– POV General –
While the Cerberus crew was busy settling in and discovering the new land they had just landed in, a little boy was running through the streets of Gaze. A 7 year old, blond-haired, blue-eyed boy, small for his age, skin and bones, covered in blood, dirt and bruises. Yes, the one who was running around the city was none other than the little slave that Hestia had just saved after recognizing his mental strength and courage in an alley.
Fearing that it would escape him again, he held his silver coin tightly in his hand, more important than his own life at that moment. His mind was still fuzzy and as he continued north, he couldn't help but replay the scene in the alley in his head. His heart was pounding in his chest, his whole body ached and he almost fainted but despite that he smiled innocently.
"T-Thank you, Ma'am."
Not having had the chance to thank her, as he soon reached his destination, the little boy whispered these words weakly but with all his heart. He had not seen the one who had helped him well and remembered only her smell and her boots, but he would never forget them. Thanks to this stranger, he could go back to where he slept without fearing that his master would beat him and especially his slave mother who never left the house.
Soon, the slave boy arrived at an open gate leading to a house a little larger than those usually built in the city. It belonged to a merchant who had decided to settle in Gaze in order to carry out all sorts of illegal activities that were impossible on other continents. The house was the size of two but not big enough to be called a mansion even though to the little boy it was like a castle.
Crossing the garden and passing quickly through a small door at the back, he pushed it with all the strength he had left, eager to announce the news to the only ray of sunshine in his little life...his mother. The little one arrived in a kitchen where there was a delicious smell coming from the meal that was simmering for lunch. He knew it wasn't for him but for his master and his family so ignoring the rumblings in his stomach he continued.
Once past the kitchen doors he found himself in a small hallway where he could finally see her doing her usual chores. A woman also dressed in rags was scrubbing the wooden floor with wax, kneeling despite the great pain the position inflicted on her. 37 years old, long silver-gray hair, eyes as light blue as his own and despite her pitiful state, endowed with a beauty impossible to ignore.
"MOMMY !!!"
"Ulysses ! Finally you're h… what happened to you !?"
Dropping the brush in her hand, the woman rushed to her son before embracing him with a glint of panic in her eyes. Once again he would come back into the house completely beaten, his face swollen, his lip bloody and bruises all over his body. The mother trembled as she inspected every spot to see if he was seriously hurt while he answered with a big smile so as not to worry her.
"In town, a gentleman tried to steal the coin I was supposed to take back to the master but...but don't worry mommy, everything is fine. A lady helped me and..."
"Come here."
For a mother to see her child in this state was something very hard and although she did her best to make her life a little more normal, as slaves they had no choice. Half listening to what he was saying, she led him into a room that served as a bathroom with the necessary equipment to clean him. Kneeling down once more, the woman grabbed a wet cloth before starting to scrub his face.
"M-Mommy, I'm telling you it's going to be fine, i'm alri...aouch !"
"See ? You just said 'aouch' so it's not completely okay."
Gently smacking his forehead with a worried look on her face, she continued to clean her son as best she could with what she had, careful not to hurt him. Her hands were shaking and even though she tried to hide it, the fear and sadness was visible in her eyes. Ulysses hated it, he tried his best to always reassure her but never yet had he seen his mother laugh, or even smile genuinely once.
"Mommy...I'm fine, you should take care of yourself instead."
Gently grabbing the hand that the gray-haired woman had placed on his little face, the boy looked down at her belly. At this level, her worn and simple dress was slightly bulging indicating that she was carrying life inside her. Ulysses' mother was indeed 5 to 6 months pregnant and despite the recommended rest for any woman in these conditions, as a slave she had to work always restlessly.
She had no choice but to do her best to fulfill her duty as a handywoman, a slave and a loving mother to her son and her unborn child. Gently stroking Ulysses' hair along with her own belly, she leaned in to place a soft kiss on his forehead. The blue-eyed woman was proud of her son and knew he would be a wonderful big brother, but his safety came first considering their situation.
*smack*
"Ulysses my darling, let me take care of you, okay ? I promise I'm also careful when possible so look out for your own health instead which means avoiding bad people no matter how brave you are. Okay ?"
"Y-Yes mommy."
Very mature for his age and aware of what she meant by that, Ulysses nodded, smiling through his teeth despite his swollen face. He may have been 7 years old, but he was already bearing the responsibilities and fears of a young adult while trying to look out for his mother. She might never smile sincerely, but every time he did, her heart clenched with joy and pride, but also with sadness and regret.
