Edward the Knight
Edward the Knight
Nicky Masi
It was there Edward stood. In his old home, which lay unrecognizably charred and dismantled. The exterior of the building had been burned and wrecked beyond repair. The inside was no better: clouded by smoke and debris, with numerous family treasures and valuables reduced to mere ashes and rubble. But that was nothing compared to what resided in the midst of all this wreckage. The bodies of his mother and father, burnt and mutilated, lay in front of him, cold and lifeless. He stood there. Motionless. Unable to avert his gaze from the horrific sight before him.
“This couldn’t… I couldn’t… why…”
He mumbled to himself, unable to form a cohesive thought. Tears began to flow down his eyes, the abominable sight becoming clouded. He fell to his knees as his legs gave out from pure agony. He started weeping on his hands and knees, no longer able to hold back his emotions.
“Why? Why have you forsaken me lord? WHY?!”
In raw anger, he tore the emblem from his chest and ripped it to a thousand tiny pieces. He looked up to the sky, shaking his tightly clenched fist in sheer rage, shouting at the top of his lungs.
“Damn you! Damn it all!”
Suddenly, he started to choke on the residual smoke from the wreckage. His lungs, already drained from his tantrum, gave out instantaneously as he started to black out. As his vision began to fade, he reflected back on everything that led up to this moment. The shouting, the screaming, the hubris of it all. If only he could go back to that dreaded night and prevent this horrid amalgamation of events from ever becoming a reality. If only…
It all started on a mellow summer day. Edward had just returned to the ever-bustling Kingdom of Irsbane from a gruelling mission of rounding up and executing a band of heretics and enemies of the crown. His amber, brown eyes were bloodshot and droopy from lack of sleep. His long, wavy, brown hair was drenched in sweat, and his chiseled face rendered bruised and bloodied by a raging lunatic. His sturdy chainmail was damaged and worn from battle, and the holy emblem on his chest had been tattered and faded. He wearily made his way to the grand castle of Eelyn to report his “success” back to the ever righteous King Henry. He dragged his pain stricken feet across the crowded town square; his tall, built figure was slouched over from fatigue. However, something about him that always stayed constant was his stern and undaunting demeanor. Throughout this recent mission, he remained hardened and stalwart, refusing to give in to his moral quandaries of killing even families if it meant going through with his duties. Each mission he completed would become progressively easier on his conscience; committing the act of homicide was his job after all, so he may as well grow accustomed to it.
After a long walk, he arrived at Henry’s throne room. He approached his king along the decorative velvet carpet. His eyes glanced around the room at the armored guards who stood stiff and motionless, as well as the various statues and antiques that decorated the large room leading up to the gold plated throne upon which King Henry sat. Edward was now at Henry’s feet, kneeling before the king.
“It is done, m’lord. They shall tarnish the name of God no more.”
“Very good. You have done well, Ed. The Lord gives many thanks to you and your achievements today.
Henry gave Edward a sack of coins and sent him back to his quarters. As Edward was walking, he gave a slight and hopeful smile as he thought about King Henry’s statement.
“The Lord truly does shine down upon me…”
He thought to himself as he made his way to his chambers for some well deserved rest.
Around eight years ago, his mother and father were deathly ill from the plague. Being a rather wealthy family, they tried everything in the book to rid themselves of that horrible disease. Unfortunately for them, no amount of medical care seemed to be working. Young Edward would pray day and night for them to get better, but it simply wasn’t working. Upon realizing this, he began to lose hope. After a long while of waiting, King Henry told him that in order for God to hear his prayers, he had to prove himself by taking up a sword and slaying those who would oppose the Lord, himself. Seeing no other options, a desperate Edward became a knight, and sought to put an end to the heresy in Irsbane and bring glory to God’s name, so that he may heal his sick parents. And that he did., carrying out numerous crusades and other holy missions throughout the year, Edward made a name for himself as a faithful knight of Irsbane. Eventually after years of physically, mentally, and spiritually draining work, and ending the lives of hundreds upon hundreds of people with his own two hands, his prayers were answered. By some miracle, his mother and father had been cured of their horrible disease. Once Edward heard this news, he knew that his faith in God would be everlasting and that he was forever in his debt. It was his duty to bring honor and justice in the name of the Lord even if it kills him.
After some idling about in his chambers, Edward was called upon by the king once again, and reported to his throne room with haste. King Henry had been awaiting his arrival with a dire look on his face. Noticing something was off, Edward spoke up.
“Is something wrong, m’lord? You seem tro-“
“The Lord has spoken to me, he has another mission for you Ed.”
“Oh?”
Edward was slightly taken aback by this. Never before had he had a new mission only mere hours after returning from the previous one. On top of this, Edward was still fatigued and sore from his bouts of the night before, and was not in much condition to carry out another daunting task. Surely, this must be urgent.
