Click Here to read the previous chapters and anything pertaining to my New Adult Fantasy novel “Forget Me Not, Father.”
Chapter 6
The next couple of hours passed by quickly as Laura bathed, performed routine maintenance on her armor and weapons, and went through her series of stretches. As it was getting closer to dinner time, someone knocked on the door. Opening it revealed the older of the two red-headed boys, Diego.
“Hola senorita,” the boy said, an impish grin on his freckled face. “My father told me to tell you that dinner is ready and that I am to escort you down.”
“Thank you for the invitation,” Laura said, stepping out of her room and closing the door behind her. She was wearing her secondary outfit which consisted of brown leather pants, a thick leather belt, black riding boots, and a white blouse shirt. She had smoothed out the wrinkles earlier after summoning another servant and asking for an iron. Since she was in a nice house, she felt it prudent not to go downstairs armed with her sword.
“How come you’re not wearing a dress,” the boy asked, his head bent slightly to the side and a slightly puzzled expression on his face as he offered her his right arm.
Amused by this show of gallantry, she lightly placed her left hand on Diego’s right as he led her downstairs towards the dining area. “This is the only outfit I had with me. In my profession, there isn’t any need to carry a dress, let alone wear one.”
“Do you ever wear dresses? I bet you would look really pretty in one!” They had reached the top of the staircase and started to descend as the aroma from a variety of foods reached her nose.
“I haven’t worn a dress since I was very young,” Laura replied, looking to steer the conversation away from herself. “Probably when I was your age, which is?”
“I’m 14,” Diego replied, puffing out his chest a little bit. “I’m the oldest while Jose, my younger brother is only 12.”
“Do you work in the smithy?”
“Si! Me and my brother help our dad and, one day, we will be just as good as him and uncle Rory.”
“Is that Mel’s father?”
“Yep! Rory Muldoon, Cousin Mel’s Father.”
“By the way Diego, I hope Stomper didn’t give you any trouble. He was the big white horse.”
“No trouble at all! He was very well-behaved. I wish I could have a horse like that!”
As they reached the bottom of the stairs, Laura started to grumble to herself about Stomper behaving around a total stranger, but trying to kill her. As she was thinking about how great it would be to see him being turned into glue, they reached the bottom of the staircase and the smell of food was overwhelming. Diego took back his arm, bowed to Laura, and went over to Ignazio the blacksmith who ruffled his hair.
There were almost two dozen people at the table, looking in her direction, but Mel wasn’t among them.
“Where is the wizard,” Laura asked Ignazio, who was at the head of the table wearing an aquamarine-colored shirt with black pants.
“He is in the library,” the blacksmith said. “Been there since he came back. Most likely lost track of the time like he always does.” He turned to his youngest son, Jose. “Go fetch your cousin.”
The boy quickly scampered off, not wanting to miss a meal. Ignazio pulled out a chair for Laura on his left, next to the head of the table and she sat down, the seat next to her empty but she nodded to a young asian woman wearing a pink kimono, the next chair over who introduced herself as Kimiko Fernandez who was married to Ignazio’s other brother Alejandro. As Ignazio took his seat at the head of the table, he introduced a red-headed woman on his right as his wife, Kathleen, who wore a dark green dress.
On the table were a variety of Murcian dishes and some Panasian food sprinkled throughout. An assortment of tapas, small appetizers for those who only wished to nibble on something, were available while bowls of paella, a lamb stew, dim sum, spring rolls, whole roasted chickens, and an assortment of roasted vegetables were for those who ate heavily at dinner.
Across from her sat Diego, next to his mother, who was trying to sneakily grab a handful of olives and cheese from a bowl only to have his hand lightly slapped by his mother who was talking to his father. As Laura carried on a brief conversation with Kimiko about the weather, Mel soon appeared with Jose dragging at one of his hands to the empty chair next to her, eager to eat. Not waiting for his cousin to sit down, the boy quickly ran around the table and sat next to his older brother who was looking annoyed at having been stopped from eating early.
