Post by Mr. Moon on Dec 15, 2022 11:19:04 GMT -5
Unexpected Meeting
Several years before Gabriel met Myra and started the greatest adventure of his life, the Professor was walking through the evening streets of Toroa Island, listening to the sounds of his beloved city.
The bell on a nearby tower just rang at 8 p.m. but as it was the middle of summer, there was still enough light and most importantly warmth for him to keep the good mood that started at his work. Being one of the few history professors at Toroa university, Gabriel was responsible for today´s exam from modern history and was very pleased when the group that signed up for today was well prepared, so he didn´t have to fail anyone. What a great change compared to the last year, his first year at the university actually, when the students misunderstood his goofy and easy-going attitude throughout the year and arrived totally unprepared to face his strict requirements.
“They probably warned this year´s batch.”
He grinned to himself while turning around a corner that took him away from the main road. No, it wasn´t the fastest way toward his estate, but after a long day of hard work the Professor felt the need to reward himself and so he headed towards his favorite bakery for a fresh batch of nougat-filled cookies that as he hoped was waiting for him there. After all, he ordered them there on his way to work. He wasn´t that far away one maybe two hundred meters when he overheard it a woman´s scream accompanied by cursing and yelling male voice.
Gabriel paused. Strictly speaking, whatever was happening there wasn´t his problem. It was probably some family drama anyway, so he should just continue walking, pick up his cookies and then head home. At least that was what he was telling himself, right before he turned around and rushed in that direction.
Brawl in the alley
Only two corners were separating the Professor from the incident. And once he cleared them, he found himself at the beginning of a narrow side alley, that was completely blocked by a tall and heavy-set guy, whose clothing quickly identified him as a docker. He seemingly didn´t notice Gabriel´s presence as his whole attention was focused on a young girl who was crawling away from him on her back in an act of pure desperation.
Looking at the girl, Gabriel had no problems believing that man´s words as she was your stereotypical street kid. Young, fifteen, maybe sixteen years old, with a small and petite build and shoulder-length dark hair. She was cute but neglected, wearing dirty and tattered jeans together with a shirt that originally belonged to someone three or four sizes bigger than her.
“So, he is the victim and she is the thief, really nothing I should get involved in…”
The Professor muttered to himself, but for some reason couldn´t leave the alley, his eyes fixated on her terrified eyes and the bruise on her face, probably the place where his fist hit her.
“It´s none of your business, just walk away…”
He tried to persuade himself but to no effect. That girl was so cute and helpless, like a little puppy that got lost in the huge city. He simply couldn´t help himself but to step in that alley, raising his voice to stop another strike from hitting her.
“Stop it, don´t you see she learned her mistake?”
Suddenly two pair of eyes were focused on him, one hopeful and the other one furious beyond imagination.
“Who the f*ck are you?”
The docker growled turning in Gabriel´s direction, fist clenched.
The Professor paused. While he was training in various martial arts for most of his life actual physical violence was something he had very little experience with and thus was trying his best to avoid it.
“I…”
Suddenly realizing how stupid this idea was, Gabriel wanted nothing more than to turn around and run away, but the terrified pleading eyes of that girl were holding him in place.
“I am telling you that little one is sorry. She will return anything she took and won´t bother you ever again so…”
His attempt for a peaceful solution was however interrupted by that docker angry outburst.
“S*it she will! This little b*tch and her friends are plaguing this city for years. Time for someone to teach her a lesson. I bet she won´t be stealing anymore if I´ll break her a limb or two.”
Terrified, that girl tried to back out even quicker but, in her hurry, hit a trash can with her back, drawing that docker’s attention back to her.
“No, no, no please, I swear I won´t steal again, just let me go.”
She pleaded but to no avail as the mountain of a man stepped towards her.
“Oh, will you shut up already!”
From that moment forward things happened so fast that later Gabriel had a hard time recollecting it. He knew that he lunged forward, grabbing that docker´s shoulder to stop her from hurting that girl and that he turned around and lashed against him with a fist. These reflexes were born from years of training he didn´t even know he had kicked in, making the Professor duck so the docker smashed his fist into a brick wall. The sound of breaking bones followed by a painful howl made Gabriel shiver but his body pushed through on its own, moving from a dodge into an uppercut that knocked that man out.
As that docker´s body fell to the ground Gabriel paused. Surprised by what just happened and his own ability to fight. His own surprise however was nothing compared to the shock that reflected in that girl´s eyes.
“I…”
She whispered, trying to get up on her feet and run, but the Professor was faster.
“Are you alright? You have to be terrified. Here, take this.”
He put his jacket around her shoulders, completely oblivious to the fact that now it was him who caused the fear in her eyes.
“Do you want me to walk you home?”
“I…”
Gabriel paused, taking another look at her.
“But of course, that was so insensitive of me, my apology. You know what? For the time being, you can stay with me! I have too many empty rooms anyway. Come, let´s get you a bath and something clean to wear.”
Being pretty much lost in all forms of interpersonal interactions Gabriel´s brain immediately switched to something he knew. That girl was lost, hungry and terrified, just like the puppies he was rescuing from the streets for years. So there was nothing wrong with what he was doing as she was basically a stray puppy in the need of rescue.
She on the other hand was so afraid that she didn´t even find the strength to scream or run. As if the shock caused by the docker wasn´t enough now she found herself in the hands of another stranger. This one wasn´t yelling or threatening her. Actually, he was very kind, but that made him even more terrifying. In her mind, she still saw how easily he dispatched that large docker. From the way he looked and behaved to how skilled he was with violence everything screamed “serial killer!” at her. But the fear was too strong for her to act on it and so she followed, praying for an opportunity to run away.
“Oh, where are my manners.”
The Professor suddenly raised his voice as they were leaving that accursed alley behind.
