“What?” Lykos’ jaw is open, surprised at the offer of adoption.

“We want to adopt you and your sister.”

“But why?” Lykos cannot believe his ears. He was just about to steal more bread, and this old man asked to adopt them. Was he a pushover? Or was he plotting something?

The gruff man scratches the back of his head and clears his throat, a tinge of red appearing on his face.

“Well, my wife and I want kids but after so many years nothing’s worked.” He sighs, shaking his head. “My poor wife… I guess the war did a number on me.” The baker chuckles, slightly embarrassed.

“Are you sure you’re not trying to kidnap me and my sister because I stole too much?” Lykos asks unabashedly.

“Um…no, I wouldn’t be that petty with an eight-year-old boy, especially if the reason he steals is that his older sister couldn’t leave home.” The baker thinks for a moment. Lykos did do a number on his shop for the past year. “Truthfully, I guess I was upset the first few times… well, it was more annoyance than anything else.”

“What do you mean?”

“Your parents were great people. Your father was one of the strongest warriors in this town, and your mother was extremely kind, which made me so disappointed when it looked like their son was going to grow up to be a petty thief.” The baker holds his forehead as if he’s getting a headache just thinking about the crimes that Lykos committed.

“Hey! What’s with that expression?” Lykos shouts with indignation.

“Haha. Well, we know your sister’s illness has taken a toll on her in the past year, so we don’t fault you for trying to take care of your sister. Before she fell ill, she often worked here, so we already saw her as a daughter.”

“What? She did?”

“Yeah, how do you think she fed you?”

“She said our parents left us some money as an inheritance.”

“No… she worked many jobs around the town to make money after your parents died. She, along with your parents, are so well-respected that people put up with your stealing.” The baker laughs at Lykos’ naivety. “You’re not sneaky at all, I can assure you.”

Lykos is shocked. This is the first time he’s heard of such information. To think that he wasn’t the amazing, legendary, infallible thief he had always imagined himself to be. At the same time, he’s touched and grateful that his sister had always taken care of him.

Chortling upon Lykos’ reactions, the baker takes the bread that the young boy was initially going to steal and hands it to him.

“Here, take this and share it with your sister and discuss with her about the adoption. You don’t have to rush to give us an answer.” The owner smiles warmly, gesturing for Lykos to receive his gift.

“Thanks… sir.”

“Just call me Brandt.”

***

While Lykos is having his heartwarming interaction with Brandt, Jade is having an unpleasant talk with Raze.

“Please leave.”

“Don’t say this Jade. You know my feelings for you.” Raze answers with a soft, sweet voice, causing Jade to grimace.

“You say that to every girl you meet. I’m not falling for it.”

“What do you mean? I’ve been coming for a year and I try to help me as much as I can!”

Jade grits her teeth. Her smile is gone, and a look of anger replaces her usual kind and optimistic expression.

“If by help, you mean teaching Lykos to steal, you sure have been doing it a lot.”

“What-”

“I know what you’re scheming. You’re trying to get my brother to commit crimes so that you can come out and save him when the townspeople eventually tire of his behavior. An absolute knight in shining armor!”

Raze rushes forward and grabs Jade by the face, finally showing his true colors. Unlike the big brother figure that Lykos idolized, this was a darker side of Raze, an avaricious predator that hunted whatever he desired.

“Well, what’re you going to do about it? Everything I’ve ever wanted, I’ve gotten by hook or by crook. You’re no different, you bitch.”

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Jade spits onto Raze’s face, disgusted, struggling to remove her face from his clutches. Had she still been healthy, she would’ve planted her foot right into Raze’s crotch, but alas, she can barely move.

Using his unoccupied hand, Raze wipes off the spit and smiles menacingly at Jade, veins popping on his forehead. This was the first and only woman who’s denied him for this long, and his pride wouldn’t have it.

“I’m going to have you, one way or another.”

Raze puts his free hand on Jade’s shirt and gets ready to rip it off when footsteps arrive at the entrance.

“Lykos?” Jade mutters, hopeful that with his entrance, Raze might stop for today. At the very least, it seemed that Raze really did care about Lykos’ view of him, as he momentarily paused to look behind him.

Unfortunately, instead of the younger brother she cherished, the people that came in were a pair of twin brothers, Percy and Gale, the village idiots who were also the henchmen of Raze. The two figures came in, with Percy holding a length of rope.

