Chapter 2

After the Vinge family relocated to Yharnam, Fredricx's father entered the British Royal Navy. Training was extensive. He would be gone for all of the day and most of the night. Well after Fredricx was asleep, his father would return. When they did interact, his father was tired, made obvious by the new lines on his face. After months of this, Fredricx's father was sent to the sea.

The rest of his family remained, his wife and Fredricx. Although the money sent to them was enough to live on, Fredricx's mother still worked. She spent long hours as a nanny for a wealthy family. However, she wasn't the only one. There was another woman, who birthed Lucas Barrett.

Lucas and Fredricxon, despite their dramatically dissimilar pasts, became friends. There were many warm days that they spent running the streets, stirring up trouble for their mothers. There were many cold days that Lucas and Fredricx spent hiding in warmer buildings that didn't welcome them, snatching up unused coal from fireplaces.

As they grew, Fredricx did faster. He was naturally more muscular and coordinated. The only thing that Fredricx lacked in was eyesight, which was bettered by glasses as an adolescent. They not only improved his vision, but the way others viewed him. He was suddenly viewed as more intelligent and classy. With the help of Lucas's smooth talk, which was his strong suit, they landed themselves jobs as dishwashers at the local tavern. They weren't paid much. They each made two pence per day, which Fredricx attempted to save.

Unfortunately, the tavern was also the place that adolescent Fredricx and Lucas were introduced to alcohol. It started as a joke between some patrons and the owner, a gamble. Lucas came out on top, winning a quarter of a shilling, which was a handsome sum of money to them. Fredricx wasn't so lucky, but became determined to outdo his friend.

Although they became fond of alcohol, they had not been introduced to blood ministration, which was far more addictive. It infected the city, causing highs of strength, courage, bravery, and vigor. The lows were devastating, full of intense disorientation, feelings of hopelessness and weakness, and physical inability to carry out normal tasks. Even better, there were no middles.

The Healing Church replaced hospitals. People with physical ailments would visit the Church to receive the Old Blood. It worked for a while, restoring families and curing impossible diseases. This Blood became tainted. With what, the white wearing Church doctors were not sure. Was it actually tainted at all? Surely, their meticulous upkeep of the supply couldn't have been ruined. This supply came from their nuns, who were solely selected on the quality of their blood and the diameter of their blood vessels. Religious devotion was secondary. These women were not allowed to leave the Church. In rare moments, they could be spotted standing on balconies of the upper level of the cathedral church, looking exhausted.

Aware of side effects, the doctors continued to infuse this Blood into unsuspecting patients. Side effects went well beyond the feelings of euphoria and depression. Death within a few minutes upon initial injection wasn't uncommon. Those people had bad blood, according to the white hooded doctors. If the person didn't have bad blood, then that patient's disease might disappear permanently or until the blood ministration wore off. Now dependent on the Healing Church, they went into debt for treatment. One infusion would cost a quarter of a year's wages for the working class. There were cheaper alternatives, but these were far more dangerous and excruciating. These imitations were sold by a darker force of Yharham and came with worse illnesses at little benefit.

With the power that came with blood ministration, political leaders, scientists, inventors, the wealthy, and other people of money and influence became habitual patrons. All of a sudden, businesses and Yharnam boomed. It was an explosion of growth, economic bliss, and expansion. The side effects were unfortunate, yes, but new leaders would come into effect to replace old. These new leaders would continue the expansion. Long before the Vinge family arrived at Yharnam, it was the wealthiest and largest of all of the cities in Europe. However, it was also the sickest.

Sitting up slowly, Fredricx's feet thumped the hardwood floor of his small apartment. Ettie was already gone for the day as per the usual. Letting out a hard yawn, he rubbed his face with his hands and stood.

"You don't have much time," he muttered to himself, changing clothes. The shipyard smell was permeant on his clothes. Every piece of his clothes reeked of sweat, smoke, and fish.

With their bed roughly five feet from the kitchen table, it was an easy transition. Ettie had made breakfast before she left, leaving a plate of cooled food on the table for him. The chipped plate held a piece of bread with tart jam, two scrambled eggs, and half of an apple that had completed browned on the side it was cut.

