Chapter 27  

As the day of his seventh birthday drew near, an unexpected event shook Greenside. After months of no action, the governor made his move.

Rumors of raids on rebels’ strongholds, and the executions of several of them, started to spread. If the whispers were to be believed, the governor personally beheaded ten leaders of The Voice of the Ancestors. Their heads were still on display in the main square of Higharbor as a reminder.

The rebels had pushed too far and acted too boldly. What else did they expect to happen? People around him acted shocked, Kai didn’t understand how someone couldn’t see that coming.

If there is one thing I trust the governor to do, it’s look out for his own interest. A rebellion would be terrible publicity for any mainlander looking to visit.

Was he becoming too numb? If he were there to see those people get beheaded, he might feel different, but only hearing the news made him shake his head in disappointment.

He agreed with part of what the rebels wanted, but they should have gone at it in another way. Not challenging the governor directly. They were not going to get rid of the Republic from the Baquaire Archipelago. That simply wasn’t going to happen. It would be a disastrous loss of face for a nation looking to be taken seriously by the big powers.

What they might be able to do was get away with a few concessions if they played their cards right. The Republic would never let the archipelago go, but they also didn’t give two shits about it. They weren’t willing to spend a broken copper more than necessary. No help would come from the mainland unless the Republic's grasp on the island was threatened. Which meant the cards in the governor’s hand were limited.

If they made themselves annoying enough to threaten the profits of the governor, but not his hold on the islands, they might reach a negotiating position. Then they could try to get something back.

Or at least that was what Kai thought. To be honest it came as much from him as from his discussions with Virya.

Elijah also played a role. He surprisingly offered a couple guerrilla strategies to undercut the governor. According to him, those were the basics of the basics. They shouldn’t work against any proper ruler. Only with the complicated geography of the archipelago, and the weak grasp of the governor outside Higharbor, they just might.

He wanted to know how the weird butler learned how to undermine a government. Kai knew he wasn’t really a butler, but Elijah was always so evasive about his past.

Could he be some rebel leader forced to hide in exile?

Definitely not. Kai had to suppress a chuckle at the thought. He could imagine Elijah being many things, from a secret spy to a boring lawyer, but not a rebel leader. He walked around like he had a tree trunk stuck up his backside and could not inspire a fish to take a swim. He couldn’t see him rally people under his banner.

Pushing the thought out of his mind, Kai kept his head down walking along the streets. Squads of enforcers were sailing through the whole archipelago. Even the insignificant Greenside wasn’t overlooked.

He didn’t want to get in trouble or be found wandering the town when the enforcers did one of their sweeps.

“You, right there!” A voice thundered from behind. Kai looked around, hoping the call was directed at someone else, but there was only him.

Are you fucking kidding me? Why always me!?

Kai slowly turned around to greet the two stern enforcers in black walking toward him. His brain went a mile a second to try not to look guilty.

What does an innocent face look like, dammit!

Thinking fast and relying on Acting—thank the spirits he kept the skill—he considered several possibilities.

His usual cheerful and relaxed act would seem suspicious. Probably having the opposite effect. A normal innocent child should look scared by two big menacing soldiers clad in black looming over him. But not terrified if he was innocent. Maybe a bit nervous when answering.

In the blink of an eye, Kai felt his skill getting to work and helping him correct his body language and expression. He even felt the subtle fluctuations of the skill gaining a level.

The two burly men stood in front of him. Both tall and muscular, with short haircuts and inexpressive stone faces.

Kai gulped. He wasn’t sure if it was all Acting. They did look a tiny bit intimidating. Their faces cold and detached, like a scientist examining a test subject.

That was likely their professional persona’s look, nothing to be wary of. It wasn't like they had already decided he was guilty.

He had not been long in town, but he could bet they weren’t from the local garrison in Greenside.

All the local enforcers fell into two groups: drunkards and bullies. The first were sleazy and depressed individuals, who knew they had been posted in a shithole and drowned their misery in alcohol. Those were the better ones.

