Chapter Text
Hello. My name is Caladrel.
And I would like to start by apologizing for accidentally helping start the apocalypse.
But we’ll get back to that later.
I live in Thleemthleel. Yes, I know. It’s a bit of a mouthful. Most people just call it “The Kingdom of the Gods” and trust me, no one was objecting to that.
The magnificent, dazzling kingdom was located at the heart of Fain, just smack-dab in the middle of the country. It was the pinnacle of the country, Fain’s pride and joy. Besides being famous for having a name no one bothered trying to say, it was one of the oldest remaining Kingdoms from the Dark Ages along with being the only one still in pristine condition. The Royal Family had been residing within the castle’s walls for centuries, the town around the castle had kept expanding for hundreds of years until the massive wall had been built around the castle and its bustling city.
It was my home. I knew I was born in a little town called Heria. We had migrated here when I was four years old. I don’t remember what it was like in Heria or what life was like outside the kingdom.
I often wondered what the outside world was like. Was it as dangerous as everyone told us? Ma always told me that if you knew what you were doing or had good people to guide you, nothing bad would happen to you.
Were goblins a thing? Or was it another tall tale that parents told their children in order to get them to come home when it got dark?
I knew Orcs were a thing, there was a bakery run by one near the outskirts of the Marketplace. Goblins couldn't be that far off from an orc.
Maybe Agathon had a book with a drawing of a Goblin inside. I’d stop by and look tomorrow after I helped Ma open the shop. He always let me hide out in his store, looking through his books. He loved showing me various creatures that shared my world, a world that seemed so vast.
Now that I had started thinking about the outside world, I couldn’t make myself stop. Did the other countries teach their history like it was a religion? Were the other countries still monarchies? Ma and Agathon both never talked about politics. Ma travelled frequently to the outside world, but she didn't talk much about it.
What did they think of Fain and Thleemthleel? What did the rest Fain think of Thleemthleel?
The loud ringing coming from the Bell Tower made me quicken my pace. It stopped after a startling six rings. Six already? I glanced up towards the sky to see that the sky was slowly changing from bright blue to a dull orange. It was almost sun-down.
How did the sun set? My teachers always told me that Ashura was behind the movement of the sun. The Goddess of the Sun was worshipped at the Winter and Summer Solstice along with her wife Lunara.
Ma said that science was behind it, not a goddess. She’d then scoff and remark that my teachers needed to remove the blindfold that they had placed over their eyes.
I was thinking too much…
Ma said thinking was good, she said that it showed I wasn’t a blithering idiot who blindly believed everything that was said to me.
My teachers strongly disagreed.
Ma would then insult them to their faces, and my teachers would retaliate by shooting back equally insulting, unflattering remarks.
Ma and my teachers didn’t seem to get along all that well.
“Watch it.” Someone snapped as I bumped into them.
“Ah, sorry-” I bumped into someone else as I tried to apologize to the stranger who was already gone. “Ack! Sorry!”
“Move it, kid,” He snapped, shoving me aside to keep walking down the cobblestone street.
I sighed and kept running, trying to keep my attention on where I was going. I needed to stop letting my mind wander all the time.
I winced as the sun poked its pesky head from out behind an apartment, it’s bright rays stabbing me in the eye. While I was temporarily blinded, I tripped over a loose cobblestone and stumbled forward. I managed to steady myself until something rammed into me. I made the mistake of grabbing at the closest thing to me in an attempt to stop myself from falling.
This feels like someone’s sleeve I thought before someone’s foot connected with my stomach.
The next thing I knew, I was sprawled on the ground, no doubt looking very dignified as I groaned in pain.
As things came back into focus, the thing that immediately caught my attention was the pair of heterochromatic blue and golden eyes that were looking down at me. The fragile-looking person staring down at me had bags under his eyes and was tugging on the end of his shirt’s sleeve.
As much as I wanted to focus on them, my stomach and abs were screaming in agony.
Who knew being kicked in the stomach hurt so much?
This was my fault. I shouldn’t have been running. But! In my defense, I hadn’t expected someone to run into me. Also, who the heck kicks people?!
In their defense, I probably scared them when I grabbed them. I mean, who likes strangers grabbing them?
