RAJA VINSPEARS (POV)
Elex sat in my lap as we rode in the back of a carriage to go meet with our family. I had decided that it would be best if we went and lived with my father-in-law in the capital, Haulburn city, until I could get us back on our feet independently. It would also be good for us to stay somewhere far away from our home village, just to give us new surroundings and to get used to a new environment to clear our minds, more so for Elex. I have no intention of letting either of us forget about them, but living our lives mourning forever is not the way to go. Two days had already passed since the attack from the cultist, and I had already been in contact with Richard Boldwick, my father-in-law. He was ok with us staying with him and was even excited to know that we were coming. I had informed him about what had happened and his intuition told him that we needed some sort of solace, so he thought it a bright idea for us to come and live in the capital. Honestly, from the sound of his voice over the communication device, I couldn't exactly tell how he was feeling. Not that I had ever been able to read that man's emotions.
We had been on the road for a painful amount of time, and I had spent the majority of our money on the long trip to the capital, only saving enough to buy food whenever we made a stop at smaller villages. Despite now being essentially penniless, the journey gave me time to reflect, and think about the past, my wife, Casper, and think about our new future without them. It was all so unreal, the abruptness of it all. One day I had two kids and a wife, and the next I'm a widow with a single heartbroken child.
Elex hadn't been doing so well, he kept quiet and tucked into my arms for the majority of the journey and I could see him crying now and then, clearly in deep thought about the past events. This wasn't right, the childhood memories he should have made in the future had been stolen away from him. I was beyond mournful myself, I felt lost even. It feels like an irreplaceable piece of my heart has been taken out and will never be returned, but I can't show the anguish inside me in front of my boy. He needs to know that this isn't the end for our family and that there is still hope, whatever that may be. It was difficult to put on a facade for the next few days, because as we got closer to Haulburn city, Elex started to become more vocal and ask more questions, unknowingly testing my emotional sanity. It got to the point where I almost burst out into tears in front of him, but I held back, turning my head away from him while tears dripped down the side of my tired cheeks.
Around four days into our tiresome journey, we arrived at ‘The Great City of Haulburn’. Surrounded by huge walls that went on for miles when you looked both ways, It seemed as if the city was never-ending, as the wall only appeared to get smaller the closer it ran towards the horizon, but never came to a complete stop. At the main front entrance, pedestrians had created a long line, queuing up to enter the city. They had to go through a type of security post before they could enter, which I assumed is because the royal family lives here, and also so that they know who has entered and left the city. We entered the city through the vehicle entrance with our carriage, which still had a long queue, but the process seemed to be quicker. The man at the security booth told us to put our personal information and reason for entering the city on some paper, which he then stored in some documents.
Calling this place a great city was really an understatement. Upon entry, as I sat with my head resting on my hand leaning against the open window of our carriage, my nose was bombarded with the aroma of crisp meat pie and other market food delicacies wafting on the wind. I had come to the capital a few times in the past, but despite that, I was completely taken aback at how magnificent the buildings were, as I could see the smoke stacks rising further into the city from a distance. The streets were filled with parents and children running around, small stalls near the entrance were selling overpriced goods to travelers, while the less oblivious individuals knew to stray away from the money-hungry shopkeepers. It was really different from that small village we lived in. As soon as we had entered, I had already seen more new things than I would have ever seen if we stayed in Leeton, and we weren't anywhere close to the inner city plaza. Our carriage driver took us to the colossal carriage stations within the city, which were filled with people leaving and lining up for long journeys. Its huge glass dome roof allowed the entire area to be naturally illuminated with the light of the sun, and crowds of people pushing against each other caused the temperature to be higher than expected, considering the immense height of the roof. After I said my goodbyes to our driver, we parted ways and I held Elex’s hand as we were let loose into the city of Haulburn. ‘This was good' I thought, many new things to distract Elex, there was no better place in the kingdom for us to be right now.
Shortly after we fought our way through the horde of people, we were able to exit the building and land on the streets, where we were approached by a brunette woman who wore what looked like expensive formal clothing. She came up to me and asked for my name.
“Excuse me, are you mister Vinspear” Her voice had a feeling of autonomy to it, but still contained a hint of informality.
“Yes, I am.”
“Great, I have been waiting for you to arrive all morning. I was sent by Mr. Boldwick, he told me you would be here with your son?” She said politely while looking for Elex who stood behind my back.
Elex came out from behind me, staring directly at the woman in her eyes. When she saw him she smiled, instantly knowing that he was of Boldwick blood from his unnatural human features. I wasn't completely sure if she had been informed of what had happened, or the reason for why we were here, but she knelt down to Elex’s eye level and comforted him with a welcoming smile while introducing herself, showing a bit of her real personality while still keeping it professional. She got back up onto her feet and told me to follow her, as she led us to a private carriage.