“My name is Gabriel and yours?”
“S..Sarah…”
She whispered.
First Escape Attempt
Despite the fact, her whole body was enveloped by hot water Sarah was shaking. Never in her life was she as afraid as now. This guy was a serial killer, she was sure of it! After leaving that side alley, Gabriel led her to his home a large mansion on the city outskirt that was terribly neglected. The fence that was separating it from the surrounding world had holes, and the land was covered with weeds and inhabited by a pack of semi-wild dogs that for some reason accepted that man as the alfa of their pack and the house itself was dusty and seemingly empty save for its owner, despite being obviously built for a large family and their servants.
“I will end up as dog food!”She howled silently, hugging her knees. She was thinking about escaping, of course, she was but she couldn´t find an opportunity to do so as that man grabbed her hand and hold onto it until they arrived at his place. And even after that he really left her alone only after preparing her hot bath and clean dress. One or two sizes bigger than her actual size, Sarah didn´t even want to think about where it came from.
“No…not like this!”
Hot water together with a sudden surge of adrenaline pushed her fear away or rather allowed her to use it for self-preservation. She didn´t hear him for a while and this was a large house, right? With only the two o them there she should be able to escape! For f*ck sake, she didn’t ´t survive for all these years on the streets to die like that!
Pulling herself from the comfort of a hot bath, Sarah dried her body and quickly dressed. There were no shoes prepared but she didn´t care as the nights were warm and it wouldn´t be the first time for her to run barefoot through the streets anyway.
Sarah sneaked to the door moving as silently as possible and for a moment just listened, but besides her racing heart, there was nothing to hear, so she peeked through the keyhole, and since nothing was there either, she opened the door. Her heart almost stopped when the old hinges squeaked.
Frozen on the spot she half expected the creep appears behind the nearest corner furious about her escape attempt but…nothing happened.
“Alright…he is probably too busy arranging your death or something…so no time to waste…you can do this…”
Sarah whispered, trying to calm down her nerves. It didn´t help much, but she got herself to move again. Twice to the right, then to the left at the end of the corridor and down the stairs, she did her best to remember the way he led her to the bathroom as it was the only way out, she knew.
So far so good, she made it to the end of the staircase without anyone noticing. All she had to do next was to walk through the entrance room and she will be outside of this death trap! Unable to contain the desire for freedom anymore Sarah went from careful sneaking to walking, then jogging, and finally all-out sprinting toward the doors when…SMACK!
Out of nowhere, the doors to her left opened themselves and Gabriel stepped out to the entrance, right into a collision course with the sprinting girl. It was too late for her to stop and so she hit him in a full speed, knocking both of them down.
“I am dead, I am so dead!”
She cried for herself, trying her best to get back on her feet, but suddenly she paused realizing that what he was carrying on the large silver platter and what was now lying on the floor everywhere around them weren´t his tools of murder, but a chocolate chips cookies, fresh ones if she could judge from the gentle steam that was rising from them and a kettle full of hot chocolate, now turned into a sweet puddle.
“I thought you will be hungry…”
He said, still shaken by the sudden crash. She thought that rage and violence will follow as no man ever gave her a reason to expect anything else, so she met his eyes full of kindness and a gentle, almost apologetical smile something deep inside of her broke. Her legs betrayed her and she fell to the ground unable to stop the flood of tears that filled her eyes.
„Oh no, did I hurt you?”
Gabriel was immediately by her side, taking her around the shoulders. Sarah wanted to scream at him to let her be, to go away, but all that escaped her mouth was more inarticulate sobbing.
“I am so sorry, I didn´t even see you. Come, you can not sit on the ground it´s too cold.”
He lifted her, ignoring the faint attempt to struggle she managed to put forth and carried her back to the upper floor and to his study, where he sat on a large armchair with her still in his arms.
“Now, now, everything will be alright. You didn´t do anything wrong. You are a good girl.”
Somewhere deep inside she knew that everything about this was wrong but hiding in his arms gave her a sense of warmth and comfort she didn´t feel for years and so slowly her tears dried out and Sarah relaxed. The last thing she remembered before falling asleep was his head petting her hair.
Learning the ropes
Yesterday…just thinking about what happened before she fell asleep caused her the worst moral hangover of her life. How could she let him to cuddle her like that, and why did she like it?! No, no, and no, she definitely didn´t like it. She was just tired and under too much stress and she had to leave now!
Almost as if he was waiting for some kind of signal, the Professor opened the doors leading to her bedroom a large and nicely furnished, although a bit dusty room, and entered with a large platter that had everything a proper breakfast should have, starting with pastries and going through ham, cheese, and eggs with a large kettle, that smelled like a hot cocoa.
„Good morning.“
He greeted her with the same smile that broke her yesterday.
“I am sorry, I didn´t know what you like so I took a bit of everything.”
As he approached her bed, she wanted to yell at him, punch that platter out of his hands and run. She wanted to be angry at him, but that smile melted all of it away, leaving her only with feelings of shame, embarrassment, and self-loathing.
She instinctively recoiled when he sat down in a chair next to her bed, making him pause and slow down when putting the platter on her nightstand.
“Why am I here?”
She whispered the question, covered by a heavy blanket up to her head.
Apparently, that question caught Gabriel off-guard, as he paused for a second, thinking about the answer he should give her as the truth was, he wasn´t really sure himself.
“Well, back then, in that alley, you looked so lost and helpless I thought that you could use a place to stay you know, so I took you in.”
Sarah looked at him even more confused than before.
“What do you mean by “took you in”?”
There was a hint of rage hidden in her voice, but it quickly disappeared when faced with his kind smile.
“Well, it means that I would like to offer you a place to live…and food of course.”
