Itwasaniceday,filledwithlaughterandfun. Iwasplayingwithmylovelyniecewhowasonlytwoshortyearsolderthanme.Wehadsuchagreattime, Icouldneverforgethersmilewhichilovedsomuch.Myparentswatchedus,talkingadultthingswhichweneverunderstood.Myunclejustcameinthegardentojointhem.Then,whenIlookedatmyfather, heseemedtense.Itwasweird, hewasnevertense, hewasthemostpowerful,afterall!Motherwavedatmetocatchmyattentionandsmiledatme...butitwasn''tthesmileIwasusedto, I feltsadnessinit.Somethingfeltwrong.Theycalledusandweran,butmyfacewaslackingthesmileIalwayshadon.Ourparentsembracedusandwhisperedtoourearswordsof love.*sniff*Thencamealoudrumble,followedbytheshakingearthandmyfatherrunningoff,sayingwordsthatIdidn''tthinkwouldbethelastwordsIwouldeverhearfromhim.*splash* "Neverthinkaboutrevenge,son.Therewillalwaysbesomeonegreedyenoughtofearthepowerfultakingover", hesaid.Thenlookedatmymotherandnodded.


    "We should go, my dears" she said, "husband is going to buy us some time". She grabbed our hands and started to jog through the garden, towards the forest near the mansion. We were almost halfway when I asked, "Mother, what is happening? Why do we have to run away?" She looked at me with her beautiful green eyes and smiled. "Because people with power in their hands fear the people who are really powerful. As you know, your father is the most powerful on all continents, and our family has at least twenty people who could be on the list of the fifty most powerful people if there was such a list. But, our family has no bonds with nobles, and we have no political power, so the Royals decided that we shouldn''t be this powerful." My niece, Scarlet, was dumbfounded, "Aunt, why is it wrong to be powerful? Why do they want us to be weak? Uncle and Father always fought for this kingdom, for those royal people! Uncle is the general of a whole army!" she cried. "I know, dear. But for those with power, the morepowerful you become, the bigger threat you are.” We almost reached the forest by then,and we could have escaped if not for the ten people blocking our way. Mother said, ?Go on, I’ll be right behind you. I just have some words for them.”She was smiling, but as she looked at those people, her eyes were cold as ice. Scarletand I ran around them and onwards into the forest when we heard the sound of their clash. I have never in my life seen my mother fight, but as I could hear then, she wasrather aggressive against enemies.There were already seven people on the floor when one of the remaining people threw something our way. I tried toblock it, but I wasn’t fast enough. The something hit the target, and my niece fell over.I tried to help her up, when i heard my mother shout at me panickedto run. The last thing I saw over my teary eyes was a dagger in the back of Scarlet’s head. I ran crying, for what felt like days, not caring about anything. I had one thing on my mind, and that was my mother’sshout to run, and so I did. I did, until I couldn’t run anymore, andthen stopped at a cave we used with father during training. As soon as I entered deep enough, mysight went black and I felt my body falling to the floor.


    "Dharov!Dinnerisready!"shoutedDianafromthekitchen.


    "Coming!" Ishoutedback andwentbacktomydiary.


    Mother,Father,Scarlet, Imissyou.Afterallthoseyearsinthewoods, anadventurercouplefoundme.Theirnameis Diana andAndre.Theyarereallykindandtakegoodcareofme.Youdon’thavetoworryanymore, Iliveagoodlifejustlikeyouwouldwantmeto. Iwillalwaysloveyou.Iwashedmytearyfaceandwentdownstairs.


    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it."Ooh, grilledFlameLizard?DidIdosomethinggood?" IsmirkedatDiana,whomademyfavoritemeal.


    "Don’tyouremember, kid?It’sbeenfouryearssincewefoundyou,wethoughtthatmaybeweshouldcelebrateit! Haha"laughedAndrewhoissomehowalreadybehindme.


    It’sbeenfouryearsalready?


    "Woah,you’redoinggoodnotthrowingmeoutafteralltheseyears!" ijokedwiththem.


