The Misadventures of the Ingenious Squire and his Unfortunate Master:
Trouble in the North
Chapter 1: Rough Start
It was the evening before Christmas Eve and the Diaz Estate was stirring up quite a racket. Usually the Diaz family was busy in the nearby city of Burgos, enjoying the festivities and decorations. But not for a certain Master and Servant duo. Sitting the paved driveway was an old horse-drawn sleigh. It clearly showed its age: the wood was weathered and beaten, the leather seats were rough and torn, and its paint was long since faded. In the back seat was a large bag, filled with Christmas presents. Two figures hurried from the mansion carrying wrapped parcels in their arms.
“Come on, Squire! We have to hurry or we’ll be late again!” one of the figures yelled. The young man was wearing festive clothes, green with red trimming, with the ancestral sword of his family hanging from his waist. The young man was the heir to the Diaz family and was currently attending the academy on OLYMPUS, the floating marvel of Atlas technology. Sweat moistened his brow as he deposited the gifts onto the back of the sleigh and rushed back into his home.
“Do not fear, Maestro. I swear on my pride as a knight that we shall not be late again!” the tall figure answered passionately. He was clad in rusty old armor, what glory it had was far gone from its current state. With his gaunt face and skinny body, it was hard to imagine that he was actually a Heroic Spirit: a Servant of the Squire Class. Despite his weak appearance, Squire places a very large gift onto the sleigh and surveys their work. “I am sure that that is all of the presents, Don Luis.”
“Not yet.” The young Spaniard had returned with one last box. Tossing it haphazardly onto the pile he gives a sigh of relief. “Done,” Luis says wiping his forehead.
“Maestro!” The old knight grabs the tossed box and places it securely into a suitable place. “One does not simply toss gifts with abandon, milord,” Squire reprimands. “Count yourself fortunate that this was not damaged. It would be shameful to give a broken gift to an ally and friend.”
Luis straightens up and stretches his limbs. “Whatever. I’m just glad we can finally get going. But now that I think of it, Squire...” The old knight’s Master looks at the decrepit sleigh and its empty reins. “How exactly are we going to get to the Christmas party on this? You know, I could have easily booked us some plane tickets….”
The gaunt knight’s jubilant smile fell. “You…You doubt my prowess, Maestro? I promised you that we would not arrive late and I meant it….I really did….” The Servant bowed his head in sadness.
“No! No-no-no-no-no!” Luis hastily said. “I-I’m just saying….” Seeing his Servant like this always made him feel guilty. Breathing a long sigh, Luis continues, “Squire….You know full well that I do not doubt you. You’ve served me immensely over these past few months.” He smiles as he puts an encouraging hand on Squire’s shoulder. “Come on, Don. Show me what you’ve got planned.”
Squire’s frown immediately widens into a grand smile. He pulls his Master into a strong embrace, exclaiming, “Thank you, Maestro! Thank you! Thank you!” Ignoring Luis groans of pain, the old man continues to hug his Master in his surprisingly strong arms.
Releasing Luis, Squire gleefully runs into the nearby garden. Seconds later, he returns pushing a large trolley, covered with a heavy blanket. Stopping short of the beaten sleigh, Squire steps aside with a satisfied grin. He showcases the covered item with his hands, resembling the woman from the American game show with the giant wheel. Luis looks at it with a confused, yet amused look. “Um…..What is it?” he asks.
“Behold, Maestro,” Squire says, barely containing his joy. “It took me several days to track these down, but I am joyful to say that I succeeded in capturing them. Feast your eyes upon these, our noble steeds!” With a flourish of his hands, the old Servant whips off the cover. “Huzzah!” he yells with glee.
Standing on the trolley are two granite statues of reindeer, one female and one male. They are old, worn down by many years of rain and most of their features were washed away. There were signs of graffiti and wads of gum, but apparently Squire had tried his best to remove most of it off. But, the stone was chipped and cracked in several places. The male was missing an antler and one of the female’s eyes was carved out. Overall, Squire’s “noble steeds” looked anything but “noble”.
Trying his best to hide his disappointment, Luis just smiles. “…..Wow. Th-That’s….great. A-Amazing find, Squire. Where did you find these…animals?”
