Servants of The Black Earl

Prologue + Chapter One

Prologue: Lydia

My whole body was shaking, my heart was racing. I was frozen. Before my eyes was my young master crouched with his arms wrapped around a younger boy with short blond hair. His hands stained red gripping the young boy's shirt, trembling. The younger boy was sobbing into my master's chest but in response he was just quiet. The rain poured down pounding against the cobblestone, but all I could hear was the beating of my own heart. In the distance, near the end of the alley, the bodies of two men were laid bloodied and lifeless. There was no doubt, I already knew from the blood on his hands, the boys' ruffled clothes and his shaken demeanor. My precious young master, only 13 years of age, somehow managed to take the lives of those two men.

"RESTIS?!" A worried voice shouted out from behind me. In my moment of daze, a man pushed me aside and ran to the two boys huddled together and pulled them into his arms. Thoughts flooded through my head, who in the heavens was this man?! How did he know my master's name? The man whispered into my master's ear and stood up, causing my master and the young boy to also rise from the wet floor. The man turned back to face me and I immediately noticed his pale skin, long ears and piercing blue eyes, distinct features of the Phetan race. His eyes narrowed as he glared at me and groaned "I heard all the commotion and got here as fast as I could. Why were you just standing there?! You're his maid, aren't you?"
"Y-you..! G-get away from him!" My voice croaked slightly as I forced myself to reply. I wasn't thinking rationally but I knew Phetans were nothing but trouble, and to think my master had been associating with this unpleasant Phetan all this time! No doubt this man must have been a bad influence on my young master. I should have kept a closer watch on where he was, then maybe none of this would have happened. Over and over I kept trying to convince myself of these little things. I took another look towards my master, his eyes were vacant but still his arms were wrapped tightly around the younger boy who looked absolutely terrified. They both were probably still in shock. In the distance I could hear the loud gossiping and chitter chatter of the nobles who had been gathering in the streets infront of the alley getting louder.
"Get over yourself! This isn't the time for your petty racism." The Phetan man growled to me as he placed his black coat over Restis's cold shoulders. I felt a twinge in my heart, he was right but still I... My eyes lowered to the two boys, soaked and shivering, dripping wet from the rain. People from the crowd behind us started to call out harsh insults and slander towards my master, branding him a murderer. His green eyes widened upon hearing the word murderer, his lips began to tremble.
"I'm sorry, Rest!! I'm so sorry!!" The young boy screamed and had began to cry hysterically, but still my master remained silent and just held him tighter.
"What are you going to do," I murmured, feeling completely helpless. I did not have time to question anything anymore. As much as I hated the idea of having to rely on a Phetan, I believed my master must trust him.
"...I'll protect him. I can promise that. Go, you need to let his family know."
"No! I will not leave my master alone like this!"
"I TOLD YOU TO GO!!" The man shouted at me, startling me momentarily "You're not going to be any help by staying here."
"Please... I will hold you to your promise" I reluctantly gave in, holding back my tears. The Phetan man nodded his head confidently. Before I had time to doubt him, I turned away and began to ran as fast as I could. I pushed my way through the crowd and kept running down the street through the rain. The shouting of the crowd became louder, causing me to stop and turn back. I could barely see the Knights escorting the boys to the carriage through my blurred vision. Another knight was holding tightly onto that Phetan's arm. He was covered in blood! What in the heavens did they do to him?! Then they slung him into the carriage the boys were in with no care at all. With tears now flowing from my eyes, I fought the strong urge to return to them and continued on my way to the Esthien Estate.

