The Hunter Mage

CHAPTER FIVE

The woman walked briskly and Vernon tried to keep up, it was hard even without the blanket he held it would have still been hard. She soon noticed that he was dragging when he fell and screamed.

She marched at him, making the ground vibrate a little as she got closer. Vernon felt his heart in his throat as he looked at her wondering what she was doing to do to him. He looked down when she was close up as he didn't want to see what was coming.

She took his hand and pulled him upwards. "When you fall by yourself," she said with a little tsk at the end. "Don't just remain on the ground, stand up."

She looked at the little boy who staggered to his feet and she helped him up, really looked at him. Not just to take in his features but to try to ascertain if something was wrong. She soon noticed that he looked like he was about to fall forward.

"When last did you eat?" She asked softly but it didn't sound soft in any way, it was just not as loud as her usual tempo.

"Last night," he sniffled, struggling with the blanket to prevent it from falling.

Madame Rachel's eyes widened. " That damn Transporter!" She muttered under her breath.

She sighed, it was way past noon and this child had not eaten anything all day. It was the transporter's job to keep the child entertained all through the journey and make sure they were not starving aside from protecting them of course.

However, since they discovered they would still get paid as long as they bring the child in one piece, a lot has begun to neglect their duties. "Give me your blanket." She ordered.

Vernon felt himself take a small step back as his eyes widened in fright, they flickered in response to his emotion. He noticed that Madame Rachel was still staring at him as if she was fascinated.

The spell broke and she chuckled, "I'm not taking it away. I just want to help you carry it."

Vernon stared at her unsure if the right decision was to give her. She looked like she wanted to set it ablaze than help him carry it. "I promise?" His little voice said.

She slapped her palms on her knees and bent down a little using the hand on her knees as a kind of brace to keep her balance as she bent. "Promise!" She announced loudly with a smile. Vernon wished she would stop doing that, she had a pretty scary smile.

"Okay," he replied and handed her the blanket.

"That's a good boy," she said and patted his head.

Before Vernon could gloat or feel annoyed, she turned around quickly squatting to the ground until her bum almost touched the ground. It took Vernon a full five seconds to understand what was going on.

"Come on, get on." She cajoled. That snapped him out of the trance and he approached her and climbed into her back, wrapping his arms around her neck.

She stood to her full height immediately after she had ascertained he was comfortable and ready to go. "Hold on tight but don't hold my neck too tight, okay?"

Vernon nodded and said, "Uhm," at the same time. Satisfied that he was comfortable and having gotten a reply resumed walking, almost at the same pace as earlier.

She was glad that the sun wasn't out, else this would be an unbearable journey and she hated that she was automatically assigned to pick up duties. Most of the Madames never saw the light of day but here she was with a kid on her back, walk-in down the dusty path. She would definitely trade this to be inside the school right now.

There was supposed to be a carriage that transported the child from the gate to the building since it was quite the distance but the people in charge didn't want to do that because it would mean hiring someone to do that and even on their busiest week, the most they had gotten is two children per week but never on the same day so the chance that she would get that carriage soon was a pipe dream. Especially the fact that they could sometimes go weeks without a new child.

She felt sweat trickle down her sides and cursed the outfit she was forced to wear and the sad part was her headgear was a few sizes too small. Her head felt like it was constantly on fire and every time she couldn't wait for the day to be over so that she could take it off.

The building soon appeared a few feet away. The boy on her back had not said a word since they started this journey. He seemed like a decent kid and she was surprised she had not found him wailing and sobbing, they usually were instead he just clutched to the blanket like his life depended on it, it was a rare sight.

"We are here," she announced as soon as they got to the building where she knocked on a huge gate but it didn't come close to the main gate. She knocked and the gate was immediately pulled open.

She walked in and Vernon found himself twirling around as he tried to get a look around. He was in a courtyard that was surrounded by different buildings. Only then did he realize that it wasn't just one building but a collection of huge buildings that made it look like one from afar.

"Madame Rachel," he heard someone call but couldn't see them as they were approaching from the back. Madame Rachel didn't turn around to see who it was like Vernon did even though it was a futile attempt instead she stood still and waited for the person to take the boy off her back.

"What is your name, handsome?" She asked softly as she placed him on the floor. Vernon thought her voice reminded him of his mother's and he just stared at her.

She was pretty in a nonconventional way. None of her features were outstanding or outshining the other but together they gave her a beautiful look and one found that they were staring but could quite place why.

She was about to speak again when Madame Rachel's thunderous voice interrupted, "Vernon and he had not eaten since last night. Make sure to feed him."

Vernon watched her features go from pretty to almost malicious as she watched Madame Rachel speak. "I know what I have to do Rachel," she returned. "Besides this is the information we would have asked him."

Madame Rachel stared back just as hard, "I know but I don't see any need to trouble the poor boy as you can see he is quite tired and might fall on his face soon."

As if on cue, Vernon staggered and the new lady immediately realized that staying here arguing wasn't the best option. She held his hand to steady him and Madame Rachel handed her the blanket.

"What is this?" She asked, staring at it oddly.

Madame Rachel rolled her eyes, "I don't know Madame Jessica." She said sarcastically. "But that is pretty important to him. With that I take my leave, if you need me I'll be in our quarters taking a shower." She bowed but with only her head, it was more of a nod than a bow and then Madame Rachel went in a different direction.

"Let's go," Madame Jessica said to Vernon tugging on his hand. His feet felt very weak but he got moving.

She took him to the biggest of the buildings. They got to the entrance and Vernon could hear loud noises seeping out of the closed door. It wasn't a gate but it sure wasn't the regular door he was used to. He found that he was sure what the door was made from, was it wood or metal but also he didn't care.

She didn't knock this time, just pushed the door open it gave way easier than Vernon thought. He figured it would have at least taken two people to push open the door but Madame Jessica did it with ease.

At the sound of the door opening, Vernon noticed the noises of children playing were quieting down a bit and when the door fully opened to reveal him and Madame Jessica, the hall went silent. Vernon froze up as he felt eyes on him from every corner.

He immediately noticed that the children were dressed alike, maybe in different colors but they were all of the same design. He also noticed that there were children of all ages here. Some looked like they could barely walk while the rest looked to be around his age.

He didn't want to stare as he could not pick who to look at so he just kept his head down and stared at his feet. Somewhere something fell out of someone's hand and hit the floor breaking the silence just as Madame Jessica pulled him once again.

She pulled him down the hall and he could hear the children whispering, he didn't need anyone to tell him they were talking about him. He still kept his head down feeling a lot self-conscious.

They stopped at a door, it looked huge and Madame Jessica knocked before entering. The door revealed a room with bright light but it looked more like a large space with bright lights than a room.

Vernon couldn't comprehend what the source of light was. He tried to stay at them to see what they were but they were too bright he had to look away. He quickly noticed there weren't any windows but he didn't make a mental note of this as he looked around.

There were tables and chairs scattered around but not in a disorderly manner. It looked like someone had stopped right in the middle of cleaning. A couple of tables and chairs were arranged while a few weren't.