Momma yelled at me again today. I went into the meadow again. It's soft there. Quiet. The Baron's soldiers walk along the path, but I head into the field. It's like heaven, as Papa often said. I like to pick the Daffodils out of the grass. They look pretty like Momma, so I pluck them and take them home. But she wasn't happy. She says I'm not allowed by the road and to stay inside.
I stay inside like Momma says. I'm bored, but I don't want to make her upset, so I sit and sigh as she cleans. She feels bad for yelling, so we play together. She tells me all kinds of things. Her voice gets low as she starts to talk about the knights in red.
"The Templars are bad, Dear. You stay away from them, no matter what they say. Never trust a knight in red."
Momma doesn't like them. She looks angry, so I don't question. Instead, we cook supper. She cuts vegetables for stew, and I carry them to the pot above the coals.
Its hard to light the fire, but Momma doesn't need to. Her fingers move, and then flames dance onto the coals. I've seen it many times, but I still stare in wonder as she does it. I want to know how, but Momma says its a special gift, and that it's our little secret. Even from Papa.
When I ask why, Momma gets a sad look on her face. She says that other people don't understand her gift. They get scared. I watch her flick more fire from her fingertips. It swirls and settles under the pot. I look at Momma again. I tell her that her gift is pretty. She smiles.
Papa works with the Baron's soldiers. He's gone alot, but he I think he knows about Momma's gift. It makes him angry. Sometimes Papa gets loud; Momma screams back. I cover my ears to escape the noise, but its too loud. So I run away into the meadow. I play with the daffodils until Papa leaves again. When I come back, Momma is very upset.
She starts to hide in her room more, and her breath starts to smell funny. It smells the same as a bottle of ale. I don't get to see her much anymore. Papa never comes back home. I go back to play at the meadow again; Momma is too upset to notice.
I want to play in the pretty field, but I can't. The Baron's soldiers have passed by. They leave deep footprints, and they crushed all the daffodils. I start to cry. I'm angry and upset and can't keep my fists from shaking. I clinch my hands, and sparks shoot out. Soon there is a small flame on my fingertips. My anger leaves, I get excited and run to tell Momma.
I show her the sparks and smile. Because I have a gift like Momma too. I thought she would be happy. But Momma starts to cry. I don't see her for the rest of the day.
Papa comes home. He looks less angry, but he still stares at us with hate. Momma stands her ground, and I stand behind her.
Behind Papa, is the knights in red. Templars. Momma's eyes get wide, then she falls down. I grab her arm and try to hold her up, but Papa has already pushed me to the red knights. One of them look at me with sad eyes. He has muddy brown hair and a fuzzy beared. I can only gawk back as he stares. I kick and scream as they drag me from our home, through the meadow and to the road. I claw at the ground, tearing down the daffodills as I try to break free. Momma screams from far away. I don't see her anymore.
It's been twelve years since. I sit in a familar wooden chair, daydreaming of anyplace other than the tower. I yearn to see Daffodills again. I pray to see my mother, even though I know she's dead. I dream of finding my father again. To put him through the same pain and suffering as us.
Mother's words still whisper in my head. "Never trust a knight in red." I stare beside me to the same Templar from so long ago. His muddy hair and beared is withered in grey, but he still stares with the same sympathetic gaze. I glare back. Mother was right. Templars are bad.
I gently slip my hands from beneath my robes. Fire slowly builds on my fingertips. Just like all those years before. I'm read to go home, my little field of Daffodills and sweet silence. I'm ready to see Momma again.