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Being a child of an Anima and an Elf, Edmund has to spend his childhood on the run. Not because he was a mixed race but because his father is the son of Lewenhart’s main family. His father had always told him that the Lewenhart family refused the marriage between him and Amary, which is why the lion anima took the elf and run away with her. As a result, the family has been moving from one place to another for more than 50 years.
The family were currently camped on a forest near a small village in Sol Blaze Nation. It was pretty close to Cordelia city, only took them three days to reach by foot. After their short trip to the Human’s continent, which is not fun considering a lot of human were still racist towards Anima and Elf, Reo decided that they should return to Raggs Continent.
It was risky, but at least it’s easier to blend in.
“Ouch!” The young anima flinched after his father flicked his ears. He whined as he tried to soothe the pain by rubbing it with his finger.
A sigh escaped from Reo’s mouth. “Didn’t I tell you to not cause any problem every time we stayed in a town?” He asked as he sit on a log by the river.
“I’m not the one who started it!” Edmund grumbled. “They were mocking mom!”
Reo rubbed his face and sighed. “I know but it doesn’t mean you have to punch them.”
Earlier that day, Edmund and his mother went to the village to buy some fabric. His mother, Amary, was quite good at making clothes. She often made them for both Edmund or Reo or sell them for several gold. Thought, it wasn’t easy being an Elf in Anima’s territory. Not only because of the tension between the five race, but also because the fact that that Elf was walking around with a lion Anima and that Anima called her ‘mom’.
It was not their fault that the store owner was rude to Amary, but Edmund doesn’t have to punch the guy’s face.
“Always be kind, Edmund. Always be kind.” Reo said. “Our life is already hard as it is. Let’s not make it harder by starting a fight with people.”
“Even when they are the one who hurt me first?” Edmund asked, fingers still rubbing his sore ears.
“Even when they are the one who hurt us first.” Reo nodded. “We never knew what happened in their past that made them hate our kind.”
Edmund also nodded, trying to understand his father’s words. His face clearly shows dissatisfaction because he knew that he is not actually wrong. Reo smiled upon seeing this. It’s normal for Edmund to be a little egoist at his age. Sure, he probably still going to punch anyone that annoyed him but he will eventually understand that avoiding a fight is more important since they are living from one place to another.
“How old are you going to be this year, son?” He asked, being a creature with long lifespan made it hard for him to keep track of the time.
“Nine.” Edmund mumbled.
Reo lifted his hand and placed it on top of Edmund’s head, patting him gently. “I see… It must have been hard for you.”
At the age of nine, Edmund was already a proud young man who stood at 153 cm, slightly taller than most children at his age. This made people easily mistook him for a teenager or even a young adult. It was not new for Reo to have to help Edmund when an adult anima fight him. They usually stopped when they knew that they were attacking a child but…
“I’m sorry...” Sorrow filled every words that came out of Reo's mouth.
The younger anima looked at Reo in the eyes. His eyes were filled with emotions that was not supposed to be feel by a nine years old child. “It’s okay… I’m used to it.”
That made Reo felt a pang of guilt in him. For a short moment he felt like a failure for being a father. He should have been able to give Edmund a better childhood.
He is not supposed to get used to it.
For few minutes, they sat in silence side by side, watching the water flowing on the river.
“Dad, are you not tired?” Edmund broke the silence between them. “From moving from one place to another? From not having a home?”
Reo chuckled. “I’ve always been home.” There were a faint hint of amusement in his voice. “You and your mom, both of you are my home.”
Edmund tilted his head, once again failing to comprehend the words that came out from his father. But he asked no question. He hates thinking too much.
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Nearly a year passed since they arrived at Sol Blaze Nation. The family now moved from a small tent to a small cabin by the river that Reo and Edmund made themselves. It only took them three months and a half and a lot of gold to make. They were not planning to stay for too long originally. But what Edmund said kind of stuck in Reo’s mind and he wanted to give his family a place to stay for a while. A little bit of rest was not so bad after all.
They still traveled though. At one point they even visited a kingdom named Reinlegen in which they got invited to have a dinner with the king. The dinner was as an apology by the king, because an adult fox was attacking Edmund. Well, it was actually Edmund who punched the fox’s kid for throwing rock at him.
After almost a years, the villagers eventually warmed up to Edmund’s family. This allowed Reo to work on an inn while selling the clothes that Amary made at home. She still choose to stay away from the village as mush as she can, there were still few of them that dislikes the presence of an Elf in their territory.
While Reo and Amary worked, Edmund usually spend his time helping them or hunting. The young anima slowly became less violent now that the villagers was not as hostile as before. He sometimes took small jobs like babysitting, working on a farm, or any jobs a ten years old kid can take and if he did not work, he spend his time hunting.
Like for example today, after he was done with his farming job, he choose to go hunting by himself.
Or that’s what he think he did.
It’s dark and smells like garbage here.
Edmund felt a sharp pain on the back of his head. He barely got his consciousness back as he tried to move his stiff body. Muffled groan came from him as he tried to massage his forehead. But for some reason he can’t move his arms nor his legs.
He blinked several times, yet he could only see black. The cloth around his eyes prevent him from seeing anything. He could smell the blood mixed with his sweat. The combination of smells from expired food, crap, perfume, and literally everything in the room also made him crunched his nose and nauseous. He wanted to vomit but there are something glued to his mouth.
