It was subtle, almost innocuous at first. Annika went to prepare dinner as she had done many times before, while leaving the young Darl to play outside. But she felt a sudden unease. An angst assaulted her, and she froze. Not knowing what to do, thinking perhaps it was an ill premonition, she went to fetch the young Darl, and as soon as he was within her sights, the unease faded. She then tried to quietly go back to cooking, but she found it difficult. She wanted Darl next to her.
“Darl… Dear, come here for a second.” She called out to the boy who lying in the grass. He looked a bit confused but immediately complied, obedient as he was.
“Darl… You’ll start to learn to cook from today onwards, okay?” The boy’s confusion was immense.
“Didn’t you say that the kitchen wasn’t a place for me.” Annika had indeed said that and cursed her previous self. The boy was, after all, a young master and the kitchen was a place for the help. She bit her lip a little in frustration.
“That was only because you are of noble stock. But someday, I won’t be around anymore, and I don’t know what will happen to you. But just in case, you need to learn to cook for yourself.” Annika thought it would be decades until she wasn’t around anymore, or that the resources stopped flowing in, but she couldn’t help it. She needed Darl to come with her.
“If you say so, Ann.” The boy replied and took her hand. A joy crept over Annika. She felt it odd, but ignored that fact in favor of enjoying the soothing feeling.
When she started cooking, she found herself guiding the young Darl’s movement by touch. Helping him cut the vegetable by moving his hands, almost like a puppeteer. She had not planned this, but found it rewarding to remain in contact with the young boy’s body. Holding his right hand that held a knife. Holding his left hand that held the vegetable and guiding them through the cutting motion.
When it came time to stir the pot, she held one hand on his chest and helped his other hands with the other. What is wrong with me? She thought. Had she turned depraved? Had the isolation gotten to her mind? She shook the feelings of her mind. It was not sexual, she promised herself as she made sure to stay in contact with the young Darl.
The rest of the day played out much like it usually did. It was summer and Darl was tired even before the sun had set, and another feeling swept over Annika.
Years ago, she had sorted them in different rooms, as he was becoming more of child and less of a toddler. They had slept in separate rooms for five years now. And that was frightening to her. But she had already turned back on one promise today, she didn’t want to hurt her credibility in his eyes any further, and put him to bed as she always did, after helping him wash and brush his teeth.
But when she left the room, she clung to the door. Usually, work of cleaning up the day’s mess would be in order for now, but she felt the angst again. She struggled. She wanted to enter the room and cuddle with the young boy so badly, but a part of her reason eventually won against her. She left for the kitchen and started cleaning the pot, along with the various utensils.
It felt long. Like she had been cleaning for hours, though a look at the slightly red-tinged sky, that wasn’t much different from when she put Darl to bed told her otherwise. She couldn’t focus on her work. She persisted anyway, and then, she ran outside.
She peered through the window, and caught a glimpse into Dale’s room. Assuredly, he looked like he was sleeping soundly underneath the covers and she decided to take action. She re-entered the house, sneaked quietly towards Darl’s room and opened the door carefully.
As she crept in, she questioned what she was doing. It didn’t stop her from looming over the sleeping Darl’s face.
She was ashamed of herself. And yet, she was so tempted to reach out and caress his face. But as she reached out, she stayed the hand doing so with the other. She shouldn’t disturb his rest. In the end, she decided to creep under his bed and go to sleep there. It was exhilarating, being near him without him knowing. Doing something she shouldn’t do. She felt a mix of shame, confusion and delight over her actions.
The child usually slept many hours anyway. Surely, she could sleep here and be out before the young Darl woke.
Annika couldn’t fall asleep and was tormented by thoughts. She wanted to creep out and take a look at him. She wanted to caress him. But she stayed still out of fear of what she might become. Here she was, already creepily lying under the bed of the young boy. What had become of her?
Had Annika perhaps been told about the nature of the boy’s skill, she could have fought it a bit better, but as she was left without knowing the specifics, she had made up her own story about the circumstances and fully convinced herself during the lonesome time out here.
She thought that the duke feared his adopted heir taking the life of young Darl. That he was out here to be kept safe. She also speculated that he might be brought back after he came of age, but she was leaning more towards the Duke not daring disrespecting the other Duke family, that the adopted son came from, and they would be out here till the supplies stopped coming.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
In the following years, Annika grew ever more dependent on Darl, as his skill grew stronger. By the time Darl was twelve, he had him help clean, as they could be together longer.
By thirteen, she had started creeping into his bed at night.
By fourteen, she made sure they took extra-long baths together, often spending a full hour or more pressing the growing boy against her own body.
By fifteen, she was holding his hand, remaining in contact with him all day, without a moment’s respite.
She had often observed the natural reaction a teenage boy would have to such closeness. Many times she had thought of taking care of it, but she didn’t do it. It was too immoral, she thought. But even that was wearing down.
Close to the boy’s sixteenth birthday, she was lying in his bed, observing his calm, sleeping face as she had done many times before. The boy had not resisted her advances at all, during this time, and it made her feel bad. He was so naïve and innocent, completely unlike what she remembered boys of that age to be like.
