Who knew what would happen after stealing some bread from a street stall? Certainly not Nagan. Nothing out of the ordinary should have happened, considering stealing food to survive was the norm. But fate, destiny, karma, whatever you wanted to call...
From the moment Nagan had stepped into his office, Master Dagmire felt as if something was off. However, he couldn't exactly tell what. He was used to a boy who wore his emotions on his sleeves, despite his efforts not to, yet today he was guarded. It was rather alarming in fact.
He carefully set aside his paperwork. "Is something the matter?"
Nagan remained carefully blank, and it took a few moments before he replied. "Can you send me back to Korgany?"
"You mean," Master Dagmire began, "the town where the fae found you? You could ask the Arclovens to bring you there if you have some unfinished business."
There was a slight shift in Nagan's feet. Master Dagmire narrowed his eyes at him, knowing it was a sign of guilt. "You are going with them, are you not?"
"I...don't think I will."
"And why not?" Master Dagmire asked with a raised brow before softening his expression. "I think you forget that you're still a child and deserve to be taken in by a family, which the Arclovens are willing to do. You don't have to be alone any longer."
"I know that. I really do. I just..." Nagan trailed off slightly. "I need to do this alone."
He reached into his pocket and took out one of the anklets he wore. "I'm going to take what I have left of my mother's possessions and bury them in a special place. There was a saying she liked that said you must leave something behind in order to move on."
"Can I at least send you near that place instead of back at Korgany?"
"I wouldn't be a proper gypsy if I didn't travel there myself," Nagan said with a halfhearted smile.
Master Dagmire frowned. Something didn't feel right about this situation. Yet, he couldn't find it in himself to stop the boy either. "...As you wish. But is there somewhere I can send a fae to wait?"
"Tekanlab," Nagan resisted the urge to cough as blood began to trickle down his throat and quickly changed the subject. "I should probably tell the Arclovens about this."
"Hold on," Master Dagmire stood and began to shuffle around in his office. "If you're truly going alone, I want to give you a few things that should help you, especially since you're quite the magnet for trouble."
Nagan let out an indignant huff but didn't bother objecting.
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After a few days of preparation -- under Master Dagmire and the Arcloven's insistence that he should be prepared -- Nagan stood near the gate with the Az. The rest of the family stood a few yards away talking with another family, having already said their goodbyes to him. His school satchel now had a new use and was nearly filled with items such as emergency rations, healing salves, magic crystals, and a coin pouch the Arclovens gave him, saying it was enchanted so only he could open it and it was directly linked to their wealth. That was how they could still provide for him. Master Dagmire later added a secondary enchantment making it harder to steal from Nagan himself.
"Well...I guess this is goodbye," Nagan bowed awkwardly to the Az before turning towards the gate. He would've passed through it if it weren't for a hand grasping his arm. He glanced back with a questioning look to see Az looking away quite sheepishly.
"If you're still trying to convince me to stay--" Nagan began before Az suddenly shoved a small box into his hands.
"I'm not that dumb, I know how stubborn you are," Az nearly pouted. "It's just that...I remember that one time you explained how your culture used objects such as jewelry and other trinkets you can carry with you to symbolize a promise."
Curious to what could be making Az's cheeks burn so much, Nagan opened the box to find a pair of ruby studded earrings. With his eyes wide with surprise, he looked back up at Az who began to babble.
"You don't seem like someone to choose something very flashy, so I made sure to choose something small, but also red suits you just as well as purple. A-And I don't expect you to wear them since the earrings you wear now are special to you, but I just wanted you to promise me that you'll be safe and that you'll be back."
Nagan felt warmth spread through his chest and couldn't help but laugh. He quickly waved it way and gave an explanation. "Sorry, I'm not laughing at you. I'm just surprised you actually bothered to remember that. It makes me really happy actually. Here," He took one of the earrings from the box and gave it back to Az. "Since there's two of them, I'll give one to you. It can act as a reinforcement."
With an eager nod, Az slipped the stud into his pocket while Nagan carefully tucked the box with the other half into his satchel. Az pulled Nagan into another hug.
"Ok, ok," Nagan patted Az's back a few times signaling him to let go, which Az reluctantly obliged. "If it'll make you feel better, I'll send letters back to reassure you I'm still alive."
"You better," Az glared at him. "And don't purposely put yourself in danger."
Nagan couldn't help but roll his eyes and complain, "You've already given me this lecture. If I don't leave now, I'll never get to my destination."
"Fine...Just stay safe."
"I'll try," Nagan grinned and gave one last wave to Az before walking through the portal.
He stumbled and fell once through, but regained his senses quickly thanks to it being a normal portal instead of that horrid temporary portals. Brushing the dirt off his knees, he looked around and found that it was the exact location where he first met the fae.
"So you chose to go," the voice sounded almost astonished if not amused.
"Get out of my head," he ordered and began to make his way back to the main road, feeling the extra conscience retreat to the furthest edges of his mind.
END OF PART ONE
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Merry Christmas! With about 20 minutes to spare XD
At first I thought about doing some sort of Christmas special, but then I was like "Wait a sec, in this world there really isn't Christmas. Just New Years." So instead I just decided to complete part 1 since it was basically only one more chapter heh
But thank you all who've reached this far! I really wouldn't have gotten this far without you guys!
And don't worry! Part 2 should start within a few days!
