The boy stood frozen, his small body trembling as the reality of what he had witnessed was finally settling in, so much so that he didn't even notice his eyes were now blocked by M's hand, both, his eyes and mouth wide open in shock. The boys tears streamed down endlessly, he tried to breathe but each breath came out shallow and uneven. His short black hair clung sadly to his forehead. Whatever colour his eyes had been were now hidden behind a blur of tears.
M gently guided the boy away from the horrific corpse, facing his back to the body. The smell of blood was now starting to fill the whole room, hanging thick in the air. The poor boy's legs suddenly gave up. He didn't scream or cry, instead his body simply collapsed, overwhelmed by shock.
M caught him before he fell onto the floor, he then carefully lowered him onto the wooden floor, dragging him a little farther to avoid Gareth's blood.
"I should have killed you." M uttered under his breath, in regret. His voice carried a quiet sadness. If he had ended Gareth in the tavern, the boy would never have seen the death of his own father. He would have been spared the image of his own father's head separated from it's body. Someone had fiendishly slaughtered Gareth without mercy. M would have at least given Gareth a quick death.
M stood back up and walked towards the body which now smelt awful. Gareth's leather jacket was old and cracked, the darkish material was now soaked with blood. M searched the pockets quickly, it was clear he had looted many corpses in the past. Suddenly, his fingers brushed against something small that rattled softly. Coins. They were hidden in a small brown pouch inside the jacket. M pulled it out as the metal clinked quietly in his palm. Seven silver coins. Eight bronze. M quickly slipped them into his own coin pouch without hesitation or shame. Dead men have no need for coin he thought to himself.
He then scanned the room, it was small, though for two people living it was enough. Two narrow beds pushed against the back wall, a small table and a single chair, were the only things visible in the room.
M returned to the boy and lifted him carefully into his arms. The child wasn't heavy, at least Gareth had kept him well fed. The door hung broken from its hinges, splintered where it had been forced open by the cloaked one himself. M stepped over the debris and carried the boy outside.
The boy shifted in his arms, slowly his eyelids opened, confusion mixed with pure sadness could be seen on his face. "Boy" M said gently "Do you have any relatives, anyone that can take care of you?"
The boy stared at him for several seconds, in that moment M knew what that face was, it was as if the boy had lost all hope in this world, he then slowly shook his head. A no. His eyes closed again, body going limp in M's arms.
"What am I supposed to do with you now…" he mumbled to himself. Giving the boy to the local guards was out of the question for M. They would raise him the same way they raised all orphans: train him, harden him and then turn him into a mindless soldier with a fat ego. M despised guards. Arthur and Maria would take the boy in, but returning to Flemdale so soon would be foolish, M thought to himself, leaving the child was not an option.
The bustling streets of Fenwell were never ending, crowded and loud, filled with merchants, carts and travellers passing through the narrow roads with a few horses on them. Most glanced over M and the child in his arms, then went on their way. No one asked questions nor did they care.
The kid who was smoking the pipe was now near M's horse staring at it with intrigue. When he saw M approaching, he stepped back slightly from the horse.
"I kept your horse safe," the boy acting as an adult, puffing a small cloud of smoke proudly said, "Shouldn't have left it out in the open like that, some fool would've stolen it." He said it as if he was a seasoned town guard, though he couldn't have been older than fifteen. What the boy didn't know was that stealing M's horse would be the worst mistake of anyone's life. The black beauty tolerated no one except M himself.
M placed the unconscious child carefully onto his horse's saddle then climbed up behind him, the pipe smoking kid watched careful. It was clear the kid wanted money, young or old all have one thing in common, they all run after coin. M took out one bronze coin from his pouch and flicked it towards the boy still smoking his pipe. The kid caught it mid air, grinning wide. Then ran off down the street, likely already thinking about the next pipe he would buy. M's face remained cold and expressionless. The weight of his error sat heavy in his chest. Deep down he felt guilty for this child's trauma and suffering.
M nudged his horse forward. M hated massive towns and cities, he had never been in this part of the region either. Fenwell's streets twisted through rows of packed buildings. Vendors shouted prices, carts rattled over uneven pathways and people pushed past one another in the crowded roads.
As he rode on, a middle aged woman stood beside a wooden crate piled with food, "Bread and dried fruits! For only two silver coins!" she shouted in the hopes of attracting customers.
