Villain lay on his back holding the necklace above his face as he examined it further. The gem itself was about three inches long with another inch added to it from the mount that had been used to hang it on a chain. Although silver was quite weak, something about this silver necklace made it feel the opposite. He ran his finger over the tip and although it wasn’t very sharp, he figured he could use it to cut something if he really had to.

“I’ll have to make sure not to fall on this.” Villain pulled the necklace over his head and tucked it underneath his shirt. His excitement broke out on his face in the form of a large grin as he considered his life outside of the village.

“The village…” He thought about the few people here that had shown him any kindness and a bit of sadness slipped into his heart. Shaking his head, he decided to go and see them one more time before meeting Jeck and Lincera later that evening.

Yvard was easy to find, conducting business in his home as usual. Being the elder meant constantly working and as such he lived in the largest building in the village. The idea was that all the extra space could be used to host village meetings and provide shelter in times of crisis. It was also convenient for him, as it made him easy to find whenever someone needed his assistance. The building itself was two stories tall, two houses long, and the usual width. Not a single window could be found on any wall, which Villain never got a straight answer about. Some told him it was an accident, and others said it was to prevent assassins from sneaking in. Either way, it made the building look less like a home than it did a giant pile of logs.

Villain pushed open the only door on the building and walked in, squinting his eyes as he entered the dark room. In the center he could see a clay firepit that was roughly four feet across diagonally, a huge mound of glowing embers crackling peacefully within it. The air was just as warm inside if not warmer than it had been outside. It was the only way to illuminate the room however, with the lack of windows to allow in natural light. As his eyes adjusted, Villain began to see the inside of the building in more detail. The ceiling opened up to the second floor in this first room, making it feel much larger than it was. Clay covered all the walls, a common trait in their village to fireproof their wooden buildings. It also helped keep them warm in the winter by trapping as much heat as possible. The floor was covered in animal skins from wall to wall, without any of the original wood floor showing. Only the better off could afford to have this many skins on the ground, another sign of the elder’s importance no doubt. To his left was the large staircase that lead up to the second story, and to his right was a table covered in documents and items that Villain knew nothing about. He considered taking a glance at them but decided there would be no point in doing so as he could barely read and wouldn’t understand much of what was written anyway. Yvard had also scolded him for touching things on that table before, so he kept away from it for the most part.

“Villain?” Yvard called out from the top of the stairs, catching him off guard. Seeing the old man standing there, Villain almost wanted to turn around and leave. He had never had a serious conversation willingly before, and Yvard was the most serious person he knew. The thought of never seeing him again filled his mind though and kept him rooted to the spot.

“Can we talk?” His voice did not shake, but he could hear his own nervousness in it. Yvard’s eyes narrowed and he was quiet for a moment before he waved for Villain to join him upstairs.

“Water?” Yvard held out a glass once Villain had reached the room at the top of the stairs.

“Thank you.” He took the glass and looked around the room a bit. It was identical to the one below, except the firepit was much smaller and was surrounded by chairs. There was even a table in one corner, covered in documents. Following his gaze, Yvard let out a long sigh.

“I just can’t seem to clear these tables. Every time I finish with one problem, another one shoots out of the ground. Weeds, I tell you. They’re just like weeds.” He laughed and took up a spot on one of the chairs, motioning for Villain to do the same. Sitting in the chair opposite of Yvard, Villain gripped the glass with both hands nervously twisting it between his fingers. After several moments of silence had come and gone, he managed to force two words past his tightly closed lips.

“I’m leaving.” Yvard sighed once more and rubbed his temples.

“I was wondering why you came to see me. You have never been one to talk.” He filled a glass of his own using the water jug resting beside his chair and took a drink. “Well, what’s your plan this time?”

“I don’t have one.” Yvard raised his eyebrows, a concerned frown appearing on his face.

“That isn’t a great start.” Villain shrugged.

“I’m not going alone this time, I’ll have Jeck with me.” Yvard’s frown only deepened.

“I had thought you were done running away. The last time you left the village was some years ago now. Why the sudden relapse?”

“It actually wasn’t my idea. Jeck was going to leave either way, so I decided I would accompany him.”

“I see.” Yvard was silent for a minute before continuing. “Well, what is it that I can do for you then?”

“That isn’t why I’m here,” said Villain, shaking his head.

“Oh?”