Chapter One: Rainier

Tch, I don't know whether to feel glad or insulted that It didn't take much for me to convince the knights that I was an accomplice to the murder of those two guys. Do I really look like the kinda guy that would do that? Then again I s'pose them racist Serethian bastards would take any excuse to convict a Phetan. The bruising and cuts those knights inflicted on me didn't phase me at all. I didn't even feel the pain, maybe because of the adreneline still rushing through me. I tilted my head up and stared listlessly at the ceiling. My thoughts were filled with the image of Restis's maid. He always spoke about her like she was some old hag. That was far from the truth though, huh? She was actually rather beautiful, what a shame we couldn't have met under better circumstances. Pft, yeah, right. Even if we had, she clearly disdained the Phetan race just like most Serethians did. Removing my hand from my bloodied cheek, I gazed around the cell. The jail cell was a lot smaller than I had imagined. The cold gray cement and bricks covered three walls of the cell, with thick iron bars infront of us. There wasn't much room to move and the window was tiny barely allowing any moon light from outside to seep in. There was a strange musky fragrance in the air, presumably from the damp, and the groans and cries of the other criminals in the surrounding cells could be heard.
I turn my glance towards Restis, who was laid uncomfortably on the wooden bench with his eyes closed. His hair and clothes were a complete mess and his eyes were puffed up and red. Poor kid. When the Knights had taken us from the street, they had thrown us straight in here. Restis didn't even get any special treatment or care despite being one of those beloved aristocrats... well, he had just commited a murder I s'pose , but I couldn't help but think how hard this all must have been on him. The blond orphan boy, Chrome- I think his name was, hadn't been thrown in here with us. I wonder where they took him.
"You okay, kid?" I asked, knowing it was a stupid question. Restis opened his eyes slowly and sighed softly,
"...I have been worse. You look terrible though"
"Thanks for the compliment" I sarcastically replied "Y'know, that cute maid of yours looked really upset earlier. I hope I didn't make her cry. She must really care about you."
"Lydia doesn't care for me. She only cares about my father. Even now she is probably more worried about what he will do rather than me."
Lydia, huh? Even her name is pretty. At the thought, I shook my head. What the heck was I thinking about?
"You say that but It didn't seem like that to me, what makes you so cynical?"
"Because this is just how it has always been. My father uses her to monitor me and she's stupid enough to blindly go along with whatever my father wants."
For awhile I remained silent, unsure of what to do or say at this point to comfort him. Restis always had a sour tone when it came to talking about his father but it wasn't any of my business. So I would never press him on the subject. I s'pose I can relate though, I never had a good relationship with my old man either.
Maybe Restis had sensed my inability to start a conversation, because he spoke out again,
"Mr. Demorhyde?" He paused "...Why did you lie to the knights and say you were involved?"
I chuckled to myself after hearing his question. Why did I? Even though I hadn't known this little punk for long, I had already grown fond of him in the brief meetings we had at the cafe. Probably because he reminded me so much of myself when I was a young, headstrong delinquent. I know what it's like to be all alone with no one to turn to. I s'pose that's why I couldn't just leave him.
"You're just a kid, you don't deserve this." I finally responded, "besides, don't call me Mr.Demorhyde- Tch! it makes me sound like an old geezer! Call me Rain."
"Rain?" Restis's eyes closed and began talking slowly " ...Chrome, he's my best friend."
"Yeah, I remember."
"...At the academy they treat me differently, and even my own family hate me. But- Chrome though, he was the first person who actually wanted to talk to me. It made me happy that I finally had a real friend." Restis's expression began to tense up as he continued "but I was terrified... w-when those two men grabbed Chrome, they said all sorts of horrible things. I... I really thought I was going to lose him... just like mum... and it... it just happened. I did not know what to do..." His voice trailed off but I could see him shaking, tightly clenching his eyes shut to hold back tears. Seeing him shaken caused me to hesitate, comforting people wasn't exactly something I was used to, but I had to do something. I sat myself down, beside the bench Restis laid across. With a deep breath, I forced my nervous hand to move, and brushed my fingers through his long ash brown hair.
"Jeez... It's okay, it's okay. You're not alone anymore. I'm here," I whispered to him over and over. His arm reached down and his hand grabbed my free hand, clutching it as if to confirm I really was here. That night Restis didn't say another word, he just quietly held onto my hand.