Chapter 178 TEIGEN II
Teigen tilted his head to the side in confusion, wondering why she was staring at him. She had her hands behind her back, a giddy smile on her lips. Seeing his reluctance to speak she pipes up, "Hi, there!"
Teigen cringes at her high pitched voice. She notices his reaction and gives him an apologetic smile, "I'm Rose. I saw you sitting here, alone. Are you lonely? Do you miss your mommy?"
She talks too much, Teigen silently concluded. He watched her lips move, not sure why she was talking to him.
"I came to a-ask, do you want to play with me?" She beings out a ball made out of squeezed bread that had hardened.
Teigen scrunches up his nose in distaste, the bread looked almost rotten with mould. How could she touch that? He shook his head vigorously, his curls swaying along with him. The little girl smiles, thinking that Teigen is probably just shy.
She grabs onto his hand, startling him as she pulls him along with her. Teigen snatches his hand away, frowning at her. She stands with him, the same excited smile still on her cheeks.
"Let's play, come on!" She squeals, causing Teigen to palm his ears.
Teigen turns around to walk away but she is persistent. She shoves at his playfully, "Come on! Don't go"
Teigen turns around to speak, his voice quiet and annoyed, "I do not wish to play. Please let me be by myself"
Teigen turns around to leave and this time he is roughly shoved to the ground. The force is so unexpected he looses his balance and falls, scraping his knee and his palms. Tears of frustration and anger blur his vision as he turns around to see the other boys had come to pick on him. They began hauling names at him, calling him a girl and other taunting names. Teigen begins to feel overwhelmed, years falling down his cheeks, his heart thrashing around, a lump forming in his throat. His chest began to tighten and he wished he could run home and hide under his straw bed and never come back out.
He reached to wipe his tears but hissed, his palms hot. He stares down at his shaky hands through his tears and frowns at them. They looked red, like the time he had touched the hot pot that was on the firewood and gotten burnt.
He tried to push himself off the ground, his hands landing on the grass only for the leaves to wither, going from a bright, vibrant green to a dark brown. A startled Teigen stumbles to his feet, a visible burnt patch on the grass from where he had dropped his palms. The other kids began to surround him, one boy in particular coming forward to push Teigen again but Teigen hold onto the boy in attempt to stop him.
Suddenly a loud cry bursts through the air. The boy falls back, pain and tears filling his eyes as he cradled his burnt arm, Teigen's hand print marked on his skin. The other kids stagger back in fear, their eyes wide. Teigen exchanges confused, frightened looks from the burnt boy to his hands. The child keepers immediately rush to the scene, taking the little boy and Teigen away.
The children gathered, watching Teigen with fear in their eyes.
From that very moment, the scared, terrifed look on the little boy's face was etched in Teigen's memory. The way the little boy flinched away from him, breaks his fragile heart and brings tears to his eyes.
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Geneva rushes into their home, worry and concern making her restless. She meets Teigen kneeling in front of his father, tears streaming down his face, sobs ricocheting off the walls. Gene VA's heart shatters and she runs to her son, pulling him into her arms. She cradles him, running her hands soothingly up and down his back.
"Don't cry my baby" she coos, trying to console him. His little form wracks with cries as her gaze darts to her husband. "Why is he crying!? What happened?"
Her husband scowls, his heated gaze directed at Teigen."Your son burnt one of the boys
at the town playground. Ask him what he did!" He yells, causing Teigen to flinch.
"Burnt? How did he burn a boy? He doesn't know how to light the firewood, how else could he burn him?" Geneva is left in confusion, her brows knitted.
"His hand print was found on the boy! There is something wrong with him!" Geneva gasps, a whimper coming from Teigen. She leans down, releasing Teigen and pulling away so she can look him over. "Baby, don't cry" she palms his cheeks, wiping at his tears. "Tell me, what happened?"
Through sobs, hiccups and sniffles, Teigen narrates everything to his mother. Her face pales, her gaze drifting to her husband, who looks at Teigen with disgust. "Now, all the town parents are bombarding me. They are calling your son a misfortune, a witch, a demon"
Teigen grips onto his mother's dress, crying into it. "My son is not a demon!" Geneva defends, pulling Teigen behind her to shield him from her husband. "Why would you say that!?"
"Why else!? He has burnt a boy, with his bare hands! Now the town head has summoned him to trial! We have been reported to the town head and now we will be punished. Explain how that is possible!"
Teigen hides behind his mother, shivering in fear. He felt sick to his stomach, fear gripping his every senses. He knew what it meant to be punished, he would have to suffer whips or worse.
"Please do not raise your voice, Ayer" she pleads, her heart bleeding for her baby boy. She couldn't understand anything, how could Teigen burn that boy? He did not carry any rocks with him, nor was there any hot irons around. All she knew was she would not let her baby be scolded and torn down with such horrid names.
"Bring that demon spawn here!" He commands, lunging forward to grab hold of Teigen but Geneva blocks him. Teigen runs away, scurrying into the kitchen and hiding behind the water pot.
"Get back here!"
"Ayer, please!" Geneva falls to her knees, holding onto Ayer's legs in an attempt to stop him from moving forward. "Please, do not call our son a demon"
He glared down at her, "He is not my son. He is a spawn of some devil and he will be purged of evil today! He could burn anyone of us next so let me go woman!"
He kicks Geneva off, causing her to fall over to her side. Ayer matches over to where Teigen is crunched down, shaking violently in fear. He grabs harshly onto his arm, pulling him out from behind the water pot. He drags him out, kicking, screaming, sobbing and begging his father to let him go.