“I just wanted to…” He choked for a second, embarrassed by what he was trying to say. After taking a deep breath to clear his mind he continued. “Thank you, Yvard. For everything.” Yvard’s frown remained on his face as he shook his head.

“I only did what I thought was right. That isn’t anything to be thankful for.” He shook his head again. “Those idiots out there should really take a hard look at themselves, treating you the way they did and all. It is utterly shameful.” Villain lowered his head slightly as he looked at his feet.

“Still… I am grateful.” Yvard was silent for a moment. When Villain looked up again, he found Yvard smiling.

“When do you leave?”

“Tomorrow.” Shock overtook Yvard’s face. After taking a moment to recompose himself, he stood and motioned for Villain to stay put. He then left the room, heading further into the second story through a door by the table. It was several minutes later that he returned, carrying with him a small brown sack.

“I hope this will help you.” He tossed the sack to Villain before grabbing the metal rod laying nearby to stir the embers. Villain caught the sack with both hands and noticed that it felt heavy. When he opened it and looked inside, he found a small knife, some meat, and a waterskin. He pulled out the knife first and held it up to the light coming from the embers. It was nothing particularly fancy, but it was well taken care of. The blade extended from the tip of his middle finger to the base of his palm and looked to be freshly sharpened.

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“This is for me?” Villain looked up with astonishment. Yvard had never given him anything, other than a place to live in the village several years ago.

“You will need it more than I will if you are going to leave. That isn’t everything, keep looking.” Villain’s curiosity rose and he dug through the sack once more. Underneath the waterskin he found a small piece of paper with something written on it that he could not read.

“What is this?” Confused, he held out the piece of paper.

“If you ever decide that you want to learn how to read and write properly then take that to a woman named Lizisa. The last time I heard from her, she was living in the capital.” Villain stared at the piece of paper for a moment, then tucked it back into the sack with the waterskin and knife.

“Thank you.” There was nothing else he could think to say. Yvard had helped him so much by just allowing him to stay there, and now he was helping him again even though he was leaving. If it was not for this man, Villain thought, he would probably not have survived this long.

“Are you going to see Beth and Ahna?”

“Ah, yes. Do you know where they are?” Villain shouldered the bag and stood from his chair.

“They should be just outside the south gate. Ahna wanted to chase lizards again.” The thought of terrified lizards fleeing from Ahna made him smile. Villain waved an arm as he walked away from Yvard who had accompanied him to the front door. Having told him about his plan to leave made it feel more real and caused his excitement to increase. This time tomorrow, he would be on his way to a new life. He couldn’t help but smile as he walked, happy that he would soon be rid of the people he hated most.

“That’s creepy.” A woman said to her friend as Villain passed them grinning.

“I bet he’s up to something, that Villain.”

They spoke loudly intending for him to hear them yet even then his smile would not break. It only strengthened his resolve to be rid of them. He had several similar encounters on his way to find Beth and Ahna, but none of them bothered him in the slightest. At one point someone called out an insult and he thanked them, which left a sour and shocked look on their face. Villain almost laughed at the sight before returning on his path.

“V!” Ahna called out as soon as he rounded the corner. She was hovering over a rock that Villain suspected some poor lizard of taking refuge under.

“Hey, Ahna, bullying the lizards again?” She crumpled up her face and shook her head.

“I’m only playing with them!”

“A giant like you? They probably think you are going to eat them.” Ahna placed her hands on her hips and stuck out her tongue.

“I see you’ve decided to leave again.” Villain turned to see Beth sitting against the outer wall, reading one of her books.

“How did you know?” There was no way Lincera or Jeck would have told her, and Yvard was still back in their home. Beth pointed to the sack hanging over his shoulder.

“Yvard may not show it often, but he does care about you just as much as he cares about everyone else in the village. That knife had been waiting for you since the last time you ran away.” Villain pulled the sack off of his shoulder and stared at it for a moment silently. The old man really had been looking out for him this whole time. His chest felt warm all of a sudden and he realized that Ahna had run up to hug him.

“I don’t want you to leave!” She looked up at him and her eyes were tearing up.

“Weren’t you just calling me a meanie ten seconds ago?” He smiled as she buried her face into his chest again.

“I didn’t mean it! Please stay!” Villain placed his hand on her head and looked up at Beth again.

