Luca's eyebrows knitted together, jaw tightening as his eyes shifted down towards his son. The small child slept peacefully on his side on a makeshift bed of old, threadbare blankets, one below him and one wrapped tightly around him; blissfully unaware of all the problems and worries that plagued his father's thoughts. Argenta was not a kind country for people like the strolling players now and Luca had found it difficult lately to bring in the money they needed. This morning, when he looked into the small leather bag which housed what little money they had, he had found nothing left, not even a few coins with which to feed his son. He had known this was coming, had watched the coins dwindle down faster than he could add new ones, even with him not eating more than a few bites at a time to ensure Lucio had plenty to eat himself.
Luca glanced back at the black leather bag in which all their belongings were held. It was a risk, especially with Lucio with him, but he would have to perform here if they wanted food and he so desperately did, if for only his son. He, at least, could go a few more days until they got to a safer region but not Lucio. Long ago he had sworn that his son would never go without like he had again and so far, he hadn't. Even if it wasn't quite enough, Luca had managed to be able to provide at least something. He wasn't going to let that change today.
Kneeling down in the still dewy grass, Luca reached out to brush the stray locks of red hair out of his son's face. "Lucio," he said softly, voice almost a whisper. "It's time to wake up, my boy."
With a small whine, Lucio shifted under Luca's touch, stretching his arms out as far as they would go before curling himself back up in the blankets. Slowly, hesitantly, as if they were too heavy to move all in one go, he blinked open his eyes to meet his father's, a small smile coming to his face as he took in his. Oh, how that sweet smile could chase away all of Luca's worries, even for just a short moment.
"Morning, Father." Lucio's voice was still heavy with sleep.
"Good morning, Lucio," replied Luca, a smile adorning his face as he leaned down to press a kiss to the child's forehead. "What do you say to helping me perform before we get breakfast? I bet the crowds are even better than usual on such a nice morning."
Luca didn't mention the danger of it or their own lack of provisions. He never did. While Lucio was fully aware that most times they didn't have much, he didn't want to worry the boy unnecessarily. It wasn't a child's job to carry the burden of that worry around. Besides, if he performed for a little while first, he should be able to earn enough to feed them both, for that day at least, and he was well versed in avoiding Argenta's soldiers. It shouldn't be as big of a deal as Luca's mind wanted it to be.
Lucio's smile seemed to widen, excitement sparkling in his gaze, as he sat up, nodding his head so fervently his fiery hair bounced along. He always seemed so happy, so proud, to be a part of his father's performances, even if his tasks in them was as small as collecting the coins thrown their way. "Yes!" he cheered, jumping to his feet so that he stood before his father. Luca flashed another bright smile as he wrapped his arms around the boy, lifting him as his stood.
"Let's go then, shall we?" he said, shifting the boy to balance him on one hip. He kept a firm grip on the child as he bent down to retrieve his bag, tossing it over his free shoulder. They would be back later to retrieve the rest. No one else would find or disturb it this deep in the Wayless Wood. As far as he knew, only his group dared to travel beyond the borders of it, unafraid of the Night-Mares and wolves. With fire and each other to guard them at night, they felt far safer here than so close to the villages where the prince's guards patrolled. Even now, on one of the very rare trips he took away from Marco and Juliana, he felt far safer in the cover of the towering trees.
As they walked, Lucio's gaze darted around them, never focusing on one thing too long. Occasionally, the boy would even tilt his head back to take in the patches of sky that showed through the breaks in leaves and branches. The action usually ended with Lucio leaned as far back as he could manage in his father's arms and still have his own arms wrapped around Luca's neck for security. It coaxed quiet laughter from both their lips.
After a moment, the little boy pulled himself back up, his eyes meeting those of his father's as another of those bright smiles of his lit up his small face. He unwound his arms from around Luca's neck to press small hands on either of his cheeks, pulling his father's face closer to his until their foreheads touched. Luca's steps slowed, vision hindered by the child so close, but he smiled in return and a chuckle escaped his lips.
"I love you, my little fire elf," Luca pressed a quick kiss to the boy's nose before raising his head and resuming his normal pace.
"I love you too, Father," chirped Lucio, letting his head fall to rest against his shoulder.
