Joel
Joel Past:
My Mother, Anna Yuwen, came from a rundown Baron family, House Reune. Their coat of arms was a bundle of wheat on a green field due to the fertile and rural nature of her Family’s Home. But she didn’t share her family values of peace and modesty. Instead, she wanted to go to the capital. She wanted to be part of high society and all the clamor and prestige that came with it.
Much to the Horror of my Grandparents.
I first met them at the yearly Anniversary in the capital. I had just turned ten when an older couple approached me. The Woman was in a simple dress held in the green of House Reune with minimal makeup and accessories. Her Husband appeared in a dark green stretched-out old-fashioned suit with a few mismatching buttons, in complete contrast to the opulent dresses and jewelry common in the capital.
The Woman, my Grandmother, was all smiles, appearing completely smitten from ear to ear about finally meeting me. Her Husband, my Grandfather, seemed embarrassed that only now was he finally meeting his grandson and ruffled my hair.
This kind, old, and corpulent couple looked much more like me than the cold, pragmatic Marquise Yuwen. We hit it off well but only saw each other whenever my Mother wasn’t around.
To this day, my Mother has no idea that we exchange letters or meet every summer. I hope it stays that way. Before I met them, I didn’t even know their Names or the name of my Mother’s house.
I couldn’t understand why my Mother had turned her back on my Grandparents.
And she wasn’t even happy with just being in the capital. She wanted to make it big, and the easiest and fastest way for a woman was to marry “good”. In the beginning, she tried her luck with almost all of the eligible bachelorettes in the capital, with nothing to show for it. In the end, she had to settle for becoming a mistress of Wilhelm Yuwen.
I was born eleven months later. My Mother gave me the name Joel after my paternal Grandfather, Marquies Joel Yuwen. But my Father didn’t seem to care. Just one year later, twins Martha and Emilia were born from his newest Mistress, Maya. My Mother was furious. And then, adding insult to injury, thirteen Months later, twins Jack and William were born.
Otto later told me that my Mother seemed pretty confident in me succeeding my Father when it was just me and Janus, but the two pairs of twins really showed her that it may not have been so easy to make me the successor.
Her ambition was further crushed by the arrival of Averell’s and Fiona’s mother, Julia. It seemed like she had given up, but lately, I could see the same look in her eyes from back then.
Ever since I was born, I have been compared to my older Brother Janus. No matter what I did, I was lagging behind. He could ride better, was better-looking, taller, stronger, faster, etc.
But I wouldn’t have minded much if it weren’t for my Mother. She makes me compete against my other brothers, especially against Janus. Whether I’m better at shooting a bow or chess doesn’t matter. In her eyes, I have to be better than him in every way possible.
Today, she lived outside the Fortress in a small villa in Roots with all the servants and maids she could need. All the “love” between my Mother and Father was gone, and now, she just tries her best to ignore him. They only met at official events when she “needed” Money or to complain.
Joel Present:
I’m sitting in my favorite corner of my Favorite Bar, drinking a big glass of sour wine, trying to mind my own business. The past two months have been really awful. Master Roland died, and a couple of my drinking buddies were killed in an ambush. When the twins and I investigated the scene, we found Ruby. And because of that, Damm Ruby, I had to clean the outhouse for two weeks.
For two weeks, I smelled like shit.
I wake up, shit.
I work, shit.
I go to bed, shit.
It just wouldn’t go away. I tried to hate Ruby, but she was just too damn nice. She healed everyone she came across free of charge, never mocked anyone, and never even snitched on any of the guys making fun of her. Heck, she even healed some of those idiots.
But does she hate me? I still had no idea. And over a month later, I still couldn’t look her in the eyes. Most of the insults and nasty rumors are because of me. If I hadn’t dragged her around butt naked in front of everybody, no one would dare say bad things about her.
But because of me, the three lads on the table behind me had the time of their lives. They had come in and immediately started talking loud and clear for everyone to hear who they had “Fucked” so far. After two hours of this, the conversation took a sharp turn. Among the three perverts was Donal from House Breesby, a fat bastard with small beady eyes poking through his excess skin. He asked the other two, a skinny halfling with a creepy grin and a guy with acne scars covering his whole face,
“Come on, you think she really would fuck someone like you guys?”.
“Hehe, of course.” said acne face. One night with me, and she won’t even remember that noble twink.”
“True, but do you really think it’s him? I bet she really has a thing for Bennie, that little bitch.”, remarked the skinny Halfling. Rubbing his dangling hairy feet against each other under the table. Donal agreed,
“The boy must have the time of his life.”.
“““hahaha””” Everyone laughed, but the rest of the bar turned quiet.
The Halfling broke the silence by spitting on the floor and said, “Urgh, this place stinks; let’s go somewhere else.”.
When they walked past me toward the exit, I could hear acne whispering towards Donal,
“Hey, how about we make a quick visit to the Clinic tomorrow after everyone is gone? Then we can ask her who of you is right?”
“Sounds good, let…”.
But before Donal could answer his question, I had already stood up, landing a punch in his acne-covered face. The Idiot stumbled and fell, holding his broken nose, his face now covered in blood.
But before the other two could take their revenge, the owner intervened. A man as tall as Averell and as thick as an oak barked at us,
“NO FIGHTING IN THE BAR! You can do that outside!”
Not wanting to lose my favorite bar, I retreated. When three assholes saw the murderous look in the Bar man’s eyes, they quickly fled with their tails between their legs.
I gave chase, but when I came out, they were already gone. The Fat Donal and the Halfling seemed to be quite skilled at running away. But I could still see a trickle of blood leading into an alley. That must have been from acne’s nose.
I followed the trail, but there was only one of them. Had the Halfling and Donal abandoned him? So, I asked,
“Hey, Pimple? Have your two friends run away?”.
But I could only get a glimpse of his mocking smile before something hit me in the head from behind.