Chapter 115: Fallen Angel

Chapter 14 - Fallen Angel

4 YEARS LATER

Year 4236 of the Second Calendar, 7th cycle of Elaina

Aaron glared at the emerald eyes staring back at him. Four years had passed and his hatred hadn't dimmed in the slightest. Orion returned Aaron's glare with a soft smile, acting as if he were a caring father. He visited the Celestial Whispers pleasure house near every day now.

The establishment had grown of late in both size and renown. Mistress Delin had purchased a manor and moved her business within a higher class area of Seldar. Since changing locations, Delin had hired more women. Some of which came from establishments of a higher class. These new hires often looked down on the older ones. And they weren't overly fond of Aaron either. But that wasn't what bothered him. He knew well enough whom to avoid. It was the move to a larger building that brought about new troubles. A larger house meant an increase in Aaron's work. And his mother worked twice as hard to relieve some of that burden.

This was all because of Orion. Orion had become a patron to the house, donating large sums of wealth to exclusively request Lera. Aaron's mother had fallen into a pitfall that people in her line of work should never fall into. She denied it, but he could see it in her eyes. She admired Orion too much. Loved him even. It was a theft of the highest order. Aaron didn't believe Orion loved Lera back.

If Orion didn't exist, if he didn't show up and flaunt his wealth everywhere, if he hadn't stolen Lera, none of this would have happened. Things had gotten worse for Aaron's other mothers. Compared to some of the newer girls, Isabelle and Carmin were rather plain faced. Even added makeup didn't help with that. Their income had gone down and Delin too oft made them do laborious tasks that only Aaron had to do before. Failure in the tasks earned them Delin's whip. As if their jobs weren't already hard enough.

Aaron grit his teeth, still glaring. It made his blood boil. Orion was to blame for all of it. Of course, he could ask the man and have him, in turn, make a formal request to the Mistress for favors. But Aaron refused to beg the man he hated most. Nor was he interested in making a request of his mother. Lera had sacrificed enough for him.

“Now look here,” the emerald eyed man was saying. He stood before a training dummy. “A person can easily stiffen their neck and prevent you from doing this. But if you catch someone unaware and from behind, it becomes very easy to dispatch them.”

Aaron crossed his arms, waiting for the physical demonstration.

“Let's pretend this part is the head,” Orion motioned towards the dummy. “Put one hand on the back of the head and one on the chin. And then twist. Simple as that. No sound at all. A quick and silent kill.”

The crack of dawn had but just arrived. Normal sleeping hours for Aaron. But that had changed a year ago. Every morning, Orion would train him in unarmed combat. A personal request made by Lera to which Aaron regretfully agreed. The new manor's spacious cellar made for a decent training place. Training led to Aaron being more exhausted by evening's approach, and his attentiveness during his literacy lessons with the mistress had dwindled. But he vowed that he would one day use the combat skills learned to break Orion and Delin and destroy the establishment.

“But remember to do it quickly or they stiffen their neck?” Aaron asked.

“Exactly! Why don't you practice for a while? The trick is to move both hands together. A slight delay in either could be the difference between failure and success. After that, run the perimeter of the cellar two dozen times and stretch your legs. We'll practice those high kicks I showed you a cycle ago.”

Aaron grunted, doing as told while grinding his teeth. Orion watched his every movement and corrected the slightest of mistakes. Aaron wondered who the man was, to be so wealthy and well versed in combat arts. He also wondered why Orion had even agreed to train him. Orion's eyes didn’t glow the same way Lera's did when they were together. There had to be an ulterior motive. A highly coveted motive for him to have spent so much of his wealth and time in one place. But what is it?

“Can I see that iron pendant around your neck, Aaron?”

“No. Stop asking.” It wasn't the first time Orion had asked to see the object. Every rejection caused a slight twitch of frustration that was quickly replaced by the usual calm demeanor. Aaron smirked at his teacher's distress, miniscule though it may be.