"WOMAN, WHERE ARE YOU ???"
Suddenly, as they shared a rare moment of quiet, a deep, husky voice they knew well rang out in the hallway. At the same time, the strong and brave little boy instinctively began to tremble, hiding behind his mother who was also shaking like a leaf. This voice was that of their torturer, their master and head of the family, who burst into the small room and kicked the door.
*SLAM*
"So this is where you were hiding ? I've been calling you for two minutes, woman, my family and I are having dinner in the dining room and we're hungry !"
"P-Please excuse me Master, I...I was just nursing my son, we'll bring the meal right away !"
Rising hastily, completely submissive, eyes downcast, legs shaking and heart pounding driven by fear. Grabbing her son's hand, the mother made her way out of the small shower room before being caught in turn by the man. He had intercepted her violently, twisting her arm almost risking breaking it as a big, sick smile formed on his repulsive face.
"Aarg !"
"Where do you think you're going ? I changed my mind, your little shit son is going to serve the meal while you and I go have some fun."
The sleeve of her dress had pulled up, revealing a multitude of marks and scars of all kinds, cigarettes, blows, chains so while being led away she tried to hide them. The pregnant woman was pulled into the hallway with violence not daring to retaliate and just wanted her son not to witness this, praying that what was about to happen would happen quickly. Unfortunately Ulysses could not stand by and do nothing.
"MOMMY !!! L-LET GO OF HER, S-SHE NEEDS TO REST !"
Despite the fear that the already tired and bruised little boy felt, despite his fragile little body, despite his trembling body, he had thrown himself on the legs of his master. Just a few minutes ago she had given him the love he needed to always stay smiling so he didn't want to see her suffer. Not because of him, unfortunately the man without hesitating would kick him purple in the arm sending him against the wall.
"You ! Don't even touch me, you disgusting insect !"
*BOOM*
"AAAAAARG COUGH COUGH !"
"ULYSSES !!! P-PLEASE STOOOP !!!"
Even as she never resisted or stood up to her master, the woman who was first and foremost a mother before being a slave, begged for her son. She could endure anything, put up with anything, even when the man sexually abused her, but she could not witness the abuse of her son. The mother struggled but the man was stronger, bigger and grabbed her by the hair and dragged her to the floor.
"I TOLD YOU TO COME WITH ME !!!"
"AARG, P-PLEASE !"
Her motherly instincts urged her to join Ulysses but she just couldn't, her scalp burned, felt hair pulling out as she was led away. Before the master turned a corner, all the woman could see was her son lying on the ground before her vision became blurred from tears. This was their life, an unfair one, two slaves, a mother and son struggling to survive in this place that was their Hell, their nightmare but also the only place they could call home.
"M-Mo...mommy..."
His mother disappeared down the hallway as Ulysses slowly got to his feet, shaking and staggering from the violence of the blow and impact. An unceasing stream of tears flowed down his cheeks but he remained silent, his clenched fists overcome with all the emotions he knew all too well. Fear, anger, sadness, despair, regret, guilt, all mixed together in the mind of this little one as he staggered to the kitchen bravely.
"I-I...I have to...*cough cough*...serve dinner."
______
"SO IS IT COMING ?"
In the dining room around a table was gathered the Master's family who were eagerly waiting for the meal to finally be served. There were three of them, the two daughters and the only son aged 15, 21 and 28 and unfortunately just as bad as their father. They had grown up with only two slaves in the house, Ulysses and his mother, so they had also developed a pleasure in seeing them suffer feeling like all-powerful nobles.
"AH there you are at last you little shit ! Hurry up and serve us food !"
"A-All right !"
The little boy with the iron collar had arrived in the room after 10 minutes in the kitchen trying to present the dishes like his mother had taught him despite the intense pain in his whole body. He was carrying a large dish almost as big as he was where chickens were grilled and appetizing which he placed with difficulty on the white tablecloth table. Then, Ulysses was about to fetch a carafe of water to serve the three when suddenly a foot met his ankle.
*BAM*
"Arg.."
"HAHAHAHAAHHAHA~"
The youngest girl had just tripped him on purpose to trip him which he had done without hitting his forehead against the metal container. As the three children of the Master laughed, he felt the tears welling up and his forehead burning along with his hungry stomach. However, after a few seconds, Ulysses stood up thinking about his mother's love and what she had to endure which had given him the strength to continue.
