ACT IV
RESTLESS HOLIDAYS
"Armin, Armin." Hans tried to turn back, focussing on the voice that was calling him by a different name, "Haaa," he sighed, realising it was yet another Inheritor dream. he watched as he grasp the cold surroundings, similar to the Frozen Tooth yet a bit different. Since the height was quite similar to his own, he deduced that he was experiencing the life of a child similar to his age. As he turned a strong punch greeted his face and he bled profusely through both of his nostrils.
"How dare you ignore your little brother." the assailant asked, showing his bloodied fist.
The connection this time between Hans and this new person was a bit strong as Hans also felt the pain but as always all he could do was take on the onslaught together with the real body. As if this was not enough, another boy joined the fun and then punches and kicks rained on Hans as the real body cowered, coiled in fear. Hans shouted "At least shield your head you moron" and right then, as if the real body have heard Hans's plea, his hands moved covering his head.
He knew that as his power grows his connection with the past became strong but he did not like that the pain was transmitting in his body. Bullying was one thing, he never let anyone even stare at him so the feeling of being bullied was quite pathetic. He could feel the helpless emotions turmoiling within him. Fortunately, an older person came, dressed in Armour he looked quite majestic and Hans saw hope as the boys halted the beatdown.
The boy looked ahead and so does Hans as he heard the real body say
"Father…"
But the man this body called father looked at him with disgust. His intimidating eyes did not suit a father just like his tone," Pathetic, you are as useless as your mother" he said as he came near, giving Armin a wooden sword. He asked, "Stand, I wish to see your progress."
Struggling, Armin stood as Hans watched from within, he knew very well how perilous this body's condition was, his ribs broken and his writs aching yet the boy took the sword. A wave of emotions surged like it was the chance that the real body sought. Without waiting for a do, he lunged with a forward slash but was too slow for the veteran ahead. His father not only blocked it but kicked him in the gut without holding back adding a verbal mockery
"A bastard like you can’t amount to anything."
Rudolf might have given him some tough love but this was going overboard, never in his small life had he been ever treated like this so the anger was rising within him but in contrast to his emotions, Armin, the real body owner was helplessly praying for his father to be stopped. However, his father targeted the place which was already hurt. The disgust of that man towards his child was apparent and as the connection remained strong, both Hans and Armin struggled to gasp in the cold air. They lay in the snow, unable to move, yet no one came to rescue them. As Armin's emotions took over his, Hans felt afraid for the first time in his life. His heart rate elevated as he clasped his heart and lost consciousness only to wake up in his bed
"What kind of Shit was that? He asked himself, feeling cranky because of the things he saw, almost to the point that he thought this inheritor power as a bane than a boon. Washing his face with the cold water on a chilly night, he woke himself up completely. He looked outside and it was late morning. He wanted to lash out at something or someone, so the best thing for him was practising the sword with the knights of the estate.
He nodded at his own decision and hurriedly opened the door. But his cranky attitude took a complete turn when he saw the people there. Rudolf, Sierra, Vanessa and Delimira were looking back at him as he ran down the stairs. Vanessa came in a hurry and hugged him while tousling his hair.
Hans returned the embrace and came with her to the elders. He saw Rudolf looking at him weirdly so he replied with a smug face,
"I heard you went crazy for your lady Gramps."
"Yes, he is alright," confirmed Rudolf as he sighed.
Disappointed with the response, Hans provoked,
"What! No comebacks."
"Haaa...Why don’t you compete with your friend?" said Rudolf pointing at Delimira.
Hans looked at Delimira and all the losses in verbal conflict came to his mind. He grunted as Rudolf managed to piss him off without saying anything. Seeing the smug face of his grandpa was not something he could just let go of. But before they could go for each other, Sierra asked Hans to sit and it was not a request so he followed without any refusal.
Sierra was massaging her temples, she was getting tired of this charade of Hans and his adult child husband. She was shaking her head as she saw Aredhel who just had come to their mansion, knowing what she was thinking Sierra assured her that she already had checked both the children in the early morning for any injuries or curses and there was nothing concerning. Both ladies continued their chat and Hans finally took notice of Delimira, sitting with her mother just like Vanessa sat by his side. And when the atmosphere became more comfortable, it was time for Hans to get some answers or probably provide some too.
"Now, how did you manage to get ‘Ingress’"Rudolf asked first.
This surprised Hans but as he realised who Rudolf was, the feeling jumped out of the window and he responded,
"It’s pretty neat, right? A very old man named Arat gave me this thing and said it was my birthright."
"Yes, it's very neat but that thing could be tracked down all the time, so how did you manage to get away from him? You are not capable of that, well no one is. The people with him can even Chase Norwin to the depths of hell."