The second group, instead of drinking their sorrows, took them out on the population. They spent their time abusing their position of power. Making things difficult for anyone that looked at them wrong or they thought would be fun to harass.

Both types were bad news, but Kai knew how to deal with them. The drunkards rarely bothered anyone. You just had to stay as far away as possible when they were wasted.

As for the bullies, well... You needed to eat your pride and grovel a little to make them feel validated in their miserable lives. A bit of flattery also helped smooth things out.

He never had to deal with a pair of professional enforcers. In theory, it should be easy if you were innocent. But the unknown factor added uncertainty.

With a fearful face, Kai tried to make himself seem small and non-threatening, waiting for them to speak first.

The two took their time, piercing him with their cold blue and brown pair of eyes. He felt a slight pressure in his chest, but right as it was getting painful, it stopped and disappeared.

Did they try to use an identification skill on me?

Well, shit luck for them he was not seven yet, still two more days to go. He checked with Virya that the protection of the Guide was independent of whether he unlocked his First Seal early. Till seven he enjoyed full coverage.

Virya might have been able to pierce it, but the chances two random enforcers could do the same ranged from zero to none in a million years.

He would be surprised if they got a glimpse of the shadow of his skills.

Looking at them, brown eyes had a pained frown on his face. He pushed more than he should, thinking Kai was seven already. The backlash was many times more severe for the active party who tried to see the status.

That’s what you get for terrorizing little children.

He made sure not to show any of his satisfaction on his face and look a bit confused.

“D-did I do som-something wrong?” Kai said hesitantly.

“How old are you?” Brown eyes asked.

“A-a f-few days from seven.”

Blue eyes threw a look at his partner, the smallest smirk present, before turning his eyes back on him. Any hint of amusement gone. If he hadn’t been observing closely, he would have thought he imagined it.

“Tell us why you are walking around with a wooden sword and staff.” Blue eyes said, cold and authoritative.

Kai wanted to slam his palm on his forehead. How did he not think of that?

He had been returning from his morning training, but he had done this for more than a week already. It hadn’t crossed his mind it could be considered suspicious by two extra-zealous enforcers.

As always, a genius and an idiot.

“Ehmm… they are training equipment. I practice by the sea.” Seeing the looks of the two officers were still suspicious, he tried to think of something else.

“My dad was from the Republic proper, and my mom bought me these, so I could train and become strong enough to one day go to the mainland. He is there waiting for me.” He tried to make his tone resolute, like that of a child completely believing what he was saying.

Both pairs of eyes briefly scanned him from head to toe. If you knew what to look for, it became obvious that he was a mixblood. Brown eyes looked at him with a mix of disgust and pity, blue eyes showed sympathy and pity.

His stupid story implied he was a bastard, and that his father left them to go back to the mainland after having him. From that came the pity.

The others' emotions depended on his mixed heritage. One thought it was disgusting—or maybe it was the bastard thing—the other saw him better because of it. Kai honestly didn’t know which one was worse.

The good news was that it appeared to be working. The suspicion was gone.

“Keep training diligently and one day you might make it.” Blue eyes encouraged him with a hard smile and ruffled his hair.

Kai wanted to bite that hand but forced himself to grin back as if those words hit him straight in the heart.

When the two finally walked away, Kai felt dirty. His good mood for the day was ruined. He almost considered going for another run, but the chances of meeting more enforcers were too high.

Stepping with more energy than necessary, Kai headed home. He was a few blocks over when he heard a familiar voice. It was faint, but he could recognize the peppery tone of Kea everywhere.

He followed the sound one street over. Kea was standing with a group of kids around her age. They were facing the opposite direction, animatedly discussing with loud whispers.

Kea didn’t inherit their father's hair color and could easily pass as an ordinary native, if you didn’t look closely. That was why she had an easier time making friends.

Kai immediately silenced the voice in his head saying he was making up excuses and that even Kea was more sociable than him.

