Dawn- An age of Darkness

I walked straight for the town square. Meanwhile, someone followed me all the way. He was walking in broad daylight and seriously thought I wouldn't notice. I sped up, took a sharp turn, and waited for him. He walked right into a meters distance from me.

"What?" I glared at him. He jumped a step backward, clearly surprised.

"I was kind of worried so…." He didn't look me in the eye.

"SO you eavesdropped?"

"No-no I just, I just kept my distance and saw what you did. I thank you for your help. I couldn't have done that if you weren't there." He was the same young man- Gorgan, who helped me before. Obviously, I knew it was him but it still rubbed the wrong way when I saw his face. Jealousy? Envy?

But if he wasn't there at the right time, I might have punched a hole in the large guy's stomach.

"Don't mention it. Oh and you're a soldier right?" I didn't know much about him or his standing for that matter.

"Yes?" His answer didn't give off confidence either.

"His father was one too. But he never got the monthly money. And now his mother's dead. I'd look into it, if I were you." I gave him the gist of everything.

"Understood." He mumbled something. It went something like, "To think there were so many of such people…" Probably.

"On that note how come there's a slum like that in a big city like this?" It piqued my interest. I knew there were rich people and poor people everywhere but the contrast here was too much. Besides this town seemed much better than the village too.

"A lot of soldiers have died over the years. Moire is the only city of Bromum which is said to have impregnable walls. Of course it comes at a cost. You can imagine what happens to their families. The state can't possibly cover all the families… And so the soldiers these days fight a little cautiously: enough to even call them cowards." Gorgan hesitated for a moment but in the end he told me everything.

I could understand his reasons. No wonder their mother had to resort to that…. "But the people that gave their life did that to protect the citizens and you're saying this damn city can't even provide for the families of those martyrs? No wonder this city is rotting…." But just because I could understand it didn't mean I could accept it.

"I'm sorry. It is not my place to say but… I do feel what you're saying. I'm sorry."

I don't need your damn apology. As far as I was concerned the whole system was to blame not some random pretty good soldier. "See you around." I turned around, and waved my hands.

"I could show you around if you need to go somewhere." He still offered his help though. Maybe he was nicer than I thought.

"I can manage." I didn't feel like talking with him. But there was a reason I didn't want him around anymore. At first he was a big help but now he was just a pain. He was literally the best looking guy I'd seen in this whole town. His hair was golden, his skin was golden, and even his face was like a masterpiece. Honestly if I had ovaries. They'd have exploded by now. Unfortunately, that only pissed me off more. The mere fact that he didn't notice the crowd of girls behind him and acted modest pushed me off the edge even further. If punching for no reason was allowed, he'd have more than a few bruises on his face.

Gorgan made an awkward face, smiled, and left.

I finally found the hut too. Except it was closed. You got to be shitting me! Looked like, luck didn't favor me one bit.

"Excuse me. Do you know when this shop will open?" I asked a nearby store owner.

"Oh they just left yesterday. I don't think they'll be coming back in months."

Perfect. I smiled, grabbed my head, and sighed. So far life was full of sighs.

I didn't have any more leads, so I just walked around. Maybe I shouldn't have acted on such haste. It would have been more practical to learn more about the legends first. And yet I neglected all that. I walked around like a withered tree.

That's when I saw a familiar face. It was a face, I wanted to forget but I couldn't. It was also the face that haunted me for the longest of times. She was just standing there in the middle of the road.. She looked at me, her expression emotionless.