Daphne fanfic
Rain, the heavy rain is pouring down the unnamed town. All alleys are lacking people, the sounds of work have stopped spreading. Everybody hides in their shelters and only one living soul is dancing in the flooding streets of ugly slums.
He dances to try out his brand new boots, which were stolen in the main shop of the town. His every, heavy step is ruining random puddles, which are fastly recreating due to the storm. Water drops are flying from all youth´s clothes, boots, and a crappy umbrella, as the big smile is shining through the blackened alley.
The youth´s name is Elias, Elias without the last name. His parents were long ago dead, due to a strange disease, which causes rapid decay of the internal organs. After the loss of his parents, the already poor kid was forced to survive in the small town of the Kingdom of Lugnica. It was really tough for a youngling, especially when you do not have anyone to support you. But all the hard times are in the past, he became much stronger to equally fight hooligans in the back alleys. He became much faster, to successfully run away from all the problems. And he became much smarter to steal the goods from stalls more efficiently.
As he was running towards the slums center, at a glimpse he caught something odd. In the back of an old building, there is a person dripping wet, sitting on a cold and humid ground. Due to the storm, it is hard to observe them, but judging by the petite form, which is hugging their knees, it is a child.
Because strong winds are howling frighteningly and rain is pouring as strong as never has, Elias had to come up close, to examine a child. They appear to be a girl, whose eyes are painted gold. She has ashen hair, like the colour of a forest after the fire. Her sogging clothes are old and worn out, which made her appearance pitiful.
Even though a random stranger is standing in front of her, she did not pay attention. Her beautiful golden eyes are lacking in life and are staring into the pure nothingness.
"Hi there, little one. What are you doing?"
The response was not coming. She did not move in an inch, showing a lack of interest in the conversation. Elias makes a puzzled snort while covering her head with an umbrella.
"It is raining you know?"
Yet again, she did not say a thing, preferring to stare at the ground rather than respond. Elias shrugs his shoulders and hums in thought, but suddenly a loud rumbling from the stomach of a girl interferes melodic sound of rain. As he glances at a kid, her cheeks are turning red and her face is diving deeper into bent knees. Elias shows a gentle smile and says.
"Are you hungry? I have got plenty of food at home."
This time he noticed a move. She lifts her head to see the stranger, while her eyes are filling with the essence of life. Now Elias could clearly see the astonished glare of a youngling, whose arms are still holding slender knees. The young boy outstretches his arm inviting a girl. She hesitates for a bit but then gives him the soft palm of hers, accepting an invitation of a stranger for the feast.
Elias pulls her up, which provokes a silent squeak from her mouth. Legs of hers were still shaking, she barely was able to stand. A boy was willing to give her some time for rest, but she declined it with a modest spin of her head. Elias shrugs silently his shoulders and goes back to his home. Not alone, but with the girl, whose palm is still in his hand. He loses a grip to let her go, but the girl´s fingers did not move, she wanted to leave everything as it is.
During the walk she did not say a thing but was awkwardly staring at the wet ground, whilst Elias was covering the head of them both with an umbrella. He tried to start a conversation by telling her about his home, but the gal did not pay attention to Eliase´s murmur at all. The tummy of hers was empty for such a long time, that she did not care about anything other than food. But a sudden tap on her shoulder brought her out of the trance and she could clearly hear the question of a youngling.
"What is your name, hey?"
On that question, she sighs. Lifting her head she tried to see the cloudy sky, but it was impossible because of an umbrella, which protected her head from raindrops. After a little while as if coming up with the word, she said.
"...Daphne."
"Da...phne? Is it your name?"
With a slight shake of her head, she confirms the name. Elias tried to scratch his neck but remembered that both of his hands were busy.
"Well, my name is Elias. Pleased to meet you, Daphne."
The longer they go, the weaker gets the rain. At one point, Elias tried to close the umbrella, but Daphne pulled his arm, showing her protest against his idea. Elias likes rain, likes it a lot, in fact. While raining, all the places are empty, so he can walk around without paying attention to anybody.
Soon they get to the place, Elias is able to call his home. It is a small and old hut with a poor look outside and inside. When they enter, Elias immediately goes to the place near the table, where he takes a towel. He dries a little soaked hair and hands and gives the towel to Daphne, who is still standing near the entrance.
As she was drying her short, grey hair, in the lights of a candle Elias notices the state of her clothes. Under the rags there is nothing at all, so he immediately runs towards the cupboard and takes out some fresh clothes. He gives it to her and begs her to change. On that note, he goes to another room, leaving the girl alone with a small pile of clothes in one hand and sogging towel in another.
In another room, there is a kitchen full of old furniture, dishes, and other junk, which he is not cleaning up due to his laziness. Break-ins are not rare in this district, so keeping everything unhidden might be dangerous. Elias was well aware of the circumstances because this type of activity was in his competence. After years of experience, he realized the best way of keeping the best goods safe. The answer is the cellar. These types of houses do not have cellars but with an effort and a little savvy, he was able to construct one on his own. Not only does the cellar keep all goods safe, but it also keeps food fresh. A perfect win-win situation.
By the time Daphne changed her clothes, a blissful aroma wafts from the kitchen. Daphne´s stomach rumbles intensify, and she comes closer to observe a source. She peeps from a doorway and notices Elias, who fries a dish on a pan. Tiny and hot drops of oil are flying away from the pan, while a slice of meat intensely sizzles as its muscles are inexorably shrinking by the heat. Soon she notices yam fries, which are resting by the side of meat, and a fresh loaf of bread on the table near the cooker.
