《HATEFUL SIN》


 Chapter One*

    It was the darkest point of the night and for the first time in a decade a storm was raging over the Capital, it was so loud and unruly that many children found themselves in their parents beds, it was so loud that you couldn''t hear yourself think, the thunder was almost unrivaled.


    The only thing that gave the storm a run for it''s money was the screams that came from a Sun Elf that was in forced labor.


    Her screams came from a small room tucked away in the back of the royal palace, at first she had tried to keep quiet for if anyone but her family heard her it would spell trouble for them all, but as the pain grew, her whimpers had turned into wails, her long white hair stuck to her naked form that was covered in sweat, even the storm couldn''t cool her skin.


    One of her dainty hands curled into the once pristine satin sheets while the other had her her sister''s hand in an unforgivable vice grip, she could feel her muscles stretching to their limit and then it was as if all the pressure, had been released and she let out one last strangled cry before collapsing back on the bed, she felt a strange pit in her stomach when the cry of the child was not heard.


    The mid wife looked over at the Princes when she felt her eyes on her, she could see a worried look in her tired golden eyes which was gone in a second, the mid wife felt a spike of anger in her at the girls reaction but instead refocused on the child in her arms.


    He was very small and it felt as if she was holding a small pillow because of how light he was, she didn''t panic when the child made no sound because he soon blinked open large green eyes, she could see the fleck of gold in it that seemed to swirl as he stared at her, she cooed at him when he gave a tiny yawn and then closed his eyes, he was not the first child she had helped bring into this world that did not cry but she hoped that it wasn''t because he wouldn''t be able to speak a word for the rest of his life.


    She made her way over to the tub filled with warmed water and took a cloth to quickly wipe him off and then swaddle him in a soft white cloth which she had been given for him, she turned around with a smile on her face to greet the young mother who had already been cleaned off and garbed in a golden robe as her white hair was being braided by one of the maids that had been witness to the young prince''s birth.


    She moved to the side of the bed and held the child out "Princess Areum, would you like to hold your new son?" her voice was soft and kind but all she got in return was a glower tat spoiled the young princess''s refined features, she immediately pulled the child back to her chest.


    "Keep that filthy creature away from me, I want nothing to do with it!" the Princess mercilessly spat at the mid wife before turning to the voluptuous treeelf that had been quietly sitting in the corner through the whole birth "Cho-A, take that thing from the mid wife and let her be on her way!" her words were cruel beyond compare but the tree elf just held a straight face and got up to do as she was told.


    All the mid wife could do was hand the child over and prepare her things to leave, not much time had passed before she was out of the room, she felt scared for the innocent child''s future, with a mother a cruel as her, his fate was sure to be far from peaceful.


    *


    The Princess stared at the slave who sat in the corner quietly nursing the child, from whet she could see he was barely drinking anything and the slave had to be squeezing her breast so the milk would flow into the child''s mouth and he would automatically swallow it. She was disgusted at the sight it was weak and small, she expected that a child born from from a horrible act would at least be strong as the monster that hurt her but she was poorly mistaken.


    She wished it had died before it had even take a breath of air, if that was the case she could have just cut it out and throw it in the trash where it belonged, it made her sick to be in the same room as it so with a flick of her hand the slave stood and left the room still feeding the child with two of the maids trailing behind her, she took a deep breath and rested back on the soft pillow that had been placed behind her after she came out of labor and had cleaned herself.


    She felt she could finally relax but it was interrupted when the door slammed open and her father entered, he was garbed in one golden robe after the other, his long white hair almost touching the floor as it hung behind him, his white eyes pierced hers as he went around the bed and placed a kiss on her older sister''s head before whispering something in her air, with that she stood up and left the room taking the rest of the maids behind her.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    When the door closed her father took a seat at the end of the bed and stared at her with a deep frown marring his features "you look well." she nodded and he sighed "good, I''ve seen the child, he doesn''t look as if he will survive the night and even if he does by the light of morning he will be gone, I hope you didn''t form a bond with him because it means nothing" she once again nodded when her father''s eyes pierced hers "good as for you, I''m sending you to the Elven Temple and you will not be permitted to return until the High Priestess ensures me that you have been properly cleansed."


    The princess opened her mouth to protest but quickly shut it along with her eyes as she held her head when her father''s gaze had sharpened, it lasted for a second but she felt as if her skull had been cracked open before the pain seeped away "good, you leave for the port when the sun rises." with that he father got up and left the room pulling the door in behind him, she could hear the bolt on the outside being shut and all she wished is that she had never met that filthy beast.


    _______


    The sounds of tiny feet hitting dirt could be heard as a small child ran towards a large house carrying sticks, behind him he could hear other footsteps pounding the earth and ran as fast as he could to get into the house before the much bigger children caught up to him, he scampered up the steps and dusted his bare feet as best as he could on the porch outside before running into the home, he headed straight for the kitchen and stopped at the doorway and stomped his feet.


    A woman who was stirring a large iron pot stopped what she was doing and came over snatching the sticks from his hand, she unloaded all of them in a large opening in the iron stove and poked it with an iron stick before shutting the opening and going back to the child who was starring at her expectantly, she scowled at the tiny half breed, who stared at her with his large green eyes, she smiled at the pain that flashed in them when she slapped him.


    He whimpered and stepped back she leaned down so she was looking at him directly "you brought too little and you took too long, if you expect to eat tonight you will go and get more, do you understand me?" she growled deeply and heard a small whimper then the child was running down the hall and out the front entrance she huffed and returned to her pot.


    *


    The child sat behind a tree whimpering with tears running down his face as he held his now swollen jaw, in a normal circumstances it wouldn''t have hurt as much as it did but the child was way smaller than he was supposed to be for someone who had lived through five summers also taking into account that the woman was large and had hands that were bigger than his face, he sniffed again and slowly stood up.


    Even if he was in pain he needed to find more sticks to keep the stove going or the house mother would starve him and beat hit him before handing him over to the much bigger children, he may have been small and couldn''t read or write to save his life but he had enough common sense to see that he was the only one being treated so poorly, the other children were given things he wasn''t.


    Sweets that came to the house every time twelve suns had passed for the children he had never received any, and the desert the house mother would make all he ever tasted was the crumbs, the clothes he was wearing were worn and barely keeping in tact while the other children ran around in fresh washed clothes, that looked as if they had just been purchased.


    He only eat once a day and that was if the house mother felt like feeding him while the other children would eat three large meals and he was given what could only be called scraps, he knew the other children could read and write and a few even went off to school, while he could not and worst of all he wasn''t allowed to sleep in the house, he slept in the pen in the back with the chickens on a thin layer f hay and that was only if the night was cold, other wise he would sleep under a think layer of steel that was being held up by two logs, that''s right he had to crawl to get under it to sleep on cold dirt.


    And then when he thought things couldn''t get worse the older children like to gang up on him and kick him around or if he just happened to be fast enough to get away they would throw sharp rocks and sticks at him to injure him as best as they could, just like they were doing right now, as he ran with a large log in his arms, it was heavy and it hurt to carry it but he kept running to get away from the other children and eventually reached the house running inside and stopping at the door.


    The house mother was stirring another large pot when she heard the child stomp the floor, she was ready to hit him again for wasting her time with small sticks when she turned around and was surprised by the large log he was holding, the thing was twice his size and most likely weighed more than him so she gave a sharp nod and marched over collecting the log, she grabbed her iron chopper from the side of the wall and cut the log in to four putting two of the pieces in the stove.


    She looked back to see the child leaning against the door frame and scowled, she went to the table picking up a fish she had fried for the children and handed it to him, his green eyes seemed to shine before he ran off going back outside to probably hide under his shed so he could eat in piece, it was disgusting to see him behaving worse than a dog.

 Chapter Two*

    The sound of thunder rumbling in the sky was what woke the small child, his large green eyes snapping open only to be filled with fear a second later as he took in his surroundings, rain was pouring from the sky heavily and had already flowed under the shed soaking the earth along with the clothes he wore, he had no idea how long it had been like this but his small body was already being racked with endless shivers.


    His teeth chattered in his mouth, his pink lips pursed as he scrambled out from under the shed and moved as fast as he could to the chicken pen, it was a large one and built properly so no water would seep in and kill one of their sources of food, he reached the door and tried to pull it open but it refused to budge, he looked up and to his horror a large lock was hanging from the iron bolt.


    He panicked and tried to pull on it but it refused to open and so he whimpered looking around, there was no where else he could hide so the only option was the large house, he ran through the rain as fast as his tiny feet could carry him, when he reached he pounded on the back door but his small hands barely made a sound with the sound of the pouring rain drowning out all his attempts to get attention.


    The small boy let out a loud whimper and moved to sit next to the door, the rain was still pouring down on him, washing away the tears that flowed from his eyes, he curled into a small ball putting his face between his legs to block out the rain as his hands were thrown over his head, this was all he could do as he cried through the night.


    *


    The house mother woke with the sun just as it began to shine through her windows, she had many things to do before the children awoke, today was the day she needed to send her oldest children off to the towns school and she needed to make sure they were well prepared to receive their learning, so with a sigh she got off of her bed, she smiled at the sight of two small elven children sleeping in her bed.


    They were moon elves only two summers old who had lost both of their parents, their mother at birth and their father who was a hunter to a beast attack, she pulled the cotton sheet over them and quickly moved to the small basin in the corner of the room, she washed her face and arms, rinsing out her mouth, she pulled her long brown hair into a bun and quickly dawned her clothes and boots before leaving the room.


    She peeped into the many rooms where the different aged children were sleeping soundly, she was happy to see the storm didn''t bother them, at least she would have to spend much of her coins on medicine for them, she stopped at the small room that cam just before the steps and went inside to check on the small beast child, he was less than a summer and slept like a log only waking to eat or play with one of the older girls who happened to be of his kind.


    She checked to make sure no rain had entered the room and his blankets were still warm, when everything appeared to be in order she left the room gently closing the door behind her and headed down to the kitchen, she opened the cupboards and pulled out all she would need to prepare a sturdy breakfast for the older children along with a few jugs of milk for the younger ones, she hummed an old tune as she fired up the stove and threw a few logs in it, she looked at the pile and sighed she needed more, enough to cook both breakfast and lunch.


    She placed a few pots of water on the stove and then a small pot with milk to warm it before going to the door in the corner of the kitchen, she opened it and sighed at the sight, the back of the house was slightly flooded and she needed to check on the animals, if any of them died more coins would be taken from her pocket to replace them, as she took a step outside she heard a small thump.


    She looked to the side and her eyes squinted when she saw the half breed slumped on the floor still unconscious, what in the God''s names was he doing here? She sighed and lightly kicked him with a boot, the child didn''t respond so she kicked him again and all she got was a small whimper as the child remained unconscious, she leaned down to shake him awake but when her fingers touched his skin they were yanked back, the child was as cold as the dead.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Her eyes widened as she realized the thing had been out in the yard while the rain had poured to it''s hearts content, she had completely forgotten he even existed and as an old habit she had locked the chicken pen, she huffed and took the child into her arms, his pale skin was cold and his body shivered, his dark hair that was almost blue was stuck to his skin and his clothes were soaked, if he died it would spell trouble for her even if he was just a filthy half breed, the Duchess that looked after the small town had a soft spot for his kind.


    She hurried into the house stripping the child of his clothes as she went along, his shivering increased and she reluctantly held his small frame to her, damn he was smaller than most of the children that were only three summers old, even some of the girls, she opened the door to the room where the eldest child was sleeping, she tapped his arm and he grumbled as his deep brown eyes opened, she smiled at the sight of her only child looking so innocent.


    "Guiren, wake up my son, I need you to get dressed and go into town, there''s some things I need you to fetch for mama."


    The young cub grumbled but did as he was told, he rubbed his eyes and got up pulling on his clothes and boots, after his mother had hastily left the room, he wondered what was wrong but knew not to keep her waiting because he would need to travel to town and then get back in time to prepare for his school and then board the carriage as to not be left behind.


    The house made entered the small room where a tub was waiting, she set the child down in the tub and he curled in on himself, she sighed and ran out the room, when she made it to the kitchen she huffed at the sight of the milk boiling and hastily took it off the stove nearly burning her hands, she moved to the stove and picked up a large pot of hot water and hurried back to the room with the tub, she mixed the water with the tubs of cold water that were sitting around, just as her son entered the room she picked the half breed up and told hims to fill the tub.


    When it was finished she told him to wake Da-ye the oldest girl in the house a moon kind sun elf, she would need to start preparing the food while she looked after the child, Guiren nodded and left the room allowing her to focus on the child who she had soaking in the warm water as she held his head up, she poured some of the water over his head and took the bottle of liquid that was used for cleaning the children, and poured it on his head, she scrubbed his dark hair and then his skin, when she was finished she rinsed him up and wrapped him up in a large blanket.


    She was in her son''s room pulling one of her large wool shirts on the child, when Guirne walked in holding a piece of parchment and something to write with, as she tucked the child in she called out a list of medicine for him to get and then retried a pouch of copper coins from the opening in her dress, she handed it to him and watched him leave before checking on the child, his skin was now hot to the touch and he was sweating as he let out a small shiver every few minutes.


    She got up and made her way back to the kitchen, the elven girl was standing at the counter quickly chopping through vegetables and provision while a broth was already heating on the stove with flicks of meat in it, she told the girl good morning and received a bright smile, getting a cup she poured out of some cool water and then filled a wooden bowl with the broth then got a spoon and went back to the room.


    She held the child''s head up and placed the spoon that was filled with broth to his mouth, she poured it in and waited only to have it run out his mouth and down the front of his chin, she suspected as much, he may have spent the whole night in the rain, so he would be totally unconscious for some time, she sighed and cleaned his face placing the spoon back in the bowl, there was nothing she could do for now but wait.


    ---------


    Most of the day had passed relatively quiet and the child had yet to wake, the House mother stood on the porch holding the infant beat child in her arms as she watched the carriage approach, when it stopped in front of the house her son Guiren, Da-ye and five other children hopped out of it and made their way inside each greeting her as they did, she nodded to the man in front of the carriage and he returned the gesture before turning to leave.


    She made her way inside and went up to the infants room placing him back in his cradle and tucking him in, she smiled to herself and headed back to her son''s room bumping into his as he left now wearing his house clothes, she patted his cheek and went inside the room to her surprise the half breed was no longer in the bed, she called her son who stated he didn''t see him when he came up.


    The house mother felt panic pool in her stomach as she quickly checked the house, only stopping when she saw him sitting next to Da-ye who was slowly feeding him the broth, his eyes were half open and he was leaning against the girls front, she sighed in relief and made her way to the kitchen so she could prepare dinner she knew the child would be taken care of by the young elf.

 Chapter Three*

    The morning sun was pouring into the small room, where two persons were sleeping on a large bed, on one side slept a large beast child about fourteen yearsold and on the other slept a small half breed child, who had only known the comfort of sleeping in a bed for less than a week, but not that he would remember when the time came for him to return where he normally slept.


    A large full busted woman entered the room and made her way over to the large beast child who happily slept in his corner not even aware of the guest that had invaded his space, he wasn''t even aware that he was half way off the bed and only a few minutes away from falling onto his face and waking up to a headache, his mother saw this and gently righted her son, she sat down on the side of the bed and patted his cheek softly.


    "Guiren, my sweet the sun has been up for sometime now, it is time for you to open your eyes, even Little Li is awake and he sleeps like a log." she smiled and ran her fingers through her child''s unruly hair as grumbled and slowly awoke "mama needs you to bathe and prepare to go into town with her, okay." the still half asleep beast child nodded and the House mother got up and went around the bed.


    With a sigh she sat down and placed her large palm on the child''s head, he was slightly warm and no longer as hot as her iron stove would be when it was running, his shiver''s had came to a stop less than a day ago and he was no longer sweating enough to soak the sheets, she nodded to herself he should be well enough to go back outside within a day but first she needed to take him to the doctor and since she was going in town today she decided to do it all in one as not waste valuable coin on the half breed.


    She had already woken a long time ago and had been able to take a bath and was wearing the clothes she normally wore for travelling, she had even had the other children awake, cleaned and fed now the older ones were watching the smaller children as they played, she had left the infant with Huan the eldest beast girl who was of his same kind, she adored the baby and so she had the house mother''s full trust when it came to caring for him, she treated him as if he was her little brother.


    The house mother sighed and moved the blanket that was covering the half breed, she picked him up and carried him to the room with the tub, a small one had already been set aside for him, so she just took off the large shirt he was wearing and placed him to sit in it, as if lightning had struck the child his eyes flew open and he tried to scramble out of the water, she held him in place and checked the water as he looked around panicked with his heart hammering in his chest, she could hear it loud and clear.


    The water was still warm so she didn''t understand his reaction but decided no to pay attention to it for she knew if she had she was most likely to strike him and she didn''t need to be yelled at when he showed up at the doctor''s with a large bruise on his face, she rinsed his skin and then covered him in soap before washing him down and taking him out of the tub, the whole time the child had been letting out small whimpers that pained her ears.


    She quickly dried him off and let him walk back to her son''s room, she took a brush to his unusually dark hair, she had always wondered what breed he was but even from his sent she could never figure it out all she knew is that he was part elf and had a family that wanted nothing to do with him. He had been found below deck on a supply ship and was just dropped off here, at the time he may have been one yearold and would cry at everything, even when the other children tried to play with him he would watch them blankly before crying.


    No wonder your parents didn''t want you.


    When she was finished brushing his hair it was hanging in front of his face blocking everything above his nose, she almost laughed at the sight but just gave him a quick side part and brushed the hair to the side tucking some behind his short pointed ears, he stared at her while his green eyes seemed to swirl, the gold flecks shinning because of the sun that hit them, his small nose rose and fell every time he sniffed, his small lips were in a pout and his pale skin was flushed.


    She shook her head and left the room to go to one of the other rooms where the younger children slept, she went for one of the twin elves clothes, the boy couldn''t fit into the clothes of children that ran the same ageas him and there was no way she would put those rags back on him to take him into town, she quickly returned to the room and dressed him in soft cotton pants and a white shirt, then she placed a green cloak on him and tied the draw strings together, she shook her head when he let out a small yawn.


    She held his hand quickly letting it go, it was too small she might forget she was holding it and crush it when she got angry, she placed her hand on his shoulder and lead him him down stairs so he could eat a small bun and some left over broth, he drank water and then she led him to the front where two horses were waiting, already saddled as her son sat on the large brown one while holding the reigns for the white spotted one, she walked over to his horse and lifted the child up to sit in front of him.


    The small child''s eyes were pooled with fear and she wondered if it was the horse or how high he was off the ground that scared him, she shrugged her shoulders and made her way to her horse and got on, they started off in a short trot but soon they were galloping through the opening between the tree''s, the small child holding on for dear life.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    ------


    The child could feel a large hand on his back and he leaned over throwing up everything he had eaten, his body felt weak but he stood up and turned to the woman that was glaring down at him, she took out a pouch of water she was carrying and gave it to him so he could wash out his mouth, when he was finished she used her apron to wipe his face and then pulled the hood for the cloak over his head, the hood was blocking his sight so he raised it up slightly only to get a huff in return from the house mother.


    The two stood just at the entrance for the town waiting on the larger boy he had ridden with to return, he soon showed up without the horses and the child''s eyes widened at this, if he didn''t have the horses how were they getting back to the house, he didn''t have much time to think about this as he was lifted off the ground and placed on the beast child''s back who placed one of his arms under him and used the other to place his arms around his neck before letting go.


    His eyes snapped to everything as they walked though the town, this was the first time he was so far away from the house and everything was knew to him, all of the buildings were larger than the house especially the white one that was sitting across from the entrance and looked much more fancier than the rest, he looked at all the people that were calling out he could see what he thought was food on large stands in front of them, he wandered why they were screaming weren''t they just giving the food to the people that passed?


    Something shone in his eyes and he blinked few times before looking over at a tall man that stood in strange metal clothes, the child thought he looked ridiculous, but then he saw many others that dressed just like him and he wondered how they could bear to walk around like that, one of the men looked at him and smiled as he came over to them, his dark brows scrunched up why was this large man smiling at him, he had never seen him before, then it dawned on him that the man wasn''t smiling at him but the House mother who stood happily talking with him.


    He rested his chin on the beast child''s shoulder and continued to watch them, the woman soon said something to the man and they were walking away, his ears perked when he saw the woman handing flat round brown things to a man that gave her a large ham leg, followed by other types of meat, he could feel his stomach grumbling but looked away when he remembered he won''t be getting any of it, he always saw them hanging in a small room off the kitchen but he had never tasted it because the woman never gave him any and he wouldn''t dare try to take it for himself.


    After a while the woman was holding a lot of bags that were overflowing with food, food he would never eat, and then he thought they were going to the large white house but they turned a corner and he was left staring at the giant white house, in front had many men that wore the silver material, they were funny looking but one of them looked at him with a angry face and he quickly looked around.


    The boys eyes widened as they went into a large brown build it was slightly smaller than the house he was staring in but it was the similar style, he saw strange curvy letters on the front of the building but couldn''t work out what it was saying, he looked in front when he heard the woman talking to someone in a strange voice, he couldn''t understand what she was saying but he knew she was talking about him when the man that only came up to her hips looked at him and nodded.


    He felt frightened when the man with an angry looking face started walking towards him but could do nothing as he was lifted off of the beast child''s back and put to stand in front of him, he nodded looking him over at the woman and said something before they headed into a room at the end of the hall, the man said something in the strange words and then left the room, the woman turned to him and started taking off all his clothes, then she took a seat in the corner leaving him to stand in the middle of the room completely naked.


    The man came back in the room and made his way over to the boy no matter how shorter he was than the large beast woman the child was way shorter than him, even if he was a half elf he should have at least picked up some of their genes, he looked at the scared child and felt a bit pity, he walked closer than the child who begun to step back as his body started shaking, the man stopped in his tracks and gave his best smile.


    "It''s okay little half ling, I''m not going to hurt you, I just want to check and make sure you''re feeling okay."


    The boy stopped in his tracks he could barely understand what the short man was saying but he could see from the look in his eyes and the way he smiled at him he meant no harm, so he walked over to the man even as his heart raced and threatened to give up on him, the man nodded and took his hand, he watched as he closed his eyes and nodded three times then moved away to take notes before going back to the child.


    He ran through test after test frowning at most of the results he got from the small child, he was too small for his age looking as if he was barely three yearsold, when in a few days he would be six years old, he was also underweight and from what he could see didn''t eat the foods he was supposed to. He felt his ears wiggle at this, something was wrong at that children''s home, he glanced at the woman before going back to the child, pressing his palm on his stomach, it was empty from what he could tell, the child may have eaten with the early sun but hasn''t had anything since.


    He needed to do one last test but that would require the child to still be able to stand when he was done, he went to his draw and opened the wrapper that held the lunch his daughter had prepared for him, he took a fried ball of dough that was stuffed with meat and went back handing it to the child, who stared at it strangely, he could see the beast in the child raising up as he sniffed the dough before collecting in and taking a large bite.


    For a second he swore he saw scales on the child''s skin but it was gone in an instant as he begun to eat, while the child ate he turned to the woman and called her over, she came over and asked what he needed and he told her to fill in the child''s information, she did as she was told and then returned to her seat, he picked up the parchment and his eyes widened when he looked where the child''s name was supposed to be, what in the name of Aibell?!

 Chapter Four*

    The sun was shinning bright outside not a cloud in sight despite the rain that had been pouring for the better part of five nights, but inside the room in the large brown building a cold chill suddenly ran over the beast woman making her look at the Fae that was staring dagger''s at her, despite his height he was putting out a dangerous atmosphere that apparently only she could feel as the tiny half breed stood in the middle of the room happily licking his fingers.


