Chapter IV - In which I act stupidly

“One moment, please!” Jacob cried out. “Master Edward, they don’t know anything! Just go along with what I say, and it’ll be fine!” He urgently whispered.

I could only nod my head stupidly. Blood rushed through my body, yet I felt chills all over. My thoughts kept interrupting one another; I was paralyzed by indecision, frozen in place.

Jacob opened the door slightly and peeked out. “Hullo! So what’s this all about?” He cheerfully asked.

“Well, forester, you must know that the malignant Charles has escaped from battle. There’s a bounty of a thousand crowns for him; dead or alive. Now we know he’s not in there, but… we’ll like to take a little look-see, if you don’t mind?” There was a upward tilt at the end, as if he actually meant it as a question.

“Oh no, nothing to mind.” Jacob replied easily. “Come right in, Captain.” He opened the door, and three men walked right in. “Looks like we are interrupting -”

The leader was blond, hair neatly trimmed, a blazing smile on his lips; a darker skinned man followed, expressionless; and a timid looking man whose eyes constantly darted around. They wore the same uniform; a sun on a black tunic. But I didn’t recognize him. I didn’t recognize any of them. Were they amongst the men I had overheard that day? Or had they arrived afterwards? They didn’t look like murderers. Or were killers supposed to look this human? They might have murdered my family, but I couldn’t tell. I couldn’t do anything.

“- And why is the boy staring at me like that?” The Captain pointed towards me.

Was I staring? I realized I was. My hands had balled up, and I was sweating all over. And I didn’t know what I looked like, but it sure wasn’t friendly.

“That’s my - that’s my grandson.” Jacob forcefully interrupted. I had to support him, I had to say something!

“YES! He Is My GRANDFATHER!”

Oh no.

Everyone stopped moving.

There was no salvaging this.

Jacob was the one who broke the silence. “Yes. Forgive me, but...” He lowered his voice. “He’s a bit slow in the head.” He whispered, but it was audible to everyone in the room.

Everyone’s eyes fall upon me, now seeing me in a entirely different light. I myself was looking towards my grandfather, who had covered his eyes and turned away. I wished I could do the same. Wasn’t there anything else he could have said?

“Oh? Oh!” The Captain whispered back at a equal volume, and patted his shoulders. “Sorry for that.” He then focused towards me. “WHAT’S YOUR NAME, BOY?”

Now, while the greater part of my brain was quite unable to comprehend whatsoever about this bizarre sequence of events, there was still some sense and reasoning left. And it was telling me that there was no way out of this situation but forward.

“MY NAME IS ROBIN!” With no choice left, I shouted back. Jacob gave me a small nod of acknowledgement, and then looked away. The Captain beamed insincerely at me, as if a dog had performed a particularly neat trick.

“There’s nobody here, sir.” The dark skinned man spoke. The timid looking man was looking right at me. What did he suspect? I looked at my plate, and continued pretending to be retarded.

“Well, not that we expected anyone. We’ll be -”

Someone growled. We looked around for the source, but found nothing. Smoker was outside, so -

And then it happened again.

“Simons, what in the Goddess’s name are you doing?” The Captain had identified the source of the sound, and it seemed to be the timid looking person. The third time happened while I was looking at him - and it originated from his stomach.

“I am extremely sorry, sir. But, I was- I am - just feeling hungry-ry, sir.” He hung his head.

“When’s the last time you ate?” The Captain was suddenly brisk.

“Yesterday afternoon.” The other man replied.

“Daniel, you don’t have to answer. Wait - you haven’t eaten too?”

“Inn ran out of food, sir. We’re living off biscuits.”

“What? No! No, this is unacceptable! You all have to be - ” His tirade was cut off when Simon’s stomach growled again. “Well, I’ll have words with the quartermaster when we get back.” He sighed. “In the meantime,” He turned towards Jacob again. “- I’ll have to ask you to spare a bit of your dinner. I’ll compensate you, of course. I hope that’s not a problem.”

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“No, no, not at all.” Jacob shrugged loosely, though I could see him sweating.

“You better thank Jacob here, alright?” The Captain ordered the other two. They duly did so, and within a minute the extra chairs and plates were set, and we all were cramped around the small table. Jacob and I were seated on one side, and the three on the other.

“That smells nice!” The Captain took off the lid. Simon served the food, and to my surprise, it was all divided equally. We were ready to eat. “Wait!” The Captain suddenly motioned. “We haven’t said Grace yet.” He joined his hands, and the other two immediately followed.

“Oh Goddess,” He intoned.

“Oh Goddess,” The other two repeated. They looked towards us. “Oh Goddess,” Jacob said. Then he nudged me with his foot.

“Oh GodDESS!” I began normally, but then remembered I was supposed to be stupid. The Captain smiled beatifically when I said the words, and then continued onwards.

“Blessed be thy food and gifts, which strengthen and nourish us, for thou are holy and we are your servants.” He said.

