Karuiz didn't know when it all started, all he knows is that this has been happening even before he was born, before his parents even thought of a child. That, for some reason unknown to him, kept going even until now, and now he's stuck in this cycle of pain that never wants to stop.
"HE'S YOUR CHILD!"
"HE WON'T BE IF HE KEEPS THIS UP!" The sound of his father hitting the walls came, followed by something shattering and alongside that, the house shaking. "HOW CAN HE LET A CHILD GET ONE OVER HIM?! DO YOU KNOW HOW HUMILIATING THAT IS?!"
They are talking about her. Flotol's prodigy. Ever since she could talk, a lot of rumors have been circulating about her: that she's blessed by the light, that she's chosen by the swamp, that she's affected by the leylines, that she's the child of an aberrant, that she's cursed.
Flotol isn't violent— it is as much of a fortune for her as it is for everyone else. — and so people chose to give her a chance, she became an acolyte and everyone's fears abated when they saw that not only did she do well, but she went above and beyond even the expectations of the head priest.
Karuiz has long since noticed that the old man has been eyeing Rontress since she was a child, though there seems to be no malice there so Karuiz didn't know whether or not he should approach the headpriest for help with Rontress, for all he knew Flutt might help Rontress out instead of him.
Even then, he's more than willing to take the risk if he's pushed into a corner, that child needs to fall and realize that reality isn't as happy and easy as she makes it out to be. His fists clenched at the thought of how easily she moved through life while he's here suffering.
"WHETHER OR NOT SHE WON OVER YOUR PATHETIC EXCUSE OF A SON DOESN'T MATTER!"
"PATHETIC EXCUSE? HIM?! WHAT ABOUT YOU? YOU FAILED TO TEACH YOUR SON AND NOW HE'S THE ONE TO BLAME?!"
And there it is, the line that his mother should never cross, is finally passed. Karuiz flinched when the sound of a slap entered his ears, he didn't know why, but for some reason it just echoed through the entire house whenever his father hit his mother.
He should stand up and defend her, tell his father that this isn't right. His mother cares so much for the two of them, Karuiz has seen her work late into the night just to cook him something and yet his father is hitting her like this.
"YOU THINK THAT CHANGES ANYTHING?!" His mother's yell came back, a rare thing in this house since violence often meant silence. "YOU CAN'T DO ANYTHING TO THAT GIRL YOURSELF SO YOU HURT US INSTEAD, AND YOU CALL YOURSELF A MAN?!"
That's it. Karuiz realized the solution too late but he now figured out what to do! Standing up, he rushed down stairs and stopped his father from hitting his mother for the second time.
"Stop!" His voice was hoarse, broken from the lack of talking these last few weeks but it still held strength. His father hit him but he didn't care, he looked his father in the eye. "Listen, you can just attack Rontress and—"
He didn't get to finish his sentence before he was struck down, his head met the ground and bounced back once, then it fell down, not an ounce of his previous determination was left in his gaze as he stared at his father. He stopped talking, his sudden epiphany now gone, like it was never there at all.
"Are you stupid Karuiz?" His father glared at him. "Attack her? How?"
Somehow, the calm yet stern voice being directed at him is much scarier than any deafening scream his father could have tossed his way.
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"Well we just hit her and—" instead it was him who got hit. Karuiz grabbed his cheek and looked at the ground, "right, my idea is stupid. Sorry for suggesting it."
"Good that you understand." The man who called him son spoke, then silence. The door opened, closed, and moments later, someone hugged him.
"Are you hurt?" His mother's concern made Karuiz's heart ache. "He's so violent! It's been so long since he did this to you and..."
"I'm okay." Karuiz looked up and met the eyes of the woman who had taken care of him during similar times in the past. He smiled and cupped her cheek. "I'm okay, you don't have to worry about me. What about you?"
"Karuiz, this isn't about me! You're hurt and you need help!"
Karuiz hugged the woman before him, his embrace turning tight. "Like I said, you're the one who needs help, he hurt you more than me."
A hand rubbed his back, "I'm okay as well, you shouldn't have done that, you know how your father is, he only hurts us because he can't hurt anyone else."
"Then why can't he hurt Rontress?" He asked, his mouth suddenly dripping with venom. "If she's gone then we'll—"
"Shhh... You don't have to continue talking, just think, if he does hurt Rontress and stops hurting us, how long will it take before he does something like that again?" That made him pause, his mother isn't wrong. This always happens, and it will always happen. The problem lies in only one thing...
"I don't know, but eventually?" He said shakily, the realization dawning on him.
"Mhmm, good job, eventually.
... The problem lies in his father, doesn't it? If that man didn't exist then everything would turn out okay. That's the real solution to his problem: removing his father.
...
Atterson has always been the kind of person that most would call "serious" even back in her original town, her husband has even said that she rarely laughs in the past, smiling is rare for her as well.
There's no real reason why this is, she simply isn't that emotional, and that's perfectly fine for her. So what if her moments of joy, sadness, and shock only happen on occasion? It's not like it hurts anybody.
Despite that, Atterson is currently clenching her fists as she listens in to the gossiping women a few tables away from the counter. The Light— and she does not say this word lightly. — just had to bless her with a class which gives her better hearing, didn't it?
"The rest of the bread has been packed miss Atterson!" Laself's energetic voice came out of the break room and it momentarily made Atterson forget about the women talking about Rontress. "Me and Howaph will go and donate them soon."
"That's good." She smiled, the expression forced. "Did you leave some for the people in the pier?"
"Yep! I have it!" Laself stepped into the kitchen wearing a proud grin, the apron that she's wearing is stained with flour and the green sun dress beneath that is caked with the stuff. Her hands are even worse. "It's more than enough to feed all of them!"
"Well I can't argue with that." Atterson nodded, "I have seen some of the younger kids there building up a bit of fat, or maybe that's just my imagination?"
"A bit of both maybe?" The younger girl went on with closing the drawers, cup boards, and started filling the sink with water. "I have noticed that they have become a bit pudgy..."
The chuckle that escaped Atterson's lips was one full of mirth and relief. It's been a while since she went to the pier and she's long expected for the people who once lived there to migrate into Ghorise but it seems that they have stayed? That's a heart warming yet terrifying thought, how did they survive the harsh winters there?
"Have you now? Well I guess our donations aren't going to waste then, it's unfortunate that we don't re use the extra bread as cake batter but I think it's fine for the time being."
"I think so too." Laself didn't stop moving, she's become efficient with handling this kitchen, it's almost second nature to her. "And Rontress said she doesn't mind anyway, so I think it's fine."
Rontress huh? This girl really does think that the one who should be making decisions is her daughter, Atterson found it amusing but Rontress has already made the decision that she's not the one who will be owning this shop, and there's nothing Laself can do to change that.
On another note...
"Yes, I can't believe they're just letting their daughter run around with a wand." The person speaking didn't hide their disgust, then with a much higher voice they repeated a part of what they just said. "A wand!"
"Irresponsible parents will be irresponsible. One day they will realize the value of reining in their kids when she hurts someone and suffers the consequences."
They can speak all they want, Atterson knew that her daughter is responsible enough not to randomly attack someone. And somehow, she felt that if it did happen, Rontress would find a way out of that situation.
Not that it makes her feel any better when listening to them gossip about her child, if she could, she would have strangled all three of them without hesitation.
