Chapter 7: A Day in the Life of Ed and Other Events

"What in the hell is the matter with you?!"

Sarah winced at the harsh sound of her father slapping Ed in the face. She didn't mention a word of Ed taking her scepter, nor did she speak of the fight Ed had apparently gotten involved in. But, somehow, a friend of the family who just happened to be in the Market Square during the battle between the Peach Creek Gang and the Apple Grove Boys just happened to bear witness to Ed's involvement in the fighting. Word about it had reached the ears of Allen Axial, a high ranking official of the kingdom, Sarah's father, and Ed's stepfather. His hardened ice-blue eyes burned with fury at his dullard stepson.

"Did you even think for a second about what this would do to our reputation?! The… the son of aristocrats gallivanting about with a bunch of low class thugs! Fighting and doing God-knows-what?" Allen howled at the boy, who was rubbing his reddened cheek. "Well, what do you have to say for yourself? Speak up, boy!"

"Allen, for God's sake," Priscilla, Ed and Sarah's mother pleaded, "Let him be! Can't you see he's already suffered enough?"

"Yeah, daddy, please?" Sarah begged, looking up at her father with her bright brown eyes. Allen glanced over at his wife and daughter, who were looking at him imploringly. He looked back to Ed, who immediately cast his eyes downwards.

"I need a drink," he began to walk out of Ed's room, but stopped, and turned around, glaring at Ed, "And boy, if I ever… EVER hear so much as a peep about you getting into fights and embarrassing this family even further… you'd better pray for divine intervention when I find you." He walked out of the room, grumbling.

"Edward…" Priscilla called out to her son, who continued to look downwards, "Edward, dear? We as the Axial family, must work hard to maintain our standing in the kingdom. I only ask that you respect that, and avoid those people you acquainted yourself with in the future."

"Yes, mother. Ed will do as you say…" Ed muttered sadly. Priscilla cupped her son's cheek, making him wince, and faintly smiled as she walked out of his room, turning back to glance at her two children.

"Ed, I…" Sarah stopped, not knowing what to properly say. She never knew how to respond to Ed after he had gotten into trouble. She had no clue why, but their father seemed to have it out for Ed. Whenever she herself had gotten hurt, whether it was merely her falling down and scraping her knee, or crying over a stubbed toe, Ed was the one who'd be punished, her father yelling at him to watch out for his sister. Earlier, she'd often get Ed into trouble out of boredom, but recently, after seeing the extent of what her father would do to Ed, she stopped, sometimes even hiding or cleaning up something he did.

Ed, however, seemed to endure the pain of the slaps, the sting of the belts, the yelling, the rancid smell of liquor attacking his nose. It's all he could do. It's all he knew how to do. He wasn't a smart child by any means, but even he knew his place in the Axial home. He escaped this daily routine through his adventures, fantastic tales of heroics and bravery, conjured up in his mind through the sheer power of his imagination. Ed recalled the time that he faced off against the tyrannical Fish Lords of Lemon Lake, or the abominable Old Man of the Ice. There was the other time where he singlehandedly fended off the Great Demon Squash of Hallows' Eve, which threatened to devour the good people of Renaldo. His victory was short lived, however, as he found himself in the garden of Farmer Johnson, surrounded by destroyed crops and the remains of Farmer Johnson's prize winning Giant Squash. Ed found himself on the receiving end of several belt lashes that night from his stepfather.

"Ed, I'm sorry. If I hadn't forced you to go get that scepter, this wouldn't have ever happened." Sarah whispered. She lightly touched Ed's elbow and walked out of his room, stopping to look back at him. As she walked back to her room to do her studies, she overheard the arguing voices of her parents.

"Priscilla, you had better do something about that child, because if you don't…"

"Allen! I… AH!"

Sarah's eyes widened as she heard something fall in the room.

"See, you caused this, Priscilla. YOU caused this," Allen whispered, "Now pick yourself up. Like I said, you get that boy to straighten his act. Or I will. Now leave my office."