I have different priorities, okay... It's a choice. It's not like I can't make friends.

To his ego’s good luck, the loud whispers of the group got his attention. They were huddling around the wall of a house in a way that wanted to be discreet, but truly was the opposite. He couldn't make out every word, but what he heard made him dash forward without a second thought.

He left his staff behind, while his wooden sword was secured to his side.

“I bet you don’t have the courage to do it.” One of the older girls was challenging Kea.

Shit, this is bad.

As if all his nightmares had become true, Kai saw exactly what he feared. Kea was drawing a graffiti hand of The Voice of the Ancestors, right when the town was filled to the brim with enforcers looking for rebels.

And she was doing it on a dumb dare. Really!? Could the situation be more stupid?

Kai slipped through the group before they could react. He grabbed the chalk Kea was using to draw with one hand and her wrist with the other.

“Let’s go.”

He dragged her after him as the group started to realize what happened. Kea tried to wiggle out of his grip, but that wasn’t happening, his strength was far higher than hers.

“Kai, what do you think you are doing? Let me go!” She kept trying to get away, plunging her nails into his arm. He ignored the pain and kept walking.

“I knew you didn’t have the courage. Your little brother had to come and save you.” The girl who earlier dared Kea said with a sneer.

Unfortunately for her, Kai’s patience had been tested far too much today. He wasn’t in the mood for a bratty kid.

Turning around, he threw the chalk he had been holding in one fluid motion. It was one of his best throws. The chalk hit the sneering girl right in the middle of her forehead with a satisfying smack.

She went down with a small yelp as the rest of the group huddled around her. The small chalk would not do much damage but would leave a mark.

Kai had already gone back to walking. He suppressed a smile and picked up his staff. He didn’t usually take pleasure in smacking kids. But what that brat dared Kea to do wasn’t only incredibly stupid, but also dangerous.

That throw was going to leave a nice lump right on her forehead. With a bit of luck, she would turn into a unicorn by the next day. If unicorns were annoying brats.

Kea had stopped resisting him and was walking by his side. Reading his dark mood, she remained uncharacteristically quiet.

“Sorry.” She said with a barely audible voice.

Kai stopped and turned to look at her. She didn’t meet his gaze and looked at the ground.

“What did you say?”

Kea raised her eyes, “I told you I’m sorry. Do you want me to shout it?”

Kai looked directly into her eyes, till her gaze lost all fire and looked away again.

“I know what I did was stupid.”

Like a rising tide Kai’s anger kept stirring, “It wasn’t only stupid Kea. That was as idiotic as they come and dangerous. Do you realize what would have happened if the enforcers saw you? It could have ended up implicating the whole family! They could have taken you away!”

“I’m sorry… I wasn’t thinking, okay!” Kea looked about to cry as the truth of the situation hit her, but he wasn’t done yet.

“Were you planning to join that group of rambling fools? Did you go to the rallies? Was it the first time you drew that symbol?” Questions and accusations flew out of his mouth uncontrolled.

Kea had red eyes and big tears running down her face. “N-no… it was j-just the first time… I-I listened to a rally, but only because I was angry at how we had been treated… i-it was just a stu-stupid game. D-do you t-think we are go-gonna get in trouble?” She talked between sobs.

Kai’s anger flowed away in a moment, his eyes getting moist too as the first tears streamed down his face. He didn’t know what to do or say either, so he hugged Kea tightly.

“I’m sorry, Kea. I’m sorry I snapped at you like that. It’s my fault. Everything is going to be fine.” He held her and massaged her back as she kept crying. “Everything is going to be fine.”

None of them cared about the weird glances the passerby gave them and no enforcer showed up.

A few minutes later, they cleared their tears and walked back home in silence.

“Are you gonna tell Mom?” Kea asked.

“Do you promise to stay away from The Voice of-nobody-cares and not do anything that stupid?”

“Yes.”

“Then it can remain our little secret.”

“Thank you, little brother.”

“You’re welcome, big sister.”