It didn't take long for them to arrive in the town Luca had chosen to perform in. While they had camped deep in the Woods, he'd made sure not to cut himself off completely from the nearby towns and their marketplaces full of potential customers. This town was indeed busy this morning; good prospects for earning the money they needed but more risky all the same. Any one of the people surrounding them could turn him into the soldiers. There was always one fairly close even if they weren't particularly on the street now but Luca had long since learned how to evade the silver clad guards and he felt fairly confident in his ability to keep both himself and Lucio safe from harm.
He had been performing in Argenta - the country of his birth - almost his whole life and he'd seen his fair share of soldiers. Of course, he had never been caught or he wouldn't be here now. To the Adderhead, the strolling players were good for nothing except to enjoy watching them hang. He had seen this too, seen others who couldn't get away hanged for nothing. He'd seen the Adderhead take away his friends.
He stopped on a narrow street he knew from experience the soldiers did not often patrol but still carried the heavy business of the main streets and set Lucio down at his feet. There should be no trouble in performing here. Most of the people would not report him and as long as he kept the show brief, going on just long enough to make the money they needed for now, the soldiers should never even know he was here.
"Alright, my boy, are you ready?" Luca asked as he set his bag against the wall of a nearby building and knelt down beside it. Another wide grin crossed Lucio's face as he nodded fervently, though soon the business of the street claimed his attention again and his gaze turned away.
Luca reached his hand into the leather bag and pulled from it the small wooden bowl in which Lucio dutifully collected the coins thrown at them by the onlookers and pressed it into his little hands. That was always his job - collecting the money. It seemed people found it much harder not to pay when Lucio looked up at them with those big dark eyes and flashed that gap-toothed little grin of his.
As Luca removed the rest of the items he would need for the show from the bag, which was mostly just an assortment of colored balls he arranged as a stack by his feet for now, a few people had already began to gather around them. Lucio bounced up and down on his toes, excitement sparkling in his eyes once more as he waited to watch another of his father's performances and to do his job in turn. After all this time, Luca was surprised to find Lucio never seemed to tire of watching him perform. The boy had even begged him to teach him the trade - though for now he had yet to progress past tossing two balls from one hand to the other.
When a small crowd had gathered around them, Luca stood to his full height, flashing a smile and giving a low bow before tossing a few of the juggler's balls up into the air only to catch them and toss them again as they came down. The simple little things formed a moving arch of spinning colors. Luca made the balls go higher and higher, adding more and more. He did tricks with them, bounced them off his head, his elbow, his knee. The more the people smiled, the more they clapped and cheered, the happier Luca seemed to grow and the more he showed off. Until the shout of a soldier coming around the corner of an alley stopped the whole show, sending spectators scattering. The sound startled Luca and the balls fell around him, rolling across the street as if they too were fleeing the soldier's wrath and the gallows it threatened.
He heard the low thud of the wooden bowl as it hit the ground quickly followed by the clinking of scattering coins. At the sound, his gaze turned down towards his son just as the boy reached him, little hands entangling themselves in the fabric of his pants leg. Lucio looked up and Luca's heart lurched as he saw the fear in his gaze. Even at such a young age, he had been taught that soldiers were something to fear, that they would hurt strolling players like them, or worse. He knew to avoid them and they usually did but this one was far too close for Luca's liking and he had witnessed the performance firsthand.
Luca pried the small hands from his pants leg before taking one of them in his, holding it tightly as he took off in the direction so abruptly Lucio stumbled. Their best chance of survival was to escape into the woods or lose the man somewhere in the city but as they ran and the soldier drew ever closer, Luca's confidence in their escape slowly seemed to diminish. Lucio was already struggling to keep up, breaths coming in short gasps as he was dragged along through narrow streets and throngs of people that only served to slow them even further.
Lucio stumbled a second time and for a moment Luca thought of picking him up - they may be able to run faster if he did - but then what if they were caught? At least if Lucio was on his own two feet, even if Luca was caught, he had a better chance of getting away.
Luca's heart surged as he recognized the street they were now passing through. The Wayless Wood was not far off now and he was sure Lucio could make it that far at least and then, in the safety of the woods, he could carry the child the rest of the way. The soldiers most likely would not dare to delve so far into the forest, too terrified of the creatures that lurked beyond the towering trees, and even if they did, Luca knew the woods far better than they did. Surely, he would lose them there.
The soldier's shouting brought with it more soldiers to come to his aid and from the sound of heavy footsteps behind them, they were catching up fast. His heartbeat sped up as fear grew in his mind but he could run no faster. Lucio struggled more and more with every step and he sure as hell was not leaving him behind. It was just a little further. He could see the trees above the rooftops.
