Nagan | Broken Time Series: Book One

Chapter 5

Those few tense moments felt like hours to Nagan. Not daring to break eye contact or blink, Nagan tried to focus on Az in the corner of his eye to gauge his reaction to this situation (and maybe help him out of it). It could have been his imagination, but Az looked confused, if not alarmed.

He started chanting silent prayers to any entity he knew for mercy, and his soul nearly left his body when she grasped his chin. Tilting his face to different angles, she evaluated his features in a scrutinizing manner. Does the concept of personal space not exist in this family? Did he not appear pleasing enough to share the same space with her son or something? Her expression remained hard, and it looked as if she was glaring at him throughout the entire process.

"Too skinny," she tutted. "At least this school had the sense to treat your wounds. You look as if you were dragged a good distance."

Her words were harsh, but there was no real bite to them. Was she...concerned? For him? A madam of a very high social standing was concerned for him? Nagan wasn't sure if he was hearing it right. This time he did steal a glance at Az and the younger sister. He simply smiled and shrugged while the girl beamed in delight.

"That's her way of saying she likes you," Az explained lightly. "Mother can come off a bit harsh, but she means well."

"Silence, boy," Madam Arcloven scolded.

In sharp cadences she ordered the servants to set out Nagan's and Az's clothes and to reorganize the chest. "I will need to have a word with whoever packed this trunk," she muttered as the servants did as they were told. Soon the Carvolier uniform — a crisp, white button-up, grey plaid trousers, and a strange grey cord with a gold Carvolier crest as its clasp (called a bolo tie he later discovered) — along with a filled book bag  and a sturdy pair of shoes at the foot of the bed, were set out neatly. Not a thing looked out of place.

This was all too sudden for Nagan. He was stared down by an intimidating madam of a high-class family and then fussed over by said madam. All in less than a minute! He quickly caught her attention by touching her arm briefly before bowing as an apology.

"Madam, please," he started with his alarm evident in his voice, "You really shouldn't be doing this for me!"

Madam Arcloven let out a scoff that sounded suspiciously like a snort and turned to look at Nagan with a raised brow. "You are in higher social standing than myself. Refrain from bowing."

Nagan could only stare dumbly at that. "I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean."

There was a long pause as Madam Arcloven studied Nagan. It was faint, but he could see the concern in her eyes. She took a deep breath and asked carefully, her voice soft. It was completely different from before. "Where did you live before this?"

Nagan hesitated before answering honestly, "A village called Korgany."

She narrowed her eyes. "Where in Korgany?"

"...The streets."

"Before that?" she said, not batting an eye to his reply.

"Somewhere—" he glanced at the wide-eyed child, "unfit to be mentioned."

"And before that?"

"In a travelling caravan, but we usually stayed in Sa'aremak." He paused before adding, "I grew up in Tekanlab though."

"Where is your mother?"

Nagan didn't reply, but she didn't need any words to understand the pain that flashed through his eyes. She continued on quickly.

"And what of your father's family?"

"They turned us away," he spat venomously.

Ah. So the Elvars weren't below turning away Nageth's wife and child, she thought briefly.

The more she questioned, the more it made sense. This boy was alone, had seen too much, and had eyes too old for one of his age. Madam Arcloven took in a deep breath before asking her final question.

"Do you know what happened to your father?"

She watched as Nagan fumbled with his words, his mouth opening and shutting with every attempt, before stopping to think for a second.

"No, the last I saw him was when I was four," he started slowly, but instantly, narrowed eyes snapped to hers, the boy's posture defensive. "But I know he wouldn't have left without a good reason. He loved me and my mother too much for that."

Madam Arcloven couldn't help but smile at his declaration. At least he had a backbone like his father, and his mother's pride to match. She nodded her head in approval. "I don't doubt that. Nageth Elvar was fiercely loyal to those he cared about and certainly was no coward to be hiding in shame."

Her eyes softened as she decided to bring a small amount of closure to Nagan. Heaven knows the boy deserves it. "I know little about this, but I can tell you one thing. He has not been seen by anyone for many years."

She paused and watched the boy's expressions carefully. "His disappearance may not mean he is dead, but it doesn't mean he is alive either. I hope at least this much has been explained to you, Nagan."

His tensed shoulders relaxed, and he inclined his head in gratitude. "Yes, and I understand. Thank you for telling me what you know."

This was not the direction Madam Arcloven expected the conversation to turn. The mood in the room had morphed into something heavy, and she noticed that neither her husband nor daughter nor servants were present. Her husband probably sensed what was about to happen and kindly removed them from the room. That left herself, the small boy with sharp eyes, and her son who had an empathetic expression.

After a beat of silence, Madam Arcloven turned to the two boys and instructed crisply, "Change into your uniforms immediately. The welcoming ceremony will begin soon, and I want you both to look your best. Good first impressions can and will go a long way."

With that, Madam Arcloven left the room, leaving Nagan and Az alone.

•___________________________•

Oh my gosh I thought I'd never see the day where I publish two chapters in two days(kinda. Like it's 1am rn lol BUT YOU GET THE IDEA. IT'S SOONER THAN USUAL).

It be NaNoWriMo, m'dudes.

But there's no heckin' way I'm getting to 50,000 words in a month cuz I got failing college grades to worry about hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

...I need sleep XD