Chapter 3
As Max headed off toward a new life, he wondered what had become of his friends, and battle comrades, his fellow members of the Shining Force. Using the last of his strength, Max had managed to cast his Egress spell, and whisk his friends, who had refused to leave him, off to safety, while Max stayed behind in order to ensure that Dark Dragon was sealed away. He knew that if they had escaped, then they would be fine. Mae herself was a more than capable leader, and fully suited to taking over the reins of the Shining Force. Would the Shining Force even be needed again, Max thought suddenly. After all, Dark Dragon was banished. Darksol was dead. There was no driving force left to take the reins of leadership. Perhaps Mae and the others would never have to fight another battle again. With Anri leading Guardiana...
Max felt a sudden jab of pain, as he recalled the beautiful princess of his homeland. He quickly turned his thoughts away from those matters, and focused on the small, two-story home coming into view. Max gave it a quick look-over. Medium sized, fairly old, with what looked like many rooms and wings added on, as if this was a building project that spanned generations. Edward saw Max's interest.
"It's not much, but it's been in the family for 3 generations, ever since my grandfather first built it." Edward smiled. "It's old, creaky, and cold in the winter, but if you asked me to sell it for a million gold pieces, I wouldn't.
Max smiled at that. They fell silent as a middle-aged woman appeared in the frame of the doorway.
"Edward, dinner's almost ready," the woman said to Edward with a loving smile on her face. "And who might you be," she said politely to Max.
Edward chuckled. "June, this is Peregrin. He's looking for a place to settle down, and I'm taking him on as an assistant. Peregrin, this is June, my loving wife of 20 years. I still don't know why she married me."
June arched one eyebrow. "Well, I certainly didn't marry you for your money," she remarked wryly. She stuck out a hand toward Max. "Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Peregrin."
Max grasped the hand in front of him, and firmly shook it. "Just Peregrin please, Mrs. Draco, and the pleasure's all mine."
June smiled. "June then, please. I'm glad you're here. The farm's been short-staffed ever since..." June trailed off.
"I heard from Edward about your son. I'm sorry," Max said quickly.
"Don't be. He died for what he believed in," June said solemnly, with a single tear running down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away, and beckoned to an door, where the delicious smell of food came. "Dinner's almost ready. If, um, you'd just care to wash up first?" June said awkwardly.
Max felt himself blushing. "Oh, um, right. Which way...
Edward beckoned. "Just follow me, it's off this way." Max trailed behind, as Edward led the way. June disappeared into the kitchen, to finish preparing the meal.
As Max followed along, he was knocked flat when a door suddenly opened in front of him. A beautiful girl, with long blond hair, flowing out behind her, looked down at Max as he laid on the floor.
"Sorry," she said. To Max, she did not sound very sincere.
"It's all right. I should be more careful." Max grimaced as picked himself off the floor. Having been hit by dozens of magic spells, arrows, and swords, Max had developed a particular sort of toughness to pain. It took a lot to hurt him now. A completely unexpected wooden door flying straight into his face did the trick.
"Serena, please be more careful next time, OK?" Edward scolded.
Serena scowled. "I said I was sorry."
"Peregrin, the young lady in front of you, who just smashed a door into your face, Edward said, glaring at the girl at this last statement, "is my daughter, Serena. Serena, this is Peregrin. He's my new assistant."
"Pleasure to meet you," Max said, as he stuck out his hand. Serena ignored it.
"You're filthy," Serena said, with her nose held high. She wrinkled her nose suddenly. "And you smell terrible."
Max wasn't used to this sort of treatment. Usually, during his travels to the Shining Force, he got quite a different kind of treatment. Townspeople would stare at the brightly armoured figures parading through their streets in awe. Boys would gawk at the great warriors in front of him. Worst of all, to Max at least, was the way women reacted to him. To Max, when he looked in the mirror, all he saw was an average, normal, young man of 24. Apparently though, women had quite a different reaction to him. When he asked Tao, one of his few female friends, she had told him quite a different tale. Blushing all the while, she had talked about his hair, which was fine, and blew easily in the wind. Also, she had talked about his stunningly blue eyes, which spoke of depth, and character. Max didn't believe her, but found out that apparently women in the world had the same opinion of Max as Tao did. Women swooned as he passed by. Young girls, young enough to be Max's sister, blushed furiously as he passed by. Worst though, was the brash young women who came up right to Max, brushing up against him, leering, giving him trinkets, or folded notes scented with perfume. Max always blushed furiously at these events, while his "subordinates" laughed, and elbowed him. Lowe had even managed to steal one of these notes before he could dispose of them, and read it out loud at headquarters. Max winced at the memory of the steamy content the note had contained. Serena was the first women he had met who had treated him like this.