A hand closed around the collar of Luca's shirt, yanking him back so suddenly he cried out in surprise, Lucio's hand slipping from his gasp. He didn't even have a chance to react before two more soldiers grabbed him by the arms and dragged him back. Immediately, his gaze darted to the child another soldier pushed back as he tried to follow. Lucio. He was the only thing Luca could think of as he struggled against the soldiers' grip. The inherent need to protect his son flooded his senses but try as he might, he could not free himself. Everytime he managed to pull one arm free from a soldier's grasp, it seemed two more were there to take its place.
"Go, Lucio! Run!" he shouted over the clanging of armor and rush of frightened voices filling the air around them as peasants retreated with their own children into buildings or the shadows cast by them. Raw panic made itself known to all in his expression and the sound of his voice. They could take Luca if they had to, he could handle that, but he would not let them touch his little boy.
But Lucio only froze, looking back at his father through brown eyes swimming in tears. There was so much fear in that small face that it broke Luca's heart just to look at him. He finally moved after only a few seconds, he finally ran, but it was in the wrong direction. Luca's heart skipped a beat as the boy shook his head, sending red hair flying, and ran towards him. Completely ignoring the soldiers, the boy pressed up against him, wrapping his arms around him like a vice as he buried his face in the fabric against the side of Luca's leg as if he could take shelter there.
Of course he wouldn't just run. They had never really been apart for long, the only times being when he left the child with Juliana or Marco so he could perform and even then, he was always back by nightfall. Running now would mean solitude in this city or in the woods; solitude he had never known. Perhaps that was even more terrifying than the silver-clad men he probably even believed his father could protect him from.
Another soldier pried the boy, screaming and crying, off his father and pushed him back with such force the boy fell to the ground, a small cry escaping him as tears spilled over his cheeks. "Father!" came his voice, a small strangled cry, as he pushed himself to his feet to run after them again. This time, however, he kept some distance between them, careful not to draw the soldiers attention again. A lump formed in Luca's throat as the sight of his tears and the desperation in his eyes. Lucio never looked at him like that.
Luca knew full well what the soldiers planned to do to him but that scared him less than leaving his son behind. He had to get back to him. There would be no one to care for him if he didn't - they were so far from Juliana and Marco now - and five years old was far too young to be able to survive on his own. There was no way he would be able to work or get money in any way and even if he did find someone willing to take him in, which was highly unlikely, there was a high chance they would make his life miserable demanding the debt of their supposed kindness be paid. He couldn't let that happen to him.
Lucio looked so scared too. Luca wanted nothing in this world more than to be able to wrap the child up in his arms and assure him as he had so many times before that everything would be alright, even if it was just a comforting lie, but the soldiers wouldn't even slow down and their grip on his arms was painfully tight. It would be impossible to break away and no one would even dare to think of coming to the aid of a poor strolling player and his crying child; a child that was still following him despite his warnings. Lucio tried his best to keep up with the longer strides and quick pace of his father's captors but he was exhausted and struggling to walk the distance so quickly.
It was not the gallows to which the soldiers took their captive first; it was the pillory. Of course. They never hung a person right away. They would want time for the news to spread and to demand everyone without a valid excuse stand under the gallows and watch the strolling player hang. And for what? For bringing a few much needed smiles to the faces of the people? For trying to support their families the best they can in the only ways they knew how? It was over a few colored balls that they would rob a man of his life and a child of his father.
Lucio was still following when they shut Luca up in the pillory, as easily as though he were little more than a child despite the way he fought them. The wood dropped over his neck and wrists with a sickening thud and Luca shut his eyes tightly against the fear that suddenly overwhelmed him. He would never escape this. He would die tonight and Lucio probably wouldn't be far behind.
When he opened his eyes again moments later, he wasn't surprised to find people already gathering. Panic rose in him anew when he realized he could not see his son through the ever-changing fray but the boy soon emerged. Small hands pushed their way through the men and women until Lucio stumbled out into the open space that separated the crowd and the pillories. Yet again, he hurried towards his father, but the guards quickly blocked the way. Lucio halted at the sight of them, shrinking back into the first row of people.
Even from this distance, Luca could see the rapid heaving of the frantic child's chest as his breaths came through labored panting. Luca knew then as he watched the boy that he would not be able to handle this on his own. They had hardly done anything to Luca yet and Lucio couldn't know what they planned to do but wild terror still shone in his wide eyes.
