BEYOND THE NORTHERN FOREST

CHAPTER TWO: THE DUKE'S ESTATE

THE DUKE'S ESTATE

The journey to the duke's estate took most of the night.

Lucan barely spoke.

He sat near the carriage window with his brother's old cloak wrapped around his shoulders, watching the world disappear beneath the darkness.

The road stretched endlessly ahead.

Trees passed like shadows.

Occasionally, the carriage crossed a small bridge or passed through a village, but most of the journey was through open fields and forests.

Lucan had never traveled this far from home.

He had never needed to.

His village had been his entire world.

His house.

The fields.

The forest.

The people he knew.

And his brother.

Now all of it was behind him.

Lucan rested his forehead against the cold glass.

He wondered where his brother was.

For three months, he had asked himself the same question.

Was he alive?

Was he somewhere far away?

Had he been captured?

Had he left willingly?

That last possibility hurt more than Kael wanted to admit.

But his brother wouldn't do that.

He wouldn't disappear without telling him.

He had promised.

Lucan closed his eyes.

"Before sunset."

The words came back to him again.

They had become something he couldn't escape.

Across from him, Duke Arven sat quietly.

For most of the journey, the duke had said nothing.

Eventually, however, he spoke.

"You don't sleep much."

Lucan opened his eyes.

"I'm not tired."

The duke looked at him.

"You've been awake for hours."

Lucan shrugged.

"I'm fine."

"You don't look fine."

Lucan looked out the window.

"I'll be fine."

The duke studied him for a moment.

Then he looked away.

"You remind me of someone."

Lucan turned.

"Who?"

The duke didn't answer immediately.

"Someone I knew a long time ago."

Lucan waited.

The duke continued staring through the opposite window.

"You don't need to worry about that."

Lucan frowned.

"Why did you take me?"

The duke looked back at him.

"I told you."

"Because I shouldn't be alone."

"Yes."

"That's not the whole reason."

The duke smiled faintly.

"You ask many questions."

"My brother said that too."

The duke's expression softened.

"Then perhaps he was right."

Lucan looked down.

After a moment, the duke said:

"You'll work at my estate."

Lucan looked up.

"Work?"

"Yes."

"I can work."

"I assumed you could."

"What will I do?"

"Whatever work is needed."

Lucan nodded.

He didn't expect anything else.

He had no noble blood.

No money.

No education worth mentioning.

He was simply a boy with nowhere to go.

The duke was giving him a roof.

That was enough.

The carriage continued through the night.

---

By the time they arrived, the sky was beginning to lighten.

Lucan saw the estate before he saw the castle.

Tall stone walls surrounded a massive stretch of land.

Beyond the walls stood several large buildings.

A stable.

A training yard.

A barracks.

A blacksmith's workshop.

And at the center of everything stood the duke's residence.

It wasn't a castle.

Not exactly.

But it was larger than anything Kael had ever seen.

The main building rose three stories high, with towers at each corner.

Large windows reflected the morning light.

Flags bearing the duke's silver crest hung from the walls.

Lucan stared.

The carriage passed through the gates.

Two guards stood on either side.

They bowed as the duke's carriage entered.

Lucan sat straighter.

He suddenly became aware of how dirty his clothes were.

His boots were covered in mud.

His cloak was old.

He probably smelled like the road.

The carriage stopped.

A servant opened the door.

"My lord."

Duke Arven stepped out.

Lucan followed.

The estate was already awake.

Workers moved across the courtyard.

Stable hands carried buckets.

Servants hurried between buildings.

Soldiers crossed the yard wearing armor.

Lucan stared at them.

He had seen soldiers before.

But never this many.

A group of them stood near the training yard.

One swung a wooden sword.

Another blocked the strike.

The sound of wood striking wood echoed across the courtyard.

Crack.

Lucan watched.

The fighter moved quickly.

Too quickly.

Lucan's eyes followed every movement.

The duke noticed.

"You interested?"

Lucan looked away.

"No."

The duke raised an eyebrow.

"You were staring."

"I've never seen soldiers train that close."

The duke said nothing.

Then he turned toward a woman standing near the entrance.

She appeared to be in her forties and wore a simple gray dress.

"My lady?"

The duke approached her.

"This is lucan."

The woman looked at him.

Her expression softened.

"He's younger than I expected."

"He's fourteen."

"Does he have anyone?"

The duke shook his head.

The woman's eyes moved to Kael.

"No one?"

"My brother disappeared."

She looked at the duke.

He nodded.

The woman sighed.

"Poor child."

Lucan disliked being called that.

He wasn't a child.

But he said nothing.

