T

     Eric entered a locally owned restaurant, Lucia on his heels as he tried to think of how he could safely spend his money. The mine owner gave him three silver pieces just for opening the ruin and finding the final divine weapon. He was keeping those aside for getting Lucia proper weapons and armor. She had the sword from the ruin, but it wasn't proper for her and Eric was annoyed each time he had to recreate the chainmail armor. 

     Eric was slowly learning about his second divine weapon, and it seemed like an entirely separate division of his body. The hammer had it's own everything; inventory, stats page, skills section, and even title. The title was clearly the reason why the hammer was the strongest weapon, it doubled the strength of the wielder after the stat points. That meant his current strength of seventy-two was doubled into one-hundred and forty-four. He could feel the overpowering strength in his limbs, but there was something Eric was curious about. In his hammer's inventory, his name was 'Eric Bane(Lv1)', which made no sense.

"How can I help you," repeated the young waitress, snapping Eric out of his doldrums. 

     "I'd like two of the cheapest meals you have," ordered Eric, then he glanced down at Lucia. She was staring at something across the restaurant, at a small kid with his parents who was eating a big kids meal with a toy. Lucia was practically drooling at the sight of the delicious food, though Eric thought it looked like a Happy Meal. "Wait," said Eric, calling the waitress back, "I'd like one of the cheapest meals, and then whatever the kid wants." He put his hand on Lucia's head, but felt something different. Looking down, he noticed that Lucia was now standing up to his waist, when before she was barely above his thigh. 

     "Yes, right away," said the waitress, going into a back room where the smell of cooking food wafted through to the hungry customers. Eric spied an empty table for four and he walked towards it with Lucia behind him. 

     Once the sat down, Lucia asked, "Master, thank you for your generosity." 

     "I told you, don't call me 'Master'," said Eric in aggravation. "Call me 'Eric', or you won't be getting any more special treatment." 

     "Yes, Eric," said Lucia, straining out the word as though it was a kidney stone. Eric rolled his eyes, figuring that he would need to get used to her like this. Now that he noticed her height difference, he looked more closely at Lucia to see there were a few other things about her that seemed to be different. Her hair was much longer, almost reaching down to her feet in the characteristic orange and black stripes. Also, her cat ears that had unfolded on the first day were a bit more pointed, giving the impression that she was more tiger-like. Her teeth seemed larger and much sharper, too; and the whiskers that were poking out of her upper lip were now farther than the side of her face. 

     "Eric," said Lucia, looking down at the table, "can I ask you a question?" 

     "Sure," said Eric simply. 

     "Why did you choose me?" Lucia asked, still looking down at the table. She seemed sad about something, and that pulled at Eric's cold, flinty heart strings. "I'm always afraid, I don't like fighting," the longer the list got, the more Lucia started to cry. She went on about her bad qualities, until Eric reached across the table and petted her head right between her ears as though she was a cat. 

     "I guess... you reminded me of my sister," said Eric, his hand resting on Lucia's head. "She was like you," an image of Lucia in chains crossed his mind, then a very similar image of a little girl hooked up to various types of medical equipment. 

     "Where is your sister?" Lucia asked, and Eric did something strange. He looked down, his black mass of hair flopping forward to conceal his face. Lucia waited for the answer, but Eric was taking so long, she feared she had offended him. "I'm sorry, it was a-" 

     "She died," said Eric heavily, and Lucia's eyes went wide. She felt guilty that she had drudged up a painful memory, but then it got worse. "She died because no one would help her, nobody wanted to stick their neck out to take better care of her." Eric spoke in a very hard, emotionless tone that implied his rage towards the unhelpful people that let his sister die. 

     "I'm sorry," said Lucia in heartfelt apology, "I didn't mean to make you sad." 

     "Don't worry," said Eric, looking up with a single tear streaking down his cheek. "I just don't want that to happen to anyone else. So I knew that I had to buy you, even if it cost me my jacket." He chuckled at that, but Lucia didn't seem convinced. 

     "Hey," said Eric in an attempt to change the subject, "have you been growing recently?" 

     "Yeah," said Lucia, "it's because I'm a demi-human. We grow a lot at one time, rather than growing slowly." 

     "How old are you?" 

     "I'm fifteen," said the little girl, and Eric choked on something that had mysteriously appeared in his throat. She was so small and light, he had been judging her for a ten year-old. 

