Alastor Devalcourt shouldn't have been alive. On the night his mother birthed him, there were extreme complications and the umbilical cord got wrapped around his neck. By the time they got him out and cut the cord they were certain that it was too late because he had been without oxygen for a very long time. But to their great surprise he was not only alive but his mentality was only mildly damaged. When it came to learning how to read, write, and do math for the first time he was quite slow but once he got the hang of it, it just clicked for him and he proved himself to be a very smart boy. A very smart yet very fearful boy but that was because he had a very fearful childhood.

It all started when his father Richard Devalcourt, the town's taxidermist impregnated his long time sweet heart Isabelle Crawford. Naturally the strictly religious town condemned them for having intercourse before marriage and labeling their child as an illegitimate bastard even though the couple did marry before he was born. To add fuel to the fire, when Richard was laid off his job he turned to the bottle and became known as the town drunk. Disgusting everyone he knew save for his wife who loved him and his son who at the time was too young to have much of an opinion on the subject. He was a mean drunk, one who always shouting and trying to pick a fight. His wife begged him to get help but he never listened.

Then one night when Alastor was only three his father came home drunk and had an argument with his mother which lead to him striking her. When he realized what he did, he disappeared for a few days and nobody knew anything until they found his dead body at the bottom of an abandoned mine shaft. No one ever really knew if it was a drunken accident or suicide. Either way, it didn't change the fact that his father's reputation would forever influence what the townsfolk thought of him.

And of course there was the fact that he supposedly was below average intelligence. It was never confirmed by doctors mind you but this was a gossipy town where rumors spread like wild fire. The boy was labeled the retarded bastard and was a constant subject of ridicule from other children especially the Chambers Brothers: Vince, Keith, and Bryce Chambers. They were fraternal triplet boys, five years older than Alastor and ever since he was about six they had made it their life goal to torment him. First they started out just by calling him names, then it was stealing his stuff, and eventually it escalated to physical violence.

His mother tried to file a complaint but their uncle happened to be the most respected judge in all of town so there was no way on earth anyone was going to take the word of a "retard" over that of three "decent" boys. All three were far from decent but they weren't on the same level of cruelty. Bryce was probably the least harmful and probably the only one who had at least some standards but he was often too afraid to go against his brothers. Keith was just a great big idiot who would probably do just about anything no matter how stupid or dangerous. But Vince was by far the most vile and malicious of the three. He had Alastor pegged as his target from the minute he walked in and the only time he ever seemed happy was when others were hurting. Vince was typically the brains of the group and the one who came up with the ways to terrorize Alastor.

One of the cruelest things they ever did to him was when he was nine and they grabbed him right after school, drenched him completely in pig's blood from a pig they swiped and killed, and then sent their starved for three days dogs after him. Alastor ran as fast as his legs could carry him, tripping over rocks and his own feet in his haste but not stopping at all.

"You can run you little retard! But you can't hide!" He heard Vince shout. "The dogs are going to sniff you out and they're going to eat you alive!"

The ravenous barking of the hounds made him run even faster and faster and faster, until he finally reached the house down the street where he lived with his mother.

"Mama!" He had shouted desperately. "Mama! Mama!"

She was outside hanging up the laundry to dry when she saw her little boy running toward her and then clinging to her waist in terror.

"Mercy Alastor!" She gasped at the sight of his bloodied body. "What in heaven's name happened?"

"Mama! Mama help me!"

"What? What's the matter?"

But she got her answer when she heard the dogs.

"Don't let them hurt me Mama!" He pleaded. "Don't let them hurt me! I didn't do anything bad Mama! Honest!"

"I know sweetheart." She said hugging him. "I know. You're a good boy. It's those demonic Chambers's boys again isn't it? Damn them! Them and their father who's raised them to believe that you're some kind of sub creature."

"Mama I'm scared."

"It's alright dear. Nobody's going to hurt you. I won't let them. You just go on inside now. Go up to your room and clean yourself up. I'll take care of this."

Alastor did as he was told. He went inside the house and up to his bedroom but before cleaning himself up, he spied on what his mother did through the window. He saw her briefly go in the house and come back carrying his father's old shot gun. At that very moment the Chambers brothers arrived with their dogs.

He couldn't hear what she was saying but he knew for a fact that she was warning the boys because she was counting her fingers. She always did that before she lost her patience. At first the brothers just laughed at her until she put a bullet through the heads of each and everyone of their dogs which was enough to scare em off. A pity and shame that the canines had to die but to be perfectly honest they were better off because they had been treated so badly by their masters that they were beyond hope.

The very next day their father Lawrence Chambers the post man came by the house to deliver mail and complaints.

"You got a lot of nerve pointing a gun at my boys Mrs. Devalcourt." He said. "I could have you arrested for that."

"Go ahead and while we're at it I'll press charges on your boys for attempting to murder my son." She replied.

"Don't be so melodramatic. They were just playing with him."

"Playing with him? They sicked your hell hounds after him. He could've been killed if he hadn't of run fast enough."

"Vince told me the whole story. The dogs got loose and your dim-witted son started teasing them. That's why they chased him, my boys were just trying to catch the dogs and help him."

"You must be the biggest damn fool on God's green earth if you believe that pack of lies."

"Well how do you know your son isn't the liar?"