    The Fae felt an uncontrollable anger raging inside his small form, he set the thick parchment on the table and went back to the sack that held his lunch, he pulled out two more of the fried dough buns and handed them to the small child who''s eyes seemed to shine as he held them, he lifted the child onto the nearby chair and pulled a cloth over him and then left the room signalling to the beast woman to follow him, when she came out he gently shut the door and grabbed her arm dragging her into the room across the hall and shutting the door.


    The woman took a seat and he remained standing so they were at eye level he could see she was worried constantly looking in the direction of the beast child that was still waiting outside, he snapped his fingers the sound echoed in the room and drew her full attention and the Fae tried his best to hold in his anger as he spoke "what in the world was going through your mind when you named the half ling?" he asked in a deep growl and the woman''s eyes widened.


    A look of realization dawned on the woman''s face and she quickly shook her head "No, no, you''re mistaken I didn''t name the half breed, when he arrived with the men from the ship they just handed him to me, he was completely naked and covered in dirt and they just handed me a scrap of parchment and said that the child was holding that when they found him so they decided that was his name, when I looked at it it read Sin, I didn''t think much of it because no matter what you called him that was the only thing he would respond to until he was a few years older and I just started calling him child."


    The Fae''s anger was cut in half but he still scowled at the woman "and you didn''t think to give him a different more appropriate name?" the woman looked down at her lap and the Fae sighed, this was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard, it was too late to rename the child, so now he had to send a file to his superiors and they would probably want to know what the hell was going on.


    The Fae shook his head letting out a deep sigh and decided there was nothing that could be done for now so he headed back to the room and walked in just as the half ling was finishing off the last of the fried dough bun, he looked up at him excitedly, he could see the child''s ears wiggling that made him feel a little better. With the way the child was behaving things didn''t seem so bad but then again with a name like Sin the child''s life could turn out to be one cruel twist of fate after the other, adding to the fact that he was already a half ling and on this continent and many other''s they were looked down upon.


    Sin looked up at the man who gave him a smile as he entered the room, he felt happy the man had fed him, it was something he had never eaten before and the man gave him more than one by the time he had finished the last his stomach felt stuffed but he still wanted more, of course he knew not to ask the man was being nice to him just this once and asking for more could earn him a beating, that was what he didn''t want.


    He looked up when the man approached him holding some sort of tube like thing, the bottom was curved and sealed but the top was flat and had a large opening, he didn''t notice the small blade the man hand in his hand until the man had taken his hand and made a small cut over his wrist.


    The fae felt horrible because of the look he got from the child, his large green eyes were filled with fear and his body began to shiver when he let out a painful yelp, the Fae placed the tube at the child''s wrist and let the blood flow until it was halfway, he looked up at the child who now had tears running down his face, he sighed deeply and removed the tube before pressing his hand on the child''s open wound receiving a painful whimper, when he let go the child snatched his hand back and moved as far back in the chair as he could curling into a ball not realizing that his hand had already been healed.


    The fae returned to his desk and looked at the blood having to raise it up to the light it was such a deep red it almost looked black and it was really thick, which wasn''t really a bad thing for The beast people but for the half ling it could spell a bit of trouble seeing how his body wasn''t big as a beast child''s body would be if they were of the same age, he sighed and shook the tube, it would take some time for him to test it, so he turned to the woman telling her that he would need to see the child in the morning so she was not to leave the town.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    The house mother sighed but didn''t protest as she turned to go to the child feeling a bit surprised at the child''s unconscious state, but then remembered the current state of health and knew it wasn''t good for him to be as frightened as he appeared to be just now, she sighed and collected the cloth that had been soaked in warm water from the fae and wiped his face before wiping his hands and clearing away the blood.


    She quickly dressed the child and pulled on his cloak and covering his head then took him into her arms, she gave the Fae one last nod and then walked out the room, she went over to her son that stood up and looked at the child a little surprised. She passed the child over to him and felt a bit of anger at seeing him hold the child so gently, but decided it wasn''t right to be angry with him, he was still too young to learn the ways of the world but when he did he would treat the half breed filth how he was meant to be treated.


    It took them a bit of time before they were able to find an Inn the house mother hiding the fact that the child with her was a half breed, they got a small room that would be one copper for the night, she gave them another one to keep the room for the day, they were lead to the room and placed the child on the bed in the corner taking off the cloak and covering him up, she couldn''t wait for it to get better so she can put it out, she was forced to make her son share his bed so next time there was storm she would bring him inside and have him sleep downstairs.


    She went to her son that was at the stables, saddling the horses and using them to carry all the bags, she waited until he got on before handing him another large bag "there''s fresh meat pies in there just share it to the children with some milk and then make sure they all have a wash before going to bed, make sure you lock up the house and keep safe, check on all of them especially Liu. When the sun rises I want you make your way back to town and meet me at the inn and tell Da-ye to prepare breakfast, I should be back in time to make lunch if not just let her give the remainder of the pies to the children for a snack and make sure Liu is drinking all of his milk, Okay?"


    Her son ensured her that he will do all she said before leading the horses away after telling her to stay safe, she nodded and went back to the bakery stall where she had bought the large pies and bought a small one for herself along with some of the fried dough buns that the little half breed seemed to enjoy this was the final time she would spoil him, he was getting more than someone of his kind deserved.


    She purchased a jug of milk and made her way back to the room, when she reached the little half breed was still fast asleep, so she leaned over to check on him and saw that he was no longer as warm as he was earlier, good by the time they returned home she would be able to put him to work, she nodded to herself and finished the pie before getting up and closing the jug and the pack, the half breed could have his treats in the morning, was the last thing she thought before going to sleep.


    ----------


    The next morning the entire inn was brought to life with the sound of a pained cry, it sounded as if someone had merciless hit a small child, green eyes flashed open and a small body lurched forward as a tiny heart raced away, Sin felt as if it was trying to run away from him and he was in pain so he curled in on himself not even paying attention to the sound of a frazzled voice as it tried to get his attention.


    Some time passed before his heart had calmed itself, and the pain receded all was left was his crumpled body as he gasped for air. The house mother sighed as the half breed finally calmed, this was the first time in many years that she had been awoken by such a frightful scream, she sighed and got off the bed, she reached the tub and soaked a cloth with cool water before wringing it out and going back to the child.


    She pulled him up and looked at his dazed eyes sighing to herself, this child was more trouble than he was worth, she should find some way to get rid of him before he brought more trouble to the house and ruin her children''s life, she shook the thought from her head and quickly wiped the child''s face and hands, she dressed him and pulled his cloak on before moving him to the chair.


    He no longer looked dazed by the time she had set the buns and a glass of milk down in front of him, he just looked a bit scared as he looked from her to the buns and then back she huffed and gave him a nod, his small hands reached forward and collected the first bun and quickly bit into it a strange sound came from his mouth but before he knew what it was he had stuffed half the bun in his mouth and scarfed down the rest including the milk within a few minutes.


    The house mother was a bit interested in the sight before her it was like watching a starved dog eat, he breathed harshly as he licked his fingers and lips, she shook her head and poured him another glass of milk which he gulped down, the child released a belch that seemed to surprise even him, she took a cloth and wiped his hands and mouth before packing up what remained and pulling hood over his head.


    She lifted him up with one arm so she could quickly make her way down the steps for the inn and outside, she didn''t want to answer any questions about why the other guest had been awoken by the cry of the small child, she sighed as she made her way down the street and had to turn a few corners before coming to a stop in front of the clinic where the Fae doctor was now opening up the door.


    She greeted him good morning and he returned it giving the frightened child a glance before leading her inside.

 Chapter Five*

    The beast child had returned to the town shortly after helping to feed and bathe the children and then left them in Da-ye''s care, he remembered to give his mother''s instructions just as she had said them, he got off the horse and led them to the stable paying a copper to let them stay and eat while he went off to find his mother, he had went to the inn and was told that she had left as soon as the sun had risen,and had taken a small child with her.


    Guiren thanked the woman for her time and left the inn going straight for the clinic that was the only place they would be now, on his way he passed a stall that was selling sweets and decided to by a few for the children at home including a small plum for the child, he had always been given a plum after every time he got sick so he decided that it wouldn''t be so bad to give the child once for this was the first time he had gotten sick enough to need to be brought to the doctor''s.


    He reached the large house that read Doctor Hideaki Akifumi, the Fae''s name was a bit strange but his mother had told him that he had come from a different continent all together, so when addressing him just call him doctor, as to not to offend him by mispronouncing his name, he pushed the door open and the first thing he heard was a whimper, his ears twitched and instead of waiting by the door he headed straight to the room in the back.


    The beast child knocked on the door and waited for permission before entering, when he did he saw his mother sitting across from the fae with the child sitting in her lap, he had a sour look on his face and a green liquid was running down the side of his face, he had just been given surely bitters, it was the most slimiest and literally bitter thing that you could ever taste but it was made just for children and helped to get rid of any sickness that had afflicted the small body.


    He nearly laughed when the child spit it out before his mother could cover his mouth, he was making a horrible face and hanging his sickly looking green tongue out of his mouth, while he wasn''t paying attention the beast child''s mother clamped his hands down and the doctor quickly refilled the spoon and shoved it in the child''s mouth, he pulled it out and clamped his mouth shut, the child trashed and tried to move his head away but the doctor clamped his nose shut making the child go red in the face before swallowing.


    The doctor gave him a small cup of sweetened water and watched as he gulped it down, it wouldn''t get rid of the bitter taste all together but it would tame it a bit, the Fae shook his head at the child''s behavior before wiping down his face and hands, he turned to the fresh parchment he had placed on his desk a bit earlier and began writing out a list of things, that included the child''s new diet. It was the best thing to help him put on the right amount of weight and also help to thin his blood a bit, and that didn''t include sweets but he added plums just to give the child something sweet but healthy to eat.


    When he was finished and gave the beast woman everything she needed and collected his payment, he watched as she handed the half ling off to the beast child, who placed him on his back and handed him what looked like a red plum, The Fae smiled to himself, as long as the beast child was there maybe the half lings future wasn''t so bleak, he got up and followed them outside, where the woman wished him well and left, she saw the scowl on her lips when she looked at the half ling who was scarfing down the fruit and sighed.


    It didn''t take them long to get back to the stables, the beast child had asked his mother if she was going to buy the things on the list and she told him that "the half breed will eat whatever I give him" he wondered why she sounded so bitter did the child do something to her but he decided not to voice his questions he''d learned a long time ago not to question his mother because she always had a reason for it.


    He got up on his horse when they had lead them out of the town and were at the entrance, then collected the small child and sat him in front of him, he looked down as the child let out a small yawn, he put one of his hands around the child to secure him and then held the reigns with the other. They moved at a steady pace as to not end up with the child throwing up, by the time they reached the house the sun was almost at the center of the sky, he handed the child to his mother and lead the horses to the stables, he took off their saddles, brushed and fed them before heading inside.


    When he got inside he saw the child sitting by the kitchen door in nothing but the pants as he sipped what looked like chicken brought he was pretty sure they ate that for breakfast about two days ago, was it even good at this point? He continued to look at the child who didn''t seem bothered by it as he soaked a bun it and then scarfed it down, when he was finished he carried the bowl into the kitchen and then came out running past him and going out into the forest.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    He decided he would follow him just to see what he was doing, the child was fast and the only thing that allowed the beast child to find the half ling was his tiny foot prints that barely left a trace in the earth, he heard a huff and looked up to see the small child struggling with a log that was maybe three times his size, he was trying to pull it from some brush and the beast child''s eyes widened as he rushed open to help the smaller boy with the log.


    He knew the child had just gotten better so seeing him work right away was a bit frightening, whenever he had gotten sick and was able to recover his mother would keep him close to her for maybe the next few suns, but the she sent the small child that had just woken up to get the log. He couldn''t understand what was going one, he wanted to know why she was treating him like this and not like she treated the other children, maybe he could ask her before he went to bed the night.


    When he reached for the log and pulled it onto his shoulder without a single strain the child''s large green eyes looked at him as his fingers tapped his legs, he had to grab the child up when he moved to grab another log. The child struggled a little but then gave up and just hung limply from his arm that was wrapped around the child''s stomach, he wanted to know what was going through the boys head, but shrugged it off and headed back to the house.


    **


    Sin watched the woman who gave him an angry look that made him shrink into himself, he was hanging from the beast child''s arm, who effortlessly held the log and placed it down on the kitchen floor, he felt frightened why would the beast boy do that, was he trying to get him beaten or maybe take away his food? He knew he didn''t need it because he always saw him with the other children eating and he seemed to eat even more than them.


    Then maybe he was trying to get him in trouble, he didn''t know why but maybe he did something to make him angry enough to want to hurt him, but if he was hungry why would he give him that sweet large round thing that dripped read down his hand, was it because he stained his clothes, would someone actually want to get him beaten for that? He knew the beast child wasn''t one of the children that liked to attack him but also was one of the children that did nothing when he saw it happening or just wasn''t around most of the time.


    He peeped up when he heard the beast child placing the log on the ground, he said something to the woman who sighed and shook her head, he couldn''t understand what they were saying, and it wasn''t the same words he couldn''t understand when she was speaking to the man from the town. But he did notice when the older boy tilted his head and spoke again in the strange words, his eyes widened when he was suddenly placed on the ground to stand in front of the woman and leaned down to place her hand on his head, he flinched but other wise stayed still.


    His eyes followed the beast woman that straightened herself before once again speaking to the older boy, who said something back to her, the woman spoke back in a deep growl and suddenly he felt the beast boy take his hands off of his shoulders and take a few steps back wards. He looked up to see him giving him a look he had gotten from the woman many times, he wondered what they had just said, but didn''t voice it when the older boys suddenly turned on his heels and left the kitchen.


    He looked back at the woman just as she struck him, he stumbled but the woman grabbed his arm and squeezed it tight pulling it to her and she leaned down and growled in his face "how dare you?" she said in a voice that made the small child shiver "this is the first time my son has ever questioned me and it was all your fault." The child didn''t know what she was talking about but he knew he needed to be afraid of her "you won''t eat tonight for what you just did and I''ll make sure to lock the chicken pen tonight, if it rains you''ll sleep in the storage room by yourself, now go and fetch me some eggs and fill the basket!" with that she shoved him on the floor and threw a basket at him.


    The child whimpered but grabbed up the basket and ran out of the kitchen as quickly as he could, he felt tears running down his face because of the pain he felt his hand seemed to even burn but he didn''t stop until he was inside the chicken pen. The birds noticed him and all flew to their nest and started flapping their wings when he approached them to get the eggs, he grabbed as many of them as he could and packed them into the basket even as they scratched and pecked him all he could do was cry.


    He picked up the heavy basket and carried it back to the kitchen as fast as he could, he set it down by the door and stepped back as the angry house mother approached him, he watched as she lifted the basket with ease and placed it down on the table before turning back to him with a scowl on her face "what are you crying for you filth? you have no reason to cry." He took a few steps back but she was still able to grab him by the same arm she had hurt earlier and turned him to face the iron stove and pointed next to it "I want you to bring enough logs to fill that corner and don''t stop until I tell you to."


    He turned and ran out the kitchen going through the front entrance, he ran to where he had found the large log earlier and wiped his face off before pulling out another log, it took some time and hurt his bruised arms, the wood itself prickled his fingers as he was forced to drag it along the way, tripping a few times. It took him some time to return with the log and gave it to the woman, then he went ahead and continued getting log after log until the corner was filled, the woman only telling him to stop when the sun was about to set lighting the sky up in it''s orange hew.

 Chapter Six*

    The summer had passed and everyone was readying themselves for winter, men and women hard at work, children preparing themselves for the test they would have to take, barns and stalls storing as much food as they could, but somewhere out of town sat the large home for the parent-less children, and from where Sin sat down playing with a few rocks he could hear laughter and singing coming from inside, he couldn''t understand much of it but knew that they were very happy.


    That''s right everyone had successfully lived through another summer and as tradition they were each given a present, whether it was dresses for the older girls, toys for the younger children, weapons for the older boys or maybe even things they would need for school, they were all getting something everyone but little Sin who tried his best to ignore the happy sounds that left the building, even the godly smells of roasted meat and finely cooked food with precious baked cakes and pies, he wouldn''t taste any so he didn''t get his hopes up.


    He turned so his back was to the house as his stomach let out a loud growl, he hadn''t eaten anything since maybe two day''s ago, he thought that maybe the house mother had forgotten to feed him when he in actuality he was being punished. Just the two days ago a carriage carrying many boxes had arrived and he had been forced to help carry some inside along with the older boys, one of the boxes proved too heavy for him and he accidentally dropped it spilling out what looked like dough.


    He had worked as quickly as he could to pack them all back but the house mother had seen him and one of the older boys had collected the crate, when the people that brought the crates left, he was dragged to the back of the house and beaten with a wooden cane until he was screaming loudly, then sent to get more logs and because everything hurt he had taken longer to get them and was beaten again and left in the yard to cry himself to sleep.


    He could still feel some of the bruises on his skin every time he moved and one of his legs pained the most which left him walking with an odd limp, he had now been living for seven yearsand had barely grown. His hair was long and scruffy, he had gotten a bit of a tan and his green eyes that used to shine brightly had dulled out, he wasn''t afraid any more no he didn''t feel anything much about what was happening to him, it was just the way his life was and he had grown to accept it, at least that was what he tried to tell himself.


    He was so focused on blocking out the sounds he didn''t notice when the back door for the house had opened and Da-ye who was now sixteen yearsold walked out. She was a kind girl and helped to look after the other children as best as she could but she was always told by the house mother and many other of the children not to extend her kindness to the little boy that slept in the yard, she had asked why but was never given a proper reason, so whenever no one was looking she would be as kind as she could to him.


    She carried a large bowl that held some of the roasted chicken, beef and pork, with a few buns and vegetables, with one fried meat bun, she knew he used to like it, but as of last summer the happy smile he gave her whenever she had given him one had vanished, he just collected whatever she gave him with a look of indifference and would somewhere far away from the house to eat sometimes even climbing the tree''s and the branches were often too high for someone even as tall as Guiren to reach.


    She smiled when he jumped as she placed the bowl down next to him, he had scrambled back and looked up at her with his eyes swirling but the minute he spotted her it was like the light had been drained form them and she frowned down at him as he moved quickly to collect the food and then left going way out of sight. She wanted to tell him a happy summer because she didn''t think it was right for everyone else to get something but him, but he had been gone in an instant so she sighed and nearly jumped out of her skirt when she saw Guiren leaning against the door.


    "I wondered where you were going off to." he spoke in a dull voice as he leaned off the door frame and came over to her stopping and looking over at where the boy had been sitting before looking back at her "Mother said you shouldn''t feed him, especially seeing that she''s punishing him for dropping the dough, if she saw you, you would be in trouble y''know."


    Da-ye sighed and turned her head away folding her arms over her chest as she did "he is just a child Guiren and I don''t see the need to punish him because it was clearly an accident and the dough was wrapped tightly, none of it touched the floor and plus she already beat him within an inch of his life does she need to starve him too?"


    Guiren shook his head "you just don''t understand and that is gonna cost you?"


    "So suddenly being kind to an innocent child is something bad, it''s not his fault he was born a half breed, it''s the fault of his parents who clearly didn''t care what he would face throughout his life, I don''t care what any one says I''ll look after him and in two years time when I''m able to leave I''m taking him with me, and you just try and stop me!" she stomped past him slamming her shoulder into his arm and headed inside, Guiren shook his head and gave one last look at where the half breed had scampered off to before following after her.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    ________


    The next dayfound the small child as he was being dragged from under his shed, he tried to grab for anything to keep him in place but there was nothing so he was soon brought face to face with the house mother who scowled down at him. She grabbed the front of his worn and dirty shirt and pulled him onto his feet, she didn''t say anything as she lead him to the back of the house but he saw a large tub that was filled with water there and tried to pull away to no avail.


    The house mother knelt down and grabbed the hem for his shirt pulling it off of him, she yanked his pants down and forced him to step out of them, when she was finished she grabbed the boys arm and stood pulling him the rest of the way to the tub and then shoving him into it. The small body was covered in water and when he managed to pull himself up he was gasping for air, the house mother rolled her eyes and reached for the bottle of liquid for scrubbing his skin along with a rough cloth.


    She squeezed the liquid on his head and shoulders and then soaked the cloth before scrubbing his skin, the child made some pitiful sounds as he tried to get out of her grip but had no chance to even with the slippery substance on his skin. She scrubbed his skin until it was slightly pink and then gripped his shoulders submerging him in the water before pulling him up, she started scrubbing his hair and picked up a brush and ran it through his hair, he whimpered as his head was yanked back with each stroke, she only stopped when the brush was able to pass through smoothly.


    She pulled him out the water placing him to stand on a sheet off clean wood, the boy could barely stand and was shivering all over, she clicked her tongue at the pathetic sight and then picked up a mug and dipped it into a smaller tube that held clean water and poured it over his head while rubbing his hair. She rinsed off his skin until she was pleased with her work, and then left him standing there, she picked up a different brush and shears running it through his hair and clipped off the set that was hanging a bit too longer than the rest, rinsing him off again when she was done.


    She emptied the tubs and then took his hand leading him inside the house she heard a bit of laughter coming from the children as she walked him through the hall and up the stairs, she pulled him into her son''s room and used a cloth to dry his skin down. She could see the blank look on the child''s face, she arched her brow at this, before the child used to look frightened of every little thing but now it was as if nothing bothered him, she decided to ignore it, this meant that the half breed was finally going to be strong and maybe of some better use in the future.


    She picked up a pristine shirt that had arrived a few days ago, it was for one of the younger children but she needed to put it on him because they had some guest coming today and she didn''t need the seeing him in his usual state. When she was finished she pulled on some brown pants on him and left the shirt out and placed a a large leather belt around his hips, then helped him to put on some leather ankle boots, when she was finished she tied back his hair with a string and let it hang over his left shoulder.


    She stood up and lead him down to the kitchen where she put him to sit at the table and gave him some beef stew and a glass of water, she leaned against the counter and watched as he slowly eat. There was no enthusiasm, well she did give him a few stale buns about four days ago and he ate it savagely, maybe he was afraid he would mess up the clothes she had just put on him, she nodded at least he had some amount of common sense.


    When he was finished she called Da-ye to collect him and keep him from going outside, while she started preparing food for her guest hopefully they won''t stay too long and maybe even take a child or two when they left.


    *


    Sin quietly in the corner looking around the room, he saw the other children all talking, playing and laughing with each other and wondered why he was even sitting here, he didn''t want to be around any of them, he knew none of them liked him or wanted to be next to him this morning, of course he would know all they did when he was pulled through them this morning, naked and shivering was laugh, although it didn''t really hurt him it made him not want to be here even more.


    He got up so he could go back outside but as he reached the door someone roughly grabbed his shoulders and he looked up to see the beast child glaring down at him. With out saying a word he lead him back to the small chair in the corner of the room and placed him to sit down, the boy stooped down in front of him and handed him what looked like a blue stone "eat this, don''t get it on your clothes and don''t move."


    The boy watched the older boy as he walked away and then looked down at his hand which held the strange looking stone, he tilted his head, he was told to eat it, he shrugged and licked the stone, he jolted back it was really sweet, it was even sweeter than the red thing he had eaten two years ago. So he stuck it in his mouth and sucked on it, it exploded in his mouth and he made a strange noise, he looked up to see some of the children looking at him, they all broke out into laughter and suddenly the stone wasn''t so sweet anymore.


    He lowered his gaze and focused on his lap as he ate it, when he was finished he made sure it didn''t get on his clothes and kept his eyes down, and didn''t make another sound, he really hated being here.

 Chapter Seven*

    The sun was just crossing the center of the sky when the sounds of horses pulling carriages could be heard outside the house, many of the children got up and ran to go see what was going on, they were all curious as to why they had been woken early and bath and put on the clothes they had received for their summer gifts, the eldest children rushed to reign the younger ones in.


