Hector ran. His legs throbbed with every step he took, and he was probably leaving a trail of blood behind him, but he didn't care. He just continued running, and only partially because he felt the need to get away.
For the first time in his life Hector felt truly alive. He wasn't confined to his father's house and the small backyard behind it. He wasn't stuck inside a single bed, a single room, a single castle.
Hector was free, and it was absolutely incredible. He could run as far as he wanted, as long as he was able, and he was never going to let somebody else control him again.
He wasn't a tool. He wasn't a pet. He wasn't an obedient little thing that did everything it was told. He was Hector, and even if that name and identity had been gifted to him he wasn't ever going to let someone take it from him.
There was a tiny part of him that felt a little bad for leaving Quirin and the other people who had been nice to him at the castle, but he shoved that part down. He couldn't trust them, and he was a fool to ever think he could.
He'd always been sure that they were only nice because they wanted to make him lower his guards so they could use him. When he'd heard Quirin talk to his mom and the scary captain man in the hall, his thoughts had been confirmed.
They wanted to test and train him to be a warrior. They wanted to beat him down and control him. He'd only just gotten away from his father, and that had only happened because he was lucky and Quirin had been there at just the right time.
Hector wasn't going to take that chance again. He couldn't risk becoming someone else's pet when he couldn't count on Quirin saving him again.
Quirin had saved Hector from his father, but why would he do the same against his own mother when he had nothing but loyalty for her?
Hector couldn't count on Quirin, no matter how much he wanted to give in and let go of control.
Hector ran because the alternative was not an option. The more he ran, the more alive he felt. His body felt weak, but his spirit had never been stronger.
He had the whole world waiting for him, and there was nothing holding him back anymore.
When Hector got past the borders of the Dark Kingdom he couldn't help but pause and just take in the experience.
Everything was so bright and colorful. The ground was soft. There was a gentle breeze blowing through, almost like it was luring him away.
Everything just felt so full and alive, and for the first time in his life, Hector felt at home.
There was so much space out here. So much to explore. Hector could go wherever he wanted, and nobody would be able to find him to control him again.
Hector didn't know where to start. He looked around wildly. He saw animals, but they were very skittish. Rabbits perked up at any little sound and looked at him in alarm before darting off. Deers would dash off if he came too close. Birds flew away. There was just one animal that didn't seem afraid of him.
It was a dog…but not exactly. It was so big and its eyes were fiercely intelligent, with not a sign of fear.
Hector remembered his father used to call him a dog. A wild beast. During really bad days his father would call him something else. Not dog. Not demon. Something his father said was a mix between the two.
A wolf.
But this didn't look like a demon. This creature, this wolf, it was amazing.
The wolf tilted its head at him. The wolf took a step towards him, but suddenly stopped. It looked to the side, its ears twitching. The wolf jolted away, but Hector didn't think it was running away from something, or even towards something. It was just running. It was like Hector.
Wanting to see what the wolf went to see, and not wanting to be left behind, Hector ran after it. The wolf let out a piercing cry, and the sound sent shivers down his spine. It wasn't fear, it was excitement.
Hector let out a howling cry of his own. It felt freeing, like running, but with his voice. Hector felt like he was releasing all of the pain, frustration, and fear that he had ever felt. And he could be as loud as he wanted, because there was nobody here to get mad at him.
Hector's shout soon went from a beastly howl to a raw shout that sounded nothing like the wolf's, but it still felt good.
Hector tried to keep up with the wolf, but this was its territory. It was built for running in the woods, and had been doing so its whole life. Hector had grown up locked away and confined. He was stubborn, but he could only push his body so far before his legs completely gave out on him.
Hector tumbled to the ground, getting even more scrapped up and dirty. He couldn't do anything but watch in disappointment as the wolf ran out of sight, leaving him behind.
Hector sat on the ground, catching his breath, for several minutes until he was able to force himself into his shaking legs. He continued walking, not really paying attention to where he was going. He just wanted to be moving. He didn't like sitting still if he was able to move.
As Hector continued he started to see the trees thin and the black rocks become less numerous. There were even a few houses, which he made sure to stay away from. He was leaving the wild behind him and making his way towards more people.
Hector didn't want to see people, but he needed to get as far away from the Dark Kingdom as possible. Staying in the woods around the kingdom wouldn't be far enough. Hector would find different woods and forests far away from here.
First, he needed to move past people.
Hector pulled Quirin's fur vest close as he walked on the dirt path. He could see houses in the distance. A whole group of them. It was a town. Hector wanted to growl and whine and cower away, but he made himself stand tall.