The only thought keeping the mature Annika from devouring the young boy was her own experience. When she was his age, she was assaulted by the count. She remembers feeling scared and powerless. She kept quiet out of fear. He was a noble that could easily have her head after all. She remembers the disgust of feeling his tongue on her neck and in her mouth. And it only got worse.
She didn’t want to cause such feelings for the young Darl. She treasured him. She wanted to be with him forever. She wanted to care for him and for him to rely on her.
But she betrayed herself a little. She took a deep whiff of the young boy. What an intoxicating scent. And she snuck a kiss from his lips, instead of the cheek as she usually did. He didn’t wake, but rubbed it with his hand on reflex and a cold scare flew down Annika’s spine. She would have to control herself better.
The next day was Monday, the day of the week, where they would get new supplies and Annika was ready to receive them. For the past year or so, she had also brought the young Darl along with her, since she had stopped bearing to leave him alone for even a moment. If that continued, it was bound to go awry sooner and later, and as it turned out, it was sooner.
The man who was delivering them supplies had until know just seen a weird pair. His name was Chapman, though his friends often called him Chappy. He knew that the funds came from the duke house, and he had guessed it was a maid and the bastard child sired by either the duke or his heir.
He had in fact, looked down upon their assumed misdeeds and didn’t care much for them, but the job was well paid and not a lot of work, so what could he do? But today, his perception changed weirdly. For some reason, he saw the young, pretty boy as an invaluable treasure. He had a bit of a knack for trading, so he knew, he was sure of it. The worth of the boy was immeasurable.
It was not known to the humans of the time, but the affinity skill manifested in a variety of different ways. Annika had come to behold the young Darl as some kind of euphoric drug, while Chapman saw an immeasurable treasure.
He had usually kept his interactions as curt and short as possible, but now was different. As he was unloading the supplies he brought, his eyes were drawn in by Darl. It confused him. He was certain that boy was the greatest treasure anyone could ever possess, but how? It didn’t make sense.
“Could I see the boy for a moment?” He asks.
Annika retreats a little, feeling the desire in Chapman’s gaze. She knew at that moment, that Darl was in danger.
“You may not.” She replied as coldly as possible.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to be rude.” Chapman casually replied and Annika’s fear were relieved a little.
But inside Chapman’s head, a plot was already brewing. Chapman was a fairly well-off fellow, especially for a commoner. It was in part due to him having the lucrative contract to ship supplies out here, but a greater deal of his current wealth actually came from how he had invested the money he had received.
And the contract didn’t simply fall in his lap. He knew the earlier supplier, who once blurted out the nature of the scene here. How he was paid handsomely to merely deliver supplies for a woman and her child. And even though Chapman thought of him as a friend, his greed was greater. Within a fortnight, his previous friend had been sabotaged, snitched for his tardiness and an offer to overtake the contract was placed with the duke.
In other words, Chapman was both greedy and ruthless and had come across a great treasure with nary a soul to protect it.
He returned to his home in the village a few miles from the shed, and prepared the various tools he had in possession for opportunities like these.
That night, he was already carrying out his scheme. He lurked till the sun set, then a few hours more. He sneaked up to the building and perused the windows. He couldn’t see much, but managed to make out two rooms with beds. One empty and one filled. He was confused. Was the woman still awake? No matter, he couldn’t wake all night.
He readied a knife. He wanted to simply take the boy, but did he have to kill the woman, he would do so. He was determined. The door was unlocked and he snuck through the house. The wood gave barely audible creaky noises, as he slowly put one foot in front of the other. He arrived upon the door with the filled bed and carefully opened it.
He squinted and in the darkness, he barely made it out. The woman and the boy was sleeping in the same bed! Moreover, it appeared as though the boy was in a tight embrace. He was in shock and he was in doubt.
He thought they were surely up to immoral acts and he wasn’t completely wrong. He had a sense of merchandise being damage and he held his knife high. But ruthless as he was, he had never taken a life before, and he faltered. Instead, he procured a flask and a mask from his satchel, that he had prepared from home.
Chapman donned the mask and winced as he was preparing to release the bottle’s contents. It was a powerful sleeping drug, that should work through dissolving in the air. These kinds of drugs were rare, not due to the scarcity of materials, but due to the scarcity of those that held the skill “alchemist” which were needed to produce such substances, and their labor did not come cheap. It had cost him a pretty penny, but it was for opportunities like these. If he couldn’t use it for this great treasure, why did he even buy it in the first place?
He let drops fall close to their faces, but not on them. As the liquid reacted with the air, a stench spread through the room. The couple slowly went from being in a natural deep sleep, to an even deeper, artificial one.
A few minutes later, being sure that the drug would have taken effect, Chapman lifted Darl up. He had to wrestle him out of the sleeping Annika’s arms, but he succeeded nonetheless. He felt his heart beat wildly, as he hoisted the boy over his shoulders and made away with him.