Gylessidra Origins: Debauchery Von Drekk

Chapter 2 - Choices

Children of various races and ages were running around the room yelling, squealing, jumping on beds, being generally unruly, and in the middle stood a young man and woman watching. The woman seemed a little nervous, and the man squeezed her hand in his, as they cast their gaze over each child, most of whom seemed clean but scruffy.

Leaning in, the gentleman whispered into her ear softly. "Are you sure you want this, sweetheart?"

She nodded and smiled at him, her anxieties showing in her eyes. "Yes dear, I just don't know if we can provide the level of time, focus and discipline that many of these poor children may need. I want us to give at least one of them a chance, but I want them to have the best chance."

The gentleman put a hand to her cheek and looked into her soft blue eyes for a second, before giving her a light kiss. "Of course."

They spent a little longer observing, occasionally walking around, approaching a few of the children to interact with them, and from the doorway a stern and sharp-featured older Elven woman stood with her arms crossed as she kept an eye on things. Eventually, beginning to lose hope they began to leave when suddenly the sound of a sneeze followed by a shrill yelp was heard, causing them to turn in time to see one of the children, a boy of around 6, running over to a group of his fellow orphans, a hand on his arm as he glared back into a bed situated in the far left corner of the room.

It wasn't the most well-lit corner, but the woman could just make out a small red shape accompanied by a pair of almond-shaped ruby red eyes that reflected the flicker of the candle sconces attached to the walls around the room, and she began to move towards them.

"I wouldn't if I were you." The stern Elven woman huffed. "Them kinds aren't welcome anywhere. No good if you're looking for an easy option, let me show ya some of the older kids who've learned a thing or two about manners."

"I'd like to see that one at least, it's a little difficult in the low light." The woman said, a determination overtaking her as she approached the bed in the corner.

This child, who looked to be about 4 years old, had a mess of black hair, two tiny bumps that protruded a little from either side of his forehead which would likely grow into horns, red skin, and although he was attempting to hold the cover of his bed sheet up to hide and peek over the top, she noticed a tail lined with occasional dark spines along the ridge of it, leading to a darker coloured diamond tip at the end of the appendage.

The woman sat carefully and slowly on the edge of the bed as her husband made his way over to join her, a hand on her shoulder. "Hi there, what's your name?" she half-whispered, her voice gentle and kind.

Red eyes blinked at her as the cover was slowly dropped from the child's face. "... Fergus."

"Hi Fergus, my name's Laurie Estebann. And this here is my wonderful husband, Terrance Estebann." At this, the man smiled and gave a little bow of his head to the boy on the bed. "Why are you here in the corner?"

Fergus sniffed. "Auntie says so. I have a cold, and when I sneeze my spikes hurt people." As if on cue, he breathed in a few sharp breaths, before sneezing again and the spines along his tail did indeed jolt upwards for a moment.

Laurie smiled warmly. "Oh, bless you Fergus."

"What for?"

"Well, that's what you say when someone sneezes."

"Oh..." He seemed to think for a moment. "Thank you."

Laurie at this point looked over her shoulder at Terrance, her smile growing as she whispered quietly to him. "I think Fergus might be perfect for us."

"What if Madam Herikos is right, and he isn't welcomed anywhere? We could give him everything, only for him to know judgement at every turn."

"Hush, Terrance. I don't see how anyone could dislike him with such a sweet disposition." she murmured, turning back to Fergus. "Hello, Fergus sweetie?" He stared at her and sneezed again, causing Laurie to chuckle. "Darling, would you like to come home with us, away from here? We have a lovely house, with plenty of room for a wonderful young man like you."

Fergus blinked, and he closed his eyes, furrowing his brow for a moment. "What if my spikes hurt?"

"Oh, don't worry about that, we'll be careful."

He seemed to ponder the offer for a moment longer, as Madam Herikos sighed irritably in the background, mumbling something to herself about rich people paying more attention to their money than sense. "Yes please, if that's okay." He said, nodding.

"Alright then," Terrance said, turning to the woman at the door with a grin. "We'll give Fergus here a home, and if possible we'd like to take him now. Much better for him to be away from the other children with that cold in any case, wouldn't you agree Madam?"

The woman scowled a little, but as Terrance handed over a bag of coins, her expression changed to a cool, aloof smile. "Very well, Lord Estebann. He didn't have much anyhow, so you can likely take his things with you too. Congratulations to you and your wife for your newest addition." And with that, she held the door open for them as Laurie helped Fergus gather up his things into a small bag, namely a blanket, some drawings depicting him using magic as well as a slightly worn plush teddy bear, yellow in colour with a blue bow around its neck. They left the orphanage, and began excitedly telling Fergus that they would be his new mother and father,  and that if there was anything he needed then he could tell them.

"Oh and Fergus, your drawings are lovely. Would you like to be a wizard someday?"

"I think so. Can I?"

"Of course you can, son, you can do anything you set your mind to." Terrance looked down into the boy's red gaze as he said this, tousling the mop of wavy hair atop his head, and as Fergus began to get excited about being a wizard someday he shared a look with Laurie and any doubt he had that this child would have a less than wonderful life were gone. They would give him every opportunity they could, and he would become a fantastic addition to the Estebann lineage, achieving things greater than they could ever dream to accomplish.