“Oh gods above, I am so sorry!” My attacker panicked, bending down to help me.
“It's… It's fine…” I managed to gasp out, accepting his outstretched hand.
His fingers wrapped around my wrist, and I was yanked to my feet. He was surprisingly strong for someone who looked like a small gust of wind could knock them over.
“Are you, are you sure?” The stranger stammered. “I can go… go get someone.”
I looked up at them, trying to smile, but my heart nearly skipped a beat when I got a good look at his face.
Oh gods…
What happened to them?!
I gave them a quick one-over. He was male, I think. His curly sandy-brown hair seemed to perfectly frame his face, and someone had managed to weave a few strands of his hair into the smallest braid I had ever seen. It was barely noticeable, hidden amongst his curls. His simple, long-sleeved, blue shirt was two sizes too big for him and his tan leggings were stitched back together in multiple places. His knee-high leather boots were the only part of his outfit that seemed to be in pristine condition.
None of this really set him apart from the crowd. Well, he was attractive, but attractive people exist.
Well, I don’t know… He had really pretty eyes, the kind of eyes that make you think Wow, I’m never going to be the same again. They really shook you to your core. The blue reminded me of the depths of the clear river that ran through the kingdom, and the gold was more striking than a shining, pure gold necklace.
To be honest, I wasn’t aware you were able to have two different colored eyes. I wasn’t aware it was possible to have golden eyes either.
And the more I looked at his face, the more the wound stood out to me- How was he able to walk around like it was nothing?
I felt sick staring at it. It stretched across his face, going from his right cheek to his left eyebrow, narrowly avoiding his eyes. I was also just now noticing the small splatters of blood on the end of his sleeves and the small smears of red on his face.
“I, uh- I think you’re the one who needs help, not me.” I spoke.
He seemed to take offense to this. His eyes narrowed and he swept a curl out of his face before crossing his arms.
“Do you want my help or not?” He asked sharply, his demeanor changing instantly.
“I-I’m sorry. I just mean, well, I do mean it. You should get that… looked at.”
“I can assure you, I’m quite alright.”
Honey. Child. That was such a lie, and he wasn’t fooling anyone.
“I-”
“Stop.” He snapped, his strong voice shutting me up.
That is until the large gash started to bleed.
“Just-It’s… uh, it’s dripping…” I said awkwardly.
He looked taken aback. He hesitantly reached up to wipe away the drops of blood that were slowly trickling down his face.
When he pulled his hand back, he stared at the deep red droplets dripping down his hand and onto the cobblestone street.
“Come on, my mom’s got stuff in her shop. She can fix you up.” I spoke.
He didn’t say anything and remained frozen there, staring at the blood on his hands. When he looked back at me, his face seemed to have paled even more, the skin around the cut turning a nasty green in color.
“Perhaps I do need medical attention.” He said in a soft voice.
“Come on, I’ll show you the way,” I told him.
As I tried to take a step further, I nearly screamed. My stomach was adamant that I do not move, sending surges of pain up and down my body to show its displeasure.
My new friend looked at me, a little startled, and glanced around the street.
“Are you good…?” He asked hesitantly.
“I’m fine.” I croaked.
“You’re not fine, are you?” It sounded more like a statement with a question added on at the end to be more polite.
But he was right. I was not fine.
For a moment I wondered if it was possible for him to have accidentally ruptured one of my organs with that kick.
“Just,” He broke off with a sigh, leaning against one of the buildings that lined the street for support. “What’s the name?”
“Hecate’s Treasure,” I managed. Was he going to ditch me?
Hecate’s Treasure- The shop for all your magical needs and remedies! The store’s slogan echoed through my mind. I was momentarily distracted by the stupid theme song that I had come up with playing on repeat in my mind.
And then I felt my feet leave the ground. I looked around, started, until I realized I was not being carried off by a hungry griffon. I was being held bridal style a few feet off the ground by my new friend.
I will admit, I did squeak in surprise.
“Sorry, I should’ve asked first.” The curly haired boy said, going red from embarrassment. “I thought it would be easier to carry you than let you walk.”