    The House Mother who had been checking on one of the cakes she was baking, quickly wiped off her hands and took off her apron to reveal her auburn dress that had a large bow hanging from the side, she patted her hair and left the kitchen unaware of the small child that was still sitting in the corner of the sitting room, she went and made sure the children had all been aligned and when they were perfect she went outside with her son one step behind.


    She smiled at the sight of the large white carriage that was being pulled along by five white horses all wearing golden reigns, a tall tree elf with short brown hair dressed in silver armor that had a long white cape trailing behind it stepped off the front of the carriage and moved to open the door, he reached his hand inside and it was taken by a dark dainty female hand and soon a body followed stepping down and out the carriage.


    The tall moon elf stood in front of her white carriage, in a long white lace dress that fitted her curvy shape very closely and was now being held up by two tree elf girls, her dark silky hair that seemed to shine under the light, was left to run down her back in stylish waves that contrasted with her dress, her rich silver eyes scanned her surroundings and laded on the beast woman that was standing on the porch from across her.


    It was as if all grace flew out the window as the elf happily ran to the woman and took her in a tight embrace "Chao-xing, it''s been so long since I last saw you!" the moon elf yelled excitedly as she held her best friend closer to her placing a kiss on her cheeks before pulling back and pouting at her "why don''t you visit me anymore, I get so lonely in that big white house by myself, you don''t even stop by for tea anymore." she patted the woman''s arm playfully and gave her, her best take on sad eyes.


    The beast woman shook her head and let out a sigh she couldn''t believe the woman standing in front of her "Eun-Byeol is this any way to behave when you brought guest with you?" the elf folded her arms over her chest and looked away "come now you''re a young lady, a Duchess and you should behave more proper."


    The moon elf rolled her eyes and stood straight clasping her hands in front of her and raised her head so she was looking down her nose at her friend "this proper enough for you?" she asked in a mocking tone and stuck her tongue out at her friend when she sighed "anyway enough with this, lets go inside I want to meet my many nieces and nephews, oh and I brought some people along who said they wanted to adopt a child or two." she didn''t wait for the beast woman to speak walking around her and going inside.


    The other guest followed suit greeting the house mother and entering as the Duchess began to squeal at the sight of the children, she walked up to Da-ye and watched her with pure satisfaction "you look just like my older sister, awe and those rich brown eyes of your''s I just want to squeeze you!" Da-ye blushed and the Duchess laughed before moving on to the other children reacting excitedly to the sight of each one of them.


    She stooped down to pick up the beast child, his round pink cheeks had her smiling a she cooed at him and made weird faces that had him giggling "oh my you''re a darling, I just want to take you for myself but I honestly don''t know what I would do with a child, I''d probably forget you''re in the house until I''m ready for cuddles." the guest laughed at what she said and she happily handed the baby over to a beast woman that she had brought along with her, who looked at her husband with shinning eyes.


    She walked past the children and went into the room she remember for being the sitting room, she hadn''t been here for many summers but it looked as if nothing changed, when she entered the room she yelped in surprise and the tree elf that had traveled with her rushed into the room brandishing his finely smote sword, the moon elf looked at him and waved her hand "it''s okay Baek-Hyeon, I just didn''t notice the little child before I entered I''m sure he''s not going to hurt me." Baek bowed deeply to the Duchess and took a few steps back to watch her as she moved over to the child.


    Eun-Byeol stooped down in front of the chair that the small child was sitting in she smiled and gently patted his leg, the boy seemed to have been in a daze as he rose his head up and jumped back because of how close she was, she took his small hand into hers and rubbed her thumb over his "now I''d remember those big green eyes anywhere I went, how have you been little Sin?" the moon elf said in a soft gentle tone.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    Sin had still been running through the thoughts in his head when he felt someone patting his leg, when he looked up he came face to face with a very beautiful lady who gave him a smile he had never seen from someone before, her face was a bit too close so he had jumped back out of reflex but she didn''t seem angry and when she poke to him he had the urge to hug her and beg her to leave with him.


    He understood what she had been saying because she had spoken slowly, she was asking if he was okay, no one had ever asked him that, he was too accustomed to being yelled at and then the fact that he didn''t know the right words to speak to her with led him to nod, the woman seemed to be sad as she ran her fingers through his hair, she leaned up and pressed a kiss to his head before leaving the room, he watched her go and then looked around the room that was filled with the other children and new men and women that he had never seen before.


    He watched them all with slight interest he wondered what they were all doing here, they were talking to the other children in different words that he couldn''t understand and one woman was even speaking in words that hurt his ears, he reached up and covered it tightly and kept his eyes on her she was speaking to a short girl that was wearing a bright pink dress and had her pink hair up in a braid, the woman seemed to look like the girl, her eyes were a strange purple color and her hair a light pink, her skin was pale and her ears were pointed, they weren''t as long as the one''s the woman who had spoken to him earlier had and weren''t as short as his.


    When the woman left the room with the girl he was able to move his hands and looked at the other people he saw a beast woman sitting in a chair with a baby in her hands and a girl was standing next to the chair looking down at them with a happy smile on her face, he recognized the girl he had seen her around before, she was usually out front when he came through with a log and she would be holding the child, he continued to look around the room, his eyes stopping on Da-ye who was speaking to a man that had long pointed ears like her''s and rich wavy hair that fell just above his hips.


    Sin still couldn''t understand what they were doing here or why they were talking to the other children and smiling at them like that, he shook his head and got up going out the room, when he turned to the hall he bumped into someone and almost fell, someone caught him and put him to stand upright he looked up at the woman who scowled at him and stepped back brushing her hands off on her dress, she gave him one last glance before going into the room with the children.


    For second he wanted to cry but held it in, it wasn''t necessary for him to cry this was just how things were for him, maybe it''ll get better when he leaves the house but for now he had to let it be, he walked out the front entrance just as a horse came galloping forward, it skidded to a halt in front of the porch and a tall man with very long blonde hair jumped off, even as it was pulled into a high one it still hung at his knees and was very thick, his eyes were almost golden shinning in the sun, his ears were pointed with a slight curve at the end.


    He tied the horse to the porch and ran up the steps stopping to look the small child over, he arched his brow and leaned over hold his face, a wicked smile curved his lips and he walked into the house. Sin watched him leave and then went to sit on the chair that was in the corner of the porch, he started to rock it back and fort like he had seen the other children doing.


    *


    The Duchess was walking about the house looking for the little Sin, she had last seen him in the sitting room but when she went back he was no longer there and all of the other children and guest they had brought were eating, she could hear Baek''s footsteps as he followed close behind her being extra careful now that they were out of the town, she just hummed and sipped from her glass as she made her way onto the porch, she looked for a place to sit and smiled at the sight before ear.


    The child was curled up on the white rocking chair, his hair was loose flowing over him and contrasting with his slightly tanned skin, his fist were curled and he appeared to be sucking his tongue, his now pink ears flicking every few minutes, he was so cute she wanted to hold him but he also looked so tired, she signaled to Baek who walked forward and took the child into his arms, she lead him back into the house and to her friend who was in the kitchen filling the plates for her guest.


    "Chao-xing where does little Sin sleep?" her friend snapped her head up and looked from her to Baek who was cradling the sleeping child, she saw a strange look cross her eyes and she squinted her''s, her friend smiled at this and dusted off her hands reaching for the boy "no it''s okay, just tell me where his bed is and we''ll carry him up, you have to focus on our guest." she spoke with a stiff voice.


    Her friend sighed and told her that the room was on the left soon as you went up the stairs, she nodded and left the kitchen, she soon entered the room and was surprised at the size of the bed, Baek placed the child on the bed and took off his boots before placing the covers over him, the Duchess looked around the room in curiosity to see what types of things that child liked, but all she saw were books and writing utensils along with different tubes and boxes filled with stones that she knew were used for alchemy and there was no way a child that young would be studying alchemy.


    She placed her glass down and looked through the drawers, they all had clothes that belonged to one of the older boys, she felt as if something snapped in her, her friend had lied to her she said that she was treating little Sin as she would any other child, if that was the case why would she lie about where his room was, the Duchess curled her fist and left the room, her friend had a lot of explaining to do.

 Chapter Eight*

    The Duchess walked down the stairs with Baek following close behind she spotted her two maids sitting in a corner eating and smiled at them and the guest before heading to the kitchen, she peeped in quickly and the beast woman looked up at her all she did was cock her head and left going outside and into her carriage, it didn''t take long for her friend to enter and sit across from her, the elf looked at the beast woman with a ferocious look making her gulp.


    "Why did you lie to me?" she asked in a flat tone that was void of any feelings.


    The beast woman''s eyes seemed to search hers before she shook her head "I''v no knowledge of what you speak."


    The elf huffed and looked out the window for the carriage " Today when we were in the kitchen finishing off the cakes, I asked you if the half ling was being treated with the same care the other children got and you looked me in my face and told me yes, so I want to know why you lied to me." Her eyes scanned her friend as she turned her head away with a sigh, that told her that she wasn''t accusing her friend falsely so she pushed her "tell me why."


    The beast woman shook her head and let out a small laugh "he was just a half breed and every time you sent word to me, you would ask about him, it was annoying and after all these summers I still can''t figure out why you care so much for the filthy things so I just told you what you wanted to hear and gave it what it deserved."


    The Elf suddenly felt very empty inside was she really friends with a person like this, she sighed and looked out the window "you know I thought you were different, I mean I never really thought you liked them but I didn''t think you hated them either, I should have known. At least now I know why Hide always said to show him my friends and he''ll tell me who I am, and the sad part is, little Sin is but an innocent child who has no control over his life and you''re taking advantage of it, cruel and vindictive Chao-xing, that''s what you are."


    The carriage lapsed into silence as the two women stared out the opposite windows, the elf was in a sullen mood she had just lost the person she called her best friend for the past twenty something years, there was no way their old relationship would go back to the way it was so it was best to break it, she let out another sigh before looking back at the beast woman " when I leave tonight I''m taking him and Da-ye with me, and I assume you were using him to do chores and the like, I''ll make arrangements for a male slave to take his place, you just need to make sure they are well fed and clothed because if you don''t at least they can complain."


    The beast woman nodded "you can leave." was the last thing the house mother heard before leaving the carriage, she knew that child was going to bring her trouble she just didn''t think it was going to be so soon or like this, she should have sold the child to the slavers when she had the chance.


    *


    The sun was close to setting when the Duchess had decided it was time to leave she had finished writing out the documents and placing her signature so the new parents would be able to leave with their children, each one looking so happy to have a family, for the sake of it she had made a document for Da-ye who was going to the capital to become her sister''s apprentice and one for little Sin saying that she had taken him into her care.


    She walked over to Da-ye who had a smile on her face as she was wishing the children that weren''t chosen good bye, she looked over at the beast child that had a forlorn look marring his handsome features, she smiled,to bad little one that your mother wouldn''t approve of you dating the elven girl, you might bring more rotten half breeds into the world and poison us all.


    She shook her head at the mocking thought and then headed inside, she smiled up at one of her maids that was carrying the half ling who was still asleep, it made her wonder just how tired the little thing was for him to sleep for so long , she looked at the other maid that came down empty handed and arched her brow, the leaf elf stopped and bowed her head "sorry my Lady but madam Huang said that the child held no belongings." the Duchess felt a shot of anger in her but let out a deep sigh and turned to leave.


    She watched as Beak came walking out with two cases both belonging to Da-ye, at least she was properly cared for, she watched and he stowed them away before coming to stand by her side, then she wished all her guest and their new children well and watched them leave, she gave one last look at the house behind her where the beast woman was standing in the door, her head snapped away and she ushered Da-ye and the maids into the carriage before climbing in herself, when she was seated she collected little Sin and held him against her swearing to make things better for him.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    ------


    For the first time in a long time Sin awoke in comfort, he blinked his green eyes open and turned on his back expecting to come face to face with the tin iron, instead he was looking up at a high white ceiling, he rubbed his eyes and blinked a few times before looking back at the ceiling, his eyes widened and his body shot forward, was he dreaming?


    His eyes widened when he saw that he was sleeping on a very large bed in the even larger room, the bed was a light shade of brown and he had the softest white sheets he had ever felt covering him, he looked around the room the walls painted in a baby blue, the room held various large white dressers and one vanity one wall held windows going from end to end, he slowly slid off the bed and made a weird sound when his feet touch a silky soft white rug that covered the entire floor of the room.


    He was tempted to just lay down on the floor and never move again, but when he looked down he saw that he was in what looked like a long white shirt that fell to his ankles, he looked around one last time and spotted a door, he slowly walked over and gripped the gold handle pulling the door open, he peeped his head out and saw a long white hall and across from him sat a light wooden door, he walked across the hall and pushed the door open.


    The room was similar to his except for the walls being painted in a soft pink, he peeped inside and saw someone sleeping in the bed, he walked in as quietly as he could and looked at the face to see it was Da-ye who was still fast asleep, for a moment he wondered where they were and if the rest of the children were here too, he didn''t want them to be, he hated them and wanted to be as far away from them as possible and having them come here would ruin it for him.


    He gave Da-ye one last look before going out the room, he fallowed along the hall until he came to a stairs and had to hold on to the wall as he slowly made his way down,


    when he reached the bottom he was met with tall brown walls, a shiny thing was hanging from the ceiling and big pictures of elves were hanging from the walls, he looked both sides and then spun around before heading the way he was facing, he also smelt something nice coming from that direction.


    He followed the sent until he came to large double doors, he pushed it open and walked in to see several elves moving around the kitchen that was maybe three times the size of the one at the house making something, he walked further in the room and felt someones hand on his shoulder making him jump and turn around to look up at the smiling face of the man he had met yesterday, the one that was in the weird shinning clothes.


    This time he was standing there in a white shirt and black pants his feet bare, he stooped down and looked at the child with the bright green eyes who his Lady was very fond of, he couldn''t believe his Lady when she said the child had already survived for seven years, he looked as if he was less than those, lacking strongly in both height and weight.


    He looked at the child''s swirling green eyes that held flecks of gold and his hair that was so black it looked blue in a certain light hung just below his shoulders, he watched as his short pointed ears twitch every few moments, he wondered what else he was mixed with, he knew it was some kind of beast but couldn''t pick up on the sent, was it one of the small beast men that were hardly seen and thought to have gone extinct that would explain the child''s height but he highly doubted it, even if that was the case he should have still pulled a bit from his elven heritage.


    Sin looked at the man when he shook his head and then let out a strange sound when he was suddenly lifted off the ground, the man walked over to the counter and picked up a large bun handing it to him "you must be hungry, you had slept through the night and didn''t even eat lunch, so this should do for now until breakfast." the child tilted his head and he could see the question on his face, did the half ling not understand him?


    "It''s food, you eat it." he took a piece of the bun and placed it in his mouth chewing it slowly the child seemed to understand what he was saying now and brought the bun to his faces giving it a sniff, his eyes widened when he saw the scales that flashed on the child''s neck before he literally dove into his food, the child eat with the ferociousness of a starving dog and it left him feeling a bit sick to his stomach, was he really treated that badly?


    He set the half ling down on his feet, the child put the last of the red meat bun in his mouth and went on to lick his lips and suckle his fingers when he was finished he looked up at the elf expectantly, the man scratched the back of his head and reluctantly handed him another one, to his surprise the child ran out of the room, he turned and tried to follow him but the child had already vanished out of his sight, did he think he was going to take it away?


    Sin ran down the hall and ducked under the nearest table, he looked around to make sure no one was following him before he bit into the bun and made a sound of delight, he remembered a time one of the older boys had given him a bun that tasted just like this one, and when he had eaten it the boy gave him another one, as he bit in to it he was suddenly knocked onto his back and hit in his stomach multiple times, it was enough to make him vomit up the bun along with the little broth he had drank in the early morning, while the boy looked on and laughed at him.


    If the elf were to hit him like that he would probably loose more than his stomach, he didn''t like the pain that came with it, he quickly finished the bun and licked his lips before sucking his fingers clean and didn''t come out from under the table until he heard Da-ye calling for him, she always called him little one so he would know her voice anywhere he heard it.

 Chapter Nine*

    The early morning sun met Da-ye as she was climbing out of the bed, she took a bit longer than she normally would because the bed here was so much more comfortable than the one back at the children''s home, she stood up and stretched cracking her back and leaning all the way so her hands touched the floor, she straightened herself back and smiled, she was happy she was still flexible as ever.


    She looked over to her large white vanity and walked over sitting on the chair, she took her small brush and ran it through her waist length dark wavy hair, she platted it into a neat braid and then twisted it up into a bun and stuck a silver clip to hold it it place, it was really beautiful and she had gotten it from Guiren for her summer present, it brought out her rich brown eyes and the light freckles that dotted her pale cheeks.


    She was satisfied with the way her hair was done so she got up and went to one of her suitcases that was stuffed to the brim with clothes while the other held things she would need for her studies, she was so happy to become the apprentice of Professor Eun- Kyung, she was the leading researcher in the field of herbs and medicine and the creator of that nasty tasting green glop for younger children, but it cured almost of every sickness they could catch as long as they weren''t near death.


    The woman was smart and beautiful and the fifth in line for the Moon elf throne which her mother Empress Chun-Hei Mun now resided upon, being an apprentice to such a woman would open many possibilities for the young moon elf and she grew happier every time she thought about it.


    Da-ye sighed happily and pulled out a silk dark blue dress, it had long sleeves with a triangular end that would cover the back of her hand and hook to the her middle fingers, it had a high collar and would fit neatly over her breast and curve at her waist and then flow down when it hit her hips and around the waist was a lace sash of a lighter blue that would be tied into a lovely bow when she put it on, she smiled and set it on the bed along with a large white hat that held a sash of the same color that would hang down her back.


    Lastly she set out black heeled leather boots, she would where those when she was ready to leave for the capital later in the day, but for now she pulled on a long sleeved white shirt and brown pants leaving the room bare footed, she smiled to herself as she entered the room across from hers, she really wanted to be the one to wake little Sin, she liked the calling name for him that the Duchess had come up with, it suited his cute little self.


    She frowned when she saw the bed was empty but shook her head many times she awoke the half ling would already be up and hard at work, she felt shame pool in her stomach that she couldn''t do anything for him and this made her even more thankful to the Duchess because if not for her the little one would have to live through all that pain for another two years until she was able to leave the house, but now he would be properly cared for while she focused on her studies and then when she was able to she would bring him to the capital and tutor him so he would be able to make a future for himself.


    She nodded feeling happy with her decision as she quickly made his bed and picked up the clothes he had came in with her about six days ago, she would make sure to take him shopping for a few things before she left, she quickly headed out the room and down the stares, she turned and headed to the kitchen, she had found him there a few mornings getting bun after bun from the women in the kitchen who had a strange fascination with watching him eat.


    That was another thing she hoped the Duchess would be able to fix in time, he always ate as if someone was going to take the food away from him and only yesterday they were able to get him to stop eating on the floor. She wasn''t surprised to see him stooping down stuffing a large piece of meat in his mouth while collecting another from one of the chefs when she entered the kitchen, she patted his shoulder and in a flash he was hiding under the large table in the center of the kitchen where all the already prepared food was waiting to be taken to the dinning room.


    She stooped down and peeped under the her eyes widening at the sight of his green eyes that seemed to glow in the dim light, he stared at her as he continued to eat his food and didn''t come out until he was finished licking all the juice from his his lips and suckling the rest from his fingers, he wiped the rest on the large white shirt he was wearing and slowly walked up to her with his face red from the meat, she laughed and he took a few steps back his eyes going dull, she flinched at the sight and knelled down so she was at eye level with him.


    "It''s okay little one I wasn''t laughing at you, I was just laughing because you''re covered in meat sauce." she said in a gentle motherly tone she had heard the house mother speaking to Guiren with many times. Little Sin didn''t seem to understand her words but her tone calmed him down and he walked over to her his eyes brightening again, she smiled and pulled him into her arms as she stood "now how about a quick bath before its time for breakfast." his ears flicked at this and she carried him out of the kitchen going to the bath.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    One of the maids saw them coming and quickly filled the tub with warmed water, Da-ye decided she would take a bath at the same time and stripped both of them down, she didn''t mind because she had already taken a bath with him the day before and he didn''t give any reaction that she suspected the older boys would if they saw her without her clothes, she dipped the bowl into the water and poured it on his head laughing when he shook it off.


    She was quick to soap him down and scrub his rich black hair, she smiled at the sight of his ears flicking in delight, she rinsed him off and gave herself a bath before sticking a piece of soft mint in his mouth and putting piece in his the mint brought a certain heat to her mouth that she was just getting accustomed to, she had only been introduced to it by the duchess a few days, she chewed it and Sin copied her until a white foam came from his mouth which he was quick to spit out, she remembered the first day he had used it, he swallowed it and spent the rest of the morning sick.


    She gave him water to rinse out his mouth and did the same, when she was finished she dried him off with a fluffy white cloth that the maids called a towel, she was impressed by the things the nobles were able to get their hands on, the cloth soaked up all the water without a problem, she quickly dressed them both and dropped the dirty white shirt sin had on in a basket, she picked him up and left for the dinning room, which when she entered the Duchess and Lord Baek had already been sitting in.


    The Duchess smiled at the sight of the two children especially little Sin who looked fresh and clean, she got up from her chair and walked over placing a kiss on Da-ye''s forehead before collecting little Sin from her, he latched on to her and she covered his face in kisses and hugged him tight, he was such an angel, she wanted to find who ever his parents were and have her guards beat them down, she couldn''t hit them herself, that was unladylike.


    She carried him over to the seat that was to the left of her and sat him down on the two cushions that had been placed there, he was too short to see over the table so it had to be done, his eyes immediately snapped from her to the food and she watched as his little nose sniffed the air, everyone''s eyes was on his when scales flashed across his neck before he was reaching for the food, the Duchess sat down and one of the maids moved forward to fill his plate, with mostly meat and meat buns, she hoped that feeding him like this would help him to put on the much needed weight.


    Sin was bouncing on the cushions as the lady with the strange green hair piled different types of meat onto a large plate for him, his eyes swirled faster at the sight of the of the fried dough buns that he knew held that sweet red meat in it, that was the one thing he was able to remember from the first time he visited the town, not that it was different from much of what went through his mind, what he was going to be able to eat if he was given any food and how fast he can do his work so he didn''t get hit.


    But for the past few days he had been given lots of new food that all taste good and not just in the morning, but the midday and night and even in between, these older people liked to watch him eat and he was happy to take advantage of that as long as he could get his belly full, when the woman placed the food in front of him, he reached for the first thing in sight and quickly bit into it, he could feel liquid spilling past his lips and down the front of his chin but he didn''t care as he let out a sound of pure delight, he would eat as much as he could before the people changed their minds about feeding him.


    _____


    Da-ye shook her head as she collected the warm cloth from the maid and stooped down in front of Little Sin who was now swallowing the last of his breakfast, she wiped off his face and then his hands before he could suck his fingers watching as his pink lips formed into a cute pout that almost made him coo at him as if he was still a baby, she remembered holding him the first time he arrived after the house mother had to hold him down so she could scrub the dirt from his skin.


    She was so tired afterwards she just handed him off to the nearest person who happened to be a at the time ten year old Da-ye, who happily collected the scrawny looking half ling, she took pleasure in drying him off and brushing his hair that was really curly at the time, then pulled on one of the tiny grey shirts, he looked so cute but wore a scared look on his face, crying when she set him down to go warm some milk, only stopping when she had returned and picked him up to feed him and watching as he feel asleep.


    She smiled at the memory and collected the small black shirt from a maid that was standing nearby, she took off the white one that was now covered in different colored sauce''s from the meat and pulled on the replacement and tucking it into his pants, she pulled on the small belt on him and then took his hands leading him out the bath to the front door where a maid stood waiting to help him get his boots on while she ran up stairs to quickly get dressed, she redid her hair in the same style and pulled on her dress and hat, then her new boots that she had never had a proper reason to wear before.