Luca wished so badly he could call the child to him, perhaps just being close would help to calm him, but when the first rotten apple flew out, narrowly missing his head and bouncing off the wood of the pillory, he quickly regretted even thinking the idea. He flinched back but quickly returned his gaze to his son, trying his hardest to ignore the people's jeers and the items they launched his way. His gaze met Lucio's and the boy's eyes widened in realization. Tearing his gaze from his father's, he whipped his head wildly to take in the forms of the people around him.
He wouldn't understand this either. He didn't. Kept safely at his father's side or tucked away in the shelter of the Wayless Wood with their friends, he hadn't often witnessed the cruelty of others and never once had Luca brought him anywhere close to such places as the pillarys.
Luca ducked his head as one man sent a rock sailing in his direction but it rose up over the wooden structure, missing the man locked inside it.
"Stop it!" He heard the desperate plea above the jeers of the crowd and Luca's head shot back up. Another man raised his arm to throw another handful of moldy produce but Lucio reached up, clutching onto his shirt sleeve with trembling fingers.
No, Luca thought. No. No. No. The man quickly brushed the boy off, throwing what used to be food at the captive juggler despite the child's efforts. Luca flinched away again in preparation but opened his eyes in just enough time to see the man's hand collide with Lucio's face.
"You little brat," the man spat at the ground where Lucio now sat, clutching his cheek in one hand. "Get out of here before I put you in one of those things myself."
Desperation crossed Luca's expression, widening his eyes and tightening his chest, as Lucio pushed himself back up again. Fear and pain and betrayal wrote itself on his small face, in every little feature of it.
He should have been left with Marco and Juliana. His mind spoke the words before Luca even realized his regret. You wouldn't have been able to see him for awhile, sure, but he would have been safer.
Luca shook his head slightly as he met Lucio's eyes, a movement that went unnoticed by all but the boy whose eyes now watched his every move for answers. Just through his gaze alone, Luca tried to convey the seriousness of the situation, urging him to stay as inconspicuous as possible. The law against strolling players was still new enough that in outer cities like this one, most guards tried their best to spare the children, but even they would put a child on the gallows if given enough reason. He wasn't sure where that threshold lied with these particular soldiers.
Lucio seemed to understand. At the very least, he had given up, sitting there in the dirt with his knees hugged close to his body, one hand still clutching his slowly reddening cheek.
This is your fault, he realized as he watched tears slip down his son's face again.
It was nearly sunset when the sound of footsteps could be heard once again. The crowd had since dispersed, growing steadily smaller until only a few new faces among some of the old remained in front of the pillory. The onslaught of rocks and rotting vegetables had become too familiar in just a few hours, leaving their marks on his face or in his hair. Still, he flinched back in anticipation every time something was sent hurtling his way.
Luca tensed at the sound, jaw tightening as he raised his head to look their way. New fear crept up through his veins. He knew full well what the soldiers reappearance meant.
Movement in the corner of his vision brought his gaze back to his son. Lucio quickly scrambled to his feet, head whipping frantically back and forth between the soldiers and his father. All of a sudden, Luca's fear was no longer for himself but for the child as well. What would they do if Lucio tried to do something like he had done earlier?
Sure, most soldiers would just chase off a child but given enough offenses and a low enough class and children could end up in the pillories themselves or hanged or, if they were small enough, sent off to the silver mines. To be quite brutally honest, Luca would rather Lucio end up starving on the streets or meet his end by his father's side at the gallows than go to the mines. Children smaller than Lucio was now we're starved, beaten, and worked until they inevitably perish below the earth all to decorate the Adderhead's castle.
Suddenly, he realized this would be the last time he saw his son's face. Oh, how he hoped his baby would be okay. Silently he prayed that Lucio would find someone; someone willing to take him in and treat him right. Perhaps another strolling player. Maybe even one they knew or at least maybe they would run into Marco and Juliana along the way. They would want to know what happened to the both of them. They would want Lucio with them.
They would come looking when neither he nor Lucio arrived back at camp on time. Perhaps, if Lucio could hold out that long, they would even be the ones to find him. That would be best. At least Lucio would have family; people he had known all his life.
Lucio stared at the soldier's for a long moment as they began to push their way through the crowd until suddenly, he turned on heel and ran. Little fingers wrapped themselves in Luca's pants leg and Luca closed his eyes, letting out an exasperated sigh. No.