To his surprise, this didn´t calm her down but rather made her more afraid.
“And in return?”
She almost whispered, already sure she knows the answer.
“Oh…well, I don´t really need anything.”
The Professor laughed awkwardly, making her jaw drop in surprise.
“I mean…I know this place doesn´t look that way, but I am quite rich, so you don´t have to pay me rent or anything.”
The girl was looking at him speechless for a moment before asking in disbelief
“You mean I can live here just like that?”
Gabriel nodded.
She looked at him with a mixture of sadness and despair, definitely not the emotions Gabriel expected to see at the moment.
“You think it´s funny right? Torturing me like this…!”
She snapped with a hint of tears in the corners of her eyes.
“What? I…”
The Professor tried to defend himself, but it was already too late.
“Get out!”
She snapped at him.
“GET OUT!”
She knew it was his house and so if anyone was supposed to leave it was her, but at that moment she didn´t care. All she wanted was to be left alone, so he wouldn´t see her tears again.
Confused and unsure of what to do in such a situation, Gabriel quickly left the room leaving her enough privacy so she could hug her knees and water them with her tears. Why this had to happen to her? It was so unfair! There couldn´t be someone like him. She simply refused to believe that. Throughout her whole life, she never met a person that would be genuinely kind to her. From her parents for whom she was nothing but a burden and endless source of disappointment, through her so-called friends among the Rats who cared only as long as she was paying her tithes, to the honorable people of Toroa who saw her as nothing but vermin that should be exterminated. She learned to accept the selfishness and cruelty of the world and became selfish and cruel in return. Sarah didn´t believe in the good in people which made it easy for her to hurt them. That´s why she simply couldn´t believe there could be someone kind to her, at least not without some ulterior motives. There was a catch there had to be…but what if there was none? What if he didn´t want to prey on her as everybody else? What if this was her chance for the warmth of home she secretly dreamed of any time she walked past one of these family houses inhabited by happy families?
Part of her wanted to believe it so hard, while the other, more cynical part was chastising her for being a naïve little girl. And so she cried and cried until she didn´t have the strength to cry anymore. She was exhausted, devastated, and broken. The only clear thought she was capable of was that she can not stay there.
Slowly, Sarah moved out of her bed, stumbling towards the door, only to find Gabriel behind them. The Professor was sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall across the hallway. She raised her eyes towards him and the worried look in his eyes tore what was left of her heart into pieces.
“Are you all right?””
He asked, while slowly climbing back on his feet.
“I am sorry if I startled you. I didn´t want to hurt you, but…everything I said, I mean it.”
In a response to his words, Sarah smiled but it was a smile full of pain rather than joy.
“Of course you did, but how long before you´ll get bored of me? A week? A month? And what then? I´ll end up back on the street after…after…”
She bit her lip to stop herself from sobbing. Sarah wanted to leave right away before she could start crying away but found Gabriel standing in her way.
“Is that what you are afraid of? Well, I might have a solution for you.”
His soft, encouraging smile made her pause, while the Professor reached into the inner pocket of his jacket, pulling out his wallet.
“Let me see….”
He muttered to himself, counting a few banknotes before offering them to Sarah.
“This is the daily payment you would get if you worked as my assistant at the university. I´ll give it to you every morning. See, like this even if I would send you away in a few months, you would have enough money to start a new life on your own, so no returning to the streets.”
Sarah looked at him unsure what to say. He was offering her money and wanted nothing in return, nothing just for her to live in his house. She wished it was some kind of trick, anything but a real kindness, but couldn´t find a single catch or hidden blade.
“Can I really stay here?”
She asked and for the first time, something like hope appeared in her voice.
“Yes”
Sarah swallowed emptily.
“And you don´t want anything in return?”
Gabriel nodded, leaving the dark-haired girl speechless.
“I…I…”
She tried but no words were coming almost as if nothing she could say could express what she felt.
“That´s all right.”
Without her even noticing, the Professor appeared by her side, patting her head. It was so sudden and strange that she wanted to push him away, but didn´t find the strength to do so, embarrassing her in front of her inner voice even further.
“You don´t have to give me a definitive answer or anything. I already told you that you are welcome to stay. So, why won´t you eat your breakfast and when you´ll feel ready, we can meet in the library, and you can ask whatever you want. Sounds good?”
She nodded, not trusting her voice to not betray her again.
“At the end of this corridor turn right and take the staircase upstairs that´s where my library is.”
Sarah nodded again, letting him gently push her back into her room.
Her room. She played with that thought for a bit, enamoured by that idea. She couldn´t even remember when was the last time she could call something “her room” or when someone offered her a breakfast that had more food in it than she usually had for a whole week. Thinking about food, her stomach reminded her that she actually didn´t eat since yesterday´s lunch and so the rescued thief stuffed her mouth with a copious amount of cheese and ham.
Library
That guy, Gabriel was a weirdo, but he didn´t seem to be dangerous and she could really use a roof over her head and free food. Even if it would be only for a few months, that idea was too tempting to give up on it. And who knows, perhaps he could really help her to get off the streets.
“Now, now don´t be too optimistic my girl. Enjoy it till it last, but don´t set your hopes too high, or you´ll get disappointed.”
She smiled to herself as she got up on her feet, heading towards the library.
Walking through the corridor, Sarah noticed things that she previously ignored. Like the fact that the house was filled with antiquities and art. She was no expert on this stuff, but her instincts of a thief were telling her that even if few of these were authentic, they could guarantee her a comfortable life for years. Trying her best to resist the urge to grab the nearest paintings and run, she turned to the right at the end of the corridor and climbed the staircase to enter the library. And once again, she was left speechless, because it was nothing like what she expected. For starters, it was huge. The whole floor was filled with bookshelves that in return were filled with various books and scrolls to the brim. And second, unlike the rest of the house, it was perfectly clean although the shelves themselves were creating a small maze that made it impossible for her to see the Professor.