    She picked up her suitcases and took one last look at the room before leaving, she smiled as she handed her suitcases to one of the servants that would be traveling with her and then went downstairs to Sin taking his hand, she planned to spend the entire time to the ship with him.

 Chapter Ten*

    The Duchess smiled at the sight of the curious look on little Sin''s face as they made their way down the docks, his green eyes seemed as if they were captivated by the sight of the bright aquamarine water, he looked about ready to jump into it if the elf girl hadn''t been holding onto his hand, the girl in question smiled at the little boy that pointed at the water and turned giving her a questioning look.


    "It''s called a river Little Sin, you can swim in it." the boy tilted his head and turned his head to stare back at the water.


    The Duchess couldn''t help but giggle, she knew the child couldn''t understand much of what any of them said so it just made her laugh to watch people struggle to explain the simplest of things to the half ling who would always look at them as if they were from another world. She looked away from the boy when the sound of a horn came from the boat the girl was supposed to travel in she tapped the girls back and urged everyone to quicken their steps.


    Sin who had been busy staring at the water released a weird sound when the elf girl suddenly stooped down in front of him and pulled him into a tight hug, he felt his chest tighten and wanted to pull away but was afraid of being hit, so he decided to let her do as she pleased, when she pulled back and smiled at him sadly saying something with a tear running down her face he felt his body stiffen even more, did he do something to upset her why was she crying?


    The girl continued to say something to him and then gave him one more squeeze before placing a kiss on his head and quickly getting up and heading for the weird thing that was resting on top of the blue water, something told him he was never going to see her again but he didn''t feel upset by that the only thing that went through his mind was that the tall lady with brown skin would give him more food and their would be one less person to hit him when they got angry.


    He felt someone step behind him and place there hands on his shoulder he looked back to see the weird man that liked to give him meat buns stooping behind him as he looked at the strange wood thing the elf girl was getting onto with a few people who wee dressed in black that had been following them for a while, he felt his ears flick as the strange sound was made again and the thing started to move away from him, he was most definitely never going to see the girl again.


    The Duchess waved at the elf girl as the ship floated out of port before her attention turned to the small boy that was staring at it blankly, she knew he didn''t understand the girl as she promised to come back in two years and take him to live in the capital with her where he would be safe, saying how by the time she returned he would be big and strong and be able to read and write the woman swore that he would be like that but had no idea if he would even recognize the girl when she returned, time would tell, she thought as she shrugged her shoulders.


    She turned and headed back to the carriage only stopping to buy the boy a sack of sweets and a copper worth of pickled plums, she watched as he happily played with the candy before putting it in his mouth his ears flicking wildly at the rush of sweetness, the boys reaction was so innocent even after going through all he had, she wanted to protect that no matter the cost, society could go fuck itself for all she cared, the boy was her''s.


    When she got in the carriage she pulled the boy onto her lap, he only stopped to stare at her for a second with his eyes swirling before he returned to his sweets, when he got back home she would give him another large lunch of meat and and fried dough, she wanted to build up as much fat as she could on the boys bones and then later she would worry about getting his muscles into play.


    As they headed back into the main town section she stopped the carriage and led the boy into a store that sold high quality children''s clothes, she received a weird cry when she took the sweets away from the boy that broke her heart as she had one of her maids wipe his hands clean. The women in the store cooed at the sight of him unaware that he was a half ling a fact she planned to keep to herself for as long as she could to ensure the boys safety.


    They broth out different colored clothing maid from silk, lace and the softest cotton possible, she wasn''t really surprised to see that black suited the boy more than any other colors, it would go perfectly with her white when they were out in public. The women tried out many different outfits on him and she happily said yes to nearly all of them as she sat in a chair sipping some tea.


    The women had even styled the boys hair to show which styles would work with which outfits and it was made easier for him to have more options because of the length of his hair, the darkness of it making him look some what foreign, by the time she was finished she had five gold coins worth of clothing for the boy that was wearing a curious frown on his face, only brightening up when she gave him back his sweets.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    She lead him into the carriage and he opted to sit with Baek who almost laughed at the thought of the small boy being angry with the Duchess for taking away his sweets, maybe he was frightened she would take them away again and decided to sit as far away from her as possible.


    When the reached back to the house and was safely inside the maids removed his boots and cloak taking him to wash his hands before bringing him back to have lunch, they all eat quickly the boy sucking most of the food into his gut chocking a few times. When she was finished she left him in the care of the maids and left to o see about getting him a tutor, one that she could control, she had the perfect person in mind.


    _


    Sin sat under a table in the kitchen eating another meat bun that was sweeter than the last one he had and had more liquid coming from it with every bite, he moaned at the taste and continued to eat once in a while peeping at the feet of the chefs as they moved about, when he was finished he stretched his hand from under the table and waited on someone to place a another bun in his hand, this one was darker but seemed more soft and chewy as he bit into it, instead of meat a weird sticky thing filled his mouth and had him smacking his mouth to get it from his teeth.


    When he was in the large kitchen he was never afraid to ask for food because the people always gave him without yelling on him first or trying to hit him after, so as long as he was in the room he could eat as much as he wanted for as long as he wanted to and still go back for more. He looked out from under the table when he saw a large jug with a weird pink liquid in it being rest on the floor, he quickly moved and collected it ducking back under the table.


    He took a sip and found himself licking his lips at the sweetness of the liquid which he quickly gulped down while racing through the bun, he shoved the jug back from under the table and watched as the pink liquid fall from where he didn''t know and landed in the cup only stopping when it was almost spilling over, Sin quickly moved back out to collect it and gulped it down, soon his belly was full and he collected a small white rock from one of the women and stuck it in his mouth knowing it would be sweet.


    He suddenly need to pee and found himself looking for one of the women that was dressed in black, he tugged on the woman''s skirt when he found her, she smiled down at him and said something, Sin was confused at what to do so he just touched his crotch and the woman nodded before picking him up and walking down the hall going into a small white room where a weird bowl was waiting, she helped him to take down his pants and he pee''d quickly, his hands were washed after his pants was fixed.


    The woman carried him down the hall only stopping when he yawned, his ears flicking as he did, the woman seemed to say something in the same tone the other woman would but he could barely hear her as his eyes began to close in, The maid smiled at the sight of the small boy falling to sleep in her arms, so she quickly maid her way to his room and stripped off his clothes putting on his new sleeping shirt and then placed him down on the bed tucking him in before leaving the room and closing the door behind her.


    +


    The Duchess felt pleased with herself as she left the small brown building that the youngest children in the town who''s parents could afford to send them, would be sent here to receive early academics but since she knew Sin wouldn''t be able to survive in an environment like it she w=had gone to speak to the head of the building who had owed her a favor to send the best tutor that would be able to work from the ground up with Sin.


    She had spent a few hours going over information on the person, deciding on payments and the hours the child would study along with getting a list of things that he would need, which turned out to be quite a lot now that that was sorted she needed to figure out how she would be able to get the child to sit in one place for more than a few minutes, the only two places he liked to spend long amount of times in was the kitchen or the dinning area and that was only if he had something to eat.


    She had even explained the fact that he couldn''t explain most of which was said to him to the teacher and she smiled and said he is not the first child she knew to have this issue especially seeing that he was adopted. The Duchess shook her head, everything would fall into place and soon the child would have everything he needed to set his future in action.


    It didn''t take them long to reach the house and she climbed out the carriage heading inside, the maids helped her to take off her shoes and cloak before she was told that her little Sin had fallen asleep after eating, she smiled as she made her way up the stairs, she frowned when she saw the door was slightly open and what looked like a red hand print was resting on it.


    She ran and shoved open the door screaming at the sight before her, she rushed over to the bed the sheets had bloody claw marks on them the pillow had been ripped to shreds, the bed and white carpet was covered in blood a large pool slowly spreading out from the center she moved through the blood to look through a broken window that lead out the back of the yard, she looked back to watch at Baek just as he entered the room, a tear falling down her face "where''s my baby?"

 Chapter Eleven*

    A young beast man sat on a branch of a tree not far from the large white house listening as the chaos exploded within the house hold all beginning with a loud scream, the guards that had been walking around outside rushed into the house. The man looked up by the window to see the Duchess standing by the window her beautiful face marred by tears, a sun elf came up and pulled her into a hug as she broke down, crying for the child that she had claimed as hers only a few days ago.


    He watched as guards ran out the house some going to the front of the yard but most headed to the back, where he was sitting in the tree, he sighed and coughed lightly holding onto his throat that was slowly healing from the large gash the child had managed to put in it when he went for the boy.


    He remembered sneaking into the house and waiting in the child¡¯s room, he had silently watched from a corner in the room as the maid came in carrying the small child that was fast asleep with a smile on her face, she carefully removed his clothing and changed him into his sleeping garb and then placed him in the bed tucking him in, the look she gave the child was so motherly he had second guessed carrying out the request but held fast in his decision, this was not the first child he had been paid to transport to a slave ship.


    He waited on the maid to leave the room and pull the door in behind her and then listened as her footsteps faded before he stepped forward uncloaking his presence, the child was letting out soft snores that sounded more like purrs and he knew he would be cursed for what he was about to do to such a child but his family needed feeding, so he would do it.


    He stood at the edge of the bed and removed the cover from the child, but as he moved to snatch the child up, the child¡¯s eyes snapped open and instead of the green he was told to expect they were bright blood red eyes and the white part of his eyes had turned a deep black. He was stunned and before he could move back the child had snarled and he had to bite back a scream as he felt thick black claws tear into his neck.


    He fought to get the child off of him throwing him back on the bed, he stumbled bag gagging on blood, that poured from his neck and mouth, he had to cough up glob after glob to keep from drowning in his own blood, he still kept his eyes on the child who was ripping the bed apart, his black hear glowing a deep blue and he could see the scales that covered some parts of the child¡¯s neck and arms.


    The next thing he knew he had to jump to the side as she child jumped for him instead crashed through the window, he thought the guards would have heard it, so without a second thought he followed the child out the window, he landed in the back yard and ran jumping over the fence only giving the hole in the fence a glance, as he ran for the nearest tree, got on a branch and started pumping his magic into the wound , thanking the heavens that he had had the blood of his father flowing in him.


    The man gave the house one more glance and then jumped from tree to tree, he was going to collect his pay and let the woman know she would never see the child again, hopefully.


    +


    Sin didn¡¯t know how long he had been running or even remembered why all he knew was that his instincts were telling him to run, that danger was lurking behind him and he could not go back to that place or he would die. The person he had woken to find in his room wished him dead and his instincts told him it was not his time to die so he pushed and pushed until he collapsed in a clearing.


    The heat that was rushing through his body slowly started to die down, his body stopped feeling as if he was on fire, the pain in his arms faded away and his eyes stopped throbbing, his body felt so weak and he was out of breath with his breathing trying to keep up with his racing heart, he didn¡¯t know when but his eyes closed in and he was fast asleep.


    +


    At this time Sin wished he had saved some of his energy even if it was just enough to open his eyes to see who was lifting him up off the ground, he wanted to know who the people were that was talking about him and why they sounded so happy as he felt hands running over his skin, someone tugged on his ears another pulled his ears and said something as he twirled Sin¡¯s hair around his fist, what about him was so exciting that they would be happy to find out?If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    It too much for the little half ling to stay awake, so he slipped off into unconsciousness as the tall river elf that had pale grey skin, that glowed under the light of the moon held onto him with a happy grin on his face, the child was tiny but because of the prettiness of his face he would sell for a good price but now all the young slave trader needed to do, was get him off the landed and unto a ship and he would be paid enough to take a break and visit his ma.


    He put the child into a sack and tied the ends with a rope and then threw it over his back, he made sure the child was set properly then mounted his horse, he checked that his companions had done the same and then they rode off into the night, he got off his horse and let his companions go ahead, for some reason there was heavy patrol on the dock, but he wasn¡¯t going to stick around to find out why.


    He ran off, going further into the deep thick forest, he ran and ran it was after sun rise when he came onto a cliff, he checked to see the child was still asleep before he retrieved his rope and hook, he tied them together and stomped the hook into the dirt, he wrapped dome of the rope around his hand and lowered himself off the cliff, he swing the rope and the hook came loose so he caught it and was on his was.


    It was a good hour¡¯s walk before he came to a large rock and had to climb over it and there he saw a small boat waiting on him, he got on and put the sack that held the child In the bottom under other garments, he rowed the boat and was able to get to, the ship that was waiting a mile off shore he was pulled up after sending the child up, and his mates patted his back before they headed out in a few days they would reach the slave docks and everything would be good from there.


    +++


    When Sin awoke it was day light and his head was hurting, his body still felt tired but not so much that he couldn¡¯t move, his stomach was vacant it felt as if he hadn¡¯t eaten in a while and for a second he thought that the house mother was punishing him for dropping the box. But then he remembered that the pretty lady with dark skin had taken him home and fed him and that caused him to wonder if he had done something to upset her and she was punishing him the same way the house mother would, he hoped that she wouldn¡¯t take to hitting him with the cane, he didn¡¯t know if he could withstand such a thing.


    The fog in his head had cleared up and he slowly blinked open his green eyes, instead of staring at the white ceiling he had seen every time he had awoken for the past week, he was faced with a blue cloudy sky. For the first time he noticed that he wasn¡¯t lying on his soft fluffy bed wrapped up in his baby soft blankets, instead he was lying on something hard and wooden and the world seemed to be tilting from side to side.


    He groaned and slowly sat up, he looked around to see other children sitting around some curled up close to others who were petting their heads, some of the younger ones were crying and his eyes widened as he wondered where in the world he was. He looked around to see men and women moving around a room with a open top that seemed to be rocking from side to side.


    He tried to stand up but stumbled and fell to his knees, he felt someone¡¯s hand on his back as they leaned down to whisper something in his ear, he couldn¡¯t understand what they said so he looked to the side to see an older girl with dirty pale skin, dull brown eyes and choppy blue hair, her ears were short and round but they flicked around.


    He continued to stare at her and she was staring to yell so he shrunk back wondering if he had somehow upset her by not answering her question, if it was even a question. The girl tilted her head and then shook it as she smoothed her hands down his back, she helped him back into a sitting position and he was leaning  against her, she shouted again and then a small bowl was passed to her.


    She placed her hand under his chin and placed the bowl to his lips, Sin was quick to gulp down the offered water, coughing at its slightly salty taste but drank down the rest, the girl patted his back and then pulled him down so his head was resting on her lap, she ran her fingers through his tangled hair, helping to smooth it out bit by bit.


    He wanted to ask her where they were and who she was and why he wasn¡¯t with the pretty lady that loved to feed him and take care of him and buy him sweets, sometimes she would take them away but in the end she would always give them back. Did he upset her and she was so mad she decided that she didn¡¯t actually ant him and she gave him away, or was he taken away from her.


    The girl began to hum something as she continued to play with his hair, she leaned down and placed a kiss on his head just as his eyes began to droop and soon he was falling to sleep with thoughts of what happened swirling in his mind.

 Chapter Twelve*

    Sin¡¯s eyes snapped open when he felt someone shaking him, his head shot up and he looked back to see the same girl from before, she told him something before standing up and pulling him with her, she held his face and said something before walking away, he tilted his head in question as he watched her walk away and then line up with a few other girls


    Someone grabbed his arm and he looked to see it was a boy; he hissed something at him and then pulled Sin so he was standing in front of the boy and behind another, he tried to look back at the boy but his head was held in place and he tried to squirm out of the older boy¡¯s grip but realized he was weaker than the boy and it wouldn¡¯t be possible to get away from him.


    Sin¡¯s head dropped and he didn¡¯t even look up when the deep sound of a man¡¯s voice echoed through the air and pounded on his ear drum the man was telling them something, and he guessed it had to be important if the man was yelling because that¡¯s what he was accustomed to. If ever the house mother had something important to tell him she would always yell and then hit him with something If he didn¡¯t understand her and that was most of the time.


    The man eventually stopped talking and then loud footsteps could be heard, he looked up when he heard something jingle and he saw men and women moving down the two lines and hooking something brown looking on the other children¡¯s wrist, ankles and necks. Eventually a man made his way to him and got on his knees, he reached forward with the brown thing and tried to get to Sin¡¯s neck but he yanked back.


    The man reached for him again but he dodged, he knew that if he kept it up he might just get in trouble but the thing the man held in his hands had him frightened, it was big and clunky and looked like it would hurt. He tried to yank away again but the boy behind him grabbed him and pulled him against his chest, he looked up at the boy and that was when he felt the thing clamp around his throat.


    Sin cried out and tried to pull away but stopped when the man finally got angry and slammed his fist into his stomach. Sin gagged and his knees went weak but the boy continued to hold him up as the man clamped the brown things on his wrist and ankles. He whimpered and tried to pull away when the man reached for his face but there was nowhere for him to go so he shut his eyes tightly to prepare for the slap he thought he was about to get, he heard a small chuckle as a hand gently patted his face.


    His eyes opened and he looked at the man who moved to the boy behind him who was still holding him up and kept doing so even when the cold heavy things were being clamped on him. Soon all the boys and girls had the things on and then a thick chain were passed through a loop on the set that were on their ankles.


    A woman came through with a bucket and a scoop, she dipped the scoop into the bucket and it came back up dripping with water, each one of them getting a drink before the woman vanished. Sin followed the woman with his eyes until she went out of his view and the boy grabbed his head and pulled it so he was facing forward, he hissed something into his ear but like usually Sin couldn¡¯t figure out what the older boy was saying.


    It was sometime before the boys in front of sin began to walk and he followed along, as the boys walked off the wooden thing to another that looked like a thin piece of wood; he could see the blue water he had seen before when the girl that was always taking care of him left on another wooden thing. He whimpered when his feet went into cold water and he nearly stopped but the boy behind him patted his back so he continued on.


    He looked around to see men and woman moving around the area, some were carry baskets, boxes and other things while a few stood behind wooden stands yelling at the people that had passed them. The boy turned his head in front and he decided to give up looking around it seemed to upset the boy every time he did it and he didn¡¯t want the boy to hit him not like the man had done earlier. Because his stomach still throbbed.


    They continued to walk until he felt the boy place his hands around his waist and he was lifted off the ground, he wondered why but didn¡¯t question it when the boy carried him up into another wooden thing but this one had wheels and looked like the white one that the pretty lady liked to go around in but instead of clear windows with white cloth over it, this one had thick black bars, just like the set that was on the chickens pen and he wondered if the men wanted them to sleep but thought better of it when he looked around and saw the other boys were staring ahead.


    The thing suddenly jerked and he fell forward almost going off the bench but the boy pulled him back and patted his shoulder before letting go. Sin was rocking back and forth as the thing moved he wondered where it was taking him and why. He looked around at all the other boys and he realized he was the smallest out of all of them some of them were even really tall and had bulges on their arms.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    +


    The thing finally came to a stop and Sin was convinced that if he had had the chance to eat something he would have already thrown it up a bit ago, some of the water he had drank had made its way up with something that burnt his throat but he was forced to swallow it back when the boy clamped a hand over his mouth and hissed something at him.


    Why he couldn¡¯t understand what the people were saying most of the time he didn¡¯t know but he was getting the feeling that things were going to be bad for him because of it. So when the door opened and the man spoke as he gripped the first boys arm, he tried to listen but all he got was garbling sounds, but maybe they were talking a different wording to the house lady.


    The boy helped him to stand and picked him up again only putting him back down when they were out of the wooden thing. He walked quickly as they were lead down a path and into a small wooden house, he could see women approaching them, a short plump one with blue hair, almost white eyes and short pointed ears approached him, she watched him in his face and nodded.


    The man that had lead them into the house came up and took the things from around his neck, ankles and wrist, he rubbed them and the woman lead him away, she spoke softly and he quirked his head to the side and a small smile came to his face as he understood a word ¡°okay¡± she was asking him something and he knew what to do because of all the times the house mother had said that word to him, he nodded and she smiled at him.


    He felt so proud of himself maybe if he nodded every time she spoke she wouldn¡¯t hit him, her hands were big and he knew they would hurt if they landed on his skin. The woman walked down a hall with him and then led him to a tiny wooden room that had a tub, a jug of liquid soap, a wash cloth and a cloth to dry him off.


    He looked around and moved to step back but the woman held him in place, she pulled in a door behind them and then, reached down to pull off the sleeping top the pretty woman had given to him. He was frightened as she pushed him to the tub thinking that she would just shove him in it and hold him under until she felt like bringing him up back.


    But she didn¡¯t do that, instead she lifted him up and rested him into warm water, she helped him to sit down and then pulled a bowl from the tub that had water in it and poured it over his head, he drew in a deep breath as she soaked him and then poured the soap over his head, she scrubbed his hair and skin making him groan because she did it until he was pink.


    When she was finished she pulled him put and rinsed him off with another tub of water that he hadn¡¯t noticed earlier, when she finished she wiped him off with the cloth that itched his skin. When the woman was satisfied she stood and lead him out the room, suddenly he was reminded of when the house mother had walked him through the hall and up to the room and everyone had laughed at him, but unlike before when he wanted to cry, now he just felt angry.


    His hands curled into a fist and he lowered his head so he didn¡¯t have to look at all the laughing faces. The woman lead him down a hall and he glanced up when she stopped to see that he was in another room but he wasn¡¯t the only naked one, girls and boys who were all as small as him sat around talking or playing around as if it were normal for them to be like this some even laughed as they knocked each other on their bare cheeks.


    The woman lead him to a corner and then left the room, she didn¡¯t come back so he had been standing there for a very long time before a young man walked in, he scanned the room and quickly made his way over to Sin when his eyes landed on him. He had nothing to say as he took a brush to Sin¡¯s hair, he brushed it till it was smooth and then quickly pulled it into a braid.


    He turned Sin to him and pulled on a white shirt that had a bow on the front on him followed by black pants which he loosely tucked the shirt into, he adjusted it and then twisted the shit and pulled the pants up a bit more and then nodded to himself. He took a pair of black boots and pulled it on Sin they were a bit big on him but as long as they didn¡¯t fall off the man didn¡¯t care.


    When he was finished he took Sin¡¯s hand and then led him out of the room leaving the other naked children behind. Sin glanced around the plain hall before looking ahead when the man tugged on his arm. He continued to follow the man until they came to a door and the man pushed it open he stopped at the sight of other boys and girls that were dressed just like him lined up behind one another.


    He was lead to the front of the line to stand with two other short boys and he glanced at them, one had fiery red hair mismatched blue and grey eyes and long pointed ears that had the same orange fuzz on the tip. Sin jumped when he felt the boy¡¯s tail hit the back of his legs, he looked to see the orange stripped thing that swung back and forth in what seemed to be happiness.


    He looked at the other boy to see he had long blue hair that was pulled into three braids that ran over one of his shoulder and curled at the end, he too had painted ears that matched his pale grey skin, his eyes were a dull grey and his lips were set in a line. Sin wanted to know why the red headed boy was happy while the other looked really sad because this confused him, was what a good or bad thing was about to happen to him, should he be happy or afraid.


    He came out of his head when the loud voice of a woman echoed throughout the large room and lights flashed on, he looked to see rows upon rows of people sitting down and looking at him and the other children eagerly and he knew exactly what to feel then, he knew to feel very afraid.

 Chapter Thirteen*

    Sin looked around at all the people that were sitting in front of him staring him and the other children down, he wondered why they were looking at them like that. He felt uncomfortable with so many eyes on him and even more so when he looked at the people that were staring at him, all of them look dangerous and made him want to run but he wouldn¡¯t dare.


    His eyes scanned the crowd as the woman spoke they eventually landed on this woman with dazzling green oval shaped eyes that had a wide slit in the middle, they looked so strange from all the other eyes he had seen before. He looked her over to see she had golden hair that was so long it flowed down around her and was pulled into her lap to keep it from touching the floor.


    Her face was small and her lips were very thin but pink, she was dressed in a pink floral dress that had a high collar and no sleeves and stopped at her ankles where she was wearing cute black shoes, and a small black hat covered her head and for the first time he noticed it something as light as her hair swished behind her back, he leaned a little to see what it was and smiled when he saw it was a tail.


