Finn

  Finn Parker liked to knit. He didn't have to do it. The big village known as Modrium was fairly wealthy. They were just southeast of the capital city of Akhia. The closer a place was to the capital, the better off they were. For instance, this village was full of wealthy people or people like Finn who had family members that were knights. Being a knight usually involved moving to the capital with loved ones. Finn had lived there for a while when he was younger.

  So why did Finn Parker like to knit? Simple. He'd seen his mother, Beatrice, helping people out with their clothes growing up. She didn't have to do that. Most people would have just resigned themselves to buying new clothes. But she had insisted on fixing them instead of wasting money. And so Finn followed in her footsteps.

  He hummed as he fixed up someone's pants. Finn tapped his foot on the wooden floor beneath his feet.

  “I hope you're being careful with that needle!” Beatrice called out to Finn as she chopped up vegetables and placed them into a small bowl. They'd be having soup for dinner, and she liked to prepare early.

  “I am, Mom. Very careful.”

  “And you, Percy? Are you being careful?” She turned her amber eyes to the boy sitting across the table from Finn. Finn had gotten his eye color from his mother.

  “Yes, Mrs. Parker. I'm being super careful!” The boy named Percy nodded over at her. Percy was one of Finn's best friends. His light blue hair shook as he moved from side to side. He didn't care about knitting all that much. But he did like spending time with Finn. “We're just so close to being finished.”

  “Don't rush just because we're almost done.” Finn shook his head at Percy.

  “Good thing I'm not rushing then.” He stuck his tongue out at him.

  Finn tried not to laugh. He knew that if he did, he'd accidentally jab his finger with the needle. “Percy!”

  “It's fine. Plus, even if I do hurt myself, I can always fix it.”

  “You shouldn't allow yourself to get hurt simply because it can be fixed. Tell him, dear.” Beatrice addressed her husband, Zachary.

  Zachary cleaned the living room but stopped when Beatrice addressed him. “I'm not sure. I've injured myself plenty of times in the heat of battle and made sure to heal myself later.” He coughed when he saw the look of horror on her face. “But she's right. You shouldn't think it's fine to be hurt simply because you can make it better. Especially when you aren't in a battle. Your life, your flesh, and your bones are important. You shouldn't put them in danger if you can avoid it.” He came over for a moment and ruffled Percy's hair.

  “Yes sir.” Percy pouted a little at the lecture but didn't object.

  “By the way, Percy, is your mother stopping over for dinner?” Beatrice went back to cutting up vegetables.

  “Umm…I don't think so. She said she doesn't like to intrude.”

  “Well it's hardly intruding. We're practically neighbors. Plus, you and our little Finn have been attached at the hip ever since we moved here. She's practically our flesh and blood too.”

  “Mom!” Finn tried to cover his face with his hands and almost poked his eye out with the needle. “I'm fifteen. Do I really have to be little?”

  “Even when you're a grown man with little ones running around, you'll still be my little Finn.”

  “Little ones?” Percy perked up at that. His mouth twitched as he tried to keep a straight face.

  “Oh yes. Whatever lucky lady our little Finn ends up bringing home is going to be so lucky.”

  “Do you have any ladies in mind?” He asked as he finished knitting and put the needle down.

  “Percy-”

  “Of course. That Ashley girl first and foremost.”

  Percy burst out laughing at that. He cackled so hard that Finn was worried he might choke.

  “What? What's wrong with her?”

  “There's…nothing wrong with her, Mom! Can we talk about something else?” Finn’s cheeks were so hot he thought he was going to burst into flames any second now.

  “You didn't deny it.” Percy placed the last of his section of the fixed clothes into a basket. “Do you actually like her?”

  “Percyyyyy!”

  “Finnnnnn!” He whined back teasingly.

  “Dad, help me out.”

  “It would be impolite of me to interfere with my son's love life. I can only wish you the best from afar.”

  He let out an over dramatic sigh as he finished his share of clothes to repair. “Let's just go.” Finn placed the clothes in the other basket and got up with Percy. They bolted over to the door, and we're about to head out.

  “Shoes!” Beatrice reminded them.