„Excuse me! Is anyone here? Gabriel?!”
Sarah raised her voice, reluctant to just walk around the library without the direct permission of its owner.
“Yes, over here!”
Led by his voice, the former thief walked among the bookshelves, towards the center of the room, where she found something that strongly reminded her temple. In the middle of six bookshelves arranged in a circular manner was a single armchair, a large, padded, luxurious thing that probably cost a small fortune by itself, accompanied by a footstool and a coffee table, all standing on a circular carpet that was covered with strange signs that didn´t look like the letters most people were using in the city.
“Well, I am here…”
She muttered, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable and completely out of the place.
Gabriel nodded, putting down a large leather-bound book that he was reading up till now, turning to Sarah, almost as if he was expecting that she will lead the conversation while the young woman had no idea what to say in such a situation.
“Well...”
The black-haired girl repeated when the awkward silence between them grew too long.
“If I am going to stay here, what am I supposed to do?”
Truth to be told, that was something Gabriel didn´t have an answer for and she could see in his eyes how quickly he was trying to figure one out.
“Hmmmm”
He muttered, scratching the stubble beard on his chin.
“I mean, whatever you want really. It´s not like I am going to try to control your life or anything. It would be nice if we could eat a meal together, I can not do much besides cookies, but I have a delivery service arranged, or we can go out to grab something…”
Gabriel paused, putting his thoughts together before he continued.
“Now there will be holidays so I´ll spend more time at home, but after that I will spent lots of time on the University so you will have the house mostly for yourself until the evening.”
He said it as if it was self-explanatory, but she was as confused as before. The Professor probably noticed her expression as he quickly added.
“Of course, there is plenty of things you can spend your time with. I have some friendly dogs, or you can come here and read…”
Read, hearing this word Sarah´s face blushed and her frustration and embarrassment grew even more when she saw the mix of curiosity and confusion on Gabriel´s face. No, she couldn´t go into his library and read, because she didn´t know how. Neither of her parents really cared about providing her with more than an occasional beating and when she ran away… let’s just say there were no literature clubs on the streets of Toroa. She saw the moment of realization that appeared in his eyes and for a moment considered running away, but the Professor didn´t ask any further questions, for which she was grateful.
“Or, if you want, I can read you something. Most of these books are focused on history and martial arts, but a friend of mine is a novelist and keeps me updated on his latest work.”
Without waiting for her answer, Gabriel raised to his feet and headed somewhere in the maze of his library.
“What…I…wait…!”
The dark-haired girl tried to stop him, but it was already too late. Fortunately, he didn´t keep her waiting for long as barely a minute later he appeared, holding a much smaller paperback with a colorful cover.
“Come here.”
Gabriel gestured as he sit back in his chair.
Confused, Sarah walked towards him looking for a place where she could sit herself only to find nothing except a coffee table, which was already occupied by coffee and a plate full of cookies, and the footstool.
“Can I…”
She gestured towards the stool, while the Professor was reading something at the back side of that book´s cover.
„Hmmmm? Oh, but of course, if you want…“
He muttered, slightly confused as his mind was wandering elsewhere, then reached to her with his hand.
This time it was Sarah´s turn to pause and look at him in confusion. Was he trying to help her sit down on that stool? Well, she definitely wasn´t an expert on the etiquette of the upper class, but still, it seemed to be a little excessive wasn´t it? Still, afraid that she might actually offend him Sarah accepted the offered hand only to find out, that he wasn´t helping her to sit down but rather pulling her closer to himself.
Finding herself cuddled up by this weirdo, her face turned bright red. No, this wasn´t alright, this definitely wasn´t alright! On a verge of panic, she tried to push against his chest, but Gabriel either didn´t notice or decided to ignore her completely and started to read instead.
Well if nothing else, she had to admit, that he had a very pleasant voice and the warm and cozy feeling was also very nice…
“No, no, no…what are you thinking about! This is wrong!”
She yelled at herself, trying to push herself away once again, but this time her effort was somehow half-hearted earning her a head pat instead of release.
She blushed again. Yes, it was feeling great to meet someone who was for a change really nice to her.
“No, no, it´s a trick! You have to…”
The inner voice tried to fight but was drowned in Gabriel´s embrace and continuous head pats.
“Thinking about it again, this isn´t so bad…maybe I could get used to it.”
That was the last thought she had before losing herself to the story he was reading to her and the feelings of warmth and safety that were coming from him.
Life with Gabriel
Despite the initial difficulties, Sarah became quickly accustomed to the strange life in Gabriel´s house. The Professor didn´t lie to her when he said she could stay with him with no string attached. She could wake up whenever she wanted, eat whatever she wanted and go wherever she wanted. For some time, she was taking advantage of her newfound freedom but in few day the young rescue realised, that this “princess life” wasn´t for her. Her conscience raised its voice and the young woman started looking for a ways to at least help around the house. And God there were lots of things to do! Because while the Professor was a good person he had no idea how to take care of his own household. There was dust everywhere and misplaced items on places where you would expect them the least. The kitchen also needed some serious restocking as the only thing the master of the house could really do were cookies of all kinds and a hot chocolate, which while nice definitely wasn´t something you could live on for a long time. Not that she would be some amazing cook, but she felt much better when Gabriel stocked at least the most basic ingredients there.
