“where is that boy?” Siedgir angrily asks himself at the dinner table.

“He must be out with the neighbors kids. Dear, don’t be so angry.” his wife tries to calm him but he is unnerved. The door creaks open with a shrieking sound. someone is entering the house, and trying to do it sneakily.

“Bjorn! Come here!” the father screams from the table. The nine year old boy shamefully walks to the table, looking at the floor all the while. "You were outside, during dinner.”

The boy can’t help but look away, after a few moments of silence he looks at the table and sees that the plates are empty, he missed dinner completely.

“I’m sorry…” he quietly says, his father was normally stern but not often did he yell.

“were you at the neighbor’s house?” his mother tries to calm the conversation but it only ends up worse “There are no kids playing out, he was with that scum.”

“He’s not a scum, dad, he’s better when you get to know him.”

“That man is a criminal, you need to stay away from people like that.”

The boy could do nothing but go to his room. He knew there was nothing else to do that would keep him out of trouble.

“Siedgir, dear, don’t you think that you’re too rough with the boy?” his wife tries to fuel his compassion, maybe it worked secretly, but for now...

“I am doing what’s right for him, he just doesn’t know it.”

That was a natural thing happening in the family, every time Bjorn would talk to Johan he would spend hours hearing of his tales. All Johans tales were fake, Bjorn knew that much, if he really fought a dragon Johan would not be a beggar, or if he stole Arcanium from a wizards tower. But Bjorn liked listening to Johans tales, and he would learn more than perhaps even he himself could tell.

-----

The following day Bjorn went to the church to pray, he prays to Shahina everyday, mostly because his parents tell him to. His father personally favors the god of justice, but Bjorn likes Shahina. He likes the stories of Shahina being a friend to Mythos and believing in him even after he died, creating a cycle for life and death.

At a sermon break Bjorn ran to the spring to refresh himself with some water but he thought he saw a person entering a room, in the temple.

No one would be entering any rooms right now so he was curious. Instinctively he followed his curiosity and followed the figure into the room. But he never expected to see that his friend Johan was entering the temple, and stealing from the alms. The alms is food in the temple which the clergy had given to the poor, Johan would have received some anyway.

It was without thinking that Bjorn raised his voice “What are you doing?! are you stealing that food?”

Bjorn’s voice echoed through the temple and before Johan or Bjorn could make sense of the situation the path was blocked by plenty of people all coming to see the ‘food stealing’ in action.

It was too late, how careless children may be with their actions, and how desperate the poor may come with theirs.

Johan was apprehended and awaited arrest, Bjorn sat next to him. Both had already apologized, and for a long while waited in silence. It was an anticipated pain to see that the guard who came to pick them up was his Siedgir.

“I’m sorry, dad, I know he did som-“

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

“You don’t need to be sorry, you didn’t do what he did.” Siedgir cuts of his sons sentence short.

“He just tried to get something to eat, he wasn’t trying to hurt anyone!” Bjorn stands up for Johan, who was not saying anything himself.

It looked more like a father-son conflict rather than anything like a guard arresting a criminal.

“It was not just this, son, this arrest was a long time coming.” Siedgir finishes that sentence and looks straight into Johans eyes, who tries to look away and hide his gaze.

“He stole from the market, and broke things, and cheated, brawled and harassed people on the street, and now he even disrespected the gods we pray to. This man in nothing but trouble, and it is time he took responsibility for what he does.”

“He’s not nothing but trouble! he helped me.”

This set Siedgir back a few, what could this scum could’ve done? anything good for anyone but himself? that cannot be true.

“When I was down, because the kids hurt or bullied me, he helped me. He told me what to do or say. When I asked Petra to play with me and after she said no he cheered me up. And he always tells me stories I know are false but it still excites me to listen to them ’till the end.”

All of this was overwhelming, not just for Siedgir but for all three. Johan who had looked away until now had wet eyes hearing this, he never knew he was so much help to Bjorn. Neither did Bjorn know of this until he thought of the reasons why Johan is not a bad person.

The last sentence Bjorn added was the final nail in the coffin, not that he would know.

“I want to believe in him like Shahina and Yggdrasil believed in Mythos.” Bjorn had a personal reason, but now he brings in the gods, and his idol too, Shahina.

“Bjorn, I am getting very angry. Go home and talk to your mother. Even if you would forgive him, he committed crimes against the city, against the people, and against the temple. If it were just you, he could go free, but he has a commitment for everyone to repay them.”

Bjorn thought he could change his fathers mind, but now he angered him even more. He cried and even said some mean things to his dad while he was at it, but he went home while doing that.

He failed to change his fathers mind, and Johan will go to jail.

Or so he thought.

“Johan, look me in the eye.” Siedgir called to Johan now that there are only the two of them. Johan took a few seconds but finally pulled through “I’m sorry, Siedgir. Just arrest me, I deserve it.” Johan said with a sad, ashamed tone.

Siedgir did not move, or say anything for a few more seconds after their eyes locked, and opened with “I hate you.” but then he continued:

“I hate you for committing crimes in my city, I hate you for being a bad example, But most of all, I hate you for talking with my son.” Johan realized the first two, he hated himself for the same reasons, but the third reason it the odd one out.

Most of all he wondered why even talk, he just wanted to get out of that awkward situation, he wanted to be arrested without being lectured on how much of a failure he is.

“I hate that my son feels so open talking to you, I didn’t even know he talked to Petra. I didn’t get to help him with bullies or even talk to him very much and I feel that you’re at fault. I know it isn’t so, he probably would have never told me these things, but the fact he still uses you instead of me is making me mad. It is like my son was taken from me, like you try to father him yourself.”

Johan understood, but couldn’t say a word. He wasn’t feeling too bad for himself but actually felt bad for how Siedgir felt. He felt bad about how other people feel sometimes.

He helped some kids when they were sad. But obviously that wouldn’t be the same here if he tried to tell an imaginary story all of a sudden.

“I’m sorry for doing that, I did not mean to take your son away from you.” That is all he could say, in a muffled mumbling voice.

“I worship the god of justice, that is why I became a guard. I think that I can make an exception just this once, and do as a different god would do, one that my son worships, one filled with compassion.”

“What? are you setting me free? I promise I wou-“

“I’m not setting you free, I am not that full of compassion. My son looks up to you, so at least I’m going to make you as a good role model. Make no mistake, you will get back on your feet and help the city and people you wronged. But I’m going to get you a job to get you back on your feet.”

“Am I going to be a guard now? like you?” Johan was alright with that but it would seem odd if he was just handed a weapon and would patrol the streets. letting the cat guard the milk, that sort of thing.

“No, not a guard” Siegdir said “more like, run a bit of an errand for me.”

Johan was excited to leave without much of a problem but a little gut feeling told him to stop smiling, an errand sounds too ambiguous, it could be something very bad for him. “What am I supposed to do?”

“You will need to deliver something to a friend of mine, a town over.”

“And what will be keeping me from taking what you give me and run?” He probably shouldn’t have made Siedgir question him even more, but too late to regret what has been said now.

“For the boy of-course, but if you do run, run far. If you disappoint my son like this, I never want him to never see you again.”