EREN
THE FIRE THRONE ROOM.

Taking a seat beside his father, he couldn't take his eyes off the boy, despite not being able to see his face. His heart ached and yearned to just rush over and pull him into the warmest, most reassuring embrace ever.

He had never felt this way for anyone before, not even for his own sister. But the frail boy kneeling in front of him had emotions of different sorts rising rapidly and spastically both in his head and in his chest.

"We found him amongst the corpses in the dungeons, Your Fieriness." The Flame Breather who'd brought the boy into the Fire Throne room hanging him over his shoulder, spoke.

"He's half dead, sire." The other guard holding a stick spoke this time.

For some reason Eren felt irritated by the guard and the way he talked. Of course they could see that, he'd been amongst the corpses for so long, he should be half dead. Eren tried to control his temper and his mouth.

Goliath seemed to psychically pick the rage coming from him, looking at Eren with suspecting eyes before taking his gaze back to the guards and the boy they brought with them.

"I reckon you're aware I've eyes. I can see for myself." Zeldrius scolded the guard with the loose mouth. "Go, both of you, you can leave now." He commanded the guards.

They bowed immediately and skipped out of the throne room, leaving the boy who just knelt there. He was still motionless and hadn't made even the softest sound.

"What is your name, boy?" Zeldrius questioned but there was no answer from Faldrey.

His mouth was more than just dry, they were baked and desiccated. His tongue had stuck to the roof of his mouth.

"Speak child! You do not ignore the Tal Dane. When he asks you a question you answer before the next bat of the eye." Ursa scolded.

"Ursa I think you need to-"

Shut up your stupid, advising mouth.

Eren stopped himself before he could finish his statement, but he completed it in his head and Goliath heard it all.

Goliath broke a smile, finally understanding the reason behind Eren's rage. He gracefully arose from his chair, gliding smoothly on the floor towards the boy with his staff in hand. Putting a hand on the soggy, dirt filled hair on his head, he probed deep into his mind.

For the first time ever, Goliath could not withstand the turbulent flow of thoughts in a Dakyre's head. He refrained from reaching deeper into his mind in the fear of getting lost in the boy's cathedral of thoughts.

Slowly taking his hand away from Faldrey's head, Goliath kept a calm expression, but truly he was terrified. Never had he seen a Dakyre so broken or a Dakyre so powerfully gifted despite having his abilities suppressed.

"He's from a village in the Blue Stoichi Tribe, he's a water Dakyre, gifted with an affinity for the element." He turned to the Tal Dane, conveying the information to him.

"And what about his name? That was what the Tal Dane asked for," Ursa pressed on.

Goliath turned and looked Ursa right in the eyes with a threatening, perverse smile on his face.

"I couldn't get that, he's a broken boy. His spirit broke after losing his entire family during the last raid." Goliath announced.

Eren felt like a heavy rock had landed on his shoulders, his heart sunk even deeper into his guts. For the first time ever he was looking at a survivor of a hoist. They indeed looked miserable, even more miserable and anguished than the caricature Blazing Sun stories and drawings portrayed them to be. This was why he detested and disagreed with the raids, he felt like the current state of the Cresent Moon boy was his fault. He felt it was as a result of his incompetence and inability to convince and reason with his father.

The strange feelings he was rapidly developing for the boy grew even stronger, as he resolved to take responsibility for his failure to win his father over.

"Father can I-"

"So what do we do with him now? Our Westian friends have returned whence they came, to the west." Zeldrius posed the question, interrupting Eren before he could finish wording his sentence.

"Permit me to-"

"Can you, perhaps, take him for replenishment?" Zeldrius asked Goliath who'd glided back to his seat where he sat so comfortably, while keeping his staff afloat right beside him.

"You insult me, Your Fieriness. The boy is broken and barely has skin to cover his bones, he wouldn't add the least ten years to my life span." Goliath responded quite authoritatively.

He was feared by every member of the castle, except Metsumi of course, who saw everyone as an equal, and Eren who simply disliked him. All the castle servants and guards, the entire council of Village Lords were all terrified of him. Zeldrius knew better than to start an argument with the Mage, so he refused to press on the issue.

Everyone in the room fell silent, but the silence didn't last as Metsumi had a question of her own.

"How exactly do you use Dakyre lifeforce to keep yourself alive for so long?"

"There are forces and practices way beyond your understanding, Young Mistress." Goliath's lips broke into that annoying, irritating smile Eren despised.

"How old are you? I reckon you're about eight centuries old."

"Desist from asking the Mage such questions, Metsumi." Zeldrius cautioned his daughter.

"Allow the outspoken, inquisitive Young Mistress." Goliath smiled.

Metsumi gestured a curtsy while seating on her chair, beaming back at Goliath.

"So we're back to the question of what to do with this-"

"He needs immediate medical attention, food and water. Let me keep him as my personal servant, father." Eren proposed, cutting off his father before he could finish his statement.

Silence fell upon the room once again, but the tension spoke volumes. Everyone in the Throne room was shocked at Eren's proposal, including himself. That was the first time Eren had spoken in a meeting since the incident that gave him that scar. The scar he spent almost half of his day looking at.

He had no idea why he felt compelled to keep the boy safe. Why he had the burning urge to hold him and whisper sweet words into his ear, assuring him of his safety. Maybe it was because he felt responsible for his current state of emptiness, either way he knew for sure that he wanted this Crescent Moon boy close to him.

"You do not have the right to request for a personal servant, not until you are done being remorseful for your attitude." Zeldrius spat coldly.

"But father, I truly am sorry for being a public disgrace to you. I've tried and I'm still trying to regain recognition and respect from you." Eren pleaded.

"Then if you want a personal servant choose from the fire Dakyres. The heir to the Throne of Fire can't have a pesky, Crescent Moon lowlife as a personal servant."

"But father only I can-"

Take good care of him.

Goliath probed into Eren's free, easily accessible mind and heard the rest of his argument.

"You are still talking? Do you perchance disagree with me?" Zeldrius interrupted his son.

"Oh no, that's a chancy move Eren." Metsumi chirped, relaxing into her chair and crossing her legs, as if getting ready for something to happen.

Eren swallowed the rest of his sentence. It was good he didn't say that out loud anyway, he couldn't explain his feelings to them if he was forced to.

"Maybe I can keep him, daddy? He has beautiful long hair, maybe he can become one of my maid servants." Metsumi requested with a handful of chirpiness, and a soft voice which her father had a weakness for.

Zeldrius turned to Ursa, asking for his opinion with his eyes.

"I think it's a good idea, he doesn't have any other place to go. We can nurture him back to health and then maybe he will be a good enough replenishment for Goliath." Ursa answered Zeldrius's unsaid question.

"Fine then, he can become one of your maid servants for the time being." Zeldrius turned and announced to Metsumi who kicked and clapped in her chair.

During all this while Eren sat quietly, not taking his eyes away from the boy whilst making every effort to understand what about the Crescent Moon boy brought about these strange emotions he had, and all so suddenly. When his father came to a conclusion to let him join his sister's maid servant, he felt a stir of happiness within him.

The boy wasn't as close to him as he originally wanted but he was close enough, as close as he could ever get.

The Crescent Moon boy would live in the same castle with him. He would get to study the boy and understand just what about him made Eren find him so intriguing.