“Oh of course. I'm just curious. Perhaps too much. It's like an itch that I can't scratch. Constantly nagging my mind.”

“In that case, I will never let you see it. Besides, curiosity killed the cat.”

“Ah, yes. You're right. It's yours after all. Why should I care?”

Aaron grunted again, agreeing. He walked to one side of the wall and began running around the perimeter. One end held racks of wine bottles crusted with a dust layer gathering for months.

“Why do you hate me, Aaron?” Orion asked shortly after.

“Who said?”

The emerald eyed man barked a laugh. “Come now. You hardly hide it. You glare at me whenever you look in my direction, take pleasure in my discomfort, and your face lights up whenever I teach you a method to kill. What is it about me that you dislike so much?”

Aaron took in a deep breath, pausing before the dummy, forming a fist and then striking it with all his might. “You stole my mother from me,” he then said honestly. A childish reason. But a valid one nonetheless. It wasn't the only reason. But he was not about to list the others. It would make him seem like a beggar. He wiped a sheen of sweat from his neck and started stretching his legs.

Orion walked up to him with a worried but caring look on his face. “I didn't mean to steal her if that is what you believe. I… am deeply attracted to Lera. I care for her and I want her to be happy. I'm also jealous. I don't want others to be with her and so I take as much time as possible. That isn't to say I'm jealous of you. You are her son and you deserve her more than I. She loves you and I want to do the same. But in the past few years, you have yet to give me an opportunity no matter how hard I try.”

Empty words. That is all that was. Aaron had lived in the house long enough to tell an act from reality. To see a deception for what it really was. To tell a fake expression, a lie from the truth. Every time Orion opened his mouth, Aaron trusted him less. “It doesn't matter. You stole her. I hate you. It will be that way for eternity.”

The man smiled. Another deception. “Then I will spend that eternity loving you unconditionally.”

Liar! Thief!

Aaron was sweat drenched by the time his training session ended. Orion left before afternoon, leaving a bucket of cold water for washing. The manor cellar provided little relief from the blistering summer temperatures of Seldar. Aaron washed himself and then went to sleep despite his grumbling stomach. He was aroused awake by Lera not long afore evening to attend his lessons with the Mistress. Delin had been a kinder hand of recent because Orion kept her pockets lined. Her foul temper was more branded upon the low earning girls now —Aaron's mothers. There was no end to her greed.

The mistress flashed a charming smile as Aaron read from one of her ledgers. Charming in her own mind probably. Delin's acts weren't nearly as convincing as her workers'. Lera's name no longer appeared in the record books. The funds she earned were counted differently. It was in a separate list which contained details of Orion's donations. Once Aaron had finished, Delin read him the earnings of each girl from the previous nine days recorded on loose sheets and he was forced to fill the empty pages at the end of the ledger for that cycle. It was how he practiced writing and simple math sums.

At his lesson's end, Aaron was brought a hot bowl of spiced and meaty stew and fresh flat bread to eat. He considered it a luxury and refused to get used to such foods. Before Orion, he used to eat stale and often molded bread along with spoiled soup or meats. His stomach had developed a strong resistance for rotting foods because of it.

Aaron was sent to the cellar before night had settled comfortably and the first customers were ushered in to a greeting of amber lights and scarlet lipped smiles. His eyes stung from a lack of rest. He had the option of napping during service hours before he would be expected to start working on chores late into the night. But he couldn't do that. Time was precious and Aaron had little of it. The faster he grew stronger, the sooner he could take his revenge.

Normally, he ran through the drills Orion taught him at this time. But using what meager funds she had stored, Mely had bought him a dark cloak as a gift. And despite not earning much, his other three mothers combined their funds to purchase a pair of dark brown boots for him. They were a few sizes too big, unfortunately. But Aaron wore them happily nonetheless. He used them to sneak about the halls of the brothel during service hours, practicing the few stealth techniques that Orion had also shown him.

