The Black Heritage

Chapter 5: Ethan was in Trouble

The villagers happily welcomed the newcomers especially the village beauty as if they were a famous artist. It was already late afternoon so those who were working at the nearby farm field were already returned home. So the village was now again full of people and looked like they were having a celebration. 

The eyes of the men showed admiration for the maiden and jealousy for the three men with her. 

"Penthelope, you become more a beautiful lady now." Aling Martha praised her with a wide smile.

"Thank you Aling Martha." Penthelope politely bowed and smiled back. "How is your health Aling Martha?" 

Inside of the tree house, Ethan couldn't help but frown at the exaggerated treatment of the villagers to the girl. The way they looked at her was almost like they wanted to worship her like God. Well, Ethan could not blame them. They were far from the city and had not seen so many beauties in their entire life. 

"I am fine. But you, when will you introduce your boyfriend and friends to us?" 

"Excuse me my dear villagers. My daughter and her friends are tired. Please let them rest first. After, you can come at our house if you like to know them." Mang Castor was smiling ear to ear for the warm treatment for his daughter. 

"Sis Penthelope, why are you bringing a boyfriend? If you just didn't bring one, I can introduce you to my friend. He is even more handsome than those guys with you. And strong." Jotun implied from a corner. He was sitting like a gangster and holding a wood sword. 

"Jotun!" Penthelope ran towards him and hugged him. After she let go of him and pinched his cheeks. "You are a big boy now huh. Well, who is handsome you are referring to? Why can't I see him with you? It can't be you are referring to yourself, are you?" 

"Yuck. I am not ready to fall in love yet, so I am not referring to myself. I am referring to brother Ethan." Jotun pointed to the tree house using his lips where Ethan was in. 

"I can't see him clearly. Well, come to our house and play."

"Okay. No problem." Jotun bent forward and whispered to Penthelope's ear, "I don't like your friends. They look suspicious."

Penthelope only laughed. 

"Wow, when could I have a pretty and sexy girlfriend like Penthelope?" Daydreamed by one of the boys in the crowd. 

The handsome boy with a gold earring at his left ear and hands on his brown slacks looked back and responded to the owner of the said voice, "You no longer have a chance dude. Because there's no more else prettier and sexier than my Penthelope." The said boy pulled Penthelope and wrapped his arms around her waist. 

Penthelope lowered her head while smiling shyly. 

"Wow, so cool." Thrilled by the other girl in a corner. She was like a teenager who was facing a celebrity crush. 

The other handsome man with narrow small eyes in black trouser smirked. He waved to the girl and said, "I am Tropher. Miss pretty, what is your name? Can I have an honor to know your name?" 

"Alicia." The girl said and ran away while jumping in happiness. 

The said boy smirked even more cunning. 

"Babe, guys, let's go to our house. Mother had prepared a simple meal for us." Penthelope waved to the three who seemed to be enjoying the crowd. 

"Okay," The three responded in unison. 

Penthelope's admirer could not do anything except shaking their heads in regret. 

*************

Ethan has been observing the three as they stopped in front of everyone. He didn't want to believe what his eyes unfolded to him but he wasn't sure too if they were not real. If it was his eyes which had a problem, didn't they all look similar to the three?

While everybody was busy around them, Ethan jumped down inaudibly and took a white plain T-shirt and a charcoal since he could not find a paper and a pencil and his own crafted bow and archer inside the hut and brought it back to the tree house.

What was he going to do with the archer and bow? He didn't know either. It was what his instincts said. 

Ethan was restless. Since he didn't know what to do and how to react despite finding the monster's head familiar to him, Ethan drew their appearance on the paper. After he drew them, he took a picture and sent them to his brothers. He told them he was seeing that kind of look. He also asked them what this meant. Additionally, he made sure that they won't worry about him. In case, they would really come home out of nothing serious. 