     "F-fifteen," said Eric, looking wildly at Lucia. "I thought you were younger than that!" There were a hundred thoughts running through Eric's mind, many of them involving the various procedures a woman's body goes through during puberty. "Are you... bleeding...?" Eric asked, trying to hint at the menstrual cycle without mentioning it. 

     "Not at the moment," said Lucia, looking around to try and find the spot she was bleeding from. 

     "Alright, nevermind," said Eric dismissively, figuring he would deal with that problem when he crossed that bridge. The food came out, Eric getting some cold mush and pink meat while Lucia got a nice hot meal with some breaded nuggets and vegetables. She smiled, her eyes brighter somehow as she looked at the nicest meal she's ever had. "Eat your fill," said Eric happily, and he watched as Lucia's ear flicked to the side. 

     Eric turned his head to see a chair in mid-air, flying towards their table. He reacted on instinct, grabbing the chair by its leg and stopping it immediately. He held it in midair, and his eyes scanned the room briefly before he zeroed in on a single man who was standing with his body bent in a way that suggests he had just tossed something. Eric put the chair down in front of his table as the entire restaurant looked at him as though he was going to start something. Eric did nothing but pick up his fork, and start eating his meal silently. 

     "Come on," Eric said, gesturing towards Lucia who was cowering over her meal. "Don't worry about them, they won't hurt you. Just enjoy your meal." Eric smiled in such a way that Lucia relaxed, and she picked up her utensils and started eat. She stabbed one of her nuggets, then put it into her mouth so that her cheeks were stretched as far as they would go. She chewed, making Eric smile as he ate his own food. His food had no taste, but it was nourishment that he needed, so he swallowed without complaint. 

     The entire time he was eating, he was watching out of the corner of his eye the guy that had thrown the chair. He was a wide man, his belly extending out across his rope belt tied around his waist. He had atrocious sideburns and a crew cut that made him look military, but his face was well-worn with age, mixing wrinkles with scars. The man approached the table where Eric and Lucia were eating, making Lucia's ears fold down over her hair as she tried to make herself seem smaller. 

     "Can I help you?" Eric asked politely, but the distaste in his voice was evident. 

     "Get out of our town, monsters," said the man angrily, his fists clenched so that his knuckles were white. 

     "'Monsters'," hissed Eric, looking across the table at Lucia who ate her food in smaller portions. "I'm the only monster here," said Eric, looking at the man, face-to-face. 

     "You sit across from a demon child, and you tell me you're the monster," said the man credulously. Eric put some food into his mouth, then he set the fork down gently. Eric stood up slowly, relaxed his shoulders, then all at once he towered over the man like a brick wall about to fall. His eyes had the same cold dispassion of a murderer, and with his enormous body reaching over the fat man, he could really be intending to kill this man. 

     "You can hit me," Eric said, "you can spit on me, and you can call me whatever you want. But if I ever hear you talk about Lucia like she is anything besides a little girl, I will not take it quietly." Eric summoned his chains, letting them hit the ground heavily just to drive his point home. 

     "You're a hero," came the voices from around the restaurant. 

     "Why's he with a demi-human?" 

     Eric looked down into the eyes of the guy he was facing against, his expression reading that he was ready to kill. The man wasn't ready to die, so he backed away from Eric, going back to his seat while privately nursing resentment against Eric and Lucia. Eric waited until the antagonist was safely back in his seat, then he sat down as well to continued eating his meal. The whispers had retreated until he couldn't hear them anymore. Eric looked up at Lucia to see that she was looking down at her food with a very pained expression. 

     "What's wrong," Eric asked gently, "does it not taste good?" 

     "No," Lucia said, shaking her head as she felt the need to cry, "the food is delicious. I'm just so happy!" Eric smiled at that, glad that he could make Lucia happy. 

      Eric stood in front of the blacksmith's, wearing a large blanket that he turned into a robe. Lucia stood next to him, wearing a smaller robe as they entered the blacksmith's shop. They were incognito because the most recommended blacksmith in the country was in the capital city, the city that Eric was forbidden from entering. However, if it meant getting proper equipment, Eric was willing to risk discovery. He strode into the blacksmith's workshop to see the big black man leaning over his front desk reading something. He still had the goatee from the first time Eric had seen him, and generally looked the same as he had a few horrible months ago. 

     "Is there anything that I can help you with," asked the blacksmith in a very deep baritone. He looked at the two hooded figures suspiciously, but then Eric stepped forward and removed his hood. The blacksmith recognized him immediately, giving Eric a hard sneer before saying, "Get the hell out of my shop, or I'll call for the guards." 

