The Next Day
His uncle said nothing for a minute.
And then… he walked forward with a smile and patted them both.
"Very well. I keep forgetting that you're an adult, now. Adults make their own decisions. But always remember that decisions… have consequences. I'll see you later."
With that, he walked out, and Al was left standing there, beaming.
His uncle meant everything to him, and he had seen that even though the man hadn't said anything about it, he was doubtful about what Al had promised to do in the future. So, he was determined to prove the man wrong.
'Wait… did he look at mom when he said 'consequences'?'
Al pondered on the sudden doubt for a few moments, but he let it go after seeing that no answer was forthcoming. It could be a coincidence…or it could be something that he didn't know about, and if that was so, he knew that he would find out sooner or later.
Life had already made him take this approach to secrets. Once, long ago, he remembered fretting on them for days and days altogether, but that hadn't helped. He had learned from experience, and had never repeated the mistake again.
"Beri! Do you like that name, little guy?"
"Arf! Arf!"
The puppy barked happily, it's tail wagging so quickly that it turned into a blur. He hugged it again, loving the feel of its soft fur on his skin, and walked in the direction of the kitchen to see whether he could find it something to eat.
He glanced at his mom on the way, trying to put what had just happened out of his mind. He was still disappointed that the healing wards had done nothing… but on closer inspection, he saw that he might be wrong.
Her breathing was more stable, and her skin had more color to it than before.
A smile came to his face. At the end of the day, all he could hope for was that his situation would grow at least a little bit better, and today, that had happened. Bending and kissing the puppy's head, he went to the cupboard and opened it to find empty racks except for a single carton of cornflakes.
His stomach rumbled, but at the same time, he saw the puppy smelling the air and smacking its mouth.
"Hungry, little guy? Well, here you go…"
He poured all of them into a bowl, and after setting the husky down near it, he checked the other cupboards.
'I forgot that we were almost out of food…'
By the time his inspection was done, Beri was at his leg. Behind it lay the empty bowl, and as he looked it, he saw that it was swaying to and fro, as if drunk.
Worried, he bent down and examine the pup, but when he saw its eyes closing and opening repeatedly, he laughed and understood what the problem was.
Taking it back to its blanket, he tucked it in and saw it fall asleep in the cutest way possible, its little paws clutching the fabric and its soft snores filling the room.
Patting its head lovingly, he went to his bed and fell asleep just as quickly, exhausted from the travails of the entire day.
He woke up to hunger and thirst. The latter he cured with a glass of water from the kitchen, but as to the former…there was nothing to make it go away, but he didn't regret feeding the little guy, at all.
Massaging his empty tummy, he walked to the cabinet near his mom's bed and pulled out a rack to find an old phone inside.
Hooking it up to the wall, he waited for it to charge just enough to switch on.
'Electricity is costly… so better use as little as possible!'
It was the latest model…but from more than a decade ago. He still remembered how glued to it he had been when his world had been bereft of all worry, and he recalled how it had called to him later, too, to make him pass time uselessly.
After it switched on, he immediately went to one of the only few apps on the phone. Opening up the page for his balance, he waited for it to refresh… and sighed when he saw that he hadn't remembered the number wrong.
'So little… but it'll have to make do.'
With downturned lips, he got dressed and walked out, holding a paper bag under one arm.
Only, after walking a bit and turning into the alleyway that led to the teleportation station… he came face-to-face with the butler of the princess he had met the day before.
Spotting him, the man hurried forward with an annoyed look on his face.
"There you are! Are you really living in the 21st century? How can you not have a phone? I could have gone and found your address easily… but the little princes would have been unhappy with me if I was so rude. So I had no option but to wait here for two damn hours, knowing that you used this teleportation station before!"
As his rant finished, Al blinked and asked the most important question, his eyes still showing the confusion he felt.
"But… why are you here?"
The butler put his hands on his hips and pressed his lips into a thin line.
"No time. I'll explain on the way. Come on!"
He saw the man's arm move in his direction, but he was too slow to respond. A moment later, he felt himself being dragged in the direction of the teleportation station.
It was quite early in the day, so there was no queue, yet. Reaching the podium, he flashed his hand on the small display nearby that was usually never approached by anyone as the podium was set to teleport to a specific location, anyway.
However, as soon as the butler stepped away, the display blinked red.
"These things are ancient. I should talk to the government about having them replaced…"
Muttering to himself, the butler pulled Al forward again. They vanished, and a second later… Al widened his eyes and stared, completely flabbergasted due to what he was seeing.
They had arrived in a long room with an equally long table stretched out in front of him, its chairs filled by men and women in neat, spotless suits.
'What the hell is going on?'
With a blank face, he looked all around, wondering whether he was still sleeping.
He was about to take a step back and hope that the teleportation podium would take him away…but the butler caught his arm and made him move forward, and finally, he saw a familiar face.
She was seated at the head of the table on the other end of the room, wearing a purple suit, her hair trussed up into a stylish bun, wearing a pair of diamond-studded spectacles that sparkled in the light falling from the chandeliers above. The look was so different that Al almost didn't recognize her, but as she spoke, he saw that it was the same voice.
"Here he is! He's still in his initiate days, but I assure you, he's an upright villain. Who could have thought that they are in short supply?"
She smiled at him briefly after speaking, and a woman with similar features beside her replied, "If my sister is giving the assurance, you should take the plunge. She hasn't been wrong about anyone, yet."
The woman smiled, then, but instead of acknowledging the praise…Helena squinted and looked at her suspiciously.
It was then that Al saw that the woman's smile held no warmth. Instead, all it had was scorn, and as he studied her, he didn't hear a man nearby say something.
As the butler nudged him, Al snapped back to his senses and looked at the man, trying to remember at least a word of what he had said.
Thankfully, the man smiled and repeated himself.
"I was just asking your name, young man."
Al answered before the last word was out of the man's mouth. "Alaric Arstan, sir!"
With a nod, the man stood up and began to speak. As his words washed over Al, he tried hard not to gape and found himself hoping against hope that this…was not a dream.
"Well, we trust Miss Helena completely, so no assurances are required! Young man, we are launching a product geared exclusively to villains. You are here because we hope that you can advertise it for us in your next odyssey! Payment will depend on how well you do. So, what do you say?"