Of course, Max thought, I AM covered with slime, have dirt on my face, and haven't bathed in days. Plus I'm just a regular, out-of-town bum. Why would she care at all, he thought wryly.
Max realized that he hadn't said anything at all yet. "Well, um, I was..." Max trailed off as he realized that he really couldn't explain why he was filthy. That would mean more questions about his past, which he did not want to answer, as he really didn't want to lie.
Edward interrupted the uncomfortable silence. "Peregrin will be joining us for dinner tonight. In fact, your mother's getting dinner ready in the kitchen right now. Perhaps..."
"I'll see what I can do." Serena gave one final, contemptuous glance at Max, and strode away in the direction of the kitchen, skirt trailing behind her. Max was left with the impression of cold green eyes, and long flowing blond hair.
"She's been like this ever since Crowe left," Edward explained awkwardly. "She was hit hard by his death. To tell you the truth, I think she wants nothing to do with this farm, or the farmer's life. Has high expectations, that one."
Max nodded silently. He trailed behind Edward as led the way.
*
Twenty minutes later, Max stepped out, freshly bathed, and wearing a fresh pair of coveralls that Edward had supplied him.
"These used to be Crowe's," Edward explained. "You're about the same size as he was, and he would have wanted for his belongings to be put to good use. Whatever the reason, Max was grateful.
Max walked into the kitchen, and stopped, stunned at the amount of food that was piled onto the tables. Mounds of roast potatoes. Freshly baked bread. Heaps of garden vegetables. Lots of butter! Max hadn't tasted butter in a long time: It was somewhat hard to keep it preserved during long travels. The centerpiece was a huge roasted turkey sitting in the middle. This was a far cry from the rations Max usually had to deal with!
Max grinned, and quickly sat down in the chair that June directed him to, which just happened to be directly across from Serena, who was looking at him as if Darksol himself was sitting across from her.
"At least you're clean now," she sniffed.
"Thanks, I guess," Max said, as he took the bowl of potatoes offered to him by June. Adding vegetables and a slice of turkey, he dug in. The Draco family stared at him as devoured his food.
"Hungry? Or is my food just that good?" June said, smiling.
"Both," Max grunted out. He found it hard to give a longer answer, as he tried to talk out of a mouthful of turkey. June looked away in disgust.
"So, Peregrin, tell us about yourself," Edward said, as he helped himself to some vegetables.
Max finally swallowed. "Oh, nothing much. I'm just a, well, wanderer I guess." Max thought fast. "I just go from city to city, and do odd jobs."
"I see. What cities have you visited?" asked June.
"Oh, a few. Bustoke, Alterone, Rindo, Manarina, to name the most recent ones," Max wasn't sure how much information he wanted to give away. The more he gave out, the bigger the possibility that he could be caught later on.
"Really! We've never been outside of the village ourselves," Edward said. "Tell us about Manarina. That's the home of the school for mages, is it not?"
Max talked of the magic school of Manarina. He talked about the experiments that had gone there. (The Dracos had laughed uproariously when told about how he was turned into a hen. Even Serena smiled a little.) He talked about the mountain air of Bustoke, the beautiful castle of Alterone, the theatre of Rindo. The Dracos listened, fascinated. Even Serena listened, though she pretended not to.
Max was telling a story of how heard his friend 'Rowe', had got dead drunk, and woken up without remembering what had happened in the last 24 hours, when a knock on the front door came. Max finished his story, as 'Rowe' realized he was out 300 gold pieces, which caused June to break out into a fit of giggles. Serena smiled faintly at this. Edward came back into the room.
"What is it, honey," June said, as her husband sat down, and continued eating.
"Apparently, the Shining Force has returned from over the seas. They're set to arrive in Uranbatol any minute now.
"Really," said Serena, as she looked up with interest in her eyes.
"Yes, that was Sam. He just came to tell me he's holding a party at his place later. Everyone's invited! Peregrin, do you want to come?" Edward looked at Max questioningly.
Max smiled faintly. A party, talking about the probably exaggerated exploits of the Shining Force. Due to his age, he would surely be asked about why he hadn't joined up in the military. Max didn't think his conscience would let him get away with such a big lie.
