The Crimson Claymore

Chapter One Searon ambled through the alleyways of crowded Augealia, completely ignoring the merchants who hounded him with their entreaties. He knew they had seen him giving a small bag of coins to a poor beggar woman and her children and no doubt figured he had plenty to spare. He dared not meet their gaze, but kept his steady pace as he moseyed past them. Suddenly, something walloped into him from behind, making him stagger and nearly tumble to the ground. It was a young girl, grown barely higher than his waist, with a loaf of fresh bread in her arms. The smell taunted his stomach as she gaped up at him with her watery blue eyes. He understood her fear—he was probably the most intimidating man in the crowd in his plate mail and scabbard, except, of course, for the two guards with short scimitars in pursuit of the girl. He glanced back down at her. She cowered in fear. He reached to grab her arm, but she was too quick, and she dashed away through the crowd, stopping only long enough to stick her tongue out at him. Searon gaped at the girl as she receded into the distance. She had some nerve, although it was hard for him to judge: Was she merely a thief, or a true survivor? She didn’t look as if she had any money, with her torn cotton and leather dress, and her dirt-stained hair, about which he could only wonder—had it once been blonde? Her smudged face looked as if it hadn’t been washed in months. He tried to catch up to her, sprinting now, but she ran far too quick for him. The guards had reached him and bumped into him, but ignored him and sprinted on, intent only on catching the girl. In their loose chain mail, they made entirely too much racket and seemed mere footmen compared to Searon, with his finely honed tracking skills, and it was amusing to watch them fall behind the clever girl. Searon knew by the way they chased the girl from behind, with little regard for tranquility, their intellect hadn’t been very high; he knew chasing through a crowd would never be the best way to catch someone. Searon cut through a few shops and into an alley. He figured if the young girl had been stealing food to feed herself, she’d have made a roundabout back through the shops to lose the guards. Instead of foolishly joining the chase, he decided to intercept her when she headed back. Every stone wall in the nearly deserted alleys was spiderwebbed with cracks. The village did not appear to have spent money to fix them for a long time. It had just stopped raining, and water draining along the walls eroded the cracks ever deeper. A few crows watched him from the rooftops. Searon followed a small gravelly path through the still puddles. When ripples began to form on the surface of the puddles, Searon peered up to see what could be making them. Fast footsteps echoed in the water in a chill whisper. The young girl splashed into plain sight from a side alley. Searon swiftly turned to dash into the next alley. His ears were keen, and he could discern her position with more certainty than most other humans. He rushed out from his hiding spot and grabbed her. She kicked and bit but did not scream. Her mouth remained glued shut so she would not divulge her location to the guards, who were most likely lost in another alley. But Searon couldn’t hold her for long. Her tiny foot connected with his groin, hard, and she wriggled away. The excruciating pain sent shivers down his spine, and he dropped to his knees, his vision blurring. This tiny girl had grounded him worse than anyone ever had. The games were over, and he unsheathed his claymore. The silver blade glowed crimson in the shadows. Tears like sparkling sapphires welled up in the girl’s soft blue eyes. “What is your name?” Searon said in a tone as gentle as he could muster, hoping to not startle her. She stared up at him, quivering, holding herself in a firm hug. “Charlotte.” Searon sighed, sheathing his claymore. He wished no harm to come to the little girl, but she seemed too frightened to give him any helpful information, especially with the guards still on her trail. “Where are your mother and father?” His voice came soft as a warm autumn rain. But somehow he knew no parents in their right minds would be letting their daughter run aimlessly through the markets to steal food. “They are no more,” she whispered. No sorrow came from her voice, only irritation—a true sign of her having been on her own for far too long. Searon nodded. He knew if they had still been alive they’d be risking their own lives for food rather than their daughter’s. At least that was how it would have been if he had been her father. He felt sorry for the little girl. She didn’t need to be living like that from day to day, each day draining a little more of the innocence from her youth. “Come, you must pay for this food. It is not right to steal,” he declared, holding out his hand to her. She dared not budge. He didn’t really expect her to; he only wanted to guide her along her way. “But I have no money,” she spat out, almost crying. He looked at her rags. If she’d even had a pocket to keep money, once upon a time, anything which may have resembled one had been torn away. “Do you know where the captain of this village’s army is?” Searon asked politely. He held his chest high, as if to impress her. “Yes,” she muttered, backing away a few steps. She appeared confused. She frowned, and he could tell she wanted to show him she hadn’t been afraid, no matter what he did or said. “I must meet with him. If you lead me to him, I will pay you,” Searon said. He lay his claymore on the ground to show her he meant no harm. “Why?” “There are some very bad creatures out there. The captain may know where I can find them. Can you take me to him?” He unclipped a bag from his sash to hand to her. Heavier than the one he had just given away, it was all small gold coins, his emergency fund. It should be plenty for her to buy food for some while. Besides, he didn’t need it half as badly as she. He observed her closely. The bag weighed heavy, making her stagger as she grasped it with both hands. She gazed up at him in blissful wonder, her eyes still full of tears, but also gratitude. Her face glowed. She had the biggest, brightest smile now, and her teeth were perfectly white. Despite everything else she had been through, she knew how to take care of her teeth. “Follow me,” she said with a giggle. She dashed away through the alleyways as gleefully as though she were skipping through a meadow of beautiful flowers. Searon followed her only a few paces behind. Even though he was clad in silver and crimson plate armor, he barely made a sound. Finally, Charlotte turned from the dirt pathways into a main road, completely empty of traffic. Searon stopped and stared. Ravens glared from the rooftops at a pearly, octagonal building at the road’s end. Charlotte nodded at the building and made a tiny gesture with her hand. A few men talked among themselves. They barely paid heed to either Charlotte or Searon standing there. Blacksmiths’ hammers pounding steel echoed up and down the road, which had been made of colorful stone rather than dirt, in tans, blacks, grays, and reds, all laid out in a very precise pattern. She stood behind him. Her voice shivered. “Sir Knight … please do not make me go any farther.” Searon turned around to smile at the young child kneeling in front of him. “Thank you for your help, child. You may go now, but promise me you will get yourself a fine meal and a good night’s sleep.” “I promise!” The little girl beamed up at him. “May the stars shine over you and light up your path for the future,” he whispered. “Thank you, sir!” She bowed, dashed back into the alleys, and disappeared.