""Mother! William! We're home!!"" we cried simultaneously as we entered the house.
"…" there was a slight pause before a younger, much clearer and sharper voice blasted the house.
"BIG BRO!! AIIIIDDEEEENNNN!!!!"
An almost ear-splitting scream rang out as William, with his small stature, dashed through the house and jumped off his feet towards our open hands. It was an almost a perfect familial reunion, the only big fact was that none of us wanted to deal with this extra-energetic species currently and thus, deftly tilted our body letting William fly right past us and have a perfect kiss with the ground.
Puuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!
Making a good dragging noise, he dropped to the ground riling up a little dirt in his way.
"Is he dead?" I asked, a faint hope in my voice but it was soon dashed by god.
"Puuuahh!!" he cried as he separated his lips from the cold ground and turned towards us.
"WHHYYYYY!!!" but before he could get an answer, we had turned away and closed the door behind us.
"Nooooo!! Open The Doorr!!!!" soon came his desperate cries.
…
"Muuu! Why would you do something like that, brother? How could you close the door leaving me outside in such cold while I was here waiting for both of you!!" he said with a righteous tone but in our eyes, his sleep marks and dried tears were clearly visible under his cheeks.
"Well, it was all Jovian's idea so why not check in on with him!" I said, turning this talkative disaster towards the wide-eyed and betrayed-looking Jovian while I headed towards the kitchen where mother was.
In the kitchen, mother was standing infront of a stove cooking dinner with one hand while the other hand supported her bulging stomach. Her expression was, as always, cold but to me or my brothers, it radiated warmth. My mother, Lily Archard was no older than twenty-five with a height near 5 feet. She, like many other women of the slums, was malnourished with skinny arms and sunken cheeks but instead of wallowing in despair, her blue eyes shined brightly with determination. It was the blue eyes which I inherited from mother, I'm sure. Other than her exotic blue eyes, her face was also quite beautiful (it would be the most fairest and the most beautiful face in the whole world ever for I'm her son and she's my mother) but due to all the dirt that has caked permanently on her cheeks and for the dangerous makeup she always wears while doing her job, her face was a messppp. But that doesn't matter at all to me or Jovian or William for her blue eyes are the most enrapturing, her brownish-golden locks the most mature and beautiful and her figure the most graceful to us, her children.
"Mother!" I called her energetically and she turned towards me and smiled gently. "How did your excursion go, dear?"
"Awesome!" I replied with ecstasy and handed her the meat wrapped in coarse paper. "Here! I hunted this rabbit myself. Why don't you cook it for dinner tonight?!"
"Hmm!" she pinched her chin slightly and replied, "Well, it would definitely be good to sell this for a few Coppers but given this your first game, why not!"
"Yay!" I waved my hands in joy, after all, persuading my mother to cook meat for dinner is harder than one might think.
Excited for dinner I head upstairs where Jovian is still toying with William and therefore without further ado, I too joined in on the fun.
My father arrived home later than usual and since it was our family's tradition to eat with all of our members, our dinner was delayed by him by quite a lot. This made me angry but knowing my father, it was bound to happen. That bastard was a heap of problems and burdens which refused to leave us.
He returned in his half-drunken state, a real miracle it was if I say so myself for he always enters the house while tripping on his feet and cursing mother in his vulgar tone before dumping on the ground and sleeping through. I thought he would do the same today so that I and William might be able to pinch a little from his portion but seems like some evil entity has sabotaged our plans.
Our father, Jonathan was a man of nearly 6 feet tall with a skinny stature, just like everyone. His face a very oval shaped, sharp jaws and brownish pupils while his hair is dirt-colored, maybe the mark of him repeatedly kissing dirt at the hands of his adversaries. He wore a ragged noble's shirt with a half-torn pants and knee-high socks, trying his best to look noble but only achieved to look more comical given the fading colors and worn out conditions of his dress. A rusty sword lay at his side while he sometimes used to point at unarmed people in an effort to frighten them.
What? You ask whether or not he uses that sword to rob people? Bah! Ridiculous! If my father was able to rob a man then I would be proud to call him my father. This cowardly bastard is nothing more than chicken poop thrice pissed.
Anyway, my father sat grumpily on his chair which was at the head of the table and swept his gaze across the table. A mix of disgust, repulse and unmasked anger surfaced on his face and for a moment I felt like punching him but then thinking about how Jovian was handling his anger, I silently opted out.