And then he said all the rest together. How did he expect a stupid person to keep up? Wait - was he testing me? Should I say it perfectly? I was supposed to be slow, wasn’t I? If I said it perfectly, would it arouse suspicions? Or would it be more suspicious if I didn’t?

“Blessed be thy food and gifts, which strengthen and nourish us, for thou are holy and we are your servants.” The others repeated, and it was my turn. How should I say it?

Ultimately, I decided that while I might pretend to be stupid, I wasn’t going to pretend to be that stupid. So I shouted out the words, all correctly and in order, making sure to sound stupid as possible.

It was harder than I thought it would be.

“Amen.” The Captain finally said.

“Amen.” We all dutifully repeated. Finally, we could eat. But even that wasn’t the end of it. “This is really delicious. How do you cook so well?”

“It’s mostly because of the fresh vegetables, sir.”

“No, you definitely cook well. If it were me, I’d burn the broth.” An awkward laughter followed the revelation, followed by silence. It didn’t last. “Where’s your family?”

“They are dead, sir.” Jacob replied blandly. “It’s just me and my grandson, here.”

“Ah, you have my condolences.” He paused. “Although, can’t say I don’t envy you a little. Families are...” He scraped the bowl, thinking it over. “I was too religious for her, apparently. As if someone can be too devout?” The question was rhetorical, as he didn’t stop speaking. “Should’ve known it then. No, I had to find her with -”

Simon coughed. His rant interrupted, the Captain looked around sheepishly. An even more awkward silence descended upon us.

But the man had recovered his spirits by the end of the dinner. “Now that, was a feast!” He leaned back in his chair, face content. Everyone else, including his soldiers, looked equally haggard. “I daresay, forester, I think you eat better than any King!” He belched, and looked around triumphantly, as if it proved his point. “YOU ARE A LUCKY BOY!” He shouted at me. “NO MATTER ANYONE ELSE SAYS, YOU TOO HAVE BEEN BLESSED, ALRIGHT? ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT!”

“I WILL!” What else could I say to that? But that was enough, as the Captain gave me another smile.

“Sir, I think, we should be on our way now.” Simon said, no longer timid after eating his fill.

“Simon, I’m trying to give some advice here, alright?” Simon nodded, but the Captain saw it differently. “What? You think he doesn’t understand me? He does. They’re far more smarter than you know.” He placed his hands on the table, daring anyone to challenge the statement; and folded it back when none was given.

“We had a retard in our town too.” He began again. “He was a rat-catcher named Tren. Best in town. Everyday he would bring in tails of all the rats he killed and get paid. People got suspicious after a month or so, and decided to investigate.” He paused. “Found out that he was breeding rats himself, cutting the tails, and bringing them for payment. So that’s why you shouldn’t underestimate people like Robin here.”

He looked around the table, mistook our tired faces for interest, and carried on speaking. “They beat him pretty badly after that though. It’s a pretty serious business; you have to kill the rats, otherwise they’ll spread the plague. It’s just like the Malignants, you know?”

What?

“People giving us grief for burning down that manor around here. They should be thanking us. We’re removing the blight from this world! What?” Jacob had risen up from his chair.

“There were other people in that house, sir. Honest, hardworking folk of the town. None of them deserved to die.” I don’t how Jacob managed to keep his voice even, but he did. I was looking down upon the plate, hoping no one was paying attention, failing to keep my emotions in check.

“You don’t understand, forester.” The man continued to speak, and my hands clenched at his words. “The people who support the Malignants - they’re the diseased. You have to exterminate the rats, and you have to exterminate those infected as well. Otherwise the plague will spread.” He paused.

“Don’t you agree?”

“It’s hard to see it that way.” Jacob started putting the plates away. “But I suppose you’re right.”

“You’re not one of them, are you?” The voice was slow; measured. The room was quiet - I could hear myself breathing; feel an anxious knot form in my chest.

“I don’t concern much about the wider world, sir.” Jacob replied unhurriedly, his back turned to us all.

“Would you hide the so-called King, or any other Malignant in your house?” The Captain rose from his chair, and the others followed suit.

Jacob placed his hands upon the table, and faced them. “There’s only me and grandson in this home, and that’s the way it will remain. Is there anything else you would like to ask?”

The short silence that lasted felt longer than it should have. The air was charged, heavy with tension. Everyone knew something was going to happen. We were all waiting blindly; readying for whatever came next, even if we had no idea what it was.

“No.” The Captain suddenly said. “That would be all.” He placed down a few coins. “Let’s go, lads. Nothing else to do here.” They exited, and rode away. I waited.

“They’re gone, Master Edward.” Jacob said after a while.

I nodded, unable to speak; everything within me had tightened to the point of breaking. The relief, the rage, the denial, the shame, the grief… they were all tangled up within me. So I sat in that chair, and unwound myself. And in the end, only a single thread remained. A singular purpose, forged from everything inside of me.

“I am going to kill them, Jacob.” I said. “When the time comes, I will kill them all.”

***