"Lucio," Luca said, his voice both quiet and authoritative though sorrow still came in his words, making the sounds of them waver as they passed his lips. "You need to go now, okay? You can't be up here."
"I don't wanna," he said, grip tightening as he gave a quick shake of his head. His voice sounded on the verge of tears if he wasn't crying already. "I want to stay with you."
"Please, Lucio," Luca pleaded, panic making its way into his features. "Hurry and go now. You'll be alright, I promise. I have to go away for a bit now, but...but Marco and Juliana will come get you soon, okay? Just...just go wait at camp now, okay?"
Lucio had to leave. Every moment he stood here risked something happening to him as well. Luca couldn't let that happen. And he didn't want the child to watch what happened next either. He didn't need to witness such things.
However, despite Luca's plea, the child shook his head again. "No, Father," came his whispered voice. "I don't want the soldiers to take you away. I want to stay with you."
"Lucio." His voice was only a quiet breath. His son's words felt like knives to his heart.
He opened his mouth to say something more, desperate to get him out of harm's way but it was too late now. The soldiers came into view again through the throngs of people and their gazes landed on Lucio. Luca swallowed hard.
The soldiers footsteps seemed far too loud as they marched towards him, each one echoing through his mind with a new ripple of terror. Luca's heart seemed to skip a beat with the sound. Not Lucio, was all he could think as they stopped in front of the boy. Not my baby.
The soldier who had taken the lead, a man shorter but far stockier than the others, grabbed the child by the collar of his shirt. Lucio's small arms wrapped themselves tightly around Luca's leg, one last feeble attempt to stay with him, but the man was far stronger. He pulled the boy away so roughly he couldn't possibly hold on.
"Filthy little brat," he spat as he tossed the boy down before the pillory with as little care as a child might toss away a broken toy, much to the horror of the strolling player behind them.
"Don't hurt him!" Luca begged, struggling against the wooden structure that held him back. The wood bit into his wrists as he tried to pull them from the small openings, rubbing a circle of raw skin in them, but if he felt it, Luca hardly seemed to pay it any mind. "Please. He's just a kid. He was scared, that's all, and he doesn't know any better. Please, just leave him alone. Don't hurt my baby."
But his words did not seem to reach the soldier's ears. He only stood there, towering above the child, a hand placed threateningly on his weapon. He seemed to care none for the way the boy had struggled against his grasp, the cry he gave as he hit the ground much too hard, or the way he now cowered away from the soldier, hands in front of his face as he looked fearfully up at him. He breaths came in rapid gasps as he let his gaze travel to meet Luca's, expression desperately begging his father to help him.
"You wanna end up in there yourself, kid?" The man continued on as he stared down at the little boy. Every aspect of him seemed to bleed hostility and hatred, no doubt brought on by the strolling player colors on the clothes of the man they were sent to deal with. The man was quite obviously very loyal to their prince and like his master, he seemed to hate the strolling players just as he did. For the life of him, Luca would never understand why. "Or better yet, there's always room in the mines for little boys who don't listen."
"No! Stop, please," came Luca's voice again. Even he was painfully aware of just how scared and desperate he sounded. He had never seen his son look so terrified, though, even when rich merchants had chased the curious little boy away from their stalls, and this time, Luca could do nothing to protect and comfort him. "Come on, he's just a kid. He won't do it again."
The soldier turned his gaze towards Luca for only a second before casting Lucio one last threatening look. With that, he left the boy alone, turning his attention back to the imprisoned strolling player. He must not have been in the mood to torment a child when he had something as exciting as a hanging to attend to.
"What are you standing there for?" He snapped at the other soldiers, who had stopped to watch what their leader would do with the boy. Perhaps, they were hoping for something a little more exciting than what had happened because Luca noticed the disappointment in their expressions. "Get him out of there, but don't you let him get away. You hear me?"
There was a quiet chorus of responses as the soldiers jumped to action, hurrying to the pillory to free Luca. It hurt to stand upright again, muscles tense and stiff from being unable to move properly for so long, but his armored escorts did not give him time to ease into the movements, roughly pulling him back a few steps.
"Father," the voice was so soft it barely reached Luca's ears but it immediately drew his attention nonetheless. Lucio still sat there in the dirt, though he had lowered his hands now that he was no longer the center of attention. Every muscle in Luca's body tensed, longing to run to his son. He could do it. One of the men had moved to retrieve the length of rope they would use to restrain him, leaving only one man to hold him back.
