Chapter 4: Trust

Jackson wakes up in his bed late morning with a blinding headache, forcing him to remember last night’s humiliation. He lies in bed and holds his hand to his mouth, where he feels dried blood. “Not only did Aeric kill a shopkeeper and burn down his store, he defended the only person outside our group who knows about it. Just to add insult to injury, he let the kid go after he put me on the ground. Darian, huh?” Jackson struggles out of his makeshift bed and spits on the floor.

Jackson looks around the empty room as he listens to the silence. “They must be out already. Whatever was in that chest must not have been enough to stop them from going out today.” He stands up and dresses himself before washing his face off. He shuffles into the principal room of their hideout. He looks over the goods they stole from the shop before it was burned down. Scanning the food, his eyes lock onto a loaf of bread, which he takes and breaks in two. Anything would be better than the taste of blood in his mouth. Jackson leaves the hideout behind and wanders the streets with no direction in mind.

He eats his bread while wandering the streets. “It hurts to chew. That damned kid. I’m going to get him back. I need a plan; something to make him suffer. As much as I hate to admit it, directly confronting him is out of the question. He’s too strong for his size. I could ask Aeric where the brat lives, but I doubt he would tell me. There has to be something. He has to have a weakness.”

Memories from last night flood into Jackson’s mind, and he abruptly changes direction. “Lord Rainald! Aeric and the brat spoke of connections and abilities. Considering how strong he was and how easily he dodged my attack, Darian must be connected. If I tell Lord Rainald about him, they will separate him from his family and he’ll be forced to work for the Lord. If he refuses, he’ll be executed as an enemy of the state.”

A wide smile grows on his face as he walks to the Lord’s manor. “With just a small walk and a few words, Darian will be dealt with.” Half an hour passes, and he finds himself in front of the Lord’s manor. The strong metal fence surrounds the manor, and the courtyard out front. The guards stationed at the gate give off an intimidating presence. Both guards are holding spears and have shields leaning against the fence. After mustering up the courage, Jackson approaches the gate.

One of the two guards steps in front of him and raises his hand. He looks Jackson up and down before scrunching his nose. “No further. This is the Lord’s manor, not some tavern for churls. Off with you, filth. You’re stinking up the front gate.”

Jackson’s smile fades, but he finds himself otherwise unperturbed. “I need to see Lord Rainald. I have important information about-”

The other guard steps forward as he interrupts Jackson. “What is it, boy? Are you here to advertise your mother? No? Then leaves us.” The guard shoves Jackson to the ground, covering his rear in mud.

Jackson feels his face turn red as the two guards laugh at his misfortune. Whether his face was turning red because of shame, rage, or both, he wasn’t sure. He stands and looks at the guards with a scowl. In response, the guard that shoved him smirks and shifts from holding his spear in one hand to holding it in both. Jackson finds his eyes drawn to the head of the spear and decides calming down would probably be best.

Jackson looks back at the guard and says, “I know someone who is connected.”

The guards look at each other. “Connected? What the hell is that? Is your mouth even connected to your brain? Fuck off with your nonsense. Last warning.”

Jackson can’t believe what he just heard. In his confusion, he exclaims, “You idiots don’t even know what a connected is?”

The front guard lifts his spear. “That was a mistake, hedge-born.” Jackson’s go wide, and he attempts to back up, but the guard sweeps his legs out from under him. He hits the ground with a thud. The next thing he feels is the blunt end of the spear planted in his stomach. He grunts out in pain and curls up. The guard smiles as he prepares to kick him.

“What’s all this noise about?” A well-dressed man walks out through the front gate.

The two guards whip around to face him and stand up straight. “Steward! We, uh, we were teaching this churl his place.”

He walks over to Jackson and kneels next to him. “Is his place on the ground, being beaten by those he can’t defend himself from?”

The two guards look at each other nervously, but say nothing.

The well-dressed man then looks back to Jackson. “It’s alright, boy. My name is Payton. I’m the steward for Lord Rainald. Come with me. I’ll hear what you have to say.”

Jackson stands with the help of the steward. “Thank you, sir. I really appreciate it.”

