Echoes of Memory Ch. 1

This is it, the young mouse thought to himself. Bedecked in his own battle armor, Fane Nicolescu walked out into the middle of the field located to the west side of the castle. He gripped the hilt of his sword tightly as the autumn wind stirred a few strands of his long raven colored locks around his face. He cast a glance toward the veranda where his father Count Dorin Nicolescu sat together with his Council, made up of his most trusted advisors and generals. Fane lowered his ears and frowned, feeling the first signs of nervousness creep upon him.

As he scanned the crowd, Fane was startled to see a woman among the small group seated a little apart from them. He recognized her as General Mord’s daughter Adrianna; he had seen her around before, but they had never actually met personally. As the sun glinted off her dark golden brown hair, Fane felt his heart beat faster when her soft brown eyes fell on him. He instantly looked away and wiped at an imaginary speck of dirt on his tunic. When he looked up again his father’s dull grey eyes met his own bluish-green colored ones and he straightened his posture and did a small reverent bow. Dorin gave one last glare before giving a small wave of his hand, gesturing for Fane to get on with it.

Fane let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding and closed his eyes to concentrate, preparing himself for battle. He’d been training for this for years, and now was his chance to prove his worth. To prove that he was a worthy heir to the Nicolescu name.

His ear twitched when he heard a very slight sound behind him, and his eyes snapped open. In one swift move he sidestepped as a blade swung at him from behind and he smoothly parried the attack, throwing his opponent off balance and dispatching his weapon. More mice appeared, surrounding him on all sides, but he threw himself into the fray with the ferocity and speed of an experienced warrior far beyond his years. Clangs filled the air as metal clashed on metal, blade on blade.

Hearing a familiar laugh, Fane’s head whipped around to see another gray furred dark haired mouse talking with Adrianna. The mouse’s eyes sparkled mischievously as he said something that elicited a smile out of the girl, and Fane felt his blood boil with envy. Here he was training hard to become a better soldier to bring honor to the family name, while his sorry excuse of a brother sat loafing around flirting with the general’s daughter. This entire practice was meant to impress his father and the Council, but Fane had also been aiming to impress her. He should have been the one up there making her laugh; it should be him that she was directing that beautiful smile towards…

The sound of a blade whistling through the air brought Fane back to his senses. He grunted as his opponent’s sword clashed against his armor, causing a jarring pain in his arm. Shaking off the pain he recovered quickly and countered the attack. Feeling his father’s disapproving stare boring into his back Fane cursed under his breath. He couldn’t afford another blunder like that. He had to stay focused.

Once he gained the upper hand again Fane glanced back up at the veranda nervously, realizing some of them weren’t even watching the fight anymore. He had to regain their attention and fast. Redoubling his efforts Fane held nothing back and his attacks seemed to grow in ferocity and strength. Nothing his assailants threw at him could stop him, and one by one they were defeated. The sounds from the battle caused the onlookers to turn back to the scene, and Fane gave a satisfied smile that he had their attention again. Since this was only a test he didn’t aim to kill, but his sword still drew blood from his opponents, and soon he was the only one left standing on the field.

Fane panted with the effort but couldn’t hide a small smile on his face as he looked up where his father was standing. His advisors seemed impressed enough, but Dorin surveyed the damage with a scrutinizing eye that made Fane gulp as it came to rest on him.

"Your technique is sloppy,” Dorin snapped, causing Fane to flinch slightly. He caught the way his father’s eyes flickered over toward where his brother and the girl were sitting before they turned back to glare at him. “Get your head out of the clouds and concentrate on what you’re doing.”

"Y-Yes father,” Fane replied obediently, feeling his cheeks burning in embarrassment and keeping his eyes lowered to the ground. As Dorin resumed the conversation with his advisors, Fane gripped the hilt of his sword tightly in his hand. A servant approached him and reached up to begin helping him remove his armor, but Fane shrugged away with a growl. “I’m not done yet,” he snarled, shoving the servant out of his way.

“You sure about that?” a voice said behind him, causing Fane to grind his teeth together irritably.

“Don’t you have someone else to annoy, Marin?” Fane replied, brushing some of the dirt off his armor casually.