“Now that we are all here,” Ignazio said, his booming voice echoing throughout the room. “I would like to welcome home our nephew Mel and his guest Lieutenant Laura Fords.” A round of polite clapping ensued before he continued, “Now let us pray before we eat.”
At this everyone, everyone clasped hands together, bowed their heads, and closed their eyes as the blacksmith prayed, “God of our fathers, we humbly thank you for the peace we have had for over 20 years and the food before us. We ask that you bless the hands that provided it and that it strengthen our bodies so that we may continue to work hard and provide for those we hold dear. Amen.”
As the prayer ended, everyone started to eat. Laura had never really thought about religion. Her father had never been a religious person and so it had never really affected her in any way or become a prevalent part of her life. Curiosity had driven her to briefly look into religion and found it interesting that, thousands of years ago, almost all the various kingdoms had been polytheistic. But over time, they had all transitioned to a monotheistic religion. However, she wasn’t sure about the reason why, since such historical records were rare.
Laura was ladling some of the lamb stew into her bowl from a bronze pot, which had been prepared by Kathleen, and listening to the general buzz around the room when the red-headed woman said, “So I hear that Mel is helping you with something?”
“Yes,” she replied after swallowing the first spoon of stew which consisted of potatoes, carrots, onions, and chunks of lamb in a beef broth. “A friend of mine in the military was cursed by the wizard Vasquez to lose all of his memories.”
“Is he your boyfriend,” Jose piped in.
“No he is not. Just a friend.”
“Hey cousin Mel,” Jose said, switching his attention from Laura to his older cousin. “Is she your girlfriend?”
At this question, Mel choked on a spring roll he had been munching on and wheezed, “No.”
“Why not? Is it because she doesn’t wear a dress? Why don’t you wear a dress? And how come you are in the army? None of the girls I know are in the army.” Jose’s bombardment of questions resulted in Mel managing to look embarrassed while choking on his food. Laura, in turn, was also a little shocked at the line of questioning.
“It’s because she is a soldier,” Diego said, answering his brother with a haughty tone as if he knew everything. “It wouldn’t be practical for her profession.”
“You don’t know that,” the younger said before turning back to Laura. “Is what he said true?”
“Your brother is right,” she replied, not wanting to embarrass Diego by adding that he only knew because she had told him earlier.
“Okay,” Jose said, accepting the explanation though giving a dirty look to his older brother who stuck his tongue out in return. “Then is cousin Mel your boyfriend?”
“Will you stop asking that,” the wizard said through clenched teeth.
“Why?”
“Because we are not a couple,” Laura answered, noticing that the wizard was getting angry, though she found his reaction to the child’s questions puzzling.
“It’s a shame,” Kathleen said, calming her sons down with a gently touch to each of their shoulders. “You two make an attractive couple.”
Now she could understand why the wizard was getting angry as she whispered to him, “How long have they been pressuring you to get married?”
“Long enough,” was the whispered reply.
“I’ve been worrying about my nephew for years,” Ignazio chimed in. “Especially when his parents died a few years back. I had hoped he would have developed an interest in that Asta girl, even if she doesn’t have much of a brain. But she sure is pretty enough!” With a loud guffaw, he took a long drink of ale and looked at Laura. “Hell, if I hadn’t met my Kathy-O, and were a few years younger, I would ask you out myself!”
Laura felt her cheeks warm slightly at his pronouncement and quickly looked over at Kathleen for her reaction. Kathleen, however, was giving her husband a stare that all men in relationships know quite well. Outwardly, her expression was calm but her eyes communicated nonverbally a message that no one would want to disregard.
Quickly turning his laughter into a fit of coughs, the blacksmith went on to say, “But I am a happy man with a beautiful wife and two ugly, obnoxious, rambunctious…”
“What does ram…rambo…rambuncilous mean,” Jose interrupted.
“Disrespectful sons,” Ignazio roared out before lowering his voice. “However, you should consider my nephew. I think you would be good for him.”
The rest of the family had been observing the exchange with rapt attention and they all started to laugh. After the laughter had died down, the blacksmith switched topics, “Something has been puzzling me since you arrived Laura. May I call you Laura?”
“By all means.”
