Melodic Tale (BL)

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The rope that bound the three children was decently thick and was hard to break. Nonetheless, as soon as the three new servants were led away from the market and into a more remote area of the city, he undid them.

The black-eyed youth watched each of them and chose his first words carefully towards the three younger children.

"You can go if you want. Run away to a faraway land, get your revenge, runaway with the person you love, do whatever you want. However, keep in mind that if you run away the authorities will mark you as runaway servants, and you'll have to be on the run for a long time before they forget about you. You won't have anywhere to live, any money to make, food to eat or clothing to where, but you'll be free. Or you can follow me, and I guarantee you'll have all of those and more. You're free to do as you wish," Tian Lan announced as he strolled away.

The servants followed behind Tian Lan, knowing full well that he was right. His feet stopped mid-step and he briskly turned around.
"Do you have names?" he asked.
"Of course you have names, let's change that question, what are your names?" Tian Lan said as he answered his own question.
The boy replied to him "One, two and three are our names."
Tian Lan looked at the children, not sure what emotion he ought to feel at that statement.
'One, two and three, were they abandoned or something? Who names their children numbers?'
"From now on, you have new names, they will be...Athena-" he announced pointing at the youngest child hoping she, who although was filthy, would grow up to be a beauty. "-Aphrodite-" after thinking a while, he believed that the Greek gods would fit them because he believed they would grow up to have the same traits as the gods. "-and...Apollo," he finished. Apollo god of the sun, because he was obviously the sun of the two girls. Lucky guy. Tian Lan had received enough of Ao Lian's memories to recall the basic of Greek history and a good grasp on reading and writing both Chinese and English.
"um...excuse me for asking...master, but how old are you?" Apollo asked.
"Six, turning seven this year," Tian Lan replied.
The three children widened their eyes in shock. Their new master, both intelligent and regal, was only older then they themselves were by two years!
Their 'master' motioned for them and lead them back to the family's small wooden house that they were to live in. His father was in the fields, but his mother was waiting eagerly for Tian Lan inside. When he went inside, he unloaded the fruit he'd bought from the market and cradled the eagle in his arms. He gingerly led the three new servants into the house with light steps to avoid his mother's detection. His mother raised his head and gaped while looking at the three new additions.
"Why are there three kids following you, Lan?" she asked in a calm voice with boiling tension.
"Servants."
"Why did they have to be children?"
"All three costed me twenty copper, they'll grow and they're quite pretty as well."
Behind them, Athena and Aphrodite both blushed, and odd scene, but one could think of them as pretty even if they were covered in dirt and wore nothing but rags.
"You can ask your father tonight, I'm not sure he'll be too happy with having three more mouths to feed."
"Then is it alright if I feed them?"
"You! How will you, a six year old child feed them?"
"Mother, haven't you realized I always have my way?"
His mother sighed. It was true, he always got his way. Worry lines began to show on her forehead as she began contemplate all the things that could go wrong.

His mother waved her hand in a dismissive manner and said exasperatedly, "Do whatever, but keep your promise of feeding their mouths."

Tian Lan nodded and smiled. He lead the three children into a smaller room.
"My room. There are some clothes over there, I'll teach you how to wash them by yourself, so pick up the clothes and leave anything you don't need or wish to keep safe here."

The three new servants looked dumbfounded for a minute before realizing that they'd been entrusted with a job. They cautiously went to pick up the clothes noting the roughness as similar to that which they wore. More accurately, their clothes had once been as soft and supple as the clothes they currently held in their hands, but turned rough and grimy after countless miles over rough terrain in overcrowded cages. There were four or five sets of clothes, outer, middle and inner garments* all made of the same material. The three trudged behind Tian Lan as he walked towards the river. The river was about six minutes away, and before they could see the river, the sounds of the fish diving in and out, water sliding over rocks and gushing past trees could be heard. The birds were chirping in the wind and stopped ominously when Tian Lan had reached the shore. He filled his two buckets with water and placed them at his feet. Next, he went through a step-by-step example of how washing clothes should be done. Afterwards, he gave them a go while monitoring each of them carefully, so that they didn't rip apart the precious clothes. His family was the better off of the commoners, but even they struggled a bit with paying tax. Spending over forty coppers a day could lead to the family staving over winter, so precious clothes couldn't be wasted. After washing the clothes, Athena hung them up to dry. 

[a/n] In ancient China there is an outer garment like a cloak, a middle garment like a shirt and undergarment like underwear, but the Chinese garments are floor length and their hair is left long.

Tian Lan suddenly turned around with an evil grin on his face.