The Half-blood

"Crap! This is bad, he's bleeding from his head!" cried a boy from a group of three, none older than twelve, his voice filled with panic.

"We all know he's a cripple, so why'd you hit him so hard?" another boy scolded, directing the blame at the third that clutched a stick.

"I… I didn't think he'll die from that, h-he just lunged at me…" stammered the boy with the stick, his face pale with worry.

Lying motionless on the ground was a boy of similar age, blood trickling from a wound on his head. His skin was unusually pale, and his jet-black hair contrasted starkly with his battered and bruised body. He laid unconscious a victim of a scuffle with the trio that had left him seriously injured.

"It doesn't matter. No one saw us, if we leave now we won't get in trouble." said the apparent leader of the group, "Not like anyone will care if the freak dies anyway," he mumbled under his breath. Without hesitation, the three boys quickly fled the scene leaving the injured child behind.

A few minutes after the trio had fled, the eyelids of the unconscious boy shuddered before it gradually fluttered open, revealing a pair of striking purple eyes which had an inhuman pair of slits as pupils. 

Slowly, the boy pushed himself into a sitting position on the ground.

"Ugh, my head…" Seth muttered, clutching his throbbing temples.

'How long was I out?' he questioned inwardly after noticing the dried blood that trickled down his head.

"I had that dream again…"

He mumbled mysteriously as he recalled his dreams to which he only had vague memories of at this point. The dream haunted his sleep for as long as he could remember, it portrayed the last moments of a man whose features he could barely make out. In the dream, the warrior fought valiantly in a battle of epic proportions and came out victorious but ultimately met his end after being betrayed by those he trusted.

"It seems to be recurring even more frequently lately…" he said to himself, a bit of worry laced in his voice.

"Young master!"

A familiar voice snapped him out of his thoughts, drawing his attention to the figure approaching him swiftly. Her steps were light, barely disturbing the ground as she closed the distance between them. Upon reaching him, her hands instinctively gripped his shoulders.

"You're bleeding?!" Emily exclaimed with genuine worry after spotting the cut on his forehead, the dried blood forming a crust over the wound.

She was a girl who looked to be sixteen, only two years older than her young master Seth. She was a slim looking girl with an oval face shape and hazel colored eyes. She sported a leather armor which only protected her torso area and nothing else, sporting dark brown short styled hair which perfectly complemented the color of her eyes. The multiple traces of dirt and bruises spotted on her body seemingly from rigorous training, didn't seem to reduce her natural beauty in any way. 

"What happened? Who did this to you?"

"Forget about that." Seth replied, his tone weary. "Just help me up. Let's go home."

The last thing he wanted was her going after the trio who was responsible as he was well aware it would only spell more trouble.

Though unsatisfied with his evasion, Emily didn't press him further. She moved to support him, wrapping his arm around her shoulder, the concern still evident in her hazel eyes as they began the slow walk home.

***

As Emily walked through the streets of the Blackthorn estate, her frown deepened with each passing glances and whispered remark directed at Seth by onlookers along the way.

"It's the crippled bastard."

"No matter how many times I see him, I can't get used to it."

"Those eyes… they're just so unsettling."

The whispers floated through the air, all aimed at Seth. Though each word was clearly audible to him, he showed no reaction. He had grown used to these murmurs, such comments had followed him for as long as he could remember.

After several more minutes of walking, they finally reached their destination, home. However, their 'home' was little more than a dilapidated cottage, its walls cracked and sagging, as if ready to collapse at any moment.

Although theirs weren't a rarity, it still stood as a stark contrast to the other fairly built cottages. With Seth's arm still around her shoulders, Emily carefully guided her young master inside.

As expected, the interior was even more deteriorated. Large cracks ran along the walls, several windows hung loose from their hinges, and the air was thick with dampness, hinting at leaks from their roofing on the occasion of rain.

After easing Seth onto a worn wooden chair, Emily straightened and said hastily, "I'll fetch Miss Mira," before hurrying out the door.

As Seth watched her retreating figure, memories from the past began to surface. Born into the head family of the Blackthorn clan, he should have been assigned a personal guard at the age of five, as was customary. But Seth had been an exception. 

The Blackthorn clan, with its strict purist ideals, denied the commoners privileges afforded to those of noble birth.

And Seth born of both worlds was no exception to that harsh reality.

Typically, noble children of the Blackthorn bloodline were assigned guards at the Spirit realm or Adept rank to ensure their safety till the time they can fend for themselves. However, no such courtesy was extended to commoners or in Seth's case a 'half-blood', who were left to fend for themselves.

Seth, being the son of Blackthorn nobility, was eventually granted a guard though not in the traditional sense. Instead of a seasoned warrior, he received a nine-year old slave, one who had originally been meant to be sold off.

That slave was Emily. From the moment she was assigned to him, she had lived alongside Seth and Mira, taking on the role of his sole protector despite her young age.

Seth's thoughts were cut short by the sudden creak of the door swinging open.

"Heavens, Seth! What happened?!" Mira exclaimed her voice trembling with concern as her eyes anxiously scanned him for further injuries.

Without waiting for an answer, she extended her hand toward his forehead. "[Aquaris: Fluid Heal]" she intoned, her voice steady despite her worry.

A soft blue glow radiated from her palm, flowing gently over the wound. The magic worked swiftly, skin knitting together, pain ebbing away replaced by a cool sensation. In a matter of seconds, the injury vanished as though it had never existed, leaving only the faint trace of dried blood as evidence. She then proceeded to do the same to his other bruises.

"Thank you." Seth murmured with a sigh of relief, the throbbing headache that had plagued him since waking finally easing.

Mira's chest tightened as her gaze lingered on the boy before her. Seeing him in such a disheveled state made her heart skip a beat, and her clear brown eyes wavered with emotion.

He was an odd, delicate creature. His skin was too pale, like moonlight cast into flesh, and his hair as black as pitch forever falling in unruly strands over those unsettling purple eyes. Yet these strange features were the inevitable result of his bloodline. His mother, after all, was a half-reptilian beast-woman, and that legacy was etched into every part of Seth's being. 

But what unsettled her most was the way he looked at the world. He was mostly silent, distant, as if he perceived something beyond the reach of ordinary sight, something ancient and unfathomable, far too vast for a child to comprehend. The frightening part was that Seth seemed unaware of it himself, as if that gaze was simply a natural part of who he was. 

"…So, tell me what exactly happened?" Mira asked, folding her arms and fixing Seth with a questioning gaze.

Under the weight of her serious stare, Seth shifted nervously before mumbling, "I lost my temper… and got into a fight with the other kids."

Mira remained silent for a moment, her brow furrowed in thought. She knew most children his age would never admit fault so easily, and that fact alone gave her pause. Finally, she spoke, her voice laced with quiet disappointment.

"It's unlike you, you're not the type to get into fights."

"…"

Seth lowered his head, his expression crestfallen, offering no reply.

"They called you names again, didn't they?" Emily, who had been quiet until now, finally broke the silence. Her soft words cut through the tension, drawing Mira's gaze toward her.

"Again?" Mira's eyes narrowed her expression demanding answers as she looked between Seth and Emily, waiting for one of them to speak.

'Oh, no.' he panicked.