The Pendulum's Path
(Chapter One: Savor the Rainy Day)

"I think that's enough work for tonight gentlemen. You are dismissed."

The simple words echoed for a moment in the minds of his apprentices before it fully registered. Almost all of them stood to leave while only one remained at the table, his head in his arms as he continued to doze. One of the apprentices, a man with black hair tied back, sighed and walked over to him.

"Braig, wake up," he told the other exasperatingly, shaking the other's shoulders lightly. The aforementioned gave a groan of discontent but sat up anyways. His hair, not nearly as black as the other's, fell behind him, also tied back.

"Master Ansem's lectures can't be as bad as you make them out to be," the other said while looking down at Braig, who snickered as he stood up shorter than the other.

"Of course they can be," he replied, "they just get boring after a while, and he keeps saying the same old thing over and over again." He gestured to the door, and the two started to walk out of it and down the various hallways.

"Then wouldn't you think it's important to pay attention to?"

"How should I know? I fall asleep before he can make his point. And we haven't had anything exciting happen since Even was put in charge of the laboratory."

"Only because you mixed up his chemicals on purpose and caused an explosion."

"It was all in good spirit!"

"Even nearly had a heart attack because of you."

"So?"

The other sighed, and shook his head, placing it in his hand. Braig simply laughed at this.

"Lighten up Dilan," he joked, "it's not like I hurt anyone. Hey, did you hear about that new restaurant downtown?"

"Near the Bailey you mean?" Dilan looked at Braig with genuine interest now. The shorter nodded in confirmation, continuing with his point.

"I heard it was pretty good, called the Xanadu or something, though we've had no time to go down there. Even's been keeping us busy with nonsense while Master Ansem repeats himself in his lectures."

"Braig-" Dilan turned to him, stopping him in the hallway and crossing his arms.

"I know I know… so what do ya say? All four of us should go down tonight. It'd give us something to do. We haven't gotten out of this castle in ages."

"Very true… I'll consider it." Those were Dilan's last words as he walked down the hall by himself and into his quarters. Braig smiled, going to his own room to prepare for a night out.

-

Eleaus couldn't help but find Even's pacing around the room a bit humorous. Apparently he couldn't make up his mind on what to do next- he had to choose between continuing his work he had been doing earlier, or to pack up for the day. The tall brunet decided to intervene.

"Even, I think you've done enough for today," he told the other simply. The other whipped around so fast his blond hair almost came out of its tie. He did not look pleased to hear that. He then turned away again, occupying himself with various beakers full of odd chemicals.

"I need to finish this," he said, "since obviously Braig refuses to and Dilan is busy with who knows what."

"Do you really need to now? You have tomorrow." Eleaus leaned back onto one of the lab tables, crossing his arms.

"A procrastinator never prospers Eleaus."

"True, but neither does the one who overworks themselves. You need a break."

"What I need is for Braig to-"

"Even." The word was more of a command. The blond sighed in response, not wishing for him to make his point further. He put down the beaker he was about to pour the contents out of, setting it back to where it was before he touched it. His eyes met the brunet's, his own looking somewhat exasperated.

"Pleased?" he asked simply. Eleaus snickered, nodding.

"Come, let's get out of here," he said to the other, "I think I heard Braig mention something about a restaurant earlier."

"Really? What did he say about it?"

"He thinks we should take it upon ourselves to go visit it. I agree with him."

Even laughed shortly at this. "Of course you do. You'd do anything to get out of this castle."

"I like at least spending some time outside the castle. That is why I liked being a guard so much."

"Ahh…" Even slowly walked towards the doorway as Eleaus stopped leaning and stood straight. "Well, I won't say no to the offer immediately. I'll think about it."

"All right; I'll see you later then."

Even nodded and quickly left Eleaus to his own musings. He walked through a bit of the lab, retracing some of the blonde's steps. He stepped near the window, taking a quick glance out at the rest of town. It was lit by the twilight as the sun started to set, people starting to return home and children still running the streets.

He also caught a rather peculiar sight as he looked at a particularly tall building in the middle district of town. Was that a boy sitting on the roof? That seemed highly unorthodox, and as Eleaus looked closer he could see the sun shining off the white hair of the boy as he seemed to be reading.

