Lunar Flare Book 1: Crimson Moon

Chapter 13

Many years ago...

Cassian and his friends entered the church classroom, as loud and unruly as they usually were before the priestesses would tell them to settle down. But this time they needn't bother, as the group spotted something that made them all fall silent. Well actually, it was someone. A new student sat in one of the desks at the front of the classroom, on the far side.

The boy had pale skin, an angular face and very long dark hair. He was hunched over his desk somewhat, looking rather anxious. He glanced around the room and saw the group staring at him, which made his grey eyes go wide and he quickly looked away. Though after a few moments he peered back at them again to see if they were still looking at him.

Cassian overcame his surprise at seeing a newcomer and quickly strode over to the kid. The dark haired child, who looked to be around the same age as Cassian, visibly stiffened and cast his eyes down at his desk as Cassian loomed over him.

"Hey there, what's your name?" Cassian asked, placing his hands on his hips as he looked down at the kid.

The newcomer turned his head up to look at Cassian with confusion, not responding to the question.

"Hey, I asked, what's your name, new kid?" Cassian pressed, now crossing his arms over his chest.

The boy said something quietly in a foreign tongue, looking nervous.

"What, don't you speak common?" Cassian sneered in derision.

The kid just gave Cassian a look of complete non-understanding, cocking his head slightly to the side.

Cassian rolled his eyes, then pointed at himself. "Cassian," he said firmly. Then he pointed at the newcomer and raised an eyebrow in question.

The foreign student raised his own eyebrow, then pointed uncertainly at himself. "Balthasar..." he said slowly.

"Balthasar? That's a weird name," Cassian said dismissively, but Balthasar just continued to give him a confused look. "Ugh, whatever," he added with a shrug, then walked back over to his friends.

Cassian proceeded to talk and laugh with his friends about how weird the new student was as they took their usual seats in the class. While waiting for the priestess to be ready to teach, they kept looking over at him and jeering, while Balthasar kept glancing back at them with a worried look.

"That's enough boys," the priestess called out across the classroom from the front, giving them a stern look. She waited for a moment for all the students to settle down before she spoke again. "Today we have a new student joining us, who comes from very far away. His name is Balthasar, and he doesn't speak the common tongue but he will learn how to over time. Please be kind to him and make him feel welcome, as the gods would will it."

Cassian and his friends stifled their snickers, glancing over at Balthasar again, who was quietly watching the priestess with confusion.

Balthasar became an easy target for Cassian and his friends to pick on for a laugh. It was very easy to confuse him, and funny to watch him struggle to understand. Because he couldn't speak the same language as them, he didn't have any friends, and Cassian would find him always alone, keeping out of the way somewhere. But that just made it easier to give him a rough time without the priestesses finding out.

Cassian eventually learned that Balthasar had come to their kingdom alone, with no parents and nobody knew who he was. He lived in the church with the priestesses, and spent most of his time reading a single book he had brought with him in his own language, or scribbling in a notebook. Though Cassian also sometimes found him looking through the pages of illustrated books written in common, confusion marking his features.