The nearest town, that also happened to be the carriage’s destination, was named Whittens.

It wasn’t a big town or a small town. It was the very definition of what an average town should be.

But for Aiden, even this happened to be a grand and marvelous sight in his eyes. 

When they reached Whittens, it was almost nearing afternoon and Aiden parted ways with Matilda after reaching town. He stretched his arms and legs as he looked at the bustling streets. The sweet aroma of bread filled the air and the trees planted alongside the road formed flickering broken patterns on the road as the sunlight slid through their leaves.

“So…”, Aiden spoke in his mind.

Denzel : “Hmmmm”

Aiden : “What now?”

Denzel : “.....good question.”

Aiden : “..I know that but I need an answer.”

Denzel : “.....great question.”

Aiden : “Hey you were the one who suggested leaving in the first place.”

Denzel : “But you’d have done it someday in the future anyways right? It was your choice in the end. I only suggested it.”

Aiden felt like he’d just been tricked, backstabbed and quite possibly been bamboozled.

Just when he was developing a minor migraine over what he should do, he heard a sweet feminine voice call out from behind him.

“Hello there. You look lost.”, turning around, Aiden saw a blonde lady in a clean brownish white kirtle who was smiling at Aiden but with visible concern too.

“Um sorry ……I”, suddenly Aiden thought of something. Then he started tearing up. “Miss, my parents brought me to this town for a trip but I got separated from them and can’t find them anymore.” Aiden made sure to make the most adorably pitiful eyes that he could.

“Oh noo, you poor little soul. Do you remember your parents’ names?”

After pausing for 5 seconds or so, Aiden replied, “Its…..its Denny and Zelena.”

Denzel suddenly spoke, “HEY! Why does that sound awfully familiar?”

Aiden : “Ah whatever do you mean? The names are completely authentic and you have my assurance on that.”

Denzel was speechless.

However these conversations in his mind happened almost in the blink of an eye. Thus after hearing Aiden’s answers, the woman said, “Oh my I don’t think I’ve heard of them. But you must be so confused and lost. So let’s get you something to eat and I'll help you find your parents after that.”

Aiden replied with the same adorable eyes, “Thank you so much for your kindness miss.”

The blonde lady offered her hand to Aiden which he took courteously and thereafter they started walking along the streets. The sweet and spicy aromas that wafted along the streets made Aiden imagine all sorts of scrumptious meals he’d be having that day, and most possibly for free too.

Everything seemed to be going fine but then the lady turned a quick corner into an alley. She didn’t utter a single word and as the density of the crowd kept decreasing as they walked, her grip on Aiden’s hand increased steadily.

“Something’s wrong, Aiden. Just be careful.”, Denzel spoke in his mind.

Aiden just returned an affirmative in his head and carefully observed the situation. The alley seemed to grow darker and they finally reached a worn down house. Opening the door, the lady tugged at Aiden’s hand and threw him in, “In you go little one.”

Aiden spoke with shock and fear clearly glistening in his eyes, “But madam, you said we were going to get something to eat.”

The lady smirked, “Didn’t your parents ever tell you not to trust strangers?”, and with that, she shut the door, locking it from the inside. The house consisted of a single empty room with only one windows that had iron bars on it.

“Don’t waste your energy on screaming or shouting. It’ll fall on deaf ears.”, a tired and weak voice came from a corner of the room. Aiden had sensed a different presence in the room but he didn’t have time to pay attention to it until now. He still looked scared and frightened as he turned around and asked, “What is she going to do to us?”

“Isn’t it obvious? She’ll sell us as slaves to some merchant who’d be in need of lackeys. I’m Ethan by the way. What’s your name?”, the voice replied.

“I’m Aiden.”

 Looking closer Aiden realized Ethan was a kid of almost the same age as him. Or at least he looked as such. Dressed in clean clothes, nothing much stood out about the auburn haired boy except that he looked surprisingly calm in this situation. “Rather than calm and collected, I’d say he seems to have resigned to his fate of being sold off.”, reading Aiden’s thoughts, Denzel commented.

