I didn’t sleep last night. In my room, I sat in the corner, sword in hand, listening to the chirp of crickets. Every so often I’d tiptoe to my door and stare through the peephole and go back to crack open my blinds.

It’s only when the heavy rain started that I felt safe enough to sit down, knowing that no one would stalk my house in that weather. They’d either attack or leave.

#

Sunlight filtered through the blinds. Getting up, it was hard not to peek outside. Looking over to Leia, she was still sleeping. Hopefully, this event wouldn’t stay with her, and she could forget about it, but I doubted that be the case.

Getting up to take a sip from my bucket of water, I fell back into my chair. Everything hurt and ached. Constant waves of heat spread from my neck down to my feet. The adrenaline and anxiety keeping me up last night had crashed now that the calming singing of birds echoed outside.

I’d never been so mangled in my life, but I still needed to have a drink and eat something. Pulling myself together and gritting through the pain, I took a sip from my bucket and found some cheese in my drawer. There was also an old piece of hard bread stored in the corner, blowing off the dust on its crust, I chewed up the brick once I sat back down.

I wondered how long it’d take Richard and Isabelle to get back. The sooner the better. If the thugs from the Triste gang came now, I wouldn’t be able to do anything. Not to mention, although ashamed, I was starting to have doubts about Richard. He’d been rather distant in the past half a year, and Isabelle’s normal go lucky vibe was starting to get off-putting when they were going through so much. Maybe I was seeing things, but things happened in the dead-ends—Looking over to Leia, I started to get worried she still wasn’t waking up. It must have been twelve hours since I’d rescued her at this point. The sun now shone bright.

Even if she hadn’t slept in a week, you can’t just sleep for twelve, people couldn’t sleep that long in one go. But at the same time, I didn’t want her to wake up, especially not before Richard came back. That’s when my sheets ruffled.

Leia was waking up. At least she was okay, but I noticed her eyes dart around the room, confused.

Before she freaked out, I spoke up. “You’re ok, it’s me Gregoire and you’re at my place, I saved you from the thugs. Your brother and Isabelle should be here soon.” She was disorientated as people usually are after a long sleep.

Getting her bearings back, she sat back against the bed frame’s headboard. Although she was fourteen, she looked to be ten or maybe twelve, with thin dirty blonde hair, sunken eyes, and pale skin. Now that I thought about it, back then when the class giver gave me the cup of blood, I didn’t look that dissimilar, everyone here looked the same. Dead, or at least dying.

I was about to offer her some water but quite honestly my bucket was disgusting, I don’t think I had changed that water in a week. She might get sick if she took a sip of it. “I’ll get you some water and snacks, I’ll be right back,” I said but—

“No, I’m fine!” She squeaked out.

“Ok, I’ll stay.” I don’t know if I could have even made it out of the house even if I tried. Not to mention I don’t know why I thought it a good idea to leave her alone when she’d just been kidnapped. “Are you not hungry or thirsty?” I still asked. I still had some cheese although that too might make her sick.

“No—”

I didn’t know what to say. She was so curt, and I couldn’t read her eyes, they were frozen.

“Then, let’s wait for your brother. He should be back today or tomorrow,” I reassured her.

Again, no response.

Although I’d known her for more than half a decade, it always felt like I’d just met her.

And so, we waited like that for half a day. I tried to talk to her a couple times, but she was just as curt. I hoped Richard would come quickly, because seeing a kid like this was too much.

#

It was dark outside when someone knocked on my door. Jumping out of my chair, I drew my blade.

Leia jumped out of bed, dragging the sheets she wrapped herself in below the bed.

Creeping to the door, I looked through the peephole—

Thank God.

It was just Isabelle—but I didn’t see Richard. Worried for the worse, I jerked open the door. “Where is—”

Isabelle fell into my arms before I could finish.

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“Are you okay!” I asked worried, seeing that she barely had enough strength to stay conscious. Dragging her to my chair, I let her sit. Leia peeked above the bed but hide back down. Odd. But I focused back to Isabelle.

She was sitting, her head in her bloodied hands. Although maybe too direct, I had to ask. “Is Richard still alive?”

“—Yes.”

I almost had a heart attack for that half a second. “Is he going to be, okay?”

“—He should be.”

But then, why did she look like this? That’s when I remembered the words of that North-men. Although I wanted to give her more time to compose herself, I don’t think we could avoid the topic. “Tell me truthfully, how much did you owe the Triste gang and why?”

She started to sob, and I heard Leia crawl deeper under my bed.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” Isabelle looked up, red-eyed. “I tried to stop him, but I couldn’t.”

“Stop him from doing what?”

“He’s been gambling?”

“What?” This came from nowhere, he never even talked about it.

“I tried to stop him, but I couldn’t. If I stop him from going during the day, he goes at night. If I stay with him at night, he’ll wait till I’m asleep and go at sunrise. I couldn’t stop him I swear.”

“But why—” Before I could finish talking…

“It was last year, when Leia first got sick.” The sheets rustled again. “He—"

I cut her off. “Stop, you shouldn’t talk about this now—”

But now it was the third voice’s turn to interrupt, “I don’t care. Just say it, it’s all my fault.” It was Leia.