All these products are not accessible in the slums, so Daphne is astonished by the quality of food. He obviously has stolen everything on the plate. But it only means that this boy is prompt enough to get it all.
Elias hears a rumble from the side and catches Daphne, who tried to steal the bread. As he has seen a girl, whose glowing, golden eyes were looking pleadingly on him with an essence of starvation, he gives a wry smile, puts dawn a pan, and cuts off a piece of bread.
"A little snack before the feast will play out the appetite. Just wait a little longer in another room, soon the dish will be ready."
Daphne silently nods, taking a big bite off of the bread, and obediently leaves. She sits by the round table, which by the first glance looked fancy, but actually is extremely old. She touches wood, which crumbles under her soft fingers. The feeling of it was nice, so she starts to poke a hole out of boredom until Elias arrives with a plate of a dish.
"Hey, can you take away your hands? The plate is a little heavy."
Daphne hides her hands under the table and observes the meal. She is struck with the scent and appetizing look of meat and yam fries which are seasoned with some kind of sauce. Her pupils dilate, and saliva is coming out from her mouth, screaming in hunger. But, strangely, she does not touch the food at all. Elias, who sits on a chair facing the girl, noticed her unusual behaviour.
"What's the matter? Dig in!"
"Is it really okay for me to eat?"
"Wha-? Of course! I prepared it for you after all!"
When she hears the long-awaited words, Daphne takes the meat with her bare hands and tears it apart with nothing but her teeth. She ate with an incredible speed, biting through the muscles and demolishing all the fries in a blink. With an astonished look Elias saw off the last bits of food, which went directly into the mouth of this hungry girl. He was not even sure if she chewed it properly or just swallowed the meal in one bite.
Daphne greedily observes the table, searching for remaining, but due to her effort, nothing edible was left on a plate. She sadly sighs and raises her gaze to an astonished youth. His eyes are filled with disbelief and misunderstanding, but as he catches her glance, his face changes to a proud one and he asks a question to his visitor.
"Wow, was it that good? Well, this recipe is my pride, so I was quite hoping for this kind of situation."
He starts to laugh and takes the plate but then notices a small hole in his white table. Observing it closely, Elias starts to blame rats for their doing, but suddenly Daphne stands up and apologizingly bows.
"It was me. I am sorry for ruining it."
As she justified nasty rodents, her whole body started to shake as if she was awaiting punishment. Elias does not like this reaction at all. Now he wearily sighs and gently pats her head, stroking grey, still humid hair.
"It is ok, this table is a goner anyway. More importantly, are you still hungry? You did not look satisfied whatsoever."
Hearing the boy's reasoning and feeling his hand on her head she lifts the glare and watches Elias, who gives her a tender smile with closed eyes. Daphne tilts her head pondering, observing youth, who now removes his hand and opens his eyes. After a while, she nods and gives a smile in exchange, responding with her calm and soft voice, which overflows with confidence.
"No, I do not think I am hungry. Thank you for the meal!"
"Alright, I will be right back!"
As he said these lines, Elias elegantly turns around and carries an empty plate back to the kitchen. Daphne patiently waits for his return, observing the walls of a house with slight curiosity. There is nothing, which has caught her gaze even for a second except for one thing, which is Elias himself, who returns to the place he sat before. As an issue with the starvation was solved, she can finally take a good look at this fellow.
"What's the matter? Do I have something on my face?"
Noticing a pair of golden eyes intently staring at him, Elias asks the question. Daphne casually shakes her head and averts her gaze to her knees. A boy just shrugs his shoulders, scratches his head, and starts a conversation with lost youth.
"So why were you sitting there in the rain?"
"...I have nowhere to go…"
"What about your parents?"
"I ran away from my home."
A questioning look hovers over the boy while she clenches her hands until they turn white. This answer explains a lot. Running away from home when you do not have a place to go is quite a dumb idea. Especially when you have parents alive and sturdy, at least that was Eliase´s reasoning, whose parents were dead, leaving him with only a feeling of loneliness. "Rebellious behaviour is common for children, I guess." - ironically thinks this youth sighing.
"But why did you run away? Your parents might be worrying."
When he finishes his line, her body twitches, and she uppers her sight again to see the serious, but calm face of Elias. Daphne's look is unintelligible like she misheard Elias. She lowers her pink lips, hesitating to talk, but after a while, she asks the shrill question as a drop of tear is going down her cheek.
"Are they… worried about me?"
The pitiful look appears on her face, the flow of tears intensifies, and she lowers the small head of hers. Eliase´s eyes are widening at her words. Tears of this girl make his heart hurt, this thrilling feeling… for such a long time it was forgotten for a youngling. He swiftly stands up but slowly approaches the crying girl while she wipes tears with the sleeve, whining, and asks another sentimental question.
"Do they care about me?"
Elias gently pats her back, trying to calm down an anxious girl. His face looks sharp and perceptive, but deep in his soul, he does not understand Daphne`s feelings at all. If your parents are alive, why would someone ask this kind of question? What exactly happened with this girl, is a mystery for him. Nevertheless, he did not hesitate to answer.
"Which parent will not care about their child?"
On a sudden reply, Daphne, still sobbing, looks up at a youth, whose face is bright with confidence. He embraces Daphne to his chest, feeling her warm body, which is still shaking after the hysterics. She hears a calm heartbeat, which slowly intensifies. More words are not said, no one does a move. Just the rhythmic sound of raindrops is heard outside of this house. At some point, it feels like rain vaguely mimics the pace of their heartbeat. This fact caused a little smile to appear on Daphne's face.
