Chapter 3: The Solar Fire Knight Felzen von Vulkan
THE night grew darker.
The bunk above me creaked. It was Bern, tossing and turning in her bed.
They called me the Solar Fire Knight but I wasn’t all that hot, truth be told, just some spineless coward who didn’t have the guts to profess his feelings to the one he loved.
I quietly sighed. Above me slept the woman of my dreams, her mere presence causing my tiny heart to tremble.
We’d met at just five years old. I never imagined a person like her existed in the world. The emotions I felt wash over me were as vivid as they’d been back then.
She was my first love.
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AT the end of the social season, which lasted all the way from January to September, Father would travel to Eisberk to hunt.
Father took socializing very seriously. He dragged me to all sorts of events, and it wore on me. Adult-only functions were tolerable enough, but gatherings that involved kids less so. Father, however, thought I’d feel more comfortable around other children, so he purposefully took me to events sure to have children in attendance whenever possible.
Father’s fiery red hair and bronze skin were intimidating to most. Other kids were similarly intimidated by me, because I’d inherited said features. Whenever I did try to get along with them, they simply refused to leave the safety of their parents’ shadows. The adults would chat with another while each kid found ways to entertain themselves and not interact with each other. Every single time.
“There’s a kid your age in Eisberk,” Father said. “I’m sure you two will find something to do together.”
I shuddered, wondering how I’d avoid dying of boredom. It didn’t help that Eisberk was rural either.
Why does Father go there every year? It sounds so boring, was what I thought at the time.
✦ ✦ ✦
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I hopped into the brougham, a bleak journey ahead of me.
The closer we drew to Eisberk, the fewer people we saw, but the road was wide and well maintained. We crossed a large stone bridge. Then we passed through a forest, which was rumored to be infested with monsters. Finally, we were greeted by a vast, grassy field. Clouds skipped across the limitless sky, the autumn sun blinding.
Father informed me that the four-legged fuzzballs doting the pastures were called sheep. Cows grazed peacefully amid the grass. Unbranded horses roamed in flocks. As I gazed out the window, breath held, a black horse cantered up beside our coach. Straddling it was a blue-haired boy.
He looks about my age, and yet he’s already riding!
Father grinned, ready to see me eat my words about our visit being a boring trip. “That’s Bernstein von Eisberk, one of Eisberk’s kids,” he said, waving. The boy waved back before turning his horse around.
Must be returning to his mansion, I thought.
Father had told me there’d be someone around my age, but he hadn’t mentioned that the kid could ride horses. I felt the corners of my lips raise in anticipation.
Upon our arrival, I was shocked to realize that Bernstein von Eisberk was, in fact, a girl.
Her light green dress was simple albeit charming. A bow adorned her soft blue hair. I never would’ve guessed she was anything more than a prim and proper young lady had I not seen her in her previous attire.
Then she described Father, who was feared by both young and old alike, as “cute”. I was floored.
I enjoyed my time at Eisberk. Us kids spent a lot of it together, as Father was out hunting more often than not.
Bern, Elfenbein, and the stable hand taught me how to ride. Even as the others raced ahead, Bern would match my slow pace across the grasslands. I could see more from horseback. It was like a whole new world had just opened up before me.
Bern and I spied on the shepherd together, explored the forest together, played with local kids together. All of it felt fresh, exciting, and a little scary. I had never experienced anything like our adventures back in the royal capital.
Elfenbein agreed to a practice duel with me. He’d enrolled in military prep school earlier that year, and his skill with the blade was remarkable. Bern sulked considerably afterward, apparently bitter because she’d noticed that Elfenbein had gone harder on me than her.
Peeved, Bern asked me to teach her the sword, and so I did. She was tough and unlike any girl I knew. I was able to be myself around her; I didn’t have to put on a fake smile or carefully choose my words for fear of scaring her off.
In the evenings, we’d all enjoy rounds of cards, boardgames, and whatever else I’d brought from the capital. Lilia always absolutely demolished everyone in chess.
I fell asleep to the twinkling of stars and woke up to birdsong. I finally understood why Father made the trek to Eisberk year in and year out. Our family territory was known for its steel production and hot springs, abounding in nature yet pulsing with industry, or so Father often told me.
Father just wants a calm, quiet place to relax, I thought.