"My son would never lie to me and he'd would never tease a dog because he's scared to death of them. And those three knew it. That's why they drenched him in pig's blood and sent your hounds after him. Your boys just want to torment him and that's because you've ignorantly raised them to think that he's less human than the rest of us."

"Mrs. Devalcourt it's not my fault that you refuse to accept the truth about his diminished intelligence."

"Diminished intelligence? Ha! You and I both know my boy is smarter than the three of yours combined. He may need a little help from time to time but at least he's not fourteen and still in Elementary school. That's the real reason you've trained them to persecute Alastor isn't it? It's because my supposedly disabled child is more intelligent than your three supposedly normal children."

"How dare you talk to me that way!"

"Easy you're a lousy human being."

"Well you would know. After all you married one."

"At least my husband didn't target those weaker than he was. Now I warn you Mr. Chambers, I don't like the idea of causing any harm to anyone but I will protect my son by any means necessary and if you think I won't shoot one or all three of your boys if they try to hurt him then you better check yourself."

"You wouldn't." He sneered. "You would honestly shoot the nephews of a judge?"

"I would shoot whoever threatens my son. There's nothing I wouldn't do to protect him and if keeping him safe lands me in jail so be it. But if you lock me up I'll make certain that the same is done for those three."

"No one would ever believe you!"

"Reverend Parris would."

"Don't make me laugh. Everyone knows he hated your husband like poison."

"That maybe true but he knows what kind of demons live in that boy Vince of yours. He knows what he's capable of. He belives me and he's assured me that he'll vouch for me if he ever has to. Now get the hell off my property!"

Lawrence cursed under his breath. Very few might not believe the word of a woman who was previously married to a drunk and mother to a child who was believed to be retarded but the sainted reverend and exorcist who's been said to have saved many from demons? She'd have a case in no time.

Alastor couldn't believe how brave his mother was. She had always been a very gentle and proper woman, a lovely one with chestnut brown hair and violet eyes that seemed to let you know that she was always meant to be a mother. Alastor was always said to have her hair, mouth, chin, and smile but he had his father's deep mahogany brown eyes, lithe body, and tall stature. As for his skin it was a mix on both sides. His father's had been white as paper while his mother's was a creamy brown making his skin tone something she called sun-kissed.

She acted like the perfect house wife and mother, always cooking and cleaning. Being polite, sweet, and cordial to all she met. She attended church every Sunday and educated him in the bible. You would never suspect that she had a violent bone in her body and not even her own son suspected it until she took out those dogs.

"How come you're so brave Mama?" He asked her one night as she was tucking him into bed.

"I'm not brave Alastor." She said. "I'm courageous."

"What's the difference?"

"A big difference. Bravery is when you're not afraid of something. Courage is when you are afraid of something but you still face it anyway."

"You mean you were afraid of Mr. Chambers today?"

"Yes. I was afraid of him, his sons. and their dogs. I was scared that they were going to hurt me or somehow send me to jail but I didn't run or hide from them because I knew that if I did then they would harm you and I wasn't about to let that happen no matter how scared I was."

"Wow Mama I don't think I could ever be courageous like you. Everything scares me and I don't like violence."

"Oh honey the reason why you don't think you could be courageous is because you've never had the opportunity to be so and to be honest in most cases when someone you love or care about is in danger you tend to forget how scared you are and only focus on keeping that person safe."

"I don't understand."

"You will one day."

And one day he would understand but you'll find out about that later. Sometime after that incident the church had their monthly picnic, Isabelle had made her famous jambalaya and some other goodies to enjoy at the event. After the session she took a moment to check their basket to make sure they had everything and she asked Alastor to pick out a spot for them while she did that.

With the picnic cloth in his hands, he began to search the church yard for a good spot. They had been the last ones out of church so a lot of space had already been taken up. He spotted one opening between where the town baker's family was sitting and the pawn shop owner's family was sitting. But just before he could put the blanket down the spot was covered by a napkin thrown by the pawn shop owner's son.

"This spot is taken." He told him.

Alastor tired to find another spot but the results were the same. One of the kids or even their parents would make up an excuse for why he couldn't sit near them.

"This spot is taken."

"We're using that spot."

"You can't sit here."

"There's no room."

"I'm saving that for my mother in-law son."

He looked down at his feet in disappointment. This wasn't the first time he had been unofficially excluded from the picnic and he was certain it wouldn't be the last. What a terrible shame that his mother had to cook all that wonderful food for nothing.

He was just about to go tell her the bad news when he heard the sweetest voice in the whole wide world.

"You can sit with me and my parents if you want."

He turned around to face the person who the voice belonged to and when he saw her he was positive that he was looking at an angel because he had never seen anything so beautiful in his entire life. Her blonde hair, her rosy cheeks, her blue eyes, and her smile. It was so warm and welcoming. No one other than his mother had ever smiled at him like that.

"Well do you wanna sit with us or not?" She asked.

He could only nod because at the moment he had forgotten how to speak.

"Okay let's go."

"Charlotte!" Reverend Parris called. "Come on back now. We're having apple pie your favorite."

"Alright Daddy but can we share our spot? I don't think there's anymore room for anyone else."

"I don't see why not."

His mother had chatted with her parents for hours but he said nothing. He just stared at the girl called Charlotte and smiled at her. It might have looked odd to some but in that moment he couldn't help himself because he had lost his heart to her.