After a while of tenderness, the girl calms down, and Elias sighs with relief. This moment gave him a hard time, but he is glad to see her smile. Elias asks her if she would like to come back to her house. Daphne plunges into thought, playing with her grey hair. It was not clear why she was hesitating, but Elias did not hurry her, waiting patiently for her decision. But an unanticipated thunderclap destroyed the momentum, and even more rain hurriedly fell on the ground. Capricious nature personally made them postpone the trip to the girl´s home.
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A pair is now sitting on a sofa, talking about anything which came to children´s minds. A conversation is mostly about food, Eliase´s dish if to be particular. Daphne wholeheartedly enjoyed the meat, fries and freshly steamed veggies. She questions the youth about the origin of this food and Elias, hesitating, explains his nature of a thief.
"To be clear, all the ingredients were stolen by me from the market in the centre of a town. I am not particularly proud of my work, but that's just how fate was built. We have been born in slums and have to survive instead of living."
"Is it not their fault all these goods were stolen? They did not bring enough attention, and you were just trying to feed yourself, aren't you?"
The logic of the young lady took Elias by surprise. He expected to be hated because of his doings, and yet, Daphne tried to defend his reasoning with her bold logic. This fact made him burst into tears, laughing.
Glaring at the laughing boy, she does not understand the reasons for his hysteria. The only thing he can potentially laugh at was Daphne herself. Relying on this logic, she pouts and punches Elias in the shoulder. A punch is not that strong, nevertheless, he makes a puzzled look on the girl, who ostentatiously averts her gaze from Elias, narrowing short brows.
"Um, what was that for?"
"Did I say something stupid for you to laugh?"
A question is interrupted by another question, which makes Elias sigh. He tries to look into her eyes, but they are closed. Suddenly, a palm lands on Daphne's head, stroking her hair. Irritating, she opens her golden eyes to see a smile on Eliase´s face. As she tries to remove his hand, mooing in indignation, a reply interrupts her outcry.
"Jeez, such an arrogant child!"
She pouts even more, but Eliase´s eyes are closed, blocking his view. Daphne´s rebellion about taking her serious failed. But at least she feels better after the talk about her relatives.
A caring hand is removed from her head, and Elias goes to the kitchen. Tilting her head Daphne stares at the back of a boy. With her quiet and pleasant voice, she asks the question.
"Where are you going?"
"Ah, I still need to wash the dishes. Do whatever you want, but please do not break anything."
Daphne sees off with eyesight the boy, who disappeared in the darkness of another room. Yet again, she is left alone, but not for an eternity. Sooner or later, he will come back. In the meantime, she wants to entertain herself, so she gets up from a squishy sofa and wanders around, exploring the big room.
The room is pretty spacious, but playing tag is not possible here whatsoever. She mentions the game of hide-and-seek in her head, but because of the lack of furniture, this game also must be forgotten. With a dissatisfied sigh, she comes closer to the cupboard where there were stacks of old clothes. She is not sure if she has permission to touch them, but Elias himself told her to do whatever she wants, as long as nothing will be broken.
Daphne digs into clothes, feeling the smell of old rags. The scent is irritating but a bit nostalgic for some reason. One of the smells is deviating from all inside the cupboard. The aroma of this stuff is papery and a bit metallic. Something interesting is hiding in the closet, and the girl is determined to find out the source.
Shirts and pants are falling on the floor, while Daphne goes deeper and deeper into the cupboard. The amount of clothes is immeasurable, why would someone need this much? That is the question that appeared in her mind. Suddenly all the reasonings do disappear because she finally finds the item, which was ridiculously hidden. It is an old, red book, with an emblem of the Kingdom of Lugnica.
"A book? But I can not read… Maybe Ely can?"
Quietly murmurs Daphne, twirling the book in her hands. On the cover, there is not any sign of text. Was it due to the age of this item, or it was lacking the name from the beginning? She leans her fingers on the book block and opens it near the middle. Nothing but the text is hidden in the book. The lack of pictures disappoints Daphne, and she puts it on the table.
Giving a gaze at the closet, she discovers a mess, which is made by the girl. Disappointing her new friend was not in the plan. She picks up the clothes from the floor, crumples everything and puts it back, closing the thin door of a cupboard with a struggle. With a prideful snort, she celebrates her victory over a piece of old furniture, but a sudden sound of footsteps from the kitchen makes her run towards the sofa. She jumps up and, with a squeak, lands on it, smiling.
"The task is done, how are you doing, kiddo?"
"Ely, you are not that much older to call me so!"
Narrowing her eyes, again, protests Daphne, but now against annoying calling. The situation makes youngling giggle, and he continues to tease the girl.
"Yet, I am still older, so I have a total right to call you so, kiddo."
This time she quit arguing, knowing it is pointless. Elias, still smiling, throws something to Daphne, which she perfectly catches. The item is a crimson red appa, which she has not eaten in a while. As the girl cheering digs her teeth into the fruit skin, a boy sits beside her and takes a look at the table. There he notices a book with a golden Lugunican emblem, whose cover is painted the same colour as Daphne's appa.
"fhaf if tif?"
"Swallow before you speak!"
Daphne's mouth is filled with the sweet fruit`s pulp, blocking her speech, making it unclear. She hurriedly chews it and forcibly swallows this kasha. With satisfied exhalation, she repeats the question.
