The Tenth Titan

Marco's Secret Past

"Hold still, Bodt! I know that this hurts,but just think about how great the results will be! You will be more than a worhless,freckled little boy!"

The man gripped a small,freckled arm tightly in his hand to stop the black haired boy from squirming. Big,tear-filled brown eyes looked up at the grey haired doctor as a syringe was plunged into his skin. The boy whimpered as the bright green fluid entered his body. It burned a little.

"Why do I need to do this,sir? I'm healthy,and I don't need all this medicine you give me. All it does is hurt me or makes me sick. What is the point of all this?"asked the little boy. The doctor scowled and pulled the empty syringe out of  Marco's arm before giving the the eleven year old an annoyed look.

"The point of "all this" is to make you...."the doctor took off his glasses and rubbed them,trying to phrase his next words carefully. This boy was smart for his age,so he had to be careful. The doctor cleared his throat and put his glasses back on.

"Its all to make you...unique. Not like the others before you. Every one of those....people are bound to a code, a specific way to live,breathe,and believe. I am making it so you aren't bound by their cur-code. You will be one of a kind. You will be in charge,deciding when you go,deciding who you fight for, and have your own unique...abilities to wield,"said the doctor gravely.

Marco's eyebrows rose higher and higher as the crazy doctor as he spoke,getting more confused with every word. He couldn't understand what the man before him was saying.    " What is he talking about? Mom says I'm already one of a kind.....and what is this code he's talking about?"thought Marco as he blinked at the older man. He seemed to notice the boy's  confusion,and let out an exasperated sigh. He turned around and opened a drawer in the desk behind him. He pulled out a little sack and handed it to Marco,patting him absently on the head.

"Never mind,forget that I said anything. It's nearly five now,you should go home to your mother. I'll see you Wednesday afternoon. Don't be late." With that,the doctor left Marco alone with the little sack in his hands. 

He nearly dropped it,realizing just how hot and tired he was. He had started to feel a little sick after his recent injection; that was what usually happened. Shaking his head, he put the sack in his pocket,rolled his sleeves back down,and put on his coat before walking out of the crazy doctor's office into the busy streets of Jinae. He kept his head down and quickly walked home.

"Hi,Mom, I'm home," Marco said as he opened the door to his house. His mother had her black hair tied up,and was standing at the stove stirring something in a pot. She turned and gave Marco a loving smile as he took off his coat,then frowned. "Hi Marco....Is everything alright? You look a little blue."

Marco blinked and looked at his hands,then brought them up to his face,looking slightly shocked."I'm BLUE?!"

His mother suppressed a chuckle as she put her spoon down. She went over to her son and knelt down, giving him another loving smile as she gently pulled his hands away from his face. He could see the laughter in his mother's blue eyes as she waggled her eyebrows at him.

"No,Marco,you're not blue in color. However,you are a very freckled little boy."

Marco groaned good naturedly." Mom, I know I have freckles."

"Very cute freckles. You're  bound to get a lovely girl someday,"she giggled.

"Mom!"

His mother giggled some more,then put on a more serious face. She put her hands on Marco's shoulders and looked into his honey brown orbs. His eyebrows furrowed at the motherly concern he saw.

"Marco, you know I can tell when something is bothering you,right? Because right now,you look kinda upset." He looked at his feet,but his mother used her finger to tilt his face back towards hers." Marco, will you tell me what's wrong?"

Marco flicked his eyes to the ground and mumbled,"I-I don't like working for the doctor."

His mother blinked in surprise,then smiled.

"Marco,look at me."

He did.

"It's okay if you don't like working for the doctor. You can always find something else to do."

Marco blinked.

"But, Mom, I can't! We don't make enough money on our own!"he protested.

She quirked an eyebrow at him. "Marco,we were doing just fine before you got the job,right?" The boy nodded slowly. His mother smiled again." Then we will be just fine without it,"she concluded. She gave his hair a good ruffle before standing up and going back over to the stove. Marco looked thoughtfully at his feet,then looked up at his mother's back. 

"Mom,why do you want me to leave my job?"

She looked back over her shoulder at him with another loving smile.

"Because you aren't happy working there, Marco. It doesn't make you smile,and when one person doesn't smile,another person smiles a little less."

"Why is that, Mom?"asked Marco curiously.

"Because we humans are always looking for happiness. Genuine smiles show when we are happy,and I believe that smiling can spread happiness to those around us. And of course,I want you to smile as much as possible because I want you to be happy,Marco!" she answered,her smile getting even bigger. Marco's lips pulled up in what was soon to be his trademark smile. His mother giggled.

"See Marco? A smile makes everyone happy!"she laughed,stirring whatever was in the pot. Marco laughed too.

"Thanks Mom!"he said as he dashed out of the kitchen. He was just about to climb the stairs to his room when he got hit with a wave of exhaustion. He sat heavily on the bottom step,realizing that he felt really hot and that his limbs were trembling really bad." What did the doctor give me this time? I don't feel good...." Marco thought. He decided to stay there until dinner because he didn't think he could make it up the steps. If he fell, it would only worry his mother,and he didn't want to do that.

So Marco sat there,thinking about what he wanted to be when he quit working with the doctor to get his mind off of his symptoms." I think.....I want to become a soldier....an MP would be nice...then I could work close to the king! That would be amazing....."

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Word count: 1069

Well,this is the first chapter. Now you know why Marco smiles so much,and a little bit about how he survived Trost...despite losing everything on the right side from the waist up( it's not even half like Farlan....more like a sixth....)🤔