Chapter 4:Andrew's Past
The group was halfway to the city. Andrew had finally calmed down. Emerald, hearing their story, sat and ate with them around the fire they had lit. She sat well away from Matt, after hearing of his magic. Everyone sat well away from Andrew, giving him strange looks between bites.
Andrew sighed, put down his food and turned to them. "I know I've acted a little strange over the past few days, and I guess I owe you guys an explanation."
"A little strange?! You went ballistic over the damn dagger!! What the hell w-" Alex was knocked off the log he was sitting on when Erin's staff found his gut.
"One, don't swear in front of royalty. Two, SHUT UP!!"
Andrew continued as nothing had happened. "These daggers are the only things left from my family. We had just bought these when they died..."
Matt's eyes widened. "How could anyone afford those? They must be worth thousands apiece!"
"They were. My father had been a close associate to the king. That must have been why they were killed. The one that I lost, the sapphire one, was the one that belonged to my brother. Bane was my father's, and Breath was my mother's. They were to help fight off assassins if they came."
He laughed weakly. "They didn't help at all. We were walking home at night. He struck my father first. Right through him from the back. He slit my mother's throat as she turned. My brother screamed once before he fell. He went for me, but I stabbed him with my dagger before he got me. He ran off wounded."
Tears started to appear in his eyes and run glistening down his cheek. "I took the daggers from them and promised to keep them safe until they woke up. I was 8 then. I didn't know that they wouldn't wake up. I went back to the house where we lived, hoping that our servants could help me. The house wasn't there when I got there. Instead, a large pile of ash took the spot where it used to be."
He wiped his eyes and continued. "I ran off and started begging for food. Soon, I started to steal money." Seeing the look on the other's faces, he quickly added, "Just enough to pay for food."
He grinned. "I've never been caught until a week ago. Thanks to Erin and Thomas." They smiled innocently.
Emerald, whose eyes had grown wider at every word, finally spoke. "Do you know who your parents were?"
"Nope. Can't even remember their names."
"Your father was a close friend of mine. We thought you had died in the fire at the manor that you lived in."
He looked up at her. "You knew my father."
She nodded. "Yes, I knew your father, Andrew Barron. My father will be glad to hear that you are still alive. And I think he would listen to us if we told him what Garland had said."
Alex smiled to himself and thought, /Now you will know the truth, Doragon./
The group was halfway to the city. Andrew had finally calmed down. Emerald, hearing their story, sat and ate with them around the fire they had lit. She sat well away from Matt, after hearing of his magic. Everyone sat well away from Andrew, giving him strange looks between bites.
Andrew sighed, put down his food and turned to them. "I know I've acted a little strange over the past few days, and I guess I owe you guys an explanation."
"A little strange?! You went ballistic over the damn dagger!! What the hell w-" Alex was knocked off the log he was sitting on when Erin's staff found his gut.
"One, don't swear in front of royalty. Two, SHUT UP!!"
Andrew continued as nothing had happened. "These daggers are the only things left from my family. We had just bought these when they died..."
Matt's eyes widened. "How could anyone afford those? They must be worth thousands apiece!"
"They were. My father had been a close associate to the king. That must have been why they were killed. The one that I lost, the sapphire one, was the one that belonged to my brother. Bane was my father's, and Breath was my mother's. They were to help fight off assassins if they came."
He laughed weakly. "They didn't help at all. We were walking home at night. He struck my father first. Right through him from the back. He slit my mother's throat as she turned. My brother screamed once before he fell. He went for me, but I stabbed him with my dagger before he got me. He ran off wounded."
Tears started to appear in his eyes and run glistening down his cheek. "I took the daggers from them and promised to keep them safe until they woke up. I was 8 then. I didn't know that they wouldn't wake up. I went back to the house where we lived, hoping that our servants could help me. The house wasn't there when I got there. Instead, a large pile of ash took the spot where it used to be."
He wiped his eyes and continued. "I ran off and started begging for food. Soon, I started to steal money." Seeing the look on the other's faces, he quickly added, "Just enough to pay for food."
He grinned. "I've never been caught until a week ago. Thanks to Erin and Thomas." They smiled innocently.
Emerald, whose eyes had grown wider at every word, finally spoke. "Do you know who your parents were?"
"Nope. Can't even remember their names."
"Your father was a close friend of mine. We thought you had died in the fire at the manor that you lived in."
He looked up at her. "You knew my father."
She nodded. "Yes, I knew your father, Andrew Barron. My father will be glad to hear that you are still alive. And I think he would listen to us if we told him what Garland had said."
Alex smiled to himself and thought, /Now you will know the truth, Doragon./