Sarah saw the door knob turn, and she continued on to her room.

"Oh, Sarah?" Her mother called out.

"Mother?" She turned around, facing her mother.

"Nothing, dear. It's nothing…" She faintly smiled.

Sarah looked at her mother for a few seconds, and walked off. As her door closed, Priscilla's smile faded, giving way to tears slowly trickling down her face. This was her role in the Axial household, to love and cherish her husband. To make sure her children done as they were told. Nothing more.

The next day, Allen Axial left for the Council Hall. As he walked through the streets, he heard the mindless chattering of the commoners, the silly gossip of housewives, and the raucous laughter of men drinking when they should be working. Oh, how he despised them all. A disheveled man hobbled over towards him, scratching away at the sparse stubble on his jaw.

"Hey pal, can you spare some change?" the man asked, his dirty hand stretched out ready to accept the coins falling in his hand. Allen raised an eyebrow at the man.

"Excuse me?"

"Y'got any change on ya, brother?" the man asked again. "C'mon man. Just wanna get somethin' t'eat."

Allen scoffed at the man, and pushed him away, muttering, "Leech," as he walked off, wiping his hand on his coat, disgusted that he actually touched the old indigent.

"Screw you man! I fought for this goddamned country!" the vagrant angrily yelled, before coughing fiercely due to the strain on his dry throat. Through blurry eyes, he glared at the smug upper class asshole who just snubbed him. They were all the same. Every last one of them.

Allen pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose. Hopefully he could reach the damned Council Hall before he suffered any more indignities. Unfortunately, his wish wouldn't come true, as a well dressed man approached him, with a haughty smile plastered on his face.

"Allen," the man smiled, "How's the family? Are they keeping out of trouble?"

"Shut up, William." Allen snapped. He was in no mood.

"Oh? What's gotten our knickers in a bunch?" William laughed, putting his hands up.

"Like you don't know? That damned boy is going to ruin me."

"Come now, Allen my boy. He's but a lad. Are they not supposed to frolic about with laughter and happiness?"

"That boy is nothing more than a fool. That's all he will be."

"Like father like son!" William laughed, patting Allen on the back.

Allen shrugged him off, "Don't insult me with that rubbish! Me, that buffoon's father? Ha! His father was some halfwit soldier. He died out of the shame of Priscilla bearing such an imbecile."

"Oh ho, harsh words, my friend! By the way…"

"What? What is it?"

"Have you heard the news?"

"What news?"

"Apparently, Anderson's boy was arrested the other day. And he was a squire as well! If I didn't know any better, I'd say your boy was a terrible influence on others!" William laughed, running a hand through his curly black hair.

"Go to Hell, William." Allen muttered, as the two men walked into the building.

Ed woke up with a loud yawn, stretching his arms back as far as he could. Scratching behind his ear, he got up, and threw on whatever clothes were lying around. He thought about what Allen, or rather, his stepfather, said yesterday. At the same time, he thought about his new friends. Well, at least he would've liked to be friends with them. They helped him out after all, as he helped them. Those Peach Creek people most certainly weren't bad. Those Apple Grove boys were pretty awful, that was true, and he had no intention of associating with them.

He walked into the bathroom, where he looked into the mirror. The bruises were all but gone on his face. The small cuts were almost healed, unnoticeable from a distance. He grinned at the thought of possibly having friends. Sure, the servants were nice, and the kids he met at the parties his parents attended were okay, if not a little snobbish. They didn't enjoy or understand the things he enjoyed. But the Peach Creek kids, they seemed different somehow.

As Ed grabbed his coat, ready to leave, Gregory called out to him.

"Master Edward? Where are you going?"

"Hangin' out with my friends, Gregory!" Ed cheerfully replied.

"Master Edward, Lord Allen insisted you not associate with those… people any further! Surely you do not wish to incur his anger?"