  “Thanks, Mom!” Finn and Percy stopped to grab their shoes from by the entrance of the house.

  “And remember, selection time is more than likely coming up soon. So be careful and-”.

  “Don't use magic!” Finn finished.

  “But if you have to use it-” Zachary glanced over at the two of them. He brushed his dark brown hair away from his face so he could see them properly. Finn had gotten his hair color from his father.

  “Be sure not to get caught!” Percy finished.

  Beatrice made a little sound of disapproval at having to encourage rulebreaking to her son. But at the same time, she didn't disagree. If it came down to Finn breaking a rule or staying alive, she'd tell him to break that rule one hundred times over. “Now be safe out there.”

  “We will!” Percy and Finn spoke at the same time before they left the house. They ran together over the stone ground beneath their feet. Both of them were grateful that Beatrice had given them a reminder to wear shoes. Running barefoot over stones was not a very pleasant experience.

  Finn smiled as he inhaled the fresh air around himself. The sun smiled back at him as it gave light to the village. There were a few clouds in the distance, but the sun was still mostly visible. Percy was equally as excited. So excited that they both almost ran into a knight.

  “Watch it!” The man in silver armor called out to them.

  “Sorry!”

  “Sorry that you're so lame.” Percy muttered under his breath.

  The two of them split up and knocked on the doors of the nearby houses to give people their clothes back.

  “Thank you, Finn!” A cheery lady smiled at him as he handed her a shirt which previously had a hole in it.

  “No problem, Ma'am!”

  “Here you go.” Percy handed an older man a pair of pants.

  “Thank you, Mr. Sunkal.”

  “Hey, Finn.” One of the boys from around the village called out to him. “Still knitting for people?”

  “You know it.”

  “You should hang out with some of us instead of doing that. Knitting is so girly.”

  “Nothing wrong with being a girl!” He called out as he ran to the next house.

  The two of them continued to hand out clothes until the neighbors had gotten them all and their baskets were empty.

  “Phew. We're done.” Percy wiped the sweat from his forehead.

  “We haven't even done that much running.”

  “Maybe. I'm still hot. Plus, I like having extra tools.”

  “Uh huh.” Finn shook his head as they approached the barrier of the village.

  “Speaking of hot, what do you think about Ashley?”

  Finn dashed forward out of the barrier. He hoped to leave his swirling feelings behind with Percy's comment. “Race you there!”

  “Hey! You started early! Cheater!”

  The wind was his ally. So he technically was cheating. But only a little bit. But it was important. They had kept her waiting long enough. He dashed through the forest until he reached a familiar clearing. Where he saw her.

  A familiar girl with long light brown hair that blew in the wind. She wore dark green clothes and stood near a large lake. She turned as she heard Finn's footsteps and her eyes narrowed. Those very dark green eyes of hers. Green like most of the leaves above. Green like the grass that surrounded them. Or perhaps green like…

  “You're late.” She spoke. Her expression became one of mild annoyance.

  “Huh?”

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  “I said you're late. Why?”

  “Hello to you too, Ashley.” Percy slid into the clearing and smiled at her. “Our day was great. Thanks for asking.”

  Yes. She was Ashley Rivers. The third member of the trio of best friends.

  “I just asked a simple question.”

  “And I'm giving you a simple answer. If you're so impatient that you wanted us to be here faster, you should've helped us knit. Four hands work faster than two. So six hands would've been even faster.”

  Ashley frowned. “So this is my fault?”

  “I didn't say that. But if you want to take it that way it's fine.”

  Finn could see the tension brewing between the two of them and decided to step in. “Hey. Let's not do this, guys. We just got together-”.

  “No. He's blaming me for something I didn't even do. I can't even knit!”

  “Well…you could've asked us.” Finn muttered.

  “What?”

  “You could've asked us to teach you.”

  That was not the right thing to say. Her face went bright red with anger. “Oh so you're taking his side too!” She marched towards him.

  “No! I just…ugh!” He backed up. “I just don't think it's fair that you're blaming us.”

  “You're blaming me!”

