A Short Wingfeather Story

“Shhh!” Esben whispered, a large grin on his face as he tiptoed through the halls of Rysen with Artham by his side. Artham nodded, amused. 

Esben had shaken him awake not long ago, deep in the night, and though he had been slightly annoyed at first, he had quickly gotten over it. Esben had wanted Artham to accompany him to the kitchen. He was hungry, and decided that it would be fun if his older brother snuck around with him. Artham was a bit tired, but the prospect of raiding the kitchen and, moreover, watching his little brother raid the kitchen, had cheered him up. 

They snuck through the corridor, careful to avoid any room in which there was light. The cook had gone to bed not long ago, which Artham only knew because Esben had laid awake waiting to hear him pass their door on his way to his own room. 

The halls were dark for the most part, but the brothers knew where everything was, having done this many times before. They passed a window and Artham looked out. There stood Bonifer’s little house. A shadow passed over him, but Artham didn’t know why. He felt that something was amiss, but couldn’t place it. The light was on in the small cottage, but that was nothing unusual. Bonifer was almost always up late into the night.

Artham felt a tug and looked down to see Esben. 

“He might see you.” Esben whispered, barely audible. Artham ducked and the two stayed underneath the window until they came to the end of it. If Bonifer had ever noticed their midnight escapades, he hadn’t told them. Artham had guessed that their parents knew, but Esben was convinced that no one except himself and his brother was aware.

Once they had left the window, Artham stood up and stretched. It felt nice to stand again. Why are all the windows so long? He wondered, I guess that whoever built the castle really liked sunlight. 

The brothers were nearing the kitchen now and could see a warm reddish glow. There must be something cooking overnight. I wonder what it is. 

Esben licked his lips and ran ahead. He was still fairly quiet, but the smell of fresh bread and all sorts of other delicious foods had stolen a bit of his caution. 

Artham crept along behind him, smiling. Something still felt off, but he shook it away and focused on staying silent. 

After a moment he entered the kitchen and found his brother rummaging through the baskets. He snuck over to see what his little brother was searching for. 

Esben was looking in the bread basket, and, after a moment, he pulled out a freshly baked biscuit. 

“Mmm…” He sighed contentedly as he brought it up to his nose and sniffed. 

Artham laughed quietly, amused by his brother’s bliss as he smothered the biscuit in sugarberry jam.

After a moment, Artham reached in and pulled one out for himself. He slathered butter onto it, then moved over to the small table in the center of the room. Esben joined him after a moment with two more biscuits. 

Artham gave a small prayer of thanks for the food, with Esben adding in his thanks that they hadn’t been caught, and the two began to eat. The food was wonderful in its simplicity, and the boys enjoyed every bite. 

After getting a drink, they crept back to their room and climbed into bed. The shadow still rested over Artham, but he fell asleep content. 

Artham awoke with a jolt, swaying high in his castle deep in Glipwood forest, and wept bitterly. It was the first pleasant dream he had had in years, but now it served only as a painful reminder of his failure. That which had once been pure and good could now only worsen his guilt and shame. Lightning flashed and thunder roared as Artham wept, his voice mingling with the howling wind and groaning oaks.

... So I know this ended sadly, but we know that things get better for Artham! The Maker didn't forsake him. Life can be hard and we can be tempted to give up hope, but there is always a light at the end of the tunnel for Christ's people. In the words of Andrew Peterson, "this is the dark before the dawn".