Theus

Theus made it back to the annex in the midafternoon. The neighborhood was quiet at this time of day. He was excited to sit down and let his foot rest. It had been throbbing all day. He almost wished to be carted around again. But that would only reward him with more remarks from passers-by.

It was cold. The horse’s water trough had a thin layer of ice covering them. There were large holes in the ice which the horses continued to drink from. The two that were tied outside seemed agitated. They bucked and whinnied, pulling tight their tied leads.

He had been gone all for most of the day. He wanted to rush back. He shouldn’t be leaving the the women alone with their things. Including the girl. She still hadn’t spoken yet. Theus knew she probably wouldn’t. He’d told Rus that he would watch over them. As much as he tried to hustle, getting back with any speed wasn’t an option. His ankle and shoulder throbbed.

As he shuffled up to the stable, he heard rustling from inside. The building was creaking, and Theus could see it shake slightly.

He looked around. An adult maybe would be around to help. He couldn’t see anyone.

The stable doors were open. He could hear a horse making lots of noise from inside. He could also hear some faint crying.

Theus looked down at his foot. It stood alone. Only his crutch balanced his body now. He could feel his right underarm throb from walking all day; his crutch was transferring all his weight to that single point on his body.

He immediately had a flash to a month ago, when he witnessed that boy get taken from his mother. He remembered staring at the mother. Her face was bloody and buried in the mud. She had died trying to protect her son. Theus’s parents could be dead too. But they weren’t there to protect him anymore. Josiah was gone, and Isabrell was gone. Even kind Rus was gone this afternoon. It was just him.

The sound of struggling continued to come from the stable. The horses continued to cry out, it got more deafening the closer he crept.

The pain in his shoulder became numb. His mind became clear. He had to act fast.

He shot a look at the building. The stable doors were open. But the side entrance was closed. The raving horses made it easy to sneak around the building without being heard.

Theus crept to the door. He knew it would creak when opened. It happened every morning when the rest of them went to work the fields. He was running out of time. A stable window was ajar, propped open with a wedge. The gap was only two fists in width. Thankfully Theus knew he could fit. Regardless of his eating in the past week, his ribs still clung to his skin.

He poked his head into the window opening. He could see little. The stable in front of the window was closed. He could hear it clearer now. Whimpering sobs of one of the women. It was easy to make out even with the horse. Theus could see from the stall across from his, a single horse was tied. It raved and whinnied even louder than the ones from outside. Although now the two horses outside couldn’t be heard.

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He lifted his arms over the window rail and dropped his crutch into the pile of hay underneath. He dropped second. He felt a yelp from underneath him.

The girl. She hid under the hay, clutching herself. He looked at her. She had the same bugged eyes as she had on the cart ride. Her eyes were glossy with tears. She made no noise.

Theus put a finger to his lips. She still said nothing. Theus knew she wouldn’t say anything. She hadn’t spoken ever. Not since the soldiers carried her out of the rubble of her family’s hut, her dead parents still clutching her protected body.

Theus pushed more hay over her to cover her back up. He crept onto the ground and looked under the foot gap in the stall. The noises of struggle and whimpering continued.

What was he doing? This was something a guard or one of the men should be doing. His chest clung to the compacted dirt ground. The smell of manure crept into his mouth. What was he gonna do? He was a cripple as so many reminded him in passing. He was useless. Just another bag to add weight to the cart. At least a sac of turnips could be eaten.

Theus saw it. Hay rustled. A man he’d never seen before was hunched over in the hay over one of the women. Theus could only think of the face of the mother in the mud. It had been so bloody. It poured from her neck like heavy rain.

Theus leapt over to his back with all his strength. He clutched the back of the man’s collar, griping tight enough that he could feel the bones in his hand. From his back, it didn’t pour. It only trickled and welled into his tunic. Theus stabbed and stabbed with his knife. Over and over. His wrists and fingers began to hurt. He drove it in over and over and over, the same knife he used to cut up the turnips on the road to Havenrun.

Eventually, the man’s tunic was frayed enough his blood began to soak and wet everything around it. The clothes, the stable walls, the hay, it completely covered his view.

Theus only stopped when he felt his body get pulled from the corpse. Nearby workers had noticed the two horses Theus had cut loose. They ran to the stable and found a boy with one leg stabbing the body. The three in the hay pile were covered in blood. Theus, the man he killed, and the woman the man had mounted on.

Worker: “Enough boy! Enough!”. He and the others who responded had to pry Theus off the body.

Theus had stopped being able to see. His eyes were completely covered with the man’s blood.

He could only see red.

Theus couldn’t sleep. His mind raced. He should’ve never left the stable. He had to protect their things. He had people to protect. And he was gone. He was late. The damage was already done.

Theus lay on the wooden bench of his cell. Water dripped from the wooden boards above him. He could see a glimpse of the night sky from the metal grates at the top of the cell.

He never even considered it. Until he saw the look in the girl’s eyes. He had to protect. He couldn’t be helpless anymore. Who cared if he only had one leg? He could still hold himself up. He could still stand.

A cloud drifted over his small view of the night sky. It passed, and revealed the moon behind it. It was almost empty, only a sliver remained in the sky. Theus looked at the moon. He stared. He wondered why his parents left him.

Theus: “Why turn to be a Moonfolk? What’s the moon all about?”.

He heard footsteps echo down the hall. Torchlight crept through the metal bars of his cell.

He turned and saw the most beautiful reflection. The small sliver of moonlight rippled across the shiny metal armor of the person standing at the cell.

Knight Agnis: “Alright kid. You got some guts to yuh. Come on then. I gotta job for you”.