As for their life together, Sarah wasn´t solitary creature, not even by a longshot, but still felt inappropriate whenever she was approaching him. Mainly because he always looked so busy and she didn´t want to bother him. Not when she wasn´t offering much in return for his hospitality. Still, when she really need him, he knew where to find him as his time schedule was incredibly regular. At early morning and just before the dinner, the Professor was spending time training something Sarah considered to be a martial art in the garden. When she found out for the first time, she was fascinated by the beauty and gracefulness of his every movement, that were in a direct contrast with his otherwise goofy behaviour. Since then, she made it into her habit to watch him, dreaming about the day when she finds enough courage to go outside and ask if she can join, or even better, about the day she would get a dance from him. But as for now it were only dreams. Still, it wasn´t like if they didn´t spent any time together as the Professor made it into a habit to eat as many meals with her as possible and of course every late evening they were spending in the library, where he read stories from various books to her. That was probably the most favourite part of her day, although her pride would never allow her to say it aloud. And so the two of them were living together for almost three weeks before that incident happened.
It happened the second week of Sarah´s stay in Gabriel´s house, during the Sunday´s breakfast. The Professor, woke up earlier that day, making a short trip to nearby shop for a box of donuts and a large teapot full of hot cocoa as he was refusing to pour coffee to a minor much to his guests dismay. Still she wouldn´t dare complain and gratefully munched on her donut, When The Professor suddenly raised his eyes from his cup.
“I was thinking…”
He muttered, capturing Sarah´s attention.
“Why you never leave the house? I mean, you know you are not a prisoner here, right?”
Sarah´s jaw dropped to the point where she almost lost the piece of donut with peanut butter topping that was in her mouth.
“I mean…ugh…”
She quickly chewed on her mouthful, before carefully continuing.
“I kind of thought that would be against our agreement.”
Sarah whispered, afraid that this confession could anger her benefactor, but nothing like that happened. The Professor only smiled in response, reaching across the table to pat her head as if she was a little puppy.
“But of course, it wouldn´t. I mean after all I invited you and not kidnapped.”
He laughed it off, making the young woman blush from frustration or because she genuinely liked this gesture of affection, she didn´t know herself.
„I…“
She started, thinking about some good excuse, but Gabriel didn´t let her finish.
“Anyway, I have to attend some meeting in the city so I was thinking if you would like to accompany me? It won´t take long and we could go shopping after that? I was thinking about buying some dress for you…you know something that would actually fit your size and then we could go for a lunch…”
Sarah chuckled.
“So, you are inviting me on date?”
The Professor´s face turned pale, and his jaw dropped in a pure expression of shock, almost choking on a sip of hot chocolate he took.
“What..no…I…”
His protegee laughed.
“Don´t worry, I was just teasing you.”
But there were some sad tones in her laughter, or maybe not sad but fearful ones, that were born from a memory Gabriel´s question summoned. Memory of people she left behind in the capital, terrible, dangerous people that she tried to forget about when she moved into this house but who reminded herself now. A fear gripped her heart with it´s icy fingers. She wanted to decline his offer, but how could she without telling him the truth? And if she told him what if he started to hate her? What if he kicked her out? She suddenly realized how afraid she was especially of the first possibility and nodded.
“But yes, it sounds great.”
Gabriel, completely oblivious to what she was feeling nodded with a happiness written all over his face.
“Excellent, let´s go after the breakfast.”
For the rest of their breakfast Sarah was unusually quiet, but the professor unable to read any social ques managed to talk for both of them. He was talking about that meeting of him, that was supposed to be with his former mentor and a good friend Dimitri, who recently returned from an excavations and brough him some ancient text about martial arts that could interest Gabriel, his childlike enthusiasm showing how much he was actually invested in this hobby of his. He then continued with planning all the shopping they had to do together.
Sarah was listening to him, in silence, her worries slowly melting away under his smile, almost as if his enthusiasm and confidence were contagious.
“Maybe…”
She though for herself
“there isn´t really a reason to worry that much. After all, the capital is a big city. What are the chances that we meet them today?”
Trip to the outside world
They spent almost three hours in the pub as the two men were exchanging stories about their exploits. Sarah hung on their every words, almost unable to comprehend the fact, that the goofy Professor sitting next to her was actually taking part in a real field research, visiting an exotic places, searching for an ancient treasures and cooperating with such dangerous people as this Eric he was talking about.
When they finally left, the young woman was so charmed by their stories that she couldn´t even say a word, until they reached the tailoring.
“Say Gabriel...”
Sarah paused as he reached for the doorknob.
“Why wasn´t Dimitry surprised to see me there?”
The Professor turned to her with a gentle smile.
“Well, that´s probably because he is quite used to me bringing student or two to our meetings.”
Hearing these words, Sarah´s face turned sad unsure herself why his words hurt her so much.
“So, there were others before me? Living with you like this I mean…”
Looking confused for a moment, Gabriel shook his head.
“No, actually you are the first one…first human I mean…you already met my dogs, so…”
Sarah´s cheek turned pinkish as she suddenly felt embarrassed for even asking that question.
“So, by students you mean…never mind, can we go inside please?”
Utterly confused, Gabriel nodded and entered the tailoring.
When it came to a fashion, Gabriel had terrible taste. At least that´s what Sarah´s though when he started recommending her clothes. Spending most of her life in simple pants and shirt, she really didn´t feel comfortable in all the dresses he was offering her, but at the same time was afraid to refuse them as she didn´t want to look ungrateful. In the end, she managed to talk him into buying her some regular clothes together with five dresses of his choosing.
When the time to pay for them came, the Professor asked her to wait outside so she wouldn´t know how much he actually spent for her. The young woman already suspected from the look of the shop that it´s an expensive one so she found his behaviour to be rather silly, but didn´t want to be unpolite and so complied, only to regret it almost immediately.
She wasn´t out there even for a minute when someone sneaked on her, startling her with a whisper.
“I can believe my eyes, Sarah is that you?”
Startled by the familiar voice, the young woman winced, turning around to see a young man in his early twenties standing behind her. He was tall and thin, with long face covered in smallpox scars.
