The Kingdom of Morteluna, outskirts of the capital Sellaphun, the village of Villcormor.
***
The light of the dawn sun passed through the old shutters, making me wince. My body involuntarily turned over on the prickly sack of hay that served as my bed. A few minutes later, through my sleep, I heard a woman's voice calling me.
"Hey, Lucius, wake up. Time to get up," the woman commanded, and started shaking me by the shoulder. My morning routine.
"Leave me alone, Mom, I haven't slept enough..." my mumbling was interrupted by a sharp kick to my rear, which immediately threw me off the sack. "Ouch! Why did you have to do that?!" I exclaimed, looking at my mother, who had a smirk on her face.
"If I did it, it means it was necessary," the answer was quick, followed by a cheeky chuckle. "You absolutely refused to get up, so I had to take measures. Besides, you fell funny, it was worth it."
"Devil woman..." I grumbled and stood up, rubbing the back of my head, which I'd hit during the fall.
"You're no better than me," my mother snorted, rolling her eyes, then threw me a small hair tie. "Tie up that mane of yours and go to the shed, your father is waiting for your help. And take him his awl."
"Already?" I asked, catching the tie and starting to tie up my shoulder-length red hair. "The old man never spares himself... Did he even go to sleep?"
My question got an immediate reaction from my mother. Her face fell, and she sighed heavily. Seeing this, a wave of displeasure washed over me, and my face frowned.
"Mom? Answer the question."
"Of course he slept... He passed out while working and slept for a few hours. He said so himself..."
"Stupid old man..."
"Hey! He's working hard for the good of our family and the village!" Mother's indignation was obvious.
"Yeah, I know!" I snapped back, looking away. "I know... But he needs to understand, he's not a superhuman. He needs rest. A lot of rest," with these words, I looked back into my mother's black eyes. "Talk to him about it."
After this request, I put on my shirt and left the house, my mother's gaze on my back. Sadness and worry gnawed at her from the inside, even as she tried to hide behind her smiling mask.
"Don't worry, son. As soon as he finishes the order, I'll force-feed that idiot his own crap so he gets a good night's sleep..." A silent promise slipped from her lips, and she clenched her fists so hard her knuckles turned white.
***
"Damn it, I'm still sleepy," I muttered, cracking my joints, until my path was blocked by two bigger guys. "Hmm? Tom, Edric? What do you want?" my voice was dry and suspicious. Why did they approach me now, when there wasn't a soul on the street?
"What's with the tone, golden-eyes? We haven't seen each other in a while," the fat one answered with a smirk. The look on his face spoke volumes without words; he wanted something from me.
"Hehe, I agree with Edric. So, Lucy, how's it—" the second guy's greeting was abruptly cut off by me.
"Shut up, Thomas. I'm up to my neck in work. Tell me what you want from me," I demanded, giving them a cold stare. My hand unconsciously grabbed the handle of the awl in my pocket.
"Hmm, how rude," Edric replied dramatically, crossing his arms over his chest. "And where are you in such a hurry? No need to rush, we have plenty of time."
"You have plenty of time, but I have to go now," I pushed Thomas aside and tried to walk on, but Edric stopped me, grabbing my shoulder.
"Looks like you don't get it, Luci. When I say we have plenty of time, I mean ALL of us have plenty of time. You're going to have to stay," to emphasize his words, Edric tightened his grip on my shoulder.
"Let go of me. Just because I'm shorter than you doesn't mean I'll dance to your tune. Let go of my shoulder. Now," I snapped, glaring coldly into Edric's eyes.
"Oh, you piece of shit!" Thomas exclaimed, his patience wearing thin, and he swung to hit me, but one commanding look from Edric stopped him.
"What a pity," Edric sighed, released my shoulder, and with a head gesture called Thomas over. "You're not very agreeable today, Lucius," with these words, they began to walk away, muttering something to each other.
"Damn bastard and his sidekick..." I muttered and took a few steps until I heard something that made my blood boil.
I froze. Turning around, I didn't see them anymore. But I heard their voices, carried by the wind. They hadn't gone far.
"Edric," the big guy snapped, grabbing his friend by the collar. "Explain what the hell that was?!"
"Don't shout like that! And what are you even talking about?!"
"Don't play dumb! You know perfectly well what I mean! Why did you stop me?!"
"It was necessary. Are you really that brainless you can't understand that?"
"Necessary? For what?"
"So he thinks we've left him alone, of course. Let him feel safe for a while."
