Soren had woken up to the morning light and yawned, stretching from within his bed. The eight year old would rather stay snuggled in his sheets, but he knew he had to get up to go to school. The bed creaked as he got out of bed and began getting dressed. He smoothed the wrinkles out of his clothes and made his way downstairs, his feet padding lightly against the wood. In the kitchen, he could smell his father cooking eggs and bacon. He grinned as he came down and into the kitchen. “Good morning, Father,” he greeted. His father looked at him with a soft smile on his face. “Good morning, Soren,” he said in turn, “Breakfast is almost ready, why don’t you take a seat?” “Okay!” The boy quickly went to grab a plate and a cup full of water, then went to the dining room and placed the objects in his hands down. He plopped into the chair, wiggling with anticipation. A moment later, his father came into the room with a frying pan in hand. He carefully laid its contents on Soren’s place before going back in the kitchen to grab a plate of his own. He came back and sat down, happy to see his son was eating with gusto. “Don’t eat too fast, you might get a stomachache,” he chastised lightly. The boy swallowed before answering. “But your cooking is so good!” A laugh escaped his lips. “Thank you, my son.” The rest of the meal was spent in idle chitchat, though the man had gotten up to go back into the kitchen to do something. Soren could only wait as he ate his food, waiting for his father to come back. He did come back, with a bag in his hand. “I prepared lunch for you. Tell me how school went when I get back home, okay?” “You’re leaving now?” the boy asked with a dejected look on his face as he placed the bag in front of him. He kissed his son lightly on the head. “Don’t worry, it will only be for a little while. I’ll come back home when the sun sets. Play with your friends in the meantime, okay?” “Okay…” The boy hugged his father, who hugged him back. “I should finish my food before I leave. Soren, are you done?” “Almost.” He quickly gulped down the rest of his food and drank his water, ignoring his father’s earlier chastisement. He got up and slung the bag over his shoulders, knowing that his father packed everything he needed for school within the bag. “Okay, I have to go now. See you soon, Father!” He waved goodbye to the man as he ran out the door and into the cool, crisp air. He took in a deep breath before heading his way to school. Along the way, he met up with his friends who began to talk about the teacher behind his back. The boy just listened and nodded at times, a smile on his face. They began to run faster when one of the older students ran past them, not wanting to lose to him. They laughed as they ran, trying to outrace the other. “I win!” one of his friends said when he touched the school’s wooden exterior. “Next time you won’t be so lucky!” the older student said, though there was a smile on his face. They laughed and cheered as Soren watched from the background. It’s good to be alive, he thought to himself as he entered the school with everyone else. He tried his best to pay attention in class, no matter how boring the subject was. He would giggle sometimes when one of his friends were caught napping, to the embarrassment of the other. Lunch was spent outside as they gossiped about the older students. “I heard this.” “I heard that.” And so on and so forth. The dark elf remained quiet, always in the background and never drawing attention to himself unless prompted. Lunch went by in a blur, along with the rest of the afternoon when they were released from school. “So, are we heading out in the fields today?” he asked. Two of his friends nodded while the rest said they were busy. They parted ways and he immediately went out to the fields with his two remaining friends. They headed to the nearby creek and let the water splash on their bare feet after taking off their shoes. Soren lightly pushed one of his friends in the creek, getting him wet. He laughed as his friend made an indignant noise and splashed water at him. They spent some time playing hide and seek and tag before he noticed that the sun was starting to sink. “I have to go now,” he said to his friends. They understood and waved goodbye as he grabbed everything and ran home. The house was empty, like he expected. Father should be home soon, he thought to himself as he put down the bag on the chair. There was a knock on the door, drawing his attention. Was that his father? Was he home early? He went over to open the door, only to find several dark skinned women standing at the entrance. “Is Theo Kalamalos here?” one of them asked. He shook his head. “He’s out working,” he replied, “Do you need to see him? He should be coming soon.” One of the women smirked. “Good.” Next thing he knew, he found himself knocked to the floor. He struggled feebly as the women bound and gagged him before dragging him into the dining room. His heart was pounding like crazy as he made muffled noises through the rag in his mouth. He couldn’t take his hands out from behind his back and he couldn’t move one foot without moving the other at the same time, his hands and feet bound. He was starting to get scared now, what was going on? They waited for Theo to come back home, silent as they stood watch over the boy. There was the sound of the door opening, causing him to jerk. “I’m home,” his father called out, “Soren? Are you here?” He went into the dining room to put his bag away, only to drop it when he saw his son bound and gagged while struggling against his bonds. He paled when he took a good look at the women. “N-No. How did you-?” “It doesn’t matter, Theo Kalamalos,” one of the women said, “We’re here to take you back to Indila Roshan.” The boy looked at his father with wide eyes as continued to try and move. He was forced back down by the women. “Please, I’ll do whatever you ask! Just don’t hurt my son,” the man begged. “Hmph. At least you know your place, slave,” one of the Amazonesses scoffed. “What of the boy? What shall we do with him?” They looked at each other and nodded as if there was an unspoken agreement with them. “Take him along with his father, he’s still young and would probably make good money-“ One of the women yelped as she was tackled to the ground and found her weapon being used against her. The other two women got out their weapons and there was a flurry of limbs as Soren was kicked out of the chair and onto the floor. He wiggled and squeezed his eyes shut, crying tears of fear. What was going on? He didn’t understand. Next thing he knew, he was grabbed by his father and he ran out of the house with his son. They escaped into the nearby woods and his father carefully undid his bonds. Once his hands were free, he began hugging him like there was no tomorrow. “F-F-Father,” he stuttered once the rag around his mouth was removed, “I-I was- I was so s-s-scared a-and I-I’m sorry I sh-should’ve n-n-never let them in.” “Shh, it’s alright, you’re alright,” his father said as he hugged his son tightly, “You’re alright…” They spent some time in that position before the man let go. “It’s too dangerous to stay here, we need to leave.” “Where will we go though? Can we say goodbye?” Soren’s father shook his head. “I’m afraid not. They might try and use your friends to get us to come with them. It’s best if we leave now.” “But-But shouldn’t we pack-?” “No time, we have to hurry.” Soren just sniffled and nodded as he clung to his father while he ran through the woods, never to be seen again by his friends and the townspeople.
