“Kyra?” Liam asked looking at Thomas’s sister who was basically sobbing. “What is it?” He asked rubbing sleep from his eyes.

“They’re going to kill him.” She said grabbing his arm with pleading eyes.

“Who? Thomas?” He guessed with sudden realization “Where are they?”

“The woods.” She whispered.

Liam took off running after slipping on boots. It was cold out tonight, but not as cold as the blood running through his veins. He would kill them if they killed him. He just hoped he’d make it on time.

He was running through the woods when he heard a scream. He knew it was Thomas, and this propelled him to run faster. Then he heard it again. It was right ahead.

He broke through the trees. He couldn’t see anything in the dark, but he heard running through the woods. When he could no longer hear that. He listened intently. Ever so quietly, he heard someone sobbing.

He followed the noise until he found the little ten-year-old boy shivering and crying. He picked him up and pulled him into his lap. “It’s okay Thomas, I’m here. I’ll never let them hurt you again.” But Liam knew it was anything but okay. He rarely saw this boy cry, but when it did, it worried him.

Why would his brothers do this to him? Who would hurt a little ten-year-old boy. He had never done anything to his brothers, so why did they treat him this way? He knew that at such a young age, Thomas would be scarred for life, even if all his scars weren’t physical.

As Liam walked home with Thomas in his arms, he thought. This boy didn’t deserve this life. For whatever reason, everyone in his family but his sister hated him. He was just a little kid. Probably hasn’t even had a first crush yet.

Liam thought back to the first time he had met the kid. He had been crying in the woods, after being beaten by his brothers. Liam hadn’t approached him, just watched.

Then he had watched the boy get up and vow to himself that he wouldn’t be like his brothers. He had watched him then and there decide he wanted to be a knight.

The next day he had watched the boy go from soldier to soldier asking them to train him. All of them refused, but when the boy had kept going and finally arrived at the commander, he looked kind of sheepish and scared, and yet he still asked Liam.

All of his soldiers had looked at him, and then looked at the kid, angry that he had interrupted their commander, and expecting their cruel leader to punish the kid. But for the first time since Liam’s wife had died, his heart thawed. If he had had a son, he’d be about this age now.

So, instead like all the other soldiers had said no, Liam looked down at the boy and said, “I’ll train you.”

Ever since that day, Liam became less gruff with his soldiers, and they noticed. After several months of watching the boy try his hardest to learn from the commander, the other soldiers started to give him tips.

Even if Thomas didn’t know it, he had kept Liam from the edge of despair. He had given Liam a purpose, a reason to live, and for that, he started to get his joy back, and all his men were happier for it.

The soldiers finally accepted him into their group and ever since then, they had thought of Thomas as part of their family. Liam thought of him as a son. If any of his soldiers caught word of what happened tonight, Liam thought they would join him in tearing apart Thomas’s brothers.

By the time they got to Liam’s house, Thomas was still sobbing into Liam shirt.

He walked in the door where he found his maids trying to comfort Kyra. He had found out that the maids were very good, and he trusted them.

When Kyra saw her little brother with Liam, she ran over to where her brother was. “I’m so s-sorry Thomas.” She said sobbing. Then she took him from Liam’s arm where she went and sat on the floor with her brother. He cried quietly into her shirt while she sobbed over him.

Liam quietly told Lala and Naitha to get one of his shirts, a blanket, and two handkerchiefs.

After both Kyra and Thomas calmed down, Thomas fell asleep in Kyra’s arm. “Kyra.” Liam whispered so as not to wake Thomas. “I need to see where Thomas is hurt. Do you think you could fetch one of our healers while I look and see if I can help him?”

She nodded and relinquished her hold on her little brother. When Liam had a hold on him, she hopped up and ran for a healer. Liam took Thomas back to where his bed was and received the things he asked for from his maids.

Then he lit a candle. He gasped when he saw the bruises on his face and torso. Then he saw the burned x in his chest, and his fist curled up and began to shake. How dare they do this! He thought. I’ll kill them. He decided. He got up to leave, put something tugged on his sleeve.

He looked down at his maid servant with fury in his eyes that wasn’t directed at her. “I know what you’re thinking.” She whispered. “I want to kill them too, but that won’t help him in the slightest. You’d be killed for murder, and you being gone would be far worse than anything those boys could ever do to him.”

“He has the other soldiers to look after him.”

“We both know he looks up to you more. You’re like a father to him from what I can tell. So, don’t do something that you’ll come to regret later. Please. He needs you more than you think.”

Liam listened to her words and started to calm down. “You’re right. Thank you.”

Then he went over and sat by Thomas. He squeezed his hand and waited for Kyra to return with the healer.

A couple minutes later there came a knock on the door, and Lala went to answer it. She came back with the healer and Kyra.

When the healer saw Thomas’s wounds, she bustled around ordering Lala to get stuff for her. When Kyra saw Thomas, she burst into a fresh set of tears. “Why do they do this?” She asked quietly.

“Jealousy? There’s several reasons why they might not like him. But I will never let them hurt him again.”

“He’s just a kid. Why couldn’t he have a regular childhood, with a loving family, and two beautiful parents.”

“If that had happened, he wouldn’t be who he was today.”

“I know, but still.” Kyra said trying to dry up her tears.

After the healer finished fixing Thomas, and wrapping bandages around him, she left. “Kyra, you can stay here tonight if you’d like too. I’m going to keep Thomas here until he becomes a page. He’ll be safe with me. Tomorrow when you go home, have some servants get his things together to bring them here.”

“Alright. I’ll stay here for the night.”

“If you would like me to, I can send one of my soldiers with you.”

“I’ll take it. I don’t really feel safe with them anymore.” Kyra said.

“You could stay here if you would like. It’s safe.”

“I would very much like that. Plus, then I’d be able to keep an eye on Thomas.”

“Lala,” Liam said. “Set out a bedroll in the living room, and one here.”

She nodded then backed out of the room. After several minutes, the rolls were set. “You can sleep here with your brother. If he wakes up, get me. If you need anything, feel free to ask me or Lala.” Then he left the room.