They begin walking to the front door. “Don’t mention it. What’s your name, lad?”

“Jackson, sir.”

“Nice to meet you, Jackson. I’m sure you wish to speak with the Lord, but you’ll have to make do with me. I hope that’s alright.”

“It wouldn’t be my place to say otherwise, sir.”

Payton chuckles. “That’s wise of you.”

They walk to the front door, and Payton greets the guard standing in front of it. The guard steps to the side and opens it for them. As they enter the main hall, Jackson’s eyes go wide. “This is incredible!” The hall is exquisite and decorated with cloths of countless colors. Paintings of dignified men line the walls. Maids enter and exit the hallway through numerous doors as they go about their business. There is even a pleasant smell throughout the entire hall. He assumes the smell continues through the entire building.

Payton leads Jackson through a few rooms and hallways. They pass by many guards and workers, leading Jackson to wonder just how many people this place employs. They eventually reach their destination; a small room with a desk and a few chairs. Payton gestures to the empty chair opposite of the desk. “Take a seat, Jackson, and we’ll have our conversation. Giselle, bring us some tea, would you?”

A maid from outside the door responds, “Yes, sir.”

Jackson sits down as Payton sits in the chair behind the desk. Payton slicks back his gray hair before reaching behind the desk and preparing a book, some ink, and a pen. He looks up at Jackson and readies his pen. “Well, let’s hear what you have to say about the connected. Why don’t you start with how you know he is connected?”

Aeric, Geoffrey, and Lynnette return to their hideout in the evening with smiles on their faces. It was a fortuitous day of pick-pocketing. They make sure that no one is following them before they head inside. Aeric enters first. “A few more days like that, and we won’t have to worry about winter.”

As he enters, he notices Jackson sitting in the center of the principal room. “Oh, hey Jackson. Did you… uh… have a good night’s rest?”

Jackson looks up at them and puts on a smile. “As good a rest as I could get.” He lets out a small chuckle before his gaze drifts to the floor. “Hey, Aeric, can we talk alone for a bit?”

Aeric sets his loot with the rest of it. “Of course. Do you want to walk?” He gestures to the front door.

“No, we can talk in our room”

They both head to the group’s shared sleeping room. Aeric walks in first and sits down on his makeshift bed. The cloth is soft and inviting. Jackson sits down opposite of Aeric, on his own makeshift bed. Aeric looks over to Jackson. “So, what did you want to talk about?”

Jackson has a hard time looking at Aeric, so he speaks to his feet. “I feel kind of bad for what happened last night. I think the stress got to me, and I freaked out a little. Well, more than a little. I want to apologize to you and Darian. He’s not here though, so I’ll apologize to you first. I’m sorry for getting angry and… I wasn’t going to hurt you, but I threatened to, and I shouldn’t have. You didn’t deserve it. You did what you thought was best in a fucked up situation and I had no right to blame you.”

Aeric sits in silence as he listens. Jackson looks up at him with tears welling in his eyes. “Lynnette told me what actually happened at the store, and I’m sorry I didn’t know sooner. I should have helped you get through it. All of us were to blame for what happened, but I just tried to push it all on you. Will you forgive me?”

Aeric stands up quickly embraces him. “How long have we been friends, Jackson? Of course, I forgive you. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to stop you from fighting with Darian. Tomorrow, we can apologize to him together. If you think you’re ready.”

“I would like that, Aeric. Thank you.” Jackson smiles before standing and walking out the door. As Jackson exits, Geoffrey enters and shuts the door. He walks over to Aeric and sits beside him. “So, what was that about?”

Aeric looks over to Geoffrey with a wide smile. “He apologized to me and agreed to apologize to Darian tomorrow.”

Geoffrey places his hand on Aeric’s shoulder. “See, I told you it would be fine. He just needed time to cool off. You can go with him tomorrow to make sure things go smoothly and everything works out.”

Aeric hugs Geoffrey before looking into his eyes. “Thanks for your support. As always, you were right.”

He smirks. “I know.”

They hug again before joining Lynnette and Jackson in the main room.