"Father, what about..." Serena looked at her father, with pleading eyes.
"Oh. That," Edward looked uncomfortable. "I'm sorry, honey, but it's been confirmed. Straight from the mouth of Balbaroy, Sky Warrior."
"No!" Serena banged her fist on the table. "He wouldn't die. He's too strong for that."
Edward glanced at his wife, who shrugged. "Serena, Max was just a mortal, like you and me. He can die like the rest of us."
Max looked up, surprised. So he was dead after all. Of course though, he wasn't. "He died to seal away Dark Dragon for good. He sacrificed his life for the world," Max said quietly.
"What would YOU know," Serena sneered, as she glared at Max.
Max looked up, and met Serena's glaze. Serena's breath caught, as she looked into his eyes. She saw fire in them that seemed to belie a great strength hidden underneath. But looking deeper, Serena saw pain, deep pain. For what seemed like eternity, she held Max's gaze. Then she remembered who she was talking to. He was just a low-life wanderer, who was working on this run-down farm, which she was forced to call home. She left the table, without clearing her dishes, and stormed away upstairs. The sounds of her footsteps could be heard, as well as the sound of a door slamming.
Edward and June looked at each other, then June turned toward Max. "I'm sorry, she's very interested in the Shining Force, and in particular, Max, the Hero. She's had trouble accepting his heroic death," June said sadly.
Really, Max thought. The irony. "If you don't mind, let me clear up. You two get off to that party, and I'll stay behind and finish clearing the dishes."
June frowned. "I couldn't," she said.
"No, I insist," Max said. "I'm sure that party's getting started any minute now. You better hurry up."
June still looked inclined to argue, but Edward laid an gentle hand on her forearm, and relaxed. "Rag's over there," June said. "Dishes go in here, cutlery goes in..."
Max listened carefully, then began wrapping up leftovers, as Edward and June exited the kitchen, Edward throwing a grateful glance at Max. They called down Serena, who went down, throwing a glare at Max as she passed, and all three of them left. The silence was suddenly deafening.
Max looked around. "So this is what life is going to be like," he thought. No more excitement. No more battles. No more treasure hunting, or long travels around the world.
Perfect, Max thought, as he began to start on the dishes.
As Max headed off toward a new life, he wondered what had become of his friends, and battle comrades, his fellow members of the Shining Force. Using the last of his strength, Max had managed to cast his Egress spell, and whisk his friends, who had refused to leave him, off to safety, while Max stayed behind in order to ensure that Dark Dragon was sealed away. He knew that if they had escaped, then they would be fine. Mae herself was a more than capable leader, and fully suited to taking over the reins of the Shining Force. Would the Shining Force even be needed again, Max thought suddenly. After all, Dark Dragon was banished. Darksol was dead. There was no driving force left to take the reins of leadership. Perhaps Mae and the others would never have to fight another battle again. With Anri leading Guardiana...
Max felt a sudden jab of pain, as he recalled the beautiful princess of his homeland. He quickly turned his thoughts away from those matters, and focused on the small, two-story home coming into view. Max gave it a quick look-over. Medium sized, fairly old, with what looked like many rooms and wings added on, as if this was a building project that spanned generations. Edward saw Max's interest.
"It's not much, but it's been in the family for 3 generations, ever since my grandfather first built it." Edward smiled. "It's old, creaky, and cold in the winter, but if you asked me to sell it for a million gold pieces, I wouldn't.
Max smiled at that. They fell silent as a middle-aged woman appeared in the frame of the doorway.
"Edward, dinner's almost ready," the woman said to Edward with a loving smile on her face. "And who might you be," she said politely to Max.
Edward chuckled. "June, this is Peregrin. He's looking for a place to settle down, and I'm taking him on as an assistant. Peregrin, this is June, my loving wife of 20 years. I still don't know why she married me."
June arched one eyebrow. "Well, I certainly didn't marry you for your money," she remarked wryly. She stuck out a hand toward Max. "Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Peregrin."
Max grasped the hand in front of him, and firmly shook it. "Just Peregrin please, Mrs. Draco, and the pleasure's all mine."
June smiled. "June then, please. I'm glad you're here. The farm's been short-staffed ever since..." June trailed off.
"I heard from Edward about your son. I'm sorry," Max said quickly.
"Don't be. He died for what he believed in," June said solemnly, with a single tear running down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away, and beckoned to an door, where the delicious smell of food came. "Dinner's almost ready. If, um, you'd just care to wash up first?" June said awkwardly.
