If it wasn’t for nightmares, Araethius wouldn’t have dreamt anything at all. He didn’t realize anything at all.
That he had been slowly deteriorating. Blind to it, he believed nothing was wrong.
It didn’t matter that Araethius wouldn’t eat or sleep for days at a time. His mind adrift on a sea of turmoil. Often times, he would wander out into the garden in the middle of the night with no warning and sit in the moonlight, saying nothing, doing nothing. He would look straight, seeing things that were not there, sometimes hearing things that were not real. He wouldn’t make a note of these voices, occasionally he would whisper things under his breath he thought no one could hear. He would repeat words he had just said under his breath as reassurance.
Kensly had gone out. She was meeting with some physician, she said. Araethius, far more lucid throughout the day than when he was during the evening, was slowly eating a banana when he heard a knock at the door.
That’s strange. Who could it be?
A salesman?
Araethius slowly meandered his way towards the door, clad in nothing but a pair of shorts and a tank top. He peered through the seeing hole of the door where he caught sight of three men. Two being considerably larger than the one in the middle.
Araethius opened the door of the manor to the three men. Before he could speak, the shorter, lankier man in the middle spoke. He had a face that Araethius barely recognized. Sometimes, he would see her with Kensly, but had now since forgotten the physician’s name.
“We need you to come with us, Araethius.” He stressed his words implying that there was no other alternative, a rich syrup of assertive and downright threatening. “I trust you don’t have an issue with this, yes?”
Araethius said nothing, closing the door on the physician and his two rather intimidating friends. He had no reason to leave with them, why do they need to take him anywhere? Is this some kind of cruel trick?
Before he could close the door, one of physicians ‘friends’ stuck his broad foot in the door way and pulled it wide open away from Araethius’s grasp.
“Please don’t make this harder than it has to be, Araethius. You will be coming with us, after all, this is what Kensly wanted.”
“Kensly wanted this?” Araethius paused for a moment, brows knitting in confusion. There is no way she would ever condone three random men coercing him to go along to wherever they were going. “You lie.” He growled out from under his voice, fist clenching.
The physicians friends however, inched closer to Araethius staring him back down, shaking their head at him.
“I wouldn’t suggest doing what you think you’re about to do, bub. Bad idea. Come along with the doctor, nice and easy.” The taller of the two goons said slowly.
Humphrey looked wide-eyed at Araethius, dumbfounded at Araethius’s lack of critical reasoning skills. “Lie?. Why do you think your kids are not here? Why do you think -she’s- not here? She wanted you to come with us, and these fine gentlemen here are going to make sure that you come with me.”
Araethius was confused. Why did he need to go with these men? Did Kensly really have a hand in all of this? He wasn’t quite sure. He would have remembered if she told anything about this? He racked his brains trying to remember, but.. maybe there was nothing to remember. He looked at three men before closing his eyes and hanging his head.
It seems the paladin was beat. There was no way he’d be able to overpower three men with nothing but his fists and sheer willpower. For a moment, he looked scared for a moment, looking back inside the manor before back to Humphrey.
This is it.
Araethius had one chance, like a cornered animal, he took off into a wild sprint towards the three men, but not in an attempt to attack them, but rather to push past them back into the gardens and run. Where to? He didn’t quite know, but he knew he couldn’t come back home, not now. He put all of his momentum into his shoulder and barged past Humphrey, sending the older physican crashing into the ground with a hard thud, his medical kit flying out of his hand and skidding across the marble work.
Unfortunately for Araethius, he didn’t get far with knocking Humphrey over. His bodyguards weren’t idle during this exchange. The taller of the two bodyguards delivered a swift uppercut straight into Araethius’s liver. Araethius fell, unable to run, excruciating pain overwhelmed him, unable to see clearly but bleary colours and yelling and cussing. The two bodyguards picked up the limp Araethius effortlessly, dragging him off roughly from his own property.
Humphrey silently thanked the bodyguards as he was left to pick up the medical kit. He quickly picked up the pace and followed the two bodyguards carrying their limp prize.
“Should of just listened to me in the first place..” Humphrey shook his head. “I don’t get paid enough for this shit.”
Meanwhile, Araethius, in his final moment of lucidity turned back to the manor he had lived in for so many years. It felt so familiar.. yet so.. foreign. He closed his eyes, the pain now too unbearable to even see, to even cry. All he could do was focus on the pain.
Araethius wanted to scream out for someone to save him. For Kensly to bail him out, for someone to come along and stop them, but the further and further they walked the further and further the possibility of someone saving him grew slimmer and slimmer.
All Araethius knew was that he had a long road ahead of him.