  Finn backed up again as she raised her voice and his shoe sunk deep into mud. He glanced back and saw that he was merely a few steps away from the lake. Another step or two and he would surely fall in.

  But Ashley continued advancing. She either didn't notice or didn't…

  Ashley gasped as water slammed into the side of her head and sent her face first into the mud.

  Percy's eyes widened. “Oh. Oops.”

  “Ugh!” Ashley got up and wiped the mud from her face. “Seriously? What did you even do that for?”

  “Sorry. You were getting super close to Finn. And he was super close to the lake. And I thought-”.

  “You thought what?” Her gaze softened. “That I would hurt him?”

  “Sorry…”.

  “I was mad. But I'd never hurt either of you. You're the best friends I could ask for. Even if you annoy me sometimes.”

  “So…are we cool?” Percy reached down to help her up.

  “Yeah. Wait.” She narrowed her eyes. His forehead was mysteriously dry now. “Did you seriously use your SWEAT water on me?”

  “Better than using piss water, yeah?”

  She cringed at that. “Don't even know what to say to that.”

  “Do you want me to take it back?”

  “No. You two have fun. It was nice seeing you. But I've had enough for today!” She got up and marched out of the clearing.

  Finn gently punched Percy in the shoulder. "Why'd you hit her with your sweat?”

  He shrugged. “I was panicking.”

  “Would you seriously use your piss on someone?”

  “Probably not one of my friends. But maybe if I really had to.”

  “That's so gross.” Despite that, Finn had a small smile on his face.

  “If I can gross my opponent out hard enough they might not want to fight anymore.” He smirked. “Plus, at least I didn't use my spit.”

  “Sweat is way more gross than spit.”

  “But I'd rather sweat go into my mouth rather than spit.”

  “What about piss?”

  “Now who's the gross one?” Percy snickered and walked over to the lake.

  “Hope you're not thinking about jumping in. I don't want to get my clothes wet going after you.” Finn gestured to his very clean brown pants and white shirt.

  "Your clothes wouldn't get wet anyway.” Percy grabbed his wrist.

  “Percyyyy!”

  “Finnnnn!” He pulled him close and jumped into the lake.

  Finn closed his eyes initially and waited.

  Percy inhaled and blew until a giant bubble surrounded them both. “You can open them now.”

  “Thank you. You're so lucky I can't punch you right now.”

  “You could. You'd just get separated from me. And get super wet.”

  “No thanks.”

  He giggled. His turquoise eyes shone brightly in the lake. Percy had one hand clutching Finn's waist and the other on his shoulder. Finn was holding desperately onto Percy's waist. It was like an underwater dance. “So now that we're a lot more…intimate.” Percy nuzzled his nose against Finn's in a teasing way to show their closeness. “Do you actually like Ashley?”

  “Percy!”

  “You can't run away this time. If you do, you'll drown.”

  “You'd save me.”

  “Maybe. But I do want an answer.”

  “I don't know.”

  “How do you not know?” Percy's clothes were a mix of green and blue. He almost blended in fully with the lake.

  “I just don't. I mean, I like being around her. I enjoy spending time together. But I also enjoy spending time with you.”

  “Surely there has to be some difference.”

  “I guess…I like the way she smiles.”

  “Her smile?”

  “Yeah. It makes me feel warm and stuff. But I don't know. Isn't that just normal friend stuff?”

  “Do you like seeing me smile?”

  “I don't know. I don't really think about that stuff.”

  “Ask your parents.”

  “What?”

  “If you're confused about what it means to be friends with someone and like them, you should ask.”

  “No!”

  “Why not?”

  “It's embarrassing.”

  “You knit with your mom.”

  “Yeah. And I like spending time with her. But I'm not going to talk with them about liking people.”

  Percy rolled his eyes. “Sure. Whatever you say.”

  “What about you? Do you like anyone?”

  He shrugged. “I dunno.”

  “You're as bad as I am!”

  He shook his head. “If I liked someone, I'd tell them right away. Not admire their smiles or whatever.”

  Finn's face grew red again and for a second he thought that drowning would be a better alternative to this conversation. “Hey. Percy.”

  “Yeah?”

