Nicholas and Ethan entered their hut while Jenny also went toward the hut she lives in.
The two lay on their beds while Nicholas was scratching his head, for silence to prevail over the place.
Nicholas closed his eyes while Ethan kept gazing toward the ceiling with a light smile, absent-minded, thinking about how wonderful it was to play with those children.
During his wandering with them, he felt a strange feeling to him, a feeling he had never experienced before.
A mix of fatigue and happiness and challenge. A feeling that still makes him feel good.
He began yawning while closing his eyes and the smile was still stuck on his face.
Since he woke up in the mountains that was the first time he felt safety and enjoyment.
After several minutes of silence passed, Jesse entered the hut and in his hand a bag containing their wages for the mission they did.
Jesse threw the bag then lay on his bed to relax a little.
After several minutes passed, Nicholas opened his eyes slowly and raised his head to glance toward the window, to find that the scorching sun rays had not decreased yet.
He dropped his head on his pillow while gazing toward the ceiling with fatigue.
He closed his eyes to sleep, but with the calm dominating the place, his mind began taking him back to the memories of the past, returning him to the days of his childhood.
Nicholas remembered one of the days when he was 10 years old, he was fighting with one of his friends in a large arena in the shape of a circle, while a group of Katorans were gathered around them screaming while watching the fight.
The males from his people were being used either in hard tasks like digging or farming or in entertainment shows that consist of two of their people fighting in a medium-sized circular arena, and whoever exits the arena or falls for 5 seconds is the loser.
The two were equal. Nicholas was full of sweat while breathing with difficulty from fatigue, and the same thing for the other but he was in a slightly worse condition than him.
Nicholas was watching him with tension and fatigue and said inside himself: "It seems he is in a bad condition. I can direct several punches at him and get him out of the arena and win, but... he will be whipped by his owner if he loses, and the same thing for me..."
The other boy began heading toward him and expressions of fatigue clear on his face.
He was a child of the same age and height as him, with a bald head and a somewhat fat body. Then he began trying to land punches on Nicholas but he was dodging them easily.
The boy was exhausted and unable to continue.
One of the Katorans approached forward and screamed in a loud voice: "Don't you dare lose you fat one. If you lose I will whip you 30 lashes."
Expressions of terror appeared on the boy's face. And he began hitting with all the remaining strength he has toward Nicholas, but he could not hurt him.
Nicholas took a deep breath while thinking: "His situation is pitiful... I want him to win, but I am not ready to receive another 50 lashes for this day."
Nicholas took an attacking stance and pulled his fist backward quickly, and before landing the blow he said in a sad tone and features of pity controlling his face: "Sorry"
Then he landed a direct blow toward the boy's face which made him fall on the ground unconscious.
Mixed screams of joy and anger rose in the surroundings while Nicholas exited the arena with a frowning face.
The man who screamed at the boy earlier headed toward the arena and expressions of anger controlling his face.
Then he grabbed the boy by his foot and dragged him outside the arena. After Nicholas exited the arena, he stopped in front of one of the men. A man between white and black, with black eyes, wearing a shirt red as blood and white pants, and wearing a necklace at its end a small skull.
He gazed toward Nicholas with a big smile and said to him: "Well done you won 100 Nuro from your victory. I hope you continue in the same manner."
Nicholas replied to him while gazing toward the ground: "Can I go to my mother?"
The other replied to him: "Since my mood is good today, you can go to her, and on top of that I will give you a small gift."
He took out from his pocket a medium-sized loaf of bread and presented it to him. Nicholas thanked him for the gift and headed quickly toward the place where his mother lives.
He arrived at a stone hut full of cracks in all its parts. He opened the door and entered, to find his mother cleaning the clothes of their owners with a frowning face.
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Nicholas headed toward her and extended the bread to her. The mother glanced toward him, for expressions of sadness to appear on her face upon seeing him. She opened her arms and hugged him while saying: "Oh my little Nicholas, I am sorry for making you tire yourself for my sake."
Nicholas hugged his mother and kissed her on her head and said to her with a light smile: "You always repeat this talk mother, no need to worry about me. You are my mother, and I must take care of you. Come stop being sad and eat the bread I brought for you."
Tears began coming out from the mother's eyes but she wiped them with her hands.
She took the bread from Nicholas's hand, and divided it into two halves, and distributed it between them.
The mother began eating slowly with a frowning face, while Nicholas was eating greedily and quickly until he finished his bread in one minute. He took a deep breath then grabbed a glass of water and drank it. He sat in front of his mother and began helping her in the washing.
After several minutes passed, Nicholas heard the sound of the door opening so he turned to know who entered.
To find Narcissa entering the house with her angry face as usual.
The mother stood up toward her and removed her shoe from her feet, while Narcissa looks toward her with contempt.
After the mother finished, Narcissa headed toward the kitchen saying: "I hope I find the food ready you b^#%."
Nicholas flared up with anger upon hearing that but he remained in his place without doing anything out of fear that they would do something to his mother.