The wolf was proud, and none of the other animals bothered it. Hector knew that when he acted strong and scary, he was left alone too. Maybe if he acted strong then people wouldn't bother him, and he wouldn't have to try to fight.
Hector was a good fighter, but his body was weak right now, and his mind wanted to submit and hide instead of fight. If he didn't want to get hurt, avoiding it completely was the best thing to do.
Hector walked into the small town, and it was nearly empty. Not that Hector was complaining, but where was everybody? What few people Hector saw were too busy to give him a second glance. It wasn't until he had left the town itself did he find the people.
They were crowded in fields outside of town. There were fancy looking wagons and carts with pictures all over them. Some of the people looked like farmers or hunters, but some of them were wearing clothes just as colorful and fancy as the cart was.
They looked like they were playing games or putting on a show. Hector vaguely remembered colorful carts and wagons and clothes when he was little. They came to the Dark Kingdom. The other kids had called them a circus.
Hector only remembered them because he'd been really sad that he couldn't go. He'd been allowed to, but Hector had been scared to leave home at the time because…because…
Because he'd been worried that if he left home for even just a second then she would be gone.
She…mother. Hector hadn't thought about her for so long. He'd thought he'd forgotten her completely. He'd only remembered her recently because seeing Quirin talk to his mother had sparked something.
All Hector remembered about her was that she was nice, and gentle. She would cuddle with him and brush his hair. And she'd also been very sick. Hector couldn't remember a time when she hadn't been sick.
Hector had always known that his mom would have to leave. He hadn't understood why. All he knew was that he didn't want her to leave when he wasn't there.
She must have left after the circus was gone. He only knew that much because his father always used to tell him that he should have sold him off to the circus when he'd had the chance.
Hector's father hadn't been mean until after mother was gone. When she'd been around father hadn't been mean and scary, he'd just been sad and tired.
Hector used to wonder what his life would be like if his mother hadn't gotten sick. Now he wondered what his life would have been like if his father had sold him to the circus after all. He didn't like the thought of being sold, but the circus people seemed fun.
Curious about what might have been, Hector crept closer to the crowds. Maybe he wouldn't like what he found, but Hector felt that he needed to know just what his fate could have been if things had gone just a little bit differently.
There were some performers, but that was where most of the people were, and he didn't want to be part of all the shoving and joyful shouting. Instead Hector moved around them towards the back of the wagons and what he saw was so much more interesting than performers.
There were animals back here. Two young furry dark things that looked barely strong enough to stand, and a gray, harsh looking animal with a short horn and angry eyes.
The furry animals were small enough that Hector thought he could hold them. The horned creature went up to Hector's waist.
They were squished in a cage that looked way too small. The three of them barely fit. All of them had collars around their necks that were the same colors that the circus used.
Hector rubbed the collar around his own neck. These animals had been marked and claimed as property. He understood what that was like.
Hector couldn't see any injuries, but he knew that the animals were hurt. He recognized the look of fear and anger in their eyes. He felt like he was looking at himself. If they weren't physically hurt, they had to be hurting in their soul.
Hector felt a pain in his chest. It was an odd feeling. He wasn't hurt himself, not really, but he felt hurt that other creatures that he saw so much of himself in were hurt.
Hector couldn't let this continue. He couldn't take seeing this torture, but he definitely couldn't walk away and pretend he'd never seen anything. Hector had to do something. He had to get the animals out if there.
Hector gripped at the bars of the cage. He started to growl as he pulled on them. The gray animal huffed and knocked against the bars, trying to knock them back.
The two fluffy animals whined and cried as they bit and scratched at the bars and floor. None of them were making any progress. Hector was about to climb on top of the carriage that the cage was part of and try to rip up the wood ceiling. Before he could make one move his arm was pulled back with a bruising grip.
Hector yelped as he was pulled face to face with a furious circus person. They had scratches and scars all over their face and probably across the rest of their body.
"What do you think you're doing to my animals, brat?" The man growled. Hector recognized this tone. This was how his father would talk to him when he was about to be in big trouble.
Hector should be terrified, but he was far too furious and protective.
"Let them go." Hector growled. He didn't give the man time to answer. Hector took his free hand and hit the circus man in the throat. He would have gone for the eyes, but he couldn't quite reach them.
The man made a strange, tight sound of pain as he gripped Hector's arm more tightly.
"You'll pay for that, boy." The man said furiously. He started to drag Hector away, but he didn't get very far.
"Hector!". A girl cried out. A moment later Adira came out of nowhere. She jumped at the man holding Hector's arm. She started attacking him. The man shouted in fury and let go of Hector's arm to reach for her.
