Echo [Klaus M.]

[Chapter VII • Memory]

As soon as my eyes opened, I knew exactly where I was. I was where I wanted to be.

The meadow was just as beautiful as it was over a week ago, when I was last here. The flowers were in full bloom, the sun shinning bright in the clear sky. I slowly rose to my feet, smiling at the wondrous field that felt like home. I hadn't had a home in a long, long time.

Fingering the flowers as I walked by, I glanced at the surrounding woods. What was out there? Where was Niklaus?

Clang!

I jumped when I heard a loud clacking sound of metal hitting on metal. It echoed from deep inside the forest. Wondering what and where it was coming from, I ventured out of the meadow. I carefully traveled through the woods until I saw smoke rising in the distance in the direction the clanking was coming from. What was on fire?

Following the smoke, I arrived at a village. There were wooden buildings and tents huddled around in a clearing. Small fires in front of houses burned, the source of smoke in the air. As I walked into the village, no one looked at me or even seemed to know I was here.

The people were busy washing clothes, making cloth, and walking from place to place. As I kept moving, I noticed a young girl about my age standing in the dirt path, staring down at a boy who was poking at a fire. She had long, bright blonde hair twisted into a French braid, wrapping around her head before falling down over her shoulders with flowers tucked into it. She wore a plain maroon dress with dark brown leather slippers. The boy had an off-white tunic and dark pants with tall boots.

I came closer to them, but they didn't even blink at my approach. The clanking sound filled the air again, not only gaining my attention but also the blonde girl's.

She looked up and smiled. "Come on, Henrik." She started running down the road, the boy--Henrik-- behind her. "Our brothers are fighting again." She and the boy laughed with glee.

I hurried after them, wondering who these brothers were and why they were fighting. I soon found my answer when I got to where the clanking was coming from. I stopped a few feet behind the girl and boy, watching as two older boys--young men more like-- were sword-fighting.

One of them had long, brown hair with two small braids on the sides of his head. He was handsome with a broad forehead, chiseled jawline, and sultry, dark brown eyes. His clothing consisted of a dark brown vest, showing off this defined biceps, and black leather leggings with animal skin boots.

When I glanced at the other man, I raised my eyebrows in surprise. It was Niklaus. He was wearing the same clothes as when I first met him in the meadow, but now the front strands of his hair was pulled back with string. He swung his sword and it clashed against the other man's.

Was that his brother? Niklaus had told me he had siblings. Was the man he was fighting along with the girl and boy his family? Seemed likely.

As the men paused in their fighting, they began circling each other as the dark-haired man looked over at the blonde. He didn't even spare me a glance even though I was right behind her. Could they not see me?