At first father looked at Jovian and smiled lovingly and said, "Son, I hope your adventures are coming along." To which Jovian gave a wry smile and replied with courtesy, "Absolutely. The Guild Head is more than willing to invest in my training. I hope to become a Silver ranked adventurer a year or two from now on."
"Good! Good!" he cried as he turned towards mother, "Dear, I hope you're not having any problems in your work, is it? Also, I will be sending some of my colleagues your way. Do … 'help' them, will you?" he smiled at her to which she only glared lightly before turning away.
"Now Will—" father turned towards William before swiftly removing his gaze. Smart move but far too inadequate to counter my little brother. William smiled widely and proclaimed his achievement with a proud tone, "Father, today with all my mental power and fortitude I was able to completely memorize all the alphabets in the Caslani Language and have completely memorized the table of 7 and 8. Ain't I a genius?!" he proclaimed in a triumphant way to which father could nod hesitatingly.
Looking at him agreeing so quickly, William's eyes sparkled and he asked in an innocently hopeful voice, "Father, you said you will give me chocolates if I'm able to learn all the alphabets. Soooo…. I've learned them… soooo…." He dragged his words long and his sparkly eye increased in intensity until even my bastard father couldn't resist. Sighing he agreed.
"… fine…"
"YAY!!!" William pumped his fist up in victory. All of us smiled at the proceeding, especially me for it didn't amuse me more than to see my father in trouble. Heck! I would pay goons to beat my father up if I had the money.
"Aiden!" my father snapped as if sensing my thoughts. Looking at him, I saw him staring at me with piercing eyes.
"What have ya been doing these days, you worthless bum?! I hope you haven't been eating and sleeping in my money have ya?!!" he spat at me and for the second time in the past few minutes my emotions have been riled. It didn't rile me when he called me worthless bum but it did when he said I was eating and sleeping in HIS money. For fuck's sake this money has been earned by me mother and brother, not you ya piece of shit!
I glared at him and replied in his own tone, "The meat you're eating was hunted by me!"
BAM!!
"You!!!" he banged the table with his fist in anger at my rebuttal but soon my mother stopped him.
"Honey!" she said in a stern tone, blocking him but when he turned towards her, her gaze softened and she said in a soft tone, "Please don't be like that. After a week, he would have his Baptism and from then on he would actively help the family. Just like Jovian, isn't it?" she looked at me and for a moment I thought of cursing him right then and there, telling him that I won't be paying for his goddamn ale but mother's gaze stopped me.
I looked down and gave a small reply, "…yes, mother…"
"Good!" she clapped her hand before proceeding, "Now, we have a big proposal for you, Aiden, so do listen carefully, okay?"
I nodded simply, uninterested.
She smiled and didn't mind my attitude at all. Instead, she turned towards father and asked, "Will you say or me?"
"You say it." He replied as he picked up one of the two roasted regs and started chewing on it.
'That was mine, you bastard!' I thought to myself but then again, if I truly had got one I would've passed it on to William. Sighing, I turn to mother just like Jovian and William.
She smiled and started, "A few days ago, a priest bearing the message of The Great One arrived in the church near our area. He came with a grand message and he said that a divination has been made. A divination that a great star is going to be born in the next couple of days in our area. A star of such power and magnificence that all other heroes and kings would diminish in its presence. A star which will skyrocket itself to prominence and bring glory to the church and the kingdom of Caslan. And thus for this purpose, the church is going to hold a free baptism for a whole week. What a great luck, don't you think?!!" she exclaimed in joy.
"Indeed, indeed. With the Church of Craven doing such a selfless service, it would immensely help us with our budget. Especially for such a midget like you." He said while speaking to me but I wasn't angry at him. I was a little shocked because for all I've known, our locality fell onto the Church of Knowledge and not the Church of Craven and don't think of it as a small gang war between churches. It's far more complicated than that.
And personally, I hated the Church of Craven. The priests of this church are all fanatics with little regard to life or property. They would happily burn the churches of other faiths and religion if given the chance and wouldn't blink an eye to send an orphan child to their death if the authorities don't stop them. Those are the only times I feel that the nobles have a consciousness.
But given the full cost of a normal Baptism, I'm skeptical that I can change the thinking of either of them. As such, without any options left to me, I silently dig into my food.
Seeing me not making a ruckus, mother heaved a silent sigh whereas father snorted at the missed opportunity of berating me.
...