He crept along the halls dimly lit by orange luminite spheres every few dozen steps, hiding behind embroidered drapes or in dark corners when people drew near. Giggles and moans could be heard behind the doors of each room he passed by. Aaron entered the common room where a dozen women were entertaining a similar number of men. They pretended to laugh at jokes and be awestruck when hearing exaggerated stories from half drunks, all while refilling silver chalices with wine to increase earnings. The place reeked of cheap perfume and fruity wines.

Mely was amongst those in the common room. There were three men pestering her and running their hands along the silks hardly clothing her. She squirmed around uncomfortably while flashing smiles of compliance. It burned Aaron's insides to see them harassing his second mother like that. She was sitting on a velvet cushioned couch, lush red hair over one shoulder a brilliant blaze beneath the light of luminite lamps at the couch's sides. Her cheeks glistened, though whether that was from makeup or cold sweat, Aaron could not tell. In one hand she held a chalice of her own, not a mark of lipstick on it. Rarely, if ever, did the women of the house drink during service hours.

Mely was desperately looking for an opportunity to pour them drinks. It was a common tactic to get customers completely drunk. But Mely couldn't handle three at once. Aaron met her hazel eyes and saw sadness in them. She gave him a small smile and stopped struggling. Instead, she conducted herself with more confidence. A mask that might fool her clients, but not Aaron.

He looked away. It was his fault. She had said that she would buy him better clothes for his birthday. She wasn't comfortable but the sight of him had forced her into submission. He closed his fists. He remembered his lessons from the morning. A simple twist of the head and even a child like him could kill. But he would need to step into the light and reveal himself. And there were three men with Mely. Not just one. Aaron's heart raced as he seriously considered stepping out of the dark. His right foot inched forward, a tenth of his boot sticking out of the shadows.

One of the men stood up. He drew an ornate sword at his waist and brandished it before Mely, smiling and waving his arms like the strings of a mop. In fact, he was as stringy as a mop, his clothes a baggy fit. But the length of that sword and the way its edge shimmered in the light… Aaron swallowed. Orion had taught him how to fight against armed opponents. But one clean swing was all it would take. He pulled his foot back, chewing his lip and cursing himself.

He stuck close to the shadows near the walls and darted across the common room to access the stairs to the second floor. There wasn't much difference between the two floors. The hall was still dimly lit. Most rooms had their doors closed. The only open one belonged to the Mistress. Aaron stuck to the walls and shuffled along until he was just outside Delin's room. Something occurred to him that he hadn't thought of before. Thievery. He could steal from Delin and purchase new things for his mothers.

Orion's emerald eyes flashed in his mind. No . Aaron didn't want to stoop to the man's level. He couldn't be a thief. That wasn't how Lera had raised him. How any of the others had raised him. And Delin was meticulous. She knew how much money she had and where she had it. Anything missing and the women would be blamed. It would only endanger them. But I need to repay everyone's kindness… It was only right. His mothers took such good care of him. He squeezed his eyes shut, swallowing.

Hushed voices came from within the Mistress' room. Aaron's head snapped up. He crept inside to better hear, careful to stay out of sight, hiding behind a large flowering pot.

“Why not buy them now?” the Mistress asked, her reedy voice easily recognizable.

“Well, I wouldn't want to be harsh on you, Delin,” another woman said, her voice a little deeper but annoying all the same. “I know that this place has quickly become Seldar's second most revered house, but the business isn't a stable one. You should know that. And those girls are hard working. Hard to come by those types these days.”

“Hard working doesn't mean Ashes. What I care about is how much they earn. Carmin and Isabelle are lagging behind the rest. If you want them, I'll gladly sell them to you. For a decent price of course.”

“Well I want them but you keep saying no to my price.”

“How about this, then?” Delin asked. “Three cycles. If their combined 'hard work' as you call it earns them more than fifty silver halves in that time, you agree to my price. If not, I'll sell them to you for half of your proposed price.”

