Liam would always remember the day the stranger arrived, partly because of the unexpectedness and drama of the whole thing, and partly because, after that day, his life was never quite the same again.
It was on a clear September day, just at the very last edge of summer, when there was beginning to be a chill in the mornings, but the afternoons were still long and warm. Liam, then a gangly lad just entering his teens, was staying at the Rainsworth house at the behest of Lady Sheryl. She was really too kind to him. There had been a day when he had shown reluctance at returning to his master, Duke Barma, for fear of the man's tendency to take out his anger on Liam, and so he had summarily been invited to stay. Barma hadn't been happy, but in the face of the determination of the Rainsworth women, there was little he could do.
That day, the Rainsworth family was entertaining a guest in the garden, and both Liam and young Sharon, Lady Shelly's daughter, were required to attend. They sat around the table, and sipped tea, and chatted in the formal, polite language of the upper classes. Sharon sat obediently, and was quite throughout the adults' conversation. Liam was only half-listening himself. Despite being old enough to take tea with the adults, he still wasn't all that interested in their doings, both in and out of Pandora, and would much rather have been in the library with a good book, or doing that paperwork he had been assigned, as part of preparing him for his future at Pandora.
Liam's master had recognized early on that Liam wasn't much of a fighter, and, though she never said so, Lady Sheryl seemed to agree. And so, though Liam was consistently being trained in all the skills a Pandora member might require at any time, he seemed mostly to be being groomed for a life of deskwork. Liam didn't mind. He was a planner and organizer by nature, and the less fieldwork he had to do, the more time he would have to lose himself in a book during his free time, and the less chance he would have of meeting an untimely end.
Liam's wandering mind was snapped back into focus when Lady Shelly said, "Why don't you take Sharon out into the park, Liam? I'm sure she's had enough of listening to us old folks." Indeed, for the last little while, Sharon had been looking increasingly restless. Her face lit up at her mother's words. Liam too was quite glad of the chance to get away. The two of them practically lept from their seats, and, with a quick bow and a curtsey to their guests, headed briskly in the direction of the wooded area that was part of the Rainsworth estate.
When they were out of view of the grownups, Sharon burst into a run, yelling behind her, "Catch me if you can, Liam!"
"We'll see about that," he cried out, and chased after her. Ah, it was good to be free from all the formal restriction, at least for a time. They chased in and out of the trees for a while, Liam, in the immortal tradition of playing with younger children, making sure that he never ran quite fast enough to catch Sharon. Eventually, though, he felt himself getting tired, and put on a final burst of speed, using his long legs to his advantage, and caught up with little Sharon, grabbing her arm gently, and crying out, "I got you!"
Together, they flopped to the grass, their breaths coming in short gasps, the silliest of grins on their faces. They lay there for a bit, listening to the birds chirp and the rustling wind in the branches overhead. It was very peaceful. Then Sharon jumped up, and declared "I'm 'it' this time!" and they were running again. Eventually their game lead them into the house, and, somehow, all the way down to the Rainsworth's Abyss Gate. When they realized where they were, they paused, somewhat uneasy. The area wasn't actually forbidden, but they had been subtly discouraged from going there since before they could remember. Just as they were deciding whether or not to go back upstairs, there was a sudden change in the air. Liam felt a peculiar pressure on his skin, accompanied by a weird sort of anti-sound, a kind of unheard screeching. His hair stood on end and his teeth ached.
"Do you feel that?" he asked, his voice tense.
Before she could reply, there was an implosion behind them, and they whirled around. Where before, there had only been the large, imposing Gate, now at its foot there lay a man. His clothes were somewhat old fashioned, his hair long and white, though he looked to be in his early twenties, and his face was covered in blood, most of it stemming from his left eye. He was barely conscious, and was looking around somewhat wildly with an eye that was, to Liam's surprise, wine red in colour, though hazy with pain and confusion.
The two children stood frozen for a minute, before Liam, shaking himself from his shock, ordered Sharon, "Go, and get your mother! And some servants. And tell someone to call the doctor!" Sharon nodded mutely, and ran off towards the house.
In the meantime, Liam knelt beside the stranger. "It's ok," said Liam shakily, "You'll be alright. Help is coming. My name's Liam, what's yours?" The stranger didn't answer. Instead, he stared blearily at Liam for another minute, without seeming to really see him, before falling down unconscious. Trying to remember the rudimentary emergency medical training he had received, Liam examined the man for injuries. With the exception of his eye, he seemed mostly unharmed, though Liam knew that internal injuries were possible. And if the damage was severe, there was always the possibility of going into shock. He dithered, hesitating to touch the man. For all his book learning, in an actual situation such as this one, all he was was a scared kid who had no idea what to do.
Thankfully, it was only a few minutes later that Lady Shelly arrived, with the butler and two manservants in tow. She took one look at the situation, and then directed the men to bring the stranger upstairs. Liam followed behind, all the way to one of the spare bedrooms, where they lay the man on the bed to wait for the doctor. He felt somehow responsible for this stranger who had suddenly dropped into their midst. He hovered in the corner until the doctor came in, and then he was spotted and unceremoniously turfed out of the room. After that, he went back into his own room to wait for news.
He didn't hear anything until midway through the next day, when both Lady Sheryl and Lady Shelly called him to the sitting room.
Lady Sheryl looked at him over her glasses, and said, "So, you were there when that man arrived, were you."
It wasn't a question, but he still replied, "Yes, milady."
"Tell us exactly what happened."
He briefly related the events of yesterday, in almost exact detail. Liam had a very good memory, and when his master had found out about it, he had been given lessons in enhancing it, so that his reports were always extremely accurate. It was a talent that would serve him well in the years to come, though sometimes he remembered things that would perhaps best be forgotten.
When he was finished, Lady Shelly smiled and thanked him. "And you will be glad to know that the doctor believes that young man will make a good recovery, once he's regained consciousness. His left eye is completely gone, though. Whatever he went through, it must have been quite awful."
After that, Liam was dismissed. He went to the library, and immersed himself in his own private world of books for the remainder of the day.