"Ed's not gonna hang out with those people, Gregory! My friends are better than that!" Ed reassured the older gentleman.

"But Master Edward…" his protests were interrupted by a knocking at the door. He opened the door to see Jimmy standing there.

"Hello, Gregory! Is Sarah available?" Jimmy asked, bowing.

"Why yes, Master James. Allow me to retrieve her."

As Gregory made his way up to the steps, Ed swept Jimmy off of his feet in a crushing hug.

"Oh thank you, little Jimmy!"

"W…what are you doing, Ed?" the boy managed to wheeze out.

Ed dropped Jimmy, who landed on his rear with an "Owie!" and made his way out the door. He wandered throughout the streets, looking out for any of the other kids. Hopefully he wouldn't run into any of those mean Apple Grove Boys. His worries were washed away as he saw Double D, walking about, muttering about something that sounded way too complicated for Ed, or anyone else for that matter, to understand. Double D snapped out of his mumbling reverie to see the other boy looking at him.

"Oh, hello there!" the smaller boy waved, "Fancy meeting you here! I don't mean to repeat myself, but thank you again for the other day! Those ruffians won't be accosting us for a while!" Double D grinned, showing his gapped, protruding teeth.

Ed chuckled as a response. Double D began to giggle as well, until his eyes widened and he gasped in sudden realization, cupping his mouth.

"How negligent of me! I haven't properly introduced myself!" he said. "I'm Eddward Mason, but my friends call me Double D!" he explained, offering his hand to the other boy to shake.

"I am Ed!" Ed declared, grasping the other boy's hand and shaking it roughly.

"Ouch!" Edd cried; his now crushed hand in pain. "You have… quite a powerful grip!" he weakly laughed. "Ed, you say?"

"Yep! Ed is Ed!"

"Oho! What a coincidence! You see, my name is Edd, your name is Ed, and my best friend's name is Eddy! We all have the same name! It must have been predetermined that we all would meet up somehow! Oh, I must introduce you to the others!"

"Okay!" Ed replied, following the other boy.

They made their way to the outskirts of town, down by the creek, where the other children were located. Eddy and Kevin were playing cards. Nazz was practicing martial arts, punching and kicking at the air. Rolf was chasing a chicken… for some reason or another.

"Hey, you're cheating!" Kevin yelled.

"Screw you, Kevin! I ain't cheatin'! You're the one's that's cheatin'!" Eddy argued, throwing his cards down. Kevin looked down, and noticed that Eddy had two aces of spades.

"Son of a bitch! You actually were cheating! I should kick your ass, man!"

"Well, if you're gonna get all angry over a simple game, I don't wanna play anymore!"

"What?! You can't weasel yer way outta this, you dick!"

"Watch me!" Eddy yelled, walking away.

Kevin got up off of the ground, dropping the cards on the stump they were playing on. He rolled his sleeves up, ready to punch Eddy when Nazz interjected.

"Dudes, I'm like, over here tryin' to focus an' all, and you guys are totally ruining the groove."

"Oh, ah, sorry Nazz." Kevin apologized, rolling his sleeves back down.

"Yeah, what he said." Eddy said, kicking at the ground.

"Alrighty, you dudes are forgiven!" she said, noticing Double D and Ed approaching, "Hey dudes, Double D's here with that guy that helped us out!"

"Double D!" Eddy approached him. He noticed the larger boy behind him, "Oh hey, it's you! What's up, man?"

"Eddy… Guess what?" Double D said in an unusually giddy manner.

"What? You two gettin' hitched?" Eddy said, wondering why Double D was so excited.

"Heavens no, Eddy!" Double D said, blushing in shock, "his name is Ed, just like us!"

"No shit? Hey man, I'm Eddy, the extremely handsome genius leader of the Peach Creek Gang." He said, extending his hand outwards.

"Uh oh." Double D thought.

Ed grasped Eddy's hand, crushing it in his grip. Adding insult to injury, he shook the boy's hand profusely, blissfully ignorant of Eddy's cries of pain.