At these words, Edric froze in incomprehension, his arms falling to his sides. From his face, you could see the gears in his head starting to turn. And soon, realization dawned on him, and he turned his gaze to Edric, who seemed to be thinking about something.
"Hey, Edric... You've got something planned, right? I hope so, because I still want to beat up that redheaded freak."
"Shut up, you blockhead, I'm thinking. My brain's not fast enough to come up with ways to make people suffer."
Edric's words made Thomas freeze for a moment, and soon, both were thinking about how to get back at me.
"I've already got an idea!" Thomas's sudden exclamation made Edric jump.
"Damn it... Well, go on, surprise me, moron."
"Let's just rape his mother! I get a hard-on every time I see her. The old woman's 33 already, but she's kept herself so well."
"How stupid can you be... And what would we achieve with that? Sure, Lucius and his mommy would suffer, no doubt, but have you thought about us? And it wouldn't even work! That bitch would start screaming her head off immediately. The whole village would come running to her cries. They'd hang us right away and string us up on the palisade walls! Or worse, impale us."
"Then... Let's try to get her drunk first, and then have our fun?"
"Now that's more like a sensible plan. But still wouldn't work."
"What? Why not?"
"Is thinking really that hard for some people?" Edric muttered disappointedly and sighed heavily. "First, she'd never agree to drink with us. And second, we don't have enough booze for her. Forget what that woman did last time she was invited to the elder's anniversary? She drank two bottles of moonshine and didn't even bat an eye... No, his mother's not a good option."
"Well, what are we going to do then?"
"Let me think... Ellie," Edric said suddenly, a sinister expression on his face.
"Ellie? You mean that brat who's attached herself to Lucius?"
"Exactly. We'll beat her up over some minor thing, say she made us angry, and tell her it's Lucius's fault. A child's heart is so fragile," Edric's theatrical tone made them both laugh. "When she believes it, she'll hate him. And Lucius cares about that girl."
"I don't know, she's kind of weird, and her parents are nutty..."
All these words made me flush with rage. The ease and indifference with which they spoke of such things was unbearable. My hand pulled the awl from my pocket. Get back at me? Rape my mother?! Beat a child who considers me someone important to her and make her hate me?! I couldn't let them do that. Rage and the urge to protect what was dear to me clouded my mind. With a sharp yank on his shoulder, I made Thomas turn face-to-face with me.
"Hey, what the hell?! What do you want?!" Thomas's indignant exclamation was cut short as he saw the awl I swung at his neck.
"Shut up, you damn animal!" a desperate cry tore straight from my soul. "I've had it up to here with you two! Just die!"
Before either Edric or Thomas could react, I plunged the awl into Thomas's neck several times. The next moment, Edric shared his friend's fate. A blinding flash of pain made them fall to their knees. Access to air was completely cut off, their throats pierced multiple times, their windpipes brutally torn. Blood gushed from the wounds like a fountain. They tried to scream, tried to breathe, but it was all useless. Blood had already filled their airways, slowly filling their lungs.
As life slowly left them, I stood silently before them, breathing heavily, my eyes blazing with rage, even glowing orange, drops of blood falling from the tip of my weapon. My whole body was shaking, and I was breathing heavily. I was angry, but also scared. Not for myself, but for my loved ones, for those dear to me, for those to whom I am dear. It was unacceptable for me that someone should suffer at the hands of others because of me.
Soon, I felt like the ground disappeared from under my feet, and I slipped in the mud. My vision blurred, and my head began to spin. Adrenaline was quickly wearing off, causing a wave of sudden weakness to wash over me. The awl slipped from my hands as I tried not to fall into the pool of blood before me. And at that moment, my sanity returned. I had just stabbed two idiots in the middle of the village in broad daylight.
"Damn... Damn, damn, damn!" a genuine cry of terror tore from my throat as I jumped to my feet and looked at them. They were still alive, twitching, clutching their necks. "Damn it... I'm dead. They'll execute me for killing these two..." I whispered and grabbed the awl from the ground.
A few seconds later, a stupid idea came into my panicked mind. Grabbing the choking Edric by the back of his collar, I dragged him towards the bushes behind one of the houses. However, the bastard Edric was very heavy.
"Bitch..." I grunted, dragging Edric. "Stupid, fat pig! How did you manage to get so fat when there's so little food in the village?! You damn fat-ass..." as I grumbled discontentedly, a familiar voice sounded behind me.
"Lucius, what the hell is this?" a hoarse question came from behind me, making me jump in terror.