Hans felt proud for no reason, he managed to fool pretty strong names that he did not even know about. He hurriedly ran to his room and brought the Parvian artefact and iterated the things in detail, "Well, sis told me 'The arrow shot by the archer may or may not kill a single person. But a well-thought strategy can kill even babies in the womb.'" He said looking at Vanessa and continued "I heard they were looking for an aqua gem - "
"Why?" interrupted Rudolf.
"Tsk, he did not tell me why, stop interfering gramps," he added, so where was I, yes, the gem was with Evil monkeys, natives of Frozen tooth. That PM Arat wanted to exchange the gem with this and as he was testing me. I created an irreparable fight and ran. I made them busy so even if they had the means to track us, they should not have the time." He explained feeling proud of his well-executed plan.
Rudolf looked at the artefact and said with a smug smile,
"And in the process, you also robbed them, nice going squeaky."
He then turned to Vanessa and added,
"You are teaching him some pretty grim stuff, kid."
Sierra took Vanessa’s side and said,
"I don’t mind, whatever she teaches, as long as our boy gets to live one more day, I am up for anything."
Vanessa was standing proud as Hans winked at her. Then he turned towards Aredhel who was comfortably sitting with Delimira and asked,
"Mmm… Does a Name Armin ring a bell to you, professor Aredhel?"
Aredhel stopped taking the sip and put down the teacup on the table, "Did you see something again?" she asked back,
"Yeah, it was not to my liking."
"You should ask about him to Lady Sierra, she is his descendant after all."
Hans turned to her and she started speaking,
"You do know who was the first king of Parv?"
"Yes, sir Dietrich, right?"
"Yes, but there is no official record of him, in the mid-500s, the true descendant of him came to light as he successfully overthrew the king of their times. I don’t know if it is right or exaggerated but Armin came, he fought and conquered Parv out of nowhere."
"So he was just someone who rebelled."
Sierra smiled and replied,
"He did not even bring a single person with him, all of that he did it alone."
"Now that’s something." Hans got excited, he felt really good after knowing this event like he himself was the one who did the deed. After the sort of treatment he received from his family it was good that his story had some achievements in his name. His thoughts were broken as Aredhel interrupted him.
"So what did you see?" She asked.
"Nothing much, but him fighting an overwhelming opponent."
Technically, he did not lie but spared some details as he did not want this person to be looked down upon by anyone and when everyone seems to buy his words, Rudolf intervened
"You and your bogus shit."
Hans was starting to begin his verbal fight with Rudolf but Hodges chimed in,
"My lord, what happened to your side?"
Hans’s curiosity suppressed his desire to taunt Rudolf and he also looked at the old man with anticipation.
"Nothing much, I met a mad bastard, if I hadn’t gone all out many of the people might have died because of his fits."
Hans asked for details and Rudolf let out a sigh, "I forgot you enjoy things like these." he said, adding "That maniac had already killed many assassins before I could interrogate one. But fortunately, some survived his hunt and we discovered their hideout in Reinhardt's Duchy. So we went there and created a huge mess. Dijkstra -"
"What? That damned madman was in Grimgar."It was not the habit of Hodges to interrupt their master in the middle of the conversation but he unintentionally spoke. Whereas Hans was thinking about where he had heard the name and recalled the knight with the Sad death monicker. He jumped out of his seat, pumped up and wanted to know every inch of detail.
Hodges realised he interrupted his master as everyone was looking at him, he apologised quickly and Rudolf continued,
"Dijkstra is currently tracking the bait we set but their objective was to kill Hans and bring Winter’s daughter alive. So I think it was the girl they were after."
Delimira got irritated, she lived all her life in a cage called the Clandor royal family palace and finally when it was time for her to spread her wings. The people in the shadows were readying their knives to clip her down. However, seeing her troubled Rudolf assured again and added, "Dijkstra won’t stop until he finishes the assignment, it means whoever they are, they are on the hunting list of the worst person they can imagine so, you basically won the lottery, girl. That madman taking your side is the best thing one could ask for."
Hans on the other hand was practically jumping in excitement, he asked quickly,
"Is he that badass?"
"What badass, who is teaching you these words?"
"Oh come on Gramps, give me something."
"Do you know what people call him?"
Hans knew his title but not the meaning so he shook his head in denial So the old knight responded
"The Sad Death. There is no worse way to go out than a death granted by him."
The title now felt a bit childish and Rudolf realised what Hans was thinking,
"The assassins started singing like birds with just his introduction, squeaky," he added.
Pumped up once again, he was on cloud nine, now he truly wanted to meet this man, he was in thought but Aredhel’s words pulled him back from cloud nine.
