Before Magnus could ask Etkin to clarify what he meant a loud voice, almost as close to a beast's growl cut him off from asking any more.
"MAGNUS!" The speaker said, and Magnus immediately paled once he recognized the owner of the voice. Looking towards the older boys for help, Magnus's heart quickly fell; all five of them were either looking down at their food or looking at something else that they found interesting.
Magnus silently sighed in defeat and turned to face the older girls walking towards him, best to face the music now, Magnus thought.
"Hey, Big Sis," Magnus said as he put on the brightest smile on his face, which was a strained one.
"Do not give me that big sis nonsense, Magnus!" the older girl said once she was near Magnus. Serife had red hair like Erhan and brown eyes, but instead of a bulky frame, she had a slim hourglass figure.
"Do you think that you would get off scot-free when you pulled off that stunt," Serife asked as she placed her hands on her hips.
Magnus swallowed down on the lump in his throat and answered back very weakly, "I am getting punished by Mother Selin, isn't that more than enough?"
"Man, that must have a great prank if even Mother Selin is punishing him," Magnus heard Tamer whispering to Andrew in an amused tone.
"What stunt did he do that got you so off," Erhan asked, he is the only one that could go head to head against Serife and Magnus thinks it is in part due to the fact that they are biological siblings.
Serife rolled her eyes, but before she offhandedly replied, she paused for a moment as it seemed like a thought passed through her mind, then she looked at every older boy in turn with a scrutinizing gaze.
"You guys do not know, huh?" Serife asked, more to herself than anyone. "It does make sense, you guys are not here for long, usually," Serife then added in a whisper, then she turned back to face everyone and looked down at Magus.
"Well, I guess it is only fair if Magnus does the explaining, huh?"
At Serife comment, everyone looked at him, Magnus felt very uncomfortable under all their gazes and knew that an answer was expected of him, but he just couldn't say that he ran off.
"Cat got your tongue," Serife asked Magnus, who was going beet red in the face. "Well, since Magnus can't explain, I shall. If you want the simple truth, Magnus, here, ran off."
"What," Tamer shouted, it wasn't only him that was shocked; at that moment, Magnus knew that it had been a bad idea to let Serife do the talking.
Trying to salvage the situation, Magnus quickly cut in and said, "I did not run off. I went looking for work, but then a day turned into two, and that turned into a week." Then adding the comment that softened up Mother Selin, Magnus said, "I just wanted to be able to help around in the place with the wages I got, just like you guys."
"AHHH, diabetes overload!" Codex shouted melodramatically, "too sweet, too sweet!"
Magnus ignored Codex nonsensical blabbering. He paid more attention to everyone's expression, which was definitely becoming a lot more softer.
"Well, you did have good intentions, but that was foolish of you for not coming back after the day was over," Mazhar said, and the only thought that crossed Magnus's head was, 'Wow, maybe Codex is on to something. To get Mazhar on his side is an impossible feat; the kid does act like he has a penchant for authority and whatnot.'
Still, though Magnus did not reply to Mazhar's remark, the rest of them might think it was foolish of him to not come back after seeing no gains, but to Magnus staying in this orphanage is unbearable. This place is fantastic, both Mothers and the Matron did a great job raising all these kids. Not only are these excellent kids, but they are also caring, compassionate, and loving-- all traits which are impossible to find in orphans.
The thing that makes this place unbearable for Magnus is that he has to depend on its goodwill.
To an adult- which Magnus is mentally, taking a share of things from these kids just feels wrong. Or maybe it has to do with his character, but whatever it is Magnus can't stand having to take food, clothes, and other necessities from this orphanage which has so few to give, even more so now that funds have been cut and that makes Magnus feel so useless with himself.
Anyways Magnus got his head out of cloud nine as Andrew made his remark, "Yeah, Mazhar is right and it is complicated for us to find work thanks to our circumstances…."
"I get it, Andrew," Magnus said, not wanting Andrew to say anymore since he got his underlying meaning clear as day. Magnus is already facing one existential crisis that he is useless baggage. Now he does not want to face the other crisis that he is unwanted by society. No thank you, sir, at all.
Seeing that everything has calmed down Magnus got up from his seat, "I got to be on my way now gentlemen, I have double chore duty for a whole week. Ah, also before I totally forget Etkin, what were you going on about before Big sis took over the conversation."
"I am going to ask some friends to help me question them. Tansel and Bertan of the Liontooth gang, right? I will see what I can do."