And Isabelle had already started talking again, “We were ten silvers short. He had made a friend not too long ago; I don’t know where and he gambled a lot—And I don’t know.” She was sobbing in between breaths. “He convinced him to gamble—And somehow, he made twenty silvers. We cured Leia with that. But—He went back.

He went, and he didn’t lose a lot, just a few silvers over months. It helped him relax you know. It was fine then, no different than going to the brothel or something. I prefer he gambles than cheat— So many people cheat.” She wiped her tears. “But three months ago… Leia got sick again. It cost three golds to cure her. We had that much saved. But. He’d gambled that away without telling me. So, he went back to get it back. He even took a loan. He said God would be on his side because he was doing it for good. He said that’s why he won big the first time he gambled. Because it was for Leia—He lost everything.” Isabelle broke down again.

I didn’t know what to say, I couldn’t even stay on my knees. I got up, I had to move, to walk the confusion off. How had I not known anything about this. “How the hell did he gamble fifteen golds!” I couldn’t help it. The words were too loud in my mind. “How could the Triste gang even loan him that much!”

“IT’S NOT FIFTEEN!” Leia screamed.

“THEN WHAT IS IT? FIFTY, A HUNDRED, WHAT IS IT!”

“No, it’s just ten! The other five were for Leia’s treatment. He had to borrow that; she’d be dead otherwise!”

“What? You’ve gone insane.” I couldn’t look her straight in the eye. I couldn’t believe he gambled with Leia’s life on the line. “He took that loan because he gambled. No other reasons. He could have paid it otherwise. And where is he! Why is he making you tell me this? Is that why he hasn’t gone to see Eve all this time? He knows she wouldn’t give him money even if he begged. Or is he too ashamed?”

“He can’t come, you saw him. You saw the wounds he had. He’s recovering at home. He can’t come here.”

“Yes, he can! If it’s for his sister, he can!” I didn’t care anymore; I couldn’t see him as a friend anymore. I couldn’t see someone who abandoned his family as a friend, not today, not ever. “And why did he have me save Leia, and I’m guessing he put her down as collateral to get more money—Fifteen golds.” I scoffed. I couldn’t believe it. “That’s the price of a slave. You’re telling me that he put his own sister up as collateral, knowing full well she’d be sold to some lord when he couldn’t pay. Fuck off. Richards lost it. He just cares about gambling, doesn’t he? He’s gonna end up like the rest of the people in the dead-ends—”

“NO! Shut up! Shut up!” She banged on her fists on the floorboards. “He almost lost his life in the dungeon trying to get her back. He just got had. It wasn’t his fault! You think you’re so much better than us, don’t you?”

“You’ve lost it too, haven’t you?”

Isabelle eyes were now red in anger. I’d never seen her look so vile. I don’t know why, but it was repulsive.

“You bitch!” She screamed, now seething in deep resentment. “You don’t get it, do you? It’s been what, ten years since you’ve been in these slums and look at you. I can see the way you look at us from up there with your class crystal. You piece of shit exploiter. You came here to see what you’d never be. You came here to laugh at us didn’t you, you sick fuck!”

“What are you even—”

“Gregoire. Do you know why we grew distant? It’s because you can’t love. It’s been ten years, and not once have I seen you fall in love, open up as a real friend to anyone, or get a hobby. Even if that is gambling. You’re just here, stuck in your room, counting your coins, and waiting to take your next step. You aren’t human! No, you’re a noble, one who just happened to fall here for a time, but everyone knew you didn’t belong here. Everyone knew one day you’d turn your back to us, and, of course, you do that when we need you the most. You. Are. Not. Human.”

“—” I… “—The only ones who aren’t human here are you two for using Leia as a chip.”

The last bout of screaming had taken everything out of her. Isabelle was slumped over, her hands on the floor. She only managed to stutter out a few words. “Take her then. Take her if we aren’t human.”

“—” I didn’t know how to react to such disgusting words. “You…” I couldn’t control my breathing and I… my heart—I remembered those days—That workshop—Those stones. “You—you plan on abandoning her. Who the hell are you?” I wanted to punch her face in, but I held back. Leia was here. “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I can’t believe I called you, my friend.” She was sitting still on the ground, unmoving, not even acknowledging what she’d said. It was so hard to hold myself back. Shit!

I couldn’t stay here. “Leia, we’re leaving!”

Out from below the bed she crawled out completely covered in my sheets and ran to me. I’m sorry. I couldn’t say those words right now. They’d be tainted with too much hatred.

Kicking open the door, I looked around. I couldn’t see anyone, but someone must have been there. “It’s me, Gregoire de Gargoyle, the class holder. I’m taking the girl with me but do whatever you want with the others. Send them to the mines, sell them as slaves, kill them. I don’t care.”

No one responded, but there had to be someone from the Triste gang here, no one would let fifteen golds run away.

I hope they had fun paying all that back.

On the other hand, Leia and I left for Rouen. The duke and Damien, they felt like people with a heart, with ideals. Not scum that pawned others like furniture.

Bayeux. It bred filth. I’d never return.