“J…Josh, what are you doing here?”
She stuttered, making the tall man grin.
“That´s my question isn´t it? Disappearing for two weeks without saying a word, it got us all worried. We though you might got arrested or even killed and now I meet you here, wearing these fancy dress with…who is that your new boyfriend?”
Sarah turned pale.
“I…that´s…look I can explain it.”
Acting like the bully he always was, Josh leaned towards her with a menacing smile.
“Well I definitely hope so because you made an oath you know. We all promised to take care of each other, never to abandon our kin. You know how serious Royce is about this. Would be a real shame if we had to visit you and your new boyfriend in the middle of the night.”
“That…I…stop call him my boyfriend already.”
She snapped at him, finally getting back to her senses.
“He is no one alright? Just a random guy who though he can pick me up from the streets and make me play his daughter or something.”
Josh raised his eyebrow not believing a single word she said.
“Is that so?”
Sarah frowned.
“Yes! It just took a bit of time to get his trust, but now I can just rob him anytime I want. He has some nice collection of art that´s probably worth millions.”
The tall man grinned.
“Well in that case you shouldn´t wait for long. We will be waiting you tonight with these millions in art you are talking about. Otherwise…”
He moved his index finger across his neck in a very eloquent gesture, before walking away, leaving terrified and devastated Sarah behind.
„Who was that? “
Stepping out of the shop, the Professor watched Josh leaving with a gentle frown written on his face.
“That…”
Startled again, Sarah turned to him, trying her best to quickly conjure some believable excuse.
“No one…I don´t know, he probably mistook me for someone else.”
She lied, quite aware, that no one in their right mind would ever believe such obvious lie, but surprisingly, Gabriel did. Nodding, his face once again transformed by his kind smile.
“I am sorry for letting you wait for so long, but I realised you also need something for your training.”
Sarah blinked in surprise.
“Training?”
She asked uncertainly.
“Well…”
The Professor laughed nervously.
“I noticed you are watching me during my training every day so I though you might want to join? I mean…I didn´t really train anyone before, but I though you might enjoy it?”
Seeing his hopeful expression, Sarah suddenly felt an overwhelming pain and regrets taking over her. Without even realising it tears started running down her face, making Gabriel all worried that he done something wrong.
“I…I am sorry, if you don´t want to you don´t have to, I just thought…”
She shook her head, wiping the tears from her eyes.
“No, it´s fine. I would love to.”
Sarah smiled, trying to supress another sob.
“But why are you crying?”
Asked Gabriel, his voice showing that he was on a verge of panic.
“Because I am woman. We are complicated creatures you know. Sometimes, we just cry because we are happy. Can we…can we go home now?”
Home, that single word hurt her more than the punch she got from the docker two weeks ago but this time, she managed to stop herself from crying.
The Professor still didn´t looked convinced, but afraid that she could start crying again he offered her his arm, taking her back home.
For the rest of the day, Sarah couldn´t really focus on anything. Walking aimlessly through the corridors of Gabriel´s house as if she was trapped in some kind of dream. And perhaps it really was a dream. Beautiful dream about a house she could call a home and man who genuinely cared for her. She dared to dream it, but now it was time to wake up and it was tearing her heart apart.
In the end, she found her way into the library. It was already getting dark outside when Sarah walked up the stairs. Ignoring the chair he brought there for her, she sat down on his lap, like the first day he brought her there, curling herself up in his arms. He didn´t ask her a thing and she was grateful for that, as all Sarah wanted was the last peaceful memory with him.
Leaning against his chest, Sarah was listening to his heartbeat and the story which Gabriel was reading, trying her best to hide her tears. They were like that for hours, before the Professor raised her in his arms, thinking she already fell asleep and carried her into her bed. She stayed silent until the doors closed behind him and then started crying into her pillow. Despite living there for only two weeks that place became her home and she didn´t want to leave it. But at the same time, she knew she had no other choice if she wanted to protect Gabriel from her old companions.
She was crying until she couldn´t anymore, feeling nothing but an endless emptiness where her soul used to be.
It was already past midnight when she rolled back to her feet, taking the cover off her blanket, as she didn´t have anything else that could carry her loot. She already knew that the most valuable things in the house were actually Gabriel´s books. The Professor loved his collection and showed her some of the most valuable and incredibly old tomes and scrolls he had in his possession, but it was exactly because he loved them so much, that she didn´t dare to touch them. She didn´t want to hurt him even more.
Walking silently from her room towards the main door, she collected some of the historical artifacts and pieces of art he kept on display throughout the house. As she knew some of these things were basically worthless, while others were worth hundreds of thousands if not millions. Definitely, enough for her to avoid a beating from Royce.
The next morning Gabriel woke up, concerned about his puppy´s wellbeing. He noticed how sad and downhearted she became after their trip to the city, or rather after meeting the strange young man, but at the same time decided to not poke his nose into it mainly because he had no idea how to even start the debate. Truth to be told, The Professor was terrible at all social interactions that weren´t based on giving lectures at the university and it took him a nearly whole week to plan how exactly should he invite her to the trip to the city.
Gabriel knew that this time he didn´t have so much time and so he decided to start with something different. Raspberries! As he already learned, Sarah loved raspberries and so he decided to go to the city to buy some for the morning waffles. And if even that wouldn´t be enough to improve her mood he would know that something was seriously wrong. Unfortunately, the Professor didn´t even get an opportunity to put his plan into practice, as on his way outside he noticed something strange. An antique vase, that he found half a year ago during excavations was gone. It wasn´t knocked down and broken, it was simply gone. Continuing down the corridor he noticed that it wasn´t the only missing thing. Suddenly, something terrible occurred to him. Sarah´s room was up this corridor as well.
