Sharp rays of light pierced through his eyelids, he could hear a slight humming and chirping muffled by a thin cloth. Clean cool air filled his lungs slowly. He breathed in and out over and over again. Xen’s eyes fluttered open and rested upon the sunlight pouring through the window adjacent to his horizontal body.

It was cozy. He could feel his entire body wrapped in a pleasant warmth. Clean and soft clothes fitted his sore body and the cushion under him was unlike anything he’d ever experienced. He didn’t panic, despite his extremely unfamiliar surroundings he felt completely at ease. It was as if nothing could hurt him here. He wondered if he was dead, if perhaps this was the ‘God’ Fitz had once told him about.

He watched the riverside trees sway gently, the slight wind syncing with his steady breaths.

“Good morning.” an unfamiliar woman’s voice called out to him.

He could feel the known senses of panic rise up within him. He sprung up on the bed and turned toward the woman at the door of the small room he was located in. His hands instinctively reached toward his back only to find no weapons at all. He had left them behind.

“I did not mean to disturb you, I apologize.” She said in the same tone, her face looked startled and worried for the boy.

Xen could barely make out any distinguishing features on the woman’s, he simply didn’t care enough to recognize them. Instead he was focused on her hands and legs, watching her movements and trying to gauge if she was a threat.

“..Do you want anything to eat? You’ve been passed out for a few days..” She asked, once again concerned for the boy.

Xen’s face twitched. His eyes began to sting and he grit his teeth slightly in his mouth. He clenched his fist tightly, trying to resist the emotions overflowing within him. It felt like another person was rising out of him, taking the helm as the one in control. It made him feel afraid.

As the woman slowly approached he hugged her tightly, sobbing into her arms like the poor child he really was.

Xen hovered over his plate, practically inhaling the sausages and eggs that were laid out in front of him, making a complete mess of himself at the table but also not wasting a scrap. There was a kind looking man sitting adjacent to him, the man’s nose lodged gently in a book.

The woman who had brought him downstairs was tending to the fireplace, making sure all the meals were cooked effectively. She had long blonde hair and wore a green plain looking dress with a white apron running down the front.

The man wore a short sleeved brown shirt, it appeared tattered but not from any sort of battle. Xen could not see his hair due to the large straw hat he was wearing, which too looked tattered with time.

Xen had climbed down a ladder to get to this section of the house, while it wasn’t massive, it was bigger than every tent he had ever slept in. It also seemed to be just enough space for one to live comfortably, as there were other rooms he had not seen.

The woman made her way to the table, setting down both her plate and the man’s. She smiled at Xen’s clear appetite.

“Do you want more?” she asked as the boy nodded. He couldn’t help but smile even if he was still slightly on edge.

The man put down the book, he had a short black beard but a long mustache, he smiled gently at Xen and began to eat.

“What’s your name son?” The man asked Xen, his mouth slightly full of food.

Xen’s eyes darted away for a moment before meeting the man’s eyes again, he didn’t look away from him and said nothing, still unsure of everything happening.

“Oh, Ivan, let the boy at least fill his belly first.” The woman scolded.

“Helana, he’s been under our roof for half a week now, I think it’s a fair ask.”

“Honey, He doesn’t know he’s been under our roof for a week.” Helana emphasized.

The man’s eyes widened slightly in an understanding manner before falling back on Xen.

“My apologies, son.” he said as he scratched the side of his head.

Xen could feel himself calming down. He looked down at the plate he had already eaten and decided these people should be able to know things if they gave him such a great meal.

“Xen” he said before taking another huge bite of sausage and averting his eyes.

“Xen huh?” The man scratched his chin, “haven’t heard that one before..”

“Where are you from Xen?” The woman asked, she was now turned around and completely in tune with the conversation.

Xen genuinely thought for a moment, where was he from? He couldn’t remember anything.

“I don’t know.” he answered at last.

“Do you have a mommy and daddy who might be looking for-” The woman started but the man held his hand up.

“I told you Helana, I found him with an arrow stickin’ outta his leg.. We’re lucky Buck patched him up..” The man’s eyes narrowed solemnly.

The woman’s face shifted, now showing a clear frown. She was obviously worried for the boy.

“Do you have any family that might be lookin’ for ya?” The man asked.

“What are family?” Xen asked in response, sending both adults into a look of shock.

“Well a family, is uh-” the man started

“A family is a group of people who care for each other. Nothing more, nothing less.” The woman interrupted him.

The group sat at the table for a long moment in silence.

“Xen, why don’t you tell us what you remember before you woke up here?” she asked with a slight change in her voice, reflecting her concern.

Xen’s eyes widened as he replayed the moment in his head all over again. The wolves, the river, Dange, the inhaling of water..

