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Chapter 2 - The shadows

A week after my sister's death my father took his own life, I think it was guilt or

maybe he just got tired I will never know all I know is that from now on I have to take

care of my mother who has gradually lost her mind, Due to my injury all I could do

was begging on the streets, there were a lot of kids who would the same as well but with a

twist, the begging was just for distraction while another kid would steal the money

from the people stupid enough to actually stop, Because of my injury, I couldn't do the

same, but I came with a little idea, hiding a magnet in my empty sleeve and dropping

it in peoples pockets, of course, my little trick was gradually noticed by the local

bullies who asked for a protection fee, of course, that protection was from their own

fists, I couldn't fight back even if I wanted to, because of my one arm and my weak

body all I could do was endure, I did that for about three years, when I was eleven I

came back home one day and I couldn't find my mother when I asked the neighbor

who was really just a drunken old man he told me that she ran off with some

handsome rich boy who took a liking to her looks, I was devasted my only family just

abandoned me, I sat there staring at the sky cursing my luck again, and for the first

time in years I cried I cried like I never did before I screamed at the sky, hoping for a

change to happen, yet all the change that happened was the sun rising, I started

walking again to my usual begging spot by midday the local bullies came again to get

there protection fees, by that time I was at my limit when I left our house well "my"

house I took the only knife I had with me, knowing how these idiots fought I

made my plan, when I saw them coming I walked inside an empty ally I dipped the

edge of the knife in a pile of shit to make sure that the wound they receive will affect

them badly, when the first man came he started shouting at me" Where the hell do

you think you are going, are you trying to avoid paying again?" I shouted back at him"

you call it protection fee yet you never protected me", the two of them started

laughing loudly then that guy said to me" well then let me remind you why we call it

protection fee" he started walking towards me and when he was close enough I

jumped at him with my knife pointed at his chest I stapped his heart blood started

pouring out it covered my face and my clothes which were more rags than clothes I

turned to the other man who was trying to kick me and I stapped his foot then I

slashed at his stomach and ran away, as I planned beforehand I ran to the direction of

the river to both hide and wash my cloth since I have gone through the place before I

knew of a good hiding spot it was a small branch that came out of the river there I saw

it, a man dumping a big bag in the river, when he saw me he ran away, I don't know

why but maybe because of the shock of killing a man I got curious about what was

inside the bag, I found a stick close by and pulled the bag with it, when it was close

enough I pulled it with my hand, it took me a lot of effort because I only had one,

what I have seen when I opened the bag was a sight I will never forget, it was the face

of my mother full of tears, blood, and snot, she was naked and full of wounds and

bruises, now that I think about it I think she was beaten to death, the only thing I

could think about at that time was how lucky she is, she can finally rest and reunite

with the rest of the family, I couldn't bury her because I could never move her body

by myself, so I pushed her back in the river and then I started looking for the

mysterious man, it took me about 10 minutes to find him, from the way he walked I

could tell he was someone who used to live a nice life, after following him for half an hour

he walked into a huge mansion, at that moment I knew that my road to vengeance just

got longer, but now at least I got no one to worry about, when I came back home I

packed all of my stuff and then I burned my house now just to make it clear what I

kept calling a house was nothing more than a room made out of clay and some hay, it

had a small bed and a small hole for storing our valuables which were just some

copper coins, after I burned my place I have gone to the market to find out who is the

owner of the mansion, after asking around I found out it was some small time lord

who rules this town, I kept on stalking the mansion for weeks living off bread and

water from the river, I slept wherever I could waiting for my chance, and that chance

presented itself to me in the shape of a job as a servant for the mansion, the only

reason I was accepted for the job was because all the payment that I asked for was food and

a place to sleep, I spent the first few months learning how to read and write, of course

no one would ever teach me so I would spy on the lord's kids while they were having

there classes, whenever I had nothing to do I would go the library and like I was

cleaning it while reading as many books as I can, by the time I was 14 I had already

finished all the books in the library and earned the lord's trust, in one o the books I

read I found a flower that when eaten causes the brain to stop, I added its juice to the

lord's drink when he was having a meeting with one of his people, during the chaos

caused by his death I snuck into the treasury took as much as I could and ran off, with

no goal in mind and no place to get back to I took the first carriage I have seen that

would take me to the closest city.