“But you’re so much fun, brother dear,” Marin grinned, putting his arm around Fane’s shoulders and invading his space, which he knew Fane hated. As expected Fane maneuvered out of Marin’s grasp and glared, causing Marin to chuckle in amusement.

“I don’t have time for games,” Fane retorted, forcefully pushing Marin’s shoulder with his as he tried to walk past, but he stopped in surprise as Marin gripped his arm tightly and held him in place.

“In case you haven’t noticed,” Marin mumbled in Fane’s ear, “you’re pretty much invisible to them right now.” Fane’s ears lowered as he glanced up at Dorin and the others. “If you want to make a serious impression, you have to get their attention and keep it.”

“And how do you suggest I do that?” Fane asked as he rolled his eyes.

“Fight me.”

Fane glanced at Marin with a raised eyebrow. “You don’t fight.”

“Then this should be easy for you. Think for a second. We’re the Nicolescu brothers; if we were to duel each other, whoever the winner is will gain ultimate favor with Father and the undying loyalty of his followers. You can’t pass up an opportunity like this.”

Fane looked suspiciously at Marin. “And you’re just a good mouse helping his brother out, right?”

“Hey, I could care less what Father thinks of me,” Marin shrugged with a mischievous grin. “I lost his favor ages ago. You on the other hand, are the eldest son; you’re the one who will carry on the family legacy. And besides, he won’t be the only one who’s impressed,” Marin added, causing Fane to glance at the girl. “You have more to gain from this than I do,” Marin continued. “And you said yourself, I’m no fighter.” When Fane still hesitated Marin laughed. “Come on, big brother, just one little duel. Or are you too afraid to accept a real challenge?” he added more loudly, causing heads to turn in their direction.

Fane blushed in embarrassment as he felt all eyes on him. To back down now would be even worse. “I am not a coward,” he hissed through clenched teeth.

“Then prove me wrong,” Marin retorted equally, drawing his own sword from its sheath and taking a fighting stance.

“With pleasure,” Fane growled before charging at Marin, swinging his sword directly at Marin’s head. The younger mouse neatly sidestepped the attack and countered with a slash of his own sword, which Fane parried. Their audience watched captivated while the two brothers battled it out. It was obvious from the start that Fane was the more experienced of the two, although Marin managed to hold his own. Marin’s advantage was that Fane had already used much of his stamina in the previous battle, but Fane wasn’t worried. At this rate he would have his brother begging on his knees in the dirt in no time.

After some time the fight seemed to come to a pause as both mice stood face to face with their swords locked together. Fane gritted his teeth in annoyance as Marin actually laughed at him. “Not bad, brother,” he grinned.

“I thought this was supposed to be a ‘real challenge’?” Fane retorted with a mocking smile of his own.

“Getting bored already?” Marin chuckled.

“I knew you weren’t a fighter,” Fane shrugged his shoulders. “I suppose I expected too much from you, dear Marin.”

Marin smiled again, and Fane suddenly noticed how dark his brother’s normally bright blue eyes had grown. They seemed almost red like blood. Perhaps it was only a trick of the light from the sunset....

“Then let’s speed things up a bit, shall we?” Marin challenged, and with a heaving shove he pushed Fane back. He barely managed to roll out of the way as Marin’s blade came swinging down on him, leaving a deep scrape in the dirt where Fane’s head had been a moment before. As soon as Fane was back up on his feet Marin attacked again, putting Fane on the defensive instead. Fane’s eyes were wide in shock and confusion. He winced at the force behind Marin’s blows. Where had this sudden strength come from? And since when did he know how to fight so skillfully with the sword? He was using advanced techniques that even Fane hadn’t learned yet. Marin had been holding back this entire time.

Fane tried desperately to block another onslaught of attacks, one of which left a cut across his cheek. His blade moved so fast that Fane could barely keep up. He fell backward from the force of the blows till he had sunk down on one knee in exhaustion. With a mere flick of his wrist Marin knocked Fane’s sword out of Fane’s hand where it clattered nearby, and with Fane distracted Marin put his foot against his brother’s chest and pushed, knocking him to the ground. Fane made a move to get up but found himself pinned down with the point of Marin’s blade pricking his throat.

