I climbed the poplar trees, just a few steps from my father's house.

I glanced at my hand, finding a shard of a mirror, ready to reflect sunlight and annoy our neighbor. My trousers were filled with dried mulberries and walnuts, and my bare feet dangled from the tree branch, gently swaying.

The shard of mirror reflected my face, sunlight filtering through the leaves, illuminating my perfectly round face.

A face like a doll, carved from wood.

Big, round eyes that seemed to change color depending on the light - gold, green, even sapphire.

I looked at my buddy, Erik. When he felt my gaze, he turned and started to giggle.

"Should we start bothering the neighbor's one-eyed dog?"

I grinned at his question, holding a walnut in my left hand and the mirror shard in my right.

"That dog always chases us whenever he spots us."

I took aim at its eye with the walnut and fired.

*AWOOO* *AWOOO* *AWOOO*

The dog started to howl, and it gave us a cruel sense of satisfaction.

"HEY, WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING?!"

It was my father, Liam, scowling at us.

"Get down here now, Cian!"

"Yes, father..."

I mumbled while looking down at my feet. I climbed down, still keeping an eye on my feet. I glanced at my companion, and sure enough, Fido had scampered away. I knew I couldn't trust that mutt.

"I didn't teach you this! What you're doing is really wrong and cruel. Hurting innocent animals like that is not just unkind but also dangerous. You need to show kindness and respect to all living beings. This behavior is not okay; it goes against everything we believe in as a family. I expect you to say sorry to those dog and its owner and promise never to do something like this again. It's important to treat animals nicely."

"Yes, Father,"

I muttered. My father began to lecture me about doing the right thing, holding my ear as he dragged me home.

Our house was made of mud and clay, simple and clean, with dim lighting from a pair of candles. Inside, there were two mattresses on opposite sides of the room, a worn rug in between, a three-legged stool, and a wooden table in the corner.

It was in this house that my mother, Kanna, gave birth to me. She left with the bards a week after I was born. Father didn't talk about her much. I often wondered what she looked did she leave my father?Is it because my father is unable to show expression?

Father said After my mother left me giving birth to me after 5 days,Father hired a nursing woman,The same nursing woman that fed Erik,He said she was a blue eyed woman from Auroratia,The city of northern lights.

"What a sweet voice she had."

He used to say,What she used to sing I and Erik asked,but we knew ,we heard it countless times we just want to hear it from Father

He cleared his throat,

"Why not you and me~

Walk in a twisted manner~

On the road barefoot~

Let's roam around like crazy~

Why not you and me~

Roam around madly~

Beyond the known paths~

Let's roam around like crazy~

In your shimmering eyes~

In your glittering styles~

Covered and hidden~

What are these thoughts, o crazy one~"

Then, he would gently remind us that there existed a deep bond between people who had shared the same Breast, a connection that even the passage of time couldn't Break.

Erik and I were fed from same took our first step in the same lawn in the same under same roof,we spoke our first words.

Mine was Erik

His was Cian,My name

There was an old abandoned cemetery atop the hill with rows of unmarked headstones and tangles of brushwood clogging the aisles.

Seasons of rain and snow had turned the iron gate rusty and left the cemetery's low white stone walls in decay.

There was a pomegranate tree near the entrance to the cemetery.

I looked towards Erik showed him the knife that i brought me from my house

"You are not gonna Kill me,Will you?"

He said looking Scared and uncertain

"No,you Dimwit!Come with me!"

I took his hand and walk towards the pomegranate tree,

I crouched down and Carve our Names

"Erik and Cian The King of the World"

"From today onwards this Tree is Ours!"

Erik looked at me smiling like a fool.

"Yes!"

We Climbed the Tree Branched Plucked up the Blood red pomegranate and after we had eaten we wipe our hands in the Grass.

Today, like usual, Erik and I were walking to the market. Since the market was quite far, we decided to take a shortcut and climbed over the fence surrounding the barracks, where some soldiers were playing cards.

One of the soldiers noticed us. "Hey, you!" he said. "I know you!You look just like her!"

