In answer to the two questions I found in reviews of chapter 2 as of 10/18/04, yes, Sain will have a romantic interest. Also, we should see Lyn in chapter five or six, if all goes according to story planning. And to PichuStar, I agree. The main fight was quite lacking. However, I give you my word you shall see Kargil again, even if I must write him his own fic. While I first thought of him as one of those boring, who cares who you are bosses, but he has slowly grown on me and developed a real personality. Also, if you have a request or compliment(I like these!), or even a complaint(Complaint make J.D. sad...), drop me a line at However, I do not tolerate spamming, and will not, I repeat, will not take submissions for characters to add to my story. If you've got an OC you want to see in a story format, write your own fic. In fact, I encourage it. After all, one of the leading deficiencies in today's youth is lack of creativity. (Or so I've been told.) This, reportedly, is caused by little or no creative writing in high school. Also, while I'm still standing on the soapbox, writing about things you don't neccesarily like will improve your writing ability.
But, enough ranting by me. Let me get this out of the way. I don't own Sain or any other FE chars, although I may see if I can rent him, and go on a globe trotting adventure with him. However, I do own Kargil, Tara, Adam, and Leon, OCs of my own creation. Thus, if you steal them from me, I shall hunt you down, and to borrow a phrase from 8BT's BM, rain stabbity doom upon you.(For those of you who take me seriously, I envy you and your simple mind. Really, I do!) Or get you booted from FanFiction, whichever is more convenient. With that business out of the way, let me move on to...
Fire Emblem
Knight Errant
Chapter 3
Down on the Farm
Sain smiled a bit as he set the rough cloth napkin on the table. "The meal was excellent, milady. 'Tis a wonder you are not head chef for a marquess, or perhaps even the King of Bern himself." Tara, the elderly farmer's wife, blushed at his complement. "Please, Sain. The food is hardly fit for servants, let alone royalty. Leon, the old farmer, reached for a warm chunk of bread, and as he broke it open, winked at the young knight and spoke. "I wouldn't leave the conversation there, lad, else she talks herself out of cooking entirely. And Elimine knows the boy and I both would starve if I was forced to cook."
Sain grinned broadly, and laughed along with Tara and Adam, the couple's son. He liked these people. They were simple, but had a good sense of humor, though their lives had been threatened only hours earlier. Adam was awed by the fact that Sain was a knight, and had laid waste to the bandits, who charged toll on one of the main roads.
As the laughter died down, Adam looked up at Sain. Sain looked back down at him and smiled, then the boy spoke. "Sir, how did you do it?" Sain arched a brow, and frowned a bit. "Do what, Adam?" The youngster began to get excited as he approached the subject. "You know. Beat all those bandits by yourself. There were about seven of them, and you're just one person..."
Leon furrowed his brow. It seemed that he too was interested in how Sain had managed to tackle Kargil and all of his brigands. The happiness and warmth he had built up inside quickly dissapated, giving way to the great cloud of gloom that had bothered him earlier. Sain decided to change the subject, lest he drag this kind, peaceful family down into the mire of grim visions that plagued him.
"You shock me, my friend! Shame on thee for nearly ruining such a fine repast with ill talk of grim deeds. Perhaps I shall speak of these things after we finish. Speaking of this glorious meal, pray tell me, fair lady, what you have in mind for dessert?" Tara slapped him gently on the wrist. "Why shame on you, you terrible flatterer. I should think if you eat any more, you would burst. And then you would be a great knightly mess to clean up. And as for dessert, I have nothing but a bit of fruit."
Adam giggled a bit when he imagined Sain simply exploding all over their small home. While he wished his idol no ill, he had a rather common trait of boys his age, their capability to appreciate a good mess. They finished the fruit in relative silence, and finally excused themselves from the table. Tara sat in a home-woven chair and began to let some of Adam's shirts out, as the lad was growing. Leon sat down in another chair and began to smoke a well carved pipe, most likely from bone. He offered Sain a pipe to smoke as well, but he refused politely. Adam hurried into the rear of the house, and came back with a basket. He emptied the contents, and there, scattered on the floor covered by rugs, lay some of the finest soldiers Sain had seen, carved of wood. Adam chose seven particularly cruel looking ones, including a swordsman, and sided themselves against a lone figure, mounted on a horse. Though some of the bandits were carrying incorrect weapons for their parts, he proceeded to reenact his version of Sain's fight with the brigands.
