The boy's eyes widened with panic and then he froze.
Fiona found herself moving unconsciously towards the boy until she was standing directly in front of him and shielding with her body.
Neither of them moved or spoke for several seconds.
Fiona stared at the boy and briefly saw herself as a child. She remembered the day when she lost her childish innocence and learned that real evil existed in the world.
There had been no one to shield her but she could do at least that much for this child.
No child should ever have to go through life alone without emotional support.
She found herself wanting to be a champion for the boy's cause, surely whatever he had done could not warrant Gritzl's outrage.
Gritzl was so hopping mad that the moment he turned his back for a second the boy managed to escape him.
"Get away from him, that boy is a menace. It was he who stabbed you in the outhouse," shouted Gritzl. He wagged his finger at the boy in a threatening manner.