A small part of Magnus sort of felt bad for the two older boys, they will be in a world of hurt very soon. If there is somebody who you do not want to get on the bad side of it is Etkin and that point has become much more prominent since he joined the Shadowsaber gang.
"Well, you can go about doing that, Etkin," Magnus said, not wanting to get in between what Etkin has in store for the two gangsters. "Like I said before I got to clock in for my punishment," with that explanation, Magnus was out of there and heading towards Mother Selin for his massive overload of chores.
---------------------------------------------------
Magnus flopped into his cot, which was at the bottom of the double-decker cots. Magnus was tired and bone-weary; he did not even have the energy to move the feet jabbing into his kidney, ah, and how perfectly his day started off.
All Magnus had to do this morning was help Mother Selin with the babies; he simply had to play with them, feed them, and change their diapers. Then at noontime, Magnus wasn't needed anymore since the little ones were put to sleep, so Mother Selin handed him off to the Matron.
That is when he entered hell. The old witch made him run dozens of tasks, all of which were difficult, dangerous, and totally pointless in his view.
Magnus was just about ready to fall into a deep slumber and never wake up for days on end, but sleep eluded him, his thoughts keep on coming back to this body owner, Edger.
Now that he was back at the orphanage, the place that this preview body owner all but called home, his mind drifted to his first few days in this world.
When Magus woke up in this brand new world, the first thing that greeted him was the sight of the Matron, at that he remembered the Chinese mythology of Meng Po. However, the Matron did not have the Five Flavored Tea of Forgetfulness, nor was he a ghost, so something had to be wrong.
The first thing that the Matron asked Magnus was, "What is your name?" She spoke in such a strange language which Magnus never heard that he was stumped, but the weird thing was that he understood her, and what was strange was that he responded back in that same language.
From there, Magnus just simply observed. Mother Selin walked in, and the Matron pronounced that he lost all of his memories, till this day Magnus felt guilty for making that sweet woman break down into tears.
Still though it was not absolutely true that he lost all memories, Magnus did remember some of Edger's life, and he did gain most of the previous host's knowledge. However, Magnus decided to leave things at that; it would be much easier to start all over instead of acting like Edger.
Anyways it was later that he learned that he was found beat up near to death and with a high fever thanks to being out in the cold night. For a month he battled on, and many times he lapsed into death, yet by some miracle he recovered, but nobody knows that it was Magnus who woke up and not Edger.
Magnus laid there in the cot looking upward, he still feels remorseful for the passing of Edger yet there is a small part of him that feels relief that it is not he who passed on. No matter how cooly Magnus took on his death, there was still that fear, and no matter how dignified and chill he was in the end, he still felt that fear of the unknown like any other human.
Magnus quickly banished all those dark and useless thoughts, right now all he could do for Edger is to live this life the best he could, that is the only thanks that he could give to Edger.
As Magnus drifted off to sleep, there was one thing he did not know- he would truly live a remarkable, mind-boggling life, one that anybody would aspire to live.
-----------------------------------
After a long agonizing week, the day came that Magnus was free, no longer was he locked up in the orphanage to be worked to death by that old witch, today marked the date that he could walk out as a free man.
Magnus woke up bright and early on the day he became free, feeling fresh and pristine, Magnus made his way down to the dining hall after taking care of his morning business.
Seeing that breakfast was not ready this early in the morning, Magnus decided to help out in the garden.
The young man in a child's body was pretty impressed; it is incredible how the mind reacts when it is not forced to do things it does not want to. Magnus did not shrink in his duties at the garden at all. He watered the vegetables which were autumn produce since they are the only things that can grow in the Starry Mountains.
Magnus then helped remove the carrots from beneath the ground, which was back-breaking work, then he helped plant the cabbages after that the scent of food drifted from the orphanage, that was the signal that breakfast was ready.
Magnus cleaned himself up, washing off the dirt and dust, then he quickly made his way to the dining hall, after a morning of hard work he gained himself quite the appetite.
After having porridge with small chunks of apples to sweeten things up, where Magnus immediately recognize the apples or, more accurately, the stolen apples, Magnus headed out.
At the crossroads leading out of the orphanage, Magnus said goodbye to the older kids, the eight of them were heading off to work.
Etkin was heading off to his gang's hideout then followed by shaking people down as Magnus would imagine. 'Ahh, the life of crime,' Magus thought, Etkin gang was a middling sort; they controlled three districts out of the seventy-two that made up this city, if not including the eight that make up Mountaintop. Those eight districts are Guild territories, and nobody in their right mind messes with the Guilds.
