Garmond stared at the old woman's figure as she disappeared into the horizon, heading off to God knows where.
He was happy that she was still able to reciprocate the good he had done for her, even in this selfish world he found himself in.
Trevor eyes lunged towards the brightly shimmering green fruits Garmond had in his hands, fresh fruits like that were terribly rare to find in these sides of the empire.
'Giving such valuables out to a stranger, she probably wants to die of hunger' Trevor thought snorting coldly.
He was somewhat disappointed that the old hag could give up some good fruits to a nobody like Garmond, now seeing Garmond's figure alone was beginning to piss him off.
He wished they had never threaded into those parts of the forest, nevertheless it was already too late for regrets.
"Devine let's go" He held her by the hands , leaving her no chance to speak as he drew her home, but he felt a sudden resistance as she held her feet in place not wanting to move further.
"Don't tell me you're actually planning on leaving this little boy all alone ?" Devine asked, shocked by her brother's behavior.
"What's gotten into you she added?!" Hearing his sister shout back at him quickly pulled him back to his senses, ever slightly.
'It's all because of that idiot' he looked towards Garmond's figure, deep resentment growing in his heart.
"There's nothing wrong with me, you don't expect me to carry him home. You know we can merely manage as it is. With mother's health and our meager earning, how can we possibly have another mouth to feed?" He retorted.
"But look at him Trevor! If we leave him out here, we can't even tell what could happen to him. You know, if mom were here she wouldn't let us leave him as well" Devine said, looking deep within her brother's eyes searching for the kindness that was meant to be within. Unbeknownst to her, that kindness was now buried down in hate.
"Whether you like it or not I'm taking him home with us, you won't get to decide this time" Devine stormed off angrily towards Garmond.
She threw a hand towards him, urging him to stand. "Don't worry about my brother, he probably woke up on the wrong side of bed today" She said.
Garmond felt slightly bad, he had strained the relationship between the two siblings and he knew deep down he had to make amends.
As such he had no other choice than to decline Devine's kindness, besides he had no way to pay her back for all her kindness so far. He couldn't afford being indebted to her, when he had no means of paying back, at least for the time being.
He nodded his head in silence, the easiest way of telling the words he didn't want to be said.
"Hmph" She snorted coldly, "I guess you don't have the right to decide as well" She grabbed onto his slender arm pulling him up, and gently carrying him on her back.
She was not going to take 'no' for as an answer from either of them. She had to make sure that nothing happened to Garmond.
For no just reason, she had grown a little attachment to the frail figure.
Garmond was left dumbstruck. He didn't know what to say, and after thinking for a while he could only smile.
'Who knew I would one day be the one being carried again' he reminisced over the time he had spent with his wife Theresa.
"...She didn't listen to me for the first time, cause of the little brat." He muttered, following silently from behind. His eyes brimming with hatred.
Trevor also didn't know how to react to his sister's action he never expected such actions from her, not in a thousand years.
She'd usually leave the decision making to him, then why, suddenly did she decide to take this one on herself.
The only logical reason was yet again the little nuisance that burrowed its way into their life. Trevor sighed heavily, running a hand through his unkempt hair.
One thing was certain, he knew his sister well, once she set her mind to something, there was no talking her out of it. He could only sulk to himself as he followed behind her figure.
Devine's eyes shone with great determination and an indomitable spirit, she was never going to give up on Garmond, not even if her brother said so.
She wasn't even sure she'd listen to Garmond if he himself insisted.
As they walked through the streets of the village, everywhere appeared to be oddly silent, it was rare to perceive such silence and noticing it Garmond knew it was a silence that was filled with fear.
He could hear the muffled whispers from within the crooked houses and from time to time he could see the villagers peering at them through their open windows.
As they continued onwards, seated in the center of the quaint village was a house weathered by time and neglect. It's timeworn wooden facade, once painted with vibrant shade of blue, now bore dull hues of faded memories.
