- POV General -
"GREAT NEWS CHILDREN !!!"
In the merchant's house in the town of Gaze, while Ulysses and his mother were still locked under the stairs, the Master had burst into the living room. He held a piece of parchment in his hand and proudly showed it to his children, who did not understand. Too euphoric to lecture them, he rushed towards them before putting the parchment on the table and finally explaining what it was all about.
"My business proposal has finally interested someone ! He will come to me tomorrow morning with more than 10,000 gold coins to start everything right away ! Kids...WE ARE GOING TO BE RICH HAHAHAHA~!!!"
"W-Wait...is that true, father ?"
"YOOOOHOOOOOO~"
After a moment of doubt, the three children were jumping up and down all over the room at the thought of being able to show off their wealth and why not change their lives. The Master's business project was illegal, hence their move to Gaze a few years ago, but nothing had worked. The fortune he had amassed before was diminishing and little by little they had to fire the employees opting for the purchase of two slaves sold at only 15 silver coins.
"Does this mean we can fire that pregnant slut cow and her useless son ? Say, father, can I have my own slave and servants ??"
As the family became poorer and poorer they only used two slaves whom they liked to martyr themselves more and more to pass their frustration. That said, the sudden announcement of the father's wealth meant no more restrictions and especially no more having to take care of two good-for-nothings. The woman was pregnant, the boy too small, too motherly so the 15-year-old girl saw an opportunity to get rid of them once and for all.
"Mmmmh...you're right sweetie, I think it's time to change everything and we'll start with these two pieces of trash who scream more than they work !"
Since he was going to earn over 10,000 gold coins first thing in the morning, why wait to get rid of the two annoyances under his stairs ? Since he had gotten the mother pregnant he had wanted to get rid of her many times but had been unable to. Who would work for them if she died ? Now this question was no longer relevant and he could finally deprive her, her son and her baby, who was also his, of their existence.
"Tonight we will go to the forest and kill them both once and for all"
"Yes, father"
"Yeeeeeees a nice show !"
"Finally !"
Thus, their survival depending only on the receipt of a single letter had been sealed and the fate all set even though Ulysses and his mother did not know it yet. Still huddled together in this tiny place, in their world, dreaming of smiles and praying for a miracle. This day was going to be the last one they would spend in this house, not knowing that the same evening, their lives would change forever.
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- POV Ulysses -
"M-Mommy ?"
"Yes, Ulysses sweetheart ?"
"You'll never leave me, will you ?"
I had just woken up from a long nap I had taken next to Mommy while we were once again locked in the dark box. When I woke up, Mommy was by my side as always which immediately reassured me after the nightmare I had seen. In my dream, I saw my mother being kidnapped by monsters before leaving me all alone in the dark without warmth and her sweet voice.
"Of course not, we will always be together."
I could feel Mommy's hand gently caressing my head which always made me very happy because it was so nice. No matter what happened during the day, when she stroked my hair my biggest fears disappeared I didn't feel useless and less than nothing. The whole town and the evil master could hate me, as long as Mommy was by my side I knew I could handle anything.
*groooowl*
"I-...s-sorry."
As I closed my eyes to enjoy the moment, my stomach started to make a loud noise that meant I wanted to eat and I had to. I didn't know when it was the last time I had eaten a piece of bread unable to feel hunger or maybe I was used to it. Either way, my body always hurt so bad that the pain in my stomach I didn't feel anymore.
"Don't apologize it's normal, when we go out I'll make you something good with the leftovers from the kitchen. Okay ?"
"UMU !"
Mommy was the best cook, she was amazing and could even turn ugly, smelly food into something too good. But...everything she made was for the Master and his evil family, I wasn't allowed to taste. They said my hands were dirty and they were already allowing Mommy to cook and that was already too much. It didn't matter anyway, everything Mommy did was super good.
The best dish I'd ever tasted was some white grains she called "rice" with a cooked salad and leftover prime rib. I had gnawed on what was around but I was sure it was the best thing I had ever tasted in my life. What was she going to do today ? As I tried to guess while ignoring my aching body, the voice of the evil Master on the other side of the door echoed.
"Slaveeeeeees~"
[T-That's okay...don't...don't shake...]
My body was reacting on its own, I couldn't help but tremble at the sound of his voice as all my wounds instantly hurt me. I had to be brave and toughen up until those blows didn't hurt anymore and protect Mommy and her baby. As the door opened I tried to get up before the Master and his three children appeared in front of the door.
[What's going on ?]