"What is this? That's what I was asking."
Daphne takes another bite while Elias strangely glances over the book. His cheeks loosened, erasing a playful smirk from his face, and now he looks dejected. The boy puts a hand on the book, his mind is filling with memories, some of them being happy and some of them being pretty depressed. Seeing this change in the mood, Daphne averts her golden eyes from the boy and declares.
"It's ok if you do not want to. I am not forcing you."
"Oh, no-no, my sleepy head just kinda turned off."
Explains Elias, laughing silly. Daphne looks askance at him and notices watering eyes on the smiling face. Catching her sight, Elias tries to hide his pitiful look behind the hand, but it was too soon, Daphne has seen everything.
"Why are you crying, Ely?"
His body twitches and Elias abruptly wipes his eyes with a sleeve. After a while, he takes a more comfortable position on his sofa, and with crossed arms and closed eyes, he answers.
"Who is crying? I am not crying, you are crying! You were curious about this book, weren't you? Well, listen carefully then…"
Daphne rolls her eyes on the boy´s stubbornness, but nothing left to do, so she also takes a more comfortable position and still eating an appa, listens to the boy's story. He takes a book, observing it a little, then opens it somewhere in the beginning and shows the picture of the castle with a mighty pale blue dragon on top of the tower.
"This book is full of the fairy tales of The Dragon Kingdom of Lugnica. When I was a kid… Well, when I was younger, my mama used to read this book every time before sleep. This particular story "The born of Aihiya Swamplands" is my favourite, have you ever heard about it?"
Energetically asks Elias looking at the girl. She shook her head, showing her nescience. In a childish manner, cutely smiling, Daphne asks politely to read the story, which made the boy feel uncomfortable. He has never learned how to read because of the lack of interest and opportunity. But he is not planning to lose his face in front of the girl, so the only choice is improvising. Recalling all the memories from the past, he makes a logical chain of events in his head and begins to tell one of the many fairy tales of the Divine Dragon Volcanica.
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In the night sky of the kingdom peacefully flies the Divine Dragon, looking after the cities and the villages. Everything seems calm, nothing took his attention, but he did not give up on his duties. After an immense amount of time, Volcanica noticed his eyes are blurry and his flight is a little clumsy. He decided to stop for the rest, due to his sleepiness. The Dragon did not want to sleep in the woods, so he found a small village in the Southern part of Lugnica. Carefully landing on the plains near the village, he closes his eyes hoping for the rest, but people of the village heard the swings of his mighty wings, therefore they went outside to meet the stranger. As they noticed the beautiful figure of the Divine Dragon people started to cry due to happiness.
"The Divine Dragon Volcanica is here to enlighten us!"
Throughout the unknown village were heard joyful yells and prayers of people which made Volcanica touched, but a little irritated. He is trying to sleep, but because of the noises it was impossible, so he politely asks them to tone down their voices. However, instead of listening to the Divine creature itself, villagers decided to throw a party in honour of the Dragon.
A lot of meat, vegetables and alcohol are brought to the banket, mortals are dancing the traditional dances, bards are showing off their skills, and the village master is said to be so drunk he tried to flirt with Volcanica. Rumours say their parting was heard all over the south and this soiree is known as the Great Banquet of Ricotto. But the greatest event for the people turned out as a complete disaster for Volcanica. The sleep in this noise is impossible, some of the mortals were even offering to Volcanica an ale. At first, he denied and drove them away, but after a while, the sweet aroma of this ale took over his rationality and Volcanica gave it a try. The quality and taste of the drink were perfect, it immediately eliminated fatigue and gave energy to the Divine Dragon. His plan was to proceed with his job, but his sudden departure made people anxious. They thought he disliked an offered ale, but Volcanica immediately denied their assumption.
"Mineself likes thy ale, the quality is gorgeous."
"Then why are you departing? Your holiness did not even try another binge."
Cried disquieting people, hoping for the change of mood. Their prayers were heard by Od Lagna and Volcanica truly changed his mind, asking for another shot of booze. So the partying continuous, though now with the gleeful roars of the large visitor.
The time passed and the noisy night was changed by the blissful morning. Men of the village are dreaming like orphans, while Volcanica is still awake, caringly watching over dear people. His head hurts and his tongue burns. By one night, the barrels of a binge of an entire village is empty. The Divine Dragon hurried his departure so as not to inadvertently continue the party. Volcanica says his goodby to the people of the south, completing unplanned vacations.
Soaring the skies he takes cognizance of the unstable flight and stomach ache. The Divine Dragon is still drunk. Trying to get down to the ground he feels something coming up to the throat. As Volcanica opens his jaw puke spills all over the place. Dragon attempts to stop the flow, but the struggle makes it only worse. He pukes more and more during the flight, so the ponds and rivers of his vomit are creating. Forest plants and animals are dying and running away from disaster, giving the place to another, more suitable species. Thus were born Aihiya Swamplands, the home of spew smell and muddy water.
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Observing the picture of the Divine Dragon with a liquid coming out of its jaw, Elias finishes the short story. A nostalgic smile arrives on the face of the youth and he looks at the girl on the side. She, on the other hand, has a questioning look, which is accompanied by an awkward silence. Scratching his cheek, a little embarrassed, the boy asks Daphne for a quick review.
"So, how was it?"
"...Gross."
Without thinking, the girl silently replies. This answer took Elias off guard, he was sure that this silly fable, which is loved by him, will be likeable for every child but seems like his reasonings were wrong. He closes the book and leans against the back of the sofa.
