A Samurai Jack Fanfic
By Laura McDaniel
A Bard's Resolve
For the rest of the day, Arvel went about business as usual, continuing to practice on his syrinx and studying his music. And just as he had said, Jack did not leave. He started out by simply mediating, but later on, he pulled a branch from a tree and started practicing his fighting techniques. Now that his stump was unoccupied, Arvel took out some parchment and began to write something on it with his quill pen. After his inkwell ran dry, he let out a displeased sigh and got up. He retrieved a dark green cloak from his buckskin bag and walked over to a small bush with bunches of small, black berries. He began shaking them off the bush and collecting them in his cloak while Jack looked on curiously. "They're called cethin berries," Arvel explained, turning nervously to Jack. "Gwyddno taught me how to make ink from them. I don't know what I'd do without them!"
Jack nodded, apparently satisfied with this answer. However, now that Arvel had left his work unattended, he was overcome with the overwhelming desire to see what the young bard had been working on. He laid down his stick and knelt next to the stump. Carefully, he removed a piece of paper from the top of the stack and began to read one of the bard's neatly written poems:
You are my hope, my guiding star.
Somehow, I wish you knew
Each day I live, I live for you.
I long again to see your face,
To feel your gentle, warm embrace.
This is the dream that sees me through.
Each song I sing, I sing for you
I carry your memory within
Yet I still hope we'll meet again
Because, sweet Heulwen, all I do
Is because I love you...
Jack smiled knowingly to himself after he read the words, but his quiet thoughts were quickly interrupted.
"Give me that!" Arvel snapped, yanking the poem right out of Jack's strong hands. He ended up tearing the paper right in half and fell over backwards, narrowly missing the cethin berries he'd collected. Apparently used to falling like that, he doggedly got to his feet again and glared at Jack. "How dare you read my work without my consent?"
"What good is poetry if it is not read?" Jack asked.
"Gwyddno used to say that to me," Arvel mournfully said. "And he was right." He glowered at the remains of the poem and crumpled it up before pitching it in the river. Silently, he watched as his poem drifted away from view. "But the feelings remain," he sighed.
"Why are you still here, Arvel, writing poetry that nobody is to read and harboring affection for someone but refusing to tell her?"
"I was exiled, Jack! Returning to Gobaith for any reason would go against the King's orders."
"But if Clobyn moves further into the kingdom, the king might be killed!"
"Precisely," Arvel scowled, turning back to Jack.
Jack raised his eyebrows as he eyed the young bard suspiciously. "Are you saying that you wish for the slaughter of innocents?"
"Jack, do you think that I don't know the real reason I was exiled?" Arvel snarled, sitting next to the samurai. "Ever since I was a small child, I was always in the middle of one accident or another, and I was often a scapegoat when things went wrong, even when I wasn't involved in the least. Gwyddno had faith in me despite all of that, and I was grateful to him, but everybody else was just waiting – waiting for something completely inexcusable to happen so that the blame could be placed on me and I could be rid of once and for all. And it happened one day when Gwyddno was on his way to perform for the kingdom.
"He asked me to fetch his cane for him, and I did. But just as I helped him put it in his hand, it got caught in a knothole in one of his house's old floorboard and he fell forward. The old man was always very jovial and quite forgiving of me, and this was one of the times when I felt I wasn't deserving of his affection. Try as he did, he couldn't get up, so I offered my hand, but I could do nothing, either. He sent me to the infirmary for help, and while I was gone, royal messenger came to Gwyddno's house to see why he hadn't arrived for the performance and was shocked to find the old man sprawled out helplessly on the floor. He tried to explain what had happened, but the messenger was hysterical because he was certain that I had tripped Gwyddno on purpose and his evidence was that I'd left the old man there alone and in pain.
"I could have explained the whole thing when I returned to the house with Rhan, but there was no use explaining anything to the royal guards who greeted me by shackling my legs and escorting me to the palace dungeon. I waited there for an entire night while my fate was discussed, but I knew good and well that I would be exiled. I was surprised that I'd been time to collect some of my belongings, but that did nothing to ease my anger and the guilt I had already been feeling over the accident. Jack, I would never cause harm to Gwyddno, and anybody who would accuse me of such a thing simply to ensure my exile is hardly innocent! By exiling me, Gobaith brought Clobyn's fury on itself."
"That may be true," Jack said, "but from what little I saw of Gobaith, I can tell you that not everyone is against you. Heulwen is the one who convinced the King to allow you to collect your belongings before you left. It seems to me that she at least is innocent. Rhan as well."
"Then they shall be casualties. But, casualties are to be expected."
"But if you really and truly live each day simply because of the faint hope that you will see Heulwen again, what will you do after Gobaith is in ruins and she is gone?"
"I hadn't thought of that...I might allow myself to perish as well, then..."
"Then, you will not only have wasted the lives of the residents of Gobaith but your own life as well. Arvel, you have every right to be upset about what happened to you, but the method through which you wish to seek revenge will profit nobody, not even yourself."
Arvel looked at Jack wide-eyed as he took all this in. Finally, he said, "You make a strong argument, Jack. It's...impossible for me to deny how selfish I have been. I know that Gwyddno would be pleased with me, either. When he taught me the song, I promised him that I would protect Gobaith from Clobyn, even in his absence. I'm certainly not doing that now, while I hide both myself and the song here in the forest. But, I must admit to you that I am also...afraid to return to Gobaith. What if I play the song wrong and Clobyn is not pleased? Being the kingdom's last hope makes me feel...nervous. I never asked for this responsibility..."
"I never asked to be my family's last hope either, Arvel," Jack said. "When I was but a child, my parents sent me away to train as a samurai. While I trained, there were many nights when I cried myself to sleep because they were not there, but I knew I could not let them down, so I did the best I could. You regard me as a hero and this is your chance to be a hero as well. Something tells me that Heulwen will like that."
Arvel blushed brightly. "I can't argue with that!"
"So does that mean you will return to Gobaith with me?"
Arvel nodded. "But can it be tomorrow? I am tired now. And hungry as well." He glanced around the forest for a moment. "I've been living off nuts, roots, and berries all this time, being too scared to hunt. I'll see what I can find..."
"That will not be necessary this time, Arvel," Jack said, pointing to his bag. "Rhan and Heulwen provided me with some provisions. I don't know what's in there, but whatever it is, I am certain it will be a welcome change for you. You look slightly malnourished."
"Aye, I would enjoy eating something different."
"After we have eaten, Arvel, would you play Clobyn's song for me? I am curious as to how it sounds."
Arvel shook his head. "Gwyddno told me I should only play the song when I have to and to practice when I am alone because of the power it contains. Besides," he added with a chuckle, "playing the song for Clobyn will be my greatest performance ever. You don't want to spoil it, do you?"