Fearing for her safety, Gabriel rushed towards his puppy´s room, barging in without knocking, she wasn´t there, her bed in a mess.
“Sarah?! Sarah are you all, right?!”
Terrified, Professor Moon ran through the house calling her name, but to no avail. It took him a moment before he accepted the terrible truth. Whomever it was that he saw leaving Sarah yesterday, he probably followed them to his house, broke in, and kidnapped his puppy!
There was no time to lose. Rushing back into her room, Professor Moon tore the bedsheet from her bed, running to the garden with it in his hands.
„Brock!“
Gabriel´s voice cracked like a whip, summoning dozen of canines of various shapes and colours that wanted to cuddle with their human.
“No…bad dogs, what kind of guards are you? Letting someone to kidnap Sarah.”
The Professor muttered grumpily, leaving the doggos confused as no stranger entered the house yesterday.
“Brock, here you are.”
The Professor pushed other dogs aside to get to a well built rottweiler that he knew had the best nose of this lot.
The Professor pushed other dogs aside to get to a well built rottweiler that he knew had the best nose of this lot.
“I need you to do something. Can you track her down?”
Putting the sheet in front of his nose, the doggo tilted his head to the site, sniffing all around it, before barking in agreement.
Putting the sheet in front of his nose, the doggo tilted his head to the site, sniffing all around it, before barking in agreement.
“Excellent, let´s go!”
Battle for the puppy!
If someone saw them walking through the city, they would probably think that Gabriel lost his mind. I mean, what else do you want to think about a well-dressed man in his late twenties, who is walking through the street with a bed sheet wrapped around his left arm, following a large black dog? Fortunately for the fine people of Toroa it was still too early to wake up and crawl from their beds, while the less fine folk didn´t care as they already saw much weirder things going on the streets.
As for the Professor, Brock led them through the city into the old industrial area and its labyrinth of factories and warehouses. It took the doggo some time, as the smells were mixing there, obscuring the one he was supposed to follow, but in the end, they arrived in front of a small, abandoned warehouse in a remote part of the industrial district.
“Here?”
The Professor whispered his question, although the chances anyone inside could hear him even if he spoke aloud were incredibly slim.
“Woof woof!”
Brock barked silently in agreement, making the Professor nod.
“All right, in that case, wait for me here, I´ll be right back.”
Unwilling to put yet another puppy of his to any danger, Gabriel reached for the doorknob, pausing as his nervousness took over him. He had no idea what could be waiting for him on the other side of the doors and frankly he was afraid of it as despite all these years practicing martial arts physical confrontation wasn´t his forte and he definitely didn´t want to die, beaten to death by some gangsters in an abandoned warehouse. But at the same time, he knew that Sarah was in danger and there was no time to spare. He had to act now!
The Professor grabbed the doorknob and pressed it, but nothing happened. The door was locked. Maybe it was a sign that he shouldn´t really do that? Maybe he should just turn back and find the city guard?
“No! She might be in a danger! What if they hurt her while I´ll be running around, trying to find some help? I have to do this, I have to!”
Steeling his nerves, Gabriel made a few steps back and ran against the door, bracing himself for an impact.
He learned two things at the moment his shoulder hit the door. First, hitting something hard at high speed with any part of your body hurts a lot. Second, the door was so old and in such bad shape, that they give in and opened with a loud BANG, which immediately drew the attention of everyone inside.
That everyone meant five young men in their early twenties, who were sitting on some abandoned crates eating what was probably supposed to be their breakfast, and Sarah who was sitting in a corner behind them, hugging her knees. That broken look full of pain and fear she gave him was everything he need to forget all about his own worries and fear as his heart was filled with such rage that there was not enough space for them.
“What the he*l?”
A short and stocky man with short dark hair cursed, getting up on his feet.
“Are you lost or something?”
A taller, athletic-looking blonde mocked the Professor, who slowly walked towards them, his face a stern mask from the cold anger he felt. ¨
“Wait, wait I know who that is!”
Josh laughed, slowly raising as well.
“That´s the dude who thought he can get our Sarah!”
He walked towards Gabriel, stopping right in front of him in what he probably thought was a threatening pose.
“Sorry to break it to you pal, but you have been played, that bitc…”
Josh bit his tongue as Gabriel´s fist hit his chin from below.
“Ouch! You b*startd!”
He cursed, returning the favour with a strike of his own. The force of his blow threw the Professor to his knees.
“Suddenly you are not so tough huh?”
Josh mocked him, bending forward, so he would be closer to Gabriel.
“Now listen, I got you are pissed, but trust me this is nothing worth throwing your life for, so put your wallet on the ground and run.”
Something was wrong. Kneeling on the cold ground the Professor felt it deep inside of him. Almost as if the metallic taste in his mouth awakened something deep inside of him. Something, he didn´t know was there. Something dangerous and frightening.
Springing up, he hit the surprised Josh with his shoulder, tearing him down to the ground, where he buried him under a flurry of furious strikes.
These gangsters were bullies. Used to apply violence against people who were either too surprised or scared to fight back. Being suddenly forced to face someone who was fighting back with the viciousness of an angered wolverine put them on a massive back foot and suddenly, they didn´t know what to do.
“Sh*t! Sh*it! Someone grabs him!”
Yelled the blonde, prompting the remaining three to rush at Gabriel. The fastest of them was a lean brown-haired guy with a small head and long legs, running to the Professor and trying to push him away, but all he managed to do was to create a short delay before another strike hit its mark. The short and stocky one was more successful. Arriving second, he grabbed Gabriel and pulled him backward, almost throwing the tall man to the ground. However, the Professor found his balance at the last moment, twisting his body from side to side, he hit his head with several elbow strikes. He turned to the side just in time to find the lean guy and the last one slightly overweight man with a tattoo on the left side of his face-attacking.