They were all dressed as if they were going out, I didn't understand since it seemed that it was just getting dark outside. I still couldn't count perfectly but I think we had been locked up for 10 or 11 hours instead of 3. But what was happening was weird, I had a bad feeling and I could feel Mommy's hand squeezing mine very tightly so I knew she was also more scared than usual.
"We're out tonight~ you're coming with us without a discussion ! I have a little surprise for you and not the least hehehe~"
"Y-Yes, M-Master…"
Mommy had replied trying to hide her terror, she was always so strong so I had to be too so as not to be a burden to her. So we were getting up at the same time trying not to fall over before we got out of our little black box. They looked weird and happy when the only time they smiled at us was when they were hurting my mommy and me.
"Son, go early and get everything ready, we'll meet you in 10 minutes."
"Yes, father !"
The young Master was leaving after being instructed while we pushed ourselves out of the house in full. The two girls were there too and were laughing and speaking softly so we wouldn't hear, they were probably thinking how ugly I was. And then we started our walk, barefoot, the body still sore in the direction of...the forest Gaze.
______
[I...have...sore...feet...it hurts]
We had now been walking for 30 minutes, 10 of which were in the forest, towards an unknown place, but which seemed to be far away. From where we were, I could see the lights of Gaze gradually moving away without understanding what was going to happen. I couldn't feel my feet, I was tired, I was in pain but Mommy was holding my hand and helping me walk as we were surrounded by the Master and his two daughters.
"Well ! we should be there in 5 minutes but now I really have to go pee so girls watch them, I'll be back in 1 minute not even"
As the bad man walked away for a bit to relieve himself, something I never imagined happened right after. Suddenly, Mommy grabbed me to carry me in her arms before running as fast as she could towards town. I didn't understand what was going on, everything had happened so fast and in an instant, we were being chased by the Master who was far away from us, taken by surprise.
"M-Mommy !!?"
"Don't...don't talk, if he catches us we are...dead !"
Mommy's words instantly made me very scared now understanding why she had run away when it was the best time. She had almost yelled at me, she was panicked and shaking like she had never shaken before. I didn't know where Mommy got the strength to run so fast because I knew full well that her whole body had to be hurting her even more than mine.
"YOU BITCH !!!"
Mommy ran barefoot through the woods, branches and rocks sinking into her feet, but gritting her teeth she kept going to save our lives. Behind us the Master was coming closer, his face red and his eyes terrifying that I would never forget. I prayed that he wouldn't catch up with us but unfortunately, trying to jump a rock Mommy twisted her foot causing us to fall on the hard dirt path.
"AArG !!!"
"Uuurg !"
I was rolling for several meters, the rocks were making new wounds on my body and the fall seemed to have been endless. After a few seconds it stopped but knowing that my mommy had fallen too, I tried to get up. She was a little behind me and as I was about to join her I heard her screaming. Mommy was screaming words that I never wanted to hear and it was freezing my blood.
"RUN !!! DON'T STOP, RUN AS FAST AND AS FAR AS YOU CAN !! I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT !!! ULYSSES !!!"
"B-But..."
"PLEASE GO FAST !!! I BEG YOU, RUN !!! FAR AWAY !!!"
Behind us, the Master was about to join us, but Mommy's ankle was all blue and she couldn't move at all. Her words made my heart ache, I felt the tears rising and the despair invading me like never before, my world was falling apart. Yet my body started to move on its own and before I knew it I was running towards the city when I heard Mommy's voice.
"WHATEVER YOU HEAR, DON'T TURN AROUND, DON'T COME BACK AND SAVE YOURSELF !! EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE OKAY, ULYSSES...I LOVE YOU ULYSSES !! DO YOU HERE ME ??? I LOVE…. AAAAAARGH !!!"
Mommy's voice was broken, I knew she was crying and the last words she said to me before she screamed in pain...were the strongest. Yet I ran as she had told me, I ran without looking back, as fast and as far as my little body could carry me. I had to get help, I wasn't going to abandon the only person I loved in this world, I had to save her...I had to.
"W-Wait...*sniff*...for me Mommy !"
Those were the only words I could utter, my dry throat hurt, I could feel the blood rushing from my feet, the pain in all my limbs but I kept going. I felt like I could break at any moment, fall and never get up again because the pain was so excruciating. Yet, if I wasn't strong now, if I didn't become the little warrior she loved so much, Mommy and her baby were going to die tonight.
"N-No...anything but that...NOOOOOOO !!!"