***
AnnouncementNEXT : THE OVERSTAYING GUEST
ACT IV
RESTLESS HOLIDAYS
"Armin, Armin." Hans tried to turn back, focussing on the voice that was calling him by a different name, "Haaa," he sighed, realising it was yet another Inheritor dream. he watched as he grasp the cold surroundings, similar to the Frozen Tooth yet a bit different. Since the height was quite similar to his own, he deduced that he was experiencing the life of a child similar to his age. As he turned a strong punch greeted his face and he bled profusely through both of his nostrils.
"How dare you ignore your little brother." the assailant asked, showing his bloodied fist.
The connection this time between Hans and this new person was a bit strong as Hans also felt the pain but as always all he could do was take on the onslaught together with the real body. As if this was not enough, another boy joined the fun and then punches and kicks rained on Hans as the real body cowered, coiled in fear. Hans shouted "At least shield your head you moron" and right then, as if the real body have heard Hans's plea, his hands moved covering his head.
He knew that as his power grows his connection with the past became strong but he did not like that the pain was transmitting in his body. Bullying was one thing, he never let anyone even stare at him so the feeling of being bullied was quite pathetic. He could feel the helpless emotions turmoiling within him. Fortunately, an older person came, dressed in Armour he looked quite majestic and Hans saw hope as the boys halted the beatdown.
The boy looked ahead and so does Hans as he heard the real body say
"Father…"
But the man this body called father looked at him with disgust. His intimidating eyes did not suit a father just like his tone," Pathetic, you are as useless as your mother" he said as he came near, giving Armin a wooden sword. He asked, "Stand, I wish to see your progress."
Struggling, Armin stood as Hans watched from within, he knew very well how perilous this body's condition was, his ribs broken and his writs aching yet the boy took the sword. A wave of emotions surged like it was the chance that the real body sought. Without waiting for a do, he lunged with a forward slash but was too slow for the veteran ahead. His father not only blocked it but kicked him in the gut without holding back adding a verbal mockery
"A bastard like you can’t amount to anything."
Rudolf might have given him some tough love but this was going overboard, never in his small life had he been ever treated like this so the anger was rising within him but in contrast to his emotions, Armin, the real body owner was helplessly praying for his father to be stopped. However, his father targeted the place which was already hurt. The disgust of that man towards his child was apparent and as the connection remained strong, both Hans and Armin struggled to gasp in the cold air. They lay in the snow, unable to move, yet no one came to rescue them. As Armin's emotions took over his, Hans felt afraid for the first time in his life. His heart rate elevated as he clasped his heart and lost consciousness only to wake up in his bed
"What kind of Shit was that? He asked himself, feeling cranky because of the things he saw, almost to the point that he thought this inheritor power as a bane than a boon. Washing his face with the cold water on a chilly night, he woke himself up completely. He looked outside and it was late morning. He wanted to lash out at something or someone, so the best thing for him was practising the sword with the knights of the estate.
He nodded at his own decision and hurriedly opened the door. But his cranky attitude took a complete turn when he saw the people there. Rudolf, Sierra, Vanessa and Delimira were looking back at him as he ran down the stairs. Vanessa came in a hurry and hugged him while tousling his hair.
Hans returned the embrace and came with her to the elders. He saw Rudolf looking at him weirdly so he replied with a smug face,
"I heard you went crazy for your lady Gramps."
"Yes, he is alright," confirmed Rudolf as he sighed.
Disappointed with the response, Hans provoked,
"What! No comebacks."
"Haaa...Why don’t you compete with your friend?" said Rudolf pointing at Delimira.
Hans looked at Delimira and all the losses in verbal conflict came to his mind. He grunted as Rudolf managed to piss him off without saying anything. Seeing the smug face of his grandpa was not something he could just let go of. But before they could go for each other, Sierra asked Hans to sit and it was not a request so he followed without any refusal.
Sierra was massaging her temples, she was getting tired of this charade of Hans and his adult child husband. She was shaking her head as she saw Aredhel who just had come to their mansion, knowing what she was thinking Sierra assured her that she already had checked both the children in the early morning for any injuries or curses and there was nothing concerning. Both ladies continued their chat and Hans finally took notice of Delimira, sitting with her mother just like Vanessa sat by his side. And when the atmosphere became more comfortable, it was time for Hans to get some answers or probably provide some too.
"Now, how did you manage to get ‘Ingress’"Rudolf asked first.
This surprised Hans but as he realised who Rudolf was, the feeling jumped out of the window and he responded,
"It’s pretty neat, right? A very old man named Arat gave me this thing and said it was my birthright."
"Yes, it's very neat but that thing could be tracked down all the time, so how did you manage to get away from him? You are not capable of that, well no one is. The people with him can even Chase Norwin to the depths of hell."
Hans felt proud for no reason, he managed to fool pretty strong names that he did not even know about. He hurriedly ran to his room and brought the Parvian artefact and iterated the things in detail, "Well, sis told me 'The arrow shot by the archer may or may not kill a single person. But a well-thought strategy can kill even babies in the womb.'" He said looking at Vanessa and continued "I heard they were looking for an aqua gem - "
"Why?" interrupted Rudolf.
"Tsk, he did not tell me why, stop interfering gramps," he added, so where was I, yes, the gem was with Evil monkeys, natives of Frozen tooth. That PM Arat wanted to exchange the gem with this and as he was testing me. I created an irreparable fight and ran. I made them busy so even if they had the means to track us, they should not have the time." He explained feeling proud of his well-executed plan.
Rudolf looked at the artefact and said with a smug smile,
"And in the process, you also robbed them, nice going squeaky."
He then turned to Vanessa and added,
"You are teaching him some pretty grim stuff, kid."
Sierra took Vanessa’s side and said,
"I don’t mind, whatever she teaches, as long as our boy gets to live one more day, I am up for anything."
Vanessa was standing proud as Hans winked at her. Then he turned towards Aredhel who was comfortably sitting with Delimira and asked,
"Mmm… Does a Name Armin ring a bell to you, professor Aredhel?"
Aredhel stopped taking the sip and put down the teacup on the table, "Did you see something again?" she asked back,
"Yeah, it was not to my liking."
"You should ask about him to Lady Sierra, she is his descendant after all."
Hans turned to her and she started speaking,
"You do know who was the first king of Parv?"
"Yes, sir Dietrich, right?"
"Yes, but there is no official record of him, in the mid-500s, the true descendant of him came to light as he successfully overthrew the king of their times. I don’t know if it is right or exaggerated but Armin came, he fought and conquered Parv out of nowhere."
"So he was just someone who rebelled."
Sierra smiled and replied,
"He did not even bring a single person with him, all of that he did it alone."
"Now that’s something." Hans got excited, he felt really good after knowing this event like he himself was the one who did the deed. After the sort of treatment he received from his family it was good that his story had some achievements in his name. His thoughts were broken as Aredhel interrupted him.
"So what did you see?" She asked.
"Nothing much, but him fighting an overwhelming opponent."
Technically, he did not lie but spared some details as he did not want this person to be looked down upon by anyone and when everyone seems to buy his words, Rudolf intervened
"You and your bogus shit."
Hans was starting to begin his verbal fight with Rudolf but Hodges chimed in,
"My lord, what happened to your side?"
Hans’s curiosity suppressed his desire to taunt Rudolf and he also looked at the old man with anticipation.
"Nothing much, I met a mad bastard, if I hadn’t gone all out many of the people might have died because of his fits."
Hans asked for details and Rudolf let out a sigh, "I forgot you enjoy things like these." he said, adding "That maniac had already killed many assassins before I could interrogate one. But fortunately, some survived his hunt and we discovered their hideout in Reinhardt's Duchy. So we went there and created a huge mess. Dijkstra -"
"What? That damned madman was in Grimgar."It was not the habit of Hodges to interrupt their master in the middle of the conversation but he unintentionally spoke. Whereas Hans was thinking about where he had heard the name and recalled the knight with the Sad death monicker. He jumped out of his seat, pumped up and wanted to know every inch of detail.
Hodges realised he interrupted his master as everyone was looking at him, he apologised quickly and Rudolf continued,
"Dijkstra is currently tracking the bait we set but their objective was to kill Hans and bring Winter’s daughter alive. So I think it was the girl they were after."
Delimira got irritated, she lived all her life in a cage called the Clandor royal family palace and finally when it was time for her to spread her wings. The people in the shadows were readying their knives to clip her down. However, seeing her troubled Rudolf assured again and added, "Dijkstra won’t stop until he finishes the assignment, it means whoever they are, they are on the hunting list of the worst person they can imagine so, you basically won the lottery, girl. That madman taking your side is the best thing one could ask for."
Hans on the other hand was practically jumping in excitement, he asked quickly,
"Is he that badass?"
"What badass, who is teaching you these words?"
"Oh come on Gramps, give me something."
"Do you know what people call him?"
Hans knew his title but not the meaning so he shook his head in denial So the old knight responded
"The Sad Death. There is no worse way to go out than a death granted by him."
The title now felt a bit childish and Rudolf realised what Hans was thinking,
"The assassins started singing like birds with just his introduction, squeaky," he added.
Pumped up once again, he was on cloud nine, now he truly wanted to meet this man, he was in thought but Aredhel’s words pulled him back from cloud nine.
***
AnnouncementNEXT : THE OVERSTAYING GUEST
