The city streets are busy.
Peddlers on corners and the starving homeless in the alleyways are blind from most people's sight. They aren't invisible to Kelric. The longer he watched mothers beg for scraps to feed their children, the further his earlier jubilation fell.
'My own kingdom needs fixing as well it seems.. but that will have to wait till after I murder every single man in power in Kalabar.'
My thoughts are muddled, and I have to shake my head to clear it. It's useless worrying about things I can't change right now.
The woman at the entrance of the Frosted Rose is the same one who first greeted Elias and I when we dined here yesterday.
"Honored guest Kelric, thank you for stopping by today. If you're here to eat, I have a couple free tables on the third floor that aren't reserved."
"If possible, could I actually get…"
After explaining what I wanted, the woman's surprise was noticeable. She agreed however and soon I had a few dishes wrapped in cloth handed to me. I made my way downtown a little way back to where I saw a particularly awful looking family. It was the same one that I took pity on yesterday. The mother had barely moved from where I placed her down.
My heart hurts as sunken in cheeks and hopeless expressions mar their appearance.
They flinch back as I approach and sit down. Four hungry pairs of eyes stare at me as I unwrap the bundled food. A mother, her two daughters and son swallow saliva as the aroma fills the air.
"I only have four dishes here, so one of you has to share with me."
I rip a piece off a freshly baked bread roll and toss it in my mouth. I raise an eyebrow to them when nobody joins me.
"I'm gonna eat it all if you guys don't want any."
The little boy couldn't take it anymore and rushes over, his mother tried to pull him back, but he couldn't be stopped.
"M-mister.. can I really eat that.."
I toss the bread I was eating at him.
"Of course, that's what I just said."
The older girls warily approach now, and I gesture for them to sit with me. When they do, their heads turn to their mother who was crying.
"Ma'am, foods gonna go cold if you don't hurry."
She stumbles as she makes her way over, lack of sleep and food making her body weak. I'm at her side before she falls.
When I set her down around the food, her children can no longer hold back and dig in.
It's very strange, I've never seen someone smile and cry at the same time. I think this was the right thing to do because my heart feels fuller as I look at them. The mother was sharing with me, but I barely ate as I made sure she got her fill. Her split lip bled as she took in huge mouthfuls.
For the first time in two years, I feel a full smile turn my lips upward, not the half one that had been teasing through the past two days, but a real smile. As I get up to leave, I panic as three bodies tackle into me. I'm frozen and don't know what to do, the children latch onto me while thanking me tearfully. I turn to the mother for help, but her gentle smile makes me feel even more helpless.
"Thank you mister!" Is all I hear from the clingy trio.
After a few moments the moms voice sounds out a little weakly, but firm.
"Alright kids, that's enough. You're making him uncomfortable."
They unwillingly let go and I nod my thanks to the mother.
"Thank you kind sir, you have given us a big blessing today."
I shake my head and walk over to her.
"Just call me Kelric. All I did was what I should've done."
I put my hand in my pocket without thinking and grab the gold inside.
"Could you hold your hand out Miss?"
Confused, she does as I ask. She is slack jawed when she feels the weight in her hands.
"I-I can't possibly accept this! Please, take it back!"
My smile is still plastered on my face when I dodge backwards.
"No can-do Miss, take that and get your family somewhere warm to sleep tonight."
After saying this, I turn and walk away from the tearful thanks. I feel pretty good about what I just did and have a hard time controlling my face. Walking down the streets and taking in the scenery is still a new feeling to me. I stop however when a nagging feeling enters the back of my mind.
My hand hits my forehead as I turn back around. I left the gods damn dishes behind; I promised to return them to the Frosted Rose.
A few minutes later I find the alleyway where I had my meal and am instantly on high alert. There are splatters of blood on the ground and the dishes are shattered. The family is nowhere in sight. I follow the tiny trail of blood deeper within and my face turns into a mask of rage when I hear pitiful cries.
Two men with a very disgusting accent are carrying the children as the mother lays unmoving on the ground. There's a small pool of blood near her stomach where a knife is stuck into it.
"Stop strugglin' ya damn vermins."
There is no hesitation as I run forward and kick the legs out from under the man on the left.
The second dies too easy as my hand clamps around his neck and squeeze. His throat is crushed instantly.
My wrath turns back to the first man and I drag him by the leg away from the children as he screams.
I fling him into a wall and watch as he drops with a thud. I kick him in the stomach and bile spews from his mouth.
It's not enough as rage consumes me. My hands reach down towards his face and pry his mouth apart.
I grip his slimy tongue and pull, ripping it out with a squelch. He needs to feel more pain before he dies and I stomp on his groin as his wordless scream spews blood onto my pant legs.