"Fuck!" a frightened exclamation involuntarily escaped my lips as I looked into the face of the man before me. "Uncle Ignavius?.. What are you doing here?"
"Don't dodge the question. I'm asking, what the hell is this? Why are you dragging dead Edric with a pierced neck?" his stern voice made me flinch. But one detail in his words hit me like a brick.
"Wh-What?" a weak whisper barely escaped my mouth. In an instant, I pulled my hands away and looked in horror at Thomas's already glazed eyes. "He's already dead..."
"What happened here? Lucius, answer."
When I tried to answer, I couldn't string two words together. A simple loss for words. But while I was re-learning to speak, Uncle had already looked over my shoulder and saw Thomas in the middle of the road, already dead.
"Oh gods... Alright, I'll postpone the questions for later," his voice sounded somewhat disappointed. With measured steps, he approached and grabbed the collar of Edric, who was lying at my feet. "Drag Thomas, now."
To say his demand surprised me would be an understatement. For a few seconds, I stared at him in shock, even stopping breathing, but his piercing gaze made me snap out of it. With uncertain movements, I ran for Thomas's body and dragged it over with difficulty. Even if he was lighter than Edric, it was still very hard for a frightened boy in a state of shock to drag anything. Especially corpses.
"What are you going to do with this?" my question sounded uncertain as I looked at his thoughtful face. "Going to turn me in to my mother?"
"Don't be stupid, Lucius," Uncle waved dismissively and lifted the bodies onto his shoulders. "I won't tell her anything. She doesn't need to know."
Having said this, Ignavius jumped over the palisade, disappearing from my sight. Hearing that Mom wouldn't find out about what happened, I immediately felt relieved. However, my mind was suddenly flooded with questions. And I wanted answers.
To catch up with him, I immediately started climbing over that same palisade. Even if I wasn't strong enough to jump over it like Uncle did, my little hands were tenacious enough for me to climb the vertically standing logs.
Successfully jumping down, I immediately saw Ignavius heading towards the forest, and immediately ran after him. I was puzzled by many things. Why did he come today? Why is he covering for me? Why was he so calm when he saw I killed those two? What is he going to do with the bodies?
"Uncle, stop! Wait!" I shouted, trying to get his attention.
However, he just ignored me. It felt like he didn't even hear me. And that angered me.
"Hey! Uncle! I'm calling you, damn it!" my shouts became angrier as I tried to get Uncle's attention, but he continued to not react. Frustrated, I sped up my run, determined to catch him.
It was at that moment that I noticed something strange. No matter how hard I tried to run, I couldn't decrease or increase the distance with Ignavius. Turning around, I was even more confused. I hadn't moved a meter away from the palisade. But how is that possible? I'd been running after Uncle for a good few minutes! And this strange feeling only made me angrier. My eyes itched.
Sighing, I rubbed them with my wrist, then continued my attempts to move. I tried everything: jumping from side to side, walking, running, crawling, jumping, rolling. Nothing worked. I was still standing in the same place. This was the strangest thing that had ever happened to me in my life. My whole body could move freely, but I couldn't move from where I stood. As if I was stuck in space itself.
"Think, idiot, think!" I shouted in terror and started hitting myself on the forehead, trying to ward off the panic. "There has to be a way out of this devilry! There's always a way out!" with these words, I threw my head back and spread my arms, crying out to the heavens. "If anyone up there hears me, I beg you, tell me what's happening to me?!"
But no matter how loud I screamed, no one answered my pleas. All I heard was deafening silence. Panic began to overtake me. I couldn't move, no one heard me, I was alone. Sanity was slowly leaving me. But before I could fall into the pit of my own despair, I saw something that shocked me even more. A butterfly. A butterfly frozen in mid-air, not moving its wings.
"What the hell is this now?" I muttered, examining the motionless butterfly. After that, my gaze moved further. What I saw made me scream again. "What in the hell is going on here?!"
The grass and trees stopped swaying in the wind, the bugs stopped jumping, birds froze in the air, Uncle froze mid-step. Absolutely everything froze. Even time. But not me.
The pain in my eyes flared up with renewed vigor, causing them to water non-stop, even though I wasn't crying. Something was happening to me, and I was despairing from hopelessness. The next moment, my eyes flashed. They literally began to burn with fire, causing me to lose my sight instantly. Everything in my vision was replaced by a bright white veil. At the same time, my whole body went numb, leaving me unable to move a single muscle. The pain was unbearable. The smell of burning flesh filled my nostrils. After a few agonizing moments, I passed out.