The furious look on Vernon's face humbled Yan. With a sorry look on his face, he slowly approached his father who watched his every step with disappointment.
"What did you go back to get?"...….he started.
"I um…..went back for the—-"….
"Spare me the Lies Yan. Tell me the truth right now. Did you....perhaps try to dump your job on me again simply because I followed you here against your will?"…..
Yan remained silent. The remorseful expression on his face eased Vernon's anger.
"I sensed the princess was in danger and so I went back to check on her"...he spoke in an intimidated tone.
"How did you know?"...Vernon seemed interested.
"The man from the stream"...
"The man from the stream"...They both said at the same time.
"The man who drank from the stream earlier on the way here was the assassin killer I rescued the princess from. I feared he was looking for her to finish his mission and so I went after him. I'm sorry Father"...
Vernon sighed before replying. He immediately understood Yan's behavior, but a feeling of doubt kept pestering his thoughts.
"Don't get too involved"...he finally blurted out.
Yan debated within himself wether to tell his father that his feelings of disdain and disgust for the princess and her family had slowly melted away. He suddenly felt like she was not to blame for how they were treated and especially for what happened in his past.
"I'll take her back to the palace soon"….
"That's good. We must return her back to the palace. I feel she would be much more safer there than at our house"…..Vernon agreed with him.
Yan took a quick glance at the weather and incoming evening. He spotted the meat and knifes on the wooden table and immediately felt the urge to finish selling before midnight. They were seated in the middle of the market at Samali, waiting for any of the passersby to suddenly crave meat.
"I'll finish selling the rest of the meat father. You can rest at the inn now"….Yan continued.
"you sound like you have a choice"…..his father chuckled at him, pushing him to chuckle softly too.
"Let me start selling then"….
Yan took off his jacket, exposing his muscular arms and sculpted chest. His long hair dangled down his back as he moved around with the large pounds of meat hanging on his shoulders.
Three ladies passed by, ignoring the meat stall as they would have done on any normal day until they paused after a quick glance at Yan.
Yan raised his head to catch the girls giggling to themselves and staring at him. With a smirk on his face, he pulled his hair back into a ponytail in attempt to further seduce them. Vernon laughed silently to himself as he watched Yan's plan to sell the meat play out.
"So you plan to sell all these meat with your chest and hair "....Vernon bursted out laughing.
"You'll see"…..
Yan turned to the girls and gave a warm smile.
"Do you want some meat?"...
"Yes"…
"Yes please"...
"I need meat in my life"...they all replied with so much excitement.
As expected, Yan had won over every girl in Samali , including the married ones and their money as well. Both Vernon and Yan laughed about it all night in the little room at the inn where they decided to retire for the night.
Vernon woke in surprise at the sound of painful moans coming from Yan. He rubbed his eyes vigorously before sitting up to see what was going on.
"Yan"...he said in a drowsy tone. After a quick observation, he realized that Yan was soaked in sweat, panting desperately for air while holding unto his chest with the words "Manina…Manina….No!", repeatedly escaping his lips. His eyes were closed and it immediately became obvious to Vernon that he was having a very painful nightmare. The horrible sight wiped away the sleepiness from his eyes. He rushed over Yan and continued shaking him awake but all to no avail. He could see Yan was in so much pain but had no idea what to do at that time of the early morning. As he continued shaking Yan awake, he could see the veins on his neck and head popping out from underneath his skin as though he was suffocating to death. After many tries of waking him up, he decided to do something he hadn't done in 4 years. He searched for what seemed like a vein in the right side of Yan's neck. As if he found it, he slowly pressed unto it which instantly made Yan still and motionless. He took a deep breath of relief at the now calm Yan but still, worry for his son troubled him the more.
"Son, Son wake up"…..he slightly shook Yan awake.
In a weak state, Yan slowly opened his eyes to meet the fear in his father's eyes.
"Dad I saw Mother and sister again"...tears ran down his cheeks as he spoke.
Vernon's heart broke at this. He pitied his son so much and wanted to save him from his pains but there was nothing he could do.
"I must avenge them"…..Yan continued to weep softly.
His father slowly hugged him and cried alongside him while gently patting his back to comfort him.
"It would be okay, My son"…..
"I must see the priest and ask why this sickness had returned"…he said as he pulled Vernon away.
With a sigh his father replied.
"We definitely must"...