“What I was doing some work for the Duke of the Southwestern Province, I overheard him say that, for the first time in our country’s history, a woman had been allowed into the military. But the name wasn’t Fords, it was For….” Ignazio’s eyes widened at the realization of who Laura was. He quickly bent over towards Laura and whispered, “It was Forsythe. The daughter of Davian Forsythe.”
At the realization of knowing who she really was, Laura looked at Kathleen who had heard what her husband had said and was in complete shock. But glancing over at Mel, she saw that he had not been fazed by this revelation. The rest of the table were oblivious, yet curious about what Ignazio had just said.
Mel simply shrugged and whispered, “I knew who he was when I saw him at the inn.” He had deliberately refrained from adding that her father had been carried into the inn unconscious. “I saw him once while I was still at the Wizard’s College before I was kicked out. But I didn’t know who you really were.”
“Please excuse us,” Laura said, trying to hide any anxious tone from her voice, lightly tapping the wizard on his shoulder.
Mel then stood up, excused himself as well, and led her down to the left side of the large reception and dining room to the library.
He opened the door for her and, upon entering the library, was impressed by the amount of books and decor. It was a large room, taking up most of the corner of the house and opposite from the smithy and the stables so that the sounds wouldn’t disturb anyone in here. It also extended upwards through all three stories of the house. There were three sets of brass, spiral staircases going to each floor. A couple of writing desks, large plush chairs with footrests, and even some sofas were littered throughout the area. It was also well-lit by a fireplace, and candle-lit chandeliers which were all lit. During the day, the large windows and skylight would let in the natural light. It was ostentatious and looked exorbitant for a family of blacksmiths and goldsmiths.
“Impressive, isn’t it,” the booming voice of Ignazio came from behind them, startling Mel and Laura. “Shortly after his parents died, Mel enlarged the library. But we can talk about that later. Right now, I’m fairly certain I know what is going on and want you to tell me the truth.”
His wife Kathleen had also come with him and had closed the door to the library behind her, a look of concern on her face. Laura was not going to divulge any information and hoped that the blacksmith’s guess would be wrong.
“Your father is the friend who was cursed,” Ignazio said. “Is he not?”
Laura stayed silent and stood at attention, not wanting to confirm anything he said. She was straight as a rod, shoulders squared, and arms straight at her side.
“Come now girl! I may just be a blacksmith but I know when a child is worried about their parent. No matter how hard they try to hide it. It was written all over your face, especially when my nephew here said that he knew who you were.”
“Lieutenant,” Mel said, speaking in a matter-of-fact tone. “We are not going to say anything. I figured out that you were trying to hide the fact that Davian Forsythe was the man that the dark wizard Vasquez had struck down. I didn’t know that you were his daughter. Actually, you probably don’t want to know what I thought.”
“So it really is the Goblin Slayer himself who has been cursed and is lying unconscious,” Ignazio said.
During the exchange, Kathleen had walked over to the young woman and placed an arm around her shoulders to offer support and comfort. Up until then, the only person who had held Laura in such a way had been her father. While the female neighbors would come around their house to try and attract her father’s attention, their hugs weren’t meant to be comforting but as a way to be friendly in order to get closer to her father. But the way Kathleen was holding her was something only her father had done. She missed him and wished that he was there right now. But as much as she wanted to lean on this woman, even though still a stranger to her, she resisted the impulse.
“Yes,” the word escaped from her, barely a whisper. Her shoulders slumped a little as Kathleen held her, but she didn’t break down. She had a job to do. Quickly regaining what little composure she had lost, said, “The wizard is right. My father was the one who has been cursed. I was with him as we hunted down Vasquez who overpowered us easily. Even if he wasn’t my father, my objective is clear. For the safety of the kingdom, I must revive my father and remove the curse from him. Otherwise….”
“Otherwise the goblins will finally invade us and the peace we have enjoyed all of this time will be over,” Ignazio said, finishing her sentence.
“I understand not wanting to this to get out and keeping it secret,” the blacksmith continued. “But why hide the fact that you are his daughter. Are you not proud to be his daughter?”