Sain marveled at the small soldiers. Even from the comfort of the chair he had brought from the table, he could see the small joints in armor, and the Kargil-figure's sword looked as if it would cut an unattentive bystander. Sain commented to Leon on the nature of the pieces. "These are fine examples of craftsmanship. Did you make these?" Leon looked up, and nodded quietly. "And your pipe? I imagine you made it as well?" Leon smiled, and removed the pipe from his mouth. "Yes. I carve them in my spare time, and sell some of the excess things at the market." Adam interjected tersely as Leon finished. "He sold a very nice mage, when we went last time. I was upset. I liked it a lot." Tara reprimanded him kindly. "Now Adam, you know magic's just in stories.." Sain dared not contradict her, to ask her of the Archsage Athos, or even Saint Elimine, who called upon the powers of light. She was, of course, in charge of raising the lad, not some foolish knight.
"I would trade all of my skill with a weapon to be able to make such things. Better to be a carver of art than a carver of men..." Leon shrugged a bit as he looked down at Adam's reenactment. "You could try to learn, of course. It isn't for everyone, but you'll not know unless you try." Sain thanked him, and watched, smiling gently as Adam's head began to droop a bit.. Tara touched him gently on the shoulder. "Best to pick up your things and go to bed. We have things to do tomorrow." Without protest, the boy placed each piece gently in the basket, and carried them back to his room. He stayed there, evidently, because nothing else was heard of him. "You'll sleep in the opposite room, Sain. Feel free to wear any of the clothes in there. They're probably about your size. You'll excuse us if we retire."
And so he was left to his own devices. He promptly went to the room provided for him, and began to take off his light armor and sleep. To help him drift away to sleep, he began to count rafters. He chuckled inwardly that, although there were likely sheep in the area, the journey to find them would be more tiring than counting them.
Sain woke up fairly early, but realized that he was not the first one up. It sounded as though Tara was bustling about in the kitchen. Sain chose one of the clean shirts left for him and found that they fit fairly well, although its previous inhabitant had broader shoulders than he. He walked into the sitting room to find Tara cooking breakfast over a fire, and Leon had a knife out, working a piece of wood. Adam was, once again, sitting in the floor with the replica warriors in an odd formation. Sain beamed and spoke jovially to them. "Good morning, all! I hope you all slept as well as I." Adam snorted a bit at him. "Guess we didn't, since you missed most of the morning anyway." Sain felt somewhat foolish for rising so late, but the boy's mother shot him a glance that, from possibly any other woman, would have been cause for flight. Leon, however, looked over at Sain and smiled a bit. "Good morning! Ready to learn your first lesson, I hope?" Sain nodded a bit, and sat opposite him. "Ready and eager." "Very well then. We'll start with this piece. See all these waves in it? I might make it part of the ocean, or a billowing robe, or even a person with long hair. Of course, it's all about what you see in the wood. The more you see in here, the more there is to make.."
And so the lesson continued, mostly about theory of carving wood, and seeing things in the wood. Finally, as Sain began to work on the hunk of wood, Tara announced that breakfast was ready. They sat and ate, Leon questioning him about carving, checking his understanding. Evidently Sain answered the questions satisfactorily, since he finally stood from the table. "Well, I must go, and begin the day's work. The crops do not tend themselves. And I need to clear out the northern patch, since we sold most of its grain."
Sain looked up admiringly at the older man, so resolute to his task. It would have been simple to sit inside and talk about wood all day. But he knew there was work to be done. "Is there something I could do to help? I would be glad to work and help out as best I can." "No. The fields are quite dull, and the only way you could really help is if you had another plow. I thank you for your offer, though."
Adam suddenly looked up, as if alarmed.. "We've got to hurry!" Sain looked down, and frowned, concerned. "What must we hurry for, my young friend?" "Apples," the boy stated solemnly. "They're probably ready by now. But I bet the animals are leagues ahead of us..." Sain fought valiantly to hold a straight face. The lad was so serious about the fruit, as if it was life or death. Tara frowned and shook her head. "Your father needs both the horses so he can get as much done in that stretch as he can. And besides, I don't want to send you out there alone."
Sain spoke up as he watched Adam's dissapointment. "I can take him. We can use my horse. Surely she can get us there and back with little trouble. Tara arched a brow. "Your horse can pull a cart?" Sain blushed a bit, wishing he wasn't so ignorant of simpler ways. The boy was serious about beating the animals.. A whole wagon full of apples.. "Well, no. We've never tried. But I'd say now is as good a time as any." Adam looked up, and the downtrodden look on his face suddely changed. "Oh, can I, mother? Please? I'll be good." "Alright. But when Sain decides to come back, you do so with no complaining. Understand?"
