Chương 13: The Broken Bandit.

A sudden blast of water ball knocked Oren on the ground. A figure stood ahead, hands still raised. Water droplets spilled out of it. For a second, he didn't understand. His eyes stayed on him, mind refused to believe.

"Zaku…" His voice cracked.

"Why…?"...

"You should've stayed there." Zaku said.

"But… why, I don't understand?" Oren said slowly"Didn't you hear what the king said." He said slowly.

"Don't forget — a Misfit… that's what you are now." His eyes stared, cold. Didn't blinked for a second.

"That's how it works now…You will… serve me."

"This isn't you…. Why are you doing this?" Oren asked. He swallowed hard.

"You planned all this from the start didn't you?"

"You were hiding your magic, all this time?" Oren said loudly. His chest tightened, tears came down his eyes.

"Zaku please don't do this," His voice broke.

"It's not too late."

"... don't say it like that." Zaku said slowly"We can go back like nothing happened. We can find a way for us."

"Enough!" Zaku said out loud.

".... Just stop." Oren frowned and he stood up,"ZAAAKU!" He clenched his fist.

"If you think I will let you do anything, then you're wrong." He swallowed.

"Let me and my family go, Zaku. Or I will kill you, if that's what it takes." He breathed heavily. Zaku stared at him, for a few seconds no one moved. Then— He sends a blast of water ball towards Oren and it makes him fall again to the ground.

"You're in no position to make demands." Zaku said. Oren coughed hard. When his eyes opened, Zaku had already extended his arm in front of Freya.

"Do as I say or your wife dies."

"No!" Oren screamed, extending his hands.

"Don't you dare!" Then he saw tears in his wife's eyes and he saw his daughter crying, she was holding her closer. He clenched his fist and closed his eyes.

"Fine."

"I will do as you say," He said slowly.

"Just let them go."

"They don't deserve this," He shouted.

"Let them go" Then he broke.

"Just please!" He started crying "Let them go and I'll serve you for the rest of my life." Zaku didn't say anything for a second. Then —"I already told you to stop." Zaku paused.

"Stop telling me what to do."

"You don't get to decide that," he said slowly.

"You only do what I say, and they get to live. Do you understand?" Oren didn't speak… he wasn't able to. Just clenched his fist tighter.

"I asked… Do you understand?"

"Yes." His voice cracked.

"Just don't do anything to them."

"Good, then get up." Oren stood up.

"Move." Zaku pushed him. They all started walking back to Zaku's house. Oren just kept walking quietly, nobody spoke a word. Something inside him was dead. The friend that he thought he had all those years, the friend that he could rely on, had betrayed him. Zaku took possession of Oren's house. And then he locked them up.... He held his daughter and his wife closely in his arms.

"Don't worry, we will get out of here," Oren said. His wife sobbed.

"I will talk to him tomorrow, I will make him understand."

"Everything will be okay…" He patted her head.

"Everything will be okay…" It has to be…. I have to make him understand somehow, I have to — The morning came, Oren heard a voice. His eyes opened.

"Oren, get up."

"Zaku…" He whispered....

"Listen… Zaku we —""You have been sold." Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. … His heart stopped, he didn't believe a word that came out of Zaku's mouth.

"Get up."

"What!" His eyes widened.

"You heard me." Zaku said calmly. Oren didn't react, just kept staring. Then his face changed.

"How could you?" His wife began to shed tears.

"I am not leaving my family. Do you hear me!" He punched Zaku.

"Don't make this harder, for me." He spits down and looks at Oren.

"Do you wish to die?" Zaku didn't blink.

"No, please don't." Freya stepped in front of Oren. Her hands blocked him.

"He will leave. Just don't hurt him." He stared at her, like he didn't recognise her anymore. She turned towards Oren and touched his face with her palm.

"Don't worry," she smiled with tears in her eyes.

"We'll be fine." He didn't say anything, just looked at her. Zaku grabbed his arms and pulled. His body walked on its own but his eyes never left Freya. Then he stopped and shook his hand off from Zaku's grip. He stepped back just two steps.

"No!" he screamed. His eyes were now focused on Zaku....

