Secrets Within the Estate

10

Everyone looked at Caspian.

One of the men looked at him and spat out, "Whatcha yellin for, eh?! He was gonna-"
"Going to what?!" Caspian took a step forward. "What was he going to do?!"
"He was eyein' the jewelry on my stand! Anyone can see he's a thief!"

"Get off of him!"
"Why, huh?" Another one of them asked. "Slaves are okay to be beaten, ya know? Haha!"
"He's not a slave, get off of him!"
"Are you stupid? Everyone knows who this guy is! He's the slave that-"
"I SAID GET OFF OF HIM!"

"NO NEED TO YELL!!" One of them mocked him.
"Get off of him while I'm still being nice. He's not a slave; He's a free man." Caspian Looked down at Liam.
He was still laying there, watching Caspian as the men continued to step on him.

"I TOLD YOU TO GET OFF! DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?! IF YOU KNOW HIS FACE, THEN YOU SURE AS HELL SHOULD KNOW ME! IM THE ONE IN CHARGE OF THIS GODDAMNED TOWN!" Caspian yelled as he stormed over to them and pushed them all off of Liam.
Everyone looked at Caspian with strange faces, as if they didn't believe him.

"Do you not believe me?!" He yelled as he helped Liam off the ground.
The only response he got was from one of the men who was kicking Liam: "Why are you defending a slave, huh?!"

"I told you, he's not a slave!" Caspian yelled as he grabbed Liam's arm and pulled up his sleeve, revealing the brand on his bicep.

There was a collective gasp and then shush.
"Believe me now?!"
Liam quietly started to talk, "S-sir, you-" but was cut off by the man who accused him of stealing.
"So what if he's a free man? He was still eyein' my stuff. Once a thief, always a thief! You can't- Agh!"

Caspian walked up to the man and punched him in the mouth. "Stop shit talking!"
The man spat out blood before saying, "You'll regret that, rich boy. Just cause you got money don't mean you get to cause a scene!" The man yelled.
"Then stop talking shit. If all you use your mouth for is talking shit, then you don't need one." Caspian punched him again.

This time, the man fought back, landing a punch on Caspian's shoulder.
"Is hitting me on my shoulder the best you can do, huh? That's nothing." Caspian threw another punch.

Soon enough, a fought broke out between Caspian and the men who had been attacking Liam. Words had lost their place.

Liam didn't know what to do. Try to help? Call for help? Call authorities? Try to intervene? He didn't know. In result, he stood and watched for several minutes before making a decision.
After taking a moment to steel himself, he said, "S-sir, stop," but he wasn't loud enough.
"... C-Caspian! Stop!" Still not loud enough.

He took a deep breath and yelled, "Caspian Fae! Stop it right now!"

Everyone froze and became silent.

Everyone knew the name Fae. They knew that the Fae family was in charge of the whole town and almost half of the country.
The men fighting Caspian immediately backed away. "Y-You're-"
"I TOLD YOU WHO I WAS!" Caspian yelled as he wiped blood from his nose.

The men all got on their knees to beg for forgiveness. But Caspian's response was not forgiveness. "Apologize to him, not me. Right now. Bow five times and press your forehead six times." He said as he pointed at Liam.
"Y-yes sir!" The men rushed over to Liam and got on their knees, following Caspian's orders.

Liam started to say, "Y-you don-"
"Your forehead isn't on the ground." Caspian said as he walked up to one of the men and pressed his foot on the back of his head.
"I-I'm s-sorry-!"
"If you're sorry, then learn how to kneel and bow correctly."

Caspian's tone sent chills down Liam's back.

"Y-yes S-sir!"
After the men completed the five bows, they all backed away, apologizing.
"I a-apologize... Y-You can have anything from my shop with no price as a-"
"N-no. All your jewelry is f-fake; even I can see th-that. Only an idiot w-would b-buy from you..." Liam said as he grabbed Caspian's arm and started walking away.