"Well, I guess this humour is not suited for you. I remember mama was also annoyed because of the exhibition of the Divine Dragon as a heavy drinker."
"Alcohol makes people look scary…"
"Hm?"
Daphne whispers out her feelings about this story. The words are misheard by Elias and he hms at her to hear out her words. The girl shakes her head with closed eyes. She preferred to keep her thoughts a secret. With a quick glance through the window, she notices the weather change and brings up this topic.
"The rain is slowing down, you see?"
Lifting his head Elias from his perspective sees inverted streets and some raindrops which are flying upwards. The storm is losing its mightiness, giving way to rays of sunlight, which are peeking out the smoky clouds. Now they are free to go outside.
"Oh, you are right."
Pushing himself up from a squishy sofa, a youth with the book is heading towards the cupboard. Daphne observes his little walk while scratching weakly the back of the couch with her nails. She still does not want to return home, only to get scolded. But the words of this boy are giving her at least some hope he is older than she is, it means he cannot be wrong, right? Suddenly, a youth´s question interrupts her thought process.
"I have clothes more suited for you, do you want them?"
Saying this without turning his head, Elias stretches his arm to open the cabinet. Daphne recalls the mess she left in this cupboard before. Panic arouses in her head, so she tries to stop him by calling the boy.
"Hey, Ely!"
"Hm?"
As Elias turns his head to see a guilty face with a light blush, his hand automatically pulls the handle, and all the crumpled clothes fall out to his feet. Hearing a dull falling sound and feeling a fabric tickling his knees, he averts his gaze from embarrassed girl to the pile of clothes. Such nonsense is not possible to be done by this boy because all his belongings are treated with explicit care by him. Yet, here are all of his shirts, costumes and underwear in an inappropriate state. And the only culprit behind this scene is the gal, who is staring at him in silence.
Elias glances back at Daphne with the judgmental but pretty calm look on his face, like a parent on a guilty child. Daphne, on the other hand, looks behind her, observing the wooden wall of the hut.
"Wha… Where are you looking? It was you, are not you?"
"No."
Unshakably answers girl, still not willing to say it to the face of a youth. Elias is amazed by the boldness of this little liar, but he knew exactly how to deal with it. Crossing his hands and smiling arrogantly, he says.
"If it was not you, then you should not be ashamed. Turn around!"
Daphne is stable for a while, but after a blink, she carries out an order to see Elias, who is still observing her. Daphne is a horrible liar because the weight of guilt is too heavy for her innocent mind. Seeing the disillusioned gaze of a boy, which is covered by the smirk, she lowers her head and hesitatingly confesses.
"...It was me. I am sorry."
"Too long… My guess you were in search of a book, how did you even know it was there?"
"By smell."
"By sme- are you a dog or what?"
Hearing these harsh words, Daphne lifts her head and narrows her short brows in protest. But the verity is on Eliase´s side, and the girl admits her defeat, again bowing the head. This pitiful look defrosts the boy's heart, and he comes closer to stroke her grey and short hair, which are very likeable for this youth.
"Hey, hey, it's alright. I am not mad at you. Just help me a little with cleaning, and we will be in charge."
Daphne nods awkwardly and stands up, going side by side with Elias to the mess which has been provoked by her. As they were folding the clothes, a girl questions the amount of it once again. Not only there is too much of it for one person, but more strangely the sizes of T-shirts, shorts and the rest of the garments are very different, most of them are either too big or small for this boy.
But she did not think of it for too long because one pretty outfit takes her gaze. It was a black and white dress with some purple details. It is not too bright, but at the same time has its charm. Elias notices her interest in this piece of cloth and unhesitatingly gives it to her. She did not expect it to happen, so she still dumbfoundedly stares at it, which makes Elias sigh, and he says.
"You like it, don't you? I got it for one girl some years ago and… Let's say she rejected my gift. You can try it on, I do not mind."
"Really?"
Elias nods with a smile on his face and proceeds with his work. Daphne, by contrast, examines the dress for a while and immediately starts changing her oversized garments to this dress. The process was clearly seen by the boy, and he abruptly covers his eyes with his hands. As his face was turning red, he caustically utters.
"Damn, why are you so desperate to get naked? Use another room!"
Tilting her head Daphne questionably glares at the youth. The lack of reasonings for wasting the time is bothering her, why can't she do it right here? These thoughts are tiring her, so, shrugging her shoulders, she fulfilled the request, going to the kitchen. There Daphne one more time observes the wooden cabinets and barrels, which are filled with food and utilities for cooking. The strong scent of vegetables, spices, and meat make her stomach tremble. She is as hungry as ever, but eating everything without permission would be considered rude. So the girl hurriedly swaps the clothes and rushes to the main room to find Elias finished tidying and now is ready to go out.
He is dressed in some fancy clothes which have to be unavailable in the slums but considering his dirty work, it is understandable where did he get some. With a tight grip, he holds the same umbrella they walked under in the streets. Noticing Daphne, he opened his mouth, but words are not going out. He restlessly glares at the girl, confused.
"What's the matter?"
Questions him Daphne staring back into his eyes. Hearing her pleasant voice, Elias shakes his head and answers in a diffident tone.
"You… just look damn cute in these!"
"That's it?"
Her words make Elias hurt. It looked like she missed the compliment. Such a poor reaction makes Elias wonder if he really had to say it, and, with a blush, showing his embarrassment, he declares.
"Yes, now let's move."