“Looks like you underestimated me, brother,” Marin remarked with a smirk.

Fane could only sit there in shock at first, feeling his face grow red in embarrassment at the stares and whispers from the crowd watching them, the look of shock and worry from Adrianna. Even worse, his own father’s look of clear disapproval at his failure. As he looked back at Marin’s smug face Fane let out a frustrated growl. “You planned this from the beginning. Y-You set me up!”

“You set yourself up,” Marin retorted, sheathing his sword in the belt by his side. “Maybe you’ll choose your battles more carefully next time.”

Fane glared, still panting tiredly from the fight. He groaned inwardly as he picked himself up off the ground and went to face his father and the others after that embarrassing display. Sure enough, the Count was there to meet him as he ascended the steps and entered the veranda overlooking the courtyard.

“That’s twice today that you’ve made a fool of yourself,” Dorin scolded. “How can I expect you to handle the responsibility of leading my men into battle someday when you can’t even beat your own inexperienced little brother? You’re useless to me like this.”

Fane’s ears lowered in embarrassment at being publically reprimanded for his failure. “Father, I—”

“No more excuses!” Dorin exploded, causing Fane to flinch. “And you…” Dorin continued, turning his attention toward Marin. “Your talents are wasted.” He shook his head disappointingly. “You might actually make a decent soldier; yet you would choose a frivolous life of pleasure over the honorable path of the warrior.”

“Honorable?” Marin scoffed. “What’s honorable about fighting someone else’s battles only to die alone in vain on the battlefield? You say I’m wasting my life… On the contrary, my life has only just begun. You on the other hand are far passed your prime. You sit here playing your little war games with your so-called friends and advisors. I have far better things to do with my time than to play soldier.”

There was an audible gasp from the Council at Marin’s brazen disrespect, but Dorin was too stunned to react right away. With a rebellious smile Marin turned to walk away but Fane wouldn’t let the matter drop. “Who have you been training with?!” he nearly shouted as he grabbed Marin’s arm.

“Haven’t you embarrassed yourself enough today?” Marin rolled his eyes as he jerked his arm away from Fane.

“There’s no possible way that you could have beaten me so easily unless you’ve been training with someone!”

“You just can’t stand the fact that I’m better than you.”

Fane froze as those words sank in. Marin smirked at the effect it had on him and turned to leave again. As he watched his brother saunter off, Fane’s hands began to shake as he clenched them into fists by his side. His father’s scalding words along with the mutterings of the Council echoed in his brain as his world crumbled around him. He’d never felt so small. So useless.

And Marin… Marin had tricked him. He’d been deceived by his own brother. And now he was outright rubbing it in Fane’s face. Maybe he really was the better one—

No! Fane screamed inside his head, feeling his rage burn hotter than ever. No, it’s not possible…! I should have won, I am the stronger one!

Suddenly Fane drew his sword and lunged at Marin’s unprotected back. Marin sensed the movement behind him and saw Fane coming at the last minute, but barely managed to dodge out of the way, causing Fane to stumble. Fane’s sword struck the wall beside Marin, causing sparks to fly as the steel blade scraped across the stone. Marin’s hand strayed to his own sword to retaliate, but Dorin’s voice rang out above the commotion.

“That’s enough!!!”

The two brothers froze in place, and Fane stared blankly at the sword in his quivering hand. It was almost as if his body had reacted on its own; he’d acted without even thinking. “Coward!” Marin hissed, causing Fane to wince at the accusation.

“Marin, get out!” Dorin yelled, pointing outside.

His younger son stared at him dumbfounded. “Wait, you’re throwing me out?”

“You’ve caused enough damage! Out, now!”

With one last glare Marin stormed past Dorin wordlessly and leapt over the railing to the ground, his blue cape fluttering behind him as he left the castle. Fane braced himself as Dorin turned his attention back to him.

“Attacking an unarmed opponent from behind?” the Count scolded. “What the hell were you thinking?! No, don’t answer that; you weren’t thinking at all!”

Fane flinched as Dorin scolded him in front of everyone like a child. “You don’t understand--!”

