shattered, soul wrenching loss. The parts of the stories left untold, hidden between the lines of the tales. Those were the stories Seth feared, the stories he had never been told, but he heard them, beneath the surface, the stories of those lost, that each began their final chapters at The Choosing.
The trees began to clear, as the path lead through the dense brush and over growth that would soon then lead them to the small farms of their village, to Vineleaf. All but the last traces of daylight had faded from the sky, carrying with it the last of the day’s warmth. Both brothers shared a sigh of relief, or was it a sigh of anticipation? Probably both. This was the last night they would see their home for a while, and both slowed their walk to take it all in one last time. The farm houses ahead were already alight from lanterns in the windows. Past that a few small houses stretched down the narrow road that ended at the inn. Vineleaf was a small community, self sufficient, and everyone got along well. There were only nine homes in the valley and everyone had a role to play in order to sustain the village. They pictured the faces as they passed wondering how long it would be before they might see them again. There were three farm houses all along the northern edge of the forest. The three families, the Briars all with red hair and freckles, the Stones dark haired and dark eyed, and the Golts with their brown hair and pale skin shared seeds, feed, and tools to keep their fields and herds growing. As it were the food was given freely to everyone who lived in Vineleaf, and any excess food was taken to the inn for storage, and to be sold to travelers or hunters. The first of the five remaining houses belonged to Julia and John Riser who had a small mill and bakery. The second belonged to Max the butcher and his wife Ellen and two young daughters Tina and Samantha. The third house belonged to Jack. He was the village blacksmith and handyman. The fourth house belonged to Emily and Rose, two middle aged sisters who had a loom and were excellent tailors. The fifth and final house belonged to Samuel Cobbler who could make anything out of leather, but specialized in shoes. The last building on the road was the Vineleaf inn. It was the only revenue the village had and so paid everyone’s taxes to the Kingdom, as well as used the funds to purchase anything that the village couldn’t make for themselves. The inn was Garret’s and Seth’s home. They lived here with their Father James, who had he been 20 years younger could have been the twin’s triplet. Their mother lived here once as well. The twins hardly remembered her face any longer but many in the village held fond memories of her. Those that lived here in Vineleaf weren’t just neighbors, they were family.
Both Garret and Seth stopped at the bottom of the steps to the inn and shared a look of remembrance. This was their home, it was all they had ever known, yet tomorrow they would be leaving, not knowing when or if they might return. Light streamed through the front windows of the inn. Smoke rose lazily from the twin chimneys that jutted from the roof from either side of the common room. The large oak door was closed to hold at bay the chill of the night time air. From somewhere inside voices trailed mutely to their ears.
“It seems we have guests.” Garret thought out loud.
“Yeah, we better go see if dad needs any help.” Seth replied shaking the thoughts of dismay from his skull.
They climbed the three steps to the door and Garret, grasping the large iron handle, heaved it open. Blazing yellow light swallowed them through the door, and a rush of warm air greeted them with the scent of stew enticing their nostrils. Both brothers paused a moment just inside the door to let their eyes adjust to the light.
“Boys!” Their dad thundered from the back of the room, standing behind the long oak bar. “Come hang your catch in the kitchen and get cleaned up there are some folks here to see you.”
“Alright.” Seth replied glancing to the seating area to see who had come, vaguely aware his brother was looking to see the guests as well.
The guests were gathered around the fireplace at the far right wall of the room, their backs to the twins. Both brothers recognized them even from behind, and headed off to the kitchen. Walking around the bar towards the kitchen door, Garret leaned towards his father and with a smirk and said.
“I beat him.”
“I heard that.” Replied Seth, and continued with a slightly annoyed tone. “You always beat me but you'll never outsmart me.”
