Chapter 1: The End of The Beginning

"Travis!" A woman called. "Travis, dinner's ready!" She yelled from her porch. "That boy, where is he now?" She asked herself.

"No need to worry, he's a smart boy, I'm sure he's fine." A man said as he walked out of the house.

"The fact that he's smart makes me worry more." She said.

...

A young boy around fourteen years of age with red hair stood in front of a group of three boys around his age in an alley. "You aren't just factually wrong, you're an idiot, Kel." The red-haired boy said.

"Harry, my short sword." The boy named Kel said as he held out his hand. The boy on Kel's right, Harry, drew the short sword on his waist and handed it to Kel. "Now, do you want to say that again, Travis?" Kel asked.

"Oh my, you even had to have someone else carry your sword because you're so weak! Man, I'd be embarrassed if I were you." Travis said in response. Kel pointed the sword at Travis's throat as he glared threateningly at Travis. "My, my, seems that I touched a nerve, no need to be so aggressive." Travis said as he raised his hands. Kel inched the sword closer.

"Are you prepared to meet the void?" Kel asked.

"Now why would I meet the void...? Especially when you've already lost?" Travis asked. Kel looked confused for a moment, then Travis suddenly dropped at a quick speed and headbutted Kel's stomach. Kel hit the ground and Travis began to run as he laughed slightly.

"Bastard!" Kel yelled as he got up and began to chase after Travis. The other two boys followed suit. "You idiots! You were supposed to help me with this!" Kel yelled.

"But you said not to interfere!" The boy on his left said.

"Shut up Miles!" Kel said. Travis suddenly entered into another alley after passing a crowd and managed to evade Kel's perception.

"Phew, I'm lucky I got away from that one unscathed..." Travis spoke to himself. "I should probably stop acting so cocky all the time... But then again, it's kind of hard not to mess with someone when they make it that easy, hehe." Travis mumbled a bit.

Travis moved to hide behind a few barrels and peeked out. As he peeked out he briefly saw Harry who was stumbling to keep up with Kel. Harry locked eyes with Travis for a moment, then looked away and continued in his previous direction.

'I just hope he doesn't tell Kel... Damn, I think I need to run.' Travis thought to himself as he stood up.

"Get over here Harry!" Kel yelled.

"R-right! Sorry!" Harry said back.

'Maybe he won't...?" Travis thought to himself as he walked to the entrance of the alley, then walked to the left. Travis walked around the town for a while before stopping at the fountain in the center of town.

"Daddy! Look at his clothes!" A little girl in a fancy dress said.

"Don't look dear, he's a peasant." The father of the child responded.

'Fucking nobles. That new king isn't doing anything. In fact, he's just making things worse, what happened to all of those promises?' Travis thought to himself as he looked at his reflection. His features are round and his hair is dark red. His clothes are low quality, but not overly terrible, it is easy enough to tell he is not from the slums at the least. 'Well, getting depressed won't do much, might as well go home, especially with Kel looking for me.' He thought to himself as he stood.

"So this is where you went, Trashis." Kel yelled from the street in front of Travis as he pointed the sword at him.

'Fuck. That wasn't even clever.' Travis thought to himself. "So, you finally found me, but what are you going to do with this crowd around us?" Travis asked.

"You think I can't pay off some lowly peasants?" Kel asked as he walked up to Travis. "What about some guards and captains?" Kel asked with a mischievous tone.

'Fuck, fuck, fuck. This is not good!' Travis thought to himself. "So you just want to drag your name through the dirt? I mean, sounds like a wonderful thing for the next head of your house to do. Oh, wait, I forgot, Harry is going to take that spot, isn't he?" Travis asked.

"Son of a bitch!" Kel yelled as he swung at Travis. Travis easily dodged the angered noble child given his weight.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, look at you getting so angry, it was just a simple slip of the tongue. I didn't mean to point out that your little brother is getting the title you so desperately want." Travis said with a light shrug.

"You should watch that tongue before you lose it!" Kel yelled as he swung and missed again.

"Harry, Miles, why do you even follow this guy? He has anger issues and not even his own father likes him, in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if-" Travis was saying as a loud voice cut him off.

"Kel!" A man yelled loudly.

"F-father!" He said as he dropped his sword.

"Harry, go home. I would recommend you do the same, Miles, wouldn't want your parents knowing you were involved in this, after all." The man said as he walked over to Kel. The crowd that has been watching the whole event has only increased as they heard the name of a notorious rotten child get yelled.

"Yes, Mr. Gallavan." Miles said as he walked away.

"Kel, Do you remember my warning?" Mr. Gallavan asked.

"Y-yes... But Fa-" Kel tried to make an excuse but was interrupted.

"This isn't the first time you've gone after this boy, what has he done to anger you so?" Mr. Gallavan asked.

"H-he said-" Kel started.

"He said something? So what? What effect do his words have?" Mr. Gallavan asked.

