The rain hammered the broken rooftop, loud and ceaseless. But it did little to drown out the ensuing ache in the boy's chest.
The ten-year-old Damian huddled in the corner of an abandoned market stall, soaked through and shivering beneath a worn cloak. His knees were drawn tightly to his chest. The dried up tear stains on his cheeks were clear reminders of what had been keeping him busy for a while.
"Stupid royals… I hate all of them."
He had decided to run away from the palace surviving another hellish round of torture from his twin siblings. He just couldn't stand it anymore, and so he ran away. To him, no one would ever care if he even went missing.
'I'm never going back there.'
A sudden squish of wet footsteps making their way towards him broke the silence. Damian tensed as his heart was immediately gripped with fear. He couldn't even gather the courage to look at the person. But then—
Plop.
Someone sat beside him under the stall he took as shelter from the rain. They sat far enough not to touch and close enough to be hard to ignore.
"…Did you run away too?" the stranger asked as Damian jolted in surprise...
'A boy...' Damian thought before finally looking at the stranger.
Out of the corner of his eye, Damian saw the boy—around his age grade with messy yellow hair and a coat two sizes too big for him. In his hand, a warm meat bun rested wrapped neatly in a clean cloth.
"Umm… yeah." Damian murmured, averting his eyes to the side.
"I figured as much." The boy commented, with a nonchalant but kind tone. "I know a runaway when I see one you know... I mean, I tried it last year, but..." He shrugged. "Didn't go so well with sissy around... pulled me back home with my ear... Geez it still hurts."
Damian let out a light chuckle.
"So you can smile." Teased the boy. "Here." said the with an outstretched arm holding half a piece of his meat bun, offering it to Damian.
But Damian kindly rejected the offer cautiously with a casual— "Thank you."
"Oh don't worry, it's not poisoned... see?" the stranger took a bite from his half and smiled at Damian. "You want it or not?"
Damian hesitantly reached out without a word, and with that, they ate in silence for a while before the rains eventually calmed down a little.
"I'm Ren," the boy said, licking grease from his fingers. "What about you?"
"…No one important," Damian muttered, still feeling down cast.
Ren chuckled. "That's a weird name."
Damian looked at him weirdly. "It's Damian."
"Now that's more like it, hehe" Ren teased "Youre new around here huh?"
Damian stiffened slightly.
"Thought so," Ren went on, now lying back on the wooden boards. "Never seen you around before."
"I see..." Damian replied, followed by an awkward silence between the two kids.
"Hey umm... Damian,"
"Yes?"
"From your dressing, I can tell you're the son of a somewhat wealthy merchant at best... and uh... you've been here a long time you know, aren't you gonna go home?" Ren suggested.
"I'm never going back." Damian insisted, prompting a sigh from Ren.
"Look, I know it's not my place to say this but here's a piece of advice, it's from my sister. Now am telling it to you."
"She would always tell me that no matter what happens or no matter how far you go, you should know that there'll always be some one waiting for you at home, always."
Damian still held up his downcast expression while pondering deeply.
'Mom...'
"So Ren, do you have someone waiting for you back home as well?" Damian asked as the picture of his mother waiting for him flashed into his view.
"Yeah I do..." Ren replied, beaming with smiles. "I have my big sister you know... She's beautiful and caring....
'...with short black hair and clear blue eyes with a perfect body to seduce any man she desires, and her name is... Emilia.' thought Damian as his mind now drifted back to the present as both he and Lyra stood before the lady before them...
'No way...'
"Uh...."
"What now young master?" Lyra whispered softly for she was uncertain of the purpose of their visit to the brothel today.
"I—uh... I dunno I mean… I was expecting a to meet a guy… here you know" Damian mumbled.
Lyra leaned in, suspicion clear in her eyes. "…Wait, a guy... In a brothel?!" She gasped in realization. "Young master, Don't tell me. Are you—?!"
"Of course not.." Damian blurted out in embarrassment as his face had turned beet red already.
"Sorry, I just —
"Ahem!..." The lady cut in
The duo finally shut up as they realized they weren't alone in this room.
"Oh.. Uh... Excuse me miss, sorry for intruding but—"
"Sorry for intruding?" Emilia snapped. "You literally barged into a lady's room without so much as knocking, and that's all you have to say mister?" She spoke while slowly approaching the duo. "Or perhaps, do you have a thing for that kind of... role play? Hmm young master?."
"R-roleplay?" Damian stammered as his face went completely red instantly.
"I take it his is your first time huh... Cute.... Don't worry kiddo, I'll take real good care of you—"
"S-stay back lady!!" Lyra retorted and barged in-between the two although, as she was also extremely flustered as well. "Are you alright young Master?"
"Yeah, physically at least." He whispered.
'A high ranking individual who didn't come here for our... services, and even brought his maid along... Wierd, something's not right here.' thought the lady.
"Sorry again miss, but id like to ask you something important." Damian began. "By any chance are you Miss Emilia?," he inquired.
"Emilia?" She blinked, "Sorry, but there's no one like that here, believe me." she lied.
'How?—' thought the lady before them. '... How did he know that?... I made sure to bury my real name perfectly. He couldn't have just known that by chance.. impossible '
"...But I saw the signal you use earlier," Damian spoke confidently. "A loud bang followed by three bright flashes and then..."
"Then an even bigger boom to make look like fireworks... The lady finished it up. Her voice clearly trembling, even more softer than a whisper.
"My friend taught me... That's the guy am looking for in fact,...." Damian smiled before glancing at lyra from the side. "As for his name..." he fixed back on the lady. "It's Ren."
"Ren?" She whispered with her eyes wide open.
"Yeah, when I saw your signal, I thought it was him so on impulse I had to check if it really was him.
"You..." she breathed. "I don't have the slightest idea who you people are." Emilia started while keeping her head down. "First, you called me by my real name, even though I've been using an alias this whole time.... then it was our super secret signal that only we knew of... But now... What the hell gives you the right bring my dead brother into your useless charade huh!!," she voiced out in tears as her final words brought shock to Damian instantly.
"Wait... Ren is... Dead?"