    He looked over at the boy with the orange hair and understood why he was so happy, someone that looked at him was here and would probably take him away and Sin wanted that to happen, just like he wanted the pretty lady that liked to feed him to come and take him back to the place, he wanted to sleep in that big fluffy bed and eat sweets again and drink that pink sweet thing, it was always cold and he wondered why, he hummed at the thought of filling his tummy with it and then going to sleep, that would be the best.


    Sin hadn¡¯t been paying attention to the woman that was speaking on the stage not too far from him; it¡¯s not like he would understand what she was saying even If he did, so it would be no consequence to him. The only time he came to the realization she was no longer speaking was when the people seated in front of him started yelling all of a sudden and Sin was so surprised he jumped back with a loud whine and almost fell.


    He was caught and steadied by something that wrapped itself around his waist and a big hand that was placed on his back, he looked at the two boys that stood at each side of him and could see they were still facing forward even though they had just kept him from hitting the floor. He felt the hand and what he guessed was the other boy¡¯s tail move away from him and he looked forward at all the shouting people and back at the woman who now had her eyes on him, one of her thin black eyebrows arched.


    The people continued to shout until they weren¡¯t and he watched two women get up from the crowd and go to the back as a young girl was pulled from the stage, Sin wondered if she was going to be taken home with them. He shrugged and looked on as the same thing continued on for hours until all the girls had gone from the stage and then the woman spoke and boys started to be taken from the stage.


    Some of the girls and boys that left looked happy, some looked sad and the older one¡¯s looked as if they didn¡¯t care what was going on around him and once again this made him more confused, so he just focused on the front. Soon it was just him and the two boys left and people begun to yell but the woman with the strange eyes raised her hand and said something that made the entire room go quiet.


    She spoke quietly than the rest of the people but her voice seemed to command that there be silence and there was. The woman on the stage spoke again and the woman with the eyes smiled at him before leaving the room. He felt someone behind him and then he and the two boys were being lead off the stage and into a room where the woman was waiting.


    He watched as a man that had been standing with her came over and placed something fine and black around his neck that held a small red stone, he looked to see the boy with the blue hair had the same thing but the boy with the Orange hair didn¡¯t get it and Sin wanted to know why they didn¡¯t give the other boy the present even though he looked like them, he guessed he would find out soon.


    +


    Sin sat in the carriage next to the Blue haired boy who continued to sit quietly with him lips set in a straight line while the other boy with the tail sat from across them next to the woman and the man talking away making the woman laugh as the man seemed to write down some of the things he said, he watched as the woman picked up a box and pull out a blue rock that he would recognize anywhere and handed it to the boy who happily set it in his mouth and sucked on it.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Sin pouted at the sight as the woman ran her hands through the boy¡¯s hair and said something to him, she spoke to the boy in the same soft voice that the pretty lady always spoke to him and he wondered why she wasn¡¯t doing the same with him, did he do something to upset her. He nodded to himself as he realized the woman probably gave the boy the sweet rock because she couldn¡¯t give him the chain so he smiled.


    ++


    A few days later they arrived in front of a big light brown house that was made of shiny wood, the house was even bigger than the pretty ladies own and he wondered why that was but then remembered the pretty lady¡¯s home was bigger than the house mother¡¯s home and she lived with many children while the pretty lady only lived with the people in the shiny clothes and the people that cooked, was that more or less than the children and once again he was confused.


    He watched as the woman took the boys hand and lead him away going into the house, he made a step to follow but a hand grabbed onto his shirt and he looked back to see the blue haired boy shaking his head and said one simple word that he understood, ¡°no¡± it meant he couldn¡¯t do it, or he couldn¡¯t have something he wanted, or he couldn¡¯t go somewhere he wanted to go to and now that seemed to include the house.


    He moved back to stand next to the boy and smiled at him before looking ahead, soon a woman that was wearing white and black clothes came out, she said something and then boy started to walk pulling him along, instead of going in the house they went around it and Sin wondered why he couldn¡¯t go in, he frowned when he thought that they would make him sleep under a shed like the house mother did and little Sin didn¡¯t want that.


    They continued to follow the woman until they were standing behind the house that was a big open field, the woman started to speak as she lead them to a small house that held several small beds. She said something and pointed to the two beds in the corner and the blue haired boy nodded, he kept his eyes on the blue haired boy as she spoke and decided to just do what he did.


    They followed the woman to a smaller house that was next to the other one and went inside to see a small tub and buckets and bowls and a large jug of liquid soap, when the boy nodded he did the same and then they continued on their way. They went to a place he looked at what was just a roof supported by several thick woods and underneath the roof had tables and benches.


    They continued to follow the woman around as she showed them the chicken pen, she showed them the pigs, horses and other animals, she showed them what looked like a food area and then a large pond and Sin remembered to do whatever the blue haired boy did, he thought it was a smart move because whenever the woman spoke she looked at the blue haired boy first and then him so he had time to observe the boy to know whether to nod or shake his head and he lasted the day without being hit.


    When the woman disappeared he followed the blue haired boy around, they stopped at the large pond and the boy stood at the edge of it and Sin flinched back when the boy suddenly yelled something out, his eyes widened when the boy suddenly turned around and started heading for him. Sin took several steps back ward but soon fell down and could no longer move away from the boy who climbed over him.


    He didn¡¯t know what to do as the boy just stared at him, his eyes went wider and a tear fell from his eye when the boy just huffed and climbed off of him moving to sit by the edge of the pond. Sin slowly rose up and continued to stare at the boy as he shifted further away and pulled his knees to his chest wrapping his arms around them, before they settled into an uncomfortable silence.


    +


    The next day Sin was awoken by the blue haired boy from the hard bed that made his back hurt, he felt it would have been more comfortable if he was sleeping under that little shed. He yawned and looked around to see other boys that were all older and much bigger than him getting up off the other beds and grabbing up their things to head out the room.


    The blue haired boy arched his brow at him and reached down quickly yanking him off the bed, Sin yelped as he thought the boy was about to hit him but was surprised as he watched the boy quickly pull the cover neatly on his bed and then grabbed up his things, he grabbed his arm and tugged him behind him as they quickly left the room and went into the smaller room to see the other boys were already there, everyone dipping a bowl of water from the tub to wash down their skin.


    Sin looked around not even realizing the blue haired boy had already stripped off his clothes and was about to do the same thing to Sin, making him yell out, but there was nothing he could do because the blue haired boy, as small as he was, was still bigger and much stronger than Sin. The boy roughly washed him down and the dried him off before pulling on back his clothes on him and doing the same for himself.


    When they were done he was dragged out the room to the place with all the benches and tales, as they approached they were given a metal cup and plate and sent along to join a line, they walked up the line and what looked like sloppy provision was dropped on the plate and broth was poured into the cup, they went to a table and Sin watched as the Blue haired boy didn¡¯t waste time digging into his hot food with his bare hands so Sin followed through whimper every time he got burnt but making sure he ate.

 Chapter Fourteen*

    Sin sat down in a field, his eyes staring at nothing as he aimlessly tore at a plant stalk, he sat in nothing but a pair of worn brown pants that left the rest of his now tanned skin exposed to the sun, his long hair swayed in the wind brushing against his back and blowing in his face, he moved his fingers and brushed a few locks behind his ears.


    He looked  up at the sky to see if he could tell the time of the day but shook his head when the sun burnt his eyes and he had to quickly look away, he glanced around at all the unbelievably tall plants and wondered which year he would actually finish cutting the area down so new crops could be put In place, he shook his head it was impossible for him to get it done in the time he was told to, he was going to get beaten again and it might just be worse.


    He scratched at the scab on his face and hissed when his throat started scratching but he knew he couldn¡¯t do it not with the big metal shackle that hung around his neck blocking him from being able to do anything about the itch other than bear it. He looked around again and decided it was best he get back to work less get another beating for not even attempting to do his work.


    He picked up his machete and started chopping at the stalks watching as they fell one after the other before he moved them to form a pile and went back to cut another few, He made sure to cut it as low to the ground so it won¡¯t be hard for the other¡¯s to dig up the roots later to replace them with a seed after plowing the field.


    It had been three years since he had been taken away from the pretty lady and now all he could remember about her was her smile and the way she had spoken to him, not the words just her tone, she was good to him and now he doubted he would ever see her again, he didn¡¯t know if she wanted him gone or if him leaving was against her wish but what was done was done and there was no going back.


    Sin was now ten years old but he didn¡¯t look it, it was not that he was tiny for his age, no he was big for his age about a half a year ago he had finally gotten a growth sprout, even going so far as to shoot over the tallest boy that worked as the mistress¡¯s house, the blue haired boy whose name he had later found out was Leo, was even surprised.


    Not only did he grow his appearance matured and everyone was telling him that he looked like a young man, instead of a ten year old child. He was told it probably had to do with ever beast people he was of but it didn¡¯t matter, not like he would ever meet them and if he did he would probably be too angry to care that they were his family.


    He was also now able to understand what people around him were saying not the big words but the simple things, like calling his name and he understood what they wanted him to do when they said it, Leo had called him smart before they had been separated. They said that now that Sin was as big as he was he should be doing big men¡¯s work.


    So without even a heads up one morning Sin woke up and he wasn¡¯t sleeping in the room, he was in the back of a carriage with chains around his arms and neck, he was frightened by what was happening so he tried to find Leo to ask what was going on, but he was wiped with a leather whip and they didn¡¯t stop no matter how he cried and screamed, they even laughed at him.


    And then he was tossed into a room that had men that were bigger than him, they were covered in scars and bruises, some towered over everyone with rippling muscles and dead eyes, a few of them slept in a barred off area where he was told not to go near if he wanted to live. A girl had come in and cleaned and bandaged him up but they didn¡¯t let him rest he was sent out into the field with everyone else.


    He didn¡¯t know what to do when the put a tool he had been later told was a plow into his hands and no one stopped to tell him, they just whipped him until he figured it out on his own and by that time he was bloody and covered in tears and blood but he still had to work. They didn¡¯t treat him until the night when they had been called off the field and sent to sleep with only broth for dinner, Sin now had a deep hate for broth, fish, chicken, crab any kid of broth, he had had it all.


    None of the men spoke to him, only one of them told him that they didn¡¯t expect him to last a month, he would either die by heat stroke or blood loss, the funny thing was that same guy was killed a week later by poisoning when a venomous snake had been resting where he had been assigned to work.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    So Sin decided to go with the old tactic that he had used when he the Mistress first bought him, just do what everyone else did, get up when they got up, eat when they eat, work when they work, say yes when they did, bow when they did and he would survive and so far he did and he was hoping his supposed luck didn¡¯t run out anytime soon or he just might die.


    Sin scratched his back hissing when his nails ran over one of the may scars the criss crossed his back, he gritted his teeth and closed his eyes stopping to take in a deep breath so he could calm down. Now that he thought about it he realized that he had done nothing wrong the first time they beat him with the whip, even the second time he had simply been ignorant of what they wanted him to do with something he had never used before, or even seen for that matter.


    When he first went to work with Leo on the Mistress¡¯s farm all they had him do was help with the little things, like feeding the smaller animals cleaning out the pens, fetching the eggs back to the kitchen, Helping to keep their sleeping quarters clean, washing their dishes and picking up trash, even fetching water and food to those who couldn¡¯t make it back from their post for lunch.


    He realized that they were taking pity on him, because of how small and stupid he was, maybe if he had just stayed small and pathetic for the rest of his life he wouldn¡¯t have to suffer the way he was now. Whatever beating the house mother used to give him, even when she took a cane to his back it would never be as painful as what he had to go through now.


    He really wondered who his parents were and if they were alive and if they were alive if they were living a good and prosperous life or if it was as bad as his and if it was bad as his he prayed that it got worse, he wanted them to suffer more than he had throughout his life, from the second he came into this world only two weeks of his ten years had been any good.


    It would have been best for him to have never have been born; he found out that the reason everyone hated him was because he was a half breed, an unnatural mixture of two different races something that should have never happened. His parents were so fucking selfish, they only considered what they wanted and never considered what would happen if they had a child between them, even going as far as the abandon that child just to spare themselves from the consequences.


    If he ever found out who his parents were he was going to enjoy making sure that they understood the pain that he was forced to go through because of them. Sin let out a pained chuckle and wondered for a second what was so wrong with being one made from two different people was it so fucking disgusting that the child had to suffer because of his parents, why couldn¡¯t they be treated lie everyone was?


    Sin snapped his head up at the sound of his name, a man with a deep voice was calling for him and for a second he wondered why until he looked to see the sun was setting, he had been out here all this time and looked around to see the area he had been assigned was cleared and he had stepped into someone else area while he was thinking about pointless things.


    ¡°Forty Two!¡± he quickly jumped up dropping the machete near the pile of stalk and bolting towards the voice, he only listened to it because when he first arrived they said that was his name and the first time they had called it he didn¡¯t listen and was beaten so badly all he could do was curl up in a ball and cry and then the beat him for crying.


    He continued to run until he was standing at the edge of the field in front of a man with dark brown hair and equally dark eyes, the man towered over him and had rippling muscles with a wide frame, no matter how tall he grew Sin doubted her could get bigger than the man. Before he could say a word the sound of a whip hitting flesh crackled through the area and Sin dropped to his knees.


    ¡°Where the hell were you Forty Two?!¡± Sin yelped as the whip hit his skin again and dug his fingers into the dirt ¡°I had to call you ten times before you came running to me, what were you trying to escape boy?¡± the whip hit his skin again and Sin bit his tongue whimpering at the taste of blood in his mouth ¡°I really hope you¡¯re not stupid enough to do something like that, I already told you that if you pass the lines on the field that shackle around your neck will burn straight through your skin until you¡¯re dead and I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t want that, so the next time I call you come right away, got it?¡± Sin nodded and the man huffed turning behind him.


    ¡°Zero go see if he has completed his area?¡± a man that was standing behind him with a blank face nodded and quickly ran to where sin had come from ¡°I hope you did your work or I¡¯ll whip you until you¡¯re unconscious and the I¡¯ll soak you in ice water before whipping you again.¡± Sin nodded and swallowed the blood, if he spat he would be whipped for disrespecting the man.


    Zero returned quickly and spoke quietly to the man that nodded ¡°good work, but you did take long in getting your work done, so I¡¯ll let you decide twenty lashes and you go to bed without dinner or you can bring all the stalks back yourself and I¡¯ll allow you to have your dinner once everything is completed, choose wisely.¡±


    Sin looked up at him blinking back the tears ¡°stalks, food.¡± The man nodded and looked up to the Field, Sin didn¡¯t take long to get up back and run to where he had been working, he started dragging the stalks onto the man drawn cart that was waiting as he fought himself to ignore the sting in his skin and the blood that ran down his skin.

 Chapter Fifteen*

    Sin was up long before the sun had even made up it''s mind to rise, it wasn''t because the slavers had gotten up to wake him up, no in fact when they came to barn calling for there slaves and making all kinds of noises, they found Sin sitting by the door watching them with a blank look on his face, that made some of his owners wonder if all of him was intact.


    He was the first to sit at the table and drink his bowl of hot chicken broth, bite into his rock hard bun and then drink another bowl that was filled with water. He had to wait for the other slaves to finish eating before he was allowed to grab his tools and head out into the field.


    He and five others headed out into different directions of the field to finish off the last set of harvesting, as another group followed behind them digging into the ground to pull out the thick roots that Sin knew would be used as some kind of meal for them, the food never tasted bad it''s just that if he was still living with the nice woman he would have never had to eat it.


    It didn''t take him long to clear out his section of the field and stack the stalks up onto the self drawn cart, he returned to the one of the owners that sat under a tree watching the slaves work. The man stood up and came over to check the stalks before nodding "you''re sure you''re finished your assigned section?" Sin nodded and the man nodded before signalling for Sin to follow him.


    They moved to another barn where all the stalks were being packed and quickly unpacked them before following the man out and back into the field where he waited for his next set of instructions, which didn''t come for another hour when a tall woman with golden brown hair and sharp brown eyes came up to them.


    She spoke to the man in a soft voice as she handed him a flask and something that was wrapped up into a napkin. Sin looked over at the man when he heard his name and rushed over as to avoid any trouble, when he got there the man nodded to the woman "This is Analisa, the lady of the house, I need you to follow her to the shopping district and help out with all the heavy lifting."


    Sin tilted his head at that and touched his collar, the woman arching her brow at his actions, the man hummed and stood up, Sin watched on as the man pulled out a set of keys and soon the steel collar around his neck was gone along with the bands that shackled his wrist and ankles, but it was replaced by a small band that was hooked around his arm.


    The man handed a similar ring to the woman and she slipped it on her finger "you move too far away from her or thing of running away, that arm of yours is going to go bye bye and then we''ll have no use for you so you''ll be sold off for a very cheap price to someone that will treat you way worse than we are, okay?"


    Sin only understood a few words but decided to nod anyway and the man returned the gesture before looking to the woman that had a slight frown on her face "yeah before we go anywhere give him a bath or something, I can''t be able to enjoy my shopping day if I have him hovering around me with that putrid smell he has."


    The man chuckled and soon Sin was following behind him as they headed towards the barn where he and the other slaves slept but instead of going inside they went around back where a few barrels sat each filled to the brim with water. The man stripped him of his pants and gave him a bowl and some soap before he turned his back and walked away.


    This was one of the few things that Sin understood what he needed to do and he was thankful that it wasn''t a large tub and the man didn''t just shove him in it. Sin dipped the water and poured it over his head, the water was freezing cold but Sin didn''t have much reaction to it seeing that since he had turned ten the cold never really affected him.


    Within a few minutes he had finished scrubbing his skin and went out to the man who gave him a cloth to dry off with and when he was finished he was given a new pair of black loose fitting pants and a large white tunic that fit him a bit big almost sliding off one of his shoulders.


    He was lead back onto the path but instead of heading to the direction of the field they headed to a different direction and soon they came up on a large white house and for a second Sin thought he was staring at the nice lady''s house and when he went in she would be waiting for him with tears in her eyes.


    That thought was quickly crushed as Analisa made her way out the house with a large white hat on her head that held a red ribbon that ran around the middle of it, she held a purse in her hand. She walked to the front of a simple horse drawn carriage getting on the front and taking the horse reigns, she waited for Sin to climb on the back before she took off.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    Sin sat in the back of the cart watching as the house and the farm disappeared from view he tilted his head and his ears flicked, this was the first time he had ever left the farm since his arrival and it gave him a sense of being free but he knew not to get his hopes up because as soon as it was time he would be heading back to the farm and there was nothing he could do about it.


    He soon felt the carriage come to a stop and jumped off the back going over to the woman who was talking to another man, he watched on as the man pointed somewhere and the woman nodded. The woman moved to walk away giving Sin a quick glance as a signal to follow her, she handed him the reigns and he pulled the horse behind them as they walked.


    Sin heard the loud shouting of the vendors long before he saw the shopping district, which just happened to be a long pathway with stands on each side, he could see women and children shopping with a few men and what Sin could only see as other slaves moving around quickly to help them.


    Sin tilted his head when he watched at the woman as she stopped in front of a stand and called out for some things to a man that was already selling to another person, the man yelled back at her and stopped what he was doing to pick up three white sacks and bring them around dropping them in the back of the cart before collecting a silver from the woman and giving her a few copper in return.


    Sin was not yet familiar with the concept of money, he just always found himself wondering why the people were in such a rush to give away food, going so far as to try and yell above the other people and then when they gave away their food they would just collect these pieces of scrap and Sin found himself shaking his head at the sight.


    Soon they moved on from the man and stopped in front of the stand where a woman was selling these bright purple fruits that had one leaf sticking out from the top, Sin had never seen such a thing and he moved up to collect it from the Analisa when she signaled for him to come, he raised one up and sniffed it receiving a giggle from both the woman and Analisa.


    He didn''t know what was so funny so he just moved on with packing the fruit in the carriage, he noted that they had taken at least half of what the woman had on her stand before giving her a piece of scrap and collecting a few brown ones in exchange.


    They moved from stand to stand doing the same thing and soon the cart was over flowing with different colored sacks and other food stuff, the last place they stopped at was a small wooden house that was at the end of the lane. Analisa told him to wait with the cart as she made her way inside.


    Sin stood there for a good while before she came out back, a man following behind her carrying a large black sack that Sin noted wasn''t exactly a sack. He had to jump up quickly and move aside some of the sacks to make room for the black one, he even took a piece of wood to block the sack from touching the other stuff.


    The woman talked with the man for a bit before walking across the lane to another wooden house, when she came out she was carrying a large box which she placed in the front of the cart next to her feet. She called Sin and he quickly went up to the front to sit next to her as she picked up the reigns an called to the horse for it to start moving.


    They moved to the end of the lane which incidentally lead to the end of the town which they then moved around and found the path again to head back to the farm. It took them a little longer to get back to the house and when the finally reached they went around the back to where a woman dressed in black and white was waiting.


    The woman helped Analisa off of the cart and watched as the lady of the house picked up the box and headed inside. Sin looked at the woman that told him to fetch everything inside, he grabbed the black sack first and headed inside, they went into the kitchen and then into a smaller room which Sin noted was colder than the rest of the house.


    He dropped the sack down and then made his way out back to retrieve the rest of the sacks, by the time he was finished carrying everything in he was sweating but he had to help the woman pack away everything and then when they moved on to the black sack, Sin hummed at the sight of large cuts of beef, different sizes of chicken, several large fishes and finally two large rows of ribs, which he hooked up on the walls.


    The woman lead him to the back where he washed of and then got a cup of water which he noted was colder than any other water he had drank and wondered just how that was possible. He sat on the back porch and waited on the woman to finally return, when she did she was wearing a different dress and had an apron on the front.


    She called Sin in the kitchen where he sat and watched as she and the other woman prepared what he could only call a feast especially compared to what he was currently eating. When they were finished which was at least three hours later, he helped them put two large pots that were filled with rib broth into the carriage followed by a large basket of buns and a box of old looking yellow colored fruit.


    When they were finished the woman jumped onto the front next to him and they headed back to the field where the man was waiting. Soon the band was removed and the shackles were placed back on him, Sin could only go and get his bowl to get his lunch.

 Chapter Sixteen*

    Sin soon found himself hooked to a man drawn plow as morning turned to afternoon and the sun became hotter, causing two of the slaves to pass out. It would soon be winter but the sun usually became hotter and harder to bare as it came to the end but for Sin he found that he could thrive in such times, it was as if the sun recharged him and the pushed him to work harder and faster.


    The person he was working with wasn''t too happy but he could say nothing because the owners had been pushing them to work harder and seeing Sin move made them happy, so there was nothing he could do but try to keep up.


    Sin held the chain that was around his neck and pulled on it drawing the plow behind him as the other slave kept control of it, soon the found themselves in a good rhythm. They wouldn''t finish there assigned section until it was time to go inside because every time they had said that they were finished, their assigned section seemed to grow wider.


    Night came and found Sin heading inside along with the other slaves, he sat and eat out the left over buns and broth and drinking the water. By the end of it he sat down at the door to stare out at the night sky, the moon was nowhere to be seen and this was a common thing during the summer for some strange reason, so if it weren''t for the lamps that the owners set out the night would be pitch black.


    Sin fell asleep right at the door and had a dreamless sleep.


    ****


    The next several day passed the same as any other except that when they went outside they saw a few carriages that had steel bars on them. Sin could see the owners talking to the people in the carts and soon the door was opened and five men came out of the carriage and stood straight looking ahead.


    They were all beast men that were of the bear kind, he could tell by their short round ears that poked out the top of their thick brown hair. Sin looked them over and saw that they were tall and had muscles that bounced, one of them looked at him and his ears twitched. Sin bared his teeth at him because he thought the man wanted to challenge him.