He looked away and back to the rest of the town, seeing others still running the streets. The tall brute remembered those good old days. But alas, they could not be given back since he was now an apprentice. His rank grew quickly when he became a guard at the esteemed castle. It all went by so fast…

Eleaus jumped out of his reminisces, sighing and turning away from the window. He walked out of the laboratory, shutting off the light and closing the door.

-

The town of Radiant Garden looked beautiful from almost everywhere one looked. Whether it was from the streets, from the windows of homes, or the safe haven of the castle of Ansem, the town had a certain shine to it.

One person alone found the town pleasant to view from a rooftop. A young boy cast his gaze over the small village, his almost innocent blue eyes scanning every detail of what he was seeing. His almost white hair was short but he couldn't help running his hand through it just once, keeping a book in the other hand that he had been reading.

He wasn't smiling though as he looked down at what he saw from the high rooftop. What everyone else saw was only a façade to him, almost unreal. They saw beauty and marvelous town folk everywhere they went. He only saw decay of what was once wonderful, and people who would see him and turn away. He never understood why.

"I will always wonder why this garden is so radiant," he said rhetorically, easing himself to stand up. The sun was setting now and he needed to find something to eat. That new restaurant looked decent…

He just wished he had the money to sit at a table and eat a meal instead of pilfering through their kitchen, hoping they wouldn't notice. Alas, he couldn't think of a better way as he slowly got himself off the roof and down to the safety of the ground, running off into the dusk, leaving his finished book on the rooftop.

-

Braig could not believe it- somehow he had gotten all the other apprentices to come with him on his little excursion of the night. Even Dilan and Even had decided to join, the latter more surprising than the former.

The four walked the streets of Radiant Garden, having to get used to their surroundings all over again. Even looked around the streets almost wistfully, as if trying to recall something once forgotten.

"Remember where we are?" Braig asked him suddenly, pulling him out of his thoughts. The other thought for another moment, shaking his head.

"Why?" he responded, giving Braig a curious look. He just laughed.

"This is where I first met you. You were getting supplies for who knows what in the castle while I was minding my own business. Before I knew it, you ran straight into me!"

"I did not run straight into you," the blond retorted, "you weren't watching where you were walking, which isn't a surprise."

"Whatever. All I know was that I helped you get up, and asked you where you were from."

"What kind of question to ask is that?"

"It's not everyday you see someone with clothes like that," Dilan commented, gesturing to Even's rather opulent outfit. His clothes gave off an air of pomposity just by looking at them, made of the finest fabric. Even sighed, nodding in agreement.

"Fine, I see where you're going with this," he said, "carry on."

Braig did just that. "Well, he said he was from Ansem's castle. So naturally I don't believe him until I look at what he was wearing again. And he had this wicked smart of saying it, of course."

"I don't think I've heard a single unintelligent word come from Even's mouth," Eleaus put in. "Almost everything I've heard him say has had at least some significance."

"Why thank you Eleaus," Even said, showing a curt smile. Braig smiled as well and abruptly stopped walking. The others were forced to do the same.

"Here it is, the Xanadu," he said, gesturing to the elegant restaurant in front of them. It looked rather nice but in a rather quaint sort of way. The others nodded in approval before Braig showed them in.

-

The boy from the rooftop walked into the kitchen, safely maneuvering to the back without too much of a problem while hoping he went unnoticed. What he found odd was that the usually busy room of any restaurant had not a soul in it. He smiled at this and took in the plethora of smells emanating from his surroundings.

"It seems I have more choices than usual," he said to himself, looking from plate to plate and seeing a few all set out on a countertop. One of them looked like this delicious fettuccini dish, while another was a well-done steak…

He chose rather quickly, reaching for the pasta, and walked out of the kitchen with it in his hands. He ate as he walked down the alleys, getting weird stares as he did so, unconsciously walking back to his rooftop.

Well, it wasn't hisrooftop per say, but it was where he spent most of his time. The roof was atop a rather old boarding house with people living on the first floor. He hid away in the crevices of the attic so he would have a place to sleep at night. He liked the attic, since it was filled with a plethora of books that the owners probably had never looked at- he could spend days stuck in there reading.

He was starting to get tired of carrying the plate and eating at the same time, almost going down a wrong alley because of it. He found a rather barren alley; one that he knew would eventually lead to his 'home'. Sitting against a wall, he continued to eat his only meal of the day.

A couple minutes later, the boy barely making a dent in the meal, he noticed shadows on the ground that weren't there before. Not liking this, he glanced up and saw two figures standing over him. His face then became extremely wary, his eyes darting back and forth.

