Eldric and Epine were standing over a strangely green-filled hill among the hardy snowy terrain. Their gazes seemed to overlook the entire village from such a height.
The wind was strong. It easily manoeuvred their hair as Eldric held his hands in his pockets.
The golden-orange hue dominated the otherwise cloudy sky… Eldric could see the sun setting down on the horizon. He was always surprised when he could actually see the sun in the sky, it mattered not if it were cold or not. Eldric ultimately didn't give it much thought beyond that... It was beautiful and that was all that mattered.
"How about we head out?" asked Eldric once he had his fill of admiring the breathtaking scene in front of him.
Epine nodded and said."As you wish, young master." She, however, was looking at the pensive face of her young master.
He held an unfocused gaze towards the horizon for what seemed like an eternity. Eldric looked at what would be the bottom of the hill he was on.
It would be at least a drop of 30 feet (ca. 9 m) from the summit.
"Great." he quietly said. The reason for that comment was unknown other than to himself.
Toe in toe, both he and Epine walked away from that steep hill into the flat snowy lands.
The trip back somehow spanned a bit quicker. At least that's what Eldric thought. Although he wouldn't show it, he was slightly disappointed that the trip was boring. Not to say Eldric had a death wish, but he would have enjoyed seeing Epine in action against some bandits.
Whether or not he could withstand the gore of such a scene would be left to be seen. He didn't think much beyond the surface thoughts of it being possibly a cool occurrence to witness.
While Eldric was thinking about how cool it would be to witness genocide, well, he couldn't have known it would be straight to genocide. Modern values were still embedded deep into him. He was slowly changing, however.
Is that for the best or worse is another story entirely...
The familiar thick walls and the large black iron gates entered his vision.
"We've arrived, young master," informed Epine.
He looked at her weirdly. "Yes. I can see that…." He paused,
'I should get her to start being a bit informal in private… Especially if she's going to be sticking with me all the time.' he thought.
Unfortunately, that was simply not possible. Epine was already informal as it is for a maid, there could be nothing more to add to that.
One look at the usual poker face she had dissuaded him otherwise.
'Maybe later.' he thought.
Deciding to make it a subject for another day, Eldric turned back his head to the gates. He wanted to quickly get back to studying.
However, he managed to see a figure he was not that excited to meet… He has been avoiding this particular individual all this time; he didn't fancy any discord.
Alas… It seemed that such a confrontation was bound to happen.
The slightly older kid wore frankly ridiculous attire yet again. It was an attire that too closely resembled a clown outfit— only needed the red nose to complete the entire look.
It was a fit of black silky loose-fitting pants and a decorated baggy red frilly top and on his head was a massive brown hat. He even had leather boots that pointed upwards to the sky.
Eldric shook his head at his appearance.
The figure crossed his arms and looked at Eldric and Epine with a sneer.
"Where have you been all this time?" he questioned. He appeared to be rather proud of asking such a seemingly stupid question.
"What is it to you, Cenric?" suggested Eldric.
Epine seemed to be entirely out of conservation. It would be more precise to say that she never entered Cenric's eyes. She was but another maid. Another maid to order around as he pleased... Nothing special.
"Of course, I need to know." a victorious smile on his face, "I'm the proper heir... Unlike you, useless cripple!" bellowed Cenric.
Eldric sighed. "Do you need to do this, Cenric?"
Such juvenile insults were rather meaningless to Eldric. It exited his ear the same way it entered the other.
They were just the empty words of a ten-year-old child. He wouldn't take them to heart. He had to be the adult in this confrontation and push out his childish side.
Sadly, there was some truth about what he said, more so with James' absence and Faith's position at the moment. She was the top dog as of now...
Cenric's situation couldn't be more secure than it currently is. Besides, he was indeed the de-facto 'heir' of the Armsworth. He had a minuscule degree of authority over him; a small one that must have tasted rather delicious with Faith in the head chair.
Yet again, Eldric thought the anger was entirely misplaced. He could even tell him that he had no thoughts about inheriting the Armsworth head position, but he would hardly believe him. It might even be taken as an insult.
Eldric had much bigger dreams… He would not stop at just the head of a count household.
That would be a complete and utter waste.
Cenric was just one of the many steps that he would need to climb. He couldn't afford to stumble on it too much.
Cenric's expression turned uglier by the casual remark of Eldric. Ever since that bastard woke up, he wouldn't even look him in the eye.
He always had that expression of pity when looking at him. As if he's better than him in every way imaginable. At least before his sudden recovery, he could intimidate and insult him, all the while getting the reactions he hoped for.
And after he woke, his mother's remarks only seemed to bellow in intensity.
Always… Always comparing him to Eldric.
'Why couldn't you be like the child of that wench….' she would always repeat whenever the both of them were alone. She didn't even seem to be angry at Cenric, she just appeared to be severely disappointed.
That icy indifferent gaze that she would lock him on deeply hurt Cenric. The slow head shakes she usually performed only served to further accentuate the effect it had on him.
The heart of a child could only bear so much.
'What's so special about him?' bitterly thought Cenric as he took in Eldric's full appearance. He strongly bit his lips in utter frustration. Blood just as crimson as his hair slowly came out; he bit his lips too hard, it seems.
Eldric was indeed cute, but Cenric wasn't an ugly child either. He fully inherited the combined graceful looks of both James and Faith. Pale smooth skin, a symmetric and well-proportioned visage. Crimson hair just like his mother, and golden eyes that resembled James' all too much. That couldn't be the reason for that unfair treatment.
Besides, the way the bastard dressed was entirely unbefitting for a young lord of the noble Armsworth household. One look at the disfigured apparel Eldric wore assured him even further of his reasoning. Eldric would have surely disagreed with his thoughts had he been able to hear his thoughts.
Alas, he couldn't. Otherwise, this entire confrontation would have been all too easily solved.
Despite having a short fuse, Cenric always struggled and held himself from cursing his instructors just like he wanted. He strived to do well in his studies, no matter how hard they were for him. Cenric spent many nights studying late at night. Not every child was as fortunate as Eldric to possess an adult's mind and reasoning.
But Cenric's struggles were not enough for Faith, they never were... All he wanted was to please her.
'It's only natural for you to do well in your studies. It is a given. Don't expect any praise from me for simply performing your duties.' She would say in one breath. All too well-practiced.
That was the type of reply he would receive from Faith for his efforts before she would turn her back to him and walk away; just as uninterested as usual.
Cenric's attitude may seem childish and frankly stupid to Eldric. But that was just how nobles were… They were prideful, extremely so.
Needless to say, he fully inherited that trademark pride from his mother.
Cenric racked his brain to find any other reason for his mother's usual comparisons…. He couldn't find any.
'Could it be his blessing?' exposed Cenric after a while of thinking. 'But that couldn't be it...' he muttered just a moment before in denial.
Right. Eldric did indeed have the Armsworth blessing. Yet, at the same time, Cenric also had the Blackburne blessing from his mother's side. It was not some second-rate blessing or anything of the sort. There was a reason why the Blackburne is a duke household.
The blackburnes were the most masterful arsonists in the kingdom. They held complete mastery over the fire element.
No one would dare to argue over their blessing's potency.