Lost and Found

An Angel

"Get back here, boy!" a voice boomed, loud enough to be heard in every shop down the bustling cobblestone street. At the end of the shop lined path a large wooden door belonging to the Buttercup Inn swung open as a young redheaded boy emerged, darting into the neighboring alley. Not long after, a tall man with a graying, grand bushy beard burst through the same doors, screaming threats that made the mothers on the street cover their children's ears as he made his way down the alley.

"Shit!" the small redhead spat as he was soon met with a large wooden fence, just too tall to climb. The boy turned around, eyes wide and lungs struggling to breathe. He made eye contact with the burly man who had finally caught up to him, slowly approaching. The boy could feel his eyes starting to water as he took a deep breath, reaching into his pants pocket. "I'm sorry!" he pleaded, the hand in his pocket slowly revealing a small loaf of bread. "I was just so hungry..." he began, tears starting to fall, "but I shouldn't have taken it, I'm sorry, please just take it back!" he begged.

The man took a few more steps forward before knocking the bread out of the boy's hand, and swiftly grabbing his frail wrists, holding them roughly above the young boy's head. "I dunno boy, how am I sure you won't jus' steal from me again?" he questioned, lifting the fragile redhead's chin with his meaty fingers. "No, I need to make an example of you, you need to know what happens to scum around here," he stated, a smile flashing across his face as he took a swift fist to the boy's stomach while the other was still tightly bruising his wrists.

The boy's knees buckled; the wind knocked out of him. He would've hit the ground if the man wasn't keeping him suspended in the air. The man's hairy knuckles kept pounding into his stomach, until eventually he tasted iron. His vision was beginning to blur, the world spinning, but he could just make out the bright red blood falling from his mouth.

"That's quite enough," came an unfamiliar voice from the street. His tone was strong but his voice was soft and sweet like honey. Like an angel's the redhead thought, maybe I'm dead... and as the thought crossed his mind, through the blood, he lightly smiled.

The offender turned around to see who had interrupted him. There stood a blond curly haired man, his clothes light and flowy like his voice, but he had striking gold piercings on his face, and matching rings that glistened as he stood, arms crossed. He had a holstered pistol on one hip and a cutlass on the other. The man looked him up and down thoroughly, rolling his eyes, "this doesn't concern you, pirate" he spat, turning his attention back to the redhead, rearing his arm back for another go at the boy's ribs.

His arm grazed something soft before the hairs on his neck stood up as he felt a chest pressed to his back. The pirate tightly gripped the man's forearm, "Oh I think it does," he whispered in that same honey voice as he blew on the man's ear. Instinctively, the inn worker dropped the boy and whipped his head around. His face was completely flushed as he attempted to strike the man behind him; but before he could so much as get a scratch in, the pirate raised the hilt of his cutlass, crashing down on the man's skull. The man fell into the mud as the blond stepped over him and made his way to the boy.

The redhead laid in the mud, the sudden drop to the ground making him slowly lose consciousness as he barely made out a blurry, glistening golden figure. He could've sworn the pirate whispered something in his ear as he squatted down to pick him up, but before he was certain, he passed out. When the redhead regained consciousness, the world felt like it was swaying, but he was surprisingly comfortable. That was, until a sharp pain hit his stomach like a truck as he groaned, attempting to sit up nonetheless.

"Boy are you stupid or what? Lay down," came a voice from behind him. He didn't know who was insulting him and ordering him around, but he complied. His eyes lightly fluttered open, attempting to take in his surroundings, when all of his senses hit him at once, melding into one large headache. He shut his eyes and rubbed his temples before slowly attempting to take in one sense at a time. He took his time opening his eyes and focused on his surroundings, he definitely wasn't outside anymore. Everything around him was made of wood, the main source of light was natural, coming from a door at the top of some stairs. However, some lanterns were scattered around where the light couldn't reach, lighting up some crates and hammocks that were scattered around.