"Yes? No? I dunno!" The boy threw up his arms. "Please, my home— my family— it’ll all be gone if I don’t get some money." He pleaded.
"You’re begging me now. After you tried to steal from me," I stated flatly.
"I—" he bit his tongue. He got on his knees, and bowed his head deeply. "I know you’re rich. And I’m so sorry for trying to rob you. But I saw you had plenty of gold. If you could just give me one— it’ll be enough. Goddess grace us, I don’t care if they take me away— as long as Ms Sharity and Patty are safe. They have the Noxeus! And if I have some coins, I could get the Plague Doctor to cure them."
Plague Doctor? I raised a brow at that.
The boy prostrated in front of me. I looked him over; studying his expression.
His eyes were closed shut, but I saw tears leaking out of his eyes. His jaw was clenched, as he begged me to give him just a little bit of money.
I sighed deeply, and the boy raised his head. His gaze swung up to me. His eyes lit up, and I saw… hope.
"Yeah right, as if I’ll believe that."
It was not like I could not sympathize with the kid. I’ve stolen once before. Food to eat. But if I ever found myself in a precarious spot, I would not hesitate to steal money if need be.
However, there was a difference between being nice and being an idiot.
I remembered Victor. All the casual lies he would feed me, with a bit of truth sprinkled in between, to keep me believing him. But if that was not enough, I also remembered those slaves.
Those two slaves in Bys— the ones I freed. How they came back to betray us, nearly sabotaging all of our escape.
Fact of the matter was: trust is not something I have plenty of right now.
Perhaps if this was three days ago, I would have given him the gold even after he tried to steal from me. Not because I believed him— I would never have believed him even if I was in a good mood; but because I was just that generous that day.
However, I had no reason— nothing to sway me— to give him even a single copper coin. Especially not after he gave me such an obviously made up story.
The boy stared at me for a moment, mouth agape, as I began to leave. Then he sputtered out.
"I’m not lying!"
I did not want to engage, so I continued walking. But apparently that only made him shout louder.
"I’m not lying, and if you think I am, you’re a stupid idiot! Everyone knows about what’s going on at my orphanage!"
I stopped midstep.
I would say that I only stopped because of the last bit he said. But that would be a lie; his provocations definitely did play a part in getting me to turn back around.
For now though, I focused on the last bit.
"Orphanage? What are you talking about?" I asked.
"I told you," he answered matter-of-factly. "Ms Sharity is sick. She takes care of all of us. But when little Patty got the Noxeus, she could not just leave her alone. So now she has the plague too."
"So what has that got to do with you being taken away?"
"How do ya not know this? You’re so stupid." I ignored his remark. "Ms Sharity can’t pay back those men now. Those she’s been borrowing money from to keep our orphanage running. They said they’ll take us away if we don’t pay ‘em. But I don’t care about that! I just want Ms Sharity and little Patty to live."
"But the Noxeus is incurable. Money won’t help you here." I pointed out the fact; the boy opened his mouth, but I cut him off quickly. "And if you call me dumb, stupid, or anything like that again, I’ll punch you."
Jerk, I added in my head.
He nodded slowly, taking a step back. "Well you’re still wrong. The Plague Doctor can cure it. And he’s visiting our town right now. That’s why I need some money— to pay him to cure Ms Sharity and Patty."
"That’s ridiculous," I said. "No one can cure the Noxeus. I’ve never even heard of a plague doctor before."
"He’s not a plague doctor. He’s the Plague Doctor. He’s been going around and curing the Noxeus for years!"
"And how do you even know that? Have you seen him cure someone before?"
"I— uh, no," he said meekly. "But I’ve heard people say so!"
"And that means it’s true?" I cocked a brow. The boy tried working his mouth, but nothing came out. I continued. "And even if it’s actually true and he can cure the plague, how do you even know that he’s the real Plague Doctor, and not some fraud?"
"I…" the boy hesitated. Then he glared back at me. "I have to try. Ms Sharity did everything for us. Did everything for Patty too. I have to save her. Save them. If I just have enough money… I don’t want either of them to die."
He said, as tears began dripping off his face. He was crying. It was not just some waterworks, but he was full on bawling his eyes out. I felt… bad, for him. But this could have still been a ploy.
Kids could fake cry. They did it all the time. Yet something about this seemed familiar. Something…
A memory. A conversation I had with Theodore. One of the only slaves I talked to, other than the Beastkin. How he treated me kindly— and why he treated me kindly. Because…
His family died to the Noxeus. His wife and daughter. He needed more money— if only he had more money.