Narcissa entered the kitchen and the mother followed her. She sat on the chair while the mother brought a piece of meat for her and placed it on the table.
Narcissa grabbed the plate and began eating greedily while Nicholas was watching her with disgust.
Upon finishing the plate, she said to the mother calmly: "You servant, approach me."
The mother approached her and the tension clear on her face.
She grabbed her hand and placed it on the table while the mother kept gazing toward her with a tense face, and feelings of worry controlling her. Narcissa grabbed a knife that was in front of her and quickly stabbed the mother's arm.
The mother pulled her hand quickly and began screaming and crying hysterically from the pain, while the blood is flooding from her arm.
Narcissa stood up from the chair and screamed at her with a face full of anger: "Didn't I tell you not to put too much salt? Can't you just add a moderate amount of salt? Are you this much of a failure you stupid slave?"
The mother fell on the ground while grabbing her arm strongly from the intensity of the pain, while the tears are pouring from her eyes and the floor was filled with her blood.
Narcissa headed toward her and began kicking her repeatedly with a face full of anger: "You failed b^#%, on top of you taking my husband from me, you still cannot even do a simple thing you stupid foolish b^#%*"
All this was happening in front of Nicholas's eyes. Who was trying to calm the anger inside him and not do anything to avoid any additional problems.
But he could not bear it. He could not just keep looking at his mother being insulted by that b&^&*. He reached the limits of his endurance.
He glanced from the corner of his eye to the right to notice a small box full of knives and spoons.
He headed toward it quickly and pulled a knife from it. Then he gazed toward Narcissa while he is about to explode from anger.
Then he ran toward her and in one moment. He stabbed her in her foot. Narcissa fell on the ground screaming from the pain.
Nicholas gazed at her with looks full of anger and contempt and began landing a series of punches on her face.
Releasing all his anger on her. While the sound of her screaming increases with every punch.
Nicholas raised his arm to the air and with all his strength landed a blow to her mouth which led to the breaking of some of her teeth.
Then he said in a voice full of hatred "Stop screaming like a b&^#$".
She stopped screaming and the blood began coming out from her mouth and nose abundantly. Then she began closing her eyes slowly.
Nicholas kept breathing with difficulty from the fatigue then headed toward his mother fallen on the ground.
He grabbed a part of his clothes and began cutting it. Then he removed the knife from her hand and covered it with that part of the clothes.
And said to her in a worried voice "Mother are you okay? Answer me"
The mother began opening her eyes slowly to find Nicholas in front of her. For a light smile to draw on Nicholas's face to hug her directly "Don't worry mother you are okay"
The mother noticed Narcissa's body fallen on the ground. For her eyes to widen from the shock. The mother pushed Nicholas away from her then placed her hand on his shoulder and said to him in a terrified tone "Nicholas.... what did you do?"
Nicholas replied to her "Don't worry mother I beat her so she will not touch you again"
The mother placed her hand on her head with a face terrified to the extreme limits. Expressions of surprise and worry appeared on Nicholas's face wondering about the mistake he did.
The mother slapped Nicholas strongly and said to him with a mix of terror and anger "You idiot what did you do if the others know that you hurt her they will execute us both"
The mother grabbed Nicholas's hand then exited from the kitchen.
Nicholas glanced toward her with a terrified face and said "Where are we going?"
The mother asked him to be silent then they continued walking until they reached the room they sleep in.
The mother headed quickly toward one of the cartons then removed it. For a large hole in the wall to appear closed from the outside with a wooden piece.
Nicholas was surprised by what he saw then said "Since when is there a hole in our room?"
The mother remained silent and signaled to him to come. The mother entered the hole and pushed the wood for the sun rays to sneak from the room.
The mother exited from the hole and Nicholas followed her from behind.
To find himself in one of the empty alleys. The mother grabbed his hand and began going toward some place. Except that she stopped in front of one of the huts that appear old. And she knocked on the wall five knocks. After several minutes passed a part of the wall began returning backward to make an opening into the hut.
The two entered inside then the opening was closed behind them. Nicholas could not see anything because the place was completely dark.
He felt discomfort and said in a worried voice "What is this place?"
. After several seconds a lit candle appeared suddenly in the corner of the room then another candle in the middle of the room and the candles kept appearing suddenly until the darkness disappeared from the place.
And with the spread of the light a group of women and men and elders from their people appeared in the parts of the room looking toward them with surprise.
The mother advanced toward one of the elders and said to him in a voice full of sadness "My son hurt Narcissa and you know if they discover us they will execute us both"
The elder took a deep breath and said "Didn't you warn him not to cause problems with the Katorans?"
Nicholas replied to him in a sad tone "Yes she warned me but she was beating her and insulting her therefore I could not control myself I am sorry"
A light smile appeared on the elder's face then he placed his hand on his shoulder and said to him "No need to apologize this is a normal thing any person would get angry if he found his mother being assaulted. Be proud of yourself you are a real man"
(To be continued)