"Look what we found," one of them said mockingly, bending down a little more to get into the boy's face. "The little restaurant thief went shopping and didn't tell us about it."

The boy had nothing to say, keeping his mouth firmly shut and his hands gripping the plate as if it were his most prized possession. The other figure walked a little closer to him.

"Not going to share that are you?" he asked rhetorically, kicking the younger in the shin. He winced, closing his eyes for a brief moment. "That's not very nice of you."

"Don't you know you should share with those who need it more than you do?" the other asked, making a motion to grab the plate. The boy moved it closer to himself, glaring at the taller figure, who made another motion. Unfortunately this one was much quicker, as he grabbed the entire plate from the boy's grasp and handed it to the other, laughing.

"Thanks for the food," he said, "smells awfully good."

The two figures laughed with each other and started walking out of the alleyway, leaving the boy on the ground. Unluckily for them, the small boy stood up and walked a few steps forward, determined not to let his food go so easily.

"You know if you actually used that energy to get food from other places and not me, you wouldn't have to steal from me almost every night," he remarked, stopping the two in their tracks. The one that had taken the food from him looked at him with daggers in his eyes, taking a couple steps forward.

"What did you just say?" he said murderously. The boy smirked.

"I said that maybe if you weren't so lazy, you could get your own food," he told the elder, "is that in a language your simple mind can comprehend?"

He went too far, knowing it before the figure advanced on him, grabbing him and shoving him into the wall. The other had put the food down and stood right next to him.

"Oh I'll give you something to comprehend," he said, venom lacing his words.

The boy grew slightly fearful at this point, especially as a fist became clenched and raised. He did the only thing he could think of and kicked the figure in the chest before he could do anything. The figure immediately dropped him, wincing in pain, as the boy fled.

He thought this would be the right thing to do, since he just called the other lazy and didn't figure he would run after him. Apparently this was not so, for the two figures, leaving the once prized food forgotten, ran after him.

Thunder boomed above his head, clouds gathering quickly as he saw his rooftop in sight. He picked up speed, noticing the two behind him were gaining fast, and started climbing to the roof. Of course he didn't think someone could climb up after him, but as he heard sounds of one of his pursuers climbing up the same path, he grew even more frightened than before.

As he approached the top, he felt a strong hand clamp down on his ankle that wrapped around it entirely. No matter what he did, the other wouldn't let go, and in fact squeezed harder. He yelled out in agony, knowing exactly what was about to happen and knowing he couldn't do anything to stop it.

A loud boom of thunder frightened both that were near the roof, and for a moment they forgot where they were. The one that was lower let go of the boy's ankle, who let go of the roof entirely, completely frightened.

He didn't even feel the pain when he fell. The pain became forgotten as his senses became dulled quickly. He couldn't feel the rain starting to fall on his pale face, nor the tears on his cheeks, nor the ground as he fell. The two left him be, and ran off as the rain started to pour, and his eyes shut, his head slumping down on the ground.

-

The four apprentices walked out of the restaurant, happy and full, only to find the rain pouring down in front of them. Not liking the looks of it, they started to run as fast as they could.

"Braig, of all the nights you had to decide to go out to eat…" Dilan muttered as he ran.

"Hey, I didn't know it was going to rain!" Braig snapped back, "Besides, you were the one that said yes Dilan."

"Either way," Even interjected between shallow breaths, "we need to get back to the castle quickly. Otherwise I believe we'll drown in this."

"Good point," the shortest of them all said, "well, I don't want to be caught in this. I'm going ahead."

Braig started running faster as the others groaned, persevering so they could keep up with him. Even mumbled a few things under his breath, but not wanting to be stuck in the rain, started picking up a little speed.

The apprentices soon became split from each other, Braig running too far ahead and Dilan not too far behind him. Even lagged a bit and soon stopped running all together, sighing at this.

"Keep going Even," Eleaus shouted to the older scientist from behind, "I'll see you at the castle."

The other nodded, quickening his pace once again as Eleaus hung back a little bit, deciding he didn't want to risk the chances of slipping and sliding in the rain like the others. He would walk his way back- sure it would take longer, and he would be soaked when he arrived back at the castle, but it was better than accidentally running into something.

Which he almost did before he knew where he was going- he walked straight into a once familiar alleyway as he was walking, not realizing where his feet were taking him. He looked down the alleyway briefly, knowing it was the wrong way to go, and went to turn around.