Aaron saw a sly smile on the other woman's lips. “Agreed,” she said. The negotiations were at an end. He didn't need to stay any longer. The two woman were writing their agreement on parchment. He darted out of the room before being noticed. Delin was trying to sell off Isabelle and Carmin. He couldn't let that happen. Aaron shuffled along the hallway, thinking for a way to save two of his mothers. He came upon a half closed door. It was his birth mother's room. Lera's soft laughter poured out the opening. She was entertaining Orion again.

Tears of rage welled in Aaron's eyes. That wretched man… Everything was going to ruin because of him. There had to be some way of getting rid of him. But even if Orion did leave, it wouldn't improve anything. Lera would be forced to work harder again and the others were already earning less than Delin wanted.

Aaron's nails dug into his palms. He stared through the gap in the doorway and directed all of his hatred at Orion, hoping that it would curse him. He heard footsteps behind him. Delin was bidding the other woman farewell. She was tall with the aid of heels. Her face was flat and she had a mole by her lip. Her hair was cropped and formed like those of soldiers and guards. Aaron began hating her even more. If he could kill her, then her agreement with Delin would be nullified. If he killed her, he could buy Carmin and Isabelle time.

One hand at the back of the head, and one on the jaw.

He stalked the woman down to the first floor. She briefly paused to talk to two men. One, fair skinned, hairless and large with bulky arms. The other, tall and wiry with a deep south Tarmian tan. The two men nodded towards her as she left Celestial Whispers.

Aaron waited in a dark corner while counting seconds in his head before finally heading outside. He needed to be quick. He would be expected back at the establishment for chores before the night ended. He stepped outside and into the starlit night. Crowds of moving people still occupied Seldar's streets. His quarry was among them, but not to be seen. Aaron tried climbing on to a box for a better view but saw no sign of the woman. His heart sank. He'd waited too long. He was a failure who couldn't even protect what he loved.

He went back inside, chest aching. With nothing else to do for the time being, he continued to dart through the halls and practice his hiding skills. Though such a practice ill served him in hiding from his own shame. Unsurprisingly, he soon found himself before Lera's chambers for the second time that night. The door was fully shut now. Locked too. The sound of Lera's quick breaths still slipped out from the gap beneath. Aaron's hatred had been renewed. He stood there a while, forehead pressed to the door and fingers curled around the jammed doorknob. A ball of warmth began emanating from the pendant at his chest.

With an unrelieved sigh, he let go at last and decided to go back to his cellar when he heard a sudden cry from the far end of the hall. There was a room at the corridor's far end that he hadn't bothered going to. From beneath it, a single ray of orange light shone. The walls on that end held no luminite otherwise, and practicing hiding in a near pitch black space had seemed a pointless endeavour to Aaron.

Curious now, he walked on. The room was occupied, he could tell that much. But he thought he heard whimpering and muffled cries rather than the usual giggles of indulgence. The door wasn't shut entirely, a gap just wide enough for a boy his size remaining. He poked his head around and his eyes went wide. It was a windowless quarter with a fragment of orange luminite in one corner. But there was enough light for Aaron to see the horror displayed before him. He slowly shuffled inside. Floorboards creaked beneath his feet. The cries in the room were luckily louder.

Luckily… As if.

Aaron's heart drummed against his chest. There were two men before him —the very same he'd seen earlier. They were unclothed. He could faintly make out the scars riddled over their arms. There were two women also; Carmin, and Isabelle. Their hands had been tied behind their backs. The bald man was on a bed, his hands wrapped around Carmin's neck. She flailed with her legs and clawed with her hands, a wet line pressed to the side of her face. Isabelle was on the floor, looking up at the thin tall man while muttering pleas for mercy. There was a black spot under her eye and blood on her lips that had been smeared against her angular chin.

Aaron saw red. The iron pendant around his neck began to grow hot —so much so that he could already smell the burning fibres of his shirt. He ignored the singeing pain, willing himself to stand still and within the shadows. Life at the brothel had taught him patience. Orion had emphasized the trait during their training sessions. He needed to wait for the opportune moment or he'd be the one facing death.