But before she could get an answer out of him, he was out the door, headed toward the stable. He was already checking the rigging on the harness, making sure it was right when Sain emerged with a pack of food for lunch. He set the food on the wagon seat and took Roshan out of her holding pen. She was eager to stretch her legs and followed him as if they were tied with an invisible rope. He slowly backed her into the harness, and Adam frowned at her.. "Cart horses are usually...bigger. Are you sure she can do it?" Sain grinned as he fastened the belts tightly, to keep the horse and wagon together. He winked at Adam. "I won't tell her if you don't. It would destroy her spirit, to find she couldn't do something. She can do it."
With that, Sain swung up onto the seat and cracked the reins. Roshan started, but was tugged back by the weight. "C'mon, girl. We've been in worse spots before. You're not going to let an old bit of wood stop you, hm? C'mon. Let's go!" With the words from her master and a crack of the reins, she surged forward, moving the cart, slowly at first. Then, she kept moving and the cart followed. Sain guided her, and offered encouragement as Adam guided him to the best position for the cart. When they had decided, they removed baskets from the wagon, and Sain unharnessed his steed. To think, a knight and charger acting as farmer and workhorse. He slapped Roshan on her flanks, and she wandered off to devour apples. Sain grinned and called after her. "Don't eat too much. You'll weigh yourself down and we'll never get back! What should I do if you got sick? T'would be embaressing if a charger were to be rescued by a plowhorse, hm?"
Roshan nickered back a reply very much akin to Adam's "Okay, okay.", and walked off. Sain and Adam began their day, picking apples. By the end of the day, they had a full cart, and had thrown rotten apples at each other, although neither had been aiming for a score. Only a splatter on the face or so. Adam was sitting on the cart when Sain brought Roshan back, who surveyed them like a mother inspecting dirty children. Sain laughed as she started, and sighed. "That was great fun. I should do things like that more often.." Adam looked up at him, and smiled brightly, the setting sun making his blonde hair shimmer. "I used to do thigs like that all the time, with John. He's my brother. But then he left." Sain watched the road, but replied, interested. "Really? Where did he go? I assume I'm staying in his room." Adam nodded and shrugged. "He said he was joining the Black Fang, to help the people. He's probably on an important mission right now..."
To which Sain could only say, "Indeed." This boy's brother had been a member of the league of assassains under Nergal's control. Sain sickened somewhat, knowing that he might have been involved with the man's death. The shroud covered him again, and the ride home was silent.
But the days following were cheery and simple, following a set routine. Carve, breakfast, work with Adam, and then come in, sup, and carve some more. Leon had observed his first real carving, and approved. "An old man in large robes, hm? Interesting, interesting. Someone you knew?" Sain smiled a bit and shrugged. "A man I knew a long time ago. He was very old." "You have talent enough." Thus the days wore on, untill he had been there almost a month. That night, he sat with Leon, working the wood again, and Leon looked at him. "You're much better. Very little left for me to teach you now. We'll be going into Bulgar tomorrow, and you might want to bring some of your carvings. Of course, whether you stay with us after that, or go along, is up to you. I know all of us have enjoyed having you here with us, especially Adam. But I have a feeling you don't belong here, and that you're growing restless.." Sain nodded a bit, and sighed.. "The road is calling me. I think I will come into town with you and go on from there. I'd like to thank you for allowing me to stay here. I've enjoyed it. I suppose you'll be needing this back?" Sain handed the knife back to him. Leon, however, refused it. "Keep it. You may decide to carve more later. I would be pleased if everytime you worked wood you thought of your time helping us. We have appreciated it." Sain nodded and tucked the knife in his belt. Suddenly, he paused..
"Did you say Bulgar?" "Yes, we go there to trade our goods." "I had no idea I was so close to the plains of the Sacae... Odd." "What's so odd?" "Nothing at all, my friend. I suppose we should rest, for tomorrow. "
END CHAPTER
Hope you enjoyed this chapter, although there was less action here than in the previous one. But in everything, there are interim periods, and those are as much a part of the story as the exciting parts. Plus this is an important part of the story to me.
Anyway, R&R, and drop me a line if you wish.
J.D.