His face shining exuberantly with happiness, Squire explains how he found them. “Are they not grand, Maestro? I happened upon them purely by accident. I was journeying in the nearby castle town when I found them grazing in a snow-covered grove. The poor things were covered in filth and garbage and they were malnourished beyond all reason. So I reasoned that I should capture them and nurse them back to health for their own good. Unfortunately, they were not compliant at first, as I do not have the ability to converse with animals. But I kept at it until they accepted my help. And so I nursed them for days and now they are one hundred percent healthy. They are grateful for my aid and they are willing to help us in our venture by pulling our sleigh! Is that not grand, Maestro?” Squire scratches behind one of male’s ears as he kisses the nose of the female.
“But, aren’t they just statu—I mean, just reindeer? How exactly are they going to get us north in time fo—“
“They are not just reindeer, Don Luis.”
“Oh really?”
“Oh yes. They are descendants of the steeds who pulled the sleigh of the Yule Goat.”
Luis’ self-restraint was slowly crumbling, but he kept his paitence. “Wha—‘Yule Goat’? What’s a goat got to do with them?”
“Not a goat, Don. The Yule Goat. Joulupukki, who would venture from his mountainous abode for one night every year. He would demand tribute from the families living below his peaks. But, if the family had sinned then he would take their lives as payment; a warning to all evil-doers.”
Luis rubbed his head in frustration, his restraint at its limit. “Wait, don’t tell me….These ‘reindeer’ belong to Santa Claus?”
“No-no-no, Maestro. Weren’t you listening? They are from the Yule Goat’s breed. And besides, The Saint never rode in a sleigh.”
“The Sai—Just who are you talking about!?”
The old knight raised an eyebrow at his Master. “Our reindeer, of course.” Ignorant of his Master’s roar of frustration, Squire placed the palms of his hands onto the back of the statues. “Trust in me, Luis.” He closes his eyes.
“I knew I should’ve bought the tickets! And what do we have? A broken down, piece of shit sleigh with two statues! Auuuuugh! Squire, I….I…..I…..” The rest of the rant was lost. What Luis saw next took his doubt and breath away.
A bright golden glow of prana seeped from Squire’s fingertips, spilling down the bodies of the statues. The luminescent aura flowed through the granite, igniting the stone with flames of pure magical energy. The fire and light spread, covering the reindeer like magma flowing from a volcano. Soon, both statues were glowing with energy. Then, they exploded, giving off light like a supernova. Shielding his eyes, Luis turned away from the sudden burst of light.
As the light dimmed away, the Spaniard put his hands down to look at his Servant. And there he was: Squire, in between the two…….
“Madre de dios,” Luis whispered.
The statues were no more. Rather, in their places were two living, breathing reindeer. Not the cute, huggable animals that Santa Claus used for his sleigh. No, these were much different. They are huge beasts that looked like they wandered from the coldest forests from the time of antiquity, before being hunted and domesticated by humans. And Squire was in between them, caring for them like they were his own pets.
The Spanish Magus’ was struck dumb at the development. His Servant, belonging to the Class of Squire, had turned two old statues of reindeer into the real thing.
The old gentleman glances at his Master and smiles. “Do you see them now, Maestro? Are they not grand?”
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Soon the reindeer were attached to the sleigh, which was also transformed by Squire’s ability. The old sleigh now looked like it was made by Santa Claus himself. It gave off an amazing amount of prana, as did the reindeer in front as well.
Together, Squire and Luis sat in the front seat. The Spanish magus’ was frowning, thinking on how he was acting earlier. “Squire…I’m sorry I—“ Luis started but the old Servant cut him off.
“There is no need, Luis. I understand. You still have much to learn about the true value of things.” Squire smiled warmly at his companion. “Shall we start our journey?” he asked, holding up the reins.
“Hold on,” Luis said. “One thing more thing.” Reaching behind their seat, he retrieved a Father Christmas cap. Taking off his Servant’s helmet, Luis snuggly placed the hat on Squire’s head. “There. Now we’re ready,” he said with a smile.
Amused with his new headwear, Squire gave a hearty laugh. “Oho ho ho ho! Well done, Maestro. Well done, indeed.” Luis laughed, happy that the old man took his gift with good spirit.
“Now…Let us chase that elusive mistress that is ‘Adventure’ and sally forth towards our destination. Hang on tight, Maestro. It may be rough and I do not know if I can handle these beasts.”
“Alright Squire…Wait, wha—”
“HUZZAH!”
Wh-Tach!
The reindeer sped off into the Spanish winter night at lightning speed, quickly leaving the mansion behind them. Luis’ screams of terror and Squire’s roars of happiness were lost in the wind.
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Coming soon....
Chapter 2: Winter is Coming
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