The Broken Branch

[dupuy 318]

 

   "You there! Serf! I have a job for you!" growled the man-at-arms as he caught the boy by the arm. "Fill this pail at the well and bring it to the feed trough for the horses. Lord Charles wants his animal well watered today for the hunt." With that, the soldier pushed the boy away and hurled a wooden bucket at him before walking off to find another helpless peasant to torment. 

 

    Thirteen-year-old Edwin slowly reached towards the bucket, wincing as his arm cramped from being handled so roughly. He watched the soldier with contempt, but quickly turned his gaze when the man looked back over his shoulder. Everyone in his parish knew better than to be caught gawking at one of Lord Charles's retainers.

 

   Edwin had lived all of his life in this manner; as a serf to Lord Charles. His master was wishfully evil and oppressive to all of his servants, expecting them to work like horses. The men-at-arms were no better, as they found pleasure in carrying out their lord's wishes. The last thing that Edwin wanted to do was get on the wrong side of one of these soldiers, as he might sit in the stocks for a week.

 

   Yet despite this gloomy life, Edwin had a hope that it would change soon. His twenty-year-old brother had been the only of Lord Charles's servants to escape his iron hand, and before he left, he had told Edwin and his family something.

 

   "I will return with others like us, that have felt the hand of oppression and are willing to fight to free themselves and us. The rabble that Lord Charles calls his garrison are no great warriors. We can overthrow them." With that he had disappeared and no one in the parish had seen him since. Some of them said he was dead, or that he had lied to them, but Edwin believed him. 

 

   Since his brother had left, Edwin had waited intently for his return, as had his parents. Every day, he searched for even the slightest sign of something out of the ordinary, hoping that it could mean the return of his sibling and his freedom.

 

   That was exactly what he was doing today as he jogged through the dew kissed grass that led out of the village towards the well. Nearing the tree line, Edwin slowed his spry and muscular body to a walk. The well was not too far ahead now; it was just a little ways into the forest next to a big olive tree.

 

   Edwin immediately noticed something amiss when he reached the well. There were at least ten men-at-arms and two serfs gathered around the olive tree looking at something on the ground. One of the men stepped aside, revealing a large tree branch. Edwin walked closer, and he saw the stub of a branch protruding from the trunk of the tree. The cut was not perfectly clean, yet it had not been bent and broken as in a storm. It almost looked as if it had been cut with... a sword! Edwin's eye caught a glimpse of glimmering steel on the ground next to the branch and could just make out the hilt of a sword before a heavy hand landed on his shoulder.

 

   "Enough gawking for today, boy," said the gruff voice of the soldier to which the hand belonged. "Let us worry about insolent vandals and you go about your chores." The man shoved Edwin away and lifted a threatening hand before turning around, blocking his view of the scene.

 

   "If only I could see who's sword it was," thought Edwin to himself. If it was his brother's he knew that today could be a day of freedom. As he was filling his bucket at the well, however, a chilling thought struck him. Many bands of vicious mercenaries and outlaws roamed the countryside, and it was not uncommon for them to attack and pillage a small parish like this one. Lord Charles had many enemies, and if the cryptic cut branch had anything to do with them, then Edwin and his family, as well as all of the other peasants, were in great danger.

 

   Edwin was suddenly awakened from his dream world by a crash and a yell. Startled, he threw his head towards the village and listened. A sound of many voices in a yell reached his ears and rang through the forest in ever increasing-volume. The men-at-arms gathered around the tree reached for their swords and ran towards the village, leaving Edwin standing awestruck with his bucket. He finally came to his senses and tore off through the woods and into the field, back in the direction from which he came. The sound of clashing steel was almost deafening as he neared his hut, and he pressed on harder, unsure if he was about to enter the open arms of freedom or the strangle-hold of captivity.

