A Time of Tigers - From Peasant to Emperor

Chapter 23: Blood and Bruises - Part 6

"Ah…" She caught herself merely staring at him without having yet given him a reply. "We have bandages if you need them…" She said carefully, seeing the wounds on his face. Oddly, merely from hearing the sound of his voice, a barrier had already broken, and she couldn't help but see in him the same things she had seen in her own children. The same humanity and the same propensity for suffering. She was normally kind-hearted at the best of times, but even she didn't know quite why she offered to help a boy such as him.

"Sorry…" Beam murmured, scratching his head. "I don't have the money to pay for them," he said awkwardly.

"I understand," the old woman nodded, though she'd never intended to make him pay in the first place. But seeing the stubbornness in his eyes, she could tell that even if she said as much, he would refuse her again. "About that bread then… We have a round hard loaf for a quarter of a copper and these seeded buns for the same price. Are any of them to your taste?"

"Uhmm…" Beam wasn't quite sure, since it was his new master that he was buying for. Picturing Dominus in his head, he guessed what he'd like. "I'll have the round hard loaf then, please," he guessed.

"As you wish," she nodded, picking up the plate that it was sitting on and holding it out to Beam for him to take. Beam placed the copper quarter on her palm in return and lifted off the hard loaf.

"Thank you," he said.

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"Thank you for your business," the old woman said in reply, offering him a friendly, searching smile.

Beam dipped out of the shop before she could say any more. Even that much conversation was getting his heart bumping. He didn't know how to respond to kind words anymore. Or friendliness. Or anything of the like. 'Then… why do I find it so easy to talk to Master Dominus?' Beam thought to himself. Though it would be a stretch to say he found it 'easy' to talk with his new master, he certainly found it easier than anyone else in the village. 'That's probably just because of how strange he is," Beam told himself.

Now, with the bread in his hand, he'd successfully completed one of his tasks. Bread had been acquired. Whilst he hadn't exactly managed to complete the task of getting his house sorted, he'd at least hopefully overcome the worst part – which he assumed would just be showing his face initially.

He looked at the sky, deciding that he would go home for the day. The plan had been to make contact with his landlord somehow, but with the state that he was in, he didn't think it would be wise to do that.

At the very least, he'd made contact with Judas, an employee of his landlord, so he wouldn't be accused of refusing to show his face.

He figured that, at the very least, he'd pay Loz a visit and apologise for missing work, and let him know that he wouldn't be digging for some time into the future, out of respect for how well the foreman had treated him.

But he would have to dart across the marketplace in order to reach the digging spot, and at this time of day, it was a near certainty that Loriel would be there. "Guhh…" realizing such a thing made Beam groan. He could go the long way around to avoid her for a certainty, but it was such a distance more that he was hesitant to do it.

He decided that he would just hurry across the marketplace instead, figuring that if he was quick enough, she wouldn't see him. "Besides," he reasoned, "she's probably working anyway."

That plan was foiled almost immediately. Beam had begun to dart through the crowd of people, doing his best to work around his bruised body, only for a voice to call out to him.

"Beam!" Came the sound. Beam glanced behind him, planning to dodge her – there were enough people in the crowd for him to manage it. But the attack came from the side instead and before he knew it, there was a slender arm over his shoulder and a concerned face peering down at him.

"Oh goodness…" she murmured, gently feeling around his bruises. "Judas did this to you?"

Beam reluctantly nodded.

"I heard what happened, that your house got burned down. I was really worried when they said they couldn't find you, that you hadn't shown up at work… Are you really doing okay?" Loriel asked, her concern genuine.

"I'm fine, it's just a few bruises," Beam said honestly. "And I'll get the business sorted with Greeves soon enough as well."

Loriel stroked his hair. "You're such a good boy. Even after you worked so hard, such cruel things keep happening to you, don't they? And yet you don't give up. You're so strong," she said, reaching into her dress and pulling out her handkerchief. She gently began to dab the blood on the worst of Beam's wounds.

Beam didn't know what to say, so he said nothing, he merely stood there awkwardly as Loriel cleaned his face. "There you go," she said finally, offering him a gentle smile. "I'm going to have to leave you now and head back to work. But if you're struggling, sweetie, come and find me, okay? I'll help you out."

"Okay. Thank you," Beam said, knowing that agreeing was the only way to put her worries at ease.