The Humble Noble Wanderer

The breakfast. The breakfast was simple, but beautiful to hungry eyes, and Leo saw a lot of hungry eyes for that matter. He noticed that tons of children were eating. He noticed their faces. He noticed their mannerisms. He noticed that some had deadpan looks on their faces. He noticed that a lot ate their food with little enthusiasm. The breakfast was beautiful to Leo"s hungry eyes, but the children in the small inn seemed to eat... only because their bodies needed it. No enthusiasm. No joy....

Some children looked to be in their teens, while most seemed to be beneath the age of twelve. A few were in their mid-teens, but most were beneath the age of twelve. There were no toddlers at all. All of them were kids.

Leo watched them eat with a face--not that he didn"t have one, just that he felt they acted more like adults than children. They reminded him of slaves, the dead mist in the depths of their eyes--the lifelessness they exuded.

Leo sat down at an empty table and waited for his food. Raynark told him it would take a while and asked hime to play with the kids.

But Leo didn"t know how to approach them. The more he watched, the more he noticed a trend. He noticed that the older the children became, the more lifeless their eyes seemed to be, and the younger they were the more lively they were while eating. Nevertheless, the room seemed dead, unfitting of a small room filled with kids, but in his gut, Leo wondered, "Is this normal in the City of Sin, in Ahab"s city." Leo watched the kids eat. He observed them. He noticed that some kids had strange warts on their skin. He noticed the dilapidated clothes they all wore. He realized... They were from the slums.

Leo didn"t know how to react to the kids. He didn"t know how to interact with those of social status below his. He didn"t know if he could empathize with them. He wanted to, but he didn"t know if he could.

Then, a bright girly voice chimed throughout the first floor of the inn. It was Elizabeth. She was standing on one of the tables. She stood with her neck stretched upward and her head held high.

She said, "Now everyone! Give a warm welcome to Leo. Mr. Ray"s letting him stay here, so everyone welcome him!"

She wasn"t met with the enthusiastic response she wanted.

She stomped her feet.

"Come on," she said, "Why can"t anyone in this town make a smile? Why can"t everyone have fun?"

"How old are you?" Leo said, finally interacting with them.

"Nine!" Elizabeth said, "I"m coming on ten, and Raynark said he"ll get me a big present this year."

"Oh!" Leo said, "When"s your birthday?"

"Uh, Uh," Elizabeth said counting her fingers, "three days! But not counting today!"

Leo paled.

He didn"t know how to respond to her. "Her birthday is in three days," he thought, "But isn"t that when Solomon"s going to destroy the city?"

Leo wondered about Eliabeth. He wondered why she was the only cheerful child in the inn, and he wondered why her birthday was on the same exact day as Solomon"s day of destruction. He said to himself, "It"s a coincidence." Leo discarded the possibility. After all, she was just a nine-year-old girl, and in Leo"s mind, what could a child have to do with the destruction of an entire city...

When Raynark came back with Leo"s food, Leo asked, "So, you take care of these kids?"

"No," Raynark said, "I can only afford to feed them every Sunday. Other than that they"re on their own I"m afraid."

"..." Leo was silent.

He couldn"t imagine not having food every day of the week. After all, he was a former n.o.ble... Leo ate his food with a solemn expression. The meal weighed on his conscience. He didn"t know if this would"ve been another child"s food, but in the end, Leo still needed to eat.

"So," Raynark said, "What will you do today?"

"I"m not sure..." Leo said, "Solomon didn"t really have any directions after that. All he said was to "Get to know the city for what it really was" or something..."

"Did he now..."Raynark said with his hand in his chin, "Well, you"re in luck. I have a few errands I need done, so why don"t you do them for me as payment for your stay during the week. Deal?"

"Deal."

Raynark grabbed a list from the back, an he once he came back, he said, "Alright, now go to the market and pick up these items."

"Gotcha."

"And remember," Raynark said, "The last one is the most important... If you can"t find it, don"t bother coming back..."

"Okay."

Leo grabbed the list and headed for the door.

On his way out Raynark said, "I"m serious!"

"I know..." Leo said.

And with that Leo left, while a small figure followed behind him.