Chapters of Fate, Book One: Alec

Chapter Four

It was far quieter in the room after Edward left. Rosseau made his way out to the marketplace, searching for the necessary medical supplies they would need. Well-trained doctors and alchemists would sell the herbs necessary for treating wounds, curing poisons, and reducing pain wrapped neatly into bundles that could be purchased for fair enough prices. Rosseau knew which ones they would need, and he had wasted no time in beginning his preparations.

Alec had remained in the inn room, despite also knowing the herbs and other supplies they might need. Edward's veiled warning to Rosseau was bouncing around his head. Edward had hit the nail flat on the head, trying to make Rosseau accept the fact that his son was Goddess-Gifted. But despite the brave remark from his friend, Alec wasn't at all confident that his dad would seriously take into consideration the words Edward had spoke. And truthfully, Alec wasn't sure he wanted his dad to cave anymore. He was already beginning to imagine a life in which he was no longer under his dad's gaze, a life with other Goddess-gifted individuals. He knew for a certainty that that life would not come to pass in the Kingdom of Tour.

After a few moments of staring up at the ceiling of the inn room, Alec turned on his side and closed his eyes. The next thing he was aware of was Rosseau shaking him gently by the shoulder. He blinked heavily. Alec had somehow slept through the rest of the afternoon and through the night. Dawn was just beginning to filter through the windows.

"Rise and shine, my son," Rosseau said quietly, so as not to wake up the other guests. "It's time to go."

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They spared only a little time to eat before setting out to the woods to the southeastern forest.

Alec led the way, following the path he had always taken to the forest playgrounds. The children of Touren had created these paths for over three decades, creating new branches with every playground they found. Rosseau was close behind, his armour glinting in the morning sun, one hand resting on the hilt of his sword. Neither spoke, lost in their own thoughts as they were. Rosseau was worrying about the children, Alec knew. The town guard, alongside all of the knights that had come from Tour, were preparing to fortify the city in case the monsters got bolder and came right into the heart of Touren to steal another child. For Rosseau, the sooner this was taken care of, the better.

Alec had been harboring his own doubts about the monsters. He knew by that point that the boys must have been taken under the assumption that they were Goddess-gifted. But he also couldn't help but think there was more to it than that. If monsters were truly pursuing the Goddess-chosen children, then there had to be more operations than what was occuring in the kingdom of Tour. If there were other monsters gathering, other children being kidnapped outside of Tour, all for the sake of the elimination of children with gifts and skills.....

It was a grim thought, but one that Alec couldn't quite shake from his head as they traveled on.

It didn't take them long to reach the forest playground that Edward had mentioned. Mercifully, they hadn't been stopped by any monsters on the way there. Most likely they had still been asleep, as the sun was only just starting to rise in the east. There was only a little light coming through the branches when Alec and Rosseau broke through the treeline into the clearing.

On the surface, the playground was nothing special: just a large, patchy clearing with a single well in the middle, surrounded by trees. In the back northwest corner, the crumbling remains of what must once have been a tower sat abandoned. Alec glanced back at Rosseau, and found that his dad was frowning as he considered the space in front of them.