    The man looked away and Sin started stepping back until he was up by the door, he kept his eyes on the bear man and watched as they were unchained from each other and placed into similar shackles to his before they were lead into the house. Sin made sure to follow there every move because something about them was off.


    They weren''t like the other slaves that he was surrounded by, yes some of them carried scars but the scars weren''t as bad as his and the way they walked, they didn''t walk like slaves. Sin didn''t know what it was but something was telling him that they weren''t here for the same reason he was and that could mean trouble for him, he wasn''t going to get a beating on the count of anyone but him.


    When it was time to eat he sat down and scarfed down his food before heading out side where a few carriages were waiting, he was told that they were going to a different part of the farm, that held a different type of crop that needed to be harvested later than some of the others they had already done.


    He piled into the back and waited for the carriages to be filled before they started moving. It was some time before they reached the field and instead of large green stalks they were tall brown ones that were finer and reached taller into the sky and carried grains in them.


    Sin retrieved his curved cutlass and moved over to his section of the field which he incidentally shared with the beast man that had been staring at him earlier and Sin put it on himself to move as far away as possible from the man.


    He began chopping away at the stalks cutting as close to the ground as he could, he could here the bear going to work behind him and felt a little better he would listen and if the blade were to stop then he''s be ready to stop whatever the bear was panning to do.


    But Sin''s years of being abused by those bigger or smarter than him had made him paranoid, everyone was out to get him and he could put his trust in no one but himself. It was possibility that if he had ever ran into the duchess again he wouldn''t be able to trust her as far as he could throw her and with his size and strength it would be quite the distance.


    They had gone quite the way in their work when the bear cleared his throat and Sin shot up from his position turning to bare his fangs at the older male, and preparing himself for a fight. The bear''s eyes widened for just a second before he gave his best smile "sorry if I startled you but I mean you no harm, I just wanted to talk, I can''t stand working in silence."If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Sin just glared at him as he recognized the tone the older male was using on him, he was trying to coax him into not attacking him and then he spoke long and it only made Sin more irritated. No one spoke too long to him, it''s been a long time since someone has in fact if the owners had something to say they usually just used their whips.


    Sin huffed and turned back to his work leaving the bear dumbfounded at the younger males reaction to his attempt at being friendly, so with a sigh he returned to his work, maybe it would be better to just leave him be. He nodded deciding that was the best course of action before returning to his work.


    It wasn''t long before they had worked their way through their section of the filed and made piles of the stalks, they used rope to tie it and stacked the bundles on their should, the bear deciding to carry more because he picked up on the fact that Sin was nothing but a child. It wasn''t strange to him that Sin looked older than he actually was because many children had that one trait it was only those that descended from smaller beast would look as a child should.


    They were the first to return to where the owner was, the man looked them over and told them to stack the harvest on one of the horse drawn carts, when they were done they were given two forks and told to pull the roots from the ground. It wasn''t long before they were making their way through the field and dumping the roots into a large basket.


    By the time they were finished many of the other workers were still harvesting the plants and had been called back so they could quickly eat and then return to their work. Sin was surprised that for the first time they had not been given broth instead they were given a strange soup, Sin sniffed it and it smelled good enough to eat so he went ahead and found himself chewing on some of the roots that had been dug up from one of the fields.


    When they were finished Sin sighed at the feeling in his tummy, it was packed with root soup that was made with chicken broth. Soon they were sent back out but this time they were given a plow and as Sin moved to be hooked up to it the bear went and hooked himself up instead leaving Sin to control the plow and Sin frowned at that, he was always the one to draw the plow.


    With a huff he moved into place behind the plow and stood on the wood and then it was being drawn as Sin found himself staring up at the clear blue sky, the sun was blaring down on them but aside from that it was a beautiful day. They worked through the ground going over it twice before they went back to the owner who clapped his hands twice.


    They didn''t get the chance to sit around and relax as the owner decided to use them to carry back the harvest while the other slaves were still working on the field. They packed up all the harvest onto the carts and then lead the horses back to the storage barn, they found a closed off section and packed all the harvest in before returning to the owner who allowed them to sit under the tree.


    *****


    By the end of the week all the fields had been harvested and readied for the new set of crops, it would take some time to attain the seeds to start farming again, but for the time being the slaves had been left to do as they pleased.


    Sin had found himself on the roof resting under the sun soaking up all it''s rays, he was drifting in and out of sleep and didn''t fully wake until he heard one of the owners calling for all the slaves. Sin just pushed and slid starlight off the roof landing on his feet. He quickly rushed over and lined up next to the other slaves.


    He was curios as to what was going on but gave up when the people started talking in their strange ways. He soon picked up that whoever was pointed to had to step forward and when the owner pointed at him he followed suit. He kept his eyes forward from there and didn''t move until the others did.


    A man he had never seen came up to him and switched his shackles out for the ban he had worn some time ago to follow the woman around. That made him realize that they were taking him somewhere, he smiled at the thought of getting to leave the farm again, he knew he would have to come back but just a little time away from the place would be okay.


    He followed the line as they were lead to the barn, he was instructed to unpack some of the harvest and load them up on the long line of awaiting carts that all ha the horses hooked to them and ready to go. When they were finished packing they threw these large grey cloths over the harvest and then strapped it down with ropes.


    When they were finished they all loaded on to the front of different carts next to an owner and soon the long line of carts was moving away from the barn. They went down the lane and passed the house but went in the opposite direction of where they went the last time, Sin was curious as to where they were taking all of it.


    A few hours of traveling later and the docks came into view and by the docks was a long line of people yelling this time they weren''t calling for fruit and other food, but they were calling for fish and cooking materials.


    Sin looked around and could see a long line of carts just like the one he was riding with but instead of stalks and other plants they were carrying longs and long silver rods that shinned the sun into his eyes making him hiss and look away.


    There carts soon came to a stop at the edge of the docks in front of one of the large things that floated on water, a board was connecting it to the docks and Sin would have to use it to carry all the harvest on board.

 Chapter Seventeen*

    Sin jumped down from the carriage and helped to remove the grey cloth that covered it. He was the first to line up and accept the pile of stalks that was set on his back and he was expected to keep them balanced as he moved to the edge of the dock and up the ramp. The ramp shifted and bounced as he moved it and Sin had to try his best not to fall off, not only because he couldn''t swim but because he would be whipped if anything happened to the stalks.


    He finally made it up the ramp and stepped foot on the thing that floated on the water. When he got on he was met with the sight of Elf men and women, moving around the thing some were yelling others and others were helping to fetch some things around. One of the men walked over to Sin and tapped his shoulder as a signal for him to follow them, they went to the center of the surface and then down a ladder going into an area where Sin could see other plants and different materials already stacked together.


    He set the stalks down to where the man pointed before following him up and out the hatch allowing the other slaves to move where he was. He went down back the ramp and collected another set of stalk and then carried it up back and packed it in the room. The cycle continued even after they had finished with the stalk and moved on to the other plants and then they finally hit the crates that were filled with fruit and that was the last things they had to carry up before they were done.


    Sin made his way back out the whole and was stopped by one of the elf man, who called to one of the people that were in charge of Sin and the other slaves. Sin couldn''t understand anything they said but he picked up on the fact that they were talking about him, when he heard them say the name that the owners had given him the first time he showed up on the plantation. He watched as the man in charge of him handed the key that went with his band to the elf man.


    The elf man opened a pouch he had on his side and poured out four of the brown things that Sin had seen the woman with. He handed them over to the man who nodded and walked away, Sin watched as the bear man that he hated and two other just like him made their way onto the floating thing and their keys was also handed to the elf man. Sin tilted his head at this before straightening his head and baring his teeth at the bear man that was once again observing him.


    The man frowned and looked away when the elf man started talking to them, Sin couldn''t understand it but the man hadn''t just sold them, he had simply rented them out for the day so they could help with the stocking, cleaning and maintenance of their fleet of ships. There were six ships that had arrived that all fell under the command of the one elf man but they had only needed four more slaves to handle the last two ships.


    Sin and the bear man who''s name was Fen and the man that kept staring at him, were assigned to be on one ship while the other two bear men were sent to another. The first thing they were told to do was to secure the plants and other goods that were below deck and the bear man quickly went down with Sin only one step behind them. The first thing they did was cover all the goods in  tars as to keep any water from getting to them.


    The they had to take long ropes and strap it down, before attaching the ropes to chains that ran in the floors and would keep the stock in place the entire trip to where ever it was they were going. When they were done they had to go back up on the ship where they were handed different tools to do maintenance on the ships along with the other handy men and women that worked on the ship for a living.


    As one of the woman told them what was expected of them Fen picked up on the fact that Sin was glancing at him every few seconds and then it hit him. The child couldn''t understand what the woman was saying and was watching him to see what he would do next so he could follow through. The man wondered how the child could be like this, even if he was a slave almost every slave he met could understand their masters and their commands.


    He sighed and followed the woman to where she handed him a hammer and some nails along with some wood. He then had to climb over the side of the ship after handing everything to Sin and sit on a ramp that was being suspended by two ropes before he collected the tools and allowed Sin to climb on the ramp next to him. He used the chain to lower the ramp after handing the things back to Sin.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    When they got to a certain section he came to a stop and placed the wood on a crack that was forming and had Sin hold it in place while he took the hammer and nails to hold it in place. They continued like this for a few more hours before the entire side of the boat they were working on had been covered by new wood. They got back on the ship and finally were handed buckets filled with water and soap, along with rough cloths so they could scrub the surface of the ship.


    Sin observed what the bear man was doing before he got on his knees, dumped the cloth in the foamy water and pulled it out slapping it down on the floor before he began to rub back and forth using both his hands. He rubbed and rubbed the one spot until the bear man moved to another section and he followed suit, they didn''t stop until the whole floor of the ship was done and they had to rinse it off.


    The rest of the day went just like this with Sin following the beast man around and doing whatever he did. It was later that night when the man returned for his four slaves and Sin jumped up on the back of the carriage and waited for the other slaves to join him before they were on their way. The ride back was quiet and by the time they reached back all the other slaves were fast asleep and they too had to go to sleep but for the first time it was on an empty stomach.


    **


    The next the morning Sin woke up before the sun and went outside by the door where he sat until breakfast arrived and he was quick to grab up what he wanted and vanish behind the house where he could eat in peace. The buns were warm and the broth smelt fresh and the water was cool so he sat down and ate as much as he could, when he was done he sat back against a wall and just looked up at the sky there was nothing to do until then he would stay away from the other slaves.


    The closer he was to them the more he felt like something bad was going to happen, he especially got that feeling when it came to the bear man that he always found staring at him. He had even seen him talking to someone on the boat, it wasn''t one of the people that told them what to do, or one of the other slaves, but someone who kept glancing around as he spoke even going so far as to bore daggers into sin who was standing close at the time.


    His decision to stay away from the other slaves soon came crashing down when he heard one of the master''s calling for him in a very angry tone. He jumped up and quickly ran around the house to go and face the man, he saw the other slaves were lined up and looking forward and he was the only one missing. He moved to take his spot but before he could he felt a whip connect with his chest twice as the owner yelled at him.


    The pain caressed his skin and he gritted his teeth and went to join the line. The owner yanked on his hair pulling a few strands out before throwing him to the ground. The man rose his whip once again to strike Sin but before he could the whip was stopped by the bear man Fen who grabbed the end of the whip before it hit Sin''s skin. Sin rose onto his knees and looked up at the exchange of daring glares between the owner and Fen.


    But the exchange didn''t last long as the two other owners that had been watching on stepped forward and rained lashes down on Fen until he was on his knees in front of Sin. Sin stared at him with a scowl on his face wondering why he did that, no one had ever stepped in when he was being whipped before so his stare hardened. The bear man wanted something from him and that was the only reason he stopped the owner.


    He could feel hate pooling in his stomach for the man and it only worsened when he and Fen were dragged into the barn and chained to a wall with their backs exposed to the owners. He heard the men yell something and then he felt the first lash, he grit his teeth and tried to hold out but as the lashes came down on him hotter and faster he started to cry out. This brought happiness to the owners but if a mother had been passing at that time she would be running to the aid of the child even if he wasn''t hers.


    The lashes didn''t stop for some time but when it finally did Sin was teetering between consciousness and unconsciousness. The owner that had whipped them left the barn taking the other slaves with him as the other two owners stayed back to unchain Sin and Fen and drop them to the floor leaving them there. The place got dark as the doors that lead into the barn were pulled shut and bolted from the outside.


    *


    Fen didn''t cry out he was trained not to in situations like that, if was a sign of weakness to let other''s hear your cry while they beat you, you were never allowed to let them feel as though they had a sense of control over you. He hissed as he rose up from the floor and drug himself over to where Sin was laying on the floor. Blood was flowing from the gashes on his back that were made from the whip and tears poured from his eyes as his body shook from the pain he was feeling.


    Fen leaned against the wall despite the pain in his back and pulled Sin so his head was resting on his head "I''m so sorry for dragging you into this mess little one but you were the only way I could carry out my main purpose for being here, I swear I''ll pay you back."

 Chapter Eighteen*

    Sin was awoken the next day when he was doused with cold water that caused him to spring up, he regretted the minute he did it because the pain from before the was numbed rushed back to him and he found himself whimpering as he tried to control it. The pain increased making him fall on his face when someone poured something that stung his cuts on his skin. He felt tears start to run down his face and whimpered loudly.


    Someone got down behind him and ran a rough cloth over his back making him cry out until they stopped and he was doused in another set of cold water. He was dried down and then a shirt was thrown at him, he slowly rose to his knees and pulled the shirt over his head. Hissing as it slid on his back, he forced himself to stand after that and looked around to see the bear man was leaning against a wall watching at him.


    The pain was suddenly numbed as a surge of hate rushed through him and he growled at the man as he bored daggers into the man. All he got in return was a nod before the man turned to walk out the barn and Sin reluctantly followed. A man was standing outside the barn waiting on them and he lead them back to the barn that the slaves slept in where a carriage that had the steel bars attached to it was waiting along with the other four bear men that had arrived with Fen.


    Sin and Fen were shoved so they would stand next to the men and then someone spoke to one of the owners pointing at Sin as he did, the owner said something back to the man in an angry tone. Sin almost felt a twinge of pain at the way the man spoke but then cut it off, they weren''t his family but just like them and everyone else they wouldn''t keep him for long even if Sin had felt comfortable enough  to call this place his home.


    He gave no reaction as someone came over with a set of shackles that were connected to each other and clamped them on his wrist and ankles. They did the same to the other men and then Sin turned so he was looking at Fen''s shirt covered back and followed along as the men went in to the carriage. He no longer cared what happened to him from there, they could put him to work anywhere or do anything and he wouldn''t say anything to him because he had come to the conclusion that his life wasn''t worth the trouble.


    And the only choice he would have the freedom to make from this day going forward was whether he received lashes or avoided them.


    **


    Fen looked at the child that sat across from him and found himself flinching at the sight of the child''s once bright green eyes going dull, they still swirled but much slower. The bear man wondered if the pain he had caused the child was truly worth it, he sighed and looked at his other four companions that were also looking at the child with some interest. "It will all work out, we can simply take the child with us when we leave, after all he is one of our kind."


    "I doubt after what Fen did the child would even want to come with us, no matter if he is one of us he doesn''t exactly seem like the trusting type." one of them spoke and Fen sighed.


    "You must not let anyone over hear us or the only place we''ll be going is the grave." They all nodded in agreement and the carriage fell into a comfortable silence at least for the five bear men.


    Nearly a day and a half later of travel and the child was still sitting quietly, with his cold eyes. Where the bear men had taken turns sleeping he had stared off blankly for the whole time. Fen knew he was responsible for what the child was going through but there was nothing he could do about it at least not in this point in time. The carriage finally came to a stop and Fen looked up to see they were in front of a large grey building that was made of stone.


    The slave trader opened the door and gestured for them to exit, Fen jumped out the carriage and glanced back to see Sin following behind him. So the child hadn''t completely lost it was what passed through his mind. They followed the slave trader into the mining office and were met with scowls from the people that were inside. Some of them even leaned into each other to whisper about them forgetting that they were beast people and could practically hear everything they were saying.


    Fen ignored them and turned his attention to the slave trader and the man he was speaking to "Okay they''ve arrived, five strong d


    the beast men to bring the production of your mine through the roof. And as a bonus you can have the shorter one, put him to do anything and he''ll be able to pull his weight and then some, and best of all you don''t need pay me anything extra?" The slave trader smirked at the man he was talking to and then pointed to Fen and the others.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    The man that was dressed in a white suit and blue tie with a matching top hat walked over to them and the slave trader signaled for them to turn, everyone doing as they were told even Sin was just a beat behind. The man hummed and nodded as he looked them all over before looking at Sin and frowning "isn''t this one just a child?" the man asked glancing at the slave trader and the man shook his head.


    "Of course not, he''s just descended from a smaller beast, after all I would be a fool ti try and pawn a child off to you." the man spoke with a wide smile and it made Fen feel disgusted that he could lie so easily.


    "Then I guess I could use the extra body, here''s your pay." the man said as he handed the slave trader whose smile widened as he collected it and then lead the slaves into the back. He waited till they were behind a still bar that separated them from the main building before collecting the shackles and heading on his way.


    They stood in that area until a very tall man who appeared to have some elf in him came into the room through a door that lead further into the build. He didn''t say a word but signaled them to follow, he lead them through the door and then several others before they found themselves standing in a room made of white tile that had a very large container of grey powder. They were then told to strip and every single part of them was covered in it before they were allowed to throw on just there pants.


    They were lead out the building and out into the opening where at the back of the building there were openings that lead down under the ground. The man walked to the very last one and collected a lamp from off a stand that was next to it before he lead them down into the mine. It was a bit of a walk before they could hear any of the sounds of a working mine and when they went in they were met with the sight of both men and women hard at work in it.


    The man lead to this area that all the tools were in and three of them got pick axes while the other three were given hammers, they followed the man further into the mine and stopped where at least fifty people were chipping away at a stone wall that was still standing. He said nothing before he turned to head back out of the mine and the bear men looked around at what the people were doing before they followed suit.


    *


    Sin''s muscles stretched and bounced as he hefted the hammer off the ground and then brought it down on a bolder that someone had broken from the wall. Only shards flew from the boulder and there were sparks that lightened the area, he lefted it again and brought it back down with much more force. Chunks of rock broke off this time and went flying in every direction hitting some of the other works who just hissed before returning to their work.


    Soon as he was done breaking the boulder into little chunks he went and found another one and continued the cycle. The boulders didn''t seem to end as they worked and worked without stopping. Sin felt a few people looking at him as he worked but ignored it, he hated when people found him interesting enough to stare but there was nothing he could do but focus on his work. Even if he had given them a look that made them go back to their work, the minute he looked back to his there eyes would be on him.


    The sound of axes, hammers and other steel tools hitting stone echoed through the mine bringing it a live. The [lace never grew quiet no matter how tired the workers got. They wouldn''t stop working until they were told they could, because they knew if they stopped before such a time, even if it wasn''t by choice they would be in trouble. Sin would bare witness to what happened when you stopped working without permission.


    He had been going about his work when a man that was taller than him but half his size collapsed on the ground. As soon as he did some people started whispering something to the man, but no matter how he tried he could stand up. Sin looked from the man when he saw three humans approaching, they had angry looks on their faces and carried whips on them that had spikes sticking out of it and Sin watched them with curiosity.


    They all came to a stop when they reached the man and surrounded him, the man looked up at them and Sin could pick up that he was weakly pleading for them not to whip him and he scowled at that. The man was older than him by at least ten years and even if he had half his weight it was clear he had been doing this for a while which meant he was supposed to be better at it and stronger than him but all Sin could see from the man was weakness and he hated it.


    He didn''t even watch as the three men started raining lashes on the man, instead he went back to his work as the other workers including those he had arrived with watched on. A woman who appeared to be collecting the chunks of rock had also continued on her work as if someone getting beat to death in front of her was nothing new. She looked glanced at Sin as he brought the hammer down on the rock and then went back to her work.


    Sin only had to stop what he was doing so that one of the three men could drag away the now dead body of the slave, before he returned to what he was doing. Someone''s death simply meant that someone new would be brought in, or the people that were already there would be given more work. And he was hoping that more work meant more food, because for that he would happily do it.

 Chapter Nineteen*

    In the Mine there was no way to tell time it was almost as if the place was void of it. But you could feel it ticking along with every swing of the hammer, with every chunk of rock that went flying, with every lash of a spiked whip against someone skin. Sin couldn''t tell if it was night or day because the mine was light up by the same dim light and never got darker or brighter. He moved on to the last bolder he found and smashed it down into small pieces.


    He wasn''t tired, at least he didn''t feel that way, his muscles burned here and there as he worked away but it was nothing he couldn''t handle. In fact the burning sensation spurred him to move faster and work harder, the heat the spread through his body felt good as it intensified with every swing of the hammer. He stopped and looked around when the bolder was no more and he couldn''t see any other, but he didn''t want to stop working, he just wanted to do as much as possible as fast as possible.


    So he looked around and saw the pickaxe the dead man was using and went for it, he picked it up and spun it in his hands and then faced the wall. He rose up the ax and brought it down on the wall causing cracks to form in it, he watched as the crack expanded until a large chunk of the wall had fallen off and when that happened he went back to his hammer and brought it down on the chunk causing it to break into much smaller pieces.


    He went back to the ax and that was how he continued his work from then on, no other slave said anything but some had stopped to watch before turning back to their own work. He didn''t care what they thought, he was told to get something done and as long as he did it no one should be too upset with him. He felt someone''s eyes on his back and then heard a loud chuckle as two of the owners spoke to each other and then someone else was watching him, he wasn''t sure if they liked it or not but Sin wouldn''t stop until he felt the sting of a whip on his back.


    It turned out time was running because a loud bell rang through the mine and all the workers stopped what they were doing and headed for the exit of the mine. Sin reluctantly followed their lead setting down his tools next to each other and headed out the mine, he hissed and had to blink several times to get his eyes accustomed to the brightness when he had stepped into the sun. When he was able to look around he saw the clear area they had been in now had a large table that held three large pots on them and the people were lined off in front of them waiting on the women that held large spoons to serve them.


    Sin went over to a container where three different sized bowls were waiting and picked them up joining the line. The line moved slowly and when he reached the front he held out his bowl to the women, the large one was filled with broth, the second some vegetables and the last one was filled with water. He found a place to sit that was a little ways from the other slaves and around him was quiet as he dug into his food.


    That quiet soon came to an end when he heard footsteps approaching him and looked up to see the bear men, he scowled at them and shifted away when Fen took a seat next to him causing the bear me to sigh. He noticed that not just the men had sat with him but among them was a woman with mauve colored eyes and silvery white hair, and a piece of brown cloth that matched he close covered her hair and was holding back her long white ears.


    Sin stared at the woman with interest until her eyes flickered to him before they returned to the beast man, he took it as his cue to refocus on his own meal. He sipped the broth and scowled at it, it tasted horrible and nothing like the chicken broth it was trying to imitate. It was like someone took some chicken''s foot and dipped it in hot salted water before throwing it away. He decided to try the vegetables and coughed when he bit into the bitter tasting things, the only thing it had going for it was the bright color.


    He found himself wishing he was back at the plantation where he could work out in the son all day and then be fed food that tasted good even though he ate the same thing for every meal. He forced himself to eat all of his food before washing the horrible taste from his mouth with water, he got up and returned his dishes. The bell rang and he and every other slave headed back into the mine, he reclaimed his tools and got back to work.


    *


    The woman kept her eye on Sin until he got up and went back to the mine, she and the bear men followed in after him and she reclaimed her basket to start packing it with stones as she followed the bear man around. "Are you sure that it was safe to speak in front of the child Fen?" The beast man simply nodded and she hummed "is it true that he can''t understand what we say?" she received another nod and sighed "it''s just hard to believe, just like how I find it hard to believe he is as young as you think."Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    Fen nodded and swung his pickax against the stone "it was as hard for me to believe as it was for you. The first time I saw the child I just thought he was descended of a smaller beast and yes he did look young. But I thought him to be sixteen or seventeen but when I spoke to the other slaves that had been around him they confirmed that he was at least six years younger. They knew because they heard the slave masters talking about him on many occasions and his age was always their main topic."