"AAAAA~ So where is the food hehehe~ After time of physical activity I'm dying of hunger ! Hey you disgusting tadpole ! Your slut of a mother is where you know, lock yourself in there yourself for 3 hours like good slaves, if I see you outside I'll kill you !"
Very quickly he had managed to serve all the dishes and as he was about to go out discreetly, the Master had appeared as he was buttoning up his shirt. At once, the little boy had understood that his mother was free, happy to be able to find her but worried. At the words of the man, Ulysses knew very well of what he spoke, going out of the dining room while running under the diabolic laughter of the four that they served.
______
At the back of the house, under a staircase, was a very small room made of cold stones, very dark, whose door once closed could only be opened from the outside. This was the place the Master wanted to talk about, the place where he liked to lock up his slaves when they dared to protest. The woman with the silver hair and pure blue eyes was there after being thrown out like an object by the man who was joining the dining room.
"I-It's okay...everything is okay"
Her hair was disheveled, she had new marks on her thighs, neck and wrists, stains on her dress and eyes swollen from crying. Adjusting her hair for her appearance, her dress to hide the marks the most, she took a deep breath. Soon, small footsteps were heard and then Ulysses appeared in the doorway before throwing on his mother, crying.
"I-if I hadn't come back hurt, I-if I had been stronger you...you...I'm sorry, im sorry, im sorry, im sorry, this is all my fault...sorry, sorry, sorry"
"It's okay honey, it's not your fault...it's never your fault. Come here~"
As Ulysses snuggled into his mother's embrace, he could feel her weak body shaking and crying out in pain despite her reassuring words. As tears continued to stream down his dirty little face, the little boy held the woman even tighter. He wanted to protect her from all this violence, he wanted to see her smile, laugh and make her happy, she who had without hesitation always sacrificed everything for him and would continue to do so.
She was just a pregnant slave, mistreated and abused every day, but if she could find the strength to get up every morning, if she could find the strength to endure it all, it was for her son and her baby. Their lives were miserable, nightmare-like, but a mother's strength and love was not to be taken lightly and this mother was willing to do anything to protect her son even if she felt she was failing miserably every day.
The door had closed behind them leaving them huddled in pitch black, on the floor on the cold stone but it didn't matter. In fact this place they had both learned to love it, away from everything, the banging, the screaming and even the world, completely in their own bubble. And in the dark neither the mother nor the son could see the marks of the other, the sadness in the eyes, the tears and the forced smiles, in the dark...everything was different.
Only the sound of their breaths, the sound of their heartbeats, the warmth of their embrace and the overflowing love filled the room. It may have been silly, but Ulysses and his mother felt safe, almost forgetting for a moment the harsh reality. To each other, they were their life raft, a reason to live, to fight and to endure what they were going through on a daily basis ...they were saving each other's lives, dreaming of better days.
"I...I'm sure that one day everything will work out for us my darling, I promise you"
"Promise ? Pinky promise ?"
"Mmmh, pinky promise~"
As the woman grabbed her son's skinny little finger, trying to hide her trembling, she prayed with all her might that she was right. Indeed, she wasn't sure what she had said but had done it to reassure her little boy and somehow reassure herself. The mother prayed for the happiness of her son, for the health of her baby and that all these days of suffering would turn into happy and hopeful days.
"Sleep now, Ulysses my darling~"
"B-But what about...what about you ?"
"Shhhh~ I'm going to rest too once you fall asleep. Mommy is watching over you and protecting you so don't worry, rest and have wonderful dreams that one day I hope will come true~"
She had lied, when she closed her eyes she saw again and again the aggressions she suffered every day from their Master. She also saw herself in the third person covered in scars and marks that she was ashamed of and that made her look hideous. But all of this the slave woman couldn't tell him, it was her duty to protect him and bear a heavier burden if it meant lightening his.
"I...I...love...you....mommy...."
"I love you too, my little warrior~"
Half asleep and about to fall into a deep sleep, Ulysses had spoken those words that struck his mother right in the heart. It was for these moments that she was fighting, these simple words having managed to instantly stop the tears that had begun to slowly flow. Smiling slightly in the dark, the woman continued to place her hand tenderly in Ulysses' hair.
Gently caressing her son's head, the woman began to hum a lullaby to soothe him and gradually put him to sleep. Her soft voice was like the waves of an ocean coming to chase away his fears, to sweep away his anxieties and to make him determined to protect all that she represented in his eyes. It is thus with the desire to become stronger that the small boy fell asleep on the cold ground, lulled by the voice of his only ray of sunshine.