Knight of Fire

Down a seldom traveled road, in heavily wooded forest, there was a long forgotten castle; forgotten by all, but for those who live there. Long ago, the castle was a glorious sight to behold. The flags flying from the turrets were brightly colored and beckoned to those from all around. Years of neglect have taken their toll and the castle is so overgrown that it can hardly be seen. The only thing that alerts you to its presence is a large iron gate. The residents of this castle are Adeline, age 16 and her younger brother Christopher, age 8. Adeline is a beautiful girl with long dark hair and petite features. Christopher is tall for his age and has striking blue eyes rimmed with dark lashes and auburn hair. Unfortunate circumstances have had them living on their own for some time now.

ne ill-fated evening, a man appeared at the iron gates, dressed in full armor, bleeding from two arrows in his back and a grievous wound on his side. He was armed with a large axe and was riding a midnight destrier, the steam from the horses labored breathing billowing in the chilly air. He slowly reached his hand forward to open the gate, but with a heavy groan, he fell to the ground. The two children were frightened. They had been lucky until now for they had not heard another living creature this far into the forest except the fauna, and now they had a gravely injured, hardened warrior on their doorstep. Neither of them had much experience with treating injuries, let alone a gash as great as his appeared to be, but this man was in obvious need of aid. The children faced a moral dilemma; if they invited this man in, tended to his wounds, would he leave peacefully? Or would he try to take what they had fought so hard to keep?

Although frightened to open their home to this wounded man, the children decided it would be wrong of them to just let this man lay there to die. The children made their way out to the wounded man, bringing him in to their home out of the cold blistering weather he was traveling. There they tended to his wounds and kept him warm by the fire. As the injured man lay, the children studied his hammered out shield, when they noticed markings on his shield, markings they had once seen in an old tattered scroll that once belonged to their father. Could it be? Was the scroll full of truth? Till now the children thought the stories in the scroll were nothing more than a fable their father kept. This wounded man that lay before them was a knight, a special type of knight that belonged to the knights of the Fire. He was a giant killer. He slayed the horrible giant monsters, that once roamed where the children lived, and that had sadly taken their mother and father from them. As the man awoke, he thanked them for saving his life and told a great tale of how he is on a quest to find some people that were special to someone, in which he owed a debt. The children asked, who was he looking for? The knight said, two children, about your ages, their names are Christopher and Adeline. The knight was sent by their parents that were once separated from them by giants. The woman of these children tended to my men during a battle for in return that I find her children. Adeline, in a warm soft spoken voice said Dear knight, it is my brother and I you search for, we were separated from our mother and father and took refuge in this abandon castle The knight told them that his men were looking for him and wouldnt be more than a day behind. Once my men arrive, I will safely take you to your mother and father and reunite you with them, said the knight. The children learned this day that by their noble actions they were rewarded.