“You’re the eldest son, you’re supposed set an example for him! Not stab him in the back like a coward, and all for what?! A jealous rivalry!”

“If you would just listen--!”

“Silence!”  

Fane’s eyes widened at his father’s outburst, and for a moment Fane thought he might strike him. If they’d been alone he was sure he would have. But with the Council present Dorin kept a check on his anger and glared at his son irately. Fane fell silent and hung his head ashamedly. He could feel the disapproving looks from his father’s peers. They would never see him as their leader or look at him with respect now. He had no other choice than to beg forgiveness.

“F-Forgive me, father,” Fane remarked quietly, keeping his head bowed. “If you’ll just allow me another chance…”

“You’ve caused enough embarrassment to me today,” Dorin retorted coldly. “I have given you plenty of chances to prove you had what it takes to be a real warrior, to join me by my side in battle as we conquer this land. But you’ve proven to me today that you still lack the discipline and control over your own emotions.” Fane could hardly bear the look of disapproval his father directed at him. Dorin shook his head, giving one last stinging remark before turning his back coldly on his son.

“You’re just as useless as your brother.”

That parting statement left Fane with the same effect as if he’d been physically slapped. He could hear whispers from the Council, and some shook their heads in disappointment. Fane began to tremble, feeling his breath coming in short gasps. Cracking under the pressure, Fane nearly growled as he pushed his way through the crowd and went inside the castle, fleeing from the withering glares of his father and his peers.

Once inside Fane stormed through the castle toward the sanctity of his room. He tore off his armor in anger and flung the pieces aside in a rage, leaving them scattered in his wake. But he didn’t care at this point, the servants would clean up after him.

Fane felt a burning sensation in his eyes and gasped with the horrifying realization that tears were making his vision blurry. He hastily wiped his sleeve across them, and as he rounded the corner down one of the long hallways he bumped into someone, who let out a startled squeak as they lost their balance and clung to his tunic to keep from falling. He groaned in frustration and opened his mouth to yell at whatever clumsy servant was unfortunate enough to get in his way, but stopped short when he saw a familiar face gazing up at him.

Adrianna…

“Ah… M-My apologies, madam,” Fane stammered, fumbling with his words barely able to form a coherent sentence.

The girl blushed deeply in embarrassment at the predicament and hastily removed herself from Fane’s chest. “No, no, I’m sorry,” Adrianna quickly replied. “I should have been watching where I was going.”

An awkward silence followed. Adrianna tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear while Fane shifted from one foot to the other nervously. “Ahem, so,” Adrianna finally said, clearing her throat and making an attempt at conversation. “I don’t think we’ve ever officially met… I’m Adrianna Mord.”

Fane stared as she gazed up at him with a friendly smile. Why was she even talking to him? She’d witnessed his defeat, how he’d been publicly humiliated in front of everyone!

“Um…” he replied stupidly, feeling like an utter fool. Idiot, say something intelligent!

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Fane,” Adrianna smiled, trying to help him along. She frowned when she noticed the cut on his face from Marin’s sword. “You’re bleeding…”

“What… Oh.” Fane shrugged. “It’s just a scratch.”

Adrianna smiled slightly and crossed her hands behind her back shyly. “I really enjoyed watching you train today. Your skill with the sword is amazing.”

Fane nearly gasped aloud at that. She was… impressed? How could she be impressed when he’d failed so miserably?! Was she just toying with him, playing with his emotions?

“But I lost,” Fane replied in confusion. “I’m a failure.”

“You’re only a failure if you quit,” Adrianna replied quietly.

Fane grew silent as her words sank in, and another awkward silence fell. She fidgeted with a loose thread on her dress nervously, feeling unsure of what else to say. “So um, I’ll see you at the ball next week?”

“Uh… oh I mean, yes of course!” Fane quickly replied, nodding his head. Dammit, he’d forgotten all about the ball. Adrianna smiled, and Fane suddenly felt his heart rate quicken. She was so beautiful with the pale candlelight gleaming along her features, reflecting in those deep golden brown eyes…

“Goodnight Fane,” Adrianna chuckled as she turned to go. Fane snapped out of his thoughts and finally found his voice again as he watched her return down the hallway.

“Goodnight… Adrianna."