Chapter 10

  Matteo, Nikolai and Sonas had arrived in Steinfoss. Already, they were greeted with disgusted and unwelcoming faces. Their faces were more disgusted towards Nikolai and Matteo. A blind man and a Hybrid. Not fond of disability nor Hybrids. Matteo and Nikolai felt an odd chill scuttle up their spines, while Sonas was more curious as to wonder why they were looking at them funny.

  “I haven’t set foot in this town for 5 years.” Nikolai stated.

  “How did you survive without resources?” asked Sonas.

  “I would steal from Rogues who camped nearby.”

  “Oh. I see, but why are they looking at us funny?”

  “First off, they hate me, and Hybrids. Second, they are manipulated by the church.”

  “The church?” Sonas’ gaze landed on the church. It was beautiful.

  “The church in Deersheild never had one like this.” She spoke.

  “Yeah, ours was practically an antique. On the verge of crumbling.” Matteo nodded in agreement.

  Nikolai never faced the church. His body tensed slightly, gripping the reins tight. Matteo and Sonas sensed that there was something wrong. The mentioning of the church stirred something within Nikolai.

  “Are you alright?” Sonas asked.

  Nikolai snapped out of his thoughts, facing Sonas and looking innocent with those pure white eyes of his.

  “Hm? I’m fine, it’s just when you mentioned the church, it’s bringing back a few memories. Very….unpleasant memories, let’s say.”

  “Oh no, I’m so sorry. I pity you.” Sonas placed her hand close to her heart.

  “You pity me enough already, please. Don’t pity me more.”

  “I will most certainly not! You poor guy, you deserve to be loved and supported!”

  “Please don’t yell.” Nikolai looked down, his tone melancholy.

  The townsfolk either scoffed and rolled their eyes at her comment. This made Sonas angry. She halted Domino, making Matteo and Nikolai stop.

  “Sonas, what’s wrong?” asked Matteo.

  Sonas was biting on her bottom lip hard. The way the townsfolk treated Nikolai pissed her off. They’ve been doing this since the moment he was born. They’ve treated him like a monster and a freak. His trauma was caused by the people’s beliefs, which were coming from the corrupt church. Sonas wouldn’t stand for it any longer.

  “So the church is responsible for your trauma and neglect?” Sonas asked.

  “Yes.”

  Sonas looked at the church. She was determined to talk with the man behind all of this manipulation.

  “I’m going to have a word with the priest.” Sonas spoke as she made her way to the church.

  “Sonas-”

  “This is for your sake. You’ve put up with this for 17 years. I won’t let this continue.” Sonas interrupted. She split up to have a word with the priest. The two watched as Sonas dismounted Domino and walked up the stairs to the door. She walked in.

  “You can’t convince her otherwise.” Matteo crossed his arms.

  “This is bad. Really bad. We should’ve gone around.” Nikolai gulped.

  “What do you mean? Is the pressure too much for you here?”

  “No, it’s just that the consequences of Sonas’ upcoming actions could get her killed. The moment she walked through that door, there’s a chance she may never walk out.” Nikolai almost panicked.

  “Holy shit.”

  ??

  Sonas entered the nave. She looked around and was amazed by the building's interior. It was beautiful. The inside architecture was outstanding. She looked and observed the glass stained windows.

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  “Oh, you must be one of the visitors. Welcome to the church.” said the Deacon of the church, popping his head from the hallway at the side of the altar.

  “Thank you. Do you know where I may be able to find the priest?”

  “He’ll be out soon. You may wait in the meantime.”

  “Alright then.” Sonas sat down on one of the seats.

  The wait gave her the opportunity to observe her surroundings of the nave. She sat there, whilst observing, felt confused and curious.

  “Why would a church neglect and discriminate against a blind guy?” She mumbled to herself. Sonas was now in deep thought. Something wasn’t adding up here.

  Soon, the priest walked into the nave. He had a false friendly smile on his face.

  “Welcome, my child, to the house of God. I see you are one of the three visitors.”

  “Yes, father. Indeed I am.”

  “You said you wanted to discuss something with me? Shall it be an issue, perhaps a confession?” He asked, sitting next to Sonas.

  “It’s an issue, yes.”

  “What may the issue be, my child?”

  “Father, why is it that you manipulated the town to discriminate against a blind boy?”

  The priest's eyes widened slightly in surprise. He was not expecting a question like that. He kept his cool and replied in a

  “You ask me such a complicated question, child.”

  “It’s not complicated, it’s a question you should be able to answer easily, and with good reason too, I hope.”

  “You must understand that blindness is a major flaw to not just the individual, but to the community such a person would live in. In order to prevent serious accidents, we have no choice but to exile the boy from the town.”

  “So Nikolai was just a curse? Is that what you’re telling me?”

  “Somewhat. Our lord cannot forgive those who are considered a heavy burden in our community.”

  “But Nikolai never did anything wrong.”

  “My child, please listen to what I’m telling you. Whether or not he has done something wrong, he was a burden the moment he was born.”

  “You’re corrupt. How could you say that?”

  “You are using harsh language within this building, my child.”

  Sonas smacked her hands against the seat, standing up in anger.