    "Howcouldwe,you’realreadyfamilytous,Dharov"saidDianawhilepettingmyhead.


    I’malreadyastallasher,butshejustwon’tstopdoingthis.


    She''s quite tall for a woman, as she is around 175cm, but because she is an adventurer, she sees itas a good thing. She has fiery red hair, which is around shoulder-length. Her husband and my master is almost two metres tall with brown skin, brown hair and brown eyes, so he also doesn''t mind her height. Well, she still has her curves and all thatinthe rightplaces, so it''s not really eye-catching, but for me it''sa bit weird. Both of them are Srank adventurers, they got this rank two years ago, at the same time whenIgot my B- ranking. Oh, yeah, I am an adventurer, too! When they found me I was eleven years old, and I had already been hiding from everyone for five years in the forest, fighting animals and monsters alike for food. I panicked when they found me and started to run, but they ran after me. After a whileIgot cornered and attacked them, with thestrengthand speed of at least a C rank adventurer, minus the techniques, of course. As I was malnourished,I couldn''t fight for long and Ipassed out mid-fight. This is where the good things start! They took me in, got me a room in the inn they were too, and paid for my meals. I was thankful, but curious as for why they would help me. Turns out, I tickled Diana''s motherly insticts and she wanted to help, and after seeing mystrength,Andre wanted me to be his disciple. Well, not like I have to serve him and all that, he just wanted to train me and see what I can become. And, that''s how I became an adventurer with their help. Andre helped me with the fighting techniques and Diana showed me how to do more than the basics with magic. Father already taught me how to fight, but as I was only a child, I didn''t get to train in all our family''s techniques, and mother also taught me the basics of magic: how to spark a fire, how to conjure water that is clean enough to drink, how to make a little base for myself from earth, how to clean the air in my room and how to heal bruises. What Andre taught me was, how to properly wield a sword, be it one- or two-handed, short- or longsword. His main weapon is a big brute of a sword, which is as long as I am, and as I trained with him, even I started to use big swords, but mine is still a little shorter at around ahundred and fifty centimetres.Diana helped me with my magic, how to improve from the basics.As she was a dual-swordswoman, despite being talented, she knew magic only up to intermediate class, but that was a big help too. Oh, and also, she taught me the things I missed because I didn''t go to school, and she said i''m quite talented in that part, too!


    "Dharov, are you alright?"


    "Huh?...crap, Ididitagain,didn''tI?" IreplyedtoDiana''svoice.


    "Yeah, kid,youshouldleavebehindthis''narratingmyownlife''stuffalready,don''tyouthink?"


    "Yeah,I''malreadyonit,Andre,butitjustcomessometimes" Isaid,smilingwryly.


    "Leavehimalone,bigguy,youwouldhavesomeproblemwithcomminucating,too,ifyoulivedathirdofyourlifeawayfromhumans"


    "Thanks, Diana,buthe''sright, Ican''tdothiseverytime,I''mnotlivingin aforestanymore"I''mreallygladshewantstoprotectme,butAndre''sright."So,whatpart ofourconversationdidImiss?"


    "Weaskedifyouwanttotryout aschool.It''sprettygood, andtheprincipalisoneofouroldparty-memberssoyoudon''thavetoworryaboutanything.Theyletineveryoneoverfifteenandundersixteentobefirstyearstudents,youjusthavetopasssometests,butwithyourstrengththose barelyqualifyasannoyances,sowethoughtmaybeyouwouldwanttotryitout.Ifyoudon''tlikeityoucanleaveanytimeandjustgo backtobeinganadventurer."saidDianawithaproudlookonherface. "So,whatdoyouthink?"


    "Yes,thankyou!" Isaid,withabigsmilelike achild"But,didn''tyoutwosaidthatthereisnoonefromyourold team inthiskingdom?"


    "Mm,yeah.Thisschoolis inthedemi-humankingdom,butthatshouldn''tbe aproblem for you."


    "Well, alright, andwhenshouldI go?"