For some reason a feeling of nostalgia washed over Garmond as he neared the old wooden house.
The thatched roof, patched with straw and moss, sagged under the weight of countless rainstorm and winter past. A single cracked window pane, gazed out at the cobblestone streets, it's frame weathered and worn.
Simply put it, the house was in a mess.
"You'll have to manage with us, we've been having a hard time feeding since our mom fell sick, we don't have enough for renovations yet" Devine explained and Garmond nodded quietly in understanding.
He was already indebted to the young lady, it didn't matter how the house looked what mattered most was the fact that she was willing to have him.
As they entered the house the door creaked open on rusty hinges as if reluctant to welcome them to it's faded interiors, she was careful not to push too hard to avoid destroying the worn out door.
She gently placed Garmond to the ground, finally letting him stand on his own after carrying him all the way.
"You should stop treating him like a kid, he should be 14 or so. He should be able to walk on his own" Trevor remarked as he entered the house as well.
Devine paid no attention to his words as she went inside to tend to their sick mother. She had no time to to spare arguing with her brother.
'The two really act a lot like Athena and Gary' he smiled at the thought. The two siblings reminded him much of his two children.
However, the thought quickly brought back memories that made tears roll down his cheek.
"Haven't you earned enough sympathy already?" Trevor said, mistaking the intentions of the tears that streamed down his cheek.
Garmond quickly cleaned off the tears, remembering he still had to play safe. Although each action from the two kids reminded him of different people he'd met during his time.
Looking round the house, he noticed the vines that snaked up the crumbling wall, their tendrils embracing the weathered stones. Garmond could only wonder to himself how such a house withstood the test of time.
"So what are we going to eat tonight?" Trevor asked Devine as she slowly closed the door to their mothers room.
"The store is empty there's nothing there" She replied bluntly as she walked towards one of the wooden chairs in what appeared to be the parlor.
It was a small cramped up building with barely up to 4 rooms with no bathroom.
"Huh, how come?" Trevor questioned, slightly alarmed by her blunt reply.
"With that pot hole of yours, how long did you think the food in the store was going to last" Devine replied angrily, using the opportunity to get back at him for all the bad habits he showed off earlier.
Listening in on their discussion Garmond quickly remembered that he still had the fruits the woman from earlier had given to him.
"And we don't have enough to buy more for the month?"
"Your asking like you don't already know" Devine said, crossing her hands over her chest, her brows furrowed.
"Enough with the attitude, I know I was wrong"
"Oh, so now you know" She looked at him with eyes that said, 'so I was right all along'
"You can have these" Garmond said, drawing the attention of the siblings to the bright green fruits he had, wrapped up under his clothes all along.
Due to the awkward scene that played of right after the woman had given him the fruit, they all had forgotten about it.
Trevor's mouth watered from within, every fibre of his body urging him to just rush in, and collect the the brightly glowing green fruits from Garmond's grasp.
Devine herself couldn't hide the hunger, it was showing all over her face, but despite how hungry they felt, having never been exposed to such kindness before the two declined almost instantly.
"No, thank you!" The two said in perfect unison, then pausing slightly to look at each other before bursting into a loud laugh.
"And I thought you were going to take it" Devine said out, she knew how hungry her brother usually was. With the whole burden on his shoulders he could only let out his aggression when eating. Not that they had much to eat anyway.
"No, really I don't mind we can all share" Garmond urged, the two siblings looked at each other again, this time swallowing hardly.
An opportunity was presenting itself, there was nothing wrong to use it. The thought quickly came to mind.
"Are you sure," Devine asked again, this time for his affirmation.
"Of course" Garmond replied with a hearty smile.
The two rushed over taking some of the fruit, and suddenly out of the blues, "Thank you very much" Trevor said.
Devine looked at her brother in bewilderment, "Talk about a change"
please enjoy and bear with me
Power Ranking Weekly #1
Nov 3, 05:00 - Feb 2, 2025
Mass release 1 chapters