Max felt himself blushing. "Oh, um, right. Which way...
Edward beckoned. "Just follow me, it's off this way." Max trailed behind, as Edward led the way. June disappeared into the kitchen, to finish preparing the meal.
As Max followed along, he was knocked flat when a door suddenly opened in front of him. A beautiful girl, with long blond hair, flowing out behind her, looked down at Max as he laid on the floor.
"Sorry," she said. To Max, she did not sound very sincere.
"It's all right. I should be more careful." Max grimaced as picked himself off the floor. Having been hit by dozens of magic spells, arrows, and swords, Max had developed a particular sort of toughness to pain. It took a lot to hurt him now. A completely unexpected wooden door flying straight into his face did the trick.
"Serena, please be more careful next time, OK?" Edward scolded.
Serena scowled. "I said I was sorry."
"Peregrin, the young lady in front of you, who just smashed a door into your face, Edward said, glaring at the girl at this last statement, "is my daughter, Serena. Serena, this is Peregrin. He's my new assistant."
"Pleasure to meet you," Max said, as he stuck out his hand. Serena ignored it.
"You're filthy," Serena said, with her nose held high. She wrinkled her nose suddenly. "And you smell terrible."
Max wasn't used to this sort of treatment. Usually, during his travels to the Shining Force, he got quite a different kind of treatment. Townspeople would stare at the brightly armoured figures parading through their streets in awe. Boys would gawk at the great warriors in front of him. Worst of all, to Max at least, was the way women reacted to him. To Max, when he looked in the mirror, all he saw was an average, normal, young man of 24. Apparently though, women had quite a different reaction to him. When he asked Tao, one of his few female friends, she had told him quite a different tale. Blushing all the while, she had talked about his hair, which was fine, and blew easily in the wind. Also, she had talked about his stunningly blue eyes, which spoke of depth, and character. Max didn't believe her, but found out that apparently women in the world had the same opinion of Max as Tao did. Women swooned as he passed by. Young girls, young enough to be Max's sister, blushed furiously as he passed by. Worst though, was the brash young women who came up right to Max, brushing up against him, leering, giving him trinkets, or folded notes scented with perfume. Max always blushed furiously at these events, while his "subordinates" laughed, and elbowed him. Lowe had even managed to steal one of these notes before he could dispose of them, and read it out loud at headquarters. Max winced at the memory of the steamy content the note had contained. Serena was the first women he had met who had treated him like this.
Of course, Max thought, I AM covered with slime, have dirt on my face, and haven't bathed in days. Plus I'm just a regular, out-of-town bum. Why would she care at all, he thought wryly.
Max realized that he hadn't said anything at all yet. "Well, um, I was..." Max trailed off as he realized that he really couldn't explain why he was filthy. That would mean more questions about his past, which he did not want to answer, as he really didn't want to lie.
Edward interrupted the uncomfortable silence. "Peregrin will be joining us for dinner tonight. In fact, your mother's getting dinner ready in the kitchen right now. Perhaps..."
"I'll see what I can do." Serena gave one final, contemptuous glance at Max, and strode away in the direction of the kitchen, skirt trailing behind her. Max was left with the impression of cold green eyes, and long flowing blond hair.
"She's been like this ever since Crowe left," Edward explained awkwardly. "She was hit hard by his death. To tell you the truth, I think she wants nothing to do with this farm, or the farmer's life. Has high expectations, that one."
Max nodded silently. He trailed behind Edward as led the way.
*
Twenty minutes later, Max stepped out, freshly bathed, and wearing a fresh pair of coveralls that Edward had supplied him.
"These used to be Crowe's," Edward explained. "You're about the same size as he was, and he would have wanted for his belongings to be put to good use. Whatever the reason, Max was grateful.
Max walked into the kitchen, and stopped, stunned at the amount of food that was piled onto the tables. Mounds of roast potatoes. Freshly baked bread. Heaps of garden vegetables. Lots of butter! Max hadn't tasted butter in a long time: It was somewhat hard to keep it preserved during long travels. The centerpiece was a huge roasted turkey sitting in the middle. This was a far cry from the rations Max usually had to deal with!
Max grinned, and quickly sat down in the chair that June directed him to, which just happened to be directly across from Serena, who was looking at him as if Darksol himself was sitting across from her.
"At least you're clean now," she sniffed.