Her name was Lydia and she had been working for my father-in-law for the past 10 years now as one of his personal head assistants. Now I knew that Olivia’s father's business was gaining popularity slowly, well at least from when I had last heard about it, but if this was how all of the assistants were dressed, then they must have made a fair amount of money within the past few decades. My speculations were confirmed after we took the private carriage half an hour deeper into the city. The houses, buildings, and shops were increasing in size and luxury. The people who were strolling around these areas wore increasingly lavish clothing, and jewelry you would only ever see on high-class individuals.
‘This is where Richard lives?’ I thought to myself.
This place was extraordinary. From the entrance of the city, the less affluent individuals lived in poverty along the wall, however, it wasn't as if the majority of them were struggling, a lot of the people had small homes that they resided in, and the buildings were just a bit smaller than what we had back in Leeton. Don't get me wrong, there was an abnormal amount of people who were homeless and begging on the streets, but there was so much life and energy amongst people who lived in these areas, which sort of masked their impoverished lifestyles. I presumed this is due to the fact of how generous the royal family is towards the less fortunate, always helping people with their charitable deeds. The Human kingdom of Sunderland is ruled by the Porlov family. Its current ruler, Solomon Porlov resides with his family in the royal castle. The wealthy families, nobles, and the royal family live in the center of the city, also known as the inner city. This was where all the riches and expensive artifacts were held and sold to those who could afford them. Everyone is allowed access to these areas, it's not as if those of low class are forbidden to enter the inner city, but it seems discrimination and segregation from the rich individuals creates a barrier between the two groups of people, leaving those born with money to look down upon and mock those born without. However, it is apparent that the human king is loved by all the people, as he has a very good relationship with the people in the outer city, acting as a bridge between the two groups. Whether this is all a facade, just to get the people to yearn for him, or if it's because of his wife, Elaih Porlov, who I have heard has had quite an impression on his personality ever since they got married. I personally am not opposed to what he is doing. Helping the people, whether it may be for his own personal gain, or for some other ulterior motive, I believe is a win-win for both parties. I just hope that whatever the reason may be for his acts of kindness, will in the end be for the good of the people in this kingdom.
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We arrived at the front gates of an exceptionally large house in a peaceful quiet neighborhood somewhere in the inner city. The carriage pulled over on the sidewalk and the driver came around and opened the door for us to exit. Lydia came out of the carriage first, allowing us to follow her as we got out ourselves. I looked around outside and saw a sign that said ‘Pantene Drive’. She led us down a beautiful pathway surrounded by square-shaped hedges that had been cut precisely. The small fields of grass surrounding them were also accurately cut down to the blade, and not even a single piece of grass was scattered on the flagstone walkway which led towards the front door of the manor. It was all quite breathtaking, almost a bit too much, or maybe that's just how I see it since all we ever needed was our small cozy house. I still remember the old house the Boldwicks used to live in, back when I came to ask Richard for his blessing to marry Olivia. They resided in the outer city, as Richard’s business was just a plan in progress, nothing more. This new house puts his old one to shame, despite my thinking in the past that their old house was still beautiful nonetheless.
As we walked up a set of smooth slab steps to the door, another man from the inside opened it for us, welcoming us into the foyer. As he did so, he said.
“Hello, mister Visnspear. Master Boldwick has been expecting you.” As soon as he finished speaking, I saw Richard and my mother-in-law, Poppy Boldwick, come out from another room to the left section of the house.
“Elex! My sweet baby boy.” Poppy came running over, with tears in her eyes, and embraced Elex in her arms. “Look how you've grown, you look just like your mother,” she sniveled her tears while stroking his golden locks. I could tell that he was slightly confused, as the last time Elex had met his grandparents from his mother's side was when he was an infant. Despite that, he hugged her back instinctively. I suppose there's just something about a motherly figure that makes us all feel comfortable.
“Raja, how are you son?” Richard spoke gently while giving me a hug.
“It's been tough, but we're pulling through. I'm really in your debt, I don't want Elex to be depressed at such a young age, so allowing us to stay in this city with you will hopefully provide a good change of pace for him.”
“It isn't a problem, you two are my family, It's what we are here for. You should never be afraid to reach out to us in times of need, after all… we were all in shock when you gave us the news. So it's best if we stick together in times like this.” He tried to console me, putting his hand on my shoulder with a small smile, which said, ‘everything will be ok'.
Richard led us into the living room, whilst telling Lydia to go and bring us some tea. I took a seat on the lavish red couches, which engulfed my bottom, as it touched its cotton surface.
“Make yourselves comfortable, this is your new home so don't feel out of place,” Richard yawned as he took a seat himself. The store was closed for today, so he had time to rest and not be worried about customers.
