He exclaimed, “It’s true! The land my ancestors came from is very far away from here. You must cross the sea to even set foot on its land… Then how come Remony and I are here today? You might ask yourself?.. Well! You see... At that time, foreign trade was new to my people and incredible dangerous... First you had to survive the giant mouth that is the ocean. It’s as cold and ruthless as a second-wife, with an appetite for anything that lives... After struggling many years, not to get sucked down into its abyss, you could still be unfortunate enough to meet pirates, who would attack the ship and pillage every last bit from it. Often leaving no survivors... And let’s not forget those diseases that could suck a man’s soul dry and leave him wishing for death, day in and out!…”.

Gabriel’s handsome face was dark. Suiting the atmosphere of the topic. While he told of the deadly sea, he oxidized his mug of water before taking a sip of it to replenish his voice.

Concern was written on his face as he continued, “My ancestors came from a village that was in contrast to their neighboring ones; Poor and struck with conflict. They could have remained that way for many centuries... But they didn’t! Their saving grace was that they saw possibilities in those strange vessels called ‘ships’! Compared to the local’s small canoes, these ships were gigantic and seemed to defy reality... With a lot of effort put into currying favor and learning a new language, they learned the trade but sadly had no possessions to sell. So to bypass this problem they founded a thieves guild… Even so, they had a hard time accepting their new profession. It weighed heavily on their consciousness to plunder others into poor sods like themselves. Therefor, they made the rule to solely steal from the richest merchant’s out there. They would never pilfer more than half of their target’s inventory. And everytime they stole, they swore to leave their victims intact with not a drop of blood spilt… And let me tell you! That is not an easy feat! Haha”.

Gabriel laughed, this time very proud of his ancestors’ willpower and kindness.

Seeing that there were still some leftovers, he decided to quickly go over to serve his wife a bowl of it. She smiled weakly, not having the greatest of appetites. Her gaze, made the man sad and worried. So before going back to their guest, he pecked her on the cheek and said, “Try to eat it, honey… You need the energy…”.

Remony’s mother blinked and tried her best to swallow the lumpy substance. Gabriel was relieved to see this.

He left her with a somber look. Then he continued, “Now, where were we..? Ah!.. Right… Within weeks they were infamous all over the land. The fat merchants wanted them dead and their fellow villagers wanted the spoils for themselves. Bloodhounds and crafty dinosaurs were sent out in all directions to seek out their treasures. Yet they all returned empty handed… Can you guess why?”.

William who was plenty busy listening and digesting the ‘food’, stopped and blinked at Gabriel, “Huh?”. Gruel dribbled out his mouth. He was the image of an eagle drinking water. Remony chuckled at his stupid reaction and said, “Ah! Mirabelle seems to have been spellbound by your story, father. Hahaha…”.

This taunt made William clench his spoon extra tight, while his ears grew red. For some reason, he had been completely preoccupied by the scene playing out between Remony’s parents.

To not lose further face, he tried replying to Gabriel’s question: “Why… I don’t know? Did they hide it on some island or sink it onto the bottwom of the sea with a rope attached?”. Remony immediately halted her laughter.

Her father, Gabriel was pleased with these suggestions and praised, “Those were some good proposals. But no! They hid it on this land which doesn’t have a king! Nor a real name… It was in a nice little cove near a village called Bart. Hence our last name: Bartcove”. Gabriel winked as if it was some inside joke. William just stared awkwardly at him. This Gabriel didn’t mind.

He added, “Eventually my ancestors gathered enough wealth to become merchants. The thing they had always pined for... They enshrouded themselves in new identities and erected a manor on this land’s shore, enjoying their fortune. And with these beginning it didn’t take long before they quickly rose in rank... All of these goodies, they could hail their miserable background for. Because if they hadn’t started out being the enemy themselves, they wouldn’t have known how exactly they should evade and if necessary, how to strike back, like they did with such splendor!…”. Gabriel told of this as he tapped himself on the nose. Implying how their skills from the past made a huge difference.

