"Look at him.... I wonder what happened to him?"
Many people threw glances and whispered under their breath.
Some of them were filled with pity and others simply mocked the boy as passed by with a noticeable limp in his step.
His ash-brown shoulder length hair hung over his face masking his purple bruised swollen eye and just barely hiding the dried blood from his nose.
Despite this he had a well defined jawline and hidden behind his hair were red crimson eyes that appeared glassy with despair.
His white shirt was blood stained as he held his left arm which seared with pain with each step he took.
His fair skin was littered with bruises that ached each passing moment.
Finally Evian reached the place he had called home for now seven years. He opened the door and he was met with a woman with a stern face.
Her blonde hair flowed down her back reaching just above her plump shapely was that trickled down to long shapely legs. She had wide child bearing hips from which hung a long brown skirt that reached her ankles.
Her voluptuous bust seemed ready to burst out of the black turtle-neck sweater that were restraining them.
Her crystal blue eyes that seemed to span endlessly coupled by her small facial features made her enviably beautiful and seemed to make her appear ten years younger than she was.
Her anger dissipated from her face as she sighed at seeing Evian in a pitiful state.
With a wave of her hand his wounds magically disappeared from his body as a wave of relief washed over him.
"Thanks" he said as he walked past her and went to his room with the gloomy looks from before still present.
****
Evian lay on his bed in the foetal position.
He looked over to the left of his room and on the wall was mounted a sword sheath.
He sighed as he looked at it as if he had hoped it would grant him a way to deal with his current predicament.
"Dinner's ready!!"
That knocked Evian out of his trance as he realised that a lot of time had passed.
He sluggishly got out of bed and went down stairs.
*****
Dinner was taken in silence as usual as once again they had both failed to start a conversation.
As Evian cleared the table.
"You know it doesn't matter to me if you can or can't become a Wanden..... just as long as your safe."
Evian's heart nearly skipped a beat.
He rarely talked to this woman yet she was still caring and loving towards him despite his weakness.
His heart ached.
It ached because he felt guilty.
He did not deserve this woman's love and care.
All he had done was be a burden to her for the last seven years.
But still it was moments like this that he cherished the most as his guilt was quickly replaced with happiness and gladness.