God really wanted to play a joke on Ethan, because as the said newcomers were about to leave, the wind blew stronger and it took away what he had just drawn from his hands and flew towards them. The drawing covered the head of the village beauty's boyfriend.

"Damn! This is trouble." Ethan scratched his head and could only wait for the next thing about to happen. Well, it was actually a good move for him. If the boys would react to the drawing, it only meant one thing, his eyes didn't have a problem because what he was seeing was real. They had a guilty conscience. 

"What the f**k is this?" The said boyfriend cursed. The funny thing was that his voice which was beautiful earlier as he cursed sounded like the voice of a person under the grave. It was scary. 

Why was that?

He annoyingly grabbed the paper. 

"Babe, what is wrong?" Penthelope looked back hearing the voice of her boyfriend. She wondered what happened to his voice. "What happened to your voice?" 

Aside from the three visiting men, Mang Castor and Penthelope, everybody was giggling especially Jotun. His giggling voice was the most superior to everyone. 

"It looks like someone won't welcome us here." Said by the other guy in navy blue sleeve. He has the look of a young innocent man. 

"Who has the nerve to play a frank game on me?" Penthelope's boyfriend shouted, returning his neutral voice. His jaws clenching inside his cheeks as he looked around. 

"Yael, seems like someone wants to mess us around." The guy with narrow small eyes said. 

"I am asking you again, who did this?" Yael shouted more. His face reddened as he raised his hand crumpling the t-shirt. 

"Babe, calm down. This is just a misunderstanding. Someone didn't do that on purpose." Penthelope soothed her boyfriend. She held her boyfriend's arm and tugged him but her boyfriend didn't budge. She looked up on him. "Babe?" 

"Not on purpose? Look what was on the shirt?" He spread the shirt in front of Penthelope. 

Penthelope moved closer to have a close look on the drawing and she lurched aback after watching it. She was somewhat terrified, somewhat like she had seen something like that before. 

Her father immediately gave a hand to support her. "Daughter, what is wrong? Are you okay?" Mang Castor worriedly asked. 

"Father, ask Yael to come to our home now. I will go first. I suddenly feel uncomfortable." 

"Okay. Go ahead. I will handle it here." 

Penthelope nodded and left rubbing her temples.

Mang Castor immediately approached Yael and asked him to just ignore what had happened. "Yael, just let this thing slip okay? Penthelope has gone home already. She is not feeling well. Go and take a look at her."

"Yael, are you really going to just let this go?" The guy with narrow eyes said again. 

"Of course not. In my entire life, no one had messed me up like this yet. I can't tolerate this." He walked close to the villagers around and showed them the drawing. "One last chance, who did this?" 

"What a villain! So this is what the real color of Sister Penthelope's boyfriend is? How scary." Jotun mocked, crossing his arms over his chest as he slowly retreated to the side.

"You better leave here kid or else I will make you accountable for this." Yael glared at Jotun. 

The arrogant attitude of Yael got on Ethan's nerves. He turned the small thing into a big problem because of his unreasonable ego. 

Ethan could no longer tolerate him. He jumped from the tree house and sat again in his wheelchair as he slowly approached the crowd. 

"No one will admit this, right?" Without additional discussion, Yael turned and kicked the young man behind him on his stomach. 

The said man threw away and contorted his hurting stomach and vomited blood. 

"You are so bold!" Ethan's voice echoed. Everybody looked back at him and gave him a space to enter the crowd. "You are just a visitor here, yet, you are making such a big scene. Are you not afraid that we will roast you whole here?" 

The villagers whispered to each other right as Ethan stepped in.

"And who are you, rascal?" Yael clenched his fists, crumpling the shirt in his hands again. "Are you not afraid that I will break your bones completely?" 

Ethan pretended scared. "Oh my God. I am so afraid."

"Brother Ethan, good luck. Teach that jerk a lesson. He hurt Brother Arthur. Take revenge for him." Jotun shouted from the side. 

"Revenge? This crippled person wants to get revenge for this smelly trash?" Yael chortled. "Ridiculous."