“No! It’s fine!” I yelped as he started to put me down, startling a passerby on the other side of the street.
I wasn’t used to being carried, and he seemed to be holding me with little trouble, like I weighed less than a leaf. But his exhausted, pale face scared me. He really shouldn’t be exerting himself.
He paused, halfway through putting me down, and then lifted me back up before he started walking. He left the main street and walked along the mini-streets and through various alleyways. He didn’t appear to have any trouble maneuvering around the merchant stalls that had been put away for the night, as well as crates and boxes while carrying me. He seemed familiar with where he was going.
Which was good.
Because I had no idea where we were.
He seemed familiar with this part of the kingdom, and the few people we passed seemed familiar with him. Most nodded in acknowledgement as we passed, two waved, one young man gave him a sheepish smile, and one disgruntled looking old man glared daggers at him from a safe distance.
“Um… who’s you- I mean, what’s your name?” I asked. My face went red from embarrassment. What was with me today?
He looked down at me and studied me for a moment, like he was debating whether or not he could trust me with something as important as his name.
“You can call me Verity,” he told me. He then carefully stepped over a large broken glass sculpture laying on its side, blocking the alleyway we had found ourselves walking through.
You can call me not my name is.
“Oh. My name’s Caladrel,” I said.
He looked at me oddly before returning his attention to getting us back on the main street.
“It’s not wise to hand out your name to strangers,” Verity said.
“You gave me yours…”
“I said you can call me that. I never said it was my name.” He responded.
I didn’t say much after that, he seemed more comfortable with the silence anyway.
We were back on the main street now. He took a left and carried me into the still crowded Marketplace.
The Marketplace was a large, circular clearing located in the center of the kingdom, under the watchful eye of Thleemthleel Castle. The whole clearing was surrounded by what felt like hundreds of stores. The clearing was full of merchant stalls. The stores and stalls combined made it possible for you to find almost anything you could think of here. People were still milling around, admiring the various objects that were proudly on display. My ma’s shop was located on the other side from where we were standing.
The two of us got odd looks as Verity confidently walked through the organized chaos.
“Dried Figs! Fresh fruit!” A little kid tried as we passed. He couldn’t have been more than nine years old, and he was standing on a stack of boxes in front of the colorful stall in an attempt to make himself be seen.
“Closing in ten minutes! Last chance for the week to get your hands on some one-of-a-kind magical items!” Another called after us, motioning to the glittering objects scattered all over her stall. My stomach filled with dread as Verity walked by, but the feeling soon passed as soon as we were ten feet away from it.
Verity didn’t pay any attention to the merchant’s that were trying to get his attention. Well, all except for one.
Verity paused, listening to a tall man with willow leaves woven into his hair. He was rambling on and on in another language, motioning wildly with his hands. He repeatedly almost hit the small pot with a small sprout growing out of it. Verity listened intently for a minute, almost amused by whatever the merchant was saying. Suddenly Verity’s eyes narrowed, and his jaw clenched. He snapped something back at the merchant, who’s face then contorted in anger. Verity then stormed away, leaving the red-faced merchant screaming at him in another language.
“What was-”
“You don’t want to know,” Verity snapped.
He was shaking with anger as he put me down in front of my ma’s shop. Even though his hostile glare was still being directed at the merchant who was still yelling at us - causing the few straggling customers to avoid going twenty feet of his stall -, I was trembling as I tried to fish the store’s keys out of my pants pockets.
I fumbled with the keys, but I managed to unlock the door. As I opened the door, Verity stormed past.
I wanted to let him fume, to give him time to calm down, but his face was going deathly pale and his whole body was trembling as though he was experiencing a minor earthquake that no one else could feel.
The shop had closed an hour ago, so that meant that Ma would be on the second floor. I held the door open for Verity and then led him to behind the counter, to the small flight of stairs. I struggled to hobble up them. Verity had to pause every two steps or so to breath, relying on the wall for support before he continued walking up. He still managed to beat me though, and he waited at the top for me while leaning heavily against the wall. I gave him an awkward, embarrassed smile when I finally reached the top of the steps, my stomach and abs screaming at me in protest.
I opened the door for him and showed him inside my small one-technically two-room home.