[Dane's POV]
Dane Calloway was silent. How could he not? His voice was interjected everytime he hoped to speak.
Just then Village Head's voice rang
"Then this meeting is adjourned" following which everyone including Dane left the room.
Dane finally reached his house, it was a one story house with a balcony where one can calmly enjoy the sight of sunset while leaning on his chair.
Dane directly went to his study, his study wasn't a mess like everyone's, in there were books arranged topicwise neatly in wooden cabinets, parchments hanging on the walls.
All anyone could say after looking at it there was not a single thing out of place and the cleanliness of this place was top notch.
/CRASH/
Just as he entered the room, he kicked the chair with so much force behind his legs that the chair flew and crashed on the wall opposite to him. He was fuming with anger and mumbled
"That snake thinks I don't know what his intentions are for opening the 'Sanctuary' for little kids. He just wants those shitty grandchildren of his to participate in those trials after he stuff their bags with life saving treasures."
Dane knew what kind of dangers lurked in the 'Sanctuary' as he himself has gone several time with his team and with all his experience he was sure of one thing, that was not a place for brats who still still suck milk from their mamma's tits.
But alas he cannot do anything against Village Head's decision. He was still in disbelief about how that bastard of a Joe managed to rope the Head in this ridiculous idea.
'Hah.. I should just forget about this like a nightmare...yes..a nightmare.' Dane took some deep breaths and calmed himself down. Just as he was going to pick up the pen to write something, the door crashed open.
Dane looked up and saw his slave/assistant bent forward, huffing and panting, holding his knees with his hands.
Slave trading was fairly common in this world, and why will it not? If killing thousands of people isn't frowned upon that what difference does having a slave will make? This is why slaves are one of the most common things available in reputable cities and black markets.
Some years ago, Dane was choosen to go to a nearby city for the purpose of some administration work, he saw shops selling people from varieties of different races with slave marks on their chest. He felt a need to have someone who could do menial works for him and giving him some much need time to relax. So, he brought a human with average build. He named him Peter as slave were nameless and for one to have one, it must be bestowed by their master.
Coming back to the topic, he saw Peter at the door.
"Huff...Huff... Master...Victoria.." Peter said, while catching breaths between his words.
"What happened to Victoria?" Dane calmly asked as his eyes again went towards his pen as he picked it up.
"Huff...she- she's dying!" Peter finished his words.
"WHATTT!!!" The pen Dane was holding broke into two after hearing those words, he further inquired
"What happened?"
"She went into the forest to collect some herbs and was attacked by an one-horned bear resulting in severe loss of blood" Peter replied in a hurry seeing his master loose his cool.
"You fool!! why are you telling me this now?!!! How's her condition?" Dane started shouting loudly.
"The apothecary said that the pills aren't working on her due to excessive loss of blood and she is likely to die. Bbuu- but-"
"But What?!!!" Dane shouted furiously
"But the child she was carrying can be saved!" Peter hurry finished.
Not even a second had passed after Peter finished his words before Dane ran in the direction of Victoria's house while shouting
"Idiots. Bunch of idiots"
he shouted as his increased his pace and how could he not? Victoria was like a granddaughter to him. He could still remember her words from this morning which were filled with nothing but concern for his health.
__
(Grandpa, before going to the meeting make sure to take those pills of yours. Okay? I'm going to work.)
(Okay. okay. bring some fruits for me next time. haha)
(Sure will.)
__
Dane neared Victoria's house while thinking of the conversations he had with her.
A distance away from the house, cries of child rang in his ears disrupting his thoughts.
When he reached the house, He directly entered the house and followed the sound which lead him to the room where he saw the scene of bloody woman muttering a word before witnessing a wisp like thing crackling with blue lightning exiting from her chest and entering the child she was holding.
Dane frozen in his tracks because the moment the wisp entered the child's chest, He saw Victoria's body lying there like a corpse.
Leaving him with the word she said at the end loudly ringing in his ears continuously
"Arthur....."
Dane stood there in a daze for a whole minute before he shook his head disbelievingly while nearing the mother and child pair.
He saw a Victoria lying in her own blood holding a crying child with her bloody hands wrapped around him. Dane mustered up his courage as his hands moved down to pick the child up from Victoria's embrace.
When he held the child in front of him and looked in his brown eyes filled with innocence, he couldn't help but feel like he was looking in his mother's eyes.
Dane chuckled after seeing the arrangement fate has for this child, This innocent child has lost his whole family just after a few minutes of his birth.
Dane still remembered Arthur's Father John Ashborn was one of the soldiers recruited by the army this year. As for why he lost his whole family then? You may ask
Because most likely he was used as cannon fodder against some magical beasts in the slight hope of giving some precious time to some officer with higher seniority to escape when things go awry due to their stupidity.
______
While Dane was thinking all this, the women who played a major role to bring Arthur in this world left the house after seeing Dane and Peter who was left in his house also came by the same route as Dane's. When he saw his master holding a child with a mix of kindness and pity on his face, he couldn't help but voice out his thoughts
"Master, are you thinking of taking in the child?"
Peter knew how his master treated Victoria, so it wouldn't come as a surprise for him if his master decided to take her child and raise it with him. But the words that came out of his master surprised even him.
" Sighh... No take him to the orphanage, he will learn and grow there" Dane said slowly after sighing.
But seeing that weird look on Peter's face he started voicing out his thoughts
"This child will attract more trouble if he were to be by my side, those having any kind of grudge with me will not let him be and use him as a means against me."
"The least I can do for him is give his mother a proper funeral and let him live peacefully and a sheltered life away from the ruthlessness of this world."
Although Dane said those words, he couldn't ignore the wisp of lightning he saw entering the child from his mother.
'If I'm not wrong, that was Victoria's lightning ability. But the question is how can it be transferred to the child. Then does he gai-' but just as this thought came to his mind he shook it off because his thought was just a theory and was yet to be proved.
In this world, two Abilities are given to an individual after they come to a certain age. Abilities are randomly assigned to a person, and are very different from what their parents have. For the myriad of races out there, the age criteria is different. some gain theirs early while some are late bloomers, but for humans the age is around five years for first and twenty years for the second.
Therefore Dane's thinking was not wrong. Because if we follow the norm, then Arthur will gain his first ability at the age of five and the second at the age of twenty. But what about the lightening he got from his mother, wouldn't that increase his count to three?
But for Dane, this thought was as ridiculous as it can be. If he voice these thoughts even mistakenly, he would be considered a mentally ill person by the masses.
Peter gave a understanding look on his face after Dane finished his words and stopped inquiring any further.
The next few days passed in a flash as Dane accompanied by Arthur buried Victoria six feet under the shade of a cherry blossom tree atop a mountain, which can be seen by anywhere in the village.
After the burial, Arthur was taken to an orphanage by Peter on Dane's orders. But on their way to the orphanage, Arthur's eyes subconsciously moved towards the mountain.
Unknown to him, The image of a beautiful sakura tree and a slate with words etched on it resting in it's shade were imprinted in his memory.
In memory of
[Victoria Ashborn]
A loving mother with a beautiful heart.