Andrew and Tamer were hunters so they were going to descend the mountain to hunt animals. That in itself was dangerous business, ever mother tells their child, Don't descend the mountains or whatever lurks below it will gobble you up!
Erhan enlisted to join the army so as soon as he becomes an adult, which is 14 seasons old in this world, he would go off to join the war. Erhan is the person that Magnus is worried about the most, with this talk of the war going badly for the Guilds, they are taking on more and more recruits. They aren't even training or equipping their soldiers properly; all the Guilds seem to want is fresh bodies to throw at their war effort.
The only reason why people are joining just like Erhan is that the Guilds are offering a Gold Lion incentives, which Magnus had to point out that Erhan gave to the Matron as soon as he got it. 'Bless his soul, that sweet boy,' Magnus thought as he waved Erhan goodbye.
Mazhar, on the other hand, worked in the library, he was the only one among the older boys that did not work in the three holy professions as Magnus likes to call-- that is the hunter, the gangster, and the soldier. These are the jobs that anybody could get into, and that is because of one simple reason, they all have high mortality rates.
Mazhar was really lucky; he got his job because the library was in need of people to help, then he was kept on because of his hard work and dedication. Now Mazhar's dream is to make it as a librarian assistant then a full-fledged librarian. After that, he plans on traveling to the capital and entering the Library of the Sage.
As Magnus waved Mazhar goodbye as well he couldn't help but feel jealousy, not at Mazhar per se but at his sort of people- people who have hopes and dreams in life. After a whole week of going door to door, looking for any sort of prospects in life, all of Magnus's hopes and dreams were shattered. The three holy jobs would always be opened to Magnus, but they all range from different degrees of bad.
Then Magnus's mind drifted off to the older girls back in the orphanage. There were three of them; first, there was Serife who is the most firey of them all. Then there was Cemre, a shy, quiet girl. Finally, there was Bedia, an outgoing, easy girl.
Just like Medieval times on earth, where women do not have many opportunities in life, the same is true here in this world. Women were expected to stay at home, cook food, take care of children, support their husbands, etc...
That is why all three of them are dating the boys, if you do not snag yourself a husband, who will support you, then there is only job available for you. Magnus knows that there is nothing holy about this job at all, and that is prostitution.
In the past, there have been girls from this very own orphanage who fall into that sort of job. Magnus knew of this because the older kids either refuse to mention these alumni or Mother Selin breaks down into tears whenever they are talked about.
Right now the orphanage is in a good position; there is a 5 to 3 ratio of boys and girls, so the ladies of the luxury picking and choosing, a freedom that a woman wouldn't have, especially an orphan.
Serife, who is the prettiest girl in the orphanage, is not dating the person you would imagine. It is not Andrew who is the most handsome of the lot, nor is it Etkin who is dark and foreboding. It is also not Erhan who is the truest jock, not that he is an option since he is Serife's brother.
Finally, it is not Tamer as well; who is a fun guy to be around, but the person she is seeing is a nerd- Mazhar, and that is because of one simple reason, security. Mazhar's job is well secure; also it is not like he would turn up dead one day, and that is what matters to commoners, security.
It always saddens Magnus to see a whole class of people reduced to living out a single goal just getting by. There are no expectations of grandiose or hope of some better than what they have.
The last two girls are dating the two hunters, which is a random coincidence. Bedia is seeing Andrew and they are a loving couple who are always like showing their affection. Cemre is seeing Tamer, which is a surprise since they have totally opposite characters but as the saying goes- opposites attract.
Once all the older boys were over the hill and gone out of sight, Magnus turned to face his merry little band. The lot of them were made up of eleven children, ranging from five to ten seasons old. They were the middling children, old enough to not be babied by the Mothers nor were they old enough to make it on their own in the city.
Magnus was easily able to take charge of them all and it was because of the simple reason that he was mentally older than all of them. The kids all know it and it was from the way he carried himself, to the way he talked or even stared off into space, thinking.
And it was not only the kids who recognized this about Magnus but the adults too. That is why even the Matron made it official and put Magnus in charge even though he was stupid enough to have run off.
Magnus clapped his hands together and put on a bright smile on his face, one that Codex remarked that it reminded her of a pedophile. Magnus ignored his little demon in his mind and spoke to his crowd of onlookers, "Well then let's get to work!"