  “If I ever do find out how I feel, you'll be the first to know.”

  He gave a big smile at that. “Good.” He spun the two of them around.

  “Just because you can stop us from being wet doesn't mean you can stop us from getting dizzy! Stop!”

  “Sorry…you know what would be really fun?” Water started pushing the bubble up towards the surface.

  “Percy…”.

  “This is going to be amazing!”

  “PERCY!” Finn shouted as they broke the surface and shot into the air. A large stream of water held them up. “We're supposed to be sneaky with our magic use.” He shifted his face away from Percy’s now that he didn't have to worry about drowning.

  "Oh come on. Who's going to see-”.

  “What's going on here?” An unfamiliar stern voice called out from the grass next to them.

  Percy's eyes widened as he lost focus for a second and the two of them plummeted towards the water as the stream came undone. He regained his focus for just a second as they were about to hit the water and made it so they didn't fall below the surface. “Fun ruined…”.

  “You two. Out of the water!” A male knight stood head to toe in armor and was watching them both.

  Percy sighed as he held Finn's hand to keep him from falling in. Together, they walked back to land and hopped into the mud.

  “You two know you're not allowed to use magic unless you're a knight.”

  “Finn wasn't using magic. It was just me.” Percy looked down at his shoes.

  “Really now?”

  “Yes. So if you're going to punish me or give me a lecture, let it be just me.”

  “Percy…”.

  “It's okay.” Percy smiled at him.

  “Very well. You may go.” The knight nodded at Finn.

  Finn frowned. Percy was his best friend. He couldn't stand the idea of him getting in trouble alone. He shot a gust of wind forward and knocked the knight into the mud.

  “You little brat!”

  Percy's eyes widened at that. But he smirked a moment later. If they were getting in trouble, it would be together. He raised his arms and lifted a large body of water into the air from the lake.

  “Hey! What are you-”.

  But the knight didn't get to finish. Percy slammed the water down onto the knight. “Sorry. My friend got you all dirty. So I thought I could help you clean yourself.”

  Finn held his sides as he began to laugh uncontrollably.

  “Oh. You think it's funny, do you?”

  Percy winked at the knight and dove into the water. He shot through the water and was out of sight within moments.

  “Bye!” Finn gave the knight a little wave before using the air to send him shooting across the ground. He was a blur of a person. A master of speed. Finn and Percy both liked helping people. But with Finn's air magic and Percy's water magic, they could be quite a duo of trouble. He cheered as he dashed through the forest back towards the village. But he made one major error.

  Finn was used to running and using the wind to give himself a boost in speed. He was not used to doing that with mud on his shoes, however. He slid just a bit too far and tripped on a tree branch. The boost in speed caused him to shoot into the air and flip repeatedly. He flew far above the trees, and his dizziness only worsened with each flip. Then he began to plummet. His head was spinning so much that he couldn't focus enough to adjust the air or slow his descent. He would likely smash his head open against the ground. He screamed.

  And then suddenly he stopped falling. He felt an arm around his waist again. “I've got you.” A reassuring male voice spoke into his ear. It was nothing like the constantly angry voice of the knight from earlier. This one was dripping with charm.

  The man had bright red hair and dark red eyes. He had a bright white uniform that had mixings of red as it went down. His pants were completely red. His skin was light, and he wore a smile that oozed confidence. He was clearly a knight. But his armor was nowhere to be found. This man was…

  “Julius?” Finn smiled up at him.

  “At your service.” He floated back towards the path Finn had flown off of.

  “How did you know I was here?”

  “I sensed quite a bit of mana use coming from outside the village and became curious.”

  “That makes sense. But still, it's been so long since I've seen you.” He smiled as they landed on solid ground.

  “That's because it has been. The last time we saw each other was when we were both little boys. Now you're a slightly taller little boy. And I'm a man.” Julius was only three years older than him. Back when Finn used to live in the capital, he'd seen him as a little boy. A tragedy had occurred back then. And because of that tragedy, Julius was forced to become a knight at a very young age. He became one of the strongest people alive. The strongest knight alive. People heard tales of how strong he was. He became known as The Bloodstained Knight.