I have seen him before at the gates of our town. He stands at our gates while drinking alcohol every time. He was a squat man with a shaved head and black stubble on his face. The way he grinned at us, leered, scared me.

"You! Look at me when I am talking to you!"

The soldier barked at me. He handed the glass to the guy next to him, made a circle with the thumb and index finger of one hand, poked the middle finger of his other hand through the circle, and poked it in and out, in and out.

"I knew your mother, did you know that? I knew her really well. I took her from behind by that creek over there."He said

The soldiers of them made a squealing sound

"Ahh~!Ahh~!Move Faster!Yes!Yes!"

"What a tight little suggary cunt she had!"he said while grinning

Tears welled up in my eyes as anger surged through me. I knew it was a terrible idea, but...

*Bam!*

I punched his nose, and he let out a loud cry.

"Little dipshit! I'll make you pay!"
The soldiers started running toward us. I glanced at Erik and saw the fear in his eyes. He was just a kid, too young for this. I didn't want him to get caught up in my mess. With a forced smile, I said,

"Run, Erik. Don't look back, just run."

Erik hesitated, his face filled with reluctance and fear. He bit his lip and whispered, "Come with me!"

Tears welled up in my eyes as I replied, "You run, Erik. I'll follow."

"Promise?"

"Promise!"

I knew deep down that these people wouldn't spare me. It was either jail or a beating right here. If I ran home, they'd torment my father. He could barely walk, paralyzed on his left side from his cheek to his leg.

Erik turned and sprinted in the opposite direction, and my heart ached as he disappeared into the distance.

*Thud-!*

I gasped as a soldier's boot slammed into my stomach. Suddenly, I was on the ground.

IT HURTS!.

"Cough! Cough!"

I coughed violently,while wheezing.I am scared now.

"Little punk, I'll teach you!"

The soldier, who was leering at me, readied himself to kick me while I lay helpless on the ground.

Thud-!

Crack-!

The sound of bones breaking echoed in my ears. This hurts! My chest and ribs throbbed in pain. Tears flowed freely down my face.

"Cough! Cough!"

Blood? Is this my blood? What is this? A piece of meat torn apart? Are these my insides?

*Thud-!*

Another brutal kick landed.

*Thud-!*

And another.

*Thud-!*

*Thud-!*

*Thud-!*

*Thud-!* *Thud-!* *Thud-!**Thud-!* *Thud-!* *Thud-!*

I couldn't muster the strength to lift my arm. They turned me over, forcing me onto my chest.

The sound of clothes rustling filled my ears. One of them removed my pants, placing a hand on my bare buttock. The unsettling sound of a zipper being undone echoed in my ear, but I couldn't resist. I lacked the strength to struggle.

"Grunt-"

That was the last thing I heard before darkness swallowed me whole.

I forced my eyes open.

Pain coursed through me.

My Stomach Hurts.

It hurts,It hurts,It hurts,it hurts,It hurts,it hurts,It hurts,it hurts

"Ugh-"

"He... he's... still... breathing," I overheard someone whisper.

"Let's end it swiftly. If this gets out, we're all in deep trouble."

End... it...swiftly? What did they mean?

"Oi! Fetch that sword!"

Sword?

*Shing.*

*Sqewch!*

It hurts!

I couldn't breathe!

'Wheezing'

'Gurgle'

... was I stabbed? Stabbed in the throat?

I can taste blood in my mouth

I am feeling rather cold.

will I really die here?

But I'm glad Erik managed to escape.

Father will be a bit lonely without me.

I'm truly sorry, Father. I wasn't a good child;

I didn't heed your advice.

He used to tell me not to act on impulse,

but I didn't listen. I feel like crying now, but no words come out of my mouth.

I closed my eyes.

-'Did you know Erik and you fed from the same breast?

Did you know that, Cian? Sarina, her name was. She was a fair, blue-eyed woman, and she sang you old songs.

They say there is a brotherhood between people who've fed from the same breast. Did you know that?'

'Hey Erik!Lets carve our name in the tree.

So,the whole world would know that it belong to us!'

I am really sorry Erik,I can't run after you,I can't Keep Promise.