“My spies have caught wind of a small group of Satan worshipers in the nearby village of Glidas. I know not their names, nor their appearance, but according to the spies, they look as though they have been touched by the Devil’s foul fingers. I know not if this is true but I’ve also gotten word that these deranged individuals plan to burn down the entire village before dawn.”
Edward kept a stern expression, though internally he wanted to scream louder than a banshee in heat. The village of Gildas was all too familiar to him. That was the same village where he grew up and where his parents resided. In sheer disbelief, Edward spoke up.
“M’lord, are you sure they are hiding in Gildas?”
“Positive. Here is a map with their exact location. Take them out.”
After Henry was done speaking he gave Edward the map and sent him off. Edward, still exhausted from his previous mission, knew that he had no time to waste, as his dear family’s lives were on the line. He hastily made his way to the remote village without wasting a single second. Edward was excited to get to see his parents again after a long eight years of knighthood. He made a note to pay them a visit after his job was done.
As the village drew near, Edward grew ever more tired and sore. His aching back became ever more troublesome and his heavy armor was of no help to this. His hurting feet dragged across the dirt road as the daunting sunset displayed before him. But he knew that if he didn’t make it, his parents would most likely die a horrific fiery death at the hands of those monsters, so he trudged onwards, with a stone cold expression on his bruised and scarred face.
After hours of tirelessly walking along the dirt road, Edward arrived at Gildas in the dead of night. He felt a sense of nostalgia upon returning to his hometown after so many years, however, this was short lived as he remembered the task at hand. The streets were vacant and the insides of the houses were completely dark. The only light Edward had was his torch and the moon looming over him. He looked over the map again, and it traced the location of the heretics to a rather large and nice looking house that stood out among the rest. Quietly, he entered the large house, being extra careful not to set off any traps that they may have laid out for him. He thoroughly searched around the house for the insidious inhabitants and eventually found two people sleeping in a room on the second floor. He cautiously approached them, readying his sword.
“Let’s see if these blokes fit the bill, shall we?”
He thought to himself, as he examined their facial features. Surely enough, the pair had ugly, grotesque, and scar ridden faces that were undoubtedly touched by the devil himself. These vile creatures had no place in this world; they posed a threat to not only the kingdom, but his own family. Edward was getting angrier and angrier at the thought of these abominable excuses for people being alive at all. Edward stowed away his sword, seeing that as too merciful for those monsters and instead set the entire house ablaze with his torch. He exited the building and watched as the flames rose and consumed the manor in a red hot inferno. Horrible screams began erupting from the fiery house, becoming louder and ever more desperate as time went on. Edward simply sat back and watched the house go up in flames with the same stern expression he always wore.
As he sat there, he listened closer to the screaming voices. Oddly, he sensed a sort of familiarity from them, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on why this was. That was until Edward came to a horrifying revelation that made his stomach churn harder than a bull whipped ox. His heart sank as he realized that those were the same voices he would hear when he was reprimanded for throwing stones into the neighbor’s yard. The same voices that would sing his praises after acing a test back in grade school. The same voices he would hear weeping as they sent him off to become the man he is today. These were the voices of his parents who were now dying the same fiery death that Edward tried so hard to prevent.
There was no time to mourn, however, as Edward heard footsteps and loud voices rapidly approaching the burning house. He managed to muster up enough strength to make a hasty retreat to a nearby ditch. Now running for cover, Edward was incapable of forming even a single coherent thought, as he was in utter disbelief over the events that just transpired. Once he reached the ditch, he fell to the ground, and passed out almost immediately.
Edward awoke early the next morning, dazed and confused, trying to remember everything that happened that night. Slowly, he got up from the ditch and groggily examined his surroundings. After looking around at the various trees and rocks in his peripherals, his sights became transfixed on what appeared to be a burnt down house in the distance. He wasn’t sure why, but he felt as if the answer to his amnesia was there. He slowly approached the wreckage; his already hurting body now feeling worse from his nap in the ditch. Upon arrival, he was greeted by the sight of charred furniture and ashen wood in a blackened heap. Investigating further, Edward grew more and more curious about this mysterious wreck. That was until he made a discovery that simultaneously made his gut wrench and all of his memories of the previous night come back to him. This was the same house he had set ablaze along with his now dead family laying dead before him.
It was there Edward stood. In his old home, which lay unrecognizably charred and dismantled beyond recognition. Staring directly at the burnt and mutilated corpses of his beloved parents that suffered a horrific death at the hands of their own son. If only he could go back to that dreaded night and prevent this horrid amalgamation of events from ever becoming a reality. If only he could have spoken to his mother and father one last time and beg for their forgiveness. If only he could hear their bittersweet voices again. If only he could have rescued his dearest family before the flames consumed them. If only he could have saved them.
If only…