Chapter 3 - 3: The Demons Of Past.

Chapter 3-1

(this time I will try to write in third person perspective)

It was time for lunch. As usual, Ranulf and Ms. Lozen were having lunch together while Grey was being taken care of by a maid. But this time there was an air of seriousness around the table. After the training ground incident, Ranulf has been waiting for Ms. Lozen to speak about the incident. But now looking at the serious expression on Ms. Lozen's face his concern grew More.

"As Grey's father I should let you know" Finally Ms. Lozen spoke. "I will cut the chase and say it directly." Her expression got more serious so did Ranulf's concern. "Your son got his seal marking, that too in very early age.".

"Huh? That doesn't make sense, how is that bad news-"

"Who said it was bad news"

"But your expression-"

"What expression?" Her expression was changed with a bright smile like it was always there on her face.

"Don't scare me like that maste- ah Ms. Lozen."

"I heard you. Makes me happy, why did u stop calling me master? It's already been a long while since that incident."

Ranulf didn't reply with anything. Watching the atmosphere grow awkward. Alice decided to interrupt.

"It doesn't matter if he has seal marking or not, he was born special. He will be my kid, he doesn't have to be a knight, warrior, or hero's party member, he can live a peaceful life and I will still be proud of him. I hope he lives peaceful life away from all of this." said Alice.

Both, Ms. Lozen and Alice smiled in agreement.

"You are right, he doesn't have to feel responsible for this world. He can live however he wants. He can choose whatever path he wants." Agreed Ms. Lozen

Later that evening, Ms. Lozen was standing over the balcony staring at the distant sunset. Lot was running through her mind but her main concern was the seal marking that appeared over the hand of Grey. It was the same seal marking she have seen in the past once. On the hands of the person or maybe monster would be a good word to describe that being.

"Enjoying the view?" it was Alice.

"Watching over such a view gives me peace of mind to sort out my thoughts." Said Ms. Lozen.

"What a beautiful sunset it is," said Alice as she stood beside Ms. Lozen to watch over the sunset.

They stood there for a min without saying anything just enjoying the view.

"Ms. Lozen, you didn't say Ranulf whole truth, did you?"

After hearing what Alice just said Ms. Lozen chuckled "I can't hide anything from you Alice, That's right I haven't told him the full truth"

"The marking on greys hand, I have never seen a marking like that. If you are deliberately hiding it from Ranulf, it must be something really important and you probably have good reason to hide it. So, I won't ask anything further. After all, you are one of the wisest people I know." said Alice. Ms. Lozen looked at Alice with astonishment.

It was hard for Ms. Lozen to figure out when Alice is speaking the truth and when she is lying. From the moment Ms. Lozen met Alice, she always thought that Alice's personality is a facade. That makes her really terrifying.

Looking up the sky, Ms. Lozen closed her eyes and said "I am just a coward."

Alice didn't react to her sentence, cause even Alice knows every person has their regrets and no one can run from them.

Chapter 3-2

It's been three years since then, Grey is three years old now. In these three years, he got used to this world. He learned the language of this world just by listening to others, he sneaks into the library from time to time to learn various subjects. He started learning to read from grandma (Ms. Lozen) at the age of 2.

As of now, he is running from imminent danger.

"This is the end of the line Grey"

"We don't have to do this, there might be a better way out of this...…mother"

"Kid, this has to be done, and now shut up and drink this" as Alice finally caught Grey, he tried to run away from her. but he was trying to outrun one of the strongest of her generation, he didn't have much luck with running away. As she caught him, she picked him up by the back of his shirt.

"Put me down mother, let's negotiate"

"Are you in a position to negotiate? You make me run behind you every day and why is a three-year-old kid like you so fast and agile, maybe the blood of my lineage kicking in. Now I understand what my mother felt while she was making me drink this, I am sorry mom for every time I made you run behind me" Alice was regretting the time where she made her mother run behind her like grey is doing to her now.

"You should be a sorry mother, Troubling mom is not a good thing"

Whack!

Alice smacked him in the head.

"Ouch, mom that hurt…..It's not good to hit a three-year-old" He said the following line in the most apathetic way possible.

"At least try to sound hurt, now drink this, or I will ban you from learning anything from Ms. Lozen ever again"

Nowadays Grey is interested in learning about this world from Ms. Lozen and he can't afford to get banned from doing so.

"Mother, I don't think that's necessary ill drink this as per your wish." He gave in.

"That's good boy, now drink this".

She made him drink the red color fluid with a shade of violet in it within a single gulp.

"Ew, disgusting"

"Yeah, it is pretty bad tasting, but you have to drink this juice to grow a healthy kid"

Her mother lied to him about the juice and Grey knew about it.

'I have done research about the fluid she makes me drink, It's not a juice. Its blood of snake-like species. The name of this snake is nag, it's usually about 10 to 17 feet long. It is said that the forest and green vegetation around their habitat dries up because of the venomous mana they release.

Normally it is fatal for a normal human being to drink the blood of a nag. But, It is necessary for the kids of the Ormr family blood to drink the blood of nag to stable their venomous attribute and also avoid any phycological instability.

The family lineage my mom belongs to is the Ormr family. The Ormr family is known for their venomous aura and also for having attributes of both mage and warrior. The strength of this family has a level of its own and my mom is one of the strongest mage warriors of her generation and arguably strongest in her family.'

It was time for lunch and as usual, Ranulf entered the dining room to have lunch with the family, And the first thing he saw upon entering the dining room was, his wife lifting his son by the back of his shirt. He went ahead and sat on the dining table like it wasn't anything unusual and it was a normal day for him. The cat and mouse chase between mom and son is a usual sight in this house.

Ranulf looked at grey and asked.

"How much did you last before getting caught?"

"30 seconds," replied Grey.

"A new record, I think last time it was 24 seconds. You are growing fast grey," said Ranulf by patting Grey's head.

"I know right, This time I have outdone myself," said Grey with a smug face.

"Your mother is pretty fast and lasting 30 seconds without getting is a pretty admirable thing, I am proud of you son," he said as he took grey from Alice and lifted him up. It was time for bonding between father and son.

"Whoever spoils my kid will get a punch in the face, did you understand it, father of my son?" It was a threat that came with the crackling sound of the fist.

"Son, you shouldn't trouble your mom and drink the juice properly. You are a good boy right." It was a complete 360 degrees from a spoiling father to a responsible father.

"How scared are you of mom?" Grey kept his hand on Ranulf's shoulder like he was consoling someone.

"Very"

"It's quite understandable actually, I totally understand why" A three-year-old was comforting his own dad.

"Did I hear you guys say something?"

"Nothing," said both unanimously.