Chapter 7 - The Cold Night

"Mother, wait!" I yelled and grabbed her skirt,

"Please mother don't worry about me, I am used to it please mother, it doesn't hurt" I was pleading with my mother on the door of our cottage,

"Mother, you are also doing your best right? so please let's both hang on, just for a little longer I know everything will be alright in the end," I said.

"Do you think I will stay quiet and do nothing when they are hurting you like this, I will end things now once for all" she clenched her fist and growled.

"Don't mind them mother, I know you care that's enough, and also don't you know the strongest sword is the one which is hammered most, so let's just not let them ruin our time together, I am a fine mother," I said with a big smile and a proud face.

"Alright! but I will talk to Lord about this no matter what, now hold this," she said while giving Druid stone ( a healing stone) to me, but since it is just an indirect treatment and not a direct treatment, it only eased a little pain,

"But please, don't push it," I said, and then she poured some, White water which acts as a catalyst to use these types of stone, then the stone started showing its effect.

I was holding the stone, and little by little in a few minutes I was back to my normal self.

"Mother, can I keep it?" I always liked to collect things like these, so she always gave things like these to me without asking much..

"Okay but don't lose it," she said, then she made us dinner, and then we went to bed as nothing happened, but I knew she was awake and thinking I held her hand and told her goodnight, then I dozed off.

The next day the same routine continued. She made me breakfast, kissed me on the forehead, told me to take care, and went to the mansion and after eating breakfast I went to study for a little while, as usual, they came again.

"Hmm... look who it is, an ungrateful moron who snitched about us to her mother, who serves us," Crius looked annoyed and angry.

"If it were not of aunt Erza that geezer may have lectured us, because of this moron," Ulious fingers were twitching like he was itching to hit me.

"Let's play with him again! Aaris' big brother doesn't understand that Everything we are doing for him, but look what we get in return he betrayed us" Winter looked at me with her never-fading creepy smile.

"Aaris big brother you don't understand, we only want to play with you and they use magic only to teach you, but look here! you hurt our feelings, so why don't you play with us again, I am sure they will forgive you after that." She said she was worried about me, but Winter was more wicked than these two, she only wanted to see me beg in pain, she never missed any chance to provoke their irritation for me. 

"Get to the point, don't play around," I gazed at them. I just wanted to end this quickly so I can use druid stone to heal myself before my mother returns.

"hmm, look a pussy tried to become a lion" Crius clicked his fingers.

He grabbed my shirt and pulled me toward the forest, after beating the hell out of me, Ulious grabbed my hair and whispered in my ear,

"Don't do that ever again" and returned to their mansion,

Lying for a while on the ground and cursing them, I went back to the cottage, after using Stone I returned to studies.

In the evening when she returned she looked at me "thank god you are okay, when Lady Erza butted in and started defending them,  saying they were only playing, I was worried." She grabbed my cheeks and shook me until she was sure that I was okay.

"Of course they were annoyed and didn't talk to me today," I tried to pull a happy face but a sudden reminder of pain in my body didn't let me do it.

Day by day things became normal and that included the bullying and healing of me, my most of the allowance went into buying white water for the stone.

Few months passed, and I got used to the routine. 

One evening when my mother returned, she looked very anxious, when I asked her what happened,

she told me that today Lord Nulim collapsed in his study, his old age started to show its might.

It was given that the stress and affairs from the kingdom were taking a toll on him.

After all, he was the head of an important part of the kingdom,

If he refused to continue his work then the security of the kingdom would be in danger,

The affairs he worked on were also very confidential, so he had to choose someone to take on his duties to continue to protect the dignity of the name Tresguy.

After a month a big announcement was made in the domain,

I knew about it because of my mother although she already told me it was not a good decision.

The lord decided to give the title of the head to Husre, and he will wait for the time when he could meet his wife again, till then she will serve lord Nulim as a nurse, but still, because my mother was against the order of inheritance, things became difficult for Husre.

Even though he was now the head of the domain, still whatever decision was taken by him, it had to go through lord Nulim, and of course, it included the assistance of my mother.

Things continued like this and because of it, the treatment of the young nobles turned colder and colder. I knew they wanted me to make my mother resign and take me away from them but I endured it. Now their anguish was amusing to me.

After some time all the people of the kingdom became aware of the true position of Husre, and it made him feel pondering over inferiority towards his father.

Husre was a noble only by name, just like other aristocrats, he was greedy, selfish, and very arrogant, also a real scum to the bones.

When he became the head of the Tresguys' he started becoming more and more oppressive than he already was, he started getting violent over the other servants, I even heard that he assaulted one of the maids, but because of his position nobody dared to go against him, even mother told me when Nulim heard about this and he fired the maid after compensating her and told her to go far away, and because of her poverty and fear of the Nobles' she did the same, I asked my mother to be careful, but as usual, she smiled and told me to not to worry.

For many days my mother did her duties diligently.

Our life was a little peaceful, for now.

She told me when lord Nulim will pass away, she will leave the mansion too, but.....

One day my mother didn't return to the cottage by night, since she was Lord Nulim nurse, she started returning home at night, but it was already the time when she returned home usually, but tonight she was late, so I was uneasy, I dwelled desperately, the ticking of the clock made me anxious with each passing second.

In the end, I thought to look for her, so I locked the door and went into the mansion. I entered the mansion through the kitchen's backdoor and started seeking her, the mansion was so big that I got lost.

Hall to stairs, stairs to corridors I was looking for her. I was praying that she was okay, running across in the mansion, I saw aunt Beth. I asked her about my mother.

But she seemed worried, she turned her face from me and said,

"Don't worry your mother will return home soon,  just go back to the cottage before anybody notices you,"  I could see her face sweating, she was hiding something and she looked somewhat in sorrow like she was afraid of something.

"Please!! Aunt Beth tell me! where my mother is?" I was really scared.

"Please understand Aaris! there is a lot of work in the mansion, So when she is done she will ret-"

"AHHHHH!

Nooo!, SOMEBODY COME HERE NOW!!"

Suddenly a cry echoed in the mansion, Aunt Beth took my arm and pushed me to the corner and asked me to wait, but I insisted to take her with me, I felt my heart getting heavier and heavier, I  begged aunt Beth to take me with her, at last, she agreed she held my hand and we started running toward a room,

After crossing the hall, we saw many maids and butlers gathered around a room.

It was Husre's study, and my aunt Beth picked me up. and told them to move aside, I don't but when everyone looked at me they made way for her.

When we entered the study and saw a man kneeling and yelling beside the table, 

it was Husre! His head was covered in blood, he was holding the side of his face with a cloth, which turned red from the bleeding, the nursing servants were treating beside him.

I was really afraid, some of them were looking at me and some in the corner, I followed their eyes,

I saw my mother, in the corner of the room in front of a bookshelf.

"Mother, where were you? What happened? I was really afraid, are you okay?" I leaped toward her and my voice was quivering.

"Aaris!! What are you doing here?" she held me and pulled me towards herself and shoved my face close to her like she didn't want me to see this pathetic and horrible state of Husre, I felt something on my head dripping to my nape, I tried to wipe it, when I checked it my legs gave out, it was blood.

Her left hand was covered in blood and the right one was holding a paperweight like an object which also was covered in blood.

I didn't know what happened here and to Husre, but I was really glad to see my mother safe then slowly I glanced at her face,

She was glaring at Husre with disgust, She crouched and held my head close to her with her right hand.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Tresguys came running and yelling...

"WHAT HAPPENED??"