Seeing this, Raze grins and turns his attention back to Jade. Horrified, she starts squirming with all the strength her ailing body could muster.

“Percy, hold her down and tie her up.”

Percy obliges and steps forward, rope in hand.

“Gale, go and be a lookout. Don’t want anyone to see anything. You’ll have your fun after us.”

Gale grunts, unpleased, but does as he’s told. He sullenly marches outside, slamming the door behind him.

Percy grunts, signaling Raze that he’s finished with his job.

With Jade finally tied up, Raze takes off his pants, letting his genitals hang out.

“Let’s start with your mouth.” Raze cackles, laughing maniacally.

***

Lykos hums to himself, excited to tell his sister about the good news. Finally, they’ll have someone to take care of them, and finally, they won’t have to starve and conserve their money to plan for the worst.

As he nears his home, he sees Raze and his pals come out of the house, with Raze steaming, cussing at the two brothers. Wanting to flaunt his newfound fortune to his idol, Lykos quickens his pace, until he hears what Raze is talking about.

“That fucking bitch!”

Raze is clutching his crotch, grimacing in pain.

“She dared to bite my dick!” Raze is howling in anger, yet he’s feeling a tinge of fear. What if his sword failed to enter scabbards anymore?

“Why didn’t you let us have fun too?” Gale asks.

“Shut the fuck up! If I can’t have my fun, you two dumbasses sure as hell aren’t getting yours!”

Raze continues to wince while massaging his penis.

“I’m going to kill that bitch Jade!”

Hearing this, Lykos hides behind a wall. Why was Raze so angry with his sister? To Lykos’ recollection, Raze loved his sister, and Lykos always wanted the knight to be his brother-in-law. To think that he wants to kill Jade!

Lykos balls his fists in anger, but he understands that he can’t win against the three older boys, so he takes a deep breath and puts on a fake smile. Despite the innocent naivety that he showed the world, he was incredibly clever, especially for an eight-year-old. Sure, he might have foolishly thought that he was sneaky and too ignorant to know about his sister’s efforts to feed him when she was still healthy, but when a problem was thrown directly at him, Lykos could keep a level head and think rationally, a trait that he developed during the year following his sister’s decline in health.

Understanding that he would have no chance in a fight right now and that his sister’s safety is his top priority, he toughed it out and walked back onto the road, cheerfully calling for Raze.

“Hey, Raze! I’m back!”

“Hey, Lykos.” Raze tries to hide his discomfort and pushes past the young boy. “I’m sorry but I’m too tired to play today.”

Observing that none of the older boys even took a glance at him, Lykos drops his facade and sprints back, worried.

***

Bursting through the door, Lykos immediately locates Jade and approaches her, touching her gingerly, and dropping his bread on the floor.

“Jade…”

What he sees enrages him. Jade is trapped by a rope, unable to move, and her body and face are extremely bruised. Her right eye is so swollen that it’s covered and can’t be seen, yet her tears are very apparent, trickling down her face, etching rivers on her face.

Lykos removes his sister’s binds and holds him, crying for the pain she received.

“I’m sorry… If only I didn’t leave you with him.”

“It’s not your fault,” Jade mutters weakly, holding her hand up to feel his face.

“We’ll get out of this shithole. Brandt wants to adopt us. He and his wife will take care of us now.” Lykos takes a deep breath and smiles reassuringly at his sister. “I’ll get stronger, then I’ll protect you. No one will be able to touch you again.”

Remembering the bread that he dropped, Lykos picks it up and offers it to Jade.

“Here, Brandt even gave us some bread for today.”

“Brandt… is a good man. You’ll be happy living with him.”

“You mean we will. I’ll get the doctor right now so he can patch you up.” Lykos urgently replies.

“No, go find Brandt. Tell him you accept. These wounds will recover over time.”

“But-”

“Just do it!” This is the first time Jade has ever raised her voice against her brother. “Please.”

“O-okay…” Lykos answers timidly and slinks out of the house.

Sure that her brother is gone, Jade sighs to herself, tension leaving her body.

“I’m sorry, Lykos. That man will never leave me alone, no matter where we are.”

***

When Lykos returns with Brandt to help move Jade, they are greeted with a dreadful sight.

A body, hanging by a rope.