But waiting was a torment in itself. His arms trembled at the sight of his mothers being beaten. The tall man struck Isabelle across the face. She squeezed shut her eyes and tried moving her head to dodge. The man gripped her by her hair and slammed her head down against the wooden floor boards. Aaron saw her eyes roll back as she struggled to stay conscious after the blow. Her body went limp for a moment. Her attacker cackled as he brought his fists down on her defenseless body. Satisfied, he spread her legs open and went down to his knees. Isabelle whimpered, unable to do anything.

Now !

While the bastard was consumed in his lust, Aaron crept out of the shadows until he was less than a foot behind the target. Isabelle's eyes went wide when she noticed him behind her assailant. With a last act of defiance, she violently shook her head. Aaron didn't care. His arms worked in unison as Orion had taught him. One hand at the back of the head and one on the chin.

A simple twist.

Crack!

The abuser's neck jerked sharply to the side. And his lifeless body fell to the floor with a heavy thud.

Isabelle cried harder. “No,” she breathed. “Why? Why are you here, Aaron? You were supposed to be an angel…”

Aaron didn't understand. Was she upset at being saved? Or upset that he'd killed? But he'd done it to save her. “I still am your angel,” he assured her in a whisper, eyes now turning to the bald one on the bed.

The large man turned at the sudden sound. His eyes met those of the cloaked assassin. “Scalding Flames,” he gasped in a thick Tarmian accent. He released Carmin and quickly got off of the bed.

Aaron stepped back, knees weak. Why was he afraid? He glanced back at Isabelle's pleading dark eyes. Something about the way she cried stole away his anger. Stole his motivation and filled him with doubt and disgust. The pendant at his chest had cooled.

One look at Carmin gagging and struggling for breath returned the heat near twofold. The shaking in his joints stopped. Burning hate became his engine. He snarled at the abuser. The bastard's arms —while thick— were not lean like Orion's. But they were near equal in width to Aaron's torso.

“You Flaming piglet! Who are you?” the man screeched. He rushed towards Aaron with arms spread out for a tackle.

Aaron managed to step to the side. As quick as he was, he had never been in an actual fight before. The man before him was obviously used to street brawls. The scars on his body practically screamed that. He threw a piece of cloth towards Aaron. Blinded, Aaron briefly froze. A dozen options blitzed through his thoughts. The various defensive maneuvers he knew. Maybe a stance he could take. Or maybe duck low and strike at his enemy's knees.

None of them felt viable. No amount of training had prepared him for such a simple trick. The only answer he could come to was the simplest of defenses. He raised his arms in front of his face. A huge fist came from behind the cloth as it fell to the floor. It collided with Aaron's arms and he was sent sprawling back several feet.

He used the edge of the bedframe to pull himself up, arms shaky and throbbing. The back of his head ached too. Every sound seemed to ring in his ears. The hood of his cloak fell back, revealing his face. “You're just a weasel,” the man proclaimed, a confident smirk forming. He stood up tall, believing the fight won.

Aaron tried raising his trembling arms to take a stance. The bald man grinned, crooked teeth showing. Each thumping step of his was a violent gong in Aaron's ears. As if a giant was coming to trample him. Think. Think or you will die! He racked his brain for what Orion had taught him. He could use the high kicks he practiced earlier in the morning. But the man towered over him. His kicks would never reach the man's head and the strikes of a child wouldn't damage someone as bulky as him. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Carmin pulling herself up. She inhaled deep breaths and clawed at the bedsheets.

The bed!

The bed could be used to attain the necessary height. The bald man stepped closer and drew back his fist. In that instant, Aaron leapt on to the bed and spun around while raising his legs. His full bodyweight was channeled into his kick. He felt his heel connect with the man's jaw. The giant fell to his knees. Not yet enough to bring him down, but just enough to cause a blackout for precious few blinking moments. That was all Aaron needed. He stepped behind the man and put one hand to his chin and one to the back of his head.

