Lou awoke the morning after his dream of Reckish groggily.

The muscles in his shoulders, back, and arms ached and throbbed in unison from his gardening work the previous day as he shifted in his bed. The weight of his dreams worked hard to pull him back down into its depths...

There’s no reason I can’t sleep in I suppose…

Birds chirped and whistled in the trees outside the house, the smell of wet pine needles permeated the air and mixed deliciously with the scent of sausages and eggs cooking…

Frowning, Lou sat up in his bed.

He did his best to pry his eyes open, though even with the realization that someone was in his house cooking, unconsciousness still clung onto his mind.

Swinging his feet over the edge of his bed, and standing stiffly, Lou descended his stairs part way down, leaned over the railing and found himself staring at…

Oliver Kelly.

In his kitchen.

Cooking breakfast.

Lou stared dumbfounded, his mouth falling open.

Is this a new scare tactic? Break into my house, cook himself a meal, and eat it in front of me while giving another threat? Why does he feel the need to keep threatening me?! Oh gods… what if another power of Reckish emerges?! What if-

The monk’s thoughts fell into a stunned silence as he watched Oliver Kelly slide the eggs and sausage from the frying pan onto two plates, before cutting a piece of sausage off, and feeding it to… the tabby cat from the night before.

“There’s a good girl. Are you the monk’s new housemate?” Oliver murmured while an impressive purr rumbled out loudly enough that even Lou could hear from his place on the stairs.

Lou remained frozen in place, even when Oliver Kelly straightened, and casually carried the two plates over to the dining table the monk hadn’t bothered using yet in the middle of the room.

“Are you going to keep staring or are you going to come and eat?” Oliver asked without bothering to look at Lou.

“What are you doing here?” the monk demanded while pulling his shoulders straight.

“Came to have a chat with you.”

Oliver finally locked eyes with Lou, the amber tones in his gaze were dulled to a light brown in the cool morning shade.

“We’ve chatted enough. You can wait for the discussion group I will be running after the first mass I lead.” Lou’s eyes narrowed as he carefully stepped down to the bottom of the stairs, once again forgetting that he was only wearing his trousers, and his muddied robes from the previous day were draped over the end of the banister waiting to be washed.

“Well this isn’t about religion, Brother Lou. Sit. Eat.”

“Why? So you can assault and threaten me more?” the monk bit out angrily though he still shuffled closer to the table.

Oliver let out a huff through his nose while staring at the monk flatly. “No. I’ve been ordered to apologize to you.”

The monk scoffed, his stare wide and wary.

“It’s true. My mam gave me the orders and there is no one as fearsome as she is here in Oxby– though I imagine the Priest of Reckish could give her a run for her money.”

Lou felt as though he’d been struck by electricity.

“What?”

Oliver smiled. It was a handsome smile, but the hard glint in his eyes stopped Lou from enjoying its appearance.

“Let’s eat breakfast before it gets cold, Brother Lou.”

Seating himself with his back to the door so that he could keep his eyes on the monk, Oliver waited in front of his steaming plate, with a knowing half smile.

On wobbling legs Lou made his way over to the table and fumbled over the bench until he was seated across from the most irritating creature he’d ever had the displeasure of meeting.

Once the monk was seated, Oliver gave him a small nod, then proceeded to pick up his cutlery and dig into the meal he’d prepared.

“How did you find out?” Lou asked, his gaze honed in on his unwanted house guest.

“I saw your back yesterday,” Oliver answered with a cheek packed full of egg.

Unable to say anything else just yet, Lou picked up his fork and gingerly used its side to break the glossy egg yolk, though he became distracted upon doing so.

“Did you not use any spices when making this?”

Oliver paused while taking his fourth bite of breakfast and stared dumbfounded at the monk.

“What?”

“No salt? Pepper? I have fresh parsley!” Lou grumbled then brought his plate back over to his kitchen area and set to improving his breakfast.

“You’re a strange man, Brother Lou,” Oliver called out while leaning back in his seat and watching the monk as he worked with a small chortle.

“As the one who has broken into my house to cook me breakfast I don’t think you’re in any position to say that,” Lou retorted glibly as he returned to the table with his eggs properly seasoned and hastily ripped parsley leaves sprinkled over his meal.

Oliver shrugged.

“So are you here to threaten me again?” Lou queried while eyeing the man with hesitant curiosity.