"I'm Ed! Nice to meetcha!" he cheerfully declared.

"My hand…" Eddy whimpered, clutching his injured hand, tears forming in his eyes.

The trio walked over to where the other children were. Kevin nervously approached Ed.

"Yo. 'Sup, dude? I'm Kevin. Sorry for hittin' you in the head with a rock an' all." He nervously laughed.

"Kevin, wait!" Eddy warned.

"What, dork?"

"Oh, never mind… It's nothin'." Eddy said, snickering.

Kevin raised his eyebrow at Eddy, and extended his hand outwards.

"I'm Ed!" Ed declared once again, obliviously crushing Kevin's hand with his monstrous strength. Kevin's subsequent howl of pain was heard echoing throughout the town.

"Hey dude! Thanks again for saving me!" Nazz said. Seeing what Ed did to Eddy and Kevin, she instead stood on the tips of her toes and gave Ed a peck on the cheek, whose face turned a deep crimson.

Rolf stopped chasing the fowl around and stalked over to Ed. The two stared each other in the eyes. Ed chuckled, and Rolf grinned. He extended his hand outwards, and everyone else anticipated the inevitable hand injury Rolf would receive. To their surprise, the two boy shook each others' hands without incident. Apparently, the hands of the son of a shepherd were incredibly resilient.

Eddy grinned, "Welp, Ed, welcome to the Peach Creek Gang!" he proclaimed, giving Ed a thumbs-up.

A thought seemed to hit Kevin as he stared at Ed, Edd, and Eddy.

"Ed, Edd, and Eddy… this is too weird. It sounds like the title of some bizarre theater show."

"Sounds like something I'd watch!" Eddy responded.

Everyone laughed as they celebrated the initiation of their new member, which consisted of a campfire with marshmallows.

Oh, how the mighty had fallen. Vincent sat in the darkness of the holding cell, lost in thought. For the past day, he contemplated his… loss. His first loss came to him via a simpleton, and those Peach Creek losers. It was unthinkable to say the least. There was no way in Hell that he could accept something like this. His pride had taken irreparable injury, and he wanted vengeance. He wanted to see them whimpering, broken, and beaten underneath his boots. His reverie was broken as the guard called out to him.

"Vincent Anderson, someone is here to see you."

"Who is it?"

"Your father." A deep voice resounded beyond the wooden door.

Vincent was ecstatic, "Father! You've come to set me free!"

"Not quite."

"What? What do you mean? Surely you jest, father?"

The door opened, and Vincent rose to his feet. In strode a well dressed man, with a fur-lined coat. His face held a displeased visage. Richard Anderson was less than happy to see his son imprisoned. He turned to the guard and gave him a slight nod. With that, the guard closed the door, leaving the father and son alone.

"Father, what's going on?" Vincent asked, wary of his father's actions.

His question was answered with a slap to the face. Blood mixed with spit trickled out of the boy's surprised lips. Vincent cried out in pain as his father yanked him by the ear.

"Damn it, Vincent! How could you let something like this happen?"

"Sorry… father." He uttered out, his ear in sharp pain as his father kept a viselike grip on it.

"Sorry? Sorry? You fool. Look at you, beaten, bruised, and bloody. In jail!"

Vincent looked downwards, unable to say anything.

"I had to persuade Martine to continue to further your training! You have left a serious blight on our name, boy! Do you know what would happen, if news of this incident spread?"

"Father, I…"

"I don't want to hear your excuses, Vincent." He glared at his son, "I want you to promise me something!"

"Anything you ask, father." He kneeled down.

"I want you to restore our pride." He said, cryptically, "Now come. We must prepare for the upcoming Harvest Festival."

"Yes father."

As Vincent and his father left the dank cell, Vincent had several thoughts forming in his head; each and every one intent on the end of the Peach Creek Gang, as well as their new simpleton friend. He would get them at the Harvest Festival, which was only three days away.