He lowers his head, sighing, but suddenly someone grips his left arm. Looking aside, he notices Daphne, whose palms were holding his arm. The grip is not the weakest, which builds up the feeling of unease in Eliase´s heart. Seems like she is still scared of meeting with her parents, but the boy was sure in his words and pulls weakly an occupied arm to make her look at him. As Daphne´s head rises, she discovers the smile which is shining from above, just like the sun in clear skies. That smirk gave her much needed determination, and, brightly smiling back at the youth, the girl makes the first step towards the outside, where the weather is gradually changing from heavy rain to the blessing sunshine.
As the pair are walking down the street, more people are coming out of their shelters. Most of them look pretty sick, with no feeling at all coming out of their eyes. Just like living corpses in their look and insides, they are wandering around the streets. Some of them, though, are greedily observing the pair but noticing the immeasurably scary glare of Elias, they avert their heads. Elias appears to be a well-known figure around these places. And considering the mood, the cause of his popularity is not the good deeds, but rather scary and unrighteous ones.
Observing the surroundings of this section of poverty, Daphne realizes these places are unfamiliar to her. Seems like Elias lives on the edge of the slums, the reason for her assumption is a tall building peeking out of the tree crowns. She has never been to the central town, all her life was spent in a small square of her house and a small yard because of the strictness of her parents. For this reason, a girl is fascinated by the design of a tower, which is not even fully seen by her. But further they go the less of the spire can be seen, and soon enough, the whole of it is hidden behind the trees.
"Gone."
"What? Who is gone?"
While Daphne was distracting herself from anxious thoughts examining the building, Elias was concentrated on remembering the path. Usually, he is not hanging out in the heart of the slums, where Daphne is from. That place is pretty unfamiliar for him, and as he memorized the path, a sudden comment came out of Daphne. "Gone" - what could this mean? Could she be referring to her house or perhaps something in their path? Elias went through the options in his head, but her childish reply made him feel like an idiot who is overthinking the given matter.
"A tower in the town, I can't see it anymore."
"...Oh, that's it?"
"Yeah… I was just observing it."
Elias giggles at his overreaction, and this makes a smile on Daphne's face. Even though their conversation lacks meaning, it stiffened the feeling of unease in their hearts. Soon enough they arrived in the place where Daphne was found by Elias. Just a few hours ago, this gal was sitting here with an empty stomach and a depressing look, but now she is as lively as ever because of the kind heart of a stranger.
From now on, the one who should lead the path is Daphne. Looking around with her precise gaze, she pointed with her slender finger towards an old building, whose condition is worse and Eliase´s home. The sad look of the building made him narrow his brows. The state of this house is not the worst amongst surrounded, but it definitely could be better. Some windows are cracked, a lot of gaps are occupying the wooden walls, and on the roof, there are some planks randomly stacked on each other. It feels like this house floods every time it rains, the epitome of bad living conditions.
As people say, do not judge a place by its looks, but the whole view of this place is unwelcoming. Elias quickly glances at Daphne´s face, which is glooming with fear and qualm. It made matters worse, but he can't turn around and go home. Her parents might be worried because of the disappearance of their daughter. Who knows what might have happened to her if Elias casually walked past this girl. Despite her anxiety, Daphne has to go home because there are no other places where she belongs.
The pair is closing distance with an old building. Later on, Elias overhears strange sounds which are coming out of the window. The noise itself is pretty silent, like whispering, but loud enough to be heard from outside. Going up on one and only step, they reached a wooden door. Elias looks at Daphne, whose face stiffens, staring at the doorknob. A boy feels a little weird because of the atmosphere. He feels exactly like before the robbery, even though the only thing he does is return the girl to her parents. "Just what the hell is this situation?" - thinks youth to himself while standing here in silence.
Shaking his head, Elias reaches the flimsy door with his left hand. As he knocks, whispering in the house disappears in a second and understanding this, Daphne squeezes the boy´s hand even tighter. After a while, heavy footsteps can be heard inside the building. It seems like someone is getting closer. The more steps are made, the louder they get, and when they could feel the trembling of a floor because of the weight of the footsteps, a march suddenly stops, giving a place for a rough voice.
"What do you want?"
Elias does not like the roughness of this, as it seems, man´s voice, but he decides to ignore it and politely answers the question.
"Good afternoon, my name is Eli-"
"-I did not ask your god damn name! What the hell do you want!?"
A sudden interruption of the boy´s introduction makes him jump out of surprise. This, though, did not happen to Daphne, who most likely did expect the shout from this person. Elias is dazed, he did not like the situation at all. Based on his reasonings, a person on the other side of the door must be her parent figure. The strictness of that person towards strangers is impressive, but Elias still believes that he will be happy to hear about his lost daughter. With a quiet voice, Elias responds to the question as that man pleased.
"...I brought your child back home."
No answer followed like nobody ever talked to him. The awkward silence has arisen. Perhaps the man, whose voice bass is equivalent to dragons, is staying in shock, tearing up. If someone´s child would have disappeared and later on returned home in safety, any parent would have been happy. So thought overly optimistic Elias, while Daphne, knowing her relatives, prepared herself for the worst. But all of the boy´s assumptions were destroyed by a heavy stomp on the ground and follows it the furious scream of a man behind the door.
"She is not mine, get lost!"
Like glass, these words cut Eliase´s heart. Averting his glare to the one standing beside him, the boy notices golden eyes pleasingly staring at him. Without the words, it is clear she does not want to return to the person inside the house. Anyone in this situation would have returned with the gal to home, understanding the circumstances, but due to naivety and stubbornness, Elias, with his voice trembling, mutters objective questions.