  “Tch, your reasoning makes no sense. If anyone is blind, it’s the people you’ve brainwashed, and yourself. Nikolai is the sweetest and most friendly man I’ve ever met. He has enhanced hearing, a natural born strength that got his way around any obstacle. He tried to tell your people that he was an innocent child born with an amazing talent. You told them that he was a devil! You said God could not forgive him! God could not forgive a man that twists his words into saying a blind person is a danger to himself and everyone around them! You have no reason to make his life a living hell!”

  “You speak as if I’m a liar. Do you truly believe that I, a disciple and child of God, would do such things?”

  “You don’t understand. You twist God's words into making them think that it’s ok to torture and traumatize an innocent blind boy!”

  The priest was starting to get irritated. He couldn’t believe that this girl was arguing with him about his beliefs. This had never happened before. His hands turned into fists, but he didn’t try clenching them too tight.

  “I think it’s time for you to leave, my child.” He spoke.

  Sonas scoffs. She’s outright pissed. This priest isn’t listening to her. He’s a cruel man, who won’t confess the terrible things he has done to Nikolai and the town. She stormed past him and made her way to the door. If she can’t convince him, she’ll have to convince the town.

  Sonas left the church, walking out in frustration and anger.

  To their surprise, Nikolai and Matteo saw Sonas walk out in one piece, but noticed her anger boiling. They started to get concerned.

  “The hell is up your ass?” Matteo asked.

  “What do you think?”

  “Let me guess, the priest is failing to listen to you.”

  “Exactly!”

  Nikolai looked up at Sonas with surprise and curiosity.

  “How did you walk out there alive?”

  “What do you mean, ‘alive’?” Sonas asked.

  “The priest usually ends up killing those who defend me, and go against the opinions forced onto the townsfolk.”

  “Oh my god. How corrupt is that man?!”

  “Super corrupt.”

  “I’ve had enough of this!”

  Sonas grumbled with frustration as she mounted Domino and spoke up, clear enough to get the town folks attention.

  “Everyone, listen up!”

  The people looked up at Sonas. Their faces showed annoyance and disgust like earlier. They slowly grouped up and surrounded the three. Nikolai’s face was still melancholy. The way people were looking at him was still reminding him of his trauma. All he could do was look down as if he was ashamed of himself.

  Sonas was gaining the people’s attention, just like she hoped for.

  “What the hell is wrong with you people?!”

  “Oh boy…” Matteo sighed.

  The crowd's expressions remained the same.

  “You are all cruel! Nikolai has never hurt anyone, and he was never a flaw to your community! You should all be ashamed of yourself! He’s human, just like you!”

  The people were listening. There were a few who were offended. One of the people spoke up.

  “How would you know, little girl? Why defend him?”

  “Why shouldn’t I? Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t be defending a victim of abuse and neglect.”

  The person stayed silent.

  “Exactly. You can’t give me a reason why, because you discriminate against him for no reason. You just listen to that priest! Your minds are all corrupted. You’re like dogs! Listening to your owner and doing as he says! It’s not fair! Not fair for you! Not fair for Nikolai, and most certainly not fair for the people that brought him into this world! Shame on you! How would you feel if you were Nikolai? Do you think it’s fair for a blind person to suffer? No! From the day he was born, you guys were manipulated to treat him like a monster! If anyone’s a monster, it’s you guys!”

  The people started to feel slightly guilty. She was right, it was unfair the way they have been treating Nikolai all of his life. People started to look away, and others were whispering to one another.

  “All I ask is for you to apologise, and to think about what you’ve done!”

  Sonas waited for a few moments, before holding onto the reins and sighing.

  “Sorry about that guys, I had to get that off my chest. Are you alright, Nikolai?”

  Nikolai shed a tear.

  “Why? Why did you do that?” He asked sadly.

  “Because you don’t deserve to be treated like something you’re not.”

  Nikolai dismounted Apollo. He walked up to Sonas, who was still mounted on Domino. He gently reached out to grab her hand. Sonas was curious, and wondered why he was holding her hand. Nikolai then buried his face into her hand.

  “Thank you…” He spoke in a hushed voice, loud enough for Sonas to hear.

  Sonas was slightly surprised by those words. She could hear the gratefulness and sadness in his voice. She smiled softly.

  “I’m just helping out a friend. You’re welcome..”

  “A friend?”

  “Yes, you’re my friend.”

  Sonas could see Nikolai shed even more tears after she said that. He had never had a true friend before. He felt his heart melt and feel all warm inside. Nikolai had the massive urge to hug her tightly, but since she was on her horse, he decided not to. Instead, he nudged his head against her hand again, his grip firm yet gentle.

  Sonas smiled down at him. She liked seeing him happy. It, too, made her heart melt. Matteo smiled. This was a sweet moment.

  “Alright you two. We should get going. We need to find shelter before it gets dark.” Matteo spoke.

  Sonas and Nikolai snapped back to reality and looked at Matteo, nodding.

  “Ok!” Sonas nods.

  The three trotted out of Steinfoss. Nikolai decided to sit in the cart that was being towed by Apollo. He looked back at the town that destroyed his childhood. He was glad that he would never have to see this place again.

  “Bon Voyage.”