Silver Infinity ((Kamukura X Komaeda))

Chapter Nineteen: The Fool And The Young King

His stomach rumbled, feet trudging on with no signs of stopping.
In his hands, he clutched a wooden box, the handles digging into his weak fingers.

"Ropes for sale!" His voice echoed over the crowd, eyes darting around. "Pre-tied knots for the lucky sailor, please, they're discounted too!"
Without thinking, the boy hurried up to a passerby and held out the box in hopes one of his possessions would be sold. The man could only look him down in disgust and shove the box harshly, forcing the male back and out of his way.
"Shit off, god damn beggar." The man fixed his proper jacket. "Queen should've killed you poor folk after the King was murdered. He was the only one that really gave a rat's ass about you and look where that got 'em. Don't expect me to be as kind."

"Wait-!" The boy tried to call, but the man had already vanished into the crowd. He wasn't a beggar, he was... He was a merchant. He'd traveled the world, he'd seen the seven seas, he was just... Down on his luck.
His ship had been robbed, all he could do was sell the last of what he had in hopes of pulling his life together again.
But it didn't seem like it was doing any good.

Truly... It wasn't even his ship, it had been his parents before they were killed, but he liked to think he was a part of something greater. That he was more than just a... A nameless cabin boy pretending he was worth a damn pig's shit.
"You're..." He bit his lip, trying to prevent his shoulders from shaking as he could feel tears stinging his eyes. Suddenly, he swallowed, showing a wide grin before chuckling. "You're right, you're so right, good sir! I'm nothing, my parents didn't even give me a name, my gut be-" Before he finished, the boy stopped himself upon noticing he had cleared the area around him.

He found eyes staring him down, both in fear and disgust, nobody coming close to the boy any longer.
It only took a moment for their eyes to return to the road ahead, leaving the merchant boy to be utterly ignored.
It was worthless, wasn't it?
The thought crossed his mind over and over. No matter what he did, he would never get his life back.
A feeling of rage bubbled over the rotting feeling of despair in his gut before he found himself chucking the box against the closest building wall, causing the box to shatter into splinters and the ropes to fly in all directions.
And even then, not a single person offered even a glance.

It wasn't unexpected, at least. What proper Englishman would give attention to someone that was acting mentally ill on the disease-ridden streets?
The boy sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets and began away.
If there was nothing he could do, why should he try?

Perhaps he could resort to robbery, but only pirates would do such a dastardly thing, and nobody wanted to be assumed a pirate in the current day.
Not after a pirate shed the King's blood, stole his last breath, in front of the population mere weeks ago.
His foot caught in something, causing him to trip and nearly fall. As the boy looked down, he found one of the ropes had wrapped around his foot.
The world only continued to tease him, didn't it?

With a sigh, he pulled it off himself and clutched it tightly as he continued dragging his feet down the brick path.
Is this what he deserved for thinking he could be someone, do something?
Even after pirates killed his parents and robbed his ship, he couldn't hate them. In fact, he admired them.
He could still remember the look the Captain gave him as the sword was pointed at his throat.
It was so calm, so collected, his golden-green eyes had looked him down, barely looking older than himself.
His brunette hair shining under the sun, it felt like an eternity in an instant before his sword was pulled back, and the pirate ran off, sparing his life.