"What do you mean? How do you know her gender then?"
Now for the man, it was like a red cloak for a vexed bull. Pulling the door with all his might, he rips it off from the door hinges, like a piece of paper from the book. It explains the sluggishness of this door. Seemingly it was not the first time this man was doing it. From the dark corridor is coming a strong aroma of alcohol, which makes Daphne plug her nose. And later on goes out a tall posture which appears to be a male of his mid-forties. A masculine man's hair is the colour of ash, his eyes are filled with blood, showing the ferocity of an adult. Examining the wasted area of the slums, he captures the astonished boy with his glare and with deep bass, a man declares.
"You think you are the smartest here, brat? As I said, this thing is not my daughter."
He points with his finger to the place where Daphne stands. She backed up a little too far, showing absolutely no desire to speak or even stand close to that person. At this point, he was willing to go back home. He does not want to waste his time talking to a kid, but an aura of hatred and disbelief which intently comes out of Elias, brings interest to this man, and he decides to chat for a bit, smiling wryly.
Elias is equally prepared for a talk with the human in front of him. Glancing over to Daphne and then back to this person, he remarks on the similarities between these two. Without a doubt, they are siblings, but how could this dispute happen in a family of the same blood? And most importantly, what exactly has this adult meant by saying "this thing" to his own daughter?
"...This thing?"
Hearing these words, the man hysterically laughs, but in a second stops, which exposes his annoyance. He crosses his hands and stares right into the boy's blue eyes, exhibits pretty personal and irritating complaints about Daphne´s behaviour.
"Yes, this thing is not a human, it is an animal! It is only capable of sleeping and eating for freaking four people, that's it! Our food supplies suffered a lot because of it, so I am glad it ran away, but yet you brought it back, how dare you!?"
Near the end of his revelations, his tone became hard-bitten. Elias could not believe his ears. What exactly is this awful being ranting about? Daphne is just a child whose appetise is truly incomparable, yet he spouts about it being wrong. It is not her fault for the body, which requires more food sources than usual. She may lack in skills of communication, may act with no thoughts about the consequences. But in the end, Daphne is a pure-hearted kid who does not understand people that well, but she at least tries to help with any given labour. With proper education, Daphne can easily become a lady whose looks and behaviour will out shadow the majority of nobility. Despite this all, the greedy man wants all the benefits without even trying to work for them. Elias knows his reasonings are undeniable because otherwise, she would not have run away from this house in the first place.
"She is just a child, you fucker! I can smell the scent of booze from a distance and that whisper from before, what were you doing?"
At first, the man looked surprised, seeing this kid viciously narrowing his eyebrows. But after a while, the startled expression changes into a haughty smile. And then he said the words which were the last straw for Elias.
"Celebrating the disappearance of this ignorant brat."
"Bastard!"
Boiling with rage, Elias makes a brave step towards the man who pissed him off. The boy has been through a lot of fights, but he never struck first. Because of his young age, his body was not in prime. A great number of people he fought against were physically stronger than him. For this reason, some strategy in the least is required. But this situation rapidly differs from the rest, his heart is taking the lead over his brain and the only tactic, which could satisfy it, was a solid punch into the chin.
The tall man in front of him foreseen the boy´s bold move. As Eliase´s hand, clenched into a fist, was rapidly shortening the distance, the man dodged it with a simple step back. Previously crossed arms are now loosening from the man's chest. His brawny left hand was clenched into a fist as well. Because of an impulse after the dash, Elias could not move immediately. When a big ass fist was approaching his chin, seeking revenge, he understood the lack of coolness in his head, which in the end was the fatal mistake.
An impact was made through the head of the boy. His vision is blurring, his ears are cursed with a nasty peep, which was not heard before the impact, and the ground as if disappeared from his foot. Because of an adrenaline rush, it feels like he is flying through space around. It was so calm and serene... But immense pain, destroying the grace, starts to appear the seconds before the landing into the dirt. In the last instance, he could see a small figure approaching him. It was Daphne who screamed the words of concern Elias could not hear.
"Elias! Elias!"
Daphne seeing the dispute between two men, could not land a word, but when a heavy hit landed on the boy´s face, her heart started to agonize, like it was ripping apart. Tears are flowing down her cheeks, gently wiping corners of her trembling lips. The fear is gone, giving place to sorrow, and she runs off to the boy, screaming out the name of the one who is lying in the dirt.
Seeing how the girl, shaking the boy's shoulders, tries to bring him out of the forced dream makes the grown man burst into laughter. The pathetic look of these two does not make him feel guilty. "The brat came out to him and got what he deserved" - this is the logic circulating in the head of this sadist.
"Stop crying, animal."
In the end, says this man, coming closer to the sobbing child. Daphne immediately turns her red face full of hatred to her father. She tries to say something, but her throat went dry because of screams, so the only sound which came out was a quiet hiss. The man ignores her, preferring to look into the face of the fallen Elias. He then nods in satisfaction and talks to him with crossed hands.
"Alright, kid, I am satisfied with your will and righteousness. These days brats like you are rare, so I will make you an offer and take her back. You are growing quite rapidly, maybe we will get at least some money from your body. That will be your payment for the rent."
The man laughs again, whipping his cheek with his sleeve. Hearing these spiteful words, Daphne did not say anything, she was not even crying. The only thing that arises is a soulless little smile. Throwing a gaze to the house, where a dark silhouette is observing the street, then looking straight into her father's eyes, wetting throat with saliva, she declares.
