The blood dripped down from his firsts onto the ground. The other boy's face was left nearly unrecognizable, Conrad sat next to him and slicked back his hair. "Pathetic." He said with heavy breath, before picking up his red silk cloak from the ground.
The other boy began to mumble something, "my…" he tried to speak up, Conrad got close to him, "My father will hear about this." These were his last words as Conrad threw another punch in his bloody face, messing it up even more and knocking him unconscious.
He then got up and walked a little further down the street, down there two boys a few years younger than him laid bruised and beaten. Their clothes, torn up and muddied, with teary eyes they looked up at him, almost instantly the expression on the bigger boy's face changed.
He scurried forward and with torn up clothes began cleaning the blood off Conrad's shoes, "We are sorry mister!" He pulled the other boy along, "Please do not tell your mother we caused you trouble."
Conrad pulled back instantly, "This does not matter right now!" He knelt down before the trembling kids. "What are your names?" He asked before covering them up with his cloak. "How did this start ?"
With a trembling voice the younger one started, "I did not want… to give it to him." in his small hands he was tightly clenching an old pendant.
The older one looked down, "I apologize for the rudeness of my brother. I am Damian and he is Michael."
"There is no need for such formalities." Conrad said calmly as he patted their heads, "Now would you like to go home, or rather stay in this freezing cold?"
The boys quickly agreed to move, with Conrad leading them to their home. After some time walking in the autumn cold, he realized where they were headed, his heart sinking into despair. The orphanage stood tall as always and thankfully empty.
As he dropped the boys off he left their cloak with them, as he was about to leave the area a fair young maiden rushed to him, she wore a simple white apron that was a little muddied, in her hands she held some sort of cloth.
The boy stopped and waited for her, as she got to him she bowed, "Thank you for returning the boys home." She stood up and extended what she was holding.
Conrad unveiled the cloth, inside there was a single large cookie, his eyes lit up a little before gently pushing the cookie back to the lady. "This is unnecessary, please give it to the children." He said casually. "I am not someone who needs it."
She pushed back at his request, " Mister Morlow, I beg you to reconsider. It was a unanimous decision, although this was all we can offer."
Seeing the genuine look in her eyes, Conrad bent the knee and accepted the cookie.
Several hours of wandering later he found himself before the gates of his home. It was a wide building with a flat roof, many windows and an enormous front yard, the pathway leading to the front door decorated with statues of armoured knights holding their swords above it. Flickering lights were coming out the windows as shadows danced inside.
Conrad walked slowly to the doors and opened them inside he found a celebration in motion, ladies and gentlemen of Raza gathered in one place. Filthy swine.
A lady on the other side of the room instantly noticed him, the people she was having conversation with did too. She excused herself and headed directly towards him.
The boy tried his best to avoid her, but she intercepted him, she spoke up with a sweet yet stern voice "There is something we need to discuss."
Conrad clenched his fists and looked down at his feet, "Yes… mother."
He had felt it many times before though now that he was older it did not hurt as much but it still made his blood boil with rage.
His cheek aching from the slap his mother had dealt upon him the moment they entered her office.
"If you ask me that is too little of a punishment for the stunt you pulled earlier today." She said whilst giving him a cold blooded stare, "Do you even know whose son you beat to a bloody pulp?"
Conrad clenched his fists, and looked at his mother with fiery rage in his eyes, "The son of some scumbag who failed to raise a decent human!"
She rolled her eyes and turned her back to him. "That scumbag you are talking about is Judge Vermon, a very good friend of the Gostocs and an essential client of ours."
"So one of the bigger pieces of trash on the pile?"
With one motion his mother turned back to him and with the back of her hand she laid another hit on him. "Be silent with that foul mouth of yours!" She stuck her index finger right in his chest, " You do not get to interfere with our business." She said through gritted teeth, "Now go to your room whilst I clean the profanity you have inflicted upon our name." She walked past him to the door. "Do not show your face in front of me for the rest of the night!" She said calmly before slamming the door.
Conrad then headed to his room, his was a rather large one, although entering it would tell you otherwise, piles upon piles of books lay scattered across it, leaving only a small space for his bed. He went to it and collapsed upon it, exhausted from suppressing his rage. He fell asleep almost immediately.
The morning came fast as he was woken up by a most unpleasant face, his mother stood over him. "Get up!" She ordered. "We have somewhere to be."
They were headed for the city plaza, the people they passed wore grim expressions, close to the center of the plaza a crowd had formed, and in that very center stood a couple of people. The two boys from yesterday beaten to a bloody pulp, before them stood four people, two knights, a young lady with long grey hair covered in royal attire.
She wore a look of absolute disgust, one not aimed at the two boys. And finally a little far back, on a throne made of black wood and adorned in animal none, a man was sitting.
His eyes empty as if he didn't care about any of the people there. With the same grey hair as the girl, the same attire and a crown of black spike extending long above as well as down pierced deep within his forehead, in a deep commanding voice he spoke, "Silistra. Read out their crimes and sentence!"
The girl took a deep breath, "Yes father." She took out a piece of paper and began reading, "For the theft of property from the Vermon family each of you have one hand cut." she looked everywhere else, tears rolling from her eyes, " Furthermore for the brutal assault on the eldest son said family, each will be subjected to lashing."
The younger boy burst into tears whilst the older tried to speak but couldn't find any words to do so.
Overwhelmed with rage Conrad rushed forward, a sharp pain in his neck stopped him before he could even take a single step.
His mother had plunged her nails into his neck, using her magic to stop him dead in place. "In this world, each and every choice we make has consequences attached to it." She plunged he nails even deeper into his flesh. "Had I not been your mother. Had I not loved you, that there would have been you."
Someone pushed their way through the crowd, the lady from the orphanage rushed to the crying children, she screamed her lungs out, "I WILL TAKE THEIR PUNISHMENT." She said crying, her face in absolute despair, "I should have raised them better so please this one time let them go!"
Her words left the Lord and his subordinates in shock for a moment, before long the old man spoke, "I will allow it." He looked at the two knights, "Proceed."
Conrad tried his hardest to look away but his mother forced him to watch, with her magic she kept his eyes open as he witnessed how the burish knights with dull rusty knifes began cutting the woman's wrists.
Her screams filled the plaza, the onlookers averting their gaze and covering their ears.
Conrad tried focusing his eyes anywhere else, for a moment his met Silistra's and their absolute terror and disgust.