  “I'm not that little.” Finn mumbled as he stepped away from him. “Oh! Have you been at the capital lately?”

  “Not very often, unfortunately. Constant battles and going out to help people. Why?”

  “Oh. I was wondering if you knew how Zek…I mean how his highness the prince is doing?”

  “Ah. His highness unfortunately leaves the capital very often to travel on his own. No one really knows what he does. He insists on not taking any knights or guards with him. Quite reckless, to say the least, but he always comes back eventually.”

  “I see.” His shoulders slumped as he let out a sigh.

  “I can let him know you said hello whenever he comes back.”

  “Thank you, Julius.”

  “Of course.” He gave a small bow.

  “Hey. Julius.”

  “Yes?”

  “Can you do me a favor?”

  “Of course.”

  “Can you…show me a cool magic move of yours?”

  Julius blinked a few times in surprise. Then, a smile blossomed on his face. “As you wish. But it can't be too destructive. Or I'll annihilate this forest and your entire village.”

  “Scary…hmm. Maybe you could aim it high in the sky?” He pointed up at the clouds above them.

  “Up there? I suppose I could. But then I'd have to be careful not to hit the sun.”

  “Haha. You're kidding, right?”

  Julius merely winked in response. He inhaled and his body became surrounded with a bright blue glow. The ground beneath them began to shake. The glow traveled all the way down to his right hand. Then he swung it upwards towards the sky.

  A powerful gust of wind shot out of his hand. The leaves clung desperately onto the trees as the wind traveled higher. Higher. And higher still. Before the wind reached the cloud above them and sliced it neatly in two. A moment later, the cloud was torn apart as the slash traveled farther up and disappeared from sight.

  “Was that to your satisfaction?” Julius turned to him with a smile.

  Finn's hair had been blown upwards by the powerful gust of wind and he'd even been sent back a few feet. The bottom of his shirt had also been flung on top of his head. His stomach and upper body were exposed, and his pants were now covered in dirt and grass. He looked like a wild boy who lived in the forest.

  “Ah. I'm sorry. I tried to hold back as much as I could.” He pulled the boy's shirt down and helped dust him off.

  Finn took a few seconds to blink. “Don't be. I'm the one who asked. Plus…that was so cool!”

  He nodded and bowed to the trees. “I apologize for startling you.”

  The knight from earlier walked over to them. “I figured that was you, Julius.” He let out a sigh of exasperation. “And you!” He pointed his finger at Finn.

  “Did Finn do something wrong?”

  “You bet he did! That little brat and his friend attacked me earlier.”

  “Did they now?”

  Finn suddenly found the ground to be very entertaining.

  “Yeah! They did.”

  Julius smiled. “Well I'll have to give them a stern talking to later then.”

  “All you're going to do is talk to them? They were using magic. Illegally. And they attacked a knight.”

  “He and his friends are just children. I'm sure your life wasn't in any danger.”

  “So you're going to give them a slap on the wrist simply because they're kids.”

  “Is that wrong?”

  “Yeah. I think it's plenty wrong.” He lifted his finger up towards Julius’ face. “You were a kid when you joined the knights. And that boy, Michael Bennett, stormed the capital when he was a little kid. And he killed your father. Have you already forgiven him?”

  Julius’ expression darkened the moment his father was brought up. “That isn't what we were discussing.”

  “Wasn't it? Look. All I'm saying is a person being a child doesn't mean they're defenseless. And if you let a child get away with too much, they'll turn into arrogant older brats who let their power go to their head.”

  “Thank you for your valuable opinion.” He said coolly. “Finn. Let's get back to the village. It's about time.”

  “Oh. Right.” Every so often, the knights recruited people from villages to add to their numbers. They usually chose people from middle class and upper class villages. Becoming a knight brought in lots of wealth for one's family. They were paid quite well considering how dangerous the job was. Knights being selected was a random occurrence. It could happen every few weeks, every few months, or even every few years.

  The two of them walked back towards the village. Finn stared at Julius. The knight's comment had clearly impacted him in some way. “Are you…okay?”

  “Oh. Yes. I'm fine. More importantly, I believe they'll be trying to get your father to become a knight again.”