Oliver rolled his eyes and raised an eyebrow. “I already told you I’m here to apologize.”

“I have more than enough reason to mistrust you.”

Grunting, the Kelly man continued polishing off his breakfast without another word, and once his plate was cleaned, he carried it over to the water pump, where he proceeded to clean his dish and put it back where he’d found it.

“Can you not say anything to anyone?” Lou asked suddenly, his stomach brewing a stew of unease.

Oliver plucked up the tea towel from the cooking table and began drying his hands, taking his time responding to the monk’s plea.

“Hmm… that depends,” he began slowly while leaning his hip against the cooking table and crossing his arms. “I want to know why you are living here, in Oxby, calling yourself a monk, instead of living at the temple with the other priests. Isn’t becoming a priest a great gift to monks?”

Lou blinked, taken aback by the questions.

He hadn’t thought Oliver Kelly as the shrewd or informed type.

“Usually it is, but I did not wish to become a priest… least of all Reckish’s,” Lou explained while hunching his shoulders over his plate.

“Why not? Priests can get married unlike monks, more power, wealth… Seems a small price to pay,” Oliver shrugged while leaning back on his bench.

Again, Lou found himself surprised by how much the eldest Kelly son seemed to know about such things.

Even so, he shook his head with a sigh. “Reckish thirsts for war. I wish for peace. I joined Beltae Abbey late in life, but when I did so, I finally felt like I had found where I belonged. There was meaning in the everyday tasks of gardening, praying, singing, working together, and helping the lost souls that came needing guidance. A priest of Reckish is supposed to lead armies and be the world’s hero. To bask in glory and righteousness; but also to kill and rage… Everyone agrees I am not like the other priests Reckish has selected in the past. Which is why-”

“They sent you here to Oxby?” Oliver finished speculatively. He was frowning but nodding along in understanding.

“Somewhat. I also refused to go to the temple or to reveal publicly my new status for fear that I would be plunked in the middle of some kind of war or conflict. They have sent me here for at least a year to see if, with time, I come to embrace this ‘gift’. If not… I face exile from the temple.”

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Oliver’s eyes widened.

Silence hung between the two men as Lou picked at his breakfast.

Letting out a long breath, Oliver leaned his elbows on the table and stared earnestly at the monk.

“So what’s your plan?”

“Originally my plan was to live as peacefully as possible and not awaken any of Reckish’s power during the year so that I could claim Reckish had abandoned me, but thanks to you, that isn’t an option any more,” Lou remarked bitterly while casting a small glare at Oliver, who looked unphased by it and instead grinned interestedly.

“Oh? What did I unlock for you?”

Lou grumbled. “Healing and strength.”

Oliver stilled for a moment, then let out a laugh that startled Lou with its warmth.

“So that’s why you didn’t even have a bruise! It’s good that you unlocked some strength though, Brother Lou. I barely grazed you and you hit the boards like a sack of rocks!”

“I would hardly call your assault a ‘grazing’,” Lou countered darkly.

Sensing the ominous shift in the monk, Oliver held up his hands, though he still smiled.

“Alright, alright. Brother Lou, I am sorry for assaulting your person. Honestly, I had only meant it to be a small wallop.”

“Regardless of whether it was large or small, it was still accosting another person and should never have happened.” Lou straightened in his seat and stared seriously at Oliver. “Now, since we are sharing stories this morning, I’d like to know something.”

“Brother Lou I just came for the apology and breakfast, you’re the one who started giving away your life story like-” The shadow that passed through Lou’s eyes made the Oxby resident stop speaking.

“I will go to speak with your mother if I have to.”

Oliver’s eyes widened.

Then his shoulders slumped in defeat. “Alright, alright. No need to call upon that wrath. What do you want to know?”

“What happened exactly between the old and the new residents?”

Oliver’s good natured expression fell, and instead was replaced with stony anger. His hands curled into fists on top of the table, and for a moment, Lou wondered if he would refuse to answer.

“The new residents… they’ve done many things, to many different people… Just about all of them have proven to only care about their own self-interests and greed as opposed to being a community.” Oliver shook his head. “My family has been here for generations. Oxby is a town with bountiful, fertile soil, but harsh winters. We’ve all survived because of how we’ve all banded together over the course of centuries…” Oliver paused, his eyes growing lost to unpleasant memories. “The war hit Oxby hard. Soldiers from both sides came through here, tearing up our fields, using our supplies for winter… and worst of all, acting however they pleased because they could. There was no great authority here, so they feared no repercussions. The womenfolk and their children weren’t allowed to go outside after dark, and even during the day always had a male family member accompany them.”