Crack!

Aaron turned to the women and untied their bonds. Isabelle, bruised, hardly twitched. Carmin grabbed Aaron and hugged him. He embraced her back and allowed her to cry on his shoulder. She pulled away and wildly searched the room. She found the men's clothes and rummaged through them until she found a knife. “Run, Aaron. Go hide in the cellar. I killed these men. I'll stab them bloody and take the blame. Go. Quick!”

“No!” Aaron cried. He tackled her to the ground and tried prying the knife away from her. “Delin's trying to sell you. I won't let her take anything from me. You're mine! All of you! She'll get rid of you if you take the blame!”

“Aaron, stop! Listen to me!”

Heavy footsteps thumped up the corridor. The door slammed open. Orion, Lera and the Mistress entered the shadowed bedchamber. Carmin used the opportunity to push Aaron off of her. She dropped the knife and crawled to Delin's feet. “I killed them, Mistress. They were beating us. The boy tried to save us and I killed them while they were distracted.”

“That's a lie. It was me!” Aaron cried. Lera's eyes went wide at his words and she covered her mouth with one hand, the other one clutching a white sheet wrapped around her naked body.

Orion, shirtless and sweaty, inspected the corpses. He glanced towards Aaron and flashed a wicked grin. “The boy tells the truth. He used what I taught well. You shouldn't be angered, Delin. He was trying to save your property.”

Delin's hands curled. She tapped one foot against the floorboards. “I see. It all makes sense,” she said. “That Scorching sow. She tried to cripple the whores and get them at a cheap price. But that doesn't matter.” She turned to Aaron with a hateful glare. “You sniveling little rat. Just because I've treated you well of late, you thought to get ahead of yourself? You've killed customers . It doesn't matter what they were doing. I was going to get rid of these bitches anyway. Selling them at a cheap price would have been a minor loss. But you murdered the men. Not just any men. They were hired by Mistress Galeya from the Ivory Hall. The most renowned pleasure house in Seldar. She won't let this go until she rips out my throat and steals my business. I'll be sent to prison because of you. How do you expect to make up for this?”

Delin's eyes searched the room wildly. She searched for something to beat Aaron with. Her eyes fell upon the knife before him.

The Mistress bent down to pick up the weapon but he grabbed it first. He was furious. More furious than when he had been fighting for his mothers. The pendant burned his chest. He grabbed Delin by the hair and dragged her to the floor whilst holding the knife at her throat. Lera cried out. Orion held her back and watched in amusement. “Whore this. Sell that. They are people! They are not objects! And they're mine. ”

“You wretch! Let go of me this instant,” Delin cried, seemingly more worried about the wrinkles her frilly grey dress was suffering and the dust they were picking up than her own life. “How dare you! After all I've done for you, you're still this ungrateful. I'll have you whipped. I'll have all of these girls whipped in public along with your mother. Let go of me now. Or I'll scream at the top of my lungs. The city guards will arrive and take you away. Let go and you'll be permitted to spend some time with these whores before you die a miserable—”

Aaron pressed the blade of the knife harder, drawing blood. He brought his face close to Delin's and stared into her eyes. The pendant spilled out of his shirt, a line of smoke rising from where the shirt had been burned.

Memories not of his own flashed in his mind. Aaron frowned, but only for a second. He had greater priorities than strange memories. “I no longer fear you,” he hissed. “I've killed. I can do it again. Go on. Scream. Let's see how long you last.” Delin's expression changed into that of fear. She began trembling, finally recognizing the threat to be real. That was the expression Aaron had always longed to see. He pushed the blade further still. He would take his time and make it as painful as possible.

“Aaron! Stop! Please!” Lera cried. Isabelle and Carmin threw themselves on him and hugged him tight. He blinked. The pendant's heat subsided. He was their angel. And they had just witnessed him murder two men. The knife dropped with a clang and Aaron let go of Delin's hair. She got up and ran away wailing.