"Don't do anything stupid. You don't want them to die, do you?" Oren eyebrows raised, then he looked back at his family. He clenched his teeth, curled his fingers and started walking away. Tears felt warm against his skin. He didn't look back. He almost did, body stopped for one tiny second, then kept walking. He knew if he turned… he wouldn't be able to move. As he went to the hall with Zaku walking behind him, he saw a figure staring at him, tall muscular, with a scar on his nose.

"Is he the one?" The man spoke in a lower register voice.

"Yes." Zaku said. The man approached Oren and leaned a little closer. He tilted his head slightly and didn't blink.

"I'm Drago." His voice sent a shiver down his spine"From today you'll be working for me." he pointed his thumb towards himself. Oren didn't speak. Drago watched him closely, "Fine, he will do." He started walking out. Oren looked back, he saw that Zaku didn't look at him. Not once. He sold me…. How could he…. How could he, HOW COULD HE!

"Move, you trash… don't waste my time." Drago said loudly. Oren started walking, he couldn't help and turned back again, one last time. Hoping that Zaku will stop this and tell him to come back. But Zaku still hadn't looked at him. And that's when he understood — The Zaku he knew was completely changed. His body went cold, Mind didn't think clearly, he didn't look up. And just kept walking.

"I heard you used to chop wood for living," Drago said.

"Yes," Oren hesitated.

"Then you must carry on your work and bring every trade deal you got in exchange." He turned back.

"I don't like waiting." Drago stared with a cold gaze that sent a strange shiver in Oren's body.

"Yes" he starts heading towards the forest.

"Wait…" He froze.

"How are you planning to cut wood, is it by your nails?" Everyone laughed.

"Take this." The man handed an axe to Oren. Drago looked at him, then to his men.

"Hey you go with him, keep an eye on him. If he runs away or tries something, bring him to me."

"Yes boss."

"Move." He said to Oren. Oren spent time cutting the woods and carrying them to the merchant district. As he walked by he noticed the market was unusually silent, people who kept those streets alive had now gone and never existed. The district was filled by nobles who had taken over. Everything is different. Those people, I know them. They are also being treated as misfits.

"Hey I am going somewhere, You go and trade meat for those. If you run I'll kill you."

"Do you understand?" Oren nodded. He stopped by the meat shop. The man who used to run the shop was now fanning another man.

"Hey I told you to do it quicker."

"Yes, I'll do it." He started moving his hands faster and fanning him faster.

"Excuse me…" Oren spoke softly.

"Huh… What do you want? Go away Misfit, I am not giving things away for free." He moved his wrist.

"Um…. I would like to trade some wood for the meat."

"Huh… what's this." He paused.

"Do you expect me to give you meat for this trash?"

"But those are high quality —" he interrupted,"Are you saying that I am wrong?"

"No that's not what I —""Are you saying I am stupid then?"

"No, I —""Here, this is all you get for this trash." He threw a small chunk of meat near him.

"But that's too low."

"HEY!" he stood up, "Take it or leave it."

"Now buzz off!" The man pushed him away.

"Okay, I'll go somewhere else." Oren picked up his woods.

"Hey, what do you think, you're doing Misfit." He grabbed Oren's arm and grabbed the woods in his hand.

"I am trading someplace else."

"You've already traded those woods for this meat, Those woods belong to me."

"But —" He pushed him.

"Go away, before I kill you." Oren took that chunk of the meat in his hand as he walked. This is too low, what will drago do if I give him just this. While he was walking, Drago spotted him.

"Hey, what are you doing alone, where's Marcos? He was supposed to be with you the whole time."

"He — he…. He told me he was going somewhere." Oren spoke slowly.

"Huh.. what's that." He leaned his ear near Oren's face.

"And what's this…" He snatched a chunk of meat.

"Did you steal or something?"

"No, I didn't, this was the meat which was trade... ed in place of … woods." he said slowly.

"You bought this small piece in place of those woods." He punched Oren in the stomach. Oren falls to the ground, coughing. He extended his hand in front of Drago.

"Please don't…" People walking by looked at him.

"The shopkeeper told me this was all I could get, I tried to negotiate and he didn't listen."