He caught something from the corner of his eye though- he couldn't make out what it was from a distance though. It was near an old boarding house, he knew that much. Having better judgment in his mind, he defied it and amused his curiosity.

As he did, he became more astonished with each step. What looked simply like a pile of trash from far away took more shape. It became a body, a rather small one at that, with bruises on pale arms. Eleaus gasped in shock as he stood in front of it, not wanting to believe what his eyes were seeing.

"Oh my word…" he managed to stutter out. It was a boy, a badly beaten up one. His hair that would usually shine was damp and almost disgusting. His leg was in a peculiar position- Eleaus could only surmise it was broken. It was obvious he was unconscious but… the tall brute couldn't bear another thought.

He couldn't leave the poor boy defenseless here like this. To think he thought the town of Radiant Garden better than this. Things like this didn't happen here. It was a nice town. But just by staring down at the boy, his assumptions were proven wrong.

Knowing nothing better to do, he picked the boy up, cradling him in his arms and keeping his leg in the same position. The boy was rather small, and felt light in his muscular arms. It didn't matter, and the rain pouring buckets on him didn't matter as Eleaus walked out of the alleyway and to the castle with the boy safely in his arms.

"I promise you, I won't let this happen to you again," he told the boy, even though he knew the words couldn't be heard. "You'll be safe from now on."

-

At last, three of the apprentices had returned to the castle, the castle being a safe haven in the darkness of the storm. Master Ansem was waiting for them himself, standing in the welcoming area with his arms crossed, worried for his students.

As he saw Braig, Dilan and Even enter, he became more relieved. The door shut behind them as water dripped off their clothes.

"There you are," Master Ansem said, startling them. "Where have you been?"

"Down at the Xanadu," Braig answered, out of breath. "I took everyone down, you know, just for a break."

"I see… you picked an awfully bad night to do so," Ansem told him, looking at the rest of the group. He raised an eyebrow as he counted all of them. There was one missing.

"Where is Eleaus?" he asked. Everyone looked to Even, who was more out of breath than Braig, answered instantly.

"He's on his way," he replied, "He's taking his time. He should be here anytime now."

"All right, I'll trust you on that," Ansem said, "but don't go out on such a dangerous night again."

"Yes sir…" Braig muttered miserably, hearing the others do the same exact thing. Ansem left them rather quickly, walking down the halls back to his quarters. Even watched him do so and sighed.

"We had best be doing the same thing," he commented, "I'm sure Eleaus will arrive back safely."

"All right…" Braig said, "I'll stay up just in case."

"Good idea," Dilan told him, turning to the others before saying good night. The three apprentices split up, Braig leaning against the wall waiting for Eleaus to return as the others went to sleep.

It was about fifteen minutes later when Master Ansem came by again, seeing him slumped against the wall almost impatiently. The shorter noticed him, acknowledging his presence.

"Waiting for Eleaus," he said simply, knowing that that was what Master Ansem wanted to hear. The wise king nodded and walked towards him, looking out the window.

"That is very generous of you," he said, Braig looking over to him now. "You can go to sleep if you wish."

"Nah, I don't mind. Besides, I want to see how soaked Eleaus got in this stuff."

Braig wouldn't have to wait that long to see, for the doors of the entrance hall opened, revealing a soaking wet Eleaus. He looked to be carrying something -or someone- in his arms. Master Ansem motioned for Braig to close the doors as he walked over to Eleaus, startled.

"Who is this?" he asked, looking at the features of the one being held. "He has the looks of only a child."

"I found him like this in an alley," the tallest of them all answered, "and I couldn't leave him like that."

"Always knew you were big-hearted," Braig commented, earning a look from Master Ansem, and keeping quiet.

"Understood," the king said, turning to Eleaus, "take him to the hospital wing of the castle. I'll have someone tend to him now. Braig go with him- he may need help."

Eleaus nodded his head, and watched Ansem leave again in a rush. Braig walked over to him, looking at the tiny body in his arms.

"Man… this kid looks beat up," he said, feeling the boy's cold cheeks. "I never thought stuff like this could happen in Radiant Garden."

"Neither could I," Eleaus replied in a melancholy tone, walking down the halls with the boy in his arms. Braig walked next to him as the boy remained unconscious the entire time, oblivious to the help he was receiving.

-End Chapter One-