watch over all of us…" Val began.
"…and we wanted to know if we could go with them," Lucius finished.
Suzette turned around trying to focus on this information. "And Priam's father will be there?"
"Yes," they both said at once.
"Well I suppose so," she said slowly. They both smiled, kissed her on the cheek, thanked her, and ran out the door before she had a chance to react. It was only then Suzette realized she'd given her boys permission when she probably shouldn't have, and that she would live to regret this.
"I can't believe she said yes!" The boys ran down the road, excited for the day ahead. They ran until they found their friend, Roxas, standing outside his house.
"So? What's the word?"
"We can go!"
"And you brought the tea?"
"Of course."
"Yes! I can't wait." The three boys were about to walk towards the harvest field when Roxas' mother, Marguerite, came out of the house.
"Make sure to take your sister with you."
"Mother, are you sure Claudette will be safe? I won't be able to watch her if the Reeve puts us in different groups."
"Well I'll be working at the tavern all day and I certainly can't bring her there. Unless you'd rather stay home to watch her."
Val knew Roxas was looking forward to the harvest and thought quickly. "We'll all watch her. With five of us, six including Pri's father, someone will be able to watch her."
"Are you sure?"
"We promise."
"Thank you." At that moment, Claudette came rushing out, excited for the day. The four started walking towards the field. While Roxas and Lucius talked, Val noticed the looks the villagers they passed gave Claudette. Everyone in the village knew there was something not right with her. Some said she was dropped on her head as a child, or she was exposed to the cold too long. She rarely talked, and when she did, it came out as an inaudible babble only Roxas and Marguerite could decipher. Her attention always shifted and it was hard for her to focus on anything. She might have been able to blend in, if not for her freckles and hair the color of a carrot. Val knew that though he was considered odd for blonde hair, Roxas and Claudette were considered freaks for their hair. But Val always felt they were more blessed than cursed; red hair was far more interesting than black or brown hair.
They eventually found their other friends, Priam and Ross, sitting on the wall across from the blacksmith's shop. Val was confused when the boys shushed them when they said "Hello" until he saw the reason Priam and Ross chose this spot to wait for them. Out of the blacksmith's shop walked a girl. Henrietta Lazar. She was the most beautiful girl in the village with fair skin, long hair, and a shapely body that certainly got your attention when you walked past her. But what made her the object of every boy's desires was her determination to prove she could do anything a man could. Her father, Adrien Lazar, had wanted a son. But instead of blaming his daughter, he chose to make the best of what he had and taught her as if she were a boy. He taught her to hunt and provide for herself. But most importantly, he taught her the trade of a blacksmith, a very prestigious position in the village. He was hard on her, but it was clear to everyone in the village that he loved her dearly, especially since the death of his wife years earlier, a topic rarely brought up. Henrietta knew this, and always strove to prove to her father she could be the son he never had, and it made the boys in the village fall for her even harder. Val never understood why his friends fell for her and he never did. She was beautiful and kind and he had to admit, his true love would probably be a woman who wouldn't want to be boxed in to the role of doting wife. But to him, Henrietta was just another friend. So when Henrietta looked up from chopping wood and noticed the group staring at her, Val simply waved while the other guys went mute and smiled shyly. Except Lucius. He just had to follow social protocol and bowed before rushing after the group, turning beet red from embarrassment. Henrietta just shook her head, and stole a quick glance at the one she actually did like before going back to chopping the wood.
After they were out of ear shot, Val teased his friends, "Save something for the guests at the harvest. I'm sure some of the girls from the other villages can't wait to be stared at in uncomfortable silence." They all laughed as they started to race towards the field. Val knew his friends were looking forward to meeting the girls. But he was looking forward to a night of freedom. And in a village like Daggerhorn, freedom meant everything.
As the sun rose in the sky, the volunteers in the village were hard at work harvesting the different fields. There were groups harvesting wheat, corn, potatoes, hay, etc. Everyone was working hard until they heard the rumbling of wheels and horse hooves. They looked up to see a line of wagons, full of volunteers from a nearby village to help with the harvest, and the whispers of excitement began. Though the villagers lived in fear of anything unknown to them, nobody in the village could resist the allure of talking about something new. Especially the young men and women of the village. Val shook his head as his friends all made sure to stretch and flex when the women from other villages passed by. He was happy for his friends, but he just didn't feel the excitement they felt. He was sure the girls were all nice, but they just lacked…something. He didn't understand it; he should have felt joy and excitement like his friends. But he had to face it, he was just born…different.
The last wagon had stopped and the last group was walking towards the Reeve to get their assignments. As they walked by, something made Val look up. A strange feeling, that it was his destiny to look up at that moment. When he looked up, he locked eyes with a girl. She was beautiful with dark eyes and hair. But the strange thing was, she looked familiar. Like a girl he had dreamed of many nights for years, unsure of who she was and yet he felt he already knew everything about her.
"It couldn't be," he thought to himself. "Could it be…Petra?"
