Chapter 2:

My Sins

Skylien: Messages to the Future King

“I am Terken Torrens. I am the head of servants of this household. You may address me as Mr. Torrens.”, said the man who brought me to the room. He wore a formal white shirt, black pants, and a long thin coat with pointy ends. His shirt’s collar was long and unfolded. Celkebar and Bosco’s shirts also had the same collars. Seems like this world's unique fashion. Torrens had a clean face, average height, slim body, and dark brown hair.

I followed him to a corner of the house. We entered a room. Fairly lit with sunlight. A very big and thick rectangular wooden table, rough, old and with cuts. Many wooden chairs around it. A small fireplace without any wood in it. A door at one side.

“Sit on the chair.”

I did.

He went through that door. I waited there, looking around. The window lit the entire place with sunlight.

He returned with a bowl in hand and placed it in front of me on the table, “This is your supper.”

I picked the spoon dipped in it and started eating the soupy meal. It was chunks of veggies and meat in a thick liquid. The meal was average in taste.

“What is it called Mr. Torrens?”

“...Mixed soup. There is more in the kitchen. If you wish to eat more, help yourself.”, he took a seat on my left.

I cleaned my bowl and, worried this might be the day's last meal, I took another serving of it from the small kitchen.

Next, I followed Mr. Torrens again. He showed me around the areas of the first floor, told me which areas I should not be venturing into unless necessary. Then he took me to another corner of the first floor. There we entered a room at the far end.

“You will stay in this room. Ask your roommate to provide you with blankets.”, he said and looked at me sternly, “And I should not be hearing any ruckus about who sleeps in bed. You will sleep on the floor.”, he firmly said. Torrens stared at me for a while, then, “You will report to me in the morning with your roommate. I will let you know your duties then.”

He was leaving but he stopped at the door and looked at me, “And remember, you are a slave, your roommate is not.”

I nodded silently to all his instructions.

I was exhausted, back hurt from the daylong journey. I wished to straighten my back, but the bed was off limits.

I paced around the room for a change. A small table, a single chair, a window. A lamp on the table.

The window frame had no glass. From closer inspection, the glass seems to have broken off, leaving shards still engraved in the frame. It was summer so wind was always welcome.

I sat on the floor, wondering when my roommate would arrive and provide me with the sheet to spread on the floor.

He didn't come.

So, I dusted off a small area of the floor with my hand and lied on it.

Before long, sleep invaded my tired body.

*****

“...Wake up.”, someone was shaking my shoulder slowly.

I opened my eyes to a boy, bent, looking at me.

“It is dinner time. We need to hurry.”, he said.

“Oh.”, I stood up quickly. The mention of food runs an impulse in me after coming to this world.

“I am Darun Nikov.”, I looked at him. He was taller than me. Same type of formal dress as Torrens, without the coat, shirt loosely tucked in. He looked no more than 16.

“I am Ronald Dekleren.”, he said while quickly moving to the door, “Hurry, the dinner time is running.”, he rushed.

I quickly followed.

“The good items are usually taken by those who arrive early, so we need to hurry.”, he said, scurrying ahead.

The servants’ dining room was filled. All in similar attires of black and white with a sky-blue design in the chest area.

Many even sitting on the floor and having meal.

I followed Ronald to the kitchen.

In that hot cramped room, one woman was cooking at the fire, and the other was plating the meal.

Ronald picked one then went to the side, where many pans and pots were laid. I did the same.

Ronald picked the big spoon from there, looked at them and left a small sigh.

“You should have been faster, Ronald.”, the woman serving said with a scolding smile.

The kitchen had no one else at that moment except us four.

She approached with a small plate she got from behind her. She had lighter brown hair than Ronald. She was a young beautiful woman with the fairest complexion.

Seeing I was looking at her, “A new face?”, she spotted my black collar, “Oh.” She held out the plate to Ronald, “I was wondering why our Ronald was late today. Here, don't be late again.”, she said with a warm smile.

“Thank you Ms. Gin.”, Ronald beamed like a little kid.

“And share some with our new boy here.”, she smiled.

With oil, dirt and refreshment from sleep on my face, I dragged myself near the dining table.

Ronald took an empty seat and started happily eating his meal.

I saw a vacant chair on the far end and walked over there, and as I was about to sit, “Boy, are you not a slave?”, genuine concern flashed Gin's face as she looked at me, standing with a plate in her hand.

“...Yes, ma'am.”, I said lowly, for the first time I admitted my current status to someone.

“Then sit on the floor.”, a flicker of annoyance and obviousness in her tone.

I sat on the floor.

A bowl of sticky rice and vegetable stew.

Gin, walking and eating, sat on the vacant chair.

“Ma'am, where can I get water?”, I stood and asked Gin.

