The door was closed behind him and the new book clutched tightly to his chest. This would make a perfect gift for his father, the boy thought.
In the late hours of the autumn, the city lit up in the evening light, every tier of the great white city bathed in red and gold, against the mountain it was built into. A sight to behold and one that many, even the citizens, would stop to admire.
The physician's young son gave his stride home a pause, to stare up the wall of the higher tier, studying the shifting of the light and feeling the breeze bring the cooling air of the coming night.
The eighth bell rang and the change of guard went underway, the wardens' thundering footsteps echoing through every tier as they went towards the towers, their replacements taking post
Night rolled in quick, the streets darkened and windows turned brighter as candles were lit up. Throughout the households in the district, dinner was being served as the workers returned to their families and patrons - to the taverns, the streets soon filled with smell of food and ale. The merriment in the tavern answered by singing and laughter from the nearby homes, the locals celebrating their good day and fortune.
Young Elias had another tier to go through before he'd return to his own home, the boy had spent too long browsing the store, lost in the possibilities and choice of literature.
The book was kept close and protected, he didn't want anything to happen to this rare piece of literature that he'd spent all his savings on and as the evening progressed, the boy thought to seek out the shortcut that his uncle had once shown him.
Four adolescent boys stood in the alleyway, passing a bottle of wine between them, one of them bragging about how he managed to snatch it from under the tavernkeep's nose and sneak it outside.
"He didn't see a thing!" The boy slurred and the other chuckled.
-"It's some good stuff too." The second added with a grin, nudging the first boy while a third gave him a rough pat on the back for a job well done.
Their small celebration was interrupted at the sound of footsteps, each head turning sharply and eyes falling to the young boy that tried to make his way through. The four didn't seem bothered, waiting for the child to pass, until one appeared to recognize the boy.
"Isn't that the son of that boil-brained doctor?"
-"What, that little measle that cuts up rats and birds?"
"Yeah, that one."
The four looked after the boy again, one of them suddenly filling with rage. He downed he last portion of wine and threw the bottle against the street, where it shattered, startling the physician's son to a point of looking over his shoulder.
"Get that damn son of a orc!" The enraged one bellowed and the group rushed together towards the child. Elias didn't know why they suddenly charged him, but without hesitation he bolted off, clutching the book to his chest while rushing through the alley and onto the streets.
Kids chasing each other were a common sight in the streets of Minas Tirith and it was for this reason none paid much attention when the boys rushed down the street, scarce few even giving it a second thought.
Fear drove Elias to run and with the other four intoxicated, the boy had managed to get a good head start, until he fell, tripping over a crack in the pavement. The boy's head struck the ground, the impact enough to hinder him from getting up right away.
Suddenly, he felt his body rolled onto its back and a heavy weight pressed down on his chest. The blurred vision became clearer, making out the shape of the rage infused young man, that now straddled the child, a fist forming and striking down across the boy's pale face.
"You puny, pox-marked, coxcomb! Think your family is going to get away with taking my father's eye!?" The young man shouted down at the boy, grasping his neck and tightening. The other three stood by and watched while their friend pinned the child down, taking a death grip on his throat.
"Because of your fool-born father we've had to move into the lower district. He lost his job because of your damn dad!" The attacker spat, fumbling for the knife he kept at his hip.
"Cry all you want, kid. It's not going to bloody save you."
-"H-hey, what are you doing? You're not going to kill him, are you!?" One of the three onlookers questioned, eyeing the knife.
"No, just going to make things even. Eye for an eye, yeah?"
Elias struggled under the titan grip, tears rolling and his screams cut off by the tight hold closing his airway. The boy gasped and tried to pry away the hand, but of no use. The outer rim of his vision slowly darkening.
"Dad told us that he started by cutting the skin around the eye...." The young man muttered, the strong scent of wine rolling from his breath and a brief glint caught on the blade from a street light nearby.
Agony soon followed, the child trying to scream but it went unheard, every breath harder to draw, while the blade cut into his skin, flooding the senses swiftly. He could feel the warm blood trickling down his forehead and into the eye that they had threaten to cut away.
"Also below, like this." His attacker hissed out. The pain was distant now, Elias' senses slowly fading, as the world turned darker around him, desperate attempts to catch a breath failed, the young drunk ignorant of his strength that held the small boy down.
A surprised shout, followed by a loud, pained shriek, brought Elias back to his senses, feeling the pressure on his throat gone. The boy gasped for air, his small hands placed against the bruised neck, catching a few gulps of air until it became hard to hold back the sobbing.
"Pick on someone your own size, you pathetic pigwart!" An unfamiliar voice boomed over the child. He looked around, spotting his attacker wailing and trying to pull a short blade out of his rear cheek; his friends rushing to his side to aid before turning their attention to the newcomer.
-"I'll kill you!" the former attacker snapped towards the other young man that had arrived.
The stranger snorted derisively. "You'll die trying" he said, with a cold, dismissive voice. "Come on, I don't have all night! Any of you swine fancy a chance? Or do you only dare to beat kids?"
The young man stepped closer, towards the huddled up hoodlums. "We both know the reason your family ended up in the dirt is because your dad's noble mistress stopped paying for his company after he lost that eye. Maybe that wouldn't happen if he was a hunter worth half a copper!"
-"Shut up!"
"Make me, you lily livered, joithead! Next time I'll ram that blade so deep up yours, your breath'll smell like rust 'til the end of your days!"
The group hesitated, fury boiling within the injured one, but he wasn't too eager to fight the man, knowing his reputation. It wasn't long until the remaining three convinced the furious boy to step back to find a healer, but he didn't leave without a shout of profanity as he staggered off with his small group of young drunks.
"Hey, you alright, kid?"
Elias shook his head while trying to silence his intense sobbing, trembling as the pain returned. "I need to go home..." The child blubbered out, covering his right eye and wincing as he felt the blood against the palm.
"Yeah, yeah. I'll take you home. Get on your feet." The stranger muttered, grabbing the boy by his arm to haul him up. Elias pulled away as he spotted the book further down the street, rushing over to pull it out from the puddle. A different kind of pain struck the boy's chest as he saw the water soaked pages and the dirt on the cover.
"Let's get going" the stranger insisted, giving the kid a lazy shove. "Headed that way anyway, need my nose fixed. Maybe your dad'll toss in a discount or something."
Elias nodded, clutching the ruined book against his chest and covering the bleeding eye with his other hand, as the two began to head back to his father's infirmary