Lou felt his gut clench, he had a terrible premonition of where the tale was going.

“They tried to attack my own mother on our own godsdamn land, and they almost succeeded in doing gods know what… my little sister Franny saw the whole thing– though they threw her to the ground pretty hard, she was able to run to us.”

The monk didn’t need to ask what the Kelly men did to the soldiers who had tried to commit such a heinous crime. He could guess.

“When the new residents came and settled down, and we received word the military base was going in, we raised our concerns with that wind bag of a man who was dubbed the burgomaster. He blew us off claiming it was most likely Caltania soldiers who had behaved that way, but it wasn’t. It’d been the empire’s men. All the new residents ignored us… refused to believe what we said. Laughed at us… We were all tempted to show them the ruddy coats from the corpses but knew what would happen if we did. The new residents did not prove themselves to be worthy in any other instances either.”

Lou rested his elbow on the table, and rubbed his mouth.

If what Oliver Kelly’s story was true… then there was no wonder he was so angry. Though he did have to wonder if every single one of the new residents were truly as despicable as he painted them to be…

“Mr. Kelly, I am terribly sorry to hear about the violence your family endured. It is not something to be dismissed.”

Oliver didn’t raise his eyes, but he did give a small nod.

“If you don’t mind, I do have one other question…”

The Oxby resident lifted his face, the pain and fury still alive and well in his gaze.

“Who is this Benny person I’ve been hearing about everywhere?”

Standing hastily, Oliver reached across the table and seized Lou’s plate before making his way back over to the sink.

“Benny’s a… a decent lad. So, Brother Lou. In exchange for keeping your situation a secret, what will I receive in return?” Oliver’s clumsy, earnest changing of the topic made Lou’s curiosity toward the elusive Benny triple, but he decided not to press the matter as the eldest Kelly son had been relatively well-behaved that morning.

Home invasion aside…

Lou rose from his own seat and faced Oliver while crossing his arms carefully over his bare chest.

“In exchange for keeping the secret Mr. Kelly, you will be happy that Oxby remains as it is, because if word should spread about my status…” Lou drew closer to the auburn-haired man with a lone eyebrow raised. “That would summon all kinds of military personnel, and even some of the heroes of the continent. Oxby would be bursting at the seams with soldiers and other war hungry men.”

Oliver’s tongue poked at his right canine tooth as his eyes narrowed down at the monk.

Neither of the men spoke as a full minute ticked by, until at last, Oliver offered his hand.

“We have a deal, Brother Lou. Though I’m going to caution you again. War priest of Reckish or not, do not start siding with the new residents.”

“I just said I wanted to live a peaceful life, how would getting involved in those politics help me?”

Oliver smirked, but Lou still clasped his hand, and gave it a firm shake.

Satisfied with the conclusion of their meeting, the eldest Kelly son made his way over to the door.

“By the way, you should name your cat. She’s a good beastie and she might be good company for you.”

Lou looked down in time to see the tabby cat ambling toward the door with Oliver.

She looked back at him and blinked.

Not wanting to admit to his terrible ability when it came to naming things, Lou struggled to come up with an adequate name on the spot.

The cat meowed at him, then turned toward the door.

“Well… you heard her!” Lou spouted suddenly.

Oliver looked at the monk as though he had just turned a bright shade of orange.

“Her name is Meow!”

Oliver’s jaw dropped for a brief second before he blinked, then burst out laughing as he then took he departure without another word.

Lou felt his cheeks burn crimson, and he waited until he could hear Oliver Kelly’s footsteps fade away from his cottage.

Glancing back down at the cat that sat facing the doorway, he twisted his mouth.

“Meow isn’t such a silly name, is it?”

“Meow!”

“Exactly! It’s perfect for you.” Lou shook his head and turned back to his house that at the very least felt a little less lonely that morning… “Well, the feud with the Kelly’s seems to be laid to rest. A small blessing.”

Despite trying to bolster his mood, Lou couldn’t deny that the story Oliver had shared was beginning to make him worry that perhaps the Kelly family weren’t the only troublesome people in Oxby.