Rygo grabbed hold of Tsugi's hand as he fell over the side of the tower. Tsugi stared at Rygo's teary eyes with a blank stare. Tsugi was so emaciated, that he almost weighed nothing.
"No! You CAN'T!" He cried. "Y-you can't."
"It's o-okay Rygo." Tsugi said with a blank face. "It's o-okay. I'm not s-s-scared anym-more."
"Well I am! I'm scared! You can't leave!" He cried loudly, tears and snot ran down his face. "Y-you can't…leave. Please...don't leave!"
A big hand reached around Rygo and grabbed hold of Tsugi's hand. "You can't leave us Young Master Tsugi." The big woman's face was teary eyed with a wistful smile.
"Mare?"
"What will I do without you young master? You are my only friend." Her voice cracked. "Who will share a potato with me and help me chop wood?" A stream of tears flowed down her cheeks.
"Who will I talk to?"
Tsugi glanced back and forth between Mare and Rygo. He had forgotten all about them in his moment of darkness. His eyes welled up with tears and blurred his vision. He reached up with his other hand and held onto theirs as they pulled him up.
His emotions finally broke out of the locked chest in his heart and he cried rivers. Rygo and Mare embraced Tsugi in their arms.
"It's okay, I'm here." They would say. "You are never alone. I will always be here." They cried and embraced each other till the rain stopped, and the sun streamed through the clouds.
***
Before long, the cold winter air had arrived as Tsugi continued to practice everyday. He swung the ax and to his surprise, he made a slightly deeper indent than before. His eyes filled with excitement, and he continued to chop away. Finally with all his might into one fell swoop, the chunk of wood finally split in half and fell to the ground.
"Mare!" Tsugi exclaimed. "Mare look! I-I did it! I f-finally did it!" He jumped with excitement.
"And it only took you three months." She continued to chop the chunks of wood without care.
Tsugi's shoulders drop in disappointment. He frowned and hung his head. He lugged another chunk of wood and placed it on the chopping block.
"I know, I'm very w-weak, but I will get s-stronger. Just you w-watch! I will get as s-strong as you! No! Stronger!" He puffed up his little chest and held his head high.
For the first time, he heard her laugh, this boisterous laugh that emulated across the grassy hills. He looks up at her in surprise. The sun was high in the sky behind her, casting her big shadow over him, but this towering aura he always felt from her wasn't there. Right now the air around her felt light, soft and warm.
"I would love to see that one day, Young Master Tsugi." She said, wiping tears from her eyes. She knelt down to meet him at eye level. "Truly, it would be the happiest day of my life if I could see it." She had a big cheerful smile on her face, her amber eyes gleamed and her voice was soft unlike any that he's heard before.
The biggest smile appeared on his face, he couldn't hold back and jumped toward her wrapping his arms around her thick neck. Her eyes filled with surprise and then softened as she smiled and placed a big hand on his back.
"Then I will work r-really hard to sh-show you." His voice was muffled by her broad shoulders.
"I look forward to it." She pulled him away, closed her eyes and lifted her nose into the air to take in a big whiff.
Tsugi lifted his arms to smell himself. He smelled of sweat, dirt, blood, butt and all kinds of abominable smells. He cringed his nose and hung his head apologetically.
"I-I'm sorry." He muttered. He doesn't get baths. The only time he gets anything close to a bath is during the storms. He clenched his eyes at the thought.
"There's a big storm coming tonight." Mare said calmly. "It's going to be a cold one too."
Fear filled Tsugi's heart. He gazed up into the sky. "A th-thunders-storm? But there's n-n-not a cloud in the s-sky."
"My nose never lies young master." She looked down at him. "But not to worry young master. It's not a thunderstorm, but a winter storm. We should cover the rest of the wood up and continue another day." Mare pulled out a big cloth from the shed and they draped it over the piles of wood. "You should head to the kitchen and see if they could use your help, young master."
Tsugi nodded and headed back into the castle.
He's been practicing, pretending to be like an assassin from the books he's read. He imagined himself going to assassinate corrupted nobles as he moved silently through the shadows of the big castle. He rolled and swiftly ducked around corners keeping his eyes and ears open. He could smell oil, flour and all kinds of other delicious smells coming from the kitchen.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
He entered the kitchen, a sink full of dishes sat in the sink in the next room. A few cooks were breading and deep frying chicken, others were chopping vegetables, or stirring potato stew.
"Breu!" Dina, a short old woman yelled. She may be old but she was only slightly taller than Tsugi. Her yellow hair is tied into a bun on top of her head. Though she was tiny, she had a ferocity to her. "You're burning the chicken! Lower the flame!"
"Yes chef!" A teenage boy cranked an iron bar by the stove and the wooden flame slowly lowered to the ground.
"Tsugi!"
"Y-yes chef!"
"How long are you going to stand there? Dishes!" She barked.
"Yes ch-chef!" Tsugi ran over and started soaking and scrubbing dishes.
A hand popped up next to him, grabbed a plate and started scrubbing it. Tsugi glanced over.