He visualised for William and Remony how the thieves had now become wealthy citizens. His stride was elegant and filled with pride as he said, “When they were able to clad themselves in gold from top to toe, envoys of happiness were sent to their relatives and fellow villagers. Pouring back to the people, what they had stolen so many years ago… Not long after these grand gestures took place. Ships began to arrive at their shores, carrying fellow men and women, who seeked to work with the new founded family of merchants. With this sudden increase of people, they decided to make a castletown and hailed our ancestors as its lords and ladies… This is my blood’s noble origin...”. Gabriel became sombre once again, as he finished the last sentence.

He found his chair and sat down with a heavy sigh… 

A quick glance was casted on his wife and daughter, before he said, “You might be wondering how come we’re living here as peasants?.. Where are all the riches that this man has been telling you about?.. Well, you see… This man here is a foolish one… A special kind of breed”.

Remony read her father like a book. She knew what he was getting at, but it didn’t weight on her. Instead it made her swoon, as she lovingly sighed, “He married for love”.

“Yes! Love!”, her father echoed with great disappointment.

“And look at where it got us?.. The Bartcove blood might have thinned out with generations, but we still honor our heritage and the old traditions... Even if, they were married off left and right, the name still retained its noble status and prestige… This is why... My parents threatened that they would disown me, if I chose a woman from a poor family… Yet I did… It was simply impossible not to!.. We couldn’t resist each other… And thus, as you might have figured out, we eloped to this far off place… Hoping to throw them off our tail. It’s unfortunate, that lord Blaise has begun to gain some traction… I really hope that it bodes well for our family”.

William glanced at Remony’s mother. She seemed very touched by her husbands proclamation of love to a total stranger. This kind of background also explained why Remony was so good at the literary art.

Most people who could read in these times, were societies upper-class. Of course pages also learned how to read from their masters and these skills were casually passed around. About 1 out of 4 could write small passages and construct a sentence without problem. Others could write, but spelled many words incorrectly.

If there was one thing that the nobles monopolized, it was the art to write and publish books. No peasant nor knight, had the time or money to accomplish such a feat...

Hearing from Gabriel that they sought to hide themselves, William had to ask, “I don’t understand… Why haven’t you chwanged your last name to something else? Won’t the name attract the wrong kind of attention?”.

Remony stared at William for a while. Seeing that he knew his wordly blunder, she shifted her gaze upon her father. The one, they both seeked an answer from. He responded with a; “There is no need to worry on that part… My family might be fierce but they’re not cruel… I sincerely hope that these past few years, have been enough to soften their hearts… If not, then perhaps our sweet little Remony will?”. Gabriel cupped her cheek and fondled it with a grin on his face.

She protested, “Aw! Stop it father. Don’t do it in front of Mirabelle, it’s embarrassing!”. This time William finally felt that he had the right to laugh. So he did. Loud and clear.

Before leaving, William thanked Remony’s family for the warm welcome. He also added, “I must say… Compared to the lords, like lord Blaise, who murders and conquers other’s castles to build up their own success, your ancestwors managed to find a middle ground… Although, as you said earlier, their story is only one of many… At least… I’ll admit that your ancestor’s is one worth boasting about”.

This sudden compliment, rushed warm blood into Gabriel’s face. He grinned wider and earnestly waved goodbye to the both of them.

****

The hour was nearing midnight, when the two decided to head back to the castle. To make out their way back, they were given a lantern made of hide. It emitted a dull light that reflected their shadows along the dark path…

William found it quite eerie to walk outside when everything was this pitch black. He always had the notion that a feral dinosaur would poke out of the woods and rip them to shreds. Merely the thought of being chewed on, while still being alive, was truly terrifying and could send countless shivers down his spine!

Because of this very rational fear, William held his breath until they reached the land string… There, guards were patrolling the area, ensuring that no dangers were to lurk onto the island. Yet they had unknowingly failed their job.

They would soon find out that something had managed to slip by unnoticed…

Something from the past…