    The woman hummed "okay but if he is at least ten years old why wouldn''t he be able to understand us when we speak, why would you so easily believe that?" She asked quietly and glanced around to make sure none of the slave masters were watching them.


    "I know because I spent a lot of time observing the child and I''ll tell you he isn''t a fan of people staring at him. But my first clue was the first time we had been put to work together and I tried to speak to him. Bad Idea, he had shot up and turned around to growl at me even giving me a nasty look that intensified as I spoke to him. When I had finished talking he simply turned his back to me and continued his work and ignored me completely after that.


    "The Second time I became suspicious was when we were about to go to the docks and the slave masters were picking who they would send. The child kept looking at everyone and something shone in his eyes before he was point to and he stepped forward. When I was finally able to confirm my suspicion was when we were at the docks, we were put to work together and instead of listening to what we were told he kept looking at me to see what I would do and was always one step behind in whatever I did for the rest of the day."


    "I pity this child, to be both a slave and illiterate is a crime on itself, I''m actually surprised that a master hasn''t beaten him to death by now."


    The bear man shook his head "To be honest him being illiterate is the only reason I was able to get to you." The woman stopped picking up the chunks of rock and looked at him with a tilted head " That is right, if the child was smart it would have taken longer for me to get to you. The slave masters had called for the slaves to line up for some reason, but the child was nowhere to be seen, so the master called over and over until the child came bolting around barn and by then the master was angry."


    "He whipped the child twice and asked him what he was doing but he couldn''t answer the question for he did not understand it, so the master got angrier and started beating the child mercilessly and I stepped in, we were both severely whipped because of that and then next day we were sent on a carriage to the mines." The woman''s eyes widened and the bear man nodded causing her to sigh,


    "And for that reason we need to take him with us when we leave. I must pay him back for what we owe him and also because it makes me uncomfortable to see a child living in these conditions. A child should always be free to run and play no matter how they look or where they came from and even though he is scarred I''m sure if someone teaches him he can find happiness, after all there is so much more for him to learn."


    The woman nodded in agreement and returned to her work the bear man following suit.


    *


    Sin was completely unaware of the conversation that went on just a few feet away from him as he focused on his work. He decided it would be best to let his boulders build up before he smashed them, so three boulders stood in wait behind him as he repeated brought the pickax down on the wall to get another one. A male that had a hammer moved to crush one of his boulders but Sin picked up on this and swished his head around so he could stare daggers into the man''s soul and scare him off.


    He was able to make a fourth bolder and set it aside and when he swung his ax again it hit the wall and made a weird sound that it hasn''t made before. So he swung again and the sound echoed through the mine drawing the attention of the other slaves and some of the master. One of them rushed over to where Sin was and shoved him away from the spot as the rose up a lamp that they were carrying to the spot and saw a shine of silver.


    The man cheered and the other master''s rushed over to where he was and looked at what he showed them. Sin couldn''t understand their excitement as he stood back and watched them, they spoke excitedly to each other and much faster than they had before causing Sin''s ears to hurt. He moved away from them and picked up his hammer to smash the boulders, but when he did it took him using extra force before the boulder cracked open and fragments of silver that made the masters screech even louder and Sin stepped back covering his ears.


    He bumped into someone and didn''t bother looking back as he tried to keep the noise from his ears. Eventually the men stopped and a few of them went running out the mine. Sin was happy to see them go and stepped away from whoever he had bumped into so he could get back to his work.

 Chapter Twenty*

    Sin didn''t pay much attention to the commotion that was drawing closer and closer to the mine, he just focused on breaking the bolder apart and every time he did the remaining master''s went crazy. Sin wondered what was so special about the silver thing that they''d have to behave like that, but their behavior seemed to get worse when the tall man with the weird thing on his head came in the mine and made his way over to where Sin was, smashing away on a bolder until it broke apart.


    When the man came he used the cane he was carrying to push Sin away from the no broken chunks that was the bolder and then he was pushed even further away, by the other slave masters so they could talk about something as they took the spot he was standing in. He leaned on the wall and looked on at them with a scowl he didn''t bother trying to hide, it was not as if they were paying him any mind.


    The man in white started talking over the other masters and Sin tilted his head in curiosity, he figured the man was someone like the duchess was because whenever he spoke everyone closed their mouth and paid keen attention to the man. Sin wondered for a second why the woman had even come to mind and decided to just brush it aside when he saw the man in white turn to leave followed by two of the masters while the rest started barking orders, none of which Sin could understand.


    His eyes scanned over the people but he could not understand what the people meant and just stood there in angry confusion. He really hated how stupid he was and how hard it was for him to understand what some would see as the simplest things. A master looked at him and gave him an angry look but Sin scowled back at him and the man started to make his way to the beast child, but before he even got close Fen came over and grabbed Sin''s hand pulling him over to where he and the other bear men.


    Sin growled at the man and snatched his hand away, he hated when people touched him especially people he decided he wanted nothing to for with. But Fen''s only reaction was to point to a pickax and then point to the wall and Sin watched as the bear man picked up his own pickaxe and start on the wall. Sin decided to just follow along but he did move a little away from the man before beginning his work.


    Only the sound of pickaxes hitting the wall could be heard, everyone had abandoned the hammers and collected pickaxes so they could get to work on the wall just as the masters had commanded them to do. Once again it was as if time had decided to abandon them as they worked and worked without stopping, a few people here and there collapsed on the ground, some of them were able to get up back again but there were at least two unlucky slaves.


    Soon a bell rang and everyone dropped their tools and followed a long line out the mine, Sin didn''t have to blink to get his eyes accustomed to the sunlight because there was none. Night had fallen and now the inside of the mine was the same brightness as the outside. Sin looked around and couldn''t see a large table set up instead he saw two women handed out pieces of bread and a bowl of water to the slaves as they passed.


    Sin collected his and went to move but was handed a second piece by one of the women that just smiled at him, he could see she was a beast woman because of the fur covered pointed ears that poked through two holes that were made in her bandanna. He looked away from her and followed the line of people that turned left going away from the main mining office. They walked for a bit more before they came up on a very large shed.


    That was the only way Sin could describe it because all it was, was a long piece of wide metal that was being held up by several beams that were kept together by some four by four beams that ran through the middle of each. Under the shed was a long line of double Decker beds that were made of wood and had thin looking mattresses on them. Rime turned to find a bed but two hands were placed on his shoulder and he was lead to the very end of the line.


    He was hoisted onto the top part of the bed at the end and turned around to growl at the person that had touched him only to see it was the disgusting bear man, who gave him a look before slipping onto the bed that was below him and the man was out of his view. He pulled back on the bed and quickly eat his very stone like bread and guzzled down his water, then set the bowl aside and laid back on the bed so he could close his tired eyes, as everything that happened for the past three days hit him.


    *


    The next day he was awoken when someone shook him and he blinked open his eyes to see the woman watching him, she said nothing as she slid off his bed and vanished from his view. He rose up and looked around to see all the people were already other their beds and were heading out from the shed. Sin slid off his bed taking his bowl with him and quickly ran to join the back of the line so he was standing behind the woman.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    They walked for a bit and then men and women alike were told to strip, they were doused with water, dried off and then the powder was spread over them before they were allowed to put on back their clothes. The woman were the only ones to put on tops but then you could barely call it that because it was a piece of cloth that went around their breast and was tied at the back. They were lead from the area and had made it to the mines where they were handed a piece of bread and water.


    They were given a few minutes to finish their meal and then they were sent down into the mines on the way in everyone was handed a pickax and sent to work on the wall. Sin lifted up his ax and got to work, only glancing around once to realize that somehow he had ended up between the bear men and the woman kept going around in a circle behind them. Maybe just to look busy because Sin noted that there were no longer any chunks or rock where they stood at least not for now.


    They had been chipping away at the rock when people started moving back because all the rock fell off to reveal a giant wall of silver. All the slaves were pulled back and the masters went ahead to inspect the wall, before one of them headed out of the mine, once again the slaves were left to do nothing but sit and wait until the man that had rushed out made his way back in and shouted something for everyone in the mine to hear.


    The bell rang and all of the slaves exited the mines, but Sin was confused when he didn''t see the table set up for their lunch, instead the slave masters walked down the line pulling the biggest men from the line up. And that included Fen and the other bear men, when they had finished, those men were sent back into the mine, along with the six women that had been working in the mine. Once again the slavers walked down the line pulling out people and Sin noticed it was the smallest and weakest of the slaves and he was lucky not to be one of them.


    The people that were chosen were lined up against one of the cliffs that didn''t have an opening, line off into three rows and row after row they were shot dead. Sin''s eyes widened as he stared at the corpses and heard some of the female slaves that had been standing to the side screaming at the sight of the people dropping like flies. The slave masters that shot them walked away like it was nothing, like they hadn''t just taken the lives of many.


    They walked back to the line where the rest of people stood and barked out orders, Sin blinked a few times to knock himself out of his stupor before he watched to see what the other slaves were doing. He followed them when he saw them head for the corpses and two people took a hold of the hands and feet of one corpse and walked off with them. Sin followed suit and went after the people who dumped the corpses into a large pit that was a ways away from the mines.


    When they returned they were given water to wash there hands and then had to strip once again to be covered in more powder that was whiter than the last set they had been covered in. They were lead down a path that went in the opposite direction of where their sleeping area was and finally came up on this large building that was home to at least thirty chimneys. They were given instructions to bring the chimneys to life with a roaring fire.


    Sin looked at all the people and followed them to collect a shovel and then make his way over to a large pile of coal. He knew what it was because he had seen it before, it was what you got from burning logs or other things. But he noticed that this coal was different from the ones that came from the logs, it was blacker and harder. He shrugged it off and started shoveling the coals into the back of a chimney, they he was given paper and a clear liquid to throw in before a woman passed with a torch to light each one.


    Soon black smoke was making its way out of the chimney and going into the sky as the fires roared in each chimney. They had to stay put and keep feeding coal into the back of the chimney, no matter how much smoke blew out the back and into their faces causing them to cough. Sin rubbed at his eyes and continued throwing the coal into the chimney and they had to stop when some of the men that worked in the mine came pushing wheeled barrows that were filled with silver.


    Sin had to go and collect the chunks of silver material and dump it into large metal buckets. When it was filled he had to push the buckets into the front of the chimneys and close it in before going around to the back so he could shovel more coal into the chimney. After a while they were given cloths to wrap around their hands and had to use these large metal clams that required two men to lift it. They pushed it into the chimney and made sure it latched onto the large metal buckets so they could pull it out.


    They hooked the buckets to these chains that hung from the room and used that to get the buckets across the room to large square containers where the liquid silver had to be poured. And then they had to restart the cycle and do it over and over again until the square container was filled and the liquid inside was left to dry. They did this until the lunch bell rang and Sin was all too happy to get something to eat even though he wasn''t tired even with all the heat his body was observing.

 Chapter Twenty One*

    Two weeks had passed since Sin arrived at the mining site and he had worked in almost every area. He had helped to mine the silver, he had helped to clean and melt it, he had helped in it''s reshaping, in it''s packing and heavy hauling but he knew none of the slaves would be involved in the shipping. No that was left for the people that were actually being paid for their work, while the slaves were left to do the hardest and more demeaning jobs.


    Within the two weeks Sin had noticed the death of nearly fifty more slaves, some of them had been whipped to death, one or two had starved to death because the bigger slaves had been taking their food. There was a cave in in the mine and a few had been trapped in it, some of them were deemed too weak to be worth anything and was killed, One of the workers that worked near the chimney had somehow managed to be burned alive. But the worst one was when the masters found out that one of the female slaves was with child and instead of sending her away somewhere else.


    They passed her around themselves and to some of the slaves who took advantage of the offer before they gutted her stomach and left her to die as a warning to the other female slaves not to become pregnant. The sight of it had been so sickening that Sin had thrown up everything he had eaten until he was dry heaving and the rabbit woman that normally stayed around the bear men had pulled him to her to hide his face. It was safe to say that he hadn''t eaten anything that night and hadn''t caught much sleep, so the next day he was dead on his feet but had no choice but to do his work.


    Sin walked into the building that held the chimneys and helped to bring a few of the chimneys to life because the had a lot less slaves than they had before and they were still waiting on new ones to arrive. He continued to shovel coal into the fire until her saw Fen and the others arrive with a knew set of silver, he went over and dumped them into a metal bucket and pushed it into a chimney and then moved on to do the same for three other chimneys.


    When it was time to shovel the coal into the chimneys to keep the fire going he found that to be more of a hassle because if you managed to let one go out the masters would take it upon themselves to beat you within and inch of your life. So sin had come up with a way to handle it, he would dump two spade full of coal in each chimney before alternating and then when the time came he would have to pull the buckets out the chimney one at a time and pour it into the boxes, because if he pulled out all at one time at least one or two would dry before they hit the container and he would get whipped for allowing that to happen.


    That was one of the few things he had learned the hard way, the slashes across his skin from the whips were now scabbing open and he had to force his body to ignore the pain as he tried to handle two manned tools all by himself. He refilled the buckets with silver and went on to the chimneys, after a while he realized that he was working an extra chimney and that had him pushing his body to move faster and faster.


    He could feel his bones and muscles aching but had to fight the pain and continue on his work, only stopping so he could wipe his sweat covered palms in his pants and then get back to work. Sin took note of the fact that no matter what he did all his body did was ache but in a sense he wasn''t tired and that made him wonder why, because he should be dead on his feet and because he was the smallest in the bunch he should be collapsing like the others but he seemed to thrive in heat.


    He found that that was the only thing he liked about himself and was actually thankful for it because at this point Sin had grown numb to almost everything but the thought of dying at someone else''s hand would send a shiver down his back. And now he thought about it the only reason he had not died or had been killed as yet is because he was very good or avoiding death or causing people to want to kill him.


    He shook his head and refocused on his work only stopping when the bell went off, he left the chimney to shut itself down and went outside expecting to see the lunch line but instead he was met with the sight of twenty shackled slaves. He groaned at the sight of them, he guessed he was thankful that there would be less work to do but that also meant less food and no matter how shit it tasted food was food at this place and something else that he noticed was that when stronger and bigger slaves were brought in the weaker ones were gotten rid of.


    He lined up next to the existing slaves and once again a slave master walked along the line pulling people out of it, some of them screamed, begged and whimpered, that was the few things that he was good at understanding. Sin''s eyes were focused on the crying people when someone grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the line, for a second he couldn''t understand what was happening.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    But then it hit him and he was unsure of what to do so he just stood there as stiff as a rock, his eyes focusing on the new slaves, every single one of them were beast men and all of them gave him impressed looks. But he gave no reaction as he was trying to keep his mind in control of what was happening as the people who also faced his predicament cried and wailed as if the life they were living was anything good.


    The man passed again and stopped in front of him looking into his eyes, Sin looked straight into his eyes and the man flinched back earning a few laughs. A human woman that was dressed in a purple gown and had her red hair pulled up in a fancy bun, that was covered by an umbrella said something and Sin was shoved back. Sin still didn''t react and just decided it was best to stay still until the other people were dragged off, lined up and shot, the woman clapping at the sight of it.


    The new slaves were unshackled and then everyone was sent back to the building with the new slaves in tow and Sin didn''t let out the breath he had been holding in until he was out of sight from the slave masters. He got back to his work now realizing that he only had two chimney''s to look after and he felt much better knowing that. He shoveled and shoveled until it was time to melt the silver and when the silver to melt stopped coming and all the melted silver had been put in the boxes and hardened it was time to pack them.


    Sin went over to the twenty five boxes of hardened silver that he had done on his own and walked past them going to a a pile of wood. He had to pick up eight pieces and place them over a box before holding them in place to hammer a nail through each end. He moved from box to box having to stop halfway to go and get more wood and nails before returning and finishing off the rest. When that was done he had to help move all the boxes to the loading area and then help move them onto the carriages that had steel reinforced floors and were drawn by oxen.


    By the time they were finished night had fallen and the only thing that allowed them to see as they made their way to the sleeping area was the torches that the slave masters carried. Sin went to where his usual sleeping area had been since his arrival and climbed up on his bed so he could eat the food that was made for lunch along with his bread and water for dinner. And then set his bowl aside and drifted off to sleep.


    *


    Sin''s eyes flew open and he almost yelled out when he was grabbed and pulled off his bed, by someone that was definitely not the woman that had been waking him every morning since his arrival and then it hit him, the place was still dark with only a few torches to light up the place. His ears was lit up with the sound of people yelling and he could see not too far away from him a fight was happening between two of the slaves who arrived today.


    He could hear the slave masters yelling at them as they tried to calm them down, he moved to go see what had happened but the person that had pulled him off the bed yanked him back and covered his mouth. Sin threw his hands and feet and tried to get the person off of him but they just held him tighter and whispered something in his ear. He could barely understand a word but he instantly knew who the person was by the tone of their voice and that only made him fight harder.


    He shook his head so much he got his face free and dug a bite in the person''s hand and in return the same hand went around his neck placing immense pressure on it. Sin found himself gasping for air as he continued to fight the person but soon no air was getting in at all and his arms went limp before everything went black and he was out.


    *


    Fen sighed as he released his grasp from around Sin''s throat feeling a sting of guilt because this was the second time he had hurt the child but he did intend to pay him back and it seemed the only way he could do it was by knocking the child unconscious. His ears flicked as he fixed the child in his arms and then refocused his attention on the commotion that unfolded a few beds away from them, he personally knew the two men that were fighting, one was a bear man like him and the other was descended from hares.


    They had all came here under the guise of slaves for one sole purpose and that was to save his wife, sister, brother in law and the other adults that had gone missing from the camp while most of the men had went out on a hunting party. When they returned they were only lucky enough to find the children and a few of their pregnant women hidden away in the underground passage that was hiding under the main tent.


    They had only found out where their people were a two months after the incident and came up with a plan to go get them happy that for some reason all of them had ended up in the mines. By the time they had created a way for them to be taken as slaves and had reached the mine two of their young men had been killed, but other than that everyone was safe and as healthy as they could be after living in these conditions.


    He and most of his people lay in wait for the slave masters to run and fetch there guns and as soon as the first shot was fired all the best men turned their attention on the masters themselves.

 Chapter Twenty Two*

    Fen watched on as his brother was the one to throw the first punch landing his fist straight on one of the masters nose who cried out and dropped to his knees, before he was met with such a powerful kick that he went flying into one of the cliffs knocking him unconscious. The other beast men snatched the guns away from the remaining masters and took to hitting each one of them before pulling the cloths off the bed and tying all of them together.


    One of the woman snatched the key off of one of the men and went around unlocking the shackle that held on to the necks of every slave that would kill them if they wondered out of a certain area. She eventually made her way to Fen and Sin and unlocked theirs, before taking a few of the shackles and locking it on the slave masters throat before handing the key over to one of the bear men so they could toss it away.


    They didn''t just free the people from their camp but all the other slaves. Fen''s brother Xia came over and helped him up, he took Sin and placed him on his back before looking at Fen "are you sure you want to take the child with us?"


    Fen nodded "when the slavers realize we''re free, some of these slaves will be rounded up and brought back and since the child isn''t really all there, he most likely be one of them if I left him to defend himself and not knowing would eat at me."


    Xia nodded and then they went around gather all their people and headed over the cliffs. Fen made a quick stop in one of the mines with two other men and dug up the chunks of silver they had buried, he wrapped them in a cloth and hooked it to his pants before following after his people. He looked around to see that their women and  younger men had stripped the beds to cover themselves, someone had even covered Sin with a sheet.


    They ran through the pass with their bare feet ignoring the jagged rocks and sharp things they found themselves stepping on. They only slowed their pace to a jog when they saw that the sun was rising. They had started the commotion to draw the slave masters out only a few hours after they had gone to bed, so they knew that they had made a lot of progress but they weren''t going to stop moving until it was dark again.


    Every person in their camp were strong and had been trained to spend long hours on the move since they met the age of five, so if they were being chased they could out run their pursuers and that was only if they couldn''t fight them off. But they knew the only reason their people had been captured was because their camp had been hit while they were asleep and the only thing they could do was hide their children and pregnant women away so they weren''t slaughtered


    Fen wondered how he would be able to tell his youngest sister who was now with child that her mate had been killed in the camp. Because the slave master mistook his lithe figure that was made specifically so he could be a messenger between the tribes for weakness. He could already see the tears she would cry as she watched the other women be reunited with their mates, it was gonna break his heart to see it.


    *


    Sin blinked open his eyes after the heat he was feeling in his body was too much for him to bare sleeping with. He groaned and tried to raise up from whatever it was that he was lying on but something was holding him down. He didn''t like the feeling a panic was able to break through the sleepy fog that he had on his mind before he was able to start fighting. He tried to pull away but when he couldn''t he started landed blows onto what he was on and suddenly whatever had strapped him to the surface was loose and he found himself falling off of the surface and onto the hard ground.


    He groaned and rolled onto his stomach so he could slowly sit up on his knees. He blinked his eyes and looked around to see people watching him and that was all he needed to shoot up on his feed and look about taking in his surroundings. He knew right away that he was no longer in the mining camp, instead he was standing in a lush field of green that breeze slowly brushed over. The people that were looking at him were some of the slaves from the camp but none of them had the shackle on their neck.


    Sin''s hand rose up to check his own and he had to pat around it to realize that he too no longer had one on his neck. For a second he felt freed but after a minute he found himself frowning as he wondered how he had even gotten out here and why he was standing among these people that he didn''t even know or care for. He looked around at all there faces and when his eyes landed on Fen he couldn''t even hold himself back as all that came to his mind was attack.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    With one step he was able to propel himself into a dash and within a second he was on Fen knocking the older and bigger man onto the ground. He snarled as he threw back his hand and started raining blows down on the man and soon all he could see was red and he heard the older man hiss. Fen grabbed his wrist and switched their positions so he was hovering over him as he pinned his arms to the ground and all Sin could do in return was gnash his teeth together as he tried to pull away.


    Fen was staring down at Sin not knowing what to do as the ten year old tried his best to scratch his throat out. He soon grew tired of waiting for the child to calm himself down and put one of his hands on the child''s neck placing pressure on it. Sin''s head fell back against the ground as he gasped for air but once again he wasn''t able to pull any in. The red receded and for a split second he was able to see a frown on the older males face before everything went black and he was unconscious once again.


    Fen looked up at his wife who had been hovering over them and saw a look of pity on her face "that child is long past damaged, I curse whoever has had a hand in making him the animal he has become." The silvered hair woman stooped down next to her husband and waited for him to raise up before pulling the child to her and wiping the sweat from his face with a piece of cloth. "I wish we could stop and let him rest but I can hear those people, they may be miles away but we cannot let them get closer to us."


    Fen nodded to what his wife had said and reached down to throw the child over his shoulders before helping his wife to stand and just like that they were running through the field. The breeze would pass over soon and hopefully wash away their presence. They ran and ran and even when night had fallen they kept going they couldn''t risk being caught so soon, when they were so close to their people and their home.


    A little more than a day had passed and finally they were meat with the beautiful sight of their camp. Some of them had not seen it in almost two months but it was more for the rest of them that had been taken captive. The ran into the camp startling a few of their people but were met with wide smiles as everyone recognized them and then they were met by the embrace of their loved ones. Especially the ones that had been gone the longest received the longest hugs.


    It was later in the night when everyone sat around a large campfire talking, laughing singing and just enjoying each other''s presence that Sin had awakened. He blinked open his eyes and found that instead of staring at the bottom of the shed he was looking up at cream covered cloth. He cleared his throat and glanced around as everything begun to clear up, all he could see were folded up blankets and baskets here and there.