Before he had time to even think out his plan, he was moving. Luca barely even registered how he managed to free himself from the single soldier's grip but he did and his first action was to get to his son. The boy wasn't far away; a few long strides and Luca dropped to his knees before him, pulling the small child close.
Luca looked up, moving to stand, but his eyes caught the silver of armor as they hurried towards him. Even if he ran, he wouldn't get far, not at such close range and with so many soldiers. He had only moments at best to hold his son and say all that needed to be said.
"I'm sorry. I am so, so sorry," his voice came too fast now and strained as his own emotions were choking him. He heard the heavy footsteps loud and clear around him as he spoke. Seconds were left now. "I love you so much, my little fire elf. Never forget that."
"Father," came the small voice of his son, a voice muffled by the fabric of his shirt as the boy buried his face against his shoulder. With a hand on Lucio's back, Luca could both see and feel how fast his breaths came under his touch, feel the tiny hands clutching onto his shirt, hear the desperate, frightened cries as they reached his ears. Luca barely had time for one more whispered apology before the hands of the soldiers closed around him and pulled him away from his little boy one last time. Only two words to let the boy know this was never what he wanted, that he was never meant to go through so much fear and pain.
Luca stumbled back a few steps, his grip on his son pulled apart by the force of the soldiers as they dragged him back. The only moved him a few steps back before a sharp kick sent pain radiating through the back of his knee, taking away all the support it offered and sending him crumpling to the ground. Two men pushed him further down until he lay face down against the earth beneath him. They wrenched his arms back, securing his hands behind him so tightly the rough length of rope rubbed painfully against his skin at the slightest movement.
Just before he thought they would help him up now, one of the soldiers sent another kick into his ribs and pain shot through him with such a force he could not even think to stifle the cry of pain that escaped him until it was too late. He pressed his forehead against the ground, gritting his teeth against the pain, but quickly picked it up again when he heard the quiet brush of small footsteps. Lucio took a few unsteady steps towards him, barely on his feet when he began walking, arms outstretched towards his father as a quiet 'no' escaped from his lips.
"Lucio, stay back. Please," Luca warned, looking pleadingly at the boy. He never knew if Lucio stopped then because of his request or because right at that moment the soldiers grabbed Luca again and hauled him to his feet. They shoved him forward so roughly he stumbled a few steps, almost falling entirely. Of course they would not make this next trip so easy now but it was worth it, every ounce of pain was worth it, just to hold his baby one last time.
Lucio still followed them, though he kept his distance now, as they began their march towards the gallows that lay hidden somewhere behind the buildings surrounding them. The soldiers were none too gentle with their prisoner. They shoved him forward so often he was barely able to take more than a few steady steps at a time and whenever he chanced a look back at his son, one of the soldiers would hit him so hard it often sent him reeling. But the physical pain didn't hurt Luca nearly as bad as the look in his son's eyes when their gazes met for only a few seconds before the soldiers rained down their blows, the tears that spilled down his cheeks.
By the time the gallows came into view, dull pain radiated through his ribs, his face, just about anywhere the men around him could easily strike. He had quit looking back about halfway there, but when the gallows came into sight, he could not fight the urge to look back as his fear rose to all new heights. Lucio had frozen where he stood, dark eyes trained up at the structure before them before they quickly slid to look towards his father.
Luca knew Lucio would recognize it. While the child had never truly witnessed a hanging, he had seen the gallows and the crowds that gathered beneath them before. He could still remember the day they had been walking through the streets of another city, on their way back to the camp in the woods where he had left his best friend, Marco, along with Juliana and her three children. He had been hurrying some and wasn't paying attention to exactly where they were going. It was a mistake made through the carelessness of excitement after having earned so much in one day to sustain the small group of seven for some time yet when combined with what they had already saved up between him and Marco. It had been a wonderful few weeks for the young performers and Luca had even gone so far as to spend a few coins that day on some small gift for each of the four children. It was so rare that any one of them could do that.
Eventually, they had taken a wrong turn and found themselves facing the square where the gallows stood looking quite threatening as they loomed over the crowd beginning to gather below them. Luckily, Luca had managed to get himself and Lucio away before they hanged the poor fellow standing on that platform - and without getting caught themselves too - but Lucio, ever curious, had come to him late that night with many questions. It took Luca a long moment to figure out how to explain, not in the habit of ignoring his son's questions, but in the end, he had told the boy only that people were taken far away from their families there and that they should never find themselves anywhere near one. He could tell from the boy's expression now as he looked at him that he remembered this too.
