Save the night

|Chapter 1|

"Papa?" He did not look at me.

"I told you not to call me that. Call me sir." The big tall man in front of me, stirring a pot of brown smoosh, is my father. At least I think so.

"Sorry," I play with the dirty rag around my neck, "why do I have to do this, uh, sir?"

"So, you won't be easily seen," the big man walks too me with a steaming pot and wooden spoon, "If you have bright hair people will notice you, but if you have dark hair," He dumps a steaming glop on my head, "You won't be that noticeable. Easy to steal stuff when people don't notice you."

I scream in pain. I can feel the substance burning my skin, "But, I don't want to be a criminal!" He pours more on my head and starts rubbing it in. I hate him.

He stays quiet, ignoring my statement. His hands keep rubbing the brown sludge into my scalp. The sensation is awful. The way it moves around my head and how it is scorching, it is very unpleasing. Papa wraps my head in a rag so the sludge can cool. I stay still on the floor as the big man washes the pot in a bucket of water. The top of my head feels cooler, but it still burns when touched.

"While you wait for the tea to dry, go outside with Raht. You need more practice with the bow and arrow." His voice is stern and mean. Crossing my arms, I turn away from the door. "Go outside now or face the consequences."

I flung myself from the floor onto my feet, "I don't want to be a criminal!" Hot tears start to stream down my face. "I don't want to." Tears kept falling as my voice went to nothing. The room filled with my sobs, only my sobs.

"Shut up already," His scream pierced my ears and my sobs stopped, "Go outside right now. This is my last warning." I head outside. I can't dare to face him, so I keep my gaze low.

"I don't want to be a criminal," I whispered.

❋ ╹♔ ♕ ╹ ❋

A group of boys laugh as they jump in muddy puddles made by the rain. Their clothes are all muddy, but it still looks like their having fun. The rain continues, so did the boys. One boy had deep brown eyes that complemented his black hair. He seems nice.

"Close the window lance, you're going to get sick." The room becomes warm again as the window closes.

"Can I go play outside with the other kids, Throck?" In the corner of my eye, I can see the boys continuing to have fun.

"No," the tall man hands over my cape, "You and Raht need to go out and get some food in the village."

"Why can't I play with them," I cover my body with the dark cloth, "I'm thirteen I should be able to play with the other kids."

Throck walks up to me and pulls my hood up, "Those kids are a bad influence. You need to concentrate on your training." He starts to push me to the door and shoves a bag in my hand. "Now hurry, Raht is waiting for you."

He is waving at me to hurry as he pulls up his hood.

I don't want to be a criminal.

❋ ╹♔ ♕ ╹ ❋

The woods are a quiet and peaceful place. The way the trees loom above as if they're protecting you from every bad thing in the real world, or giving you shelter from the rain. It's relaxing, but not when you're trying to kill a man. The assignment is to lure him to the forest, shoot him, take everything on him, then drag a naked body where no one can find it. Unfortunately, this man broke the system. Before I could shoot him, he ran like he was excepting me. So now I'm chasing after a very fast man through an empty forest. I draw my bow back and aim while running fast after the man. I release the arrow and strike him in the leg. He screams in pain as he tries to crawl away. I wish the forest was peaceful for me. I run over to him and pull the arrow out of his leg.

"W-Who are you?" the short, stubbly man tries to move.

I crouch down beside him, "I'm just your average guy wandering through the forest. Now please don't scream, I hate it when people scream." I pull my dagger out and shoved it into his chest. His screams move the knife in my have, "I said don't scream dude," I pull the knife down his torso, tearing his skin, like a piece of fabric, "th-thanks for not screaming."

A single tear falls down my cheek. I strip the guy of everything on him. Some gold coins, jewelry, and a scroll. It must be important for me to kill this guy. I place all the items into a pouch that lays on my hip. I pull his body into a small pond that is hidden by and watch it drift into the middle. My job is done here. I walk through the forest, deep in the forest. I pass a mountainside. The path is very thin along the mountainside. Very. Thin.

On the way home there is a small village I have to pass. The people get suspicious of me since I'm not a local. Shops and houses line the road. On one of the shops, there is a sign of a hooded man with bright blue eyes. I am a criminal.

❋ ╹♔ ♕ ╹ ❋

"Hey Raht, Where's Throck?" Raht is currently carving new arrows for customers. I take my bow from under my cape and throw it on the table. Throck and Raht are childhood friends that opened up a weapons store to hide their illegal hobbies. So even though they're criminals they still need to keep up with their business.

"He went out to the castle. He'll be back soon." King Zarkon's castle peers through the window as if it was a sunrise. Our place is on a little hill that looms over the village. It's not big, but it's not too small.

I place my cloak on the back of my chair and start to take the string off my bow. The slight noise of Raht's knife carving the wood is the only thing keeping me sane right now. The image of that man still haunts my mind. Why do I have to do this? My leg nudges the bag on my hip. I untie it and let the items spill onto the table. Five gold coins. I keep recounting the coins as if I'm missing one. I take a look at the scroll he had attached to his belt. It looks like a faded map, but half of it is missing. The door swings open to Throck rushing in with blood dripping down his face, but he doesn't seem fazed by it. He pulls out a scroll from his coat and holds it out to me.

"The plan is a go. You ready, Lance?"

~----~

Man I love writing about lance he is my baby boy😍💙

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Until next time

Peace✌️