    That was until a little girl with short silver hair and short white rounded ears came into view, she had a smile gracing her baby face and Sin scowled at her making her giggle. She reached across and poked his making Sin snap his teeth at her and try to shoot up, but he was yanked back against the cloth he was lying on and realized that once again he had been tied down. But this didn''t matter to the little girl who ran straight out the tent screaming at the top of her lungs.


    Fen was helping to pass out some of the meat they had been roasting when he heard his daughter Xin scream as she came running straight for him. He ran and picked her up, quickly checking her over when he saw that she wasn''t hurt, he asked her what happened. She was crying so hard she couldn''t scream and ended up just pointing at the tent, he placed a kiss on her head and handed her over to her mother who started to rock her daughter as Fen made his way to the tent.


    He walked into the tent to see Sin trying his best to untangle himself from the ropes he had used to tie him down when he first placed him there. He spoke saying that it won''t work as he entered, he knew Sin couldn''t understand his words but he had just said it to draw the child''s attention away from his botched escape. He was met with Sin''s heavy anger filled stare and only stopped for a second before walking over to him.


    Fen got on his knees and looked at Sin "I need you to calm down before I let you up because I''m not going to let you loose just so you could scare my children, so reign in your temper." He watched as Sin rested back down on the bedding and nodded, he kept his eyes on Sin''s face as he undid the rope and quickly moved back as soon as it was done. Sin shot up in a sitting position and growled at Fen who just gave him an unimpressed look.


    Sin scowled at him and Fen rolled his eyes, he stretched his hand out to help Sin stand but the younger male ignored his hand and pushed himself off the bedding. Sin stumbled a bit and growled at Fen who reached out to steady him causing the older male to pull his hand back. The old male just shook his head and signaled for Sin to follow him as he made his way out of the tent and headed straight for the fire.


    Soon as Sin left the tent he stopped his tracks and bared his teeth at every person that had been staring at him and that included Xin who broke into a crying fit once again, making her mother sigh. Sin slowly slipped into a crouching position as his eyes flicked between everyone. Fen had stopped to look at him and frowned deeply at the sight of the child behaving like a cornered dog, he wanted to find the person that had raised this child and kill them, but there was nothing he could do. He quickly went and dished out some of the meat and returned to the child placing the plate down in front of him before rejoining his family.

 Chapter Twenty Three*

    It was early in the morning and the sun was just starting to rise, Sin found himself sitting by the river that ran a bit away from the camp. It was quiet not even the sound of birds chirping in the morning could be heard only the soft flow of the river and Sin found peace in that, It was the only thing that kept him calm as he tried to understand the drawings that were on the paper, but it was hurting his head to try and figure it out.


    He had been walking around the camp the day before trying to avoid running into people but was very unsuccessful in that, when he passed a tent he heard a woman talking to a child in a tone he understood. But words he could not and the child was drawing it all on the paper that he now held in his hand. He found a stick and started to make the drawings in the sand by the river, it was a bit dark but he could see well because of all the time he had spent moving in the dark.


    "Run along the river." Sin jumped at the sound of a voice and spun around as he shoved the paper in his pants pocket, he looked up at the bear man that stood across from him and bared his teeth stepping back causing the older male to sigh. "That is what the drawings mean, it''s words that make up a sentence and the sentence is run along the river." The bear man tried to explain it in a calm tone and only got a growl in reply before Sin was running back into camp and the man sighed.


    He picked up the bucket he had been carrying and quickly dropped some water before heading back into camp, he went into his tent and saw that his children were still asleep as his wife was now stretching the sleep from her bones. He poured some of the water into a cup and passed it to her so she could drink quickly before he took some water for himself. His wife looked around the tent and then looked at him "Where is Sin, did he run off again?"


    The man shook his head "no I just saw him by the river and when I tried to talk to him he ran back into camp so he''s around here somewhere." His wife nodded and stood up saying that they should bathe and prepare before their kids woke up and made it hard for them to get anything done. He nodded and went to fetch their things so they could head to a small lake that was across the river, where they would brush their teeth, bathe and wash their hair.


    When they were finished they his wife took a seat by the entrance to the tent brushing her hair so she could pull it into a tight braid, he took a seat next to her. "We need new cloth to make some clothes for the children and some other things that we can''t find out here, so we''re going to have to go into the nearest town and get some things." The man nodded as his wife took the brush to his hair and pulled it in a short braid wrapping it up on his head when she was done.


    "Oh and when we''re bathing the children I need to give Sin a bathe as well, he''s starting to stink, so good luck catching him, I don''t care if you knock him out because I need him clean so I can get new clothes for him." The man frowned and sighed before nodding to what his wife had said, he would have to try and catch a child as he would an animal and it didn''t sit well with him. The children woke up an hour later and the mother''s in camp were quick to round them up so they could take them to the lake.


    The children were stripped and sent into the lake the smaller ones having to stick close to the end as not to drown. Fen''s wife took her time scrubbing her children down and washing out their hair before she scrubbed their teeth, she rinsed them down and then dried them down before getting the dressed. She sent them back to the camp with their aunt and her long ears twitched as she heard a loud scuffle going on between four persons.


    She looked around when the rowdiness got closer and saw her husband and his two brothers fighting to drag Sin to the lake, the boy was wet from being dragged through the river and was fighting as if they were taking him to slaughter him. She frowned and stood up going to where they were as Sin dug his feet into the dirt refusing to go any further. They were able to hold him still so she could place her hands on his face and he fought until their eyes met and a wave of calm rushed over him.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    She took his hand and led him over to the lake, she helped to discard his clothes and the helped him to get in, he sat down in the water and she picked up a bowl dipping the water so she could pour it over his head. She took the soap and a rough cloth scrubbing him down from head to toe, she paid extra attention to his tangled hip length hair and combed it out as she washed it. When she wa finished she got him out of the water and dried him down before she put him in some of her husband''s clothes that was a bit big on him but would have to do until they could get him new ones..


    She was able to put a few braids in his hair and pull it up in one before he slipped out of the calmness and he stared at her with furrowed brows. She watched him with a smile and he slowly stepped back before he turned and ran back towards the camp. "Something is wrong with that poor child, someone ruined what he could have been and now he''s like a wild animal that''s trying to protect what remains of himself." Everyone agreed with what she said "I feel sorry for using my magic on him, I hope he''s okay."


    Her husband came and pulled her into a hug trying to reassure her that Sin was as fine as he was ever going to be, they all headed back to camp and she joined the other women in preparing breakfast for the camp. The men got to work on other chores and the children made up little games to play with each other as they waited on breakfast. Sin sat by Fen''s tent by himself just watching on at the people as they did different things but he was more interested in the food than anything else.


    The women were soon finished and begun dishing out food for everyone handing the plates out, Fen''s wife had to take a large plate over to Sin who gave her a strange look and waited for her to set down the plate and retreat before he began eating. Soon everyone was finished eating and the mess was cleaned up, Sin watched as Fen''s wife whose name was Bai moved around the tent collecting their dirty clothes before she headed out to the river to wash them.


    He followed her from a distance and stopped a few feet from her when she took a seat next to the river, he watched on as she begun washing the clothes, using a rock to scrub them. Bai smiled silently as she felt young Sin''s eyes on her back, she liked that even though the child seemed ruined he still had a bit of child like curiosity in him. He was able to keep some of the curiosity because of his ignorance but she figured even if she made him less ignorant her would still be like a curious child because that''s just how he was.


    When she was finished she went to the the back of the camp and set up some wood to hang the clothes on and then went back to the tent with Sin still behind her. She went back to the river and sat down, listening for when he would sit down and then she closed her eyes and pictured him in her head. "Do you want to learn, Sin?'' she didn''t have to move her lips to speak and she also didn''t have to look around to know that Sin had heard her.


    She had heard him when he jumped in shock because of her voice that echoed in his head, she knew he was looking at her when she had spoke through her mind and he was confused as to how she did it. "My mother always told me the reason I could do this was because I had a stronger connection to the gods than anyone else, but I always just thought it was luck." She didn''t get a reply because she knew that Sin couldn''t understand most of what she was saying but she just felt like talking to him.


    "My mother taught me to do all the things I know to do even a bit of fighting, she taught me to be smart, she taught me to hunt and she taught me what I would need to do when I had children of my own. If you want Sin, I can show you how to read and write and then maybe you can understand everyone and life would be a lot easier for you. Maybe one day you could own a home and have a family of your own and prosper in life but that will only happen if you''re able to understand it."


    She picked up a stick and wrote his name into a sand "Your name is Sin, a quite unfortunate name but it is what you know and one of the things that truly belongs to you, so this is how you spell it." She traced over the letters of his name pronouncing each one aloud, continuing even when she thought he was getting closer. Soon she could feel Sin''s breath on her arm as he leaned over to watched her trace his name in the sand.


    "Your name is Sin and this is the first letter of your name, S." she said pointing to it "I''m not sure if you''ve ever seen a snake but when they move around that is the shape it makes." She repeated it over and over until she heard Sin trying to say it, he got the sound a snake made first before he got the pronunciation of the actual letter and he seemed pleased with himself as he waited for her to move on to the next one and she happily did so.

 Chapter Twenty Four*

    Bai got off of her horse and tied it to a tree just outside the village she had come up on, she grabbed her bag and put it over her shoulder, she checked her satchel on last time to make sure she had the money and looked behind her. The first person she saw was Sin who was tilting his head head as he watched Fen tie the horse up and behind them was her brother and oldest nephew. They had gone into town to buy some things for their camp, hence why they brought a large cart with them, her nephew stayed back to watch everything while she headed into town.


    She hooked her arm around Sin so she could keep him close to make sure he didn''t wander off to go look at something that caught his eyes. She was right in her guess that no matter what the young child would still retain his curiosity, it had been a month since she began teaching him and even though his learning was slow. No matter how much he learned he would always become curious about something else.


    They made it through the town and finally hit the market section, she heard the people yelling to make sales long before she saw them. She was met with the sight of people bustling through the marketplace snatching up what they needed and tossing a few coins here and there before they moved on. People had to push others to try and get to where they wanted to go and she sighed thinking that maybe she should have waited till a bit later to come into town, or maybe go to a different town.


    She shook the thought from her head, it was too late to change her mind now and if they decided to go to another town it would be some time before they got to another one and by that time they could be in trouble. She got to the first stand and pulled out her list, she started yelling out her orders and the person behind the stand made the people that were just looking at the fruits step aside. She called what she wanted again and soon the bags filled with fruit were handed to her and she handed over a silver before moving on to the next stand.


    She looked at Sin who was staring at the exchanges she made with a puzzled look on his face and it hit her that he didn''t understand why she was giving the people the money for food because he didn''t even know what money was. She decided that when she had thought him about some big words she would teach him about money and its use, she wanted to know what look he would hold on his face when he finally figured it out.


    They went through the market and grabbed everything they needed and then fetched it back to the cart before she took Sin and her husband back to town so they could go in a cloth store and get some cloth so she could make new closes for the children. She bought a pair of boots for Sin along with some for her children and a cloak. She helped him to change into them and watched as he examined himself before looking up at her, his mouth twitching just a little.


    Sin never smiled, no matter how excited he was he never smiled or laughed and she found it understandable because she could give a guess as to how bad his life was before he came up on them. They headed out the store and back to the carriage placing everything down before they got on their horses and headed back to the camp. The ride was quiet except for the sound of Sin sitting behind Fen on a horse eating a sweet fruit she had given him.


    They reached the camp and Sin got off the horse going off to god knows where as everyone else helped to pack away the things. Bai went around and checked to make sure everything they needed was there, she took her personal things that she had purchased and carried them back to her tent to unpack them. She called all her children and took their measurements, before she mentally called for sin who showed up a few minutes later, she measured him and then sent him off to continue whatever it was he was doing.


    **


    Sin sat by the river digging a hole, he spit out the seeds that were in his mouth into the hole and sprinkled some water before he covered back the hole. He had seen some people doing this when they were heading into the village, well they didn''t do it like he did but they did do it and he wanted to see what would happen after he did it. He sat and stared at the the spot before he heard someone call for him and looked up to see a woman walking over to him with a basket.


    She stooped down and took somethings out of the basket placing it in his hands before she got up and walked away. Sin looked down at the four brown round things that sat in his hand and sniffed it, it had this mild smell that he hadn''t smelt before so he just tossed the thing in his mouth and his eyes widened when he bit down on it. A creamy sweetness exploded in his mouth and Sin hummed enjoying the taste until it melted away and he put another ball in his mouth.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Sin was soon finished with his sweets and sat wishing he had more until her head Fen calling for him, he quickly pushed himself off the ground and ran to where the man was. Fen stood near a tree decked out in a fur jacket, pants and boots with thick soles, he was carrying a sack, bow and arrows, a spear and a few knives. Behind him stood a few other men who were dressed similarly and Sin''s eyes roamed over them before going back to Fen who gave him a small smile.


    "We''re going to get food and you''re going to come with me so I can teach you a few things here and there okay?" Fen waited for Sin to process what he had just said before the younger male nodded. Fen and the other men started heading in the direction they had came from, on the way to their new location they had found a lake that was three times the size of the one they lived by and was bound to have some fish.


    They would try and catch as many as they could before moving on to bigger game like dear and wild pig. Sin followed along silently as the men made their way through the jungle they were currently calling their home. Sin looked around and could see tree''\ all around him, he looked up to see them stretching into the sky and looked ahead when Fen called his name. He sped up his steps and came up next to Fen as they continued their walk.


    It was a day and a half later that they came up on the rushing river that was wide and had several layers going down and down and hey could see different types of fish moving around in the calmer parts of the water. Fen and The men set their things down and Fen called Sin to his side to show his how to use the spear for fishing. "This is a spear you can use it for fighting or hunting or sometimes fishing." He looked at Sin who had his head tilted as he paid attention.


    "When you have the spear ready, later I''ll show you how to make one, you take a long rope and you tie it to the end of the spear, you have to make sure it''s tight so it doesn''t fall off." When he was finished he moved to the edge and wrapped the rope around his arm before he aimed the spear and shot it into the water. He yanked it back and there was no fish on it so he did it a few more times and was able to bring in a big fish.


    He pulled it from the spear and dropped it in a large basket "Of course it is not always possible for you to catch a fish right away and it will take some time. And sometimes when you catch one it isn''t always as big as that, so you''ll have to keep trying to get the fish you want." Sin watched on as Fen moved back to the water to continue his fishing, Sin looked at all the other men to see them bringing up fish after fish and dumping them into the large basket.


    They fished for a few more hours and then found a clearing where they could make a fire, Fen showing Sin how to do that, before he sat down to clean the fish with the other men. "Okay so while you''re on the move there are two things you can do to use the fish, you can roast it over a fire to eat right away. And then you could preserve it for later use, something that we''re going to do so it doesn''t go bad by the time we return to the camp."


    "We brought a large bucket of salt with us and now that we''ve cleaned the fish we''re going to lay them out on this tarp and rub them down in salt, when you''re done we can leave them out so the salt can soak into them." Sin watched as the men did what Fen said they would and then they moved to wash their hands. "Okay there are a few more things you can do to keep the fish from rotting but you can only do that if you have a stable place to stay, okay?"


    Sin blinked at him and sighed "Don''t worry in a few months Bai will have thought you all you need to do and I''ll go over this for you just to make sure you know." They went around the fire and Fen took a seat pulling Sin down with him, he pulled out a hammer, a stone and a shaver like blade. "Okay now I''ll show you to make a spear head, you can use the same manner to make a knife." Sin watched as Fen placed the rock down and brought the hammer down on it.


    It broke into a reasonable size and he took up the shaver and started rubbing it on the rock, after a while the shape came out and the blade was sharp and shining in the campfire light. "If you don''t have these tools you can use other rocks to do this but it will take a longer time to get done." He pulled out another rock and two others before using the bigger one to break the rock he wanted to use, then he started rubbing the stones together and after a few hours a jagged looking spear head was sitting in front of them.


    Fen picked up a long piece of wood and used the very spear head to make it round and cut it off at a certain length, the he used the shaver to smoothed the surface. He grabbed a strap of leather and hooked the spear head to the staff and strapped it together, when he was done he set it in front of Sin who picked it up and examined it. "Now that is all you need to do for that, so I''ll show you how to make a bow and arrows to go with it."

 Chapter Twenty Five*

    Sin felt a rush as he ran through the forest chasing after the wapiti with his bow and arrow in hand ready to be drawn at any moment. The wapiti quickly scampered around a large tree to escape Sin¡¯s line of fire, but Sin decided to use that to his advantage and quickly made his way up the tree and stood on a branch.


    He readied his bow and arrow and as soon as the creature was in his sight again he released and watched as the arrow shot straight through the creature¡¯s front leg and sent it toppling over. Sin jumped from the branch and landed on the forest floor with a loud thud, he drew his bow just as the wapiti began to rise and released it sending his second arrow into the creature¡¯s head.


    Fen and the other men who had been trailing behind Sin had stopped to watch as he brought down the great beast and a small smile graced his lips when he saw how skillful the child was in hunting. The only thing the boy had done up to now was watch them hunt and he hadn¡¯t expected the boy to actually kill the beast when he sent him after it, but none the less it was a good surprise.


    He and the other men made their way over to Sin who was trying to unsuccessfully remove his arrow from the wapiti¡¯s skull. He placed his hand on his shoulder and shook his head when Sin looked up at him. ¡°That arrow is lost boy, it is stuck firmly in the creatures skull but if you wish I will make a new one for you, or you can use this as your chance to make your own.¡±


    Sin looked at the arrow and stepped back releasing it just as one of the other men leaned down and hefted the beast onto his shoulder. With how far Sin had chased after the Wapiti they were close to home so they would reach by night fall and there Sin and Fen would clean his first kill.


    **


    Bai watched on with a smile on her face as she saw her husband and the other men returning to the village. Sin walked along next to him with his hood on his head and his face covered halfway, she could still see the deep frown on his face. But his spirit felt lighter to her, she knew letting her husband take him out to hunt would be a good idea.


    Bai was quick to pull her husband into a hug and place a deep kiss on his lips, ignoring the grime on his clothes; they would both take a bath later. She stepped away from her husband and looked to Sin who just stood awkwardly as he watched everyone being greeted. Bai would not allow him to feel left out so she pulled him into a tight hug and placed a kiss on his head, noting the scent of blood on his clothes.


    She looked to her husband who nodded to his brother who was still holding onto the wapiti as he hugged his wife and placed a hand on her swollen stomach. A large smile spread across her face and she pulled Sin into another hug and let him know how proud she was of him, for someone so young to make such a kill was something for their tribe to be proud of.


    Sin was startled by the second hug, for it was much tighter, he was about to drop his guard until he heard the messages that the woman let slip into his mind. Proud, was a word she had not yet thought him, but the way she spoke told him that it was something good, something he shouldn¡¯t feel guarded against.


    But what brought confusion was when she said she was proud that he had killed the creature. He pulled back and looked at her with his brows furrowed, the last time he had killed a butterfly just to see what it¡¯s wings were like she said that it was a bad thing and that he should never do it again. And he could feel the disappointment she felt towards him for the rest of the day.


    But now that he had killed a much bigger creature she was proud, so was it okay for him to kill something as long as it was bigger than him, or should he only kill things that don¡¯t have wings? This was something he had to think about but he couldn¡¯t think about it now because Fen was calling him.


    Sin went over to where Fen sat by the fire and took a seat next to him, the older male had already set out the tools they would need to clean the beast and put it out to dry. Fen decided that when the fur was cleaned he would help the boy make his first coat and boots, if he wanted to survive in the wilderness he had to know a lot of things.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Everything was finished in a little over an hour and Fen lead Sin away so they could go and wash themselves and change into clothes that were suitable for sleep. It still made Fen¡¯s blood boil every time he saw the child¡¯s scarred skin, so he had learned to look at his face, but even that had angered him at times.


    All the people over the years that had laid a hand on the child were careful not to injure his face; there was just one scar on his whole face. Fen could tell that when Sin got older he would be quite the looker and it seems that the people that hit him knew he would fetch quite the price if they were looking to sell him to certain people and his face was undamaged.


    When they were clean and their clothes had been changed they made their way back to the camp and sat at the fire to eat their dinner. When they were finished Fen helped Sin to wash his hands after he had done his and then lead him to the tent so they could call it a night.


    **


    The next day Sin was awoken by Bai who had found him sleeping in a pool of his own sweat, he was soaked from head to toe and his fists were curled tightly. Bai had never seen him like that before and what made her try to wake him up faster was the blood she saw leaking from his hands.


    She had tried to just uncurl his hands but he released a whimper when she did, so she decided it would be best to just wake him. When Sin opened his eyes she nearly screamed from fright but decided to hold it back. His eyes that normally swirled with green and gold had now swirled blood red, but with a blink they were back to normal.


    She brushed his hair from his face and watched as the scales that sat there a second ago vanished. She helped him to sit up and sat with him until he was able to catch himself. She slowly uncurled his hands and was holding her breath in preparation for what she would find, but when she did all she found was the blood falling from his uncut hands.


    Sin too looked down at his hands, before looking back at Bai, he furrowed his brows in wonder at why she had awoken him and why she was acting so strangely. He felt a tickle ij his head and quickly pulled away, moving to his feet as he did. He wiped his bloody hands on his pants and gave Bai no chance to explain herself as he stormed out of the tent pushing Fen out of his way.


    Bai moved to go after him but Fen shook his head. ¡°The boy is upset, you should give him some time by himself and when he is calmed then you can try and speak with him.¡±Bai nodded and Fen walked over to his wife and led her to their cot so she could tell him what had happened.


    Fen listened carefully and thought about everything she had told him before nodding along. ¡°I think it¡¯s a bit too early, but with the way the boy looks and acts I would agree that he is awakening to his inner beast. Our children don¡¯t awaken to theirs until they are fifteen, those descended from wolves at eighteen and other species much later.


    But for Sin it might be natural seeing that we don¡¯t know which beast he is descended from and since he has scales it could be any number of things, but hopefully he is not of a viper. ¡°


    Bai shook her head ¡°Vipers have cold blood and often they do not sweat and if their body is over heated they just sleep. But Sin¡¯s blood is very hot, almost as if he has lava flowing in his veins and when Vipers show their beast their eyes turn white, whereas Sin¡¯s were blood red.¡±


    ¡°Maybe it will do us some good to try and find out which beast he is descended from so that we could help him get through it. I don¡¯t want him accidentally hurting himself or anyone else and I don¡¯t want him to feel as if we fear or hate him because we don¡¯t know what he is.¡±


    **


    After their talk Bai headed out to look for Sin, carrying along clean clothes and a cloth for him to dry his skin. She was hoping he hadn¡¯t gone far and was pleased when she found him sitting on the highest branch on a nearby tree. She watched in silence as he observed everything around him as his ears flicked back and forth and she couldn¡¯t help but smile.


    ¡°Sin, you should come and take a bath now.¡±


    Sin looked down from his perch when he heard Bai¡¯s voice in his head and looked down to see her watching him with a smile on her face. She was no longer acting strangely with him; she was acting the way she normally did. Sin nodded to himself and then jumped from the branch and this time Bai couldn¡¯t help the loud scream that she released.


    The whole tribe was on alert in a second and Fen and his brothers were quick to run to where they had heard the loud scream come from. When he reached he was met with the sight of his wife panicking as she checked Sin¡¯s body for any bruises, while Sin looked down at her with furrowed brows.


    Fen walked over to his wife and turned her to him so he could ask her what was wrong but before he could get a word out she started rambling. What he could understand from the whole thing was that Sin ju8mped out of the tree and Bai thought he was trying to hurt himself because of what happened earlier.


    Fen pulled Bai to him and looked up at Sin who was giving him a puzzled look, he knew right then that the boy had no interest in hurting himself. He jumped from the tree because he knew it was something that would be safe for him to do and that left one question in Fen¡¯s mind.


    Was Sin aware of whom he was?