“No,” Laura said sternly, her shoulders stiffened at the implication. “I am proud of being his daughter. But I want to be judged by my own merits, abilities, and deeds. No have everything handed to me because of who my parent is. The only time I accepted that was when I wanted to join the military. He had to use his influence to make it happen. Did that Duke say anything else about me that you overheard?”
Her eyes bore into Ignazio who looked reluctant to answer the question. With a sigh, he answered, “That the only reason you were allowed into the military was because the King admired your father and granted his request. According to the Duke, all of the nobility were against it except for the King.”
“I met the King when I was 17 years old and summoned before the king along with my father. He wanted to see how determined I was and had me fight a number of boys my age, the sons of his nobles. Including his own son.” She looked at everyone in the room, a hint of pride in her eyes as well as defiance, “I defeated them all, including his own son. I proved to him that day how determined I was to be a warrior like my father.”
Laura walked over to gave into the fire, her head bowed in shame, her fingers stroking the scar on her right cheek. “The only time I have ever hated my father was because I couldn’t become a soldier if it wasn’t for him.” Pride crept back into her voice as she continued, “But at least the king gave me the chance to prove myself and it was enough that he immediately swore me to his service while the nobles looked on in anger and disgust. After humiliating their sons, the nobles demanded that my existence be kept a secret and, since then, they have all watched my progress. Very few people outside of the nobility knew that I was the daughter of the Goblin Slayer. Not to mention not many even know that I exist within the army itself. It’s as if I am an embarrassment to the country. At least in the nobles’ eyes.”
The crackling and popping from the fire filled the silence until Ignazio said, “That is quite the tale! I can certainly understand the need to prove yourself without relying on someone else’s deeds. I still find it hard to believe that a woman can serve in the military, but I respect your willingness and determination to protect us all. So what can we do to help?”
“Don’t let the news that my father being incapacitated get around. Too many people know already.”
“You have our word,” the blacksmith said without hesitation while Mel and Kathleen nodded their heads.
“Wizard,” Laura said. “Is there anything I can do to help expedite things in finding a cure to wake my father up?”
“I’m afraid not,” Mel said regretfully. “You would have to know quite a bit about magic to know what to look for. I have an idea of what I am looking for, but it will be tricky.”
“Then I suggest we all get some sleep,” Kathleen said, grabbing one of Laura’s hands. “You and I are going to go and do some shopping while Mel looks for the answers to your problem.”
“Shopping,” the young warrior said, slightly taken aback. “I don’t really do things like shopping.”
She had been planning to read the book that the wizard had been generous enough to give her. The idea of shopping was an foreign concept to her. One that she had noticed other women view as a fun activity to do. For her, she had looked at it as a necessity when she needed something specific. But here she was being told by her host that they would go shopping tomorrow. As she tried to think of a way to politely decline, the thought quickly left her. She was now finding herself on the receiving end of a stare being directed at her by Kathleen.
The woman had a smile on her face but, once again, her eyes communicated something else. That she would not to take no for an answer.
“I would be happy to go shopping with you,” Laura said with a fake cheerfulness in her voice, while giving an inward sigh.
“Excellent,” Kathleen said, her smile widening and more genial.
With that settled, Kathleen and her husband left the room. Turning to Mel, Laura said, “Let me know quickly if you have found anything tomorrow.”
“Of course,” he said. “Have a good night Lieutenant.”
“You too, wizard.”
Laura left the library, wished everyone who was still in the reception room a good night, and returned to her room; the evening’s events replaying in her mind. As she was changing into her nightclothes, she found herself becoming envious of this family. Up until this point, it had been just her and her father. It had been a long time since she had wondered what her life would have been like if mother had still been alive. Having witnessed how this family had been like during dinner, a yearning to have that as well rose up within. She loved her father, but she now had an inkling of what she had missed from not have more family in her life.
One day. Perhaps one day she would have what the Ferandez’s had. But , for now, her objective was still clear. Cure her father before the goblins could find out about his current state and before he forgot everything. And, if possible, kill Vasquez.
As her head touched the soft pillow, those thoughts swimming through her head, she whispered her customary goodbye-now-turned prayer, “forget me not, father.”
