"I didn't do it!"
He plead desperately towards the knights as he was dragged away to arrest him.
Lucas Hayden.
A young boy in his fourteenth, was accused as a murderer for his village.
In one night, his whole village was massacred and he became the survivor.
Survivor guilt? No. He became the culprit instead. No faith, No witness, Only Culprit.
"I… didn't do it... please..."
He whimpered quietly as the knights already put him into the jail and leave him there.
But what could possibly be happened on that knight? The truth… what exactly happened in that village? Is this innocent-looking boy could be the culprit or he was framed?
"What was that thing…? Why no one believe me…?"
If only they knew… all of this happened yesterday. The village, the ghosts, Eric… and yet here I am. Alone. Accused. Guilty… for what?
He mumbled and continuously headbutting the jail's metal door. He keeps saying he is innocent again and again… but no one heard him or even care about his explanation.
"Kid. Aren't you look so young to be in prison?"
Lucas's mumbling was stopped by one groggy and old voices. He turned towards the voice and see an old man, skinny body almost see his bones. His wrist chained into the wall.
His facial, white long beard, wrinkles and messy thick hair around his face, looking at Lucas with pity gaze and caring. Very oddly different gazes from the earlier knights. The old man keeps looking at Lucas, an unfortunate young boy across his cell.
Without Lucas realize he bawled out whole of his heart. Looks like his exhaustion has catch up to him.
A few moments later, with a puffy eyes and red faces, Lucas just realized how embarrassing that was, suddenly crying in front of that old man.
The old man gives a cheeky smile and laughs out loud. Seems like that was first entertainment he had after a long year in a prison.
"Wha- What are you laughing at, old geezer??" Lucas protest while wiping his eyes from the tears.
"Haha! Nothing kid, looking at you make a great entertainment you know? HAHA"
The old man continues laughing and using his HAND??
His old body so skinny even the chain on his wrist already loosen to make let him freely.
"Old man… do you think I'm a culprit?"
Lucas talking first. He really needs some pairs of ears after what happened that last night…
The old man smirked. "Want to talk about it, boy?" he replied.
The readiness of the old man, really make Lucas a bit relief and ready to open up more to this old man.
"That night…" Lucas speak first and ready to pour everything.
[Frist, Unnamed Village]
"Villages, gather!"
In the morning, as the sun slowly rises, its light waking up the whole village, a young boy wakes up earlier than the others and starts his day by carrying two buckets of water on his shoulders to water his plants.
A young Lucas always doing this daily, or more like his whole life. He was born without any parents. One day, this village found him abandoned in an old house, eventually the old house becomes his grown-up house.
The villagers visit him rarely, only for important thing, like tax or festival, the rest, he was left alone, like usual. But the village are not actually hated him, Lucas himself who treated his life like this.
Lucas feels he's not belonged there, rather he always thinks he's a bother and burden to this poor village.
Despites that, the villagers still treated him like their own family, feed him, give him a bit land for his crops and some livestock. Lucas always appreciate it.
One day, an army of knights from the kingdom came to visit Lucas's village. The knights wanted children between the ages of 10 and 17 to be trained as apprentices to the knights.
Many children were excited to become a knight, yet Lucas didn't sound so excited about it. He rather attends his crops instead join others children in the training.
At first, the knights seem uninterested on Lucas and just let him be. A day passed, and unfortunately, no one shows any protentional to become a proper knight.
Although Lucas didn't seem interested in becoming a knight, he was deeply fascinated by swords. He preferred to learn on his own, secretly training with his iron hoe and mimicking sword movements. Day by day, as he tended his crops, he practiced swinging the hoe like a blade, careful not to let anyone notice.
One day, after finishing his work in the fields, Lucas once again snuck over to watch the training grounds. He saw the children practicing a new exercise with a longsword.
Lucas wondered how he could use that kind of movement in his daily life. Then he glanced to his side and noticed a bucket of coal he had just mined — and suddenly, he had an idea.
Back in the coal cave, Lucas picked up the rusty pickaxe he always used and thought about the training he had just watched. Usually, he mined straight down into the ground with simple, repeated swings. But this time, he remembered the way the trainees moved their hips when they swung their swords.
He adjusted his stance and tried striking the coal from the side instead. Using the strength of his hips and body, his swing became smoother and more powerful. To his surprise, the coal broke apart more easily, and he was able to mine faster than before.
From that day on, he practiced every day, using his hoe and pickaxe as 'swords,' swinging them over and over again. Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, and after half a year, his body had transformed, becoming more warrior-like.
From that point on, he continued practicing, turning his daily chores into training. Carrying stacks of hay, grinding grain, tending the cows — every task became a way to strengthen himself. By the age of fourteen, he had become lean and muscular, though not noticeably so for someone his age — a sleeper quietly building his strength and skill.
Then…
one-night changes everything.