"He deeply offended me, father!" Kel said. A sound was heard as Mr. Gallavan smacked Kel.

"I have told you dozens of times already! Words mean nothing, the only thing that matters are actions!" He yelled. Suddenly something clicked in Kel's mind and for a moment, he has a mischievous smirk.

"Father! He headbutted me for no reason!" Kel yelled. Mr. Gallavan walked over to Travis.

"Is this true?" Mr. Gallavan asked.

"He held me at sword point, sir, my life was at risk and the only other choice I had was to die." Travis explained as he bowed to the noble. 'Fucking etiquette.' He thought to himself.

"H-he's lying father!" Kel yelled.

"From where I am standing you are the liar, do not try to defend yourself with any more lies. We are going to the house, once we get there you are to get your stuff and get out. Most importantly, stop involving your brother in your idiotic schemes!" Mr. Gallavan yelled. Kel reluctantly followed his father back to his home.

'Local nobles can be quite predictable sometimes...' Travis thought to himself as he began walking back home.

"Oh, young man, I didn't get your name." Mr. Gallavan said. Travis stopped.

"It's Travis, sir." He responded, then continued walking.

...

"We can't accept this." Travis's father said immediately as Mr. Gallavan placed a bag of money on the table.

"Dear, of course, we can, after all, his son did put Travis in danger." Travis's mother said.

"Even so, he's a noble, if anyone gets word of this happening, they'll begin to say that his son attempted to harm their child." Travis's father said.

"And if it was Rebecca?" Travis's mother asked. Travis's father twitched.

"Fine, we'll accept it, but under one condition." Travis's father said.

"Name it, and if it is in my power, I will do it." Mr. Gallavan said.

"Travis is a smart boy, he deserves more than we can give him. I want him to go to one of those noble schools." Travis's father said.

"You are aware of the three main issues with that, yes?" Mr. Gallavan asked.

"Of course, first of all, he needs to be the child of a noble-" Travis's father brought up the first issue.

"Ryan! We can't...! I... I'm not ready for that!" Travis's mother said.

"We can't give him what he needs or the life he deserves, this is what's best for him, even if it's not what's best for us. Petra, I know how you feel, I feel the same way, but I also know that he needs this." Ryan said.

Travis sat on his bed as he listened to the conversation going on below him. 'So they're finally getting rid of me, eh?' He thought to himself as he looked out of the window which is nothing more than two swinging doors that can be locked.

"As for the other issues. I know he can handle anything people say, he's always been like that. And the third... I'm hoping you can handle that one, I'm pretty sure he has it, but we could never get him tested." Ryan explained.

"You don't mean... When he was a baby... That wasn't him, I... I'm certain it was the guards that protected us." Petra tried to refute the information which she already suspected to be true.

"The guards were still hours away from the camp, remember?" Ryan asked.

"I see, then I have no issues with this request so long as he has it. I will take him in as my own, it is the least I can do after all Kel did... I still can't believe I had no idea he had been going after him day after day. I cannot apologize enough... Will I be taking him in today, or at a later date?" Mr. Gallavan asked.

"Tomorrow would be best, he will likely need a brief introduction to what he'll be doing." Ryan said.

'Magic... So I really do have it. I always thought those convenient coincidences were a bit too lucky, I guess this may be why.' Travis thought to himself. Travis closed the window as he heard footsteps walking up the stairs. A knock was heard on his door.

"Travis, we need to talk." Ryan said. Travis could vaguely hear his mother sobbing on the first floor.

'I guess no mother would want to send their child away since the odds of me seeing her again anytime soon are so low.' Travis thought to himself. "Come in!" He said.

"Tomorrow you will be leaving." Ryan said.

"I know, you guys aren't particularly quiet. I'll start packing now. And no need to worry, I'll leave plenty of time to say bye to Rebecca and mom." Travis said.

"I'm sorry I didn't consult you, but this was a one-time opportunity..." Ryan said.

"I get it. It's probably also hard on you and mom, not just letting me leave, but having me here. One less mouth to feed, another mouth's worth of food." Travis said. Ryan ran over to Travis and hugged him.

"I really am sorry... I wish we could do more for you..." Ryan said with a solemn voice.

"Geez, old man, you're starting to act like mom, at least be strong for the others, alright?" Travis requested.

"Alright." Ryan said.

"Anyway, I need to start packing, and I kind of need my body for that." Travis said.

"R-right..." Ryan said as he stepped back. "Please, don't think we don't want you, we love you, all of us do, if you ever get the chance to visit, please do." Ryan said.

'Chance... In other words, the rare opportunity.' Travis reworded his father's statement. "Yeah, yeah, I know." Travis said as he began to pack his belongings, which isn't much, he figures he will just need a couple of pairs of clothes since he's going to a noble's home and school, so other than that he packs his few extra belongings.

'I could never think you guys hate me anyway...' Travis thought to himself as he looked at the only book he has. 'I must've read this a thousand times, hard to believe someone that would give you this hates you.' He thought to himself.