Another of the soldier's blows sent pain filling his mind once more and Luca quickly whipped his head around to face forward, resisting the strong urge to find his son's gaze once again. He only knew the child began to follow them once more when he heard his footsteps and quick, panicked breaths behind him but even that faded out as the soldiers pushed him through the crowds towards the platform. Either the group of people drowned out the sounds now or the child had been stopped, by either a guard or dense field of bodies themselves.
As they urged him up the steps, Luca found he no longer cared about the soldier's blows or the pain they caused, he cared only for his son now. His life would be over in moments and even if he spent those last moments with pain as his last sensation, he would hold on to the sight of the little boy he loved more than anything in this world.
Minutes. He had maybe minutes left to spend with his son, and only his son, on his mind. He didn't just love the child more than anything in the world, Lucio was his world, ever since the day he was born. If there was one last thing to see before his death, it would be him.
He turned, his eyes searching over the heads of the crowd and even when one of the soldiers tried to hit him again, he forced himself not to turn away. Twice more did he feel the pain, but he did not turn and they soon gave up and resumed dragging him up the steps. As he rose higher, he saw Lucio's little frame beyond the crowds and met his eyes. The child backed up slowly, away from the crowd until his back met the wall of a building. Even from this distance, he could see the fear in those eyes or the way his chest heaved with every ragged breath.
As they reached the top of the steps, leading Luca to stand on a box in the middle of the short platform, he began to feel the fear for his own life breaking through the fear for his son for the first time. Before, he had only been concerned about Lucio's well being, and even now those worries stood at the forefront of his mind, but this new fear was there now too and it could be neither forgotten nor denied. The sight of the gallows, the crowds, the feel of the rope as they slipped it over his head and tightened it against his neck until he felt he was already suffocating made this all far too real now. In only moments, he would die. And he would leave behind a small, helpless five year old boy.
His eyes stayed on his child as he fought back the tears that threatened to rise up now. One glance. One small, so very precious moment. That was all he had left now to convey everything he could to his baby boy before he could no longer be with him. One glance, one moment, in which he tried to convey as much love and comfort as he could and all the apologies he still felt the need to say and would never get the chance to. It was his fault they were in Argenta, his fault he had gotten caught, and his fault his son would be left alone at such a young age. His fault his son would suffer like that, and all for a moment's carelessness.
Luca swallowed hard, shutting his eyes for only a moment as he let out out a shaky breath before opening them once again. He thought of his Lettie for only a moment, but even that offered him little comfort when he looked at the terrified face of their son and imagined the look on her face when he showed up before her to tell her he had failed to keep their baby safe once again.
Seconds. Seconds were left. And seconds were gone. Luca barely registered the soldier that approached once more, kicking the box out from beneath his feet without even a moment's hesitance. The soldiers here were far too used to killing.
Luca had always thought those lucky enough died instantly when they were hanged. Now he knew that wasn't the case. The box was not high enough, the rope too loose and as it tightened around his neck, his body moved without thought, struggling despite his bound hands to free himself of its grasp. His heart beat so much faster now than it ever had, each beat feeling like a countdown to its end, and his lungs burned as they fought for even the smallest of breaths, breaths he just could not manage to take around the rope constricting his throat.
Darkness came to the edges of his vision and he shifted his gaze towards Lucio once more. He saw the child sink down, curling his legs close to him and pressing his hands over his ears, a feeble attempt to block out the shouts and jeers of the crowd. A few tears slipped warm down Luca's cheeks, mingling with the ginger stubble that lined his jaw as he watched the child's pain, and felt his own; more pain than either of them had ever felt.
Fear and pain drowned everything. But even still, when Luca's eyes caught sight of the man approaching his son, he felt a sense of relief through it all. He knew this man. He had witnessed the kindness he had shown strolling player's first hand. The Barn Owl would never leave his son to the fate that had seemed so inevitable just moments ago.
Luca saw him talk to Lucio, take him by the hand, and the gentleness he showed the boy only confirmed what he already knew. Lucio wouldn't be alone. He would be okay. With the comfort of knowing his baby boy would be safe and cared for, darkness took Luca at last, his final thoughts a silent thank you to the man who had saved his son.