“This house is beautiful, I can't imagine how much it cost you. I can see clearly that your business is thriving,” I commented.
“Yes, only by the blood and sweat I have put into my company, It blossomed into something I am very proud of. Olivia would have loved to see how much progress we've made, and Casper would have enough room to run up and down these hallways.” Richard responded smiling with his face to the ground.
Taking in the view of the room once more, I couldn’t help but notice another chandelier at the top of this room similar to the one near the main entrance of the house. It complemented the cream walls and auburn furniture as the candles dangling from atop gave the room a more homey feel. The sound of a knock on the front door made its way into the room that we were in. Lydia, who had just reentered the room with our tea, left and opened the door to let a man wearing the uniform of the royal insignia on it come into the house, and led him into the living room where we sat. Richard got up and greeted the man, and I followed his lead in response.
“Hello, I am an informant from the royal guard, Mr. Vinspear. I had gained news that you were coming to Haulburn and when I had looked into your family background, I saw that you had ties with Mr. Boldwick and took it upon myself to come and see if you would be here, which you are'' He said while looking at me. He took a seat as he collected a document from his messenger bag around his waist, similar, but smaller to the one that I had.
“I have information on the recent incident that occurred in Leeton village, but first, I want you to understand that I sympathize with your loss, sir. No one should ever have to lose a loved one or a friend in any unnatural way. However, the group of terrorists who attacked your village has been making more moves like this recently. Going around villages and slaughtering every living thing that resides there. It's a miracle that you and your boy were able to make it out alive. We first received a report from them around four years ago and we kept their files as classified information. Simply due to the fact we know so little of them, we were hesitant to release information on them to the public as we wouldn't want to raise panic amongst the people of the kingdom.” He said while laying out some of the documents on a small table in the middle of us all.
“Well, what have you been able to learn of these people so far?” Richard muttered in. We both leaned inwards, showing that our full attention was present.
“Well, we know that there must be multiple leaders in this organization, because their appearances have been too far away from each other in the short time we have received reports. Unless they have a teleportation arc stone that allows them to travel across the entire kingdom within a day.” He pointed at some of the papers from the documents which contained a list of some of the villages that had been attacked throughout the past couple of years. The majority of them seem to be placed with low populations, I suppose they were trying to lay low. I mean, clearing out entire villages, even for a cult, this feels... too primal. I pondered to myself deep in thought, asking questions in my head while keeping my composure, as I try to understand the minds of the people who left me widowed. They didn't appear to have any clear goal in mind, no signs of life left at any of the crime sites, no cliche ritualistic symbols, or no signs of blood. Why were they trying to hide the fact that they had even been there from the beginning? Oh wait, what about the prayer? I remember the leader mentioned something about prayer. The memory seemed to linger at the edge of my mind, making it difficult for me to fully recall the specifics.
While lost in a train of thought, the man asked me what I knew, as if expecting me to have learned anything from my small interactions with the group other than fear, hatred, or guilt. Despite knowing I was in mourning he knew the question was sensitive, but his curiosity about how my son and I were able to survive piqued his interest and overruled his boundaries. Reminding me that he was simply an informant, rather than someone to console me.
After I had told him everything I knew, he put away a notepad that he had been writing on as I spoke.
“Ah yes, we have heard of this Lord of theirs before. We can only assume it must be the God of their fabricated religion that they serve, as randomly killing off villages that have no apparent political sway benefits no noble.” He said while scratching his head.
After more information trading with the man, he left the house, giving me time to converse my thoughts about the whole matter with Richard. We spoke for some time while we were there, asking each other questions on how we should approach our upcoming future and what to do for my son. Elex had already fallen asleep on another set of couches behind us before the man sent from the royal guard came, so he had skipped this entire meeting with the informant, which made me feel better.
Later, we were led over to the living section of the house where we would be introduced to our room. The Boldwick manor had many spare guest rooms and so Elex insisted that he have a room to himself, despite my opposition to this statement he stood by his word and I was forced to back down once Poppy decided to back him. It wasn't as if Elex wasn’t capable of sleeping by himself, I knew that for sure, it was rather the fact that I assumed that in times like these we should be together, but it seemed Elex needed the time alone, or more so he felt that he needed to change himself because of what had happened. I can only wonder what goes on in his mind, as he didn't talk as much as he used to this past week. Distancing himself was the last thing I wanted him to do, but I don't think he had any plans of doing that, as when he walked into his newly claimed bedroom, I caught a glimpse of the white pendant necklace he had made me buy for Olivia on her Birthday this year.
A faint curl of my lips formed a smile, knowing that my son, my oh-so-talented boy, wasn't going anywhere.