Rieltar

He did not understand what 'father' meant. The other urchins never knew his past; that had been his other rule: once in the Band, life before meant nothing. Now he belonged to Rieltar, he understood his time before Rieltar meant nothing. He was never to speak of it, never to think of it. There was no going back.

Rieltar was a merchant. A powerful merchant. He ruled over many and was strong. Everyone respected him, but those that knew him feared him. 'Anchev' was his family name, but he used it to own others. If 'Anchev' marked people as possessions, then Rieltar was a master, and he a slave.

He understood slavery. The strong ruled the weak. He was to call Rieltar 'father', but the real meaning was 'master'. He learnt how words were used to lie.

Another 'Anchev', a woman, he was to call 'mother'. It did not mean the same as 'father'; Rieltar owned her too. She was his harlot, a whore that belonged only to him. A slave.

One day, Rieltar had found him wandering the streets, about to visit revenge upon an urchin who dared to threaten one of his Band, and just like that, everything had changed forever. Rieltar spoke down to him, his tall adult body sneering as used words he didn't understand. Then Rieltar stepped into his carriage, and he had to follow. Rieltar had guards with him: it was either struggle and be forced, or obey.

He had known something was different, that things would never be the same again. He didn't know why Rieltar had chosen him, but he recognised Rieltar was not a nice man.

The carriage was as the streets to Rieltar's house, and the carriage was a palace to the life he had known. Everything was so big and colourful. Coloured stone floors and cloth over them, cloth from stone walls and ceilings, and paintings and vases. Things he had seen in the stalls but far richer. A single vase-stand would feed his Band for a year he reckoned.

He understood it was to be his prison. Rieltar used a voice he did not trust and told him it was now his 'home'. Rieltar wasn't lying, but what he said meant something different. Rieltar said he was now 'father'; he knew other children had 'fathers' and 'mothers'; he had seen them in the street, knew some of them. They weren't allowed to talk to urchins, and were punished if they did. Some of his Band had mothers who didn't want them, or who were whores and didn't look after them.

Rieltar soon made it clear that 'father' meant 'obedience', obedience without question, delay or speaking. Rieltar expected 'mother' to obey him. To everyone else, Father was nice. He spoke nicely, didn't smile often, but he knew how to make others like him. Servants were not 'everyone else', nor were guards.

'Young Master Anchev' learned that there were different sorts of servants: servants that Father kept close, and servants he did not. Servants Father kept close were slaves. Guards were servants too. Father treated some with respect, but only a few. The servants that were not close didn't know what Father was like; they didn't live in fear. Mother did. Mother hated Father, but she feared him. She didn't use the name Father gave him, or the name the servants and guards called him. Father called him 'son', or 'boy'. Mother called him 'beautiful', or 'hers', but she didn't mean it like Father did. When Mother asked how he was, she wanted to know if Father was mean.

Sometimes Mother wasn't nice, but when she hit him, she was sorry afterwards and kissed him. He obeyed both Mother and Father, but sometimes Mother still hit him. She would also drink wine. He knew Mother hated him, but it wasn't how she hated Father. He didn't understand why Mother was kind and why she held him, only to hit him, cry, drink wine and kiss him. She would say 'sorry' and send him away, then find him and bring him back to her room. When Father was away, she made him sleep in her and Father's bed. When Father was there, she locked him in his room.

His room was beside Father and Mother's and had a real bed in. The servants came and changed it and put new clothes out for him. Every day, Mother poured hot water over him and rubbed soap on him. He was to wear different clothes each day, because Mother and Father both did.

When Father was home, at night, and Mother was in bed with him, Father would hit her. Mother never hit Father back, and only when she was crying did Father stop. Father didn't hit her like Mother hit him; Mother hit him with her hand open; Father hit Mother with his hand closed. Father would call Mother names, like 'filthy harlot', and make her call him 'master'. That's when he understood 'Father' meant 'master'. Father would tear Mother's clothes off and climb on top of her. Then he would hurt her. Father would cry too, but he enjoyed it.

Through the cracks, he saw Mother's bruises. No one else did, not even the servants. Father always made sure of it.

Father always left in the morning, and when Mother unlocked his door, he would look at her. Her eyes were always sad. Sometimes she cried and held him; other times she would tell him to leave, and hit his face. Once he kissed her, not like Father kissed her or she kissed Father, but like she kissed him. She started crying and wouldn't let go of him. He felt angry. He realised he hated Father. He hated him like no one he had ever hated before. She slapped him when he told her.

"Never say that!" Mother made him promise, "Never think it!" She slapped him again and again until he promised. Mother was afraid.

From that day on, 'Father' became 'Rieltar'.