He tried to calm himself and recalled what happened. He was supposed to go hunting after delivering new fabrics to his mother. He remember taking his bow and arrows. He remembered went a little bit farther than usual because he was chasing a deer.
He remembered glowing eyes.
He remembered… Hyenas.
“Did he asked us to kill the boy or the wife? Both?”
Edmund felt a shiver run down his spine as a voice came from the other room. His breathing got heavier as he heard footsteps approaching. He tugged hard on the bind around his wrist but it was so strong it made his skin burn.
“Oh, boy… You’re awake.” A soft, yet cold voice made Edmund halted.
Edmund was not a scaredy cat. He never back down from a fight. But for the first time in his life, he trembled. He trembled because he remember what this woman did to him.
The footsteps stopped in front of him, so was his breath. “Are you okay, young lion?” He could not see but he can tell that she was smirking as she pressed the wound on his shoulder.
Edmund gave a strangled cry and gritted his teeth. The woman giggle as she pressed more, nail dug deeper to his wound.
“Aren’t you a cute one?” It sounded like a mock rather than a compliment. “It’s just a scratch, honey.”
She released her grip from Edmund and walked away. His ragged breath made it hard for him to hear what she was saying. She was apologizing and said something about ‘job’ and ‘food’.
Food?
[Time to eat, ladies!] She said in a language he could not understand.
Shortly, more laughter filled the room. The voices soon moved around Edmund, as if circling him. The young Anima began struggling and trashing, scared that the hyenas gonna jump on him anytime. The rope around his chest loosen but the one on his wrist scratched his skin. The hyenas got even more excited when she snapped her finger.
Just when he thought his life is over, he heard a loud crash.
“AH!” The woman gasped and Edmund can heard the hyenas were running away.
The smells of tobacco, alcohol and a hint of his mother’s perfume that follows after the sounds of glass shattering filled his nostril. Edmund despise the smell of tobacco but knowing whose those smells belong to calmed him a little bit. The woman and hyenas stopped making noises, but he knew they were still inside the room. Muffled scream echoed through the room as he struggled and he called for his father.
”Eddie…” A familiar yet foreign voice called him. It was so low and raspy that it took him several second to realize that it was saying his name. [Keep your blindfold on.]
”Eddie…” A familiar yet foreign voice called him. It was so low and raspy that it took him several second to realize that it was saying his name. [Keep your blindfold on.]
Edmund frowned under his blindfold. His father talked in a language that sounds similar to the woman. The sounds that follows after that was disturbing. Even without his sight he could clearly imagine what happened. Reo’s roar, water splattered, table crashing, the hyenas screeching and the woman screaming in a language that weird language filled the room. He heard a lot of cracking noise and big thuds here and there, which he hoped it was the hyenas not his father.
Could not keeping still, Edmund began pulling again. The rope around his chest loosened enough that it dropped to his stomach. This way he could bend forward to bring his head to his hand, which he did. He tried to reach for the blindfold but his body was not as flexible as he thought. He pulled harder and used his claws to pull the thick cloth. With one last thug, he finally got the blindfold of off his eyes.
His vision was blurry for a second but quickly it became clearer. The more he got his vision back the more red he saw. But it was not only blood. It was something…
Big.
A big red monster.
The height of that creature reached the ceiling. It was enormous that it created a crack on the ceiling as it could not hold the pressure from the monster. It stood with four feet and covered with dark red fur, which is thicker around it’s neck. It looks like a lion, but it’s front feet looks like a human hands with long claws.
The woman squirmed underneath it as the monster bite her shoulder. “Get off me you disgusti--AARGH!” As if it was ripping cotton, the creature bite and yanked her arm, completely pulled it off of her body. She gasped and cried in fear as she glanced on where her arm were before.
The creature growled after it spit her arm to the other side of the room. “It’s just a scratch.”
And that’s when it’s dawned on Edmund.
It was his father.
Reo bite her again, this time on her neck. The woman made a gagged sound as she cough blood before Reo once again tore her flesh. The woman did not make a sound anymore or more likely she could not. The hand that was still intact desperately grasping for what was left on her shoulder. She rolled, kicked and crawled away from Reo, trying to run away but the lion anima simply chuckled and placed his hand on her head, ever so slightly pushing her down.
Horrified, Edmund watched in silence. Thought his chest were heaving and stream of tears flowed from his eyes. He could not looked around the room even if he wanted to. The sight in front of him was horrifying enough to make him tremble. Seeing her dismembered body was enough to made him frightened but his father’s grin…
He grinned as if he enjoyed playing with her.
The world started to spin around Edmund, making it hard to focus. Dark spot spread on his vision and he was not sure whether it was because of the blood lost or because of the terrifying sight before him. He blinked as he glanced at the woman beneath Reo. Her body writhe for the last time before she completely stopped moving. He blinked again and glanced at the tattoo on Reo’s back as Reo slowly transformed back into his human form. The lion looks proud with crown on it’s head. Edmund blinked for the last time as his father turned around, blood decorated his entire body and his eyes glows brighter than the hyenas.
Edmund closed his eyes not because he has completely lost his consciousness, but because he does not want to see anymore.
For the first time, he choose to run away.
