Chapter 19: A loving Mother
Marcus was in no mood to listen to his master's snide remarks though, so he ignored it. Although, when this was all over, he'd be sure to give this master of his a piece of his mind.
He'd thought that he'd be used to pain by now, but it seemed hunger pains were completely different. It felt like someone was constantly punching him in the head, whilst someone else was twisting his stomach like a wet towel you were trying to squeeze the water out of. It was an entirely new pain Marcus would make sure to never forget, assuming he could survive his current predicament.
Just then, Beatrice came rounding the corner with a flower pot in hand. Marcus only looked up because she was panting and sweating as if she'd just done some high intensity training.
"Here dear, eat this, it should help a little bit with your stomachache."
To these words, Marcus looked up at the woman in surprise. His face was still scrunched up in pain but he paid attention to the mention of food. He would eat just about anything right now if it meant satiating this unsatiable hunger he had right now.
The woman crouched down to show Marcus the contents within the flower pot. When he saw it, he was slightly taken aback. Inside the flower pot were numerous colored flower petals that were neatly arranged to form a sort of flower salad.
He'd remembered his father teaching him about different edible flowers, berries, fruits, and vegetables he could find in the forest, but it wasn't something he readily recalled at the moment.
Marcus didn't even take notice to the leftover remnants of soil that were left in the flower pot as he dug in to fill his stomach as much as he could.
Beatrice watched the young boy in front of her attentively as he ate. When it looked like he might choke from eating too fast, she'd conjure up some water for Marcus to drink.
"So she is a water mage huh? That explains her inability to fight that revolting creature."
Marcus, who was gorging his face, choked a bit after hearing his master's comment, to which Beatrice again conjured more water for him to drink. This time though, Marcus declined and asked her a question.
"You're ah wahtuh maje," Marcus asked with a mouth full of flower petals.
Beatrice giggled a bit at Marcus, who'd looked ridiculous with a mouth full of flowers and a serious look on his face, but she answered him anyway.
"Yes. I'm an Advanced ranked water mage. Though it may not prove very useful in a fight against that monster, it works wonders for keeping one hydrated and healthy."
Marcus actually looked at Beatrice closely for the first time since he'd met her. She had medium length blue hair that reached a little past her shoulders. It was very frizzy and tangled due to not being properly taken care of, but those weren't privileges a slave had access to. She also possessed a pair of blue eyes to complement her hair color.
She stood a little over a foot above Marcus and her body was about in the same condition his own was in after being forced into slavery. She looked worn out and defeated but the beaming smile on her face betrayed this image.
Just then, Marcus and Beatrice's eyes met, and she did something that caught Marcus completely off guard. She pinched Marcus's cheeks slightly and spoke.
"You know, its not polite to stare at a lady so long without giving her a compliment. If you were my son, I'd give you a good spanking."
Marcus pushed the woman's hand from his face in annoyance as he replied to her defensively.
"Well I'm not your son so hands off."
A tiny flicker of pain shone through Beatrice's eyes as her previous cheery expression faltered.
"...Yes, I suppose you're not my Jeanne," Beatrice replied with a hint of melancholy.
Marcus, who now felt slightly satisfied since he'd ate something, looked at the woman's downcast expression.
He didn't feel too bad about the harsh words he'd said earlier but he'd at least acknowledge the woman's efforts in preventing him from starving. He swallowed the remaining flower petals he still had in his mouth before speaking this time.
"Thanks for the flowers. My head and stomach feel a little better now."
The woman's despondent expression instantly vanished and was instead replaced by a warm and happy one.
"Good, I'm glad I could help," she replied with a smile that didn't show her teeth as she also kept her eyes closed.
Marcus could tell she was still thinking about her son, Jeanne, but he wasn't of proper mind to worry about other people's family when he still had no idea where or what had happened to his own.
'Why am I thinking about them now at a time like this. They aren't even here to help me when I really need them.'
Marcus was still having conflicting thoughts about his family, so it seemed he still hadn't acquired a firm grasp of his emotions just yet.
Blaming them for not being here in a place even he didn't know where he was made no sense, but it didn't matter to Marcus. He'd experienced too much pain and misery for a child of his age to be of a rational mind right now.
He shook his head to rid himself of the thoughts weighing his mind down so that he could focus and address these problems at a later date.
"So, do you have any ideas for how we can get out of this place?"
Marcus hadn't forgotten his original objective of getting out of the abandoned town. Now that he had someone he could potentially trust, he decided to see if she had any ideas.
The woman wore a contemplative and sad expression on her face as she spoke.
"Originally my husband and I tried to escape from the creeper while it was roaming around, but with its enhanced vision we didn't get very far before it caught up to us."
Marcus didn't interrupt Beatrice as a sign for her to continue speaking.
She let out a breath before continuing to speak. It seemed this wouldn't be a short story.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone