2 years after a certain little girl meets a certain dark elf…
“Come along, Alkara!” Iroshi calls over the din of one of Three Rivers’ marketplaces.
Alkara snaps her attention back to her adoptive Uncle. “Coming!” She picks up her pace to catch up, but…
There is this boy. She keeps seeing this big boy with dark brown skin and poofy black hair, running around with mostly smaller children. One time when she was watching, they had been playing a game. One by one all their “names” had gotten called. Ferret. Badger. Mouse. Rabbit. But they never called his. Centaur never got to play.
And the weirdest part? He hadn’t complained. He’d just stood there with this… really sad smile on his face.
Alkara doesn’t get it. She’d have been so mad. She’d have ruined the game for the other kids until they’d let her play properly. She’d make them include her.
But he’d just stood there. Sometimes she’d see him intervene if a smaller kid was being picked on. But that just meant they started picking on him instead. Yet he did it every time. Is he stupid?
One time she’d caught his eye. He’d just stared at her the first time, looking at her all curious. Now every time he saw her he’d give her a small wave, as long as no one else was looking. She wondered about that too.
“Hi!” Suddenly he was next to her.
Alkara jumps and yelps, making the boy laugh. She scowls at him. “What the hell, that’s not funny! What’d you do that for?” She balls her hands into indignant fists.
“S’posed to scare you. Ferret said so.” The boy says jovially, but then drops his voice, “He’s seen you. Probly wanna stay away. And don’t tell him no secrets.”
Alkara furrows her brow and frowns in confusion, “What–?”
“What’s this now? Finally making a new friend Alkara? Want to introduce him?” Iroshi comes up to the two younglings, curious and amused.
“Can’t, can she? She don’t know my name!” The boy says gleefully.
Alkara stamps her foot, infuriated, “I do too! They call you Centaur!”
The boy blinks at her with wide eyes for a few moments, then laughs again, “Hah! Not bad. But not my name.”
“Centaur, huh?” Iroshi says as he kneels down to bring himself to their eye level. “Majestic creatures, centaurs. Fierce warriors. Very fast. With some rather deep thinkers as well.”
The boy’s eyes widen, “You– you’ve seen centaurs? They’re real??”
Iroshi chuckles, “Oh yes, very real. Though not many around here. They prefer the Teasin and Fiesin parts of the elves’ forest.”
The boy’s eyes light up with excitement, “No way! Can–“
“Hey! Centaur! Hurry up!” A boy calls from across the market.
Centaur quickly looks over his shoulder and flashes Alkara and Iroshi a smile, “Gotta go!” He gives Alkara one last look and then darts into the crowd.
Iroshi gives a low whistle as he watches the boy weave through the thick crowd. “That boy is fast. And nimble for someone his size.” He turns to Alkara. “What did he want?”
“Oh. Umm…” Alkara furrows her brow as she thinks back to what he said. “He said Ferret told him to come scare me, because I’ve been watching them. He said to stay away from Ferret and not tell him any secrets.”
Iroshi nods and considers this, “Interesting.” He looks at Alkara appraisingly, “Do you think you can trust him?”
Alkara looks down as she thinks again, then looks back up, “I think so. I don’t think he likes this Ferret kid, even if he does what Ferret tells him to do. They’re always picking on Centaur. And he has a really sad smile.”
Iroshi’s mouth quirks a little on one side, “Aye, he does that.” He ruffles Alkara’s hair a little, “Come on then. Let’s finish up. You’re picking the fletching feathers this time.”
Alkara’s eyes brighten and she excitedly follows Uncle Iro, the boy called Centaur temporarily forgotten.
A few days later, Alkara is hanging out in the square next to the the guild hall of the Indelible Scriveners, Three Rivers’ primary source of news distribution. Uncle Iro had needed to come by for a quick chat with a friend of his, Cato the Elder. He doesn’t usually bring her, but this is supposed to be a short visit. It had been on the way home, so he’d asked her to wait.
She doesn’t mind. She’s a little bored, but she likes to imagine trying harder and harder shots with her bow around the square. Thinking about the arc of the arrow, how it might waver in the wind. Then a satisfying thunk into the target. She’d get in so much trouble if she actually tried them. She fidgets, counting the days till when Uncle Iro would take her out to the woods to practice her shooting again.
She cocks her head as she hears raised voices coming from a nearby alley. They sound kinda… young. When they don’t fade, she decides to get up and check it out. She sidles up next to the edge of the building to listen.
“What’s gotten into you? Since when do you think you get to tell me what to do?” A young boy says with a sneer in his voice.
Alkara hears a loud grunt and what sounds like someone being pushed down onto the ground, but she hears no reply. She sneaks a peak around the corner.
Three boys, two large and one small, surround Centaur, who’s been pushed to the ground against the opposite wall.
“What? Nothing to say now?” The same voice comes from the smallest of them.
That must be Ferret. Alkara wrinkles her nose and puckers her mouth. What a jerk.
“What should we do to him Wolf? For telling us how to play our game?” Ferret asks.
Wolf snickers, leans down to pull Centaur up by his tunic, and jabs him hard in the stomach.
“What do you think, Moose?”
Alkara watches as Moose and Wolf start passing Centaur between the two of them. The next thing she knows, she’s in front of Ferret, a cold fury running through her veins.
“Hey, Weasel!” She says loudly as she grabs him by the shoulder to turn him around. She relishes the look of surprise and then punches him, hard on his tanned, pinched face.
The boy gasps as he goes sprawling, the two bigger boys look at her, dumbfounded. Alkara stands her ground, glaring at them.
“Yeah. Real tough guys, taking orders from a rat like this and beating up the nicest kid on the street.” She really hopes Centaur takes the opportunity to run away. But Moose and Wolf start moving toward her and Centaur doesn’t move at all. He just looks at her, pleading in his eyes, jerking his head to the side, like he wants her to run.
Alkara smirks, but then looses sight of Centaur when Wolf brings his own fist across her face.
Time slows for Alkara a bit as her eyes go wide, stunned by how hard she’d been hit. Holy… shit. Time speeds back up and she gasps, staggers, and stumbles away a few steps. Wolf grabs her arm and jerks her back toward him. She looks back at Wolf, her eyes still wide, trying to mentally prepare for the next blow, but still not recovered from the first one.
“No!” Centaur tackles Wolf, who loses his grip on Alkara. “Get OUT of here!” Centaur yells at her.
Moose growls and grabs at Centaur for tackling Wolf, when a long shadow appears across the alleyway.
And just like that, Ferret, Wolf, and Moose are bolting down the alley. Centaur watches after them, breathing hard. Alkara just stares, slowly realizing that her right cheek is throbbing, and hurts like hell.
“Ohohohoo, my goodness girl.” Uncle Iro chuckles as he comes around, kneels, and takes her chin in his hand to inspect the blow. “Was it worth it?” He asks with an amused smile.
Alkara looks up at him, her eyes watering. She sniffs and nods, “I… I think so.” She looks over at the boy called Centaur, but he’s already gone.
“Mm.” Iroshi nods, “And by the looks of the small one’s face, you landed a pretty solid blow yourself. But what do you think they will do, the next time they find Centaur?”
Alkara’s lip trembles. She winces as she swipes at her nose, brushing against swollen and sensitive skin. “But I… I couldn’t just stand there and… do nothing.”
“I’m not saying you were wrong. He made his own choice, protecting you, even though it would only earn him more punishment. But he didn’t want you to get involved Alkara. And this is why.” Iroshi says gently.
Alkara nods, then looks down the alley again.
“What’s got you so worked up about this kid young one?” Iroshi asks, amused curiosity clear in his voice.
Alkara slowly turns back to look at him, then furrows her brow to think. “He protects the little ones. I thought… I thought maybe he was stupid. Didn’t realize that helping them just made it worse for himself. But he does it on purpose…” A fresh look of determination hardens on her face. “Maybe I can catch up to him. Maybe we can figure out how to knock Ferret down a peg for good. Maybe–“
Iroshi chuckles as he grabs Alkara’s arm and swings her onto his back in a smooth, now familiar motion. “Don’t worry about him young one. He’ll be fine. And so will the little ones.” He heads toward their home on the outskirts of the city. “There will always be bullies. But sometimes you gotta let other people learn how to stand up to them too. I’m not saying don’t do your part. But you can’t fight everyone’s battles. Pick and choose Alkara. Pick and choose.”
A few weeks later, while Alkara is prepping a rabbit for dinner, Iroshi comes home, ushering in the boy they call Centaur. His face badly bruised, an eye swollen shut, he holds his left arm gingerly, trying not to jostle it.
“Alkara, grab my kit for me, would you?” Iroshi asks, an apologetic smile in answer to the accusatory glare he’s now receiving from her. Alkara obediently stops her preparation and runs to grab Uncle Iro’s healing kit.
“Um… thanks mister but I gotta get back to mom…” Centaur mumbles. “Don’ want her to worry.” He tries to flash a smile but winces and immediately drops it.
“Mm, no we wouldn’t want that,” He says as he guides the boy to a nearby chair. “Let me take a look at you first and then we’ll decide, alright?”
Centaur hesitates, but nods.
“Here Uncle.” Alkara says, handing Iroshi his kit. “I wanna help too. Can I help?”
Iroshi smiles as he starts to dress the boy’s wounds, “Please finish making dinner Alkara. I’m sure Centaur is hungry.”
Alkara furrows her brow, not satisfied that that was actually helping, but does as her Uncle says and returns to the rabbit.
The boy does his best not to react, but still nearly yelps when Iroshi starts to check his arm. “Mmm, definitely broken.” Iroshi murmurs to himself.
Centaur blinks for a bit, then smirks and laughs a little, “Well. It was a good run. I got to nine. More’n some!”
Iroshi chuckles, “True enough, but there’s still time to fix it. You’ll be back to normal before you know it if we set it soon.”
“Can’t pay.” The boy says way too cheerfully as he shakes his head. “Mom don’t work in the nice part of town.”
Iroshi considers for a few moments before asking, “Where does your mom work?”
The boy opens his mouth to crack another joke but seems to be at a loss. His jovial façade falters and he mumbles, “Um… I gotta… I gotta go home…”
Already kneeling in front of him, Iroshi arcs an eyebrow and gives the boy a direct look, “You’re not goin’ anywhere kid. Did you see those daggers Alkara shot at us when we came in?”
The boy can’t help but snort with laughter and nod.
“Now, we’d like to help.” Iroshi nods to Alkara, who’s still watching them as closely as she can while she finishes making dinner, “And you’re worried that your mom will worry about you, right?”
Centaur nods.
“So if you don’t want to tell us about your mom, you don’t have to. But then how would you like us to help you?” Iroshi asks kindly.
The boy shakes his head, “I don’t.” He points to Alkara, “They’ll hurt her. They said–“
Iroshi chuckles low in his throat, “Don’t worry about Alkara. She can take care of herself, and when she can’t she’s got me.” He looks at the boy meaningfully, “And you, apparently. You look after Alkara, means I look after you. Alright?”
The boy’s eyes widen. Iroshi smiles. “Now, is your mom in any danger? Do we need to look after her too?”
Centaur shakes his head, “Mom works in… a big house with… lots of other people. Mostly ladies. Some men. Um…” He looks furtively at Alkara and then looks down, “Mom works for Sage. Lobster Kettle. On the docks.”
Alkara blinks in confusion. What does that mean? She furrows her brow as she continues to mind the cooking pot. I wonder if that’s the secret he told Ferret.
Iroshi just nods, “I know the place. Sage is an old acquaintance of mine. Quite the business she’s grown over the years. She take good care of your mother?”
Centaur nods, “Good enough. Mom says she’s fair. Helps her stay healthy so that she can work. Even lets her pick customers. Sometimes. It’s kinda… noisy… but it beats sleeping on the street.”
Iroshi nods again, “Well, I think you ought to stay with us, at least until your arm is fixed. And I need to let your mom know that you’re okay and that we’re gonna take care of you, alright? So you just hang tight, and enjoy dinner.” Iroshi stands and turns toward the door.
The boy fidgets again and finally sighs, “Um, mister? Mom’s name… it’s Sylira.”
“Mmmm, beautiful name.” Iroshi muses. He looks over at Alkara, “I’ll be back soon. The chirurgeon will likely be here before I get back. Let him in so he can help Centaur here–“
“Um, mister?” The boy interrupts again, tentatively glancing between Alkara and Iroshi. “Name’s Chiron.” The boy fidgets, “Mom hates the street name.”
Iroshi’s face splits into a warm grin, “Chiron.” He takes a few steps back toward the boy, “Nice to meet you Chiron.” He says as he ruffles Chiron’s thick, fluffy, coarse hair. “That’s Alkara, and I’m Iroshi. Now, you make yourself comfortable.” Iroshi’s voice drops to a conspiratorially loud whisper, “And don’t mind Alkara’s cooking.” He says as he winks at Alkara.
“Hey!” Alkara cries indignantly.
For a brief moment, Chiron looks back and forth between the two of them in disbelief but then bursts into such buoyant, infectious laughter that Alkara can’t help but smile and giggle herself.
Iroshi enjoys the sound of the children laughing with a satisfied smile on his face for a few moments before finally heading out.