Chapter 1: Beginnings.

Al continued eating his 'meal'. Calling it a meal would be the overstatement of the century though.

(Don't have to tell me twice.)

The paste definitely wasn't worth the torment it put his taste buds through, but the old lady said he had to eat it to get better. 

(Maybe it was important?)

Maybe he should chuck it. 

(I wouldn't recommend that.)

She wouldn't know, right?

(Unless she were a fool.)

Oh, wait let me explain some things first.

(Who are you talking to?)

Hi. My name (in this life) is Al. I am 7 years old.

I nearly died the other day.

(No figures.)

Don't worry though. I'm okay.

(Relatively speaking.)

Hey!! Shut up!!

Now, where was I?

Oh. 

Bandits had raided our village. I got attacked whilst I was taking a leek.

(Lumberjack style.)

A man's gotta go when a man's gotta go. 

And I'm not just any man, I'm the greatest man.

Coz I'm gonna be the greatest Hero. 

I'm getting sidetracked though.

(Happens a lot.)

What did I say, Voice? 

Well, apparently my dad found me in a puddle of blood and piss. He rushed me to Old Lady Nana. She did some mystical stuff.

 (Complete with hand waving and weird chants.)

And then....

And then she (quite literally) slapped the life back into me. 

No.

Really.

(Magic is weird.)

Somehow, her spell woke up some weird voice in my head. 

(Hi!!)

And he won't shut up.

Now I'm recovering in a room. Eating some weird paste thing. 

*Sigh*. I'm gonna miss Pizza. 

(How do you even know about that.)

And Burgers. 

And Tacos.

And Spaghetti. 

And Cake. 

Shit. I'm never gonna eat cake again. 

Noo!! (Noo!!)

______________________________________________

Albert was currently having his wounds stitched by Old Lady Nana. But anyone looking at him could tell he was extremely worried.

And angry. 

Possibly bloodthirsty. 

What he wouldn't give to find one of those bandits.

He would-

"Albert, for the last time, stop fantasizing about the death of those bandits," Nana huffed as she tightened his bandages.

-have his mind read, apparently? 

"No. I didn't read your mind. You're just very predictible," Lady Nana answered his unasked question.

"Now lie down. You can't do much with your illness and I won't have you going to the grave before I do, you bloodthirsty idiot."

Lady Nana sighed.

Albert was so stubborn it infuriated her. 

She wished Linda was still here to keep that fool in check.

What was he gonna do to those bandits with his Heart Condition. But he wouldn't listen to her, no matter what she said. 

She sighed again, in frustration. 

The men of this particular family were always such a nuisance. No one in the village got hurt as much as them. As the village healer, she would normally be seen treating their latest injury here and there. So their presence here was not unusual. 

Coupled with their infamous bad luck.

Well...she didn't really need to go into detail.

Stubborn determined fools with bad luck and a good dose of crazy. 

That was what the men of this family were like. 

But they were good fools.

Anyway. 

Leaving Albert, she began tending to the wounds of some of the other villagers. 

Her mind, however, kept wandering off to Al.

The boy suffered extensive wounds. 

She would have to keep him here for a little longer to monitor his recovery. 

Hopefully the paste helped. 

His back was slashed quite deeply. It would leave a nasty scar, running from his shoulder blade to his lower back.

Knowing him though, he would probably just rant on and on about how cool the scar looked.

Well. 

At least he didn't smell like piss anymore. 

Clearing up, Nana watched the injured villagers leave. She decided now was a good time to check up on the boy.

Nana's weary bones began to cry out as she made the trip up to her personal bedroom.

Where she found Al. 

Sitting up. 

Her magic-healing paste haphazardly hidden underneath her bed.

Nana saw red.

"You need to eat in order to get better, brat," Nana hissed.

"No, it tastes horrible and you can't make me eat it, " Al proudly stated. 

Stupid. Oh so very, very stupid.

Suddenly. An evil thought ran through her mind. If he didn't want to heal faster, his problem. She smirked maliciously. 

"Okay then, you don't have to eat it if you don't want to."

Al, happy with his perceived victory, smiled a toothy grin.

If only he knew what was going through her mind. 

Then he stopped.

And suddenly became very serious.

That was strange. 

Before she could say anything, the boy said something very fascinating.

"The Voice keeps nagging at me. He says he wants to learn magic or whatever. Sounds boring, honestly. Swords are so much cooler.

Wait, what!! Seriously? Magic swords. That shoot fire. And make me fly. Really? Your not lying are you. Pinkie promise?

Ok. 

Where can I sign up?"

Nana was baffled. This was strange, even for Al.

"Please Old Lady Nana. I promise to behave. I'll do all your chores. And all the cooking. And I'll tend to the farm as well.

Please, please, please!!!. 

I wanna be your apprentice.

I wanna, I wanna, I wanna!!"

Nana was honestly worried. Had the boy gone mad or something? Voices? Apprenticeship?

Nana plopped down on a nearby chair.

Ignoring the boy's insistent pleading she decided this was a problem she would deal with tomorrow.