“I wanted to thank you. Even though you disagreed with him, you still helped me out.” She closed her book and set it on the ground before placing her hands in her lap.

“You are no monster, Villain. A rude child sometimes yes, but not a terrible person. I feel foolish that I ever thought a name was anything other than a name.” Villain was taken by surprise when he noticed that she was also fighting back tears. This whole time he had felt like a nuisance, but maybe he was wrong.

“Thank you.” He could not think of anything else to say in response, and they remained there in silence until Ahna finally stopped crying. When she did finish, she used her shirt to wipe her nose and face dry.

“Will you come back this time?” Villain shook his head.

“I don’t think I will.” When she looked like she would cry again he quickly added, “Not for some time anyway.” This seemed to calm her down.

“Are you going alone again?” Beth appeared concerned and rightfully so he thought, since every time before he had been solo.

“I will be with Jeck.”

“You might as well be alone then.” Beth did nothing to hide her concern, and her dislike of Jeck. For many reasons, he was widely known as a troublemaker in the village. Villain ignored her comment and pried Ahna off of him.

“I have to go meet him soon, so this is goodbye.”

“Are you leaving tonight?!” Ahna’s voice was urgent. She clearly wasn’t ready for him to leave just yet.

“Tomorrow morning, when the sun rises.”

“Then it isn’t goodbye yet! I’ll see you later!” She rushed over to Beth and tugged at her sleeve until she was on her feet. “Come on, I have to make him something! He can’t leave without something to remember me by!” Beth grabbed her book and followed Ahna through the gate a few steps before she stopped and looked back at him.

“Take care of yourself Villain.” Her normally serious expression was soft, almost sad. She must have known he had no intention of waiting until the sun came up. He nodded, and they left him standing alone by the south gate. The sun was beginning its descent in the sky, although it was still quite a distance from the horizon. As he looked out over the land surrounding the village his eyes were drawn to the river where he had spent many of his days.

“I have time for one more trip I guess.”

Villain took off at a quick pace down the hill. Since it was much easier, and faster, than jogging uphill he managed to reach the river before the sun could move more than an inch in the sky. As such, it was still very hot outside and he broke into a sweat during his run. When he reached the boulder, he immediately removed his shoes and placed his feet in the water. Villain lowered his back to the warm rock and looked up into the sky as the sounds of the river filled his ears. This was the one place where he could fully relax and enjoy the peaceful surroundings of nature. This river had given him life just as much as Yvard had. Without the cool water he would have died from the summer heat many times. The moss that grew along the river’s edge fed him and kept him healthy. As long as you ignore his first attempts at eating it, when it caused his stomach to turn inside out. After closing his eyes, he focused on the sounds around him and the memories he had of his favorite place in the world. The seconds became minutes and before he knew it, Villain had fallen asleep.

It was the sound of screaming that finally woke him. When he opened his eyes, he noticed that the sun had already set and begun to rise again since the sky behind him was glowing red and orange while the sky above him was littered with stars. Another scream broke the short silence and Villain shot to his feet. He spun around to face the village and realized that the sun had not come back at all. The glowing sky was being caused by a huge fire in the distance. Without thinking he took off sprinting, forgetting his shoes on the boulder with the sack and his earmuffs right next to them. It wasn’t until he stepped on a rather sharp rock that he realized his mistake. Cursing himself he spun around and retrieved his belongings, shoving his feet into his shoes as fast as he could.

“Why does it have to be uphill?!” He yelled as he pushed forward. Although, being at the top of a hill is the only reason he was even able to hear those screams or see the flames.

“That damn Jeck, probably drank too much again!” Villain cursed again as he ran. In the past, he had burnt down half of the village in a drunken act of pyromancy. This had happened three times, and on the third time Yvard realized that there was no stopping him and decided to provide a space where he could build fires as large as he wanted. A bonfire pit just outside the northeast gate, deep enough that it required a ladder to escape it. Another scream flew past his ears and he froze. He recognized that voice, he could never mistake it. His heart began to beat twice as fast and he shot up the hill once more. That scream belonged to Lincera, he was sure of it. Something was seriously wrong he thought as he looked up toward the fires. Just then he noticed a white flash streak through the sky, a shooting star. With the situation as it was, he decided a wish was exactly what he needed. He put all of his willpower behind it as he shouted into the sky.

“Please let me make it on time!”