All Just a Cost.

Chapter 2

-"Even if a book has become tattered and old, that doesn't mean it's ever a bad thing."

        Awakening abruptly from his sleep, the small and frail child's breaths could be heard raggedly moving through the air. He felt his hand grip at his chest as he attempted to regain control over the situation. Meddling about in the dark, his hands stumbled around for a candle. Once he had found what he was looking for, his eyes lingered over to where he assumed his lighting rock would be. Sparking the rock and igniting the candle, he was made aware of his surroundings once more. He glanced over to the tattered book that lay next to him. It was the only thing he could keep in his room with him, other than his torn apart blanket. Pushing himself against the boards that made up what was his wall, he brought his legs closer to him. Pulling the book into his lap, he opened the leathery cover, revealing words scribbled onto a page.

 The book was worn and old, the pages had become stiff over time. However, this was his favorite book, and the only one he had. Reading over the words and turning the pages carefully, he made his best effort not to wear the book down any further. As his eyes moved across the page, he listened to the soft breeze outside. The story read about a young girl who was quite fragile. 

The girl had worked as a caretaker to the horses of a well-known wizard. Oftentimes she would wander into the wizard's room, drawn in by the smell of potions and alchemy. Once the wizard would find her in his chambers, however, she would be tossed back out to her post, ordered to work once more. One day, however, she had run from her farm post. She treaded through the forest, unknowing of where she was going, or where she would end up. 

Finding herself upon a hut in the murky woods, she could smell that all familiar smell of potion brewery. Her feet led her through the straw door, and inside she discovered a witch. The witch turned to her, confused as to why a little girl had entered her house. The girl pleaded to the witch, asking for the power to help those who were mistreated by those at the top. The witch agreed and asked her what she desired to help her in her conquest. Showing a smile on her face, the girl replied that her first step needed was to kill the very wizard who had done her wrong. Chuckling to herself, the witch nodded and handed the girl some bottles filled with concoctions of different sorts. There were 3 bottles, the witch had explained that the bottle with the blue tint would give her power, and instructed the girl to drink it. The bottle with the red fluid would kill the wizard should it be slipped into his drink, and the yellow bottle would have to be consumed by the girl after the wizard's death. 

Thanking the witch, the girl ran back home, two bottles in hand. She convinced the maiden who worked to serve their wizard owner to slip the red concoction into his drink. Shortly after, alarms were pulled and the wizard was found dead, poisoned, and decaying. The girl remembered the witch's instructions and drank the yellow fluid. However, the girl felt no different, and upset with what happened, she planned to go back to the witch and get an explanation. 

Despite this, the girl was quite tired, and went to sleep, agreeing with herself to make that move tomorrow. Once the girl awoke, however, she found herself surging with energy, feeling refreshed and renewed. She believed that the witch had not, in fact, been lying to her. The story then ended on her conquest, going around and saving the weak from the overbearing powerful.

 Closing the book, the small child heard a door slam from outside his room. He assumed that his father had gotten home. Not long after the door slam, his mother and father had begun arguing once again. Cradling the book in his arms, he made meager attempts to rock himself back to sleep. Dreading the next day ahead he tried to get any sleep that he could. And finally, once he had laid back down, despite his parents bantering in the background, his eyes grew heavy once more. He thought of how his birthday was coming up soon and tried to imagine what fun he might have on that day. As his thoughts ran rampant throughout his mind, his eyes closed, and he drifted off to sleep once again.