William was in shock! He thought he was the only one out here! Where did this bastard come from!?

William took awhile to simmer down. His face was completely red due to shame. To think that someone had heard him spit out those pitiful words… When he had calmed down some, he inhaled some courage and took a look back. He was very surprised to see that it was the hero of castle Blaise, that was giving him his attention.

William asked, unsure of himself, “...Harvick?”. Said, now 15 year old teen, had a blank face.

He slowly replied with a, “Yes…” and nothing more. Before the awkward silence killed both of them, Harvick added, “Are you sure you won’t regret anything?..”.

This sentence struck a nail in William’s heart. He corrected Harvick by saying, “I saib that there won’t be much… I certainly will regret leawing Joss behind… And I do regret not gwetting my own dinosaur… And… And, I regret not thankwing you for-”. Harvick interrupted William with a, “You don’t have to thank me for anything. It was a pleasure knowing you”.

William scrunched his eyebrows, “What do you mean?.. You dwon’t mind that I go?”. Harvick stared at William for awhile before explaining, “I don’t blame you for the decision you are making right now… That’s what she does to you… Trust me, I know how you feel, since I went through a similar experience… It’s either you kill her or she kills you”.

The wrinkles on William’s face disappeared as he made sure, “Yuu mean… Grettel, right?”. Harvick nodded as he crossed his arms, “Yep… My mot-... Erh…Yes, I mean Grettel… She can really suck the life out of you… You know… It’s a fact that I’ve been very absent these past months… And I’ve been wanting to make it clear, that it’s not because I didn’t want to visit you guys… Things have however, been very complicated lately… But no matter how busy I am, I am ready to help you... If you want it?”.

William was baffled at this offer.

He thought: Who is this person standing before me? Is it Solvi himself!? How come Harvick knew to come at just the right time, to stop me from doing something stupid!? Just how deus ex machina can you be!? Huh!? Harvick!? Share me some of that awesome power!

It was hard holding back those damned tears, as William begged shamelessly, “Yesh! Please help me!”. Harvick walked a bit closer to shorten the distance. It was a rather dull moment.

However in William’s eyes, he saw it like Harvick was some glorified god, who came down from the heavens to bless him! Stringed instruments played in the background at full throttle, as small fat angels flew about sprinkling glitter all over the place.

Harvick asked, even though he already knew the answer, “So… What do you need help with?”. The small girl opened her mouth and stated, “I need your helb to get me out of Grettel’s clutches! I don’t want to be a slawe any longer! Anythwing but that!”.

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Harvick smiled for the first time, since William turned back to look at him. It gave William some strength back. A warm hand stretched out to pat William on the shoulder. It was very touching for him, who had been longing for positive human contact.

Harvick began introducing William to his plan, “Let me be honest with you… I have thought of this for some time now. That’s why I came to seek you out today. And thank god I did!.. You see, although many people call me the new lord of Halbal castle, it isn’t fully mine yet…”. William concluded, “Are you refewing to the rebels?”.

A glint of bloodlust traversed Harvick’s eyes as he answered, “No, but I wish I was… It’s worse. One of the knight captains have set his eyes on the castle. He wishes to become its new lord and gain the title that comes along with it… To reach his goal he has slandered me behind my back. Saying that I’m still merely an unwise newbie teen. Deemed unfit to rule the castle properly... In the short time period that I’ve been the ‘ruler’, assassinations attempts and hidden blackmail happened within the castle walls on a daily basis... That’s why I can’t take you back with me and let you live at Halbal castle. It would be too dangerous”.

William had his mouth wide open, “Assassination attembts!? He tried to murder yuu? And more than once!?”. Harvick nodded nonchalantly and said, “Yes… You could say that it is a very effective method of getting rid of me… Either I get killed by strangers, or I show how unfit I am to rule the castle by asking for help from my father… It’s a win-win situation for him… But don’t worry. Once I’ve gained enough proof of his underhanded methods, I’ll lay them flat in front of lord Blaise, of course, along with his decapitated head. And I’ll be free to do what I please henceforth… So, I’m only asking you to wait till that time comes. Then I’ll be able to welcome you inside Halbal castle, past the gates…”.

William felt a bit scared at how uncaring Harvick was, when talking about killing someone… It was worth noting down…

Harvick took a short break, before adding, “Until then, I’ll have you work as a servant at Blaise castle. Don’t worry, Mirabelle. They won’t treat you like dirt… There will be a warm bed, proper food and you’ll be allowed some free time, including an allowance”.

Hearing this, made William’s eyes glitter with hope, “That’s awmazing! I-”. Harvick continued, “However… Although I can get the lord to accept you. You have to be 7 years old... Until your of the right age, I’m afraid there is nothing I can do… So you must hang in there...”.

William gulped at the thought of waiting… He took up his hand and started calculating the time that was left until he would reach the proper age… “Two and a half months…” William muttered. Harvick could see how the sad energy crawled back into William’s body. So he tried his best to cheer the little fellow up.

“Here”, Harvick said, as he swung his cape around William. “This will keep you warm during the winter… And don’t worry. I’ll make sure that Grettel will let you keep it… I’ll also have her give you more food. It’s clear to see that she has been starving you...”.

Harvick suddenly got an idea and asked with glee, “Are you hungry?”. To this, William had to be honest. He nodded as if an earthquake was shaking him, “YES! I’m super hungwy right now! Do you have somethwing for me to eat?”. Harvick fastened his cape around William’s frail body and said, “No, but I know where we can get some… Come!”.

Harvick hobbled towards Liberto, who was a few meters away on the shore. He didn’t seem to mind walking on his own two legs. So he let William ride on it as they went towards the castle.

Both filled with fragments of a growing hope.