"It would have been better if I had never been born."
After these words, the eyes of Elias opened, and he promptly stood up on his two. The man, whose arms are still crossed, was looking at the girl with surprise. She has never stood off to him. And this loss of vigilance was the reason he was not able to defend himself from the fist which suddenly flew into his nose. With a quick manoeuvre strikes Elias, the man he grew on hating. He backs up, screaming out of pain and squeezing the nose, which appeared to be broken.
Elias grabs Daphne and, carrying her on the shoulder, runs away from this sinister place. In the back, he could hear the screams of cursing from the adult who beat him up earlier. He was determined to yell back, showing disrespect, but it is better to run as far as possible.
From the old house comes another person whose appearance is familiar to the girl, a silhouette that appears to be her mother, who so far was never seen by Elias. She runs towards her bleeding husband and covers his nose with a handkerchief, looking worried. Even though they sprinted pretty far away, Daphne could feel the hostile glance from her mother, like she was willing to kill them with her bare hands. This feeling is familiar to her because it was a simple routine for the girl. Elias did not know about it, yet Daphne has not remarked on this fact, knowing it will probably hurt her companion even more.
Elias runs as fast as ever could, ignoring people encountered on their way. They all were dumbfoundedly observing the boy who is carrying a girl on his shoulder. Both their minds are filled with anxiety, no one was willing to break the silent retreat till they reached Eliase´s household. When the boy slowed down, fatigue poured into his body, making him fall down in exhaustion. Daphne was not hurt because she was released right after the end of the marathon. She is now sitting near the boy who is lying down and breathing heavily.
The sorrowful look is resting on her face, making clear the regrets of coming back to her parents. Knackered Elias feels immense guilt because of it. It was his idea all along to bring her back to her home. He should have suspected something was off when she questioned the mood of her parents after her disappearance. The idealised vision of the parent-child relationship blinded the boy, letting him ignore the feelings of unease and doubts of this girl. It seems like not every parent will be as caring for their children as his parents were in the past.
After a small break, he stands up and comes closer to Daphne, who is sitting on a step the same way as when they first met. He sits near her in awkward silence and tries to pat her head to dilute the atmosphere, but she removes his hand, judgmentally glancing at him. Elias giggles a little, but in an instant dwells it is not time for jokes. Looking on the ground covered in chunks of grass turf and old, cracked tiles, he starts the conversation.
"It was unfortunate, huh?"
Averting her gaze, Daphne proceeds to keep silent. Gulping, Elias continues to speak.
"I was not expecting it to be so brutal, if only I knew more…"
No answer followed.
"I-I am not blaming you though, I understand why you did not say a thing about your situation. I am just a stranger after all."
No answer followed.
"I guess you do not have a place to live now, do you? I can give you a hand, this big boy was built for an entire family, after all, ha-ha."
No answer followed.
"...I am sorry… In the beginning, I suspected something, but I assumed It is just childish maximalism. I did not know the family bonds might be so rotten. I am sorry, truly… sorry…"
Bitter tears are coming out from the boy's eyes, along with quiet sobbing. He covers the face with his palm, feeling ashamed. Daphne notices it and turns her head to the boy who is crying.
"Elias, are you alright?"
"I..it was... so scary! Your parents are awful, how can someone be so cruel towards their own blood!? Because of me… because of me, you had to witness it. I am so sorry, Daphne…"
It appears the experience of meeting with her parents traumatized Elias more than it did to Daphne. Now the sense of guilt is crawling up her back, for letting this boy be consumed by a quiet cry. This situation brings her out of her depressing thoughts. She does not know what to do nor how to react. What could possibly calm down a crying child?
...Then she recalls a sweet noise coming from the windows of her old room where she used to be locked up by her parents. This noise appeared to be a song whose appearance can seriously provoke passers-by in large cities it is strictly forbidden to talk about it throughout all the places of The Dragon Kingdom of Lugnica. Nevertheless, it was sung very often in the slums, a truly well-known song here. For Daphne, in the past, it was the only sense of happiness that could be heard in a place like this. Every time it brought the fortitude into her soul so it might help the boy as well.
And so, remembering the lines, Daphne begins to chant.
"Sun is rising through the shadows of the mighty king-dom.
People working breaking sweat for the lovely king-dom.
Cheering children playing, growing in the sturdy king-dom.
Dragon soaring in blue skies of the wealthy king-dom.
La… lalala… la... lalala
Bright 'n scarlet Lugnican flag flutters in the wi-inds.
Snowwhite witch is searching HIM for her scary de-eds.
King is watching through the window, cherishing his pe-ople.
No one knows the name of queen, knowing it's ille-gal.
La… lalala… la… lalala
La… lalala… la… lalala"
Hearing her angelic voice, the flow of tears stops, and Elias is now sitting in shock. The warm feeling is brought into his heart by Daphne´s tender voice. The next, he feels a small palm landing on his head, gently stroking his short hair. Elias jerks his head to meet the bright smile of the younger girl. Her beautiful golden eyes are shining like the mighty Sun in the skies, grey hair of hers are representing the ash of the burned forest, whose cycle of life starts overdue to the hellfire. She loosens her lips, which forces Elias to freeze in place and gives an answer to the boy`s apologies.
"I forgive you because you are the only one who helped me."
Thus met each other a forgotten hungry girl and an arrogant thief in the penurious streets of the Lugnican Kingdom.