Capital Villages(4)

Sorren waited in the wagon with his two younger siblings Callie and Cale, for Jean, who was returning the key to the staff at the counter, to return.

"CALE! CALE!" Callie shook her brother Cale who was groaning as he dozed back off. "Hmmm? Sleepy...sleepy…." Cale mumbled as he dozed off. "YOU ALWEADY SLEPT!!!!" Callie yelled and shook her twin brother with all her might.

Sorren smiled at his siblings. Though they had yet to mature, their personalities were quite strong. Callie was quite energetic and bright, however, she had a serious stubborn streak. While Cale was much more quiet and reserved….possibly due to the fact he was quite the sleepyhead.

Sorren was a little worried regarding Cale as he was always sleepy regardless of how long he's slept. Sometimes he could even sleep for several hours, and waking him up was quite the hassle. It was like that even when he was a newborn.

'Mmmmm, I wonder will there ever be a time when he's awake?' Sorren asked himself as he watched his siblings.

*Creeak* The sound of the door opening caught Sorrens attention and he turned his head and saw Jean waving at them as he approached.

"Sorry there kids, that took a while, the o'l lady was trying to recruit me for a job…" He sighed, shaking his head. Though he said that, in truth, that old fox was literally trying to hook him up with her granddaughter.

"Isn't that good?" Sorren asked, tilting his head.

Jean flinched and coughed awkwardly "u-um, in some cases ahaha...ehem, if the jobs are good then ya aim for it...if not…." He looked away while scratching his head. 'You run away as far as you can' Jean didn't say that last bit out loud. He shivered a bit.

Jean mounted the horse and flicked the reins, the horse slowly moving forward. Sorren gazed back at the Golden Inn, they were finally leaving.

" Where are we going?" Sorren asked as he turned to face Jean. Jean was silent for a moment. After a while, he finally responded. "We're heading to Lo'Ven" he said not turning around. " Is that where my uncle might be!" Sorren asked excitedly. Frankly, he was quite curious about his uncle. For him to be around in this area, he might be a pretty cool person. He wondered if Anderson was like his mom.

Jean shrugged. "Who knows….we could only hope, ya know haha…." Though Jean said that casually, his hands on the reins were clenched tightly, to the point where veins bulged from his hands.

He stared at the scenery ahead, lost in thought. He recalled the night before where he met Riza, it was after the children were deeply asleep.

*********

[Last night....]

Jean walked down the stairs and made his way to the counter. A middle-aged man was wiping the counter. There were many men and women at the nearby tables chatting aimlessly, many had plates of food and mugs filled with beer. A band of musicians played soft music on a stage, the atmosphere very casual and calm.

" Ya got anything to drink…" Jean asked, casually taking a seat at the counter. The man nodded and turned around. Behind the counter laid a shelf, filled with books, however, it was just a guise. The man flipped the bookshelf and revealed dozens of shelves of alcoholic drinks.

" Which would you like?" The man asked, nodding at him. Jean pointed at a brown bottle. The man picked it off the shelf and turned. He reached under the counter and pulled out a small cup and set it on the counter.

*Clack*

The man chanted a small spell and a large chunk of ice plopped into the cup, he then poured Jean a drink. Jean nodded at the man and took a sip. His throat burned, a sweet fruity taste enveloped his tongue.

Time passed and Jean was on his 3rd bottle. Just as He was about to drink some more, a slender shadow loomed over him.

"I see your habit of overdrinking hasn't been quelled at all…" Jean slightly glanced back and made eye contact with sharp judging brown eyes.

" Yo Riza….come to nag me?" Jean grinned at her before gulping down another cup. Riza rolled her eyes. She was wearing a grey dress, her golden hair down. She looked more casual than before.

"Hmph, I only came to get the drink you owe me…" She said taking a seat next to him at the counter. The man sat a cup near her. "I'll have a glass of Moonlit wine.." She said. The man nodded and grabbed the bottle off the shelf.

" Oho, little miss classy I see," Jean said, smirking. Riza glared at him. "Got a problem with that? Of course, you'll be paying for this so I decided to go all out.." She turned her head in a huff and took a sip of the wine.

Jean smiled and focused on his own drink. A small silence enveloped the two as they drank. The music played and many men and women got up and danced. " I was wondering…" Jean said after a while, he stared at the dancing people. Riza looked at him from the corner of her eyes, her face a bit red from being tipsy.

"If you know where I might find a man by the name of Anderson Pride?" Jean asked. Riza's eyes widened a bit. "W-why would you want to find someone like him? Do you owe him something?" she asked flustered. Many commoners of the capital villages are indebted to nobles and are required to pay their debts by way of labor. The same could be said for those of suburban villagers.

If that's the case then Jean must have really been messing around quite a bit. Perhaps he flirted with that nobleman's wife and was caught, and now he was called to pay the noble back with labor. Riza frowned and looked down near his legs ' Seriously put a cap on that thing…' She thought.