"You think I care —" Oren covered his face with both of his hands. He thought Drago was going to punch him again. But Drago didn't kick him or punch him. He threw that chunk of meat on the ground and stepped on it....

"Pick it up." He said. Oren froze.

"Hey I said, pick… it… up!" Oren crawled on his knees Drago's men laughed while the people on the street were quiet and watching. His hand trembled as he picked it up. He then offered it to Drago.

"Eat it." Oren's hands trembled. As he looked up to Drago, he didn't believe for a second what he just said.

"But it's raw…" He said slowly. Drago stared at him. Oren looked down instantly. Drago crouched down to him and looked at him.

"Eat… it." Oren starts to wipe the dirt off the meat.

"Did I tell you to clean it!" His kick pushed him back.

"EAT… IT!" He shouted, and Oren quickly put the meat in his mouth…

"Now you're learning your place." He starts to walk away. Oren choked and spat the meat out of his mouth, coughed harder. He just laid there on the street, and didn't move for a while. The taste still lingered in his mouth, the taste of dirt and blood. His fingers curled the mud beneath him as he coughed. He didn't feel anger, not even pain, just emptiness, while he sat there, coughing. No one approached him, No one picked him up, Just silence… and they started walking away.

He finally stood up and started walking with one hand grabbing his stomach, everything inside him was dead. Zaku, you did this to me. You took my family away from me. It's all because of you. Curse you. Curse you. CURSE YOU! Later that night, One of Drago's men approached him. It was Marcos. The same one who left oren on his own in the merchant district.

"You!" He grabbed Oren's collar.

"It's because of you Drago hit me." Oren didn't look at his face. The man punched him, but he didn't speak. The man kicked him, he still stayed quiet. He endured everything, without speaking a word. And lay there.

"Huh… That'll teach you." The man walked away. ZAAA… KU, you will pay for this, one day. You will, I swear it. Days turned to months then to a year and bit by bit a decade had passed away. And Oren kept working for Drago. Nothing had changed for him since then.

"Hey, bring me some fruit from the district, will you?" Drago said. Oren carried some wood on his back and headed to the merchant district.

"Hey did you hear that, one of the misfits had killed a noble. People all over the city are talking about that person." Oren was listening to their conversations.

"They say the person was a woman." His chest tightened, his knees gave up suddenly and he dropped down. Woods he carried on his back fell down.

"Hey! What are you doing." The man said, oren started picking those up and kept walking ahead.

"Does he even talk?"

"I haven't heard him say a word in ten whole years."

"What good is he anyway? He never speaks a word and he is slow. Drago should just kill him." Oren was still listening as he walked.

"Do you think he heard our conversation earlier?"

"So what, if he did it's not like he could kill Drago."

"Yeah right." Both laughed as Oren just walked away. His mind started to wonder, who was that woman who killed a noble. What happened to that woman? Was she Freya? Was Zaku dead? He was lost in his thoughts while walking down the streets. His shoulder bumped into a stranger.

"Hey, watch where you're going… Misfit." Then he realised that he was already in the district. He traded some fruits for wood; traders knew that Oren was working for Drago, so no one negotiated or traded goods for unfair rates. A group of men suddenly walked in the streets. Voices lowered.

"Citizens of Edgefall." A man from the group stepped forward.

"As you know, there has been an incident where a noble was killed by a misfit." Oren's eyes widened, he was uncertain about that rumor but now became certain.

"By the orders of our mighty king Escanor. Every misfit shall be exiled from this nation." Oren's heart raced.

"King Escanor, message to every noble… I, king Escanor, care about every noble of this country, I discourage such pathetic behaviour from Misfits, for it to not become a habit, for our noble's safety. Misfit shall be exiled. Our nation shall be purified with such disgust." A hope, a ray of hope flickered inside his chest, finally there was a path to freedom. His mind wandered why did the king give that order. Why exile? When he could kill the Misfits easily and he had shown no mercy to misfits at all.

Many died but why now? It didn't make sense, it didn't matter. He ran, just ran. Faster. So finally, Finally he could be free, he could reunite with them. But as he reached, his legs slowed down. Then stopped. Two figures stood ahead. He looked up and recognised him, he was talking to Drago. His breath caught. No, why? It can't be — Zaku?