 

   The last hill before the village that came into the view was just ahead of him and he slowed his run, unsure whether to take the risk of being captured, or something even worse. Edwin dropped on the ground and crawled to the edge of the grassy knoll, his senses blurred and his face crawling with sweat. Petrified, he peered over the top. Edwin's fear and terror instantly vanished like a drop of water in a fire when he saw the man atop the horse. It was his brother; there was no doubt. Edwin would never have forgotten his thick brown hair and broad chest. The fighting had stopped and a handful of men were disarming the soldiers. In the midst of them was Lord Charles, sputtering and cursing at the two men that were holding him in place. 

 

   Edwin could no longer contain his excitement. 

"William!' he cried as he burst over the hill and ran towards the men below. The man on horseback turned around and smiled as he dismounted. His face was rugged and had the appearance of hard work and toil.

 

   "Edwin my dear brother!' exclaimed William as he embraced his younger sibling. "Do not worry; Father and Mother are safe." Edwin was overjoyed and felt as if he was in a dream. He thought for a moment on how foolish he was to have thought of bandits and mercenaries until he remembered what had instigated his terror.

 

   William, the tree," he said. "What of the olive tree?" William looked perplexed at this seemingly meaningless comment.

 

   "What olive tree? What do you mean, Edwin?"

 

   "You remember the one next to the well?" William nodded in response. "There was a branch chopped off of it and a sword on the ground this morning," continued Edwin. 

 

   "Oh that," replied William. One of my men was cutting firewood for us this morning when a group of men-at-arms began walking his direction. He had just finished cutting a branch when they neared him. The branch was too big to carry, so he left it and accidentally dropped his sword while running." Edwin nodded at his brother's explanation.

 

   "I should have known, but the whole appearance was just sinister in a way," he said. He was only beginning to fully understand what had taken place; that he was free and safe.

 

   "Let's not stay around here any longer," said William. "There is another village near here with a lord much more kind than Charles. He took me under wing and provided me with these men to come rescue you and everyone else here. He has also promised to give of shelter and a permanent home. Come; get Mother and Father and we shall be on our way."

 

   Later that day as Edwin and his family, along with all the other serfs, entered the gates of the new village, the weight of bondage was lifted off of them for the first time in years. They were welcomed with open arms by a content and well cared for crowd of free workers, and Edwin finally felt as if he was accepted by others. He would never forget that day; the day that his life changed so much for the better; the day of the broken branch.

 

____________________________________________________________________________________________

 

This story has NO connection to War For The Kingdom. It is a little something that I put together on spare time  :). War for The Kingdom (Part 4) is still being written, so it will be a little while before I can post it. Thanks for reading!

[Flexoo 6,980]

Approved.

 

Edits:

- Capitalized one word,

- rephrased few words in some sentences,

- minor grammar fixes,

 

---

 

Nice story, although I personally lacked some sort of plot twist or more drama as the story introduces the theme of oppression and the ending closes the story in a way: "everyone lived happily ever after".

 

But, every story is different so I can't really hold this against you. I guess, I just expect too much tragedy and bloodshed  :ph34r:

[Person_Random 4,991]

But, every story is different so I can't really hold this against you. I guess, I just expect too much tragedy and bloodshed  :ph34r:

I wonder why...

Edited February 22, 2019 by Person_Random

[Venerable 2,967]

Wow Dupuy, I didn't see this before! What a wonderfully written story!

[dupuy 318]

Wow! Thanks for the comments! I never expected to get any feedback on an over - one year old post, but guess I was wrong. 

[Venerable 2,967]

29 minutes ago, dupuy said:

Wow! Thanks for the comments! I never expected to get any feedback on an over - one year old post, but guess I was wrong. 

I was actually going through the last few articles in the AWS (page 7 I believe), and I saw your nick! So I just read your piece and liked it!  

[dupuy 318]

23 hours ago, Venerable said:

I was actually going through the last few articles in the AWS (page 7 I believe), and I saw your nick! So I just read your piece and liked it!  

Thanks ;) I have a couple old ones under a similar theme called "War For the Kingdom". They are in parts of one two, three, etc. . . I wrote some of the earlier ones when I was younger so they may not be as vivid or detailed as this one, but the story is incomplete and I intend to pick it back up again where it left off. Hopefully, I can upload the next part to the forum before long.