The woman turned to him.

"My name is Mira. I oversee the household."

Lucan nodded.

"Ma'am."

"You can call me Mistress Mira."

"Yes, ma'am."

She smiled.

"Come with me."

Lucan followed her.

---

The first thing lucan learned about the duke's estate was that everyone had a job.

There was no standing around.

No wasting time.

No sleeping until noon.

The estate operated like a machine.

People worked from sunrise until evening.

Lucan was assigned to the stables.

His room was small.

Very small.

It contained a bed, a wooden chest, and a small window.

But it was clean.

And it was his.

Lucan put his brother's cloak on the bed.

He looked at it for a moment.

Then he folded it carefully.

He placed it inside the chest.

He wasn't going to lose it.

Not that too.

A knock came at the door.

Lucan opened it.

A large man stood outside.

He was broad-shouldered, with a scar running across his left eyebrow.

"You lucan?"

"Yes."

"I'm Bram."

Lucan waited.

Bram looked him up and down.

"You know how to take care of horses?"

"A little."

"A little?"

"My brother taught me."

Bram nodded.

"Good enough."

He turned.

"Come on."

Lucan followed.

The stables were larger than his entire house.

There were rows of horses inside.

Some were brown.

Some black.

One was completely white.

Lucan stopped.

He had never seen such a beautiful horse.

Bram noticed.

"Don't stare."

Lucan looked away.

"Sorry."

"Take that bucket."

Lucan picked it up.

"Fill it."

"Where?"

Bram pointed.

"Water trough."

Lucan carried the bucket outside.

It was heavy.

He filled it.

Then carried it back.

Bram watched.

"Again."

Lucan frowned.

He went again.

By the sixth trip, his arms were aching.

By the tenth, his shoulders hurt.

By the twentieth, he was exhausted.

Bram didn't seem impressed.

"You're slow."

Lucan glared at him.

"I'm doing it."

"Did I say you weren't?"

Lucan said nothing.

Bram nodded.

"Good."

That was how Kael's new life began.

---

The first week was difficult.

Lucan woke before sunrise.

He cleaned the stables.

Fed the horses.

Carried water.

Collected hay.

Swept the floors.

Washed equipment.

He also helped in the soldiers' barracks.

At first, the soldiers barely noticed him.

To them, he was simply another servant.

A boy carrying buckets.

A boy cleaning armor.

A boy running errands.

Lucan didn't't mind.

He was used to working.

But there was one thing he did mind.

The soldiers trained every morning.

And Lucan couldn't't stop watching.

He would stand near the edge of the training yard while cleaning a helmet or carrying equipment.

He watched how they moved.

How they held their swords.

How they positioned their feet.

How they blocked attacks.

How they turned defense into offense.

He watched everything.

One morning, a soldier noticed.

"Hey, boy."

Lucan looked up.

The soldier was young.

Probably in his early twenties.

He held a wooden sword.

"You planning to fight?"

Lucan shook his head.

"No."

"Then stop staring."

Lucan lowered his eyes.

"Yes, sir."

The soldier turned away.

Lucan continued cleaning the helmet.

But a few seconds later, he looked up again.

The soldier was watching him.

Lucan quickly looked away.

---

Two weeks passed.

Lucan began learning the estate.

He learned which servants worked in the kitchen.

Which guards changed shifts.

Which soldiers trained in the morning.

Which horses were difficult.

Which ones were calm.

He learned where the blacksmith worked.

He learned which corridors servants could use.

He learned when the duke ate.

He learned that Duke Arven rarely spoke during meals.

He learned that Mistress Mira noticed everything.

And he learned that the duke's soldiers respected one man more than anyone else.

Captain Roderic.

Roderic commanded the estate's guards.

He was tall.

Broad.

Older than most of the soldiers.

His hair was black with streaks of gray.

He carried a sword at his side at all times.

Lucan had seen him train.

He was different from the others.

The others fought quickly.

Lucan Roderic fought efficiently.

He wasted no movement.

One morning, Kael watched him defeat

three soldiers using wooden swords.

The fight lasted less than a minute.

Lucan forgot about the armor in his hand

Roderic knocked one soldier's sword away.

Blocked another.

Then swept the third man's legs out from under him.

The soldiers groaned.

Roderic offered a hand.

"Again."

Lucan stared.

"Impressive, isn't it?"

Lucan nearly dropped the helmet.

He turned.

Captain Roderic was standing beside him.

Lucan swallowed.

"Yes, sir."

"You watch every morning."

Lucan nodded.

"Why?"

Lucan hesitated.

"My brother taught me some things."

"Like what?"

"How to use a knife."