The Professor tried to block the incoming punch but was too slow, getting hit by the tall guy and then the tattooed one.
The two gangsters looked at themselves and smiles proud of their achievement, the tall guy swinging his right fist in a wide arc against Gabriel´s head right afterward. It would be probably a finishing strike but their moment of triumph gave Gabriel enough time to recover, ducking under the arm and rushing against the tattooed one, slamming him against a nearby crate, punching him with the left, before the right grabbed an empty bottle that was lying there, breaking it over that guy´s head.
As the bottle shattered into thousands of shards, the Professor suddenly felt something stabbing the upper part of his leg.
Screaming in pain, Gabriel turned around only to find the tall guy with a short knife in his hand, getting ready for another strike.
Cursing, Gabriel rolled to the side over the edge of the crate, earning a shallow cut on his side as the blade stabbed deep into the wooden plank.
The Professor reached to his right and grabbed his wrist, moving forward to strike only to find his stabbed leg giving up on him, falling directly at the tall guy. The two of them fought on the ground like two rabid dogs until Gabriel finally managed to lock his neck in a choke, putting him to sleep.
His whole body in pain, the Professor climbed to his feet, his legs shaking under the weight of his own body.
Rising his hands in a defensive manner, Gabriel prepared himself for another clash, when he suddenly realized what he forget about. The blonde guy didn´t take part in their brawl but instead dropped to his knees searching through a pile of his personal things before finding what he was looking for an old and battered pistol, which he pointed at the Professor.
“You think you are tough, aren´t you? Well guess what you as*hole we are gangsters! We don´t play fair…!”
As he yelled these words, he cocked the pistol with a loud clicking sound that however disappeared in a much louder THUD as Sarah hit his head with a heavy piece of wood from behind.
Unconscious, the blonde fell to the ground just a moment before Sarah dropped her improvised weapon, shaking as much from the sudden surge of adrenaline as fear and shame.
Limping, Gabriel headed towards her, his face unreadable mask, that was hiding both his emotions and the pain every single step was causing him.
"I…I didn't want to, they…"
The dark-haired girl stuttered, unable to look him in the eyes, only to find herself speechless as he embraced her.
"I am so sorry. Are you hurt? I never thought someone could…I'll get some real guard dogs and start to train you as soon as possible. No one will hurt you ever again I promise."
She cried. Unable to respond in any other way to his words, she hid her head on his chest and cried until he collapsed.
Epilogue
The following days were the hardest ones in Sarah's life. When Gabriel collapsed, she panicked, trying her best to stop his bleeding, while screaming for help. She didn't have to bother however as Brock, Professor's rottweiler proved to be smart enough to run for help the moment fighting started.
Soon, the whole warehouse was swarmed by members of the local militia that arrested all the members of Royce's gang, her included, adding an attempted murder of Toroa's noble to their already impressive list of crimes.
In a way, she was lucky, that the king decreed that male and female prisoners should be kept separately otherwise she wouldn't survive the first day with her former companions. Well not that it would really matter as the guards already informed her that they will all hang. It was just a matter of when the king found the time to sign their sentences. And so the days passed and all Sarah could do was to pray that Gabriel survived his injuries as no one told her anything about his fate.
For five days she was waiting, barely touching any food the guards were giving her, until finally the head guard, a tall and muscular woman in the uniform of Toroa's militia came with a piece of paper with the royal sign, her sentence.
"Please, can you…"
As many times before, the young woman tried to ask about the Professor's fate, but she was silenced by the guard's booming official voice.
"In the case of Sarah Eskel accused of countless accounts of thefts, burglaries, robberies, assault and attempted murder of lord Gabriel Moon…"
Attempted, Sarah sighed in relief, her face covered in tears. That meant he survived.
"his Royal majesty king Louis of Toroa decided to pardon these crimes because of an assurance provided by Lord Moon."
The guard looked up to see Sarah watching her in disbelief, her face covered by tears.
"I don't know what kind of spell you used on him but don't mess this up. He seems like a good man and it had to cost him a fortune just to get the chance to speak with the king let alone convince him."
Sarah nodded, thinking that this had to be a dream. Beautiful, cruel dream conjured by her mind the night before an execution.
Then she unlocked her cell, bringing her out to the prison's courtyard where she saw him. He was a bit paler than she remembered, using a walking cane to support his injured leg. Just a single glance, that was all she managed to do, before turning her eyes down to her feet, still too ashamed to look into his eyes.
"Oh come on…"
The guard rolled her eyes behind her, pushing Sarah towards Gabriel. She walked slowly, head down as a puppy that knew it misbehaved, only to find her way back into his embrace.
"I am sorry it took so long. But you wouldn't believe how hard it is to get an audience with the king."
There it was, his kind smile and head pat that calmed down the flood of her tears and incoherent apology that was interlaced by her sobs.
"You know that I…"
She started but found his finger across her lips.
"That you are a good girl who was unlucky with her friends? Yes, I know, but that doesn't mean you can not start over. Let's go home. I have a surprise for you."
She looked up at him, her curiosity winning over all other emotions for a moment.
"Surprise?"
Gabriel nodded.
"Yes, a book, actually the most magical book ever created. It's a textbook called primer."
She looked at him with a hint of distrust.
"That doesn't sound magical to me…"
She muttered like a small child, earning an amused smile from the Professor.
"But it is. It's a book that opens the doors to all other stories."
It took her behind the gate before she realized what that meant.
"But…"
She looked at him pleadingly.
"You will still read to me even if I'll learn to do it myself right?"
Seeing his puppy looking so cute prompted Gabriel to give her another head pat.
"Of course, I will. Now, let's go home."