“Sit. Sit.” She commanded. “Let me get you something warm to eat.” her full smile brightened his day. His mother started tapping the area around them, touching the empty bowls and dry water buckets. Her hands traced the tent, her face burned bright red in embarrassment.

“We… don't seem to have anything here. I'm sure the kitchen will have your favorite meal. Let me just call a servant.” She started to get up.

Atuel held her, guiding her back to the ground. He gulped back the mass of emotion trying to surge out the dam he created. “I’m not hungry, mother. The Uncle guardsman gave me a bit to eat already.” He lied just as he did when he was a small child. 

He remembered how much he would stuff his face in sweets and cakes before coming home without enough space in his stomach to breathe. 

She pinched his ear and pulled. “Are you eating the sweets again? And this guardsman, stay away from him. He is just like everyone else, a two faced liar. Stay away from these people.”

Atuel yelped in pain. “Okay. Okay.”

His mother smiled as she nodded then turned back to looking at nothing. 

Atuel sighed. He got up, his mother was probably starving, he needed to find some food that was thrown out. She would never say it out loud, and would rather watch him eat then fill her own belly.

He had thought of stealing, but by himself he had no chance. The guards would immediately perk up and stare at him whenever he passed. Their look of undisguised contempt could not be hidden. 

And if he was caught, and thrown into jail for months, who would care for his mother? Would she starve without him? Die of thirst?

He could only search the back alleys quietly in the shadows. He would sift through the trash thrown out, finding what little he could get his hands on. A half eaten loaf of bread was all he could scrounge up that would not kill them on the spot. 

And even then it was covered in maggots when he found it. Atuel had to sneak near a fountain in the middle of the empty square to clean it up. He had to dodge three patrols of guards on the way. The sleepy men were easy to slip by. 

Because of the last patrol, he had to take a long detour from his usual path home. On the way, he found a group of old men sitting together as they drank tea and ate fluffy bread that gave in to each press of their fingers. They talked animatedly about something. But he had no intention of paying attention to them.

He gulped with each bite they took, their discussion completely zoned out. He sipped everytime they did, shivering in mock ecstasy. Atuel had to tear his eyes away, he would stay for too long and get caught. He can’t be caught. 

He started to sneak away, but suddenly froze. 

“- Hu Bao.”

He turned back with utter focus. Their words slowly decreased in volume as they began to whisper to each other as if the walls had ears. Atuel had to get closer than he was comfortable with to hear their words. 

“-Golden Gate Sect. City lord Hu Bao said this time they're looking for new members! The first time in fifty year.”

“Why would they come to a small city like Anwon? They would be better spending time looking for talent in the capital or any of the dukes’ estates. Don’t they have high quality roots to choose from?”

“That's the thing!” The man snapped his finger. 

The others quickly shushed him. One even covered his mouth as they froze for a good minute. Only after they all let out a collective sigh did they allow him to speak in a lower whisper. Atuel struggled to hear them, and if he tried to move closer, he would get caught. 

“The city lord's concubine turned wife’s only boy was discovered to have high quality light spiritual roots. Just like his father.”

“A saintess giving birth to a saint. Truly, when blessings come, they arrive like a flood, unending.”

“Not like a certain blind witch.”

Atuel snapped his eyes shut. He could kill these old men, they would scream in agony. He might die with them, but it would satisfy his need to make them pay. No one could slander his mother, a true saintess. 

The sacrifices she had made. The suffering she had endured. None of them would understand what she gave up just to keep him safe.

He took a quiet breath, only with a force of will did he turn away and leave them to their worthless gossip. Old men had nothing better to do anyways.

Atuel took off in a run. It would not be good to be caught by anyone during the night. The worst of human kind slink in the shadows, the killers, and worse.

They were cold, heartless. Not even the most innocent children escaped their evil. But he didn't have time for these thoughts, there was something far more important. 

He had a mother to feed.