Beneath locks of brown hair, a pair of murky eyes studied the strangest thing… A letter, from a dear friend. It wasn’t per say the notion of getting a letter from her that was so strange. It was rather the contents that were different from usual...

He sat in a dimly lit room with wine-red curtains, blocking out the last beams of sunlight. “A sword?...”. Harvick snickered to himself. He saw that a small wooden box accompanied the letter. It was heavy and filled to the brim with coins. As he counted the money, a sentence slipped off his tongue, “... I wonder… Who does she want to kill?”.

When he was done counting, personally checking that the money was sufficient, he called on his new servant boy. It just so happened that the former one died yesterday…

This new servant was fairly timid and very aware of his surroundings. For he didn’t want to end up like the previous one... Harvick handed over the money and said, “Go tell our blacksmith, to make a sword that this amount of money will be able to cover… AH!”. The servant jumped in shock, when he heard his master suddenly raise his voice.

Harvick rummaged through his stuff to find a delicately embroidered bag. In it, was a wide array of pearls. The servant was confused as to what Harvick wanted to do with them.

The master gestured for his servant to come closer and open his hand for reception. He fished up a pearl that was a shiny grey. Before handing it over he explained, “These pearls that I give you must be integrated into the sword… And make sure it’s done tastefully“. The servant understood and waited for the plumb water gems to be dropped into his hand.

As Harvick put the first pearl into the servant’s hand, he muttered, “Gray, for absorbing a loss”. Then he found a white pearl and said, “White, to keep the heart pure and the spirit healthy”. The last pearl he was going to hand over to the servant, made the servant’s hand tremble. He inquired, “Are you sure that this amount of money is enough to make a sword worthy of this gem, my lord!? Purple is after all, an extremely rare colour… Especially in pearls!”.

Harvick stood silent for a while as he stared at the servant. Rolling the treasured sphere in his palm…

After some thought he explained to this freshly baked greenhorn, “During the past months, 9 people have been found dead and replaced within a week… Why, soon you might be replaced as well… On the battlefield. Countless men will die in mud and get eaten by crows… Yet another army of similar size that is just as capable, can be raised within a year… That’s just how it is… All life on this earth can be replaced… The physical body disappears along with a expired breath… Then how come we choose to live, despite our imminent demise?.. Personally I believe that our will and strength to live, comes from those we remember in our hearts…”.

Harvick made the servant take the pearl, as he continued to talk morosely; “In my heart there remains a person… They might die today or tomorrow... That’s why… When we’re still both alive, I want to express that like this pearl, they got the rare chance of entering my heart… They have found a place to never be forgotten. For when Solvi gathers us our memories will become eternal… And, it’s really no surprise that I’ll die someday… Which means this pearl will never solely belong to me… I am merely borrowing it. So why not use it for something that stays permanent?.. Or do you wish to see it waste away? Hidden from the world, because I’m foolish enough to believe I can keep it as my own forever? It cannot be eaten. It cannot be drunk… Then tell me… What other uses does it have, but to serve as a fine gift? To make me happy through somebody else?”.

The servant stood dumbstruck. They didn’t understand half the words Harvick babbled on about. But one thing the servant did understand was that this pearl needed to be a part of the sword. Whether it was worthy of it or not, didn’t matter!

The servant smiled weakly, thinking that they could run off now. Harvick however, snickered to himself. He wasn’t done tormenting this poor soul yet. He cranked a key into a dusty chest on the floor. As it gaped open, splendors of the eye shined through. Harvick transferred another object into the servants hands and said nonchalantly, “Embed this metal onto the sword as well… It will make the killing blow that much easier”.

The servant shivered, as the metal was dumped into his embrace. Murder here, slaughter me there. Not a sentence was heard nowadays when these awful words weren’t put to good use!

“Am I dismissed now? My lord?”, the servant squeaked. Harvick glared at the boy. Teaching him in silence to have patience. Then he said, “Sure… You may leave now…”.

While the servant boy scurried away, Harvick fell down into his chair and began to write a letter to accompany his gift of a lifetime. Some might say that he did this, because he really treasured the person he was going to give it to. But that was only partly the truth… To be honest, it was one of his ways of performing self-healing…

In the end, he acted like a mistreated parent that wanted their child to have the best of the best, because they themselves felt neglect during their own childhood… The child, being Mirabelle. Therefore, the sword that was in the making wasn’t only the salvation of a young girl but also a tattered teen, who managed to mash his feelings into it.

To have them burn passionately while it was tempered. Hoping with all his heart, that the girl who would someday wield it, could smile brightly enough to make it count for the both of them…

****

William unfolded the letter. It had, had a rough journey. Its edges were torn and most of the ink was blurred. Making it hard for William to decipher those life changing words, Harvick had scribbled inside the letter.

Remony came unannounced into the room, carrying two portions of breakfast. Seeing the small piece of parchment held within William’s hands, made her wake up from her stupor. She asked in an excited mood, “Is that a letter from Harvick?.. Tell me, what does it say?”.

William gave her a side glance before he began reading the letter aloud:

To Mirabelle whom stems from the humble family of Castonale.
I hereby give you what you so kindly asked for. That which can shape a man’s future. Or in your case. A woman’s. You will find it in the possession of Remony’s father.

Use it wisely.

As for your last letter, I would like to clarify that no bandit attacks has hit us yet. And to those who lurk in the dark... I’m afraid they will not see the light this year. Although I hope to bring them to justice soon, there seems to be more than I had thought…

Furthermore, I really liked your idea of secretly melting heavy metal unto his armour, to make him steadily more tired and unsure of his strength. However, he seldom takes it off, so it would be too risky to accomplish this feat. But please, I’d be thrilled to hear more of your ideas to weaken the enemy. It brings me laughter in a castle where there nowadays is none…

And no. I won’t shout at you with my ability, even if there is a body of water behind you. It’s simply too dangerous...

Do tell me if and when, Joss comes home. I did promise him a race after all.

To both you and Remony. I wish you all the luck in the world.
Best regards from Harvick Blaise, lord of castle Halbal.

Remony looked bewildered at William and exclaimed, “In my father’s possession!?.. Oh! I know why… I completely forgot to tell you this, but swords and other weapons are actually forbidden in the castle, if not carried by a guard or a knight!”. To this, William shrugged his shoulders and said, “Who cares?.. Just being a female is enough for me to get a stinky eye if I should wield one... No one needs to know of it… Right, Remony?”.

William’s sentence ended with an accusing tone. This, Remony found rather mean, which was why she defended herself, by saying, “What are you implying? Of course I won’t snitch on you! You’re my friend, remember?”.

William changed his expression and took her in with open arms. “That’s right” he said, “So will you let me have your chicken wing as well? I’m a growing girl, you know”. Remony lightly punched William in the arm for his playfulness and said, “Why don’t you eat that instead? It has about as much meat on it, as this thing here”. Remony held a chicken wing dangling from her fingers, with a cocked eyebrow and sly mouth. This detail made both of them laugh in unison.

At least here there was laughter.