Ennui. XII

Jordan got up early the next day. Fully believing that the dream was a prophecy given to him by the Gods, he wanted to make sure when the time comes he could save Chloe Grace, marry her, and live a happily ever after.

He took his sword and went to the space behind the house. Raising his wooden sword, he took deep breaths. His eyes closed, his mind recalled a set of swings he had been practicing for the past few months. He'd always stumbled somewhere in the middle, then he'd get frustrated and quit.

But with new inspirations and a goal to strive towards to, he would make sure he wouldn't stop until he got ten complete sets of swings in a row.

He swung this sword as gracefully as he could – it was not graceful; it looked more like a kid trying to draw a straight line, wobbly and messy. Despite this, he continued swinging to the best of is abilities.

Each time he swung his muscles got more and more weary, unused to the strenuous strain. With time, his body started to ache from head to toe; like insects nibbled on it.

By the time he got to his tenth set on his fourth try, the sun had started to rise. Its golden glow shone through the gaps of the dense forest and landed before Jordan. Satisfied, he sat down and laid on his back on the sweaty ground.

His thoughts wandered back to Chloe Grace. He'd have to work tirelessly like this day after day to acquire the skill set and confidence to slay the demons.

Tired of the sweaty floor and the uncomfortable feeling of perspiration on his body so early in the morning, he got up from the floor and headed to the shower. Once he was done, he bumped into his father preparing to go outside to do exactly what he just did, just at a more refined and quicker pace.

"Up early ey, Jordan? Why don't you train with me?"

"Did just that. That's why I was in the shower."

"Really?," he observed his limp limbs and slouched back. He really had done it, he thought.

"Well I suppose you can go back to bed. Or eat breakfast, mom's already making it." Josiah left for through the back door.

Jordan decided he needed the nutrition after the workout. Well, his muscles needed it, it was like a starving dog barking for its owner to give its food; Jordan could go days without food. Sometimes the situation demanded it.

Greeting his mother and eating his hearty meal, he was no longer sleepy. Jordan had no idea what people do so early in the morning. His father had trained, but he wasn't going to do that. His mother will be going off to the market soon, but he was reluctant to meet her friends and walk through the maze of women where trapdoors of pushy vendors coerced him to buy their subpar food.

"Since you're up so early, why not lend me a hand at the market? I could do with some extra help." Adria asked Jordan.

"I'm fine."

"There may be some fair ladies if you go~" she teased him in a sing songy manner.

His thoughts wandered to Chloe Grace, who could be at the market. He wouldn't want to let go of the chance to finally see her in person. But shouldn't my chance be when the demons attack, he thought.

Does the dream really show what will happen in the future? If so, will me meeting her even result in the marriage? Or do I even have the chance to get with her in the first place? Surely a girl like her would be courted by a noble.

He got out of his daze only to find the silhouette of his mother no longer at the door.

'Guess I wouldn't meet her anyway.'

He put his plate away and trudged straight to the bedroom. Laying on his bed staring at the ceiling, hearing his father grunts from outside, his thoughts began to wonder again. This time though it travelled not to Chloe Grace, but to his life instead.

Honestly, he had been ashamed to think that a dream could have predicted his future to someone like him. Born to normal parents in a rural village, he had not even been selected to be a magician and was casted aside to be a warrior; not even a good one at that.

They only allowed the most competent of trainees to be guards and by now most of his peers had graduated to be guards. Even some in the younger batch had graduated. He figured he had a higher chance to succeed as King than to be one of the guards.

His father, on the other hand placed first; he recalled the story his father boasted often. Now his son wouldn't even be a guard.

WHAT AN EMBARRASMENT JORDAN

He hated to admit it but he is an embarrassment. An only son who'd be a farmer, a profession largely occupied by the old and the incompetent. If he didn't show any true promise by the end of the year, he'd be grouped with the latter.

Despite this village being tight-knit, rumors still manage to pave their way through the Babbling Betty's.

HAVE YOU HEARD? THE HEAD GUARD'S SON IS INCOMPETENT.

THE HEAD GUARD'S SON IS INFERTILE?

HIS SON IS INFAMOUS FOR CRIMES? I WOULD NOT WANT MY DAUGHTER WEDDED TO HIM.

Unbeknownst to him, a tear fell from his right eye. It travelled past his nose, past his mouth; it dribbled down his chin landing on a scar from before. The salty tear stung this yet-to-heal wound. Only now did he realize the crawling sensation on his right cheek.

He tried his best to retract any incoming tears, not wanting to bawl so early in the morning. He tried thinking happy thoughts, but it was all in vain as they ended up with thinking about his family, of which he is an embarrassment of, or Chloe Grace.

'Have I nothing else to… think about?'

He filtered through his mind, swam through memories both good and bad. Nothing was coming. He tried remembering even further back in his mind in the thick dense forest of knowledge he acquired. Nothing was registering.

As hard as he tried to remember even back when he was a baby. Nothing prevailed.

Somehow, his head even sunk lower in the mattress in desperation. He had nothing going on his life apart from failing the magician's test, and being mediocre in being a village guard.

What else is there to do… a farmer won't get me far in life… am I just not cut out for life…

OF COURSE YOU AREN'T. YOU WILL NEVER BE.

Another day… with nothing to look forward to… Another day… with nothing to look forward to…

YES. YES. YOU ARE RIGHT. THERE IS NOTHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO.

Me… the son of the head guard… nothing but a small fish in the bottom of the well…

CORRECT. NOT EVEN IN THIS VILLAGE IS THERE ANYTHING YOU CAN LOOK FORWARD TO. YOUR FUTURE IS BLEAK. DEMONS WILL RAVAGE YOUR VILLAGE BUT YOU WILL DIE BEFOREHAND. GIVE UP JORDAN. GIVE UP. GIVE UP. GIVE UP. GIVE UP.

The Sun still set so high in the sky, Jordan with his heavy hand hung over eyes, tiresome tears lulled him to a somber rest; he hoped to not wake up the next morning.