Pay the Price

Chapter 1- Boy in the Window

On the day before the night of Adhi Aetos' fifth birthday, his three older siblings, Delilah, Connor, and Myrah, took him out to town. As per the tradition, he would receive a family heirloom after blowing out his candles. He was very excited for the night.

And his siblings thought it would be good to take him out so he could make friends to channel out his energy. They did it to fill the void that was empty because of the absence of a missing family member. Their missing brother.

The three eldest siblings watched their younger brother make conversations with other children, until Connor got bored, and looked around. Myrah followed suit. Their movements soon fell into synchronisation whenever they turned their heads.

Eventually, their eyes went to somewhere forbidden. There was one particular house that was forbidden to go to as it belonged to the most dangerous family in the town. The Zandailias'. One of the family members was once a Rahayn, but no one knew who it was. They lived in a large house that was structured from wood and timber with a dark paint coating, moss and vines crawling up the walls like fungus.

It looked incredibly run down. The windows were cracked, and panes were falling to the ground. But that was just the outside of the house. In the backyard, there was a sword sticking out of the ground. They knew it was a grave of sorts, but no one had any idea who it was for. The family rarely left their home.

Connor looked to one of the lesser broken windows where he noticed a young, maybe teenage, boy. The boy looked around ten or eleven years old, but he was far too tall to be a preteen. He tapped Delilah's shoulder, then pointed to the window. The boy was also looking around. But from how he was looking, he appeared almost blind.

He was very tall and gangly, around the same height as the siblings' father, who was quite tall for his family heritage. The boy was too thin, and too pale. His hair fell to his waist and would've been straight if it were brushed. He looked like Myrah and Connor. He looked like... Christopher Aetos.

But it couldn't be him. Christopher was believed to be dead, but somewhere, deep down, the three siblings knew it were possible their brother was alive. He noticed their stare, and he ducked away from the window. He was frightened.

Seeing that young boy in the window brought tears to the eyes of Delilah, Connor, and Myrah. It gave them hope, whether better or for worse, that their brother was alive. That they could find him and bring him home safe and sound. That they could take care of him.

Adhi, the youngest, tugged his eldest sister's skirt, so the three turned to him, immediately putting on smiles so he wouldn't suspect anything.

"What are the heirlooms for, 'Lilah?" He asked, curiosity in his eyes as he asked. He was genuinely curious, unsurprising as he was only five. Connor knelt down to be at eye level with his brother, trying to think of an explanation. "What is mine going to be?"

"I'm not sure, Adhi. The only one who knows is grandmother. It can be quite a strange heirloom too. I have a spyglass, and I'm not really sure how to use it. Myrah has a pair of earrings, and Delilah has grandmas wedding gown, which she wore at her wedding. The heirlooms themselves are to show the semblance and meaning of family through generations. I think your heirloom may be one that belonged to either grandmother or grandfather." He told Adhi, holding out his hand for a high five.

Before anything else could be done, Adhi asked another question. A question he was slightly more nervous to ask.

"What was Christopher's heirloom?" His voice was quiet as he asked, as if scared for any negative reaction. He knew about the second youngest member of the Aetos family and what happened to him; the family prayed every day for his return. A prayer that was very unlikely. It had been ten years.

After the third year of Christopher's disappearance, people believed he was dead. The country was put into mourning after the disappearance, as well as many other countries. Including Greece.

"His heirloom was an amulet. It had a palace carved into it with a tree next to it and a path in front of it." Myrah responded, holding out her hand for him to hold onto. "He would love to be there tonight. The amulet vanished with him as well."

Adhi nodded at the answer he received, then went to walk away, but his siblings didn't move.

They looked back to the window as their younger brother skipped off towards their mother, and yet again, they saw that the boy was there, glancing around the village. There was an extremely distinct feature that gave them hope of their brother being alive. A feature only Christopher had in their entire hometown.

His visible eye was baby blue.

~

When happy birthday was being sung to Adhi, he had his three siblings by him, which reminded the three of Christopher, who had Delilah sit with him when the triplets were five.

He blew out the candles, and his family heirloom, an A5 journal, was handed to him. Adhi opened the journal, reading its many contents. Some pages dated as far back as the thirteenth century. Due to his age, Adhi didn't understand the larger words, nor the cursive, but he loved the journal. He thought it looked really cool.

Before any photos could be taken of Adhi, he looked down with confusion. Connor noticed, so he also looked down, finding a skinny, almost skeletal puppy. He knelt down, picking the puppy up, who was quivering and shaking as he was held. He was pitch black and tiny.

"Gosh, you're so frail." Connor commented. "Do you have..." he checked the puppy's neck, "no collar. Must be a stray. Well, you're my puppy now, I'm keeping you." He said, holding the pup to his chest, rubbing behind his ears. "I'm naming you... what should I name you?" He looked at the puppy closely, then turned to Adhi. "What do you think?"

"Um, how about... Waffle?" Adhi suggested, scratching behind the puppy's ears. "He has a heart mark under his eye." He pointed out.

At their brother's words, Delilah, Connor, and Myrah looked at Waffle's face. Indeed, in his fur, there was a white heart mark under his left eye. Myrah gently held Waffle, noticing his eyes. Baby blue, the left being watery, like there was tears there. The left iris was also turned inwards, and the colour was much paler, a sign of blindness. An injury to the eye.

Myrah knew those eyes. She knew where those eyes were from. She exited the room, going to get food for Waffle.

"Why do you have that mark there?" She questioned as she put him on the floor. As no one was around, Waffle began changing. Myrah almost screamed in fear as the pup changed to a boy. An injured boy. "Oh my gosh, are you okay?" She frantically asked him, noticing his dirty and dishevelled appearance.

The boy looked at her, closing in on himself. He didn't know if she'd harm him or not. Myrah was confounded by how it was possible a human could become an animal, but she was more concerned for his wellbeing. His left iris was paler than the right and turned inwards, and he was having trouble seeing. He had to use his hand to navigate.

"Are you..." he began speaking, shuffling away a bit, "Myrah Aetos?" He asked quietly, his voice raspy and damaged. The moment he asked that question, Myrah knew exactly who he was. She also recognised his behaviour. No eye contact, reacting badly to the kitchen lights, fiddling, and shaking.

"Christopher?" She whispered, taking a gentle hold on his hand. He nodded at her, sighing shakily as she hugged him tightly. "You're so thin. And so injured. What happened to you? Oh, my goodness." She questioned, helping him stand. She got him a coat, giving it to him so he could warm up more than his thin, very bloodied clothing could do. He was shivering a lot. He was also struggling to stand, so leaned against the wall.

"I..." he thought about what to say, "can't describe it." He murmured. "I don't have very good speech." He told her, clutching the coat. "Please don't tell anyone... I'm here. I can't have anyone know. They're here. The people who took me."

Myrah was conflicted. Her brother was right in front of her, alive, but broken. He was so broken. It should've been something to tell everyone, but something told her that Christopher didn't want to be discovered for a reason. A very good reason.

"Okay. I won't. But I have a question for you." She said quietly in case anyone walked past. "How did you turn into an animal?" She questioned him, holding him up to assist him in walking.

"I don't know."