..Fitz.

He didn’t want to say any of it out loud, he couldn’t bring himself to speak it.

“I remember falling asleep on a batch of hay, and looking up at all the lights.” He said, trying his hardest to focus on that beautiful scene instead of what preceded it.

“The stars?” The man asked.

“Yeah.”

“Well what about before that?” The woman put her hand on the man’s shoulder, an obvious sense of fear in her voice.

Xen told them everything, through tears and wails he spilled everything out as far back as he could remember it, He let them hold him and sob with him as they both hugged the poor boy. After around an hour of nothing but comfort for the child they all finally calmed down.

“Xen, do you want to be a part of our family?” The man asked.

Xen’s teary eyes glanced up at him, his face was flushed with a look of shock and disbelief. Why did these people, who had barely known, care so much for him? Is that what this is? Is that what a family is?

Xen nodded automatically, it wasn’t even a question he had to consider. In that moment everything he had spilled to these people left his mind. He couldn’t remember the bloodshed, the starvation, the feeling of water filling his lungs. The hands of the men holding him down and the voice of Santiago had completely been forgotten. It was only a moment, for those memories were impossible to truly eradicate but right here, right now, he was okay.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

The woman, his mom, jumped for joy as she embraced him. She gently rubbed the back of his head, causing him to feel sleepy despite how woken up he had been. It was already an extremely emotional day.

“Oh! We haven’t introduced you to our son- you’re brother I mean-!” The woman said, causing Xen to tilt his head in confusion.

The man walked toward the window near the fireplace.

“THORNN! THORNN COME INSIDE PLEASE!” The man shouted, even his shouts had a gentle feel to them.

Xen could hear the chatter of children outside, their sounds progressively increased as the door swung open. A boy stood before them, clearly older than himself. He had short and spiky brown hair, he wore simple farming rags but had distinct black boots that seemed too large for even his tall body. His mouth was parted slightly, he was clearly out of breath but trying to hide it with a slight smile. Grass stains littered his clothes and skin, his face even had a few blotches of dirt. His eyes were a deep hazel, open and full of wonder as they laid upon Xen.

“Thornn, this is your younger brother Xen, he finally woke up.” The man said, putting his hand calmly on Xen’s shoulder.

Xen panicked for a split second and flinched away like a wounded animal. He began to shake slightly as his father removed his hand.

“Sorry Xen, I didn’t mean to scare you, no one in this town wants to hurt you okay? You’re safe here now.” He said, trying to calm his new son.

Before Xen could reply to his father, he felt the overpowering force of a new person hug him from the side. He turned back quickly and struggled for a moment against Thornn’s embrace but he wasn’t strong enough to throw the boy. He eventually gave in when he looked up at his brother’s smile.

“Xen.” Thornn said.

Something about the way the boy said his name caused Xen to completely relax in his arms. He had the assertive, caring voice of his mother mixed with the gentleness of his father, of their father. Xen knew he hadn’t met anyone like this in his entire life.

“I love you.” Thornn told him as their parents watched with wide smiles and tears in their eyes.

Xen’s heart shattered. He had only heard those words one other time. He reached out and hugged his brother back. That room was all he cared about in life now. Those people. His people. He told himself then and there he would do anything for them.

“Mom! Can I show Xen around town?! Can I?!” Thornn begged, his elation clearly oozing from every aspect of himself.

She looked to Xen, excitement also lined the boy’s face for the first time he could remember. If there were more people like this, more good food, he was in.

“Okay fine, but you have to promise to keep him safe okay? Don’t go near the river, it's fast and will sweep you away in an instant!” She warned.

“YAY!” Thornn grabbed Xen’s hand and pulled him excitedly out the door.

“Be safe!” Their Mom screamed as Xen’s eyes adjusted to the sunlight outside the door.

As the two boys ran across the endless yard, Xen took it all in. The grass was greener than he knew the color green to be. Remnants of dew lingered slightly reflecting into their eyes and giving the land a living shine.

Xen stared at his hand, the other boy had it clasped tightly in his own. His wide smile contagiously spread to Xen himself. He hated people touching him or forcing him anywhere, but this was different.

This was safe.

The boys drew pictures in the mud by the river with sticks. Xen was drawing a picture of a horse and looked over at Thornn’s drawing. He had made a really detailed looking knight with the crest of the lion on its breastplate. Thornn caught Xen looking.

“You like it? It’s one of the knights!” Thornn said with an uncontested smile on his face.

Xen nodded and looked back at his picture of a “horse” with a bit of shame.

“Woah! You’re drawing a horse! I’ve always wanted to ride one..” Thornn said, running over to get a better look at Xen’s work.

Xen smiled at him, thankfully.

