Endless Evolution: Last Star

"It all happened many years ago. Back then, I just turned 15 years old, and Elva, Liv, and Tilda were 8, 7, and 6 years old respectively. So I was a teenager who was just learning about life, and they were innocent children."

Fromund said in a low voice, starting his story.

"As you may have realized, we lived in the Lower Ring, we were born there and didn't know much about the Upper Ring, but that hasn't changed much, we try to live our lives. Just the four of us."

Mariel, Zarot, and Nirosh said nothing. They were willing to listen to Fromund for as long as they needed to. They had another half hour, and that was enough for one story and to negotiate the reward.

In a way, Zarot and Nirosh were lucky that Fromund only needed money. Sure, they couldn't pay off his debt in full or solve his problem by force, but they could quickly transfer the required amount to his account. This process would take no more than one minute.

"I won't hide anything, I and my younger sisters don't share the same parents, or rather, we only share the same mother. Me, Elva, Liv, and Tilda each have a different father." Fromund's eyes grew darker, that fact alone diminished their chances of having a normal life.

Zarot nodded. It was evident by the varying color of their eyes. It wasn't always a clear indicator of different parents, but it was confirmation of Fromund's words.

"Our mother worked as an ordinary waitress in an unremarkable bar, one of hundreds, but gradually, year after year, she became a real whore. To make a long story short, she cheated on her first husband, who was my father, then they divorced."

Fromund sighed heavily, he was ready for this conversation, but that didn't make this topic any easier.

"It happened when she was pregnant before I was born. Well, it was a serious mistake on her part, and she deserved to be left by my father, but it still wasn't the end. Things could be fixed, raise your son alone or find a decent partner who would accept you with a child."

Mariel gulped, she could sense what Fromund was about to say.

"But, that was just the beginning. The mother got hooked on drugs, I think you, the higher nobles, know how easy it is to do in the Lower Ring, all it takes is desire and some money. Obviously, it couldn't have a positive effect on her as a person, much less as a mother who at the time had only one child, me." Fromund poked himself in the chest with his thumb.

Elva, Liv, and Tilda eavesdropping on their conversation sighed sadly. Fromund was reluctant to tell them everything that had happened in the Lower Ring for a long time, but eventually, they forced him to do so. They knew what would happen next, and it only made their hearts ache.

"Every year, it just got worse. Gradually she quit her job and started working as a prostitute, in the Lower Ring it's more than a popular way of making money."

Fromund continued:

"It went on like this year after year, raising me or educating me was out of the question. She didn't care about me at all, from an early age I had to learn to cook, clean, do laundry, and all the other things necessary for survival."

His eyes grew wider for a moment.

"The same goes for earning money, only cheap physical labor was available for a child, well... it was my best option, and in a way it allowed me to learn how to survive in the Lower Ring, alone, being poor."

Mariel's gaze darkened, she couldn't fully understand how Fromund felt, but she was a mother too. Sure, she'd made her mistakes as she did with the wedding and Osana, but it just couldn't be compared to what Fromund's mother committed.

"My mother's condition was getting worse, but I didn't care anymore somehow. She lived her life and I lived mine, even though I was only a child. She fucked for money like a dirty whore and spent it all on drugs, that was her whole life. I only saw her occasionally when she came home at night with another lover."

Fromund waved his hand, showing that if things stopped there he could deal with this situation, he was strong enough and hardened mentally.

"But..." Fromund's voice became quieter, "One day, Elva was born, and then my life completely changed. I don't even know who Elva's father is. It was just another lover of my mother's who fucked her and left without a trace."

Silence fell for a while as if Fromund was recalling the events of years ago once more.
Your journey continues on My Virtual Library Empire

"To be honest, I had hopes that my mother would return to normal, give up drugs, and get some normal job. I mean, if she didn't care about me, at least she'd care about Elva. Agh... as you realize, those were the foolish hopes of a poor boy who doesn't know what a good family is."

Elva bit her lip, she squinted hard, trying to keep her emotions under control.

Mariel gulped, she clenched her fists tighter, rumpling her clothes. Zarot nodded silently, arms crossed over his chest.

"Nothing changed, except that I now needed to take care of not only myself but Elva as well. Then, just a year later, history repeated itself once more, and Liv was born."

Liv lowered her head even more, she was already old enough to realize what an ordeal it was for Fromund.

"Nevertheless, I can commend myself as I did well. We were often cold, we didn't eat properly, and I had to work like in hell being barely a teenager, but we survived, and that's the most important thing."

"Khm." Nirosh coughed, "That's all very interesting and all, but how did you come to have such a large debt to such dangerous people? How is that possible, considering you were a teenager taking care of your sisters? I don't believe that your mother or anyone else could somehow owe such a monstrous amount of money!"

Fromund cast a quick glance at Nirosh but did not answer his question directly.

He tapped himself on the chin before moving on to another important topic.

"Oddly enough, when Tilda was born another year later, there was a change in our family. This time, our mother's lover didn't disappear but came to live with us in the same house. Apparently, he was an asshole and far from a good man, but who else could a junkie whore like our mother find?"

Fromund shook his head, not understanding how they ended up in this situation.

"However, our last father had one advantage - he had a real job and, relative to our mother, was a pretty good parent. I mean, he sometimes bought my sisters and me some food and even clothes. After what we'd been through for a few years, it was a real blessing."

Fromund realized that their last father wasn't a great parent, but compared to their mother and her past lovers, who disappeared, it was something at least.

"And..." Fromund looked at Nirosh, he leaned forward, folded his arms, and slowly said, "Here begins what you've been waiting for. Pretty soon, my sisters and I will have nothing but the threat of death due to debt to dangerous people."

For some reason, Nirosh flinched, as if it were a menace rather than Fromund's past.