The second Hector was free Adira swiftly slid off the man, ducked away from his attempts to grab her. She took Hector's hand and began to run away, pulling him along with her.
"No!" Hector dug his heels into the ground. "No!"
"We can't stay here, Fuzzball." Adira said Hector had been able to slow her down, but she was still pulling him along. "You've caused a stir."
"I can't leave them." Hector's voice cracked. Adira faltered in her steps. "Please."
Adira looked over her shoulder towards him. "They're just animals."
"They're like me." Hector said. Adira flinched.
"Hector." Adira said tiredly. He stiffened, sure that she was about to tell him off and drag him away. She was quiet for a long moment before she sighed. "Fine…fine. We'll talk to Edmund and see if there's something he can do."
Hector didn't want to wait or ask for permission. Why should he need permission to save some helpless animals? But he couldn't do this without help. If Adira was only going to help if he did it her way, then fine.
"I don't want to go back." Hector said.
"Yeah, I figured as much when Quirin told me you jumped out a window to get away." Adira gave him an odd look. By this time they had reached some grains that were tall enough that they could crouch in.
Adira pulled Hector down and began to clean the scrapes all over him. "Quirin says you made quite a climb. You wanna tell me why you were so desperate to get away?"
"I don't want to be a pet that's only kept around because I can be useful." Hector growled. He hissed between his teeth when Adira brushed just a little too harshly.
"Who was planning on doing that?" Adira asked sharply.
"Quirin's mom and the Captain." Hector said. "I heard them talking about me joining the guard."
"The Brotherhood?" Adira tilted her head at him and smiled. "I can see it."
"I don't want to be trained." Hector snapped.
Adira gave him a sad look that reminded Hector so much of the mother that he barely remembered.
"It won't be like what your dad put you through, " Adira said quietly. "That wasn't training, it was torture, and you deserve so much more."
Adira finished cleaning the blood off of Hector's legs and moved on to binding the bottom of his feet.
"The Captain and Quirin's mom seem cold and heartless, but they really do care about people." Adira said. "A big part of their job is to protect the people of the kingdom, and that includes you."
"What if I'm a threat?" Hector asked. Adira just laughed.
"Fuzzball, the only person you're a threat to is yourself." Adira said. "I don't doubt that you have the capability of killing everybody in the kingdom overnight, but you don't have the heart for it."
"You're fierce, but I can tell that you care so much more than anybody, even you, gives you credit for.". Adira said. "You don't attack, you defend and protect. You just don't understand that you're not in danger anymore, and that's fine. That's what we're here for, to help you feel more safe, if you'll let us."
Safe. Hector knew what the word meant, of course, but it wasn't something he could remember truly feeling. How could he feel safe when his father was towering over him, waiting to punish him for the smallest mistake.
Even before that, how could he feel safe when he knew that the only person that cared about him, his mother, was going to be gone forever.
Hector wanted to feel safe, but he didn't know how.
Hector curled in on himself and rubbed the fur of Quirin's vest. He didn't know what to do. He was afraid, but he didn't want to be. He was so tired of being afraid.
He wanted to be free. He wanted to have somewhere to call home. He wanted to never see another person in his life. He wanted people to care about him. He wanted to push Adira and Quirin away before they could hurt him. He wanted to cling to them and allow himself to trust.
Adira finished binding Hector's feet and stood up. "You don't have to decide anything now. Quirin's really worried about you though, and he's with Edmund, so we can talk to him about those animal friends of yours. So, just for now, will you come with me?"
Adira held a hand out to Hector, and he stared at it for a long time. Maybe…maybe he could trust them for a little bit, and if he changed his mind he could just run again.
Besides, he needed to go with her so that Edmund would help those animals.
Slowly, and praying to the moon that he wouldn't come to regret this, Hector took Adira's hand. She smiled and pulled him to his feet, only to bend over and pull him up over her shoulders.
"Wha-hey!" Hector yelped. Adira just chuckled.
"Calm down. I just thought this was the easiest way of keeping you off your feet for a bit." Adira said. "Don't worry. Edmund and Quirin weren't far behind me. We should get to them soon."
Hector huffed, but didn't complain. His feet really did hurt, and he was tired. Besides, from this position Hector's face was pressed against the fur scarf that Adira wore, and it was even softer than Quirin's vest.
Maybe Hector should find some fur for himself.
Adira began to walk back towards the small town. Hector tried to stay alert and aware, just in case a threat came out of nowhere, but he was tired, and comfortable, and he couldn't help but doze off before eventually giving in to fatigue and falling asleep.