All of a sudden Xen felt something crawling on his leg. A massive green beetle was inching its way up him. He screamed and tried to attack it.

“No! No!” an unfamiliar childlike voice shouted.

Another young boy ran up and grabbed the beetle from Xen’s leg before it could be stomped on. Thornn went up to calm Xen down before looking down at the new boy.

“Azell?” He asked.

“In the flesh!” The young boy responded, getting up and dusting off all the mud very poorly.

“Who’s the screamer?” Azell joked.

Xen scowled at the boy’s hands, hoping his vision would see through them to the beetle.

“This is my new younger brother! Xen!” Thornn held his hands out at the boy.

“Oh! He was the one from the river right?” Azell asked.

Xen’s eyes met Azell’s, surprised he knew about the river incident. Thornn nodded in his peripheral vision.

“He’s finally awake! That means he can play with us!” Thornn smiled widely again as a million ideas raced through his mind.

“Yay!” Azell threw his hands up and sent the beetle flying on accident.

“Play?” Xen asked as he tilted his head.

“You know, like…” Thornn started.

Both Azell and Thornn sat in silence trying to think about what the word play meant.

“Like, games! Like, Find the Key!” Azell said.

Xen looked even more confused, he felt as though the other two were speaking another language.

Azell pouted. “Dang, what kind of village did you come from that doesn’t have games?”

Xen stayed silent.

“Whatever! Let's just go get the others!” Thornn said as he grabbed both their hands and ran off once more.

When they reached Riverfoot’s main path again, Thornn let go.

“I’ll get Alyx and Mya, you guys get Lucas!” Azell shouted as he sprinted towards a house across the path.

Xen and Thornn approached a similar looking house to theirs, Thornn gave Xen a gentle smile once more as he knocked. An overweight older man answered, he had only one eye open and seemed to be missing a few teeth.

“Oh if it isn’t Thornn.. And uhh..” the man paused.

“This is my brother Xen! He’s finally awake!” Thornn shouted as he grabbed Xen’s shoulders.

Xen tensed up for a moment, his instincts were telling him to attack and get away but Thornn’s voice calmed him for some reason.

“Can Lucas come out to play?”

A blonde boy walked out from behind the old man.

“Can I Gramps?! Can I?!” he asked with hopeful eyes.

The old man smiled, “Alright fine, but you got t’ help me smith the sickle when y’ get back.”

The boy’s eyes lit up as he ran out to Thornn and Xen. The three boys ran off.

“Be home by dinner!” The old man shouted.

“Kids..” he said to himself.

When Thornn, Xen and Lucas made it back to the river, they noticed Azell with a few others near the woods.

“C’mon! We’re about to start!” Azell shouted.

They all ran over and Xen took in the new faces. There were two new similar looking girls, one way younger than them and a bald boy who was a little bigger.

“Who’s that?” the little girl asked as she pointed a finger at Xen.

“This is my new little brother! Xen!” Thornn introduced him once more.

“Hi Xen! I’m Mya!” the little girl squeaked.

“Right, and this is Otto and Alyx.” Xen pointed to the bald boy first then the other girl.

“Alyx is my big sister like Thornn is your big brother!” Mya cheered.

Xen for some reason couldn’t help but smile at the young girl.

“Do you want me to teach you how to play Xen?” Azell asked with one eyebrow raised as he tossed a small stone in his left hand.

Xen nodded and watched Azell carefully.

“Thornn, can you start the game? I’ll take Xen over there to teach him.” Azell pointed to a big rock.

Thornn looked hesitant but nodded as he caught the rock Azell tossed. The two boys made their way to the big rock. Xen was nervous about spending time alone with Azell but he tried to focus on learning the game.

“The game is called Find the Key. The person who has the rock has to hide it somewhere in the woods and the rest of the players have to go find it!” Azell started, his mind clearly brimming with different things he wanted to say.

“ No burying the key, no throwing it in the river or hiding it in someone’s house. You’re also not allowed to pretend to hide it, you have to follow the rules.” Azell listed.

“Whoever finds the key wins! And they get to hide it next round.” Azell finished with a smile.

“What’s the key unlock?” Xen asked.

Azell paused for a moment.

“It unlocks all your dreams.” Azell said.

Xen was confused. Dreams? What could he have meant by that?

“Dreams?”

“Yeah.”

Xen stayed silent and crouched down.

“You okay, Xen?” Azell asked.

“I’m scared I’m not really here.” he replied, unable to form how he was feeling.

“You are.” Azell said.

“You’re playing with us, and you’re Thornn’s new brother.”

Xen could feel tears rising within him again as he looked up into Azell’s green eyes. The boy’s face blocked out the sun. He outstretched his hand in order to help Xen up.

Xen grabbed it.