Two days had passed since the events that took place inside king Palan’s castle involving Hiona’s group. Sulking inside a bar, Daron was sitting with a glass of orange juice, feeling like if he drank alcohol in his current mental state he would end up jumping off a bridge or worse. ‘’Young man, I’m slightly worried here, are you sure you don’t want some wine or something to take that stress off?’’ The bartender asked Daron, watching him raise his head, his eyes looking tired and his face looking slightly pale.

‘’No thanks, Kipa, I think i’ll stick to soft drinks for now,’’ Daron said. ‘’I’m not complaining - I’m getting money - but don’t you have work at the castle, basically all the time?’’ Kipa, the short, stubby old man whose hair hadn’t yet gone white despite his wrinkles asked Daron with curiosity. ‘’If we’re asking each other question, why do you sell soft drinks here?’’ It was a trouse.

‘’But really, I quit the job at the castle,’’ Daron said, sipping from the glass in peace. ‘’Didn’t it take you like almost half year to get that job? Did you hit your head too hard, boy?’’ Daron clicked his tongue. ‘’I was being overworked and their expectations were too hard just because I spent more time that the others, apparently, when in reality, it only happened because I wanted to ensure my enrollment. Other than that, I’m no different from them at all.’’

‘’What about money, then? You got something planned?’’ Kipa sat down comfortable, seeing as his customers could be counted on one hand and a half. ‘’Nothing yet, but I’ve got a bit left, so maybe I’ll be fine for a month…? Half a month…? Who gives a shit anymore?’’ Daron sighed as he downed the glass in one breath.

‘’If you consciously made that decision, then why in the world are you here all depressed like that? You can’t tell me you got too sad to work.’’ The clock behind Kipa let out loud ticks, one after the other, taking a bit of Daron’s attention as he continued the conversation. ‘’It’s not that, per say, but… I think I got attacked by what my father used to call a ‘knife made out of paper,’ or something along those lines, you know,’’ Daron told the elderly man, sounding a little monotone, resulting in a puzzled look.

‘’He used to say a lot of weird things, sometimes straight-up riddles that a kid like me wouldn’t understand. Nowadays, it feels like he was doing it on purpose,’’ Daron said, ‘’It basically means someone pretending to have killing intentions, trying to kill you and failing at it, again, on purpose. But this time, it was like...it was an unintentional ‘paper knife,’ I think?’’ The thought quickly nested itself inside Daron’s head, without hesitation. ‘’Well, yes, I heard someone attacked the castle, but you know I’m not interested in those kinds of news. So please elaborate a little,’’ Kipa requested.

‘’There was this young boy amongst a group of thieves. He looked ridiculously out of place, be it for that snow-like hair or the whole paper knife deal, but he came up to me and started telling me how my job has been doing me no good, that I’m doing extra work for no extra benefits, basically ruining my health. It was basically supposed to be a paper knife, but it felt like mental abuse to me. In the end, after thinking for a day, the kid was right in everything he said, somehow,’’ Daron explained, confusing the barman.

‘’Thanks for the drinks, Kipa,’’ he said as he stood up, leaving a moderate amount of money in front of the man as he left the bar, placing his hands inside his leather pants as he walked, dressed up with said pants and a white shirt, buttoned up perfectly, except for the last button. That was left that way so Daron could feel a little freer.

He head towards his own house, which fortunately wasn’t who knows how far away from the bar he was just at. Passing by people he recognized, he felt annoyed with himself for not greeting them or even looking their way, but feeling even worse for not getting a quick ‘’Hi,’’ too. His vision wasn’t too clear from the sleep deprivation he was going through for the past two days, but he didn’t really worry too much.

He made it to his home, a rather big one, and entered, turning on the lights and throwing himself on the floor immediately, not even locking the door. ‘’Lucka…? Are you here?’’ Daron asked, raising his voice. A quiet voice came from upstairs, sounding a little worried, ‘’Yes, I’m just reading a little,’’ the girl whose name was Lucka said back to him. Her words were enough to get him off his feet and head for the second floor, passing by the couch in the living room and the kitchen before climbing the stairs and heading for a room that was in front of him the exact minute he climbed the steps.

‘’May I enter?’’ He asked as he got in front of the door, keeping in mind the last time he entered, she was in her pajamas. Lucka didn’t enjoy other people seeing her in casual, or even worse, sleeping apparel, especially her brother Daron. ‘’Yes, it’s fine,’’ the girl said in a modest tone, prompting Daron to open the door and enter.

‘’I’ve got kind of a surpri-’’ ‘’Please, sit down, you don’t have to always be so straight forward, right?’’ Lucka said. ‘’Y-yeah, sorry…’’ Daron apologized, sitting on the puffy carpet in her room. Lucka was a timid girl, currently fifteen years old, and Daron’s sister that everyone envied for her stunning and silky silver hair and water-blue eyes, as well as her appealing features. Unfortunately, she wasn’t the healthiest girl you would meet on the street; she was anemic. Thankfully for the easily worried Daron, it was nothing sever. Maybe a few headaches or slight fatigue and lack of energy most of the time.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

‘’So, how have you faring the castle recently? I’ve been waiting or your break day, so I could read you from the book I bought for myself! It’s quite the tale, I tell you,’’ Lucka smiled as she sat on top of her bed’s covers with her legs crossed, dressed in a long green dress on dots. She really liked those and wore them almost all the time. ‘’Ah, what’s ti about, tell me,’’ Daron forced himself to express interest, even though that wasn’t the thing that was haunting his mind at all.