“Isn’t there any way of getting out of here?”, Aiden questioned Ethan after acknowledging Denzel’s words.

“I wouldn’t be here in the first place if there was.”, Ethan replied hopelessly with a sad tinge to his voice. “They keep the room locked from the outside and once I overheard them talking and figured that the keys are in the house to the right. It’s also where the three of them live.”

“Three of them?”, Aiden asked.

“Yeah, one blonde lady, the one who brought you here, and two other guys. The lady lures unsuspecting kids while the guys ensure that they don’t run off or make a ruckus when they are completing the trade.”

Aiden was curious, “How do you know all this?”

Ethan gave a wry and tired smile, “There have been many others before me and I’ve seen how they work. I just happen to be the last one left unsold because I have a weaker body and very few would be willing to buy me.”

Aiden got a rough grasp of the situation.

“Do you remember  where you live and could you get back there yourself if you were out of here?” Aiden finally asked him after a few minutes of silence.

“I….do know my way around the city but I need to get out of here for that.”, he replied, clearly dejected at the thought.

Aiden walked around the room and picked up a piece of stone and looked at the door.

“You seriously aren’t thinking of throwing a rock at the door right?”, Ethan spoke while observing Aiden’s movements.

“Wait……”, Aiden said as if realizing something, “...sigh…....you are right, throwing a rock won’t break the door.”

“Are you just stupid or …………..OI what the hell are you up to?”, the boy spoke with disbelief when Aiden proceeded to walk towards the door and draw his hand back.

“Well you said it yourself. I can’t break the door by throwing a rock. So I’ll smash it with the rock in hand instead.”, saying which, he swung down hard on the door using the rock.

“How would that make any difference at al……….what the hell?”, his sentence was interrupted mid-way by the sounds of the wood splintering because of the rock smashing through it. And since Aiden had managed to hit the place where the latch was attached, the door opened outwards with a long low creak as the boy in the corner looked on, dumbfounded.

“Are you a student of Trimshire academy by any chance? No, on second thought you aren’t wearing their uniform. Who are you?”, Ethan said.

“I'm just a kid and I've heard of Trimshire Academy but no, I'm not related to them in any way. But let’s save introductions for later. Those kidnappers must have heard the door smashing and they must be heading here soon to check it out. We need to move.”

He helped the boy up and they both rushed out of the room.

The sun was blinding right after coming out of the dark room and it took a bit of time for Aiden’s eyes to adjust.

His vision cleared just in time to see a guy exiting the entrance of the nearby house.

The man was a bit short but muscular and well built. He had a roughed up face that didn’t look child friendly at all.

“Um Denzel………?”, Aiden spoke in his mind.

“Yeah”

“I…don’t think I know how to fight…..”

“What?!!”, Denzel gave an incredulous gasp, “Why the hell did you get yourself in such a situation in the first place then?”

“Hey this isn’t the right time to discuss that. What should I do now?”, Aiden asked hurriedly.

Denzel replied, clearly exasperated, “I don’t know….Throw a rock or something?”

“Oh wait right, I can do that”, saying which , Aiden just aimed the rock at the person and threw it with just as much force as needed to knock him down. As he had anticipated, the rock hit his chest and the man fell down loosing consciousness from the force.

Denzel was speechless, “This works too?"

“Wait! That’s not the guy!! I told you its the house on the right!”, Ethan cried out to him.

“Oh………wait then whom did I just hit?”, Aiden got confused.

Just then a tall guy with a knife strapped to a belt on his waist came out of the house to their immediate right. “What trouble are you scrawny pipsqueaks up to now huh?”, his voice sounded rough and hoarse.

His eyes went across Aiden, then Ethan and then finally stopped at the broken door.

“Ok, which one of you runts broke that?”