The sun was cresting over the mountains and the village rose with it. A woman was in front of her house carrying a bucket she had used to draw water from the well in the middle of town, as she set it down and rubbed her sore back she saw a small shape walking along the path to the village, a makeshift sled dragging some kind of rock.
She snorted" stupid kids these days, probably up to no good",but as the child came closer she could make out the form in the sled.
" Oh sweet merciful holy saint!!!" She screamed and ran inside her house and slammed the door, leaving her water bucket.
Cedric dragged the hulking weight of the stone lion behind him and walked towards the houses on the east side of the village.
As he stomped through the village,people were going about their daily business and were trading in the village square.
Cries of alarm rang out through the morning, men and women gazed at the enormous beast on the sled and the child that pulled it.
Cedric oblivious to those around him grunted in effort and paid no notice and just moved forward to his house.
As he saw his house come into view, he saw his mother standing in the doorway with a ladle in hand, her hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she was wearing an apron with flour across the front.
"Uh oh"he thought, she only bakes when she's happy or pissed, and by her face she was not happy at all. Cedric sighed and walked forward to his mom and prepared himself for a scolding.
Maya looked at her son and as he came dragging that beast she was struck with deja vu.
"How many times have I seen his father come home with cuts and bruises and how many times have I waited for him to return". Maya blinked and looked at her son, barely 14 years old but big for his age and hours of running through the forest and hard labor had made him well muscled,he had short hair that she trimmed for him and his skin was tan from the sun, but the most distinctive feature hands down was his blue eyes.
Cedric made it to the doorway and with a grunt dropped the rope that he used to drag the sled. He sat down on the ground and looked up at his mom " sorry ma, I didn't mean to stay over night but I kinda got distracted " he said while pointing at the stone lion.
Maya gazed at her son " and why were you even in the forest to begin with, I forbid you from going into the forest because of the attacks on the villages herd" she said with anger.
Cedric gulped and looked away from his mother's gaze" I know ma but I couldn't stand by and do nothing and While I was walking around the edge of the village I found a set of tracks that led into the forest”.
" So why didn't you go tell the village guards" she said
" because mom they were fresh and it would've gotten to far into the forest by the time I got the guard" he said
As Maya was about to rip into her son she looked at him sitting in the dirt, his eyes were trying to close and his clothes ripped and in need of restitching, she let out a sigh " ok, that is probably true, but you still should've brought someone with you and should've at least told someone else to fetch the guard while you tracked the animal"
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" Sorry mom I wasn't thinking and just reacted, I promise to not do this again." he said while standing from the ground and dusting off his pants
Maya satisfied with his answer nodded her head" alright, now go drag that thing into the back and come inside and have some breakfast" she said while turning back inside the house.
Cedric sat down in the kitchen and sighed in ecstasy as his sore body relaxed.
After killing the stone lion, the energy that had filled his body had left him and in replace he felt his body become drained. He almost passed out but was able to fight away the darkness that was piercing his mind. After finding his knife he used it to fashion the sled out of sticks and some rope he had with him and rolled the body onto it and set home with the body in tow.
His mother moved around the kitchen stirring eggs and frying bacon on the stove that sat on the side of the wall. Their kitchen was medium
sized and didn't seem to small
Or overly large.
To Cedric it fit perfectly and gave off a homey feeling. His mother had decorated the kitchen with flowers, and the table and window had green cloth adorning them.
His mother moved towards him with a plate in hand, she set down the plate that was filled to the brim with bacon,eggs and two buttered biscuits. The smell of food made his stomach rumble in glee and he picked up a fork and started to scarf down the food.
After scraping the last bit of egg into his mouth he stood up and washed his plate off with water and kissed his mom on the cheek " thanks mom" and he walked to his room and fell upon his bed, his eyes closing before touching the feather pillow.
Cedric blinked his eyes open and stared at the ceiling, he relayed all that had happened yesterday in the forest and felt the new scar on his forearm. He sat up slowly in fear of straining his body to much, but found that he felt fine and even a little better then normal. He stood up from his bed and walked downstairs to hear his mother talking to someone in the kitchen.
" Now maya I think it's time-"
" NO I WILL NOT HAVE HIS CHILDHOOD BE RUINED BY THAT DAMN PROPHECY" she screamed
" now Maya we both know you can't stop what is going to happen and he needs to be ready, if you shelter him and keep him in the dark, he will die.''
Cedric moved down the stairs he could now make out the other voice, it was definitely a male.
" No Marcus I can't"she sobbed.
Hearing his mother cry tore at his heart and he wanted to run to her and comfort her but refrained so he could hear the rest of the conversation.
He heard a deep sigh.
" Yes it's hard, but in life we must make these hard choices even if we wish we didn't have too, but Maya by denying him his birthright is taking his chances of finding himself in this world," he said" And this is what Thad would've wanted"
As maya gazed at the window and looked towards the pastures and fields of crops she took a deep . Marcus leaned across the table and gave her hand a firm squeeze, " alright boy come down here,me,you ,and your ma need to talk"
Cedric came down the stairs with an embarrassed grin and sat next to his mother and took her hand in his. As he comforted his mother he looked at the man across the table. He had brown hair and green eyes, his jaw square and his nose slightly crooked, probably been broken a few times. He was sitting but it was easy to tell that he was well over 6ft and was a solid built man.
After his mom calmed down he looked at the man, Marcus " so what do we need to talk about," he said.
Marcus looked at him and said something that shook his very core, more than the stone lion and the heavenly light could ever do to him" we need to talk about your father".