"Let me help you." She looked to be around age ten. She smiled brightly at him, her hazel eyes glistened in the lantern and her silver hair flowed down to her butt.
"Y-you're the girl...from that o-o-one night."
"Which night?" She said grabbing plates and soaping them.
"Wh-when I had a fever, you b-brought me s-some medicine and b-bread."
"I've seen you more often than once." She sounded disappointed. "But it's okay, most of the other times you were very tired and not quite yourself."
"So are you the reason why I h-haven't been feeling much p-pain lately? You've been g-giving me m-medicine?"
She didn't say anything for a long time. She then turned to smile at him. "Mhm. I only get to see you when you are in a lot of pain, so I bring you tonics."
"Well, th-thank you. I've been f-feeling a lot b-better recently."
"Glad I could help." She whispers, "don't tell anyone though. I wasn't supposed to."
"Don't worry, I w-won't." His heart fluttered again. Has Tsugi found another person who cared for him?
"Oh! I'm Xeni."
"I'm..."
"I know who you are, Master Tsugi." She laughed. "You're silly. Everyone knows who you are."
He blushed.
‘Had they really? Guess it wasn't a secret about the abuse.’
But if they knew about it all those years how come no one came to save him? His heart got heavy and he felt a frog in his throat again.
"Are you alright Master Tsugi? Let me make you some Tonic." She stepped away but Tsugi grabbed her arm.
"No, I-I'm okay."
"Are you sure?" Tsugi smiled and nodded at her. "Alright, well if you change your mind just let me know."
She made washing dishes more enjoyable for Tsugi. For the moment, he felt happy and content, for there was another place in the castle where he looked forward to.
***
Just as Mare predicted, a huge winter storm brewed. Strong winds picked up and huge snowflakes whipped through the air and continued for the next few days. Sir Gorou was stuck at the royal castle as they prepared to go on an expedition. He heard the servants talking about how monsters were invading Gnolan, the eastern part of the kingdom, and the King had sent his knights to dispose of them. Tsugi was just glad he could be free of his father for at least a few months, although secretly, he hoped his father would never return.
Tsugi was stuck inside working in the kitchen but he didn't complain. He was warm, while he learned how to cook with Xeni. As they cooked they were also allowed to taste the food they prepared, so Tsugi was very happy to finally be able to taste flavored food other than stale bread and water. He only hoped that Rygo, Ryna and Yahni were doing okay.
"Then take a little bit of flour and sprinkle it on the counter." Dina instructed. "Then put the dough on top, and you can start by flattening it with your palms first, and then roll it with the rolling pin."
Tsugi followed her instructions and flattened the dough into a square shape. Dina continued to instruct him on how to make the croissant and how to work the oven.
"Be careful it's hot!" Dina yelled.
Tsugi carefully placed the hot pan on the table. The croissants were golden brown and looked light and fluffy. Steam rose from them with a sweet scent that filled the air.
"Alright, and now we just wait for them to cool before placing them in the basket."
Tsugi and Xeni left for the next room to do dishes. They laughed and talked about all the different dishes they have learned how to cook recently, and how well they've been doing at cooking.
Xeni gasps, "hey!" Tsugi had accidentally dropped the bowl into the sink and splashed soap water into Xeni's face.
"S-sorry, it was an ac..."
Xeni had already splashed him back. They both laughed and splashed each other.
"Oi! You're not here to make a mess!" Dina popped her head out around the corner. " You're here to cook and clean!"
"Sorry chef!" They both said. They snickered quietly and continued to wash the dishes. It's been a while since he's been able to enjoy feeling like a kid again. Since the last incident, he hasn't been seeing Rygo much, through fear of his father finding out.
"When you are done, take a croissant. Since you made them you also get one." Dina said as she walked out.
"Thank you chef!" They yelled.
After finishing the dishes they each grabbed a warm croissant, and spread some butter onto it before enjoying it with a big smile on their faces. Tsugi felt so much joy that he wished this storm would never end.
After eating, Tsugi and Xeni toured around the castle. They were very careful not to get caught by anyone. Tsugi was never allowed anywhere else besides the tower where he resides, and the path to get to and from the kitchen, and out the back entrance.
They discovered many bedrooms and an enormous ballroom, which Tsugi didn't really care for. They came upon a pair of giant doors. As the door creaked open, Tsugi gasped in awe with his mouth gaped open.
"A library!" Tsugi was so excited he ran inside after Xeni and closed the door behind them. It was three levels of books…endless books. "Look at all these books! How is it that there are so many books and not a single person is here to read them?" Tsugi's whisper echoed through the quiet library.
He looked through shelves and shelves of books: monsters; history; love stories; adventures; blacksmithing; cooking; medicine...there were so many books that Tsugi felt so overwhelmingly excited. They spent the rest of the day in the library looking through as many books as they could. Tsugi read and skimmed through each book, trying to learn everything and anything he possibly could, while Xeni mainly focused on medicine and herbs.
Tsugi put the books that he finished back onto the shelves. A book title caught his eye, "Do You Have Magic Affinity?"