  “They always try to get him to join back.” He shrugged.

  “So you say. But something feels different about this time.”

  “Is that why you've decided to come with them?”

  Julius nodded. “They wouldn't tell me what they had planned. But I could feel that something was off. So I wanted to come along.”

  “What could they be trying to do?” Finn had noticed that there were quite a few knights who had come this time. Their village already had knights wandering around as protection. So there shouldn't have been a need to send this many.

  “Don't worry. Should any conflict arise, I will personally intervene.” He said as they both entered the barrier of the village.

  The knights had grouped up the people of the village for selection. Finn quickly found his family. Percy stood with his mother, Selina Sunkal, not too far away.

  A knight stood in front of all of them. He had his helmet removed so his face was visible. He had no hair. He was a bit older than most of the knights who had come to the village. The man had a nasty scowl. His left eye was a dark brown. His right eye had a thick scar that ran across it. This man was the most persistent of the knights who came around to convince Zachary to return. His name was…

  “Borek.” Finn muttered to himself. The tall, scary looking knight sneered as if he'd heard him whisper his name.

  “If I point at you, please step forward.”

  Borek pointed at a few healthy looking boys Finn had occasionally seen in the village. Then he pointed at a father. A young woman. And finally…

  “You.” He smirked as he pointed at Ashley.

  “What? Me?”

  “Yes. Are you deaf? Step up.”

  Her parents looked worried, but Ashley stepped forward with a smile on her face.

  “Now, let's-”.

  “Hold on a second!” Finn shouted.

  “Is there a problem, boy?”

  Zachary reached out to stop Finn, but he stepped forward. “Yeah. There is a problem. If you're making Ashley join, I want to join too!”

  Borek smirked at that. “Oh really? Fine then. You can join.”

  Percy and Zachary stepped forward. “If Finn…”

  “If my son…”

  “Is joining then, so am I!” They both finished at the same time.

  Beatrice sighed at that but didn't object. She knew her husband and her son well enough to know that they had already made up their mind.

  Selina, on the other hand, looked worried. “Percy. You don't have to do this…”.

  “I do. I just do. I can't let my friends run off without me. I know you're worried, Mom. But I have to do this. Or else I'd never be able to sleep at night.”

  Borek chuckled. “Well. That's settled then.”

  “Yes. Your underhanded tactics are indeed settled.” Zachary glared at him.

  “Excuse me?”

  “You knew I would refuse to join you if you asked again. So this time, you targeted my son's friend. You knew his nature would encourage him to join and that I would follow.”

  “How rude. I made the decision not to ask you to join out of the kindness of my heart, and now you're throwing accusations at me? I'm hurt. We're old friends, aren't we?” His smirk grew wide.

  Zachary marched toward him with a dark look on his face.

  Borek reached for two giant cleavers on his back.

  “Enough!” Julius spoke. He stood between the two of them. “Zachary, do you have any objections?”

  “I do…not.”

  “Borek, are you done recruiting?”

  “I am.”

  “Then both of you cease this at once. Or I will use force.”

  Borek nodded and moved his hands away.

  Zachary turned his attention back to his family. He gave both Finn and Beatrice a hug. “I'm sorry.”

  “Don't be. It was nice while it lasted. But I knew you couldn't stray from the path of the sword forever. Not when you're so good at it.” Beatrice planted a kiss on his cheek.

  Finn didn't have much to say. He felt bad for his father. But he absolutely couldn't let Ashley join without him.

  Percy hugged his mother and reassured her that everything would be alright.

  The only one who didn't say anything was Ashley. Even when her parents called out to her in worry. She continued to stare at the ground. Her smile from earlier had mysteriously vanished. It was now replaced by an expression that looked blank. Yet was somehow not.

  Borek clapped his hands together. “Alright! Now that that's done, the rest of you can go back to whatever you were doing. Everyone who was selected, follow me after you've secured your belongings and any valuables you'd like to keep! We'll be riding by carriage to the capital soon!”

  Finn Parker liked to knit. But he had a feeling he wouldn't get the chance to do it again for a very long time.