I couldn't breathe at the thought, I didn't want to be left alone in this world without fulfilling the promise I had made to myself. I wanted to see my mommy smile, be happy and I wanted to see my little sister or brother grow up. I couldn't see anything, my tears and the night made me almost blind but it didn't matter, ignoring my body that was falling apart I continued my crazy race, the one of a whole life.
[M-Mommy hold on…I…I'll save y-you !]
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- POV Hestia -
"So ? How do you like this city ?"
"Mmmh, interesting and quite different from Belfort City"
"Their shops are much better than they seem"
"And their bars too hahaha~"
Night had fallen, and after spending all afternoon exploring the city, the whole crew had joined us for drinks at the most popular bar. We had eaten well too, and the atmosphere was cheerful after the huge feast we had made. The moon was shining high in the sky almost in daylight as we headed into the forest that would lead us to our landmark 15 minutes away.
We had done our shopping and decided to stay for 5 days since some of the tools and materials for our trip would only arrive in that time. After what had happened in Belfort, I thought it would be a good idea to give this bunch of monsters a rest. Suddenly, while I was smiling at their antics, Kali and I perceived footsteps coming directly from our left, getting closer with difficulty but getting closer.
"Shush !"
[An animal ? No, the footsteps are too short. A human then, injured and weak from the cadence and about to collapse. Wait a minute...a kid ?]
Just as this idea appeared in my mind, a small, shaky, wounded thing popped out from behind the bushes before bumping into me. The child was so thin that I didn't feel anything while he collapsed on the ground and stopped moving almost immediately. For a moment I thought that I had killed him unconsciously because of his condition before he slowly raised his head revealing his face to me in the moonlight.
"Hey you are..."
It was the little boy I had helped just this morning, he was standing in front of me again for some reason and in an even worse state. To tell you the truth I didn't know how he stayed alive in these conditions, his body had a number of wounds that I didn't think possible for a 7-year-old. The soles of his feet were all torn off and bleeding from the many rocks that were lodged in them.
His tiny legs and arms were full of wounds, bruises, he must have had a displaced shoulder, a broken finger and legs ready to break. The empty blue eyes that the little slave had stared at me as if almost dead as he opened his mouth without any sound coming out. Lowering myself to the ground, I grabbed him and lifted him to my level to understand and hear what might be his last words.
[What the hell happened to you, little one ?]
I could feel all the others next to me getting agitated, just as shocked as I was by this sudden appearance, but especially by the physical state of the kid. Yet we were pirates and we had seen some horrible things...but this was different and hit differently. Flashbacks of when I had returned to the village after getting lost in the forest one night came back to me, I saw the blood again, I felt the pain and the growing despair.
[Surely this little one has been through something so terrible. I don't know why he was running, what he wanted to escape or reach, but he was willing to give his life for it. His mother maybe ? Probably...]
This little boy gave me chills and for me, who usually didn't care about a kid's suffering, I was intrigued and fascinated. I wanted to know his story, I wanted to know what had driven him to despair, to rise up and brave death. While I still held him in my arms, my seven companions and Achi came closer to him too to hear what he had to say, hanging on his lips.
"Sa...my...mmmm"
"...."
"Save...m-my...mo...mommy..."
[Save my mommy]
Suddenly, despite his very weak voice we could all hear what he had been trying to tell us for the past while. His mother. He had done all this for his mother as I thought and for that, I thought he was extremely brave, even more so than when he had confronted the man in the alley. At the words of the almost fainting little boy, my face closed and I felt an anger rise in me as Mysie and Kali ran to catch him.
"Go ahead Captain, we'll take care of him !"
"Go for it, you can follow his trail and you're the fastest of us !"
Gently laying the body of the little slave who had passed out in the arms of my two friends, I looked back at the rest of the crew. They all had a serious look on their faces even Achi as they nodded their heads showing that they agreed with them. Nodding my head in turn, I turned my head towards the forest where he had come from and appeared before dashing through the trees the next second, leaving my friends behind.
I didn't know what I was going to find when I followed his footsteps, I didn't know who I was going to run into but one thing was for sure, this little brat had managed to make me move a finger. I didn't know him, I had never seen his mother and I didn't even know why I was doing all this for him. In fact, yes I knew…for the first time, someone's courage and sheer willpower had moved me and struck my icy heart without warning.
So, it was with a determination and a desire to help that I didn't know I had for a stranger that I ran faster and faster into the woods. What he had run in 30 minutes I could do in 5 minutes, only hoping that whatever was happening, I was not too late. I didn't know it yet, but those three words that the little boy said before he passed out were about to change our fate.