Roderic studied him.

"Only a knife?"

Lucan nodded.

"Mostly."

Roderic looked toward the training yard.

"Did he teach you anything else?"

Lucan thought about it.

"How to stay alive."

Roderic looked at him.

For a moment, something changed in the captain's expression.

Then it disappeared.

"Good lesson."

He walked away.

Lucan watched him.

Something about that conversation felt strange.

He couldn't explain why.

---

One evening, Kael was cleaning armor in the barracks when he heard two soldiers talking nearby.

"I heard the northern patrol didn't return."

Lucan stopped.

Another soldier answered.

"They're late."

"Three days late."

"Maybe they got delayed."

"Three days?"

Lucan looked toward them.

The first soldier noticed him.

"What are you looking at?"

Lucan lowered his head.

"Nothing."

"Then keep cleaning."

Lucan continued.

But his hands had stopped moving.

Northern patrol.

Three days late.

His brother had disappeared in the northern forest.

Was it connected?

Probably not.

The northern forest was enormous.

There were many reasons someone could be late.

Still...

Lucan couldn't't ignore it.

That night, he barely slept.

---

The next morning, lucan made a decision.

He would ask someone.

He waited until Bram was checking the horses.

"Sir?"

Bram looked at him.

"What?"

"The northern patrol."

Bram's expression changed.

"What about them?"

"I heard they're late."

Bram continued brushing the horse.

"They'll return."

"Where were they?"

Bram looked at him.

"Why?"

Lucan hesitated.

"My brother disappeared in the northern forest."

Bram stopped.

The brush remained against the horse's side.

"When?"

"Three months ago."

Bram's eyes narrowed.

"What was his name?"

'Levi"

Lucan said,

Bram was silent.

Then he continued brushing.

"I don't know him."

Lucan frowned.

"You've heard of him?"

"No."

"You looked like you had."

Bram gave him a hard stare.

"Don't make stories in your head, boy."

Lucan said nothing.

Bram walked away.

But lucan noticed something.

The man's hands were shaking.

Only slightly.

But they were.

---

That afternoon, lucan was carrying clean armor toward the training yard when he saw Duke Arven.

The duke stood alone near the stone wall.

He was looking toward the northern hills.

Lucan stopped.

For some reason, the sight made him uncomfortable.

The duke turned.

Their eyes met.

"Lucan."

Lucan bowed slightly.

"My lord."

"Come here."

Lucan approached.

The duke looked at the armor in his arms.

"Busy?"

"Yes, my lord."

"Good."

Lucan waited.

The duke looked toward the horizon again.

"How are you settling in?"

"I'm fine."

"Are you being treated well?"

"Yes."

"Anyone causing trouble?"

"No."

The duke nodded.

Then his eyes moved to lucan's face.

"Have you stopped looking for your brother?"

Lucan's grip tightened around the armor.

"No."

The duke was silent.

"I thought you might."

Lucan shook his head.

"He's alive."

"You believe that?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Lucan looked toward the distant hills.

"Because if he were dead, they'd have found something."

The duke said nothing.

Lucan continued.

"No body. No blood. Nothing."

His voice became quieter.

"People don't just disappear."

The duke looked at him.

"Sometimes they do."

Lucan looked back.

"What does that mean?"

"Nothing."

The duke turned away.

Lucan watched him.

There was something in the duke's expression.

Something lucan couldn't't understand.

Then the duke said:

"Go finish your work."

"Yes, my lord."

Lucan walked away.

He didn't notice the duke watching him until he disappeared around the corner.

---

That night, lucan lay awake.

His new room was quiet.

The estate had settled into darkness.

Lucan stared at the ceiling.

He thought about his brother.

The forest.

The missing patrol.

Bram's reaction.

The duke's words.

Something didn't fit.

Maybe it was nothing.

Maybe he was imagining things because he wanted an answer.

But lucan had learned something from his brother.

If something feels wrong, pay attention.

He closed his eyes.

Tomorrow, he would ask more questions.

He didn't know where those questions would lead.

He didn't know that the answers would eventually take him far beyond the duke's estate.

For now, he was simply a servant.

A stable boy.

A boy who cleaned armor and carried water.

A boy who watched soldiers train from the edge of the yard.

But somewhere inside him was a determination that refused to die.

He would find his brother.

No matter how long it took.

No matter where he had to go.

And no matter what he had to become.

Outside the estate, the wind moved through the trees.

Far beyond the walls, somewhere in the darkness, a lone figure stood beneath the moon.

Watching the road.

Waiting.

Then the figure turned and disappeared into the forest.

Lucan slept on.

Unaware.