As he ate, Fredricx surveyed their apartment. It was essentially one room. When he would walk in, Fredricx was immediately in their kitchen. Lining that same wall as the door, there was all of their counter space. Shelves held a couple of pots and pans, four simple white plates, bowls of different kinds, and a couple of cups. The worstly cracked cup held all of the silverware they owned. Their set had been a wedding gift from the wealthy woman that his mother was a nanny for her children. It was once complete as they would entertain guests in London. However, since he left the Service, they would pawn off the silver for food. There was no reason to have silverware if it couldn't be used for its intended purpose.

The kitchen was finished with a four person brown oak table and two chairs. One was the same oak, and the other was white.

Across from the kitchen were two more chairs. They were both cushioned and upholstered with large arms. The dark green one was the only chair they had that Fredricx felt like he fit comfortably in.

On a shelf, they had a deck that had always missed some its cards, a clock, and a purple-tinted glass vase. This was Ettie's prized possession. Before they lived here, she kept it on the table, showing off live flowers. Now, with the table piled with strangers' clothes, there was no room. It wasn't worth the risk of it breaking. Fredricx didn't dare to touch or move it because his vision wasn't as it was.

On one of his first couple of days at the shipyard, he was confronted by a group, who didn't think his breed should have the European person's privilege of glasses. In an instant, they were taken and broken into small pieces. Fredricx's glasses were no more, and with no money to replace them, he went without. This wasn't a problem for working in the shipyard, however. His back was the only part of him that mattered.

Also, there was a single window that the cushioned chairs faced. The window was boarded up with wood. It wasn't worth the risk during the nights of the hunt.

The rest of their apartment was a bed and two sideways turned, connected crates that held their clothes. Their bed had two pillows, deflated of their feathers. It also housed a white sheet and a blanket with holes where toes would go in the winter. Ettie had made it, but didn't have the time or energy to upkeep it.

Glancing up at the clock, he stood, snatching up that half of an apple. He would visit the bathhouse on his way to the shipyard and wait on Lucas there. While they walked to the docks, he would eat the rest of his breakfast.

"Good morning," Lucas coughed out as he spotted Fredricx.

"Let's go," Fredricx replied, waving him over with his half eaten half of an apple.

As they approached the docks, the mist grew heavier. Although mist and fog were normal, especially in the early mornings before the sun had truly woken up yet, that feeling had returned. The Scourge would happen tonight, but nothing to do about it until then except make his half a shilling.

At the shipyard, it was the day Fredricx dreaded the most. It was the least desirable job at the shipyard, and Fredricx was lucky to be one of the ones to have it. However, it wasn't as physically taxing as other tasks. He, Lucas, and a some other men would unload a Yharnam's Crisp Fish boat.

The group of men milled around on the dock. They were waiting for the boat to do so. Then, like clockwork, they would take all of the sometimes live fish from the boat and load them to be taken to market. It took most of the day with a disconjointed lunch in the middle.

Fortunately, everyone could feel the upcoming Scourge. August would let them leave well before the sunset. It was probably so he could protect himself more than that he cared about his shiphands. There had been a couple of times that Ettie got stuck at whatever uppity manor she was working. He questioned her safety as he wasn't there to be sure of it, but in reality, she was probably safer. The wealthy could afford enough costly incense to last the night. The working class relied on cooperation and luck to last.

As predicted, August paid them all without a complaint and let them leave while the sun was still high in the sky. Lucas pulled out his pocket watch as they started their trek across Yharnam, "It's only 4:08. Even earlier than last time, Fredricx."

"I wouldn't be getting excited," he snipped, shaking his head furiously. He turned over the half of a shilling over and over into his hands. The town had changed. It wasn't peaceful, but was bustling.

Most vendors were hastily packing up their merchandise from the market. They spotted the fish they had unloaded earlier. It would likely all rot, food for the beasts. Women and children were already tucked inside, waiting for their protectors to return. Those without, relied on the incense, which did little during an encounter with a beast, who carried their own weapons.

Luckily, all of the time spent in Yharnam, he had never had a close one. Thousands before were not as lucky.