4) A hearty bowl of a beating

A woman flashed through Aurelius' mind. She had a round face, bronze skin the same same as Aurelius, amber eyes that seemed to glow, dark hair that was wavy and long. Her figure resembled that of the attractive maid but was years more mature adding a greater feeling of lust in any man. This woman smiled at Aurelius, a smile that seemed to faze in and out of memory but Aurelius would always remember it.

As Aurelius saw this face, his fists fell and unclenched, his once eyes bursting with fury now were filled with doubt and sadness. He had left the stance and now drooped in sorrow. He knew he couldn't fight Vulcan, he knew the consequences weren't limited to him, they would also hit his mother. He remembers the days when his father was around.

Memories of a mud brick cottage covered in white came up in Aurelius mind. A man with bronze skin, brown hair and peculiar black eyes smiled at Aurelius. His beard had grown to cover most of his jaw and hid his mouth but his teeth still shined at Aurelius. The man's mouth opened and spoke but nothing was heard except one sentence.

"Take care of your Mother for me"

Then the man went out of the door into a light, Aurelius never knew what the light was but he knew the man wouldn't come back.

As Aurelius pondered on these thoughts, Vulcan looked on in anxious confusion, wondering If Aurelius had read up on a secret technique that would burst his head or turn him into fish balls. Suddenly Aurelius looked up at him with sadness mixed with a determination. He glared at Vulcan, causing him to flinch. Vulcan was getting uneasy of Aurelius' expression and was thinking of way out of this situation. The air was getting hotter as he stared at Aurelius, unease and anxiety kept creeping in his mind. Gram looked at Vulcan with disdain in his face. The situation was getting out of hand.

"Must he be weak all the time?" Gram thought in exasperation. Gram looked at the crowd.

"You can do it lord Vulcan, teach him lesson!" 

Most bystanders were cheering for Vulcan to teach Aurelius a lesson but a small majority in the back were asking for gentleness with each chant. However the cheers were now waning as Aurelius put down his arms. Confused mummers were going through the crowd. Gram looked towards his own group.

"Come on brother, show him that our family's blood flows through us"

Their brothers had cheered on for Vulcan but there was always underlying conflict for the next Town Minister after their father. Their eldest brother was in the imperial academy and so this left a place for any of the sons, most likely they were scheming against Vulcan aswell. The maids watched in silence, adding a few chants or conversing with one of the Gram's brothers for favor. Gram paid them no mind.

Gram was now realizing the situation was getting out of control, if Vulcan got more and more flustered then his plan wouldn't work in the future. He needed Vulcan as popular and ruthless as possible in the public view.

He looked towards the attractive maid and said with a venomous grin stretched across his face, "Medea, why not encourage our young lord?"

Medea who had also noticed Vulcan getting more and more anxious smiled knowingly. "Of course young lord Gram."

Medea turned to Vulcan and with the loudest yet most attractive voice she said, "How dare he?! Taking up no stance against his opponent?! Please lord Vulcan, teach this brat some manners!!"

It seemed like the atmosphere which had lost it's earlier intensity had the heat raised. The cheers rained down upon Vulcan. The crowd was screaming out his name now. His brothers were shouting for him to teach Aurelius a lesson. Vulcan felt like he was getting caught in a tsunami, he was once drowning but was being swept by the cheers. He got more and more confident. His eyes started shining, his face broke into a grin. 

"I can do it. I can do it! I can do it !!" he screamed out in his mind.

Aurelius had come back to reality with the deafening cheers. His heart stirred in anger with a mix of envy at the cheers. He wished he was cheered. They should be cheering for him as his fists clenched. He looked around with his anger rising.

"shut up" He whispered in rage. The crowd now mocked him.

"What are you gonna do if we don't?" They laughed out. "Did those books teach you anything 'bout manners?"

"How can such a unruly child talk to the future Town Minister?!" shouted out a voice that very much sounded like Meredith

"Yeah, stay in your lane kid!!"

"Respect your superiors"

The crowd was growing by the second that even people were running from the other side of town to see. Most of the students who were in Aurelius' class were there in the crowd joining in the mockery.

"You can never be as good as young lord Vulcan!"

"I bet he eats paper with how raggedy his robes are!!"

"How can a mother raise such a unruly child?!"

"SHUT UP!! SHUT UP!!" Aurelius roared out at the crowd, his back to Vulcan. He finally realized his mistake as he heard the sound of reeling and tried to turn back but was pulled by the collar into a open palm that seemed as threatening as the maw of a Celestial Being. Before Aurelius could think, it collided with his face, making the unmistakable breaking of one's jaws. Aurelius fell back but was pulled once again facing the same assault. His ears were ringing. his face was most likely crushed, but Remus's eyes in between the swelling had something in them, a light.

"Scum..."

Another palm hit his chest this time, ribs creaking

"I'm greater..."

The crowd jumped at the next palm strike

"I try and try ..."

Vulcan was getting so swept up in the glory, he never noticed the blood on his hands

"But i can never..."

The light was now waning, Aurelius' eyes were now shutting, his breath slowing down.

The crowd was now getting anxious. Was this boy going to die? 

But a voice called out to Aurelius, it couldn't be heard but something made it understandable, it called out to Aurelius, showing memories of his father being weak before the Town Minister, kneeling to Vulcan and his brothers. It called out for defiance, it sparked something. Aurelius' mind was now burning with anger as he roared out in his mind.

"NO! I WON'T ACCEPT IT! I WON'T BE INFERIOR TO- TO HIM!"

The strikes were interrupted. The sound of flesh colliding with flesh, bone creaking and breaking ceased. The crowd had gone silent. All that was heard was the ragged breathing of Aurelius, his bones creaking like a door in need of oil, his limbs pointing at angles no one thought human bodies could and teeth that strewn across the street and on passerby's fish egg's. the only thing moving was the fist on Vulcan's face which slipped off as Aurelius lost consciousness and fell to the ground with his fist leaving a blood trail on Vulcan's face.

Vulcan, seemingly brought back to reality, looked at the blood that stained the street and his hands. He shook, he nearly killed a man, he nearly killed someone for fun. Gram gnashed his teeth, his plan was getting erratic, he had to think fast.

However before he could speak, a whistle blasted through the festival music. The festival music stopped, everyone turned towards the sound and immediately hurried. This whistle was the Town Summons, produced only by a piece of the World Fish's bones and was used to summon all of the town to the Whale Hall. Gram clicked his tongue in frustration, they had to go meet their father.

"Come on brothers, that's the Town Summons, we must meet father" The brothers had snapped out of their stupor as they realized and immediately hurried off with the maids following in tow.

"Are you going to make father wait Vulcan?" Gram asked, letting slip his mask of loyalty and respect. Vulcan however didn't notice and just looked up at Gram and said in a low voice, "Brother, I hadn't meant for thi-"

"It doesn't matter at the moment, father will be able to guide us" Gram said in a genuine tone that surprised even Medea. It seemed through all his schemes, he still saw Vulcan as his beloved brother. Vulcan looked up and merely nodded and walked off with Gram and Medea, casting a final look at Aurelius' mangled body. 

Aurelius was left on the street with the crowd walking away with insults directed at him. Aurelius, half-conscious let out a final angry growl at this before his eyes shut.