Death of a Boy

Prologue

The woman first grew interested in Adrian Mather on his birthday, April fourteenth, nearing the ninth year her herself had graduated as a full-fledged seer.

Adrian was a kind young boy, only five feet in height with the face of a child. You could mistake him for single digits, and it was near impossible to guess he was fourteen upon the first glance. He had skin which was almost without pigment and his hair the palest blond possible, each strand almost translucent when seen on its own. Even with his unmistakable childlike handsomeness, his eyes were what took everyone's breath away. His eyes were a warm radiating blue, less like ice and more like a warm ocean current, welcoming and filled with a glint of childlike humour that matched his rounded face. Friendly and filled with innocence.

This boy wasn't like the seer at all, not even in gender. The seer of Parlow fief was, in fact, a woman. Erin was her name, a woman with pale skin that looked as if it glowed beneath her dark hair, as well as dark eyes that sat in a permanent squinted position, making her look as if she were skeptical of everything. Like many others of her kind, her stature was small, hidden under clothes a size too big to hide her womanhood.

With the seer's small size and good training, it's a wonder how Adrian had spotted her in the forest line one evening. The boy hadn't even glanced over a second time, he picked Erin's form out of the greenery instantly. The most surprising thing about this instance was his reaction; Adrian had waved the woman with a blinding white grin.

When Erin was Adrian's age, she had to admit she was the exact opposite of him. She was cold, daring, and bold. This young boy couldn't hurt a fly. Even with their stark personality differences, there was one fact that stood above all those like a bird let free in the sky.

Erin grew up as an orphan in Willow fief. Unlike now, days more peaceful with kinder Barons and kingdom occupants, it was different when she was a child. There was no ward for orphaned children, and no one was offered the option to take in a parentless child. Instead, these stranded children wandered in the shadows aimlessly, hoping they'd get lucky and snag some sort of food. It was a terrible life, one that no one should bear, but made better in that particular fief. Willow fief wasn't a bad place, filled with smiling occupants left and right. It was famous for its copious growth of willow trees, giving the area a pleasant atmosphere. During the seer's entire stay there, she had a hunch that she was the only sour face inhabiting the fief, as well as orphan. Everyone was always present with smiles, while the child always rose in the morning with a chilling glare glued to her face.

Adrian grew up in the care of his loving family, unlike Erin. His father was a well-known medical scribe, as well as his mother. Erin had spoken to them several times in the past, and they had the same overly kind and positive attitude as their son. Adrian's elder brother, Samuel, was the only sore thumb of the family. He was blinded by becoming a hero and wanted to become a knight desperately. Instead of becoming a scribe as everyone had expected, Samuel was accepted as a knight after the grand master, Sir Leon, caught him in the forest one evening during a rigorous workout. It was safe to say his parents were far from pleased with this outcome.

The seer was positive Adrian was intent on becoming a scribe, just like his parents. He was going to be the child that carried their lineage, as he was all they had left. That was the only reason she hadn't reached out to his parents as of yet, stalking the boy, watching him.

He was kind, with many friends, and easily remembered faces. With such a pristine reputation, most would never expect him to have a single secret. Of course, behind those impressive blue eyes, there was at least one secret he kept hidden. If not only one, maybe more. No one could be as perfect as Adrian.

There was a young messenger, only two years older than him, an apprentice to Lady Daphne. The apprentice went by the name Gloria Harris, and was tall and slender, with a matured face and eyes the colour of black coffee with rims of the darkest chocolate. She had hair that appeared deep brown against her pale skin, yet on any other, it would be fair to middling. That could be why her hair looked so out of place, she was just too perfect for it. The abnormal length could be a clue as well, or maybe the fact that the locks were silky and smooth, as straight as a board yet as loose as the leaves on a tree.

It was no wonder Adrian fell in love with her, as Erin was sure many others had taken notice to her exceptional beauty.

Adrian's mother disliked Gloria's mother with a burning passion. They were longtime rivals back when they were young. Everything Gloria's mother had was amazing. She got the men, the looks, the brains. Adrian's mother despised just how effortlessly perfect she was, resulting in several fights, going all the way from childhood and straight into adulthood. 

Erin had a looming doubt that Adrian's mother would be overjoyed once she was brought news of her son's love for her greatest rival's daughter.

Adrian was well aware of his mother's hatred of Gloria's family, and he was very careful with their meetings. They met in the moonlight when they knew both their parents were asleep. Adrian was graceful and quiet, and quick on his feet. Sadly, and a bit to Erin's disappointment, he always had to move quickly, as he always managed to leave his house late. Quite impressively, once he put some effort into it, he almost always managed to get to his and Gloria's meeting place on time and uncaught.

Erin found herself watching them talk a lot, smiles gracing both their young faces, voices barely above whispers. They met every night in between two houses. The two of them calculated it to be the closest to the middle of both their residences.

On top of these secret meetings, Adrian kept up with his day to day life wonderfully. He coped with lack of sleep well, and if Erin hadn't witnessed his late nights herself, she wouldn't believe he was only getting three or four hours of sleep a night. While he had managed his normal life well, Erin found papers and articles towering over the desk in her room. The mail boy sent to Erin's cabin had found her verandah with the same papers as the day before laid neatly on the floorboards several times, and she was growing rather embarrassed by the fact.

Adrian, his nimble and mouse-like self, had gotten caught one night. He couldn't sleep the night before, his fatigue getting the best of him as he was only a moment too slow darting into an alley. Erin didn't step in at first, watching to see how he'd handle the situation.

Obviously, he'd been caught on one of his nightly runs to go see Gloria, and one of the night sentries had laid eyes on his little form. The sentry's yell had rung across the entire fief, which was sure to ensure a couple people awakening from their slumbers frightened. Adrian had frozen in place, eyes wide as dinner plates with his gaze glued to the ground. The sentry had sauntered over to him, a lantern held in one hand, a rather rusted sword gripped in the other. As the towering man questioned him further, Adrian shook in utter terror. His eyes had glanced left and right, examining every possible escape route, until finally, his eyes inevitably landed on Erin's form for the second time in his life. He'd picked her dark body out from the shadowed landscape, eyes staring into Erin's pleadingly.

She almost didn't move, and Erin almost let the sentry drag the boy to the baron. She didn't want to help Adrian at first. It heavily disappointed her that he'd left himself so vulnerable to the naked eye.

Of course, the seer did. She shadowed over to the two figures, swiftly stepping in front of the shorter boy. Erin didn't know why she did it then, and she wasn't sure if she'd ever truly know why she had done what she did. This boy was certainly no seer. He was naive and incautious, with the mind and attitude of a child's. Somehow, though Erin didn't necessarily know why, all those thoughts had been wiped from her mind without a trace. There was only one line repeating in her head over and over, to the point where Erin wanted to shriek.

This boy had to be my apprentice.