"Thanks, I guess," Max said, as he took the bowl of potatoes offered to him by June. Adding vegetables and a slice of turkey, he dug in. The Draco family stared at him as devoured his food.
"Hungry? Or is my food just that good?" June said, smiling.
"Both," Max grunted out. He found it hard to give a longer answer, as he tried to talk out of a mouthful of turkey. June looked away in disgust.
"So, Peregrin, tell us about yourself," Edward said, as he helped himself to some vegetables.
Max finally swallowed. "Oh, nothing much. I'm just a, well, wanderer I guess." Max thought fast. "I just go from city to city, and do odd jobs."
"I see. What cities have you visited?" asked June.
"Oh, a few. Bustoke, Alterone, Rindo, Manarina, to name the most recent ones," Max wasn't sure how much information he wanted to give away. The more he gave out, the bigger the possibility that he could be caught later on.
"Really! We've never been outside of the village ourselves," Edward said. "Tell us about Manarina. That's the home of the school for mages, is it not?"
Max talked of the magic school of Manarina. He talked about the experiments that had gone there. (The Dracos had laughed uproariously when told about how he was turned into a hen. Even Serena smiled a little.) He talked about the mountain air of Bustoke, the beautiful castle of Alterone, the theatre of Rindo. The Dracos listened, fascinated. Even Serena listened, though she pretended not to.
Max was telling a story of how heard his friend 'Rowe', had got dead drunk, and woken up without remembering what had happened in the last 24 hours, when a knock on the front door came. Max finished his story, as 'Rowe' realized he was out 300 gold pieces, which caused June to break out into a fit of giggles. Serena smiled faintly at this. Edward came back into the room.
"What is it, honey," June said, as her husband sat down, and continued eating.
"Apparently, the Shining Force has returned from over the seas. They're set to arrive in Uranbatol any minute now.
"Really," said Serena, as she looked up with interest in her eyes.
"Yes, that was Sam. He just came to tell me he's holding a party at his place later. Everyone's invited! Peregrin, do you want to come?" Edward looked at Max questioningly.
Max smiled faintly. A party, talking about the probably exaggerated exploits of the Shining Force. Due to his age, he would surely be asked about why he hadn't joined up in the military. Max didn't think his conscience would let him get away with such a big lie.
"Father, what about..." Serena looked at her father, with pleading eyes.
"Oh. That," Edward looked uncomfortable. "I'm sorry, honey, but it's been confirmed. Straight from the mouth of Balbaroy, Sky Warrior."
"No!" Serena banged her fist on the table. "He wouldn't die. He's too strong for that."
Edward glanced at his wife, who shrugged. "Serena, Max was just a mortal, like you and me. He can die like the rest of us."
Max looked up, surprised. So he was dead after all. Of course though, he wasn't. "He died to seal away Dark Dragon for good. He sacrificed his life for the world," Max said quietly.
"What would YOU know," Serena sneered, as she glared at Max.
Max looked up, and met Serena's glaze. Serena's breath caught, as she looked into his eyes. She saw fire in them that seemed to belie a great strength hidden underneath. But looking deeper, Serena saw pain, deep pain. For what seemed like eternity, she held Max's gaze. Then she remembered who she was talking to. He was just a low-life wanderer, who was working on this run-down farm, which she was forced to call home. She left the table, without clearing her dishes, and stormed away upstairs. The sounds of her footsteps could be heard, as well as the sound of a door slamming.
Edward and June looked at each other, then June turned toward Max. "I'm sorry, she's very interested in the Shining Force, and in particular, Max, the Hero. She's had trouble accepting his heroic death," June said sadly.
Really, Max thought. The irony. "If you don't mind, let me clear up. You two get off to that party, and I'll stay behind and finish clearing the dishes."
June frowned. "I couldn't," she said.
"No, I insist," Max said. "I'm sure that party's getting started any minute now. You better hurry up."
June still looked inclined to argue, but Edward laid an gentle hand on her forearm, and relaxed. "Rag's over there," June said. "Dishes go in here, cutlery goes in..."
Max listened carefully, then began wrapping up leftovers, as Edward and June exited the kitchen, Edward throwing a grateful glance at Max. They called down Serena, who went down, throwing a glare at Max as she passed, and all three of them left. The silence was suddenly deafening.
Max looked around. "So this is what life is going to be like," he thought. No more excitement. No more battles. No more treasure hunting, or long travels around the world.
Perfect, Max thought, as he began to start on the dishes.