"You are right. I can't fight." Ethan said. "But for the sake of the long peace of this village, I won't argue with you. But I hope you would apologise to Arthur. He is innocent. If that T-shirt thing really offended you, you can come to me because that is mine."

"So this is yours?" 

"Yeah." 

Yael's face reddened in anger. He was about to charge on Ethan when Ethan continued to negotiate. 

"Hep, Hep, Hep, no fight, Okay? Aren't you ashamed to beat a powerless man? How about this, I will let you punch me twice on my cheeks, then we are even. Afterwards, apologise to Arthur and go to the place where you should be right now." Ethan hadn't done this only because for the peace of the village but also because he wanted to test the strength of the boy. 

"Alright, let's do that then." The three men grinned mysteriously. 

Yael walked close to Ethan, clenching his fists tightly. 

"He is doomed. What a fool to let Yael punch him." Tropher whispered to the other boy next to him. 

"He deserves it." The looking innocent boy replied. 

Yael stopped in right in front of Ethan. He smirked slyly to him as he raised his hand.

Ethan wanted to vomit. Yael's mouth as he smirked was nauseous. It was like a septic tank, full of web, mud and sticky drool. Ethan controlled himself. 

In his mind, he thought, "Do I have to take action or just wait for my brother to tell me why am I seeing this? Was their reaction still not enough? No way, I can't be impulsive. What if this is just my hallucination, then I will become a criminal because I killed someone without an excusable reason."

Yael was about to give Ethan a deadly punch when Uncle Simon's voice thundered. "Stop!" 

Yael fists glued on the air and looked back. 

"Young Sirs, this place has been peaceful for a long time. I hope you can forgive us if someone has been rude to you. I will handle this." Uncle Simon said as he walked towards Ethan. He tapped Ethan's shoulder, "My nephew is still in recovery. If you hit him, I'm afraid he can't withstand it. Please, just continue your journey at Penthelope's House."

Uncle Simon held Ethan's wheelchair. "Everyone, please go back to your house." 

As Uncle Simon started to lead Ethan towards his house, Yael pushed him aside. "Where do you think you are going?" 

Uncle Simon almost tumbled forward if not because of the villagers who caught him. 

Yael grabbed Ethan's shoulder and aimed to punch the back of Ethan's head. 

Ethan was furious because of what Yael did to the old man. Ethan spurned his feet to the ground hastily and flipped back over Yael. He grabbed Yael's shoulders right as his feet touched the ground and striked Yael's back with his knee. 

Yael roared and immediately turned around even though he was still staggering. He strode towards Ethan and ready to give Ethan a side kick. Ethan didn't dodge but instead encountered Yael's kick with a kick.

Ethan and Yael's legs met each other in the middle. But it didn't end there, after the kick, Ethan directly went on rolling on his side in the air and stamped his feet on Yael's chest. 

Yael was thrown away and vomited blood. He struggled to stand. 

Tropher and the other guy ran on him and led Yael up. "Let's wait for the night to come and settle him. Let's go." Tropher said. 

Yael didn't speak anymore. He let the two lead him away. As they were dragging him, he looked back at Ethan with a burning grudge in his eyes. "We will see later." He roared. 

"See you later then." Ethan replied then immediately ran to Uncle Simon, "Uncle Simon, are you okay?" 

"You brat, I didn't expect you to be such a good fighter. Why pretend sick previously? But- be careful later. You heard it, they will settle you later." Uncle Simon said. 

Ethan only laughed. "Don't mind them Uncle Simon. They were just a trio of arrogant people."

"Bro Ethan, you are amazing." Arthur said, smiling at him. 

"Yes. Yes. Bro Ethan, you are really great." Happily agreed by everyone. 

"Yes. He is indeed great. Because who is he?" Jotun butt in from a corner with an imposing pose. 

"Who?" Everyone asked. 

"Because he is my brother." Jotun laughed. 

Everyone laughed along with him.