Garret growled in response and shoved Seth through the door to the kitchen, flashing a smile towards their dad as he passed. They walked to the back of the kitchen, past the twin cooking fires to the back door. Both brothers unslung their rabbits and hung them on the pegs above the door, and placed their bows and quivers in the corner behind the crates of preserved foods. Garret’s forehead creased, and his eyebrows came together, obviously in deep thought about something. Seth knew the look; this was something his brother and himself did not have in common. For some reason Garret was unable to concentrate without mangling his features, it was not a habit he shared with his father so it must have been inherited from their mother.
“Whatcha thinking about?” Seth asked after staring at his brother’s grimace for a moment.
“Dad is cooking.” Garret replied. His face still entangled in thought.
“And….?” Seth questioned hoping for a more enlightening answer.
“Well, it’s kind of late… and only Jack, Samuel, and Emily are here. I’m sure they would have already eaten, and Dad doesn’t usually cook a large pot of stew for just the three of us.”
“Well it is our last night at home; he probably wants to make sure we were good and stuffed before we head out in the morning. Besides, there are four of us that need to eat.”
“Four?” Garret’s face scrunched back up in thought. “Who else needs to eat?”
“So you didn’t notice the man at the dining table near the window?” Seth waited for his brother’s response though he already knew the answer.
“No, I hadn’t noticed. Who is he?” Garret’s was still pondering, his eyebrows trying desperately to touch one another.
“He looks our age, so I would guess he is headed to The Choosing. Dad probably figures there might be a few more kids headed this way too, hence all the food.”
“That makes sense.” Garret’s face finally smoothed out before he continued. “Why do you think Jack, Emily, and Samuel are here?”
“I would suppose they came to say goodbye, but there is only one way we are going to find out” Seth said.
Seth shrugged his shoulders, smiling at his brother, slugged him in the arm before making a wild run back to the common room with Garret on his heels.
Seth raced into the common room with Garret wheeling right behind him and danced nimbly around the bar trotting across the room towards the fireplace where their dad had joined their neighbors around the fire. Seth stopped abruptly as he approached the gathering and noticed the dark swelling around their eyes. Garret, right behind him, nearly barreled him over not expecting the sudden stop. Walking around his brother, Garret too noticed the ashen faces of the people whom he considered family. He and his brother, thinking much the same, both gave a half nervous smile to the small gathering.
“We’re leaving for a while.” Seth said. “We’re not dead.”
Garret nodded in agreement.
This proclamation brought out smiles from the sullen faces of those loved ones that had gathered to wish them farewell. James waved the boys nearer the fire and it was then the twins noticed the bundles at their visitor’s feet. It was no surprise that they had brought the twins some going away gifts, they had done the same in the past for others who had made their eighteenth birthday and had to leave for The Choosing. The brothers looked at each other with a knowing glance and each gave Emily a hug, and each Jack and Samuel a stiff hand shake and thump on the back. Jack being, as always, straight to the point reached down and picked up the large leather bundle beside his feet. It was nearly four feet long, appeared quite heavy, and clanked as he picked it up.
“I’ve made you each something that I hope will come in handy along the way boys. They say that beasts from the south have been found venturing even this far north.' Jack said knowingly in his thick low voice.
He raised the bundle into one arm, cradling it like a baby and reached over the top with one enormous calloused hand and gave a tug to the small leather strap that kept the bundle wrapped up tight. The strap gave way and Jack quickly laid the bundle across both his arms allowing it to unroll down the length of his arms. It clanked like steel on steel as it unraveled and came to a stop just as it reached his palms. Upon the leather lay two exquisite swords, and a pair of twin daggers. The first sword was long and broad. Made from the finest steel it gleamed in the light of the fire as if it too were ablaze. Its surfaces so polished it reflected everyone’s faces back at them. To balance the enormous blade was a huge two handed hilt at the butt of which a large ball of gleaming steel held in place by a dragons claw with each of the talons facing down away from the blade, making even the hilt end of the sword deadly. The second sword lay beside the first. It was nearly as long as the two handed broad sword,
