Locked Legacies

Chapter XXVII: Empty threats

Some days were especially long for workers in the castle; those ones near an important day were filled with tasks. Prince Gabriel's ball— or, better put, Archangel Gabriel's ball— was just a few hours away, so sleeping was not an option; nights became afternoons around festivities. Needless to say, children weren't excluded from the fast pace. 

That is the reason why Elias found himself pushing barrels of wine during dusk, behaving as if it were dawn and his day had barely started. Even though that was the task he hated the most, it was not as terrible that day; Garret and Lawrence wouldn't be there, for it was too late. Knights usually trained during the morning or early afternoon. Little did the boy know that a war was bound to happen, so the army was preparing like never before, especially after having lost their Crown Prince in the previous one; they couldn't let the tragedy repeat itself.

He was calmly humming a song, one of the most common ones among the workers, when a voice interrupted him, sending shivers down his spine; "If it isn't the boy who can't push barrels..." Garret commented from the distance, his footsteps were heavy as he approached the boy that was now nailed to the ground.

"I guess he hasn't learned the lesson; he continues getting in our way despite our many correctives," Lawrence added, his tone sounding much deeper in Elias' ear than it probably was in reality. 

The kid hurried to place his hands on the wood once again, and tried to push with all the strength he had; the other two's actions had become worse with each encounter, and he couldn't afford to get told off less than a day before the ball. He had to get out of there as soon as possible because it was not going to end well for him. 

"Hey, hey, hey," Garret raised his hands in the air, trodding to catch up with him, "Don't try to run away, worker boy..." He said most contemptuously, placing his foot at the front of the barrel so Elias wouldn't be able to move it any further. The boy's heart clenched at the realization.

"Mh..." Lawrence hummed, lurking right behind him, "Seems like the cat got his tongue."

Elias didn't dare to look up; his eyes were glued to the ground because he knew better than to try to make eye contact. "Excuse me, please," his voice was barely above a whisper as he asked them to take a step to the side. He had to try, even if his fate was doomed already. 

"Oh, look, Lawrence! It talks!" The knight said with feigned excitement, "Sadly, it is smart enough to know words, but not to learn lessons."

"Indeed. It is unfortunate that neither his father's punishment nor the open vegetable garden gate was enough for him to understand... I guess we will have to try again," He spat the final words through his teeth, right by the child's ear.

That was when the young boy knew there was no escape; it was too late to choose his father's punishment over the knights' lesson. Immediately, his heart started racing, only half a second before Lawrence took an overly firm grip on his wrists. And despite his decent attempt to break free, he saw Garret's fist flying right toward his nose.

Not only was now his pulse over the roof and his hands shaking, but he was crying. Part of his tears were a mere physical response to the blow to his face, while the other was of terror; the pain was the least of his worries as he knew that they were capable of anything. Mercy was something inexistent for them, and Elias was aware of it. He proved that even further, however, when he received yet another punch to his face, busting his lip, which instantly started bleeding.

As if his slowly dripping blood wasn't enough, the man behind him, who was more than two heads taller, pushed him to the ground. And when he thought he had saved himself of another pain by a hair, as he had managed to lessen the impact with his hands, he felt a boot striking his ribs, full-force. With that, he lost count of the kicks and fists. The air had been knocked out of his lungs, and he couldn't breathe. He was suffocating, his diaphragm spasming as he tried his best to receive oxygen. He barely even noticed, for his brain was not focusing on his surroundings, but his shoulder was being busted, and his knee would hurt for at least a week.