‘’See, it’s about this about this amazing flower that this young five-year-old girl makes her dream to bring over to a different country. The flower unfortunately doesn’t survive her trip, which was obviously going to happen, but the emotion the girl expressed when the flower died halfway through the trip was really hitting, and even the girl’s mother cried!’’

‘’That’s r-really interesting…’’ Daron said, not untruthfully, but rather, he didn’t want to get absorbed into it, since that was a problem he had every time Lucka spoke so excitedly about a story she had read. Her enthusiasm was contagious, you could say. ‘’And then, while you were away, I used my leftover allowance to buy another one, and that one is ama-’’ ‘’Lucka, could you...give me a second, please?’’ Daron said, causing her to put the book down quickly, feeling like a lecture was coming up.

‘’It’s okay, let me have it if you’re angry with me for some reason,’’ Lucka faintly smiled at him, making him look down at his feet before standing up. It was like he couldn’t really think, running up and embracing his sister tightly. ‘’I’m not really...working at the castle anymore, Lucka, so-’’ ‘’That’s all?’’ Lucka asked nonchalantly. ‘’What do you mean ‘That’s all’?! I won’t be getting paid and you won’t be able to get any more books! You and mom loved reading together, and it’s just…I’m sorry,’’ Daron let go of her, sitting back down onto the carpet, feeling slightly ashamed for his impatience.

‘’Wait a minute,’’ Lucka said, carefully making it down from the bed and onto the floor, ‘’now we’re on an equal footing. Let’s talk,’’ she smiled a little too brightfully. ‘’That’s all there is to talk about. You know I have no qualifications for anything good enough, right?’’ Daron told her. The young girl finally noticed his washed out face and his tired breathing. Undoubtedly, she felt a little shame, herself, for not noticing it and being absorbed in her own matters. But then again, it was also Daron’s fault for always leaving her money and disappearing for an entire month, one day excluded, as it was his break. She also finally realised that he had been sleeping somewhere outside, waiting for his day off to come so he could give her the news more softly and to break her guard down a little less hurtfully.

‘’It doesn’t matter,’’ she said, shaking him up a little with her words alone. ‘’Why, you…! Understand for once, money is important for us!’’ He yelled loudly. ‘’I know that, I’ve known ever since I turned thirteen. It doesn’t matter for a different reason,’’ she said, ‘’it will take a while, but you will find a new job, and you won’t fuss over money anymore. It doesn’t matter right now, because you still have money left, I’m guessing,’’ she explained her standing, attempting to sound mature, not realising that her logic was slightly faulty.

‘’So, let’s read, now that you’re unemployed! Pick a book from that pile,’’ Lucka pointed at her own tall pile of books she had fully finished, stacked on top of each other without order or reason. ‘’Lucka...why are you doing that?’’ Daron raised his head, causing her to freeze in place as she expected for him to yell at her. ‘’Please, stop trying to make me feel better. I know you know the magnitude of the situation just as well as I do, with mom and dad not on this world anymore,’’ he told her as a tear began to run down his eye. ‘’You’re not yelling at me? Aren’t you angry with me?’’ She asked him, worrying as she dragged herself a little closer.

‘’Why the f-,’’ he stopped himself, ‘’Why would I be angry? When have I ever yelled at you or scolded you that much, you moron?’’ Daron asked her rhetorically, beginning to cry, finding himself at his wit’s end.

Like a house had fallen over a person, leaving them physically immobile, Daron’s mental state was worsened by his quick and irrational outburst he thought he was directing towards his sister, while in reality he was just angry at himself. When you think about it carefully, he made the wrong choice, leaving his job and all. Getting overworked isn’t a big problem as long as you’re able to support the person that matters to you; that’s how Daron saw the situation. He thought he was the cause.

‘’Would you like to read this one with me,’’ Lucka said, ‘’this one specific book?’’ Daron looked up, watching her walk over to a bookshelf separate from the book pile, on which she kept her favorite books. She hopped back to him like a rabbit, and equally as adorable, putting a book in front of his face, making his vision hazy with how close to his eyes it was. However, no matter how tired, drunk, or close to being blind he was, he could never not recognize the small, cartoonishly drawn girl in a green dress on dots that was on the cover; it was the inspiration for Lucka’s entire gardrobe, after all.

‘’You remember it ri--’’ ‘’Of course I do! How could I not?!’’ Daron grabbed the book out of her hands, getting over his problem completely for an instant. ‘’It’s the first one mom and dad bought for you when you were five! How do you have it in such good condition?’’ Daron turned towards her, finding her smiling again. ‘’Of course I don’t have that one in good condition; the one in your hands is a reprint. I ripped the old one a long time ago, remember?’’ She said, trying to hold in the tears that were about to leak out from seeing her brother that excited. The book they loved so much, The Barbaric Little Lanbina, was given to them by their late parents who passed away pathetically while in their workplace, in a meat factory.

‘’Why, no when did you buy this? Why didn’t you show it to me earlier?’’ Daron asked her, his hands shaking as he wanted to flip through the pages, however, he remembered his promise to never read this specific book by himself. ‘’Just two days ago… Is that bad?’’ She couldn’t help but smile as she watched what would look like unnecessary tears to most people flow down Daron’s cheeks. ‘’What’s the magic sentence? Come on, just like when we were kids,’’ Lucka told him, full-well knowing he remembered it.

‘’With a cup o’ tea, let’s read a book...right?’’