Jarek came down from the carriage before turning to bow to the man inside. "Thank you, Master Osric."
Master Osric, a well-built middle-aged man, smiled a wide smile. "It's the least I could do for my favorite student." His eyes then looked up, scanning the village in the distance. "However, I will advise you not to stay too long. Such a place doesn't suit you. When you finish your apprenticeship, I will help you find a way to move your family to the city."
In shock, Jarek straightened. His mouth opened a few times as he tried to speak but failed each time. In the end, he settled for something simple. "Thank you, sir!"
Master Osric nodded at Jarek before rapping his knuckles on the wooden seat of the carriage. Outside the servant leading the carriage waved goodbye to Jarek before spurring the horses into action.
Jarek waved back, waiting on the side of the dirt road as he watched the carriage rapidly move away. Then, taking a deep breath, he turned to face the village, a happy smile adorning his features. The familiar scents of the fields filled his nostrils as the wind ruffled his hair, as though it were welcoming him home.
"There's no place like home," he muttered to himself, his voice carrying a sense of nostalgia as he gazed at the village on the horizon. He had left two years ago, hoping to escape the fate of being stuck here forever, and while he had not achieved that yet, he had made substantial progress. He imagined the smiles that would light up his family's faces when they saw him, and his heart swelled with emotion. He took deep breaths to calm himself, and then he began walking toward it.
Before long he arrived at the entrance to the village. The village is arranged in a circle with a very wide center. Located in the center are poorly built and poorly stocked shops where the villagers trade. After that are the workshops where the blacksmiths, carpenters and more practice their trade. And then, some distance from that are the houses where the villagers live. A well-swept dirt road connected everything together.
It was a summer afternoon, and as such, most of the villagers were indoors, either in their shops or in their homes. Because of that, Jarek's return was a mostly quiet affair. The few who did see him, however, rushed to greet him with contagious excitement.
As he neared his home on the outskirts of the village, a shrill shout startled him. "Jarek!"
That was all the warning he got before a large, middle-aged woman barreled into him and enveloped him in a hug. Laughing, Jarek greeted her. "Mrs. Tamsy, how do you do?"
After a few seconds, she let him go and pulled on his cheek. "You silly boy, you should have written to tell us you were coming back; we would have been ready that way."
"I wanted to surprise you all."
Shaking her head slightly, she sighed. "You children of nowadays. Well, I have to go take care of my chickens, but I'll drop by when I am free this evening. Now go on, I'm sure your mother would love to see you."
He waved goodbye to her and kept walking. Soon, his house came into view. With his face lit up in a smile, Jarek moved up close and listened. Within, he could hear his sisters chattering, and his mom's voice, though more muted, replied intermittently.
With his heart pounding, Jarek pushed open the door and walked in. A mix of familiar smells hit him, making him tear up as various memories flitted through his mind. The aroma of food was the most prominent, leading him to believe that they must have just finished lunch, which was strange. His family was far from well-off; to be blunt, they were poor, and lunch was an occurrence as rare as a blood moon. Which made this all the more strange since today wasn't a special day.
The living room was a small and modestly furnished place. Warm sunlight streamed in from the windows with rolled-up curtains, giving the room a warm and cozy feeling. The wooden floorboards bore marks of time and use, a testament to the family living within.
In the center of the room, but slightly skewed toward the walls, was an old table, surrounded by three equally old chairs, their seats showing signs of frequent repairs. In a corner lay a small bench, its cushion long since faded and torn in certain places.
Directly in front of the table was a fireplace, its hearth covered up since it wasn't yet winter. Besides the fireplace lay two unlit lanterns, waiting for night to fall so they might fill the room with their warm glow.
The room was far removed from the luxury commonly seen in the cities, but it exuded an atmosphere of peace and love which caused Jarek to feel nostalgia all over again, despite already having arrived home.
Jarek looked around, trying to find his sisters, when his eyes fell on a strange man. It was the first time he found himself unable to tell the age of someone. The man looked very young, as though he were still in his early twenties, but something about the way he carried himself suggested he was much older. His dark skin was as smooth as a noble's, and his face bore a distinct lack of facial hair. He did, however, have a full head of silky black hair, which dropped down past his shoulders; it was tied up in a neat ponytail.
In his hands, he carried a small stack of plates. As he moved, cleaning up the table where they had obviously just eaten, Jarek couldn't help but wonder: was he the reason for the lunch?
The man looked up and smiled at Jarek as he entered the living room. "Jarek, you're finally here. Welcome."
Immediately, his guard went up. In the city, apart from his studies, he had also learned to distrust people. After gaining his Master's favor, it hadn't taken long for some friends to turn into enemies, jealous of him. If not for the help of some true friends, he might have been kicked out by his Master, if not worse. Now there was a random man in his house, who somehow knew exactly who he was despite never having seen Jarek before, and also wasn't surprised by Jarek's presence here. Very suspicious.
"Who the hell are you?" Another thing he had learned, it was pointless to be polite to enemies, and until he knew more, this man classified as one.
The man paused as a guilty expression appeared on his face. He looked pointedly away from Jarek and walked into the kitchen. But Jarek wasn't going to allow him to walk away so easily.
Taking a step forward, Jarek intended to confront him when the man turned around and stared him in the eyes. Jarek froze as his mind went blank, and he became immobile. A few seconds later, the man turned around and left, while Jarek remained standing there for a few seconds more.
Jarek soon returned to himself and shook his head a bit. He looked suspiciously around his home, getting a faint feeling that he had forgotten something and but struggling to remember what it was. Before he could recall what it was, his train of thought was broken by his two little sisters screaming his name as they rushed to hug him.
"Esme, Alisa!" Jarek bent to his knees as he squeezed his sisters tightly, unable to stop a loving smile from blooming over his face. This time it was leagues more difficult for him to stop himself from crying.
The city with all its beauty and opulence was a cold-hearted place where everyone looked out for themselves. Finding himself back in his home and holding his sisters in his arms filled him with so much emotion that his voice began to break. It had only been two years, but those two years had been long and hard.
"Jarek, when did you come back?"
This time, hearing his mom's voice, Jarek couldn't hold back his tears and rose to hug her while the droplets fell from his face. "Mom."
Gently stroking his head, his mom let out a laugh. "I didn't think you'd miss us this much."
"Of course I'll miss you all, you're family." Jarek finally backed away. Finally his emotions began to calm.
"That reminds me, this is Reynard." She moved to the side, allowing Jarek to see a dark-skinned young man standing behind her. He looked more noble than the nobles Jarek had glimpsed in the city. "He's a traveler passing through these parts, he's headed to... to..." She turned to face Reynard, a look of confusion on her face.
"Somewhere far away," Reynard helped her. "I would say the name, but you probably haven't heard of it. Hello, Jarek." Reynard held out a hand for a handshake.
Jarek didn't shake it immediately, as he stared silently at Reynard. Something was wrong; he could feel it, but he couldn't tell exactly what. The most he could figure out was that Reynard looked familiar, as though he had seen Reynard before. Either way, all he knew was that something about Reynard rubbed him the wrong way, and he didn't trust him.
Reaching out, Jarek shook hands with Reynard.