     "I'm here to buy a weapon and some armor," said Eric, holding his hands up in surrender. "I'm not going to make any trouble, I just want to know how much I can get for three silver coins?" 

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

     "I'm not making anything for you," said the blacksmith angrily. 

     "It's not for me," said Eric, then he pulled Lucia's hood away, "it's for her." The blacksmith was surprised when he saw the little tiger girl, her feline eyes and whiskers making her look like an innocent child. One of her ears flicked to the side as she looked up hopefully at the blacksmith, who was secretly a sucker for kids. 

     "What's with you, bringing a child into dangerous fights," chastised the blacksmith. 

     "I didn't have a lot of choice," said Eric, then looking down at Lucia, "and neither did she." 

     "She's a slave?" the blacksmith guessed. 

     "How did you know?" Eric replied, but the blacksmith just shook his head in disappointment. 

     "The church sees demi-humans as demon spawn crossed with humans," said the blacksmith sadly. "Slave traders see them as easy money since the church and all of their followers won't step up to help demi-humans. There was a town of demi-humans that was completely picked clean by slave traders, men, women, and children." The blacksmith sighed deeply, looking at the tiny Lucia with some pity. "You said three silver coins?" 

     "Yeah, that's all the money we've managed to scrape up," said Eric, looking with some pride at Lucia. The blacksmith saw this, and he noticed how Lucia acted affectionately towards Eric's words. 

     "You'll get the hero discount," said the blacksmith, hiding his smile, "and I'll need to check that sword she's carrying." 

     "Thank you," said Eric meaningfully. 

     "Thank you," repeated Lucia, bowing a little towards the blacksmith. 

     "Just don't get yourself killed," said the blacksmith with the double meaning in plain sight. "I'm George, by the way. We never were able to introduce ourselves." 

     "Eric," said Eric, shaking George's hand. It was nice shaking hands with someone who could actually fit Eric's hand. 

     "Come on in the back, I'll get you suited up with the right measurements," said the blacksmith as he motioned towards the back of his shop. Lucia followed with Eric close behind, still untrustworthy of anyone in the capital. Over the next hour, while George the blacksmith was measuring and fitting Lucia, he talked with Eric about the recent goings on at the capital city. 

     The other six heroes were questing around the city, gathering experience with their followers while the king planned expeditions and received requests for aid from various places. It was a system that the king got to take full advantage of, raking in the money the heroes brought in while getting the adoration of the people for the heroes' actions. Prosperity was slowly increasing as the names of the heroes became even more famous. Meanwhile, Eric was slowly becoming more infamous, with the other heroes going around spreading his name like a disease. It was entirely unfair, but being framed for assaulting a princess is only believable if everyone believes it. 

     Eric asked about this church he kept hearing, so the blacksmith told him a twisted tale. Since the sword, lance, and bow were the only three recurring heroes, a religion was based around them being apostles from god, known as the Holy Trinity. The sign was a lance and a sword with a bow in the middle, which looked unsettlingly like a frowning cross. They believed in demi-humans being part demons, the other heroes were simply protectors for the holy trinity. Eric was pure evil in their eyes, for having abused his hero status and insulted the name of heroes. No doubt they would come after him as well, spreading his name as the epitome of evil. 

     The blacksmith asked curiously if he knew that slavery was technically illegal, to which Eric responded, "What do you mean 'technically'?" The king was outright against slavery of any kind, but a lot of officials in government were slave owners themselves. There was no real crackdown on slavery, it just continued behind the scenes without any true dent in the operation. There were some allegations that the Holy Trinity church were using slaves, but the allegations never went anywhere. Still, anyone found in possession of, or using, slaves is instantly confined to prison with a heafty fine. George then asked Lucia how Eric was treating her, only for Lucia to then look at Eric as if he was supposed to supply the answer. 

     "Just tell him the truth," said Eric dismissively. 

     "He treats me much better than I ever hoped," said Lucia, much to Eric's and George's surprise. "When we're eating, he gives us the same amount of food, even though he's much bigger than I am. He also pushes me to learn fighting, but always protects me when it's too much. He can be mean sometimes, but I know he does it because he wants me to be able to take care of myself someday. Even though the trader always told me I should be ready to fulfill any needs my master has, Eric doesn't touch me inappropriately. Except this one time, when we were in the mountains at night and it was cold, he let me sleep on top of him so I was nice and warm!" 