Jean chuckled and shook his head. "You've quite the naughty imagination Riza" Riza flinched and her face flushed scarlet. "W-WHAT DO YOU MEAN, I-I WASN'T THINKING ANYTHING!!!" She cried, she stood up waving her hands around.

Some people nearby turned due to the commotion she was making. Riza, having noticed it, sat down with her head lowered. Jean snickered. Riza bit her lip in shame. 'Grrr yea just laugh, it's all your fault, I swear dealing with him is seriously going to kill me….'

"Unfortunately, it's not what you're thinking….it's for something else.." Riza looked back at him, Jean was no longer laughing instead he looked a bit solemn. "I'm guessing it's for the children?" She inquired. Jean nodded, she hit the nail right on the head.

Riza sighed and looked back at her cup, the blue liquid swirled slowly, her reflection blurring. "Did I ask something I shouldn't have?" said Jean. Riza shook her head.

" No it's not that, it's just the person you're asking for is quite a prominent figure in the kingdom," She said. Jean leaned on the counter waiting for her to continue.

"Anderson Pride, is one of the 4 marquises of the Goldenstein kingdom, although that's the case, well, he keeps a low profile so not many people know much about him other than his contributions to the kingdom" Jean nodded his head processing the information.

" He's known for his research in rune technology, as the Pride family are major contributors in funding the research plan….but what does he have to do with the children?" Riza asked. Jean was silent for a while. He leaned close to her and spoke in a hushed voice.

"The children you saw are his relatives…" Riza's eyes widened. "WHAT!?!??!" she abruptly stood up, Jean flinched and jerked himself back. Once again Riza caught the attention of many passersby's staring at her in bewilderment.

" O-Oi what's the deal?" Jean asked puzzled. Riza quickly slammed her hands on the table " ITS BECAUSE ITS SO SHOCKING YOU IDIOT!!!! ARE YA TRYING TO CAUSE THEM TROUBLE!!"

Jean raised his hands "ok ok calm down, what are ya trying to announce it to the entire world?" Riza clamped her mouth shut, she peeked around, and sat back down. After a while, the tension died down a bit.

" I know that this is something that's a problem but-" "of course it's a problem! Jean, those children are half-bloods! If people find out about this, they'll experience a worse life than hell" Riza whispered. She looked around.

"I know," Jean said. Jean frowned as he leaned on the counter. In the olden days, the Goldenstein kingdom was a kingdom that praised the essence of God. In the many years, this kingdom was formed, its citizens believed in the essence of purity. Those born of royalty are considered Golden bloods, the height of purity. Those of noble blood lineage is considered blue bloods, and those of commoner lineage are considered normal red. However, the concept of "intermixing" came about, where many nobles fell in love with commoners and thus had children with them, bringing birth of mixed-bloods.

This completely went against the Goldenstein principles. Though this was many years ago, now the current king himself resents the notion of discrimination till the point where he had it banned. But, some were still inclined to follow this old tradition and resent mixed bloods. The same could be said for other kingdoms of mixed-blooded races.

"I still need to know where he is, do you have an idea which village here he may frequent," Jean asked. The king was benevolent in those that contribute to the kingdom, therefore he gives land to those he deems worthy. Many nobles own villages as per the king's gifts. It is possible that this notable marquis would obviously have a few villages under his ownage.

"If we're talking about the Pride family, then they would own some of the Eastern villages near the East gate of the Golden wall. One that I'm certain of would be….Lo'Ven"

Jean froze at the name Lo'Ven. His hand tightly clenched the cup in his hand, he could feel his heart pound. Riza stared at Jean, though his face looked casual she could see his pupils shaking in turmoil.

"Are you….sure it's that village…" Jean asked after a while, he wasn't looking at Riza so she couldn't really see his face, but she could imagine that he wasn't smiling.

"Jean…"

"Are you sure?" Jean cut her off.

Riza nodded her head.

Jean stood still for a long time.

"Alright then…" He stood up, the wooden stool scraping the floor. He threw a couple of gold coins on the counter. The man nodded his head and cleaned his spot.

"W-wait Jean!" Riza stood up and called out to him. Jean turned around and gave her a small smile, yet his eyes looked indifferent. "I'll see you around Riza, let's have a drink again some time.." he proceeded up the stairway behind the counter.

Riza stared at the place Jean stood, her eyes brimming with sadness.

[Back to the present]

The wagon passed by a variety of gardens, growing many fruit and other crops. The children looked around in excitement. As the wagon turned eastward, they encountered many friendly villagers, many of who gave them fruits and other foods for them to eat.

Eventually, they came to a sign that displayed "Lo'Ven".

They were finally here. Sorren's heart pounded. 'This is where my uncle might be…' He thought as they passed various stone houses.