Prelude to Dragon's Nest I

Chapter 1

Son of the executioner. The mysterious man with the axe and hood over his face. The man no one knew, and yet he could put an end to your life without arousing any trouble. Vincent was none of these things, and yet he was expected to take over for his father, to be the one to decapitate people ruled unjust without a second thought. No one knew his father except him, his sister, and the town judge. Now his father was dead, murdered because he was believed to be insane and no one could help him.

Vincent's sister pushed his dark brown hair out of his face, revealing his lavender eyes. Her round eyes matched his in color and her long hair was black. Ariya curled up in her brother's lap and went to sleep. Vincent's hair went back in his face, partially hiding his eyes again.

“Vinny?”

“Hm?” Vincent hummed in reply. He sighed, “Ariya, I thought you were asleep.”

The girl gripped his shirt tightly, “...Nothing’s gonna happen to us, right? ...Now that Daddy’s gone?”

“...Don’t worry. We’ll be fine”, Vincent answered, putting a hand on her shoulder. Ariya smiled shyly, nodded, and buried her face in his chest, going back to sleep. Vincent’s face went from a reassuring smile to a worried frown. He had no clue if anything was going to happen to them, meaning he had just lied. He had avoided having to lie to Ariya her whole life, and yet he just did it so easily. It terrified him to think about what might happen. I’m sorry, Ariya, he thought, I can’t answer your question truthfully. I can only hope for the best. He placed her down carefully on a nearby bed and walked outside.

The town itself seemed morbid, with clouds normally covering the sky and desolate buildings where the people lived. Vincent pulled the hood of his long sleeve purple tunic over his head, his black renaissance style vest unbuttoned. He walked over to the courtyard where the judge’s home was. The black bandana tied around his neck was used to cover the lower half of his face so he wouldn’t be recognized. The judge wanted to have a word with him and he already knew what was going to be asked. No matter what happened, he planned to refuse. He stepped back as he opened the door, letting a few things fall to the floor. The judge came out from a back room, looked up at him for a second, then went back to the paper in his hand that he was currently writing on.

“Vincent. Sit down, please”, he stated. Vincent pulled off his hood and lowered his bandana, taking a seat on a nearby chair.

“I already know what you’re gonna say and-”, he started. The judge interrupted him by slamming a paper on the table in front of him.

“Really now? Before you answer then, read this”, he demanded, coldly. Vincent reached over and slowly picked up the paper, reading it carefully. He gritted his teeth, stood up, and threw it away. It was a will. His father’s will.

“You know the law, boy”, the judge smirked, “A will is a legal document, regardless of who wrote it.”

“I don’t care!” Vincent yelled, “I am NOT going to take over the position of executioner!”

The judge’s expression change from one of cunning to one of disgust, “Then would you rather your darling sister hold the position?”

Vincent glared at the judge, gritting his teeth again. He kicked over the chair he had been sitting in, angry at the trap he had walked into. He wouldn’t allow them to have his sister do the job. She was too little. At the same time, he didn’t want to do it himself, either. He opened the door, preparing to leave.

“Where do you think you’re going?” the judge questioned. Vincent paused.

“...I’ll do it”, he stated quietly, walking outside.

 

Ariya stood outside, watching the other children run around and play games. Whenever someone asked her to join them, she politely turned them down. Sitting on the cobblestone bench, bundled up for the cold, she waited. There’s only one person who I’ll play with, she thought, All the games the others are playing are silly. A little boy, about the same age as her, ran over.

“Hi”, he greeted. Ariya blinked, her face mostly hidden behind a navy blue scarf that was too big.

“You wanna play hide and seek with me?” the boy asked. Ariya blinked again, then smiled shyly behind the scarf.

“No, thank you”, she answered softly. The boy tilted his head to the side.

“Can I sit with you, then?” he replied. Ariya thought for a moment, then nodded. The boy sat down next to her. Neither of them spoke. They sat close together in silence in the cold. Ariya gazed over at the boy. His hair was a very pale green, seemingly hacked just below the ears, and uneven. His eyes were cloudy and a much darker shade of green, which could have been mistaken for black from a distance. Vincent walked over to them. The boy was the first to notice him, followed by Ariya, who turned around for Vincent to pick her up. He did, then looked down, giving the boy a faint smile.

“Are you a friend of Ariya’s?” he asked, masking the stress and anger caused from his conversation with the judge. The boy looked up at Ariya for a second, blushing slightly, then gazed over at the nineteen year old.

“Y-yes sir. My name’s Rawlyn”, he answered quietly. Vincent nodded in acknowledgement,

“Nice to meet you, then”, he greeted, sticking out his hand, “I’m Vincent, Ariya’s older brother.”

Rawlyn shook his hand, then waved goodbye as Vincent carried Ariya away.

“Maybe you can stop by sometime”, Vincent called back to him. Ariya waved goodbye as well. Soon enough, Rawlyn and the other children were out of sight. Vincent put on his convincing fake smile again.

“So you made a new friend today, huh?” he stated, playfully, “What else did you do today?”

Ariya paused before responding solemnly, “...You took over Daddy’s job...didn’t you?”

Vincent’s smile faded to a shocked expression, answering Ariya’s question silently. She hugged his neck tightly and buried her face into his shoulder. The seven year old then sat up and pushed her brother’s hair out of his face again.

“Just keep your promise”, she said, “Okay?”

Vincent smiled faintly and nodded, “I’ll do my best.”