She opened her mouth to say something but then poured a mug of water and passed to me. A clay mug, unlike her metal one.

I started eating.

As I looked around again, those who had similar metal collars were sitting on the floor only. My eyes went to the left. A thin girl with black hair was eating alone there. For a moment I caught a glimpse of her eyes, they were devoid of life.

“Daerun.”, Ronald called. Can't I even eat in peace? He irritated me.

I went to him. He poured some food from the plate Gin gave him earlier.

“I forgot to share.”, he said, smiling.

It was animal livers and other parts, stir-fried. I ate my meal again on the floor near Gin's chair.

“So, your name is Daerun?”, she asked.

“No, ma'am. It is Darun Nikov.”

“Darun Nikov.”

“Yes.”

“A unique name.”

“Thank you, ma'am.”

“I am Gin Sorar. I am on cooking duty with madam Dorothy.”, since a while back she is smiling, “Be here quick at meal times to get good food.”

“Yes ma'am.”

“‘Ms. Gin will do.”

“Uh.”, I was confused, then understood, “Ok… Ms. Gin.”

“Finish your meal.”

I did.

But a thought remained in my head, What is the story of that slave girl?

*****

Ronald provided me with a sheet of cloth. I laid it on the floor.

Cool wind ravaged the room.

“It is a windy night. Maybe, it will rain later.”, Ronald said, lying on the bed.

“...”

“Don't you think so too?”

“Yes, Mr. Dekleren.”

“Call me just ‘Ronald’”

“Ok, Ronald.”

“So, where are you from?”

“D'eshon of Aesian Continent.”

“I cannot say I've ever heard of that place. Is it far away?”

“Yes… Very far away.”

“And, how did you become a slave?”

“I lost my parents in an accident, and the ones who found me took me as a slave.”

“So ‘that’ happened to you.”

“...”

“Well it is increasing these days.”

“What?”

“Illegal slavery.”

“You mean I was illegally enslaved?”, surprise coloured my face.

“Yes. If what you say is correct, then unless you willingly sold yourself or could not pay for your expenses, you could not be enslaved.”

“When I woke up from the accident, I was Bosco's slave.”

“Cascan Bosco!”, excitement returned to his voice.

“Yes.”

“He is the notorious slave trader who recently settled in Skylien I heard.”

“Oh…”

“Yes. If it is him, then you must have been illegally enslaved.”

“...”, I didn't feel like responding.

“So, the lord bought you from such a man… But I heard…”, his words became inaudible, “And then you're…”

“Uh. Don't be sad. The lord is very generous. And our merciful Sky Deity is looking over us.”, he sounded cheerful.

But for some reason his cheerfulness and excitement were annoying me. Maybe, I could not bear someone living better than me.

He kept talking and sometime later I fell asleep.

As speculated, it heavily rained that night. Cold pierced the skin. I quickly pulled over the sheet of cloth below me and wrapped myself in it, shivering on the cold stone floor on that stormy night.

*****

“Stay away from him!”, a boy in my class said, smiling.

“Germs!~”, another teased.

“Eww~”, a girl looked genuinely disgusted.

I was 10 at that time. The symptoms started showing up.

Early symptoms were frequent fever and coughs.

Sometimes watery saliva drooled from harsh coughs.

My classmates isolated me. I became ‘germs’.

My parents took me to many doctors and their medications kept the coughs in control, until I started coughing blood.

That's when doctors realised that my condition was complicated.

They ran tests and an unidentified illness was discovered. My soft tissue cells were disintegrating, or like how I call, ‘My flesh was internally rotting.’

They treaded cautiously. Gave me medications while running various tests and simulations. However, the illness grew exponentially in a year, much to their surprise, and they gave up, stating I had 5 years to live.

The next few years passed in taking treatments from various doctors from various nations. Honestly by then, I knew I may not survive, and my parents’ savings were getting dried.

I thought it'd be better to just travel the world as I wished to do from the hospital beds in the last few years. So I started.

I visited some places in my country, then went to two other nations.

Dad somehow managed to keep working.

I couldn’t make any proper friends in my life. My classmates… they abandoned me. I had no hope of reaching adulthood. Marriage and children were impossible. Unlike the romance stories I read, I couldn’t fall in love. But I was still happy. I found it by doing the one thing I wished to do even on my deathbed—travelling. And that also with my parents by my side.

We were on our way to the third nation.

And then I lost them in that plane crash.

They died because of me, for me.

Father cradled us even when death was near.

I… And now I live alone. Where are they? Where have they gone?

I tortured them from my illness.

Made them spend away their hard-earned money.

And then got them killed.

I did. I did. I did. I did! I did!

No amount of tears will bring them back because they are gone.

Gone!

Why couldn't I lie on that hospital bed till the day I died!