M needed food, not for himself but for this boy who was still unconscious, surely he had to be hungry. M pulled his horse to a stop beside her, M took a glance at the crates and briefly saw some rings, he could tell this woman had a lot of rings in her possession, "Two of each." he said in the most dullest of voices. The girl's eyes lit up, she quickly wrapped the food in paper and handed it up to him. M took out four silver coins and handed it to the woman using his left hand.
The woman's green eyes lit up even more, "Nice ring you got there," the woman signalled to the silver ring given to him by Maria. "It's… different than most rings I see." she said curiously, as if trying to pin point what was so different. M quickly took the food and ordered his horse to move.
"Wait, I-" before she could even finish her sentence he was already gone. He needed to leave Fenwell, Gareth's body would be found soon enough. The streets were much longer than of Flemdale, it took him considerably more time to reach the gates of Fenwell, a few guards were about walking the streets while six guards were near the entrance, speaking with each other. Neither gave M more than a passing glance as he rode through. They hadn't heard the news yet. Good. M though to himself. Xander was keeping the incident at the tavern a secret.
The road beyond Fenwell quickly gave way to a forest. Trees lined the winding path, branches entangling one another. Though this forest wasn't nearly as impressive as Blackvein Forest, the trees weren't as big or menacing as light was still piercing through. As the town of Fenwell slowly disappeared behind him, M urged K to go faster.
They rode for a good thirty minutes before M finally slowed near a small river hidden between the trees, most people would definitely have missed this river. The water shimmered faintly as it moved over smooth stones. M dismounted, he was thirsty, he walked to it, crouching beside the bank. Then cupped his hands into the water and drank his fill. Cold and clean.
M heard a dull thump behind him. He turned quickly to see Gareth's child starting to run.
"Damn it." M said to himself. The boy was running straight in the direction of where they had come from. The boy was surprisingly quick for his age. Panic pushed his legs harder but it wasn't enough. M caught up to him within seconds and proceeded to grab his arm firmly.
"You won't survive out here," M said, trying to soften his tone so the boy wouldn't get scared.
The boy turned sharply to M, he wasn't scared of M or his eyes, most adults were terrified just by looking at M's face but this boy had courage, "I need to kill him!" his voice bursting out like a fire, his face, twisted with fury and grief.
M understood immediately. The boy was referring to Gareth's killer, this was the cycle of revenge, anger and hatred.
"Tell me your name" M said quietly. "And I'll help you kill-" he stopped, he had to choose his words wisely, "I'll help you find him." The boy tried pulling his arm free, but M's grip was just too strong. The boy then went silent. "You must be hungry, here." M said, releasing his arm and handing over the bread. The boy grabbed it immediately and began tearing into it.
"Leo… Silas" he muttered between the bites.
M nodded, "If you run away, you'll get lost in these woods, then how will you exact your revenge?" M definitely wasn't wrong, many would get lost in this forest every single year, Leo kept eating. "How old are you… Leo?"
"Ten." Gareth had said nine, it seemed Gareth hadn't even known his own son's age. M took a deep breath, disappointed.
"I… need to bury my father." Leo said quietly , he was surprisingly smart for his age, "I need to go back right now!" he shouted as he realized what condition his father had been left in. It was quite impressive how the boy could even make coherent sentences this quickly after having witnessed what he had.
M shook his head, "The guards have probably already found your father's body, they'll bury him properly." M knew he had to be talkative and persuasive in the moment or else this boy would cause more trouble. Leo's face was full of hopelessness.
After a moment M signalled to the river, "Let's sit besides the river so you can tell me who did that to your father." Leo nodded slowly, he had no one left in this cruel world, could he really trust this cloaked man?
As they walked towards the river, Leo hesitated before speaking, "I've never seen anyone with a red and grey eye…" Leo said with intrigue and curiosity.
"I was born that way." M said plainly, putting on a fake smile on his face. Leo's mouth opened in surprise.
"That's… cool" Leo said, he hadn't heard many cool things of late, but this was definitely one of them.
They both sat down on the grass, besides the beautiful river.
Lero's expression darkened. "It was one man," he said, voice beginning to tremble a little, "He had…" his eyes started blinking extremely fast, "He had a necklace... with eyeballs tied to them." Leo's brown eyes started tearing up, a shiver ran through him, his small face was somewhat pale, probably due to the trauma he had experienced, M quickly realised asking more would deepen the woes of this young boy, that was enough.
"I'll find him… you have my word." M said with full conviction.
Suddenly, distant sound of galloping hooves echoed through the forest, two riders, they were definitely coming towards M and Leo. M's eyes widened for a flicker of a second, someone was approaching…