240 Caged Birds (1/2)
”Are we…are we alive?” asked Mason. Mercer nodded in support of the question as he went to Mason's side.
”Yes, you two are alive. Although you-,” said Li, pointing to Mercer. ”Barely. Were I to have been half a second late in saving you, you would not have the luxury of rubbing your bruises. You would be a pile of dust, perhaps even less than that.”
The two brothers gave slow, lingering nods, dazed and utterly terrified at the same time. Mason's longsword, or what remained of it, lay loose in his hands, and Mercer had long since dropped his daggers.
”Now then, witnessing this, do you two truly believe you are worthy of leaving?” said Li.
Mercer rebounded from his near-death experience surprisingly quickly when he heard Li's words, the fiery spirit inside of him refusing to be snuffed out. ”Curses to the dark, were we to have paid attention during that dragon hunting lesson-.”
Mason elbowed Mercer a little harder than usual, and at a spot on the younger man's side which was still tender and sore from a hard impact with the dirt.
Mercer winced and said, ”What was that for, brother?”
Mason shook his head and sighed. ”Forget it, Mercer. No more excuses. The head priest is right. So is the seer. We are far too weak to be waving our blades about like we mean something.”
Mercer looked down, unable to muster up any more defiance knowing that his brother did not back him. It truly did seem that the two were inseparable, making or breaking each other.
”But, good Seer,” said Mason as he looked up to bravely meet Li's gaze. ”We cannot go back. We are weak, it is true, but that does not matter to us. The life back in the city, where nothing happens, where there is only the fields, I, well, I am terribly sorry to be telling you of all this, but I nor my brother cannot go back to it”
”Cannot?” said Li. ”Or do you not want to?”
Mason nodded. ”You are right, Seer. We do not want to. It is…not our life. To be sure, we are infinitely grateful for all that the community has done for us. And though it is hard for me to admit it, too hard for Mercer to even voice it, likely, we are all too thankful that old Belmont had enough kindness in his rocky heart to take street rats like us, rats that had been behind bars several times, to see if he could turn us into productive men tilling the fields.”
Mason let go of his longsword and took in a breath. ”But that is not the life we can devote ourselves to. I am not saying it is not noble, it is beautiful, yes, but it is not the beauty we seek. Perhaps it is a problem in our nature, something that stops us from living a life of peace and boundaries as many normal men do, but we cannot.”
Mason knelt down and bowed. Bowed low, his head touching the grass in supplication before Li, and Mercer quickly followed.
”You fools,” said Ivo. ”Ungrateful fools, too, blinded by youth.” The older man loosed a weary sigh. ”Know the value of your lives. Head back to the fields. When this war is over, then you can consider a more exciting life.”
”We are prepared to part with our lives heading West,” said Mason. ”And we are not simply madly chasing excitement, though that may be part of it. At our hearts, we simply cannot live with ourselves if we had stayed behind walls and forest without fighting.”
”Stand up, you two,” said Li.
The two brothers slowly rose up.
”Take your supplies and go back to Belmont's farmhouse,” said Li, and the two brothers nodded slowly, their dreams crushed. ”And explain to Belmont why you are leaving. Thank him for what he has done for you. Promise to repay him. Then, at noon tomorrow, you may join me in leaving the city walls.”
”Truly, good Seer?” said the two of them in unison.
”Truly,” said Li. ”Now leave us.”
”We cannot thank you enough, good seer,” said Mason.