Peace

Making his way towards the village gates, there were many sights that Chris walked past. As he observed the people around him, or more accurately, lack thereof, his chest tightened as his steps became ever-so hastier. There were far too many faces he didn't see this time around, and lots of houses & shops simply broken into pieces.

'It's unfair.'

Despite that, Chris was even more determined to find his mother and help as much as he could, and find her soon he did. Arielle's figure could be seen in the distance, working herself down to the bone just as she shouted orders all around her. It was then that Chris started jogging towards her, he needed to do something immediately before his mind wavered with cursed thoughts.

"Mom! Wh-" and before he could finish what he wanted to ask, Arielle looked in his direction and instantly barked orders. "Follow this trench to the east of the village and help the people there!" Not questioning her, Chris jogged hurriedly towards where she indicated and noticed but a couple of people digging further.

'The trench is being made to surround the entire town...'

"Hello! Mo- I mean Madame Arielle sent me here to help!" This was something that Chris could remember from one of the books he read. Were he to tell that he was the son of probably the most important person in the village, there would be some tension, and even if he was recognized, by mentioning to his mother by name, it was obvious that he intended to do all he could.

The man in charge of this section then stopped digging as he turned to look at the source of the young voice, only to see someone he recognized and saw a few times in the market before. Despite that, he was quick witted to know what that child meant with how he introduced himself and quickly put him to work. "Hey kid, grab a shovel and start digging beside us, we have Brisht taking care of widening the trench bit by bit so far." Followed by a few gestured indicating where he should continue digging, the shovel, as well as the man in question.

Without hesitation, Chris grabbed a shovel and started digging. In a way, Chris was grateful for all the training he was doing. 'Though, it feels... odd to be swinging a shovel when not so long ago, all I I've done was swing a sword just like this.'

Over half of the day pass by in the blink of an eye, and apart from a lunch break, the only thing occupying Chris's mind was simply digging. Despite the ambitious way he started after waking up, he was still a child at heart, and facing the reality of the present at large, was still too much for him. He could but only hope it wouldn't take long for him to do so.

It was already evening, right before sunset, and it was only then that the boss of his, Evans, forced him to back to the village and rest. "You may have become an adult today, but you are still to young. You've worked hard, so go back to the village and rest."

If anyone were to see Chris, they would be highly impressed. His white shirt and trousers were nothing how they looked like before. The white shirt was drenched in sweat, both dried and new; being no longer white but a mixture of brown all over. The pants housed in them plenty of holes spread around them, and his hair was all but a shiny golden, let alone his face which was covered in dirt around his forehead and cheeks. Evans, couldn't bear to see him continue working so hard, and decided to make Chris head back home. "Go wash up, kid."

All the while Chris, looking at the softly smiling adult before him, didn't dare disrespect his goodwill as he obediently thanked him and set off for the village gates. There, he no longer saw his mother, but instead Nick, his father, who soon waved for him to come up to him. "Hey son, I didn't... know you were out here helping..."

Chris couldn't help but feel a little bittersweet when gazing upon his child, who no longer had a childish look on his face. Chris pulled his weight, and even more so than he expected judging by how ragged he came back. Nick acknowledged his son's efforts and instead of giving useless praise, simply told the boy what he needed to hear. "Your mother is at home, resting, as you should be too. Go take a nice dip in the water and rest up, work ain't over yet."

Looking up this father, Chris could tell just by the expression he wore, that his father acknowledged him as an adult. Nothing needless was to be said. "Thanks, dad." - left his lips as he continued walking inwards to the village, and slowly making his way home. Stumbling his way back to the well, it took quite some buckets to fully clean himself from all the mucky dirt, and having grabbed a spare change of clothes beforehand, he changed into them and headed back inside the house.

Arielle was sleeping at the table, with her head resting on it, comforted by her arms. Not being able to just walk by, Chris grabbed a nearby blanket and covered his mother with it before heading to his room. Collapsing onto his bed, his mind didn't even have time to think of anything as it quickly shut down, just like his eyes, and he fell into a deep sleep.