My wrath is not satisfied but I have to quell it as I make my way back over to the kids surrounding their mothers body.
They're crying inconsolably and my heart shatters. My actions did this. I killed this woman and doomed her children.
My thoughts stop when I see the woman's mouth move a little. I slam down on my knees and check her pulse. It's weak.
She's still alive.
Turning to the oldest girl, I shake her until she looks at me.
"Where is a healer!"
She's dazed and hysterical, so I slap her.
"Girl! If you want your mother to live, tell me where I can find a gods damned healer!"
My words seem to shake her out of her stupor.
"M-M-M-Miss Gillis has a shop halfway down the street that way."
She points to the left and I nod.
"Stay here, I'll be back to retrieve you after I take your mother to her. Stay out of sight."
I scoop the woman up in my arms and run hard, the rage hasn't fully left me and I'm a blur as I launch out of the alley.
Knocking over two people, I finally see the shop and bust inside.
"What in the gods forsaken-"
An old woman cuts herself off as she sees the woman in my arms.
"Quick, lay her down over here. I said quickly boy, move!"
I deposit the mother on the healers table and rush back out of the shop.
"Where are you-"
I don't hear the rest as I make my way back to the kids. I panic when I don't see them and think I've messed up again. Suddenly, I hear a voice to my left.
"M-mister? Is that you?"
The breath of relief I suck in is tremendous.
"Yeah, come out you three."
Soon the sniveling children reveal themselves from the trash they had hid in.
I return to the healers shop a short moment later with a little boy hugging his arms around my neck and two girls in my arms.
The healer doesn't look up at me as she speaks.
"Are any of them injured as well?"
"No ma'am, they're just her kids."
"Good, I'm going to need all my concentration for the next few hours."
I nod, but it's a useless movement because she's not looking at me.
Turning to the kids, I tell them wait for a moment and I leave the shop again.
"Hey boy! This isn't a daycare-"
Going back to the alley, I spit on the corpses and kick them around for a bit to release a little frustration. Then I bend down and get what I came back for.
I'm 13 gold richer as I make my way back to the healer's shop for the third time.
It's a long and brutal wait, but she was able to stabilize the mother. Both the children and I let out sighs of relief at this news.
I pat the children on the head tenderly; they hadn't let go of me since I returned.
"How much do I owe you?"
The old healer ponders for a moment and shakes her head.
"Don't worry about it boy, I'll treat your mom for free."
I can't believe she just mistook me for her son; I look nothing like the family I took pity on.
My long and thick hair is a stark black and my angular face is quite different from the pale blonde children and mother.
"Ma'am I'm not-"
The little boy then looks up at me with his watery blue eyes in delight.
"Does that mean mister is my big brother now!?"
"Well no.. it's just that.."
My words trail off when I see the boy starting to cry.
I hang my head in defeat.
"Thank you, ma'am…"
I stay with the family a little longer and slip the unconscious mother 6 more gold pieces. I place 4 more on the counter as I leave.
Thankfully, the children are allowed to stay with the mom until she recovers.
Walking back outside, I realize that the sun had drifted below the city wall already. The weather is a little chillier than last night and I head back towards Elias's house at a jog.
When I find myself standing in front of the door, I hesitate to knock.
Elias let me stay last night, but I don't know if that invitation was only for last night. I pull back my hand and prepare to walk away and find an inn, when the door opens.
The old butler looks me over and welcomes me in.
"Master Kelric, I hope your day was pleasant."
"Uhh.. yeah, it was alright."
"Very good, master Kelric. You should find the young master in the sitting room."
His voice lowers a little as I step inside.
"Young master has been sulking since he got home because he couldn't find you."
"Oh.." is all I could say back.
Making my way over to the room's door, I open it to find Elias sprawled on his back and staring at the ceiling.
He slowly turns his head, then jumps up when he recognizes me.
"Kelric! Where have you been, I thought you abandoned your brother after failing the exam in shame!"
My lips pull into the half smile.
'My family seems to be quite large nowadays with so many claiming me as a sibling.'
"First, I don't remember us being brothers. Second, I passed my tests."
He looks at me with such a disbelieving face that I want to hit him again.
"Kelric… it's okay if you failed. There's always next year.."
"I didn't fail you.. you- you nitwit!"
Elias's smile is all I need to see to know that he's teasing me.
"You're so insufferable.." I say softly. I know it's a lie as the slight smile never leaves my face.
"I know I am! And actually, I heard all about your Subjugation test, it was the talk of the whole school when we got out of our written tests. Say, did you really flip a Hell Boar into the air and slam it on its back?"
I crack my knuckles and walk towards him.
"Wanna find out."
"Brother! Violence is never the answer!"
An old man watches the two wrestle from a crack in the door, a tired smile pulling wrinkles back from his mouth.