Isabelle fell to the floor again, unable to hold on any longer. She raised her head to glare at Orion. “You. What have you done? What have you made this child do? You stole his innocence. Be gone from here. Lera, send him away. You tried to help at first. I know you did. But it has become worse for us now. Please. Send this Flaming… He's defiling our angel,” Isabelle begged.

“Shut your mouth, whore,” Orion said. “You allowed the boy to kill. This has nothing to do with me or Lera.”

Aaron stood up, pendant growing hot again. He ripped it off and swung it at Orion. The man didn't bother dodging. He didn't expect it to do any damage. It struck the side of his face and burned a small part of his skin. He stepped back in surprise. Aaron seethed. He expected more of a reaction but Orion had hardly flinched. “Don't you dare speak to my mothers that way!” he screamed through blurred vision. He stepped forward to attack again but stumbled. Strange images clouded his mind. Screams of pain. Of fire. Of things he'd never seen or known but felt resonating with his own heart. The pain of these strange people cause his own heart to ache. Who or what were they?

Lera dropped to her knees and hugged Aaron tight, kissing his neck. “It's alright,” she whispered. Her affection made the memories to disappear. He dropped the pendant, blinking to clear his sight, body drenched in sweat. Lera fastened the pendant around his neck again. It was cold now.

Orion raised an eyebrow, feeling the burn spot on his cheek. “Mothers…? Oh. I see.” He smiled caringly. A false smile. “I'm sorry, Aaron. I didn't know it was like that. I… You're really kind, Aaron. You risked your life for these girls. I'll make it up to you. I'll take care of everything here. And I'll handle Delin as well. I'll even complete your chores for today. Lera, take him away. He needs to rest.”

Aaron bent to pick up the knife. He had already gone this far. He didn't need Orion's favor. He wanted him gone.

Carmin grabbed his arm and shook her head. “Lera, take him to the cellar,” she croaked. “He needs you now. You're his mother. His real mother. I'll take care of Isabelle.”

Lera nodded. She left the room and Aaron trailed after her. He still stuck to the walls and moved through the shadows despite not caring much for rules any longer. Something about the dark corners was comforting. They reached the cellar and Lera closed the doors. She stood silently for a while with her back turned. Aaron saw droplets of water fall before her bare feet.

“Mother. I saw strange memories when I was angry. I saw burning houses. And people running in fear.”

Lera turned around instantly. She knelt before him, cupping his cheeks in her hands. The sheet around her slid halfway down. “Not yet. It's still too early. Forgive me, my prince. You were forced to do something like this at such a young age. I'm so sorry.”

“Mother, why do you stay with Orion? You like him. I know you do. More than me, even. But he doesn't like you back.”

Lera continued to weep as she held him. “Not more than you. Don't say that. Don’t ever say that. You are my light. Our light. The hope of High House Zz'tai and all that is good in this world. I love Orion. You're right about that. But he loves me too. You just can't see it. I know you're troubled, Aaron. I know you care for the other girls and think Orion ruined everything. But that isn't true. He's trying to help me. And you too. Please give him a chance.”

“I can't. Why can't you see? His smiles are fake. They're the ones you used to wear for all the other men.”

“They're not fake when he's with me, Aaron. Please listen to me. You hate this place. I hate it too. Orion is wealthy. He'll take us away from here. We can live in peace together. The three of us. I will raise you well. There will come a time for you to challenge Xenaria's throne. Everything will be alright. I won't let you be troubled again.”

Aaron was horrified. He pushed his mother away as a realization struck him. “You never cared. From the beginning you never cared about the other girls. How can you say something so cruel? If we leave, they will suffer. They'll be hurt if I'm gone. They're my mothers too. I won't leave them. I promised! I promised to save them!”

“Of course I never cared! Everything was for you. I only wanted you to be happy. I gave everything for you. Please, Aarondel. Just this once. Let me be happy too. Please. I love you, my sweet. You're kind. That's good. But you're a king. You cannot stop here. If you stop here, incidents like these will occur everywhere. When you finally have power, you can help everyone.”