     Eric and George exchanged a look of shock, wondering if Lucia was only seeing the silver lining. "Actually," said Eric, "I drag her from place to place killing monsters and doing quests, I can hardly ever put a roof over our heads, and I'm really mean when Lucia slacks off." 

     "He hits me like this," said Lucia, bonking the blacksmith on the back of his afro. 

     "Don't hit other people," said Eric, bonking Lucia on the back of the head. Then came an unusual sound, a deep, throaty laugh from the very bottom of George's stomach. 

     "Once I finish getting Lucia's sizes, you'll have to wait a day for the armor to be made," said George with the remnants of his laugh still on his lips. As George finished, he got up to see the duo out, but then said, "Hero, would you mind if I spoke to you in private for a moment?" 

     "Sure," said Eric, then he motioned for Lucia to stay while he went into the back room with George. "What is it?" 

     "I need to hear your answer, right now," said George seriously. "Did you rape the princess?" George's tone was no-nonsense, 'you give a wrong answer and I will never talk to you again'. 

     "No," said Eric, looking at George to see if the big man would actually believe him. They held eye-contact for a long time, until Eric sighed and looked down. "Who cares, nobody believes me anyway," Eric said disheartened, but as he turned to leave, George put a hand on his shoulder. 

     "I'll trust you," he said, "but only because I know something's off about that princess. I've seen what rape does to people, and that girl is not showing any signs she was assaulted." 

     "Hey George," came a very cheerful girl's voice, one that Eric sorely remembered, "how's my favorite blacksmith doing?" 

     "Is that Emily?" Eric demanded, his voice on edge already at the sound of another hero. 

     "Oh, and who are you?" came Emily's voice as a crowd could be heard entering the smithee's shop. 

     "Lucia," said Lucia happily. 

     "Oh, what pretty ears," said Emily cheerfully, "can I touch them?" 

     "You don't want to do that," said another voice, "you might catch something." Eric suddenly stepped out of the back room, his hood back so that everyone could see the anger in his expression. He saw Emily in full armor, her sword in one hand with a helmet under her armpit. The look of surprise she had was indomitable, which quickly changed to a look of apprehension. 

     "What are you doing here?" Emily demanded, getting into a stance that suggested she was about to attack him. 

     "I'm getting my only party member some armor," said Eric with such a heavy tone it added a few pounds to everyone in the room. Emily's followers slowly got ready for the brewing fight, until George stepped in front of Eric. 

     "All of you sheathe your weapons or I'll smash'em to bits," he shouted, crossing his arms as if defending Eric. 

     "This ain't your fight," said Eric. 

     "This isn't anyone's fight," replied George crossly, "especially not in my shop! Lucia's armor will be ready tomorrow, you can come by and pick it up then." 

     "You're actually making armor for that bastard," Emily said in disappointment. 

     "It's for her," said George, pointing at the little girl with cat ears and striped hair. "If you've got a problem with who I make armor for, then you can tell me without your sword." 

     "Come on, Lucia," said Eric soundly, "we're going." 

     "Hold on," said Emily, blocking Eric's path with he sword still in one hand. "How do you expect a child to fight in the waves?" 

     "Lucia, tell them how old you are," said Eric soundly. 

     "Sixteen," said Lucia on command. 

     "That's too young," said Emily, lifting her sword once again. Eric stared at Emily so hard, she actually began to think Eric was going to do something. 

     "I had to do a lot worse, a lot younger than that," said Eric threateningly. "Lucia, let's go somewhere that doesn't reek of hypocrisy." Eric took Lucia's hand and they left the room, but Emily was clearly frustrated by Eric's appearance. 

     "I can't believe you," said George, crossing his thick black arms in disappointment. 

     "What," said Emily defensively, "I didn't do anything! That man started this!" 

     "That man was unarmed, unprotected, and alone," George pointed out, "and you were all ready to slice him to pieces! Not only that, but you had your sword pointed directly at that little girl before he stood between you two!" Emily looked at where Lucia had been standing, then recreated the moment to realize that her sword had been aimed directly at Lucia's head. "Now, tell me what you need, then kindly get the hell out of my store." 

     A little ways outside of the store, Eric asked, "Hey, I thought you told me you were fifteen?" 

     "Most growth spurts don't start until a demi-human is almost sixteen years old," explained Lucia. 

     "Why didn't you tell me about your birthday?" 

     "I don't know when it is," said Lucia weakly, then she felt a tug on her hand. 

     "I'll be damned if we don't at least get some cake," said Eric sternly, much to the delight of Lucia. 

T