“No! I don't care about everyone. I care about here. I love you ma. But I love Mely too. And Carmin and Isabelle and Temelia. I don't want to leave. Not yet. Not until Mistress Delin pays!”

Lera looked up with hopeful eyes. “Then you'll leave? You'll come with me if Delin is gone?” She looked at the floor, nodding to herself. “I will tell Orion. Yes. I can have him get rid of Delin. And then you'll come won't you?”

Aaron clenched his fists, tears streaming down his cheeks. He reluctantly nodded. Orion needed to pay too. But Lera couldn't see beyond her emotions. Aaron would go, if only to appease his mother. He wanted the others to come with him. But he couldn't ask his mother to beg Orion for more. He could imagine the look of victory in those hateful emerald eyes. It sent shivers down his spine.

Lera stood up and hastily wiped her tears away, and then wiped his as well. She gave a loving smile. A real loving smile. Not the ones that Orion flashed every now and then. “Rest now. I'll go help Orion with the chores. I can't let him do everything. It's going to be alright, my prince. I promise. Mother will protect you from now on.” She left the cellar quickly.

Aaron went over to a discarded mattress and lay down. It wasn't the same smelly one from four years prior. It was hard and torn, but better. He curled into a ball and closed his eyes. That, however, didn't stop him from weeping further. He wished Lera had stayed. Wished she had held him in her warm arms and sung lullabies all night long. Just like how she had when he was smaller. But these days, all she thought about was Orion. Aaron wished someone would come and hold him.

Sometime into the night, the cellar door creaked open. He sat upright, trying to see who it was, eyes stinging. The door closed and Carmin came towards him. She had wrapped herself in a white sheet. She sat on the edge of the bed. Aaron crawled towards her and sat down next to her.

“Isabelle is alright,” Carmin said after a while. “But she won't be able to work for some time. Thank you, Aaron. For saving us. And for fighting the Mistress too.”

“Isabelle didn't want to be saved. She shook her head when I helped her.”

“That's… That isn't true. She didn't want you to dirty your hands. You've always been our only joy. Aaron, promise me, if something like this happens again, that you won't help us. We aren't that weak. Please promise me that you'll stay our little angel. We'll keep the evil away from you. Just promise you won't come looking for it.”

He swallowed a lump and nodded, knowing it was a lie. He also couldn't tell Carmin that he would be leaving. He felt guilty. Guilty for deceiving the others. And guilty for having killed. He didn't know what killing meant. What the weight of taking a life really was. But Isabelle's expression was all he needed to understand it. To feel insurmountable disgust because of it.

The dead did not return. Heinous though they were, if ever there was someone that loved those men, they would never get to see them again.

Aaron didn't want to do something like that ever. He felt cold when remembering how consumed by hatred he was. Remembering the cringing sound that came after snapping a neck. “Carmin, please hold me,” he pleaded, blushing, looking into the darks of her eyes. He held his arms out. It wouldn't be long before he'd never see the women again. He wanted to remember them.

She nodded. She took him into her arms. The white sheet fell away from her body. She lay down on the mattress alongside him and held his head to her breasts. Aaron clutched her tight, feeling her every heartbeat with his forehead. There was a sweet lingering scent of cheap perfume on Carmin's body. It made his head hurt. His body felt hot and his heart began beating rapidly in anticipation for something. It was similar to what he'd felt before killing those men, but also different. The iron pendant didn't grow hot. It was stone cold.

Aaron began breathing heavily. He felt a hand poking in between his legs. Carmin rolled on top of him. Aaron's mouth went dry. His chest felt like it would burst from the way his heart pounded. He was afraid but he also didn't want Carmin to stop. It felt strangely blissful.

“I'm sorry, Aaron,” she said. “I know I cry too easily. And I'm not very smart either. I don't know what being in love is like. Nor do I know how you feel inside. I think you want to be loved. This is my way of showing love. Please accept it.”