*Note: This is the "Pre-story" Oliver has some growing up to do:
-Edgemont: Jontral, Vera, Ivana, Janse, Jeremy, Jacob, Oliver, Etanya
-Sea Witch: bosun:Maurice, helmsman:Liam, quatermaster:Noah and mate: Ezra, mate:Arturo and mate:Theo, nester:Adrian, crew: Morgan, Daly, Cabin:Hurly
My 10 minute break was almost over, I can't believe I ended up working at Starbucks, in the Mall of all places, doing closing shifts, while during the day I worked as a cook at the Silver Diner. Trying to save enough money to, do what exactly, not really sure as in one minute, I'll be taking out the garbage.
As the only male, garbage, and objects on the top shelf were mine to get, I was asked to be a manager, but that was too much work for not enough of a bump in pay to care about managing teenagers and shifts.
Walking down the back room hallways regular people never see in the mall, they smell like pee near the back door, scurry through the misting rain, try to lift the lid while heaving the bag in.
On the way back the security guard not only hit me while backing up, he never stopped and rolled both sets of wheels over me, I was going to die smelling like garbage and pee, he was late getting to the bank drop box at the edge of the parking lot to watch over the people dropping the day's tallies.
No family to tell, nothing really owned, what a waste.
----=====----
"Wake up! Wake up, you promised, wake up."
Opening one eye, the other is glued shut, Blaine did a number on me with that mall truck, I'm surprised I only hurt all over.
"Wuh"
"Yay! Oliver, you scared me." I hear the girl say, she sounds, young? And I'm not Oliver, I'm Roland Anderson, getting the second eye open and looking at a black haired little girl under 10yrs old, and a room that isn't a hospital, things aren't adding up.
"Who are you?" I asked, her eyes got wide and her head jerked back.
"What!? Silly, me Etanya, did you die?" She asks with the same look.
"I think so," I answered truthfully.
"Then you came back?" She asks climbing on the bed next to me.
"Uhh, what are you doing?" She feels my head.
"Mom said to tell her when you wake from the fever."
"Mom?" I haven't had a 'Mom', for a decade, my hands and arms are so puny. What the hell is going on?
I see a nagging three flashing dots upper right top of my vision no matter where, looking at the dots caused them to open.
Name: Oliver Edgemont
Age: 16
Occupation: Child
Health: 88
Mana: 176
Stamina: 88
Attributes:
Strength: 3 Wisdom: 3 Vitality: 3 Constitution: 3
Intelligence: 6 Luck: 3 Endurance: 3 Dexterity: 4 Charm: 6
Skills: Cooking: F,
Fast Learner: E,
Sixth Sense: Locked
Melee Affinity: Locked
Magic Affinity: Air-F
"You're up?!" I hear a woman's voice and shake my head to get the screen to go away, what guy doesn't know game stats when he sees them, and mine fucking suck, 3's? Holy shit.
"Yes, water?" I reply, she is wearing a flowing blue and white dress, also with black hair immaculately done up, and she practically glows, "you look beautiful," I say before my brain catches up.
"Aww, you always say the nicest things," She comes over and I get a kiss on the forehead, "no fever anymore." She hands me the glass of water from the side table, mmmmm, room temperature water.
'Duchess Vera Edgemont', comes to mind, okay, good, at least I'm not going to have to pretend I have amnesia. Oliver, Oliver, Oliver, I repeat a few times as I'm going to have to answer to that name now.
I spent the next few days, a prisoner in my room, going through my, his, memories, Jontral Edgemont was my father, I had three older brothers, Jeremy, Janse, and Jacob, hey, why is my name Oliver? Did Mom put her foot down and tell him no more J's?
Doesn't seem like there are many problems with the family other than the city Droisha currently being rebuilt after the last siege, and the lands around us being so bad, we are not allowed to go outside our compound.
Well, 11 years in the Army might pay off, spent some time in Sinop Turkey for a year, South Korea for a year, and 4 in Germany, though I'm guessing they don't have M16 rifles, tanks, or A10s for support here based on my room.
The food is bland, I miss the Silver Diner food I made and ate most days, a lot of soups and stews for me in bed, Etanya visited me several times a day, she was 8, Mom is popping out babies like crazy and still looks that good?
Day 7 of my incarceration, sneaking around early mornings before everyone else is up I am able to get down the halls, the kitchen, there is a courtyard with a big wall surrounding the back of the house. The house is mansion-sized, which is freaking great considering I'm used to the barracks and a my single bedroom crack apartment.
Day 8 of my incarceration I found the soldiers training in the courtyard before dawn, I stood well off to the side and mimic their static stretching, I'm guessing it was 2010 before dynamic stretching was a thing. I decided to do some pushups, was struggling at 3 when called out.
"What are you doing?" came from behind me that caused me to scream like my younger sister.
"Oh my god! You scared me to death," I say rolling over, it's Sergeant Jamison.
"Answer me, you are too sickly to be out here," he says sternly and then looks around, "Master Oliver."
"I'll never be as strong as you if I never get out of bed and breathe real air," I answer. "Please, I'll stay over here, I won't get in your way."
He stared at me for a moment, "what were you doing?"
"Push-ups, they help build arm strength," I answer and do another one shaking like crazy on the way up, and say, "Four, I want to get to twenty, eventually."
"Hmmm, don't get hurt on my watch Master Oliver, or you'll be banned."
"Yes, sir!" I answer and he smiles at that and walks to his troops.
A few moments later they are all doing pushups, 'I'm sorry guys,' I think, but then I watched, sword grip, foot movement, never stand still, ready position, when to step away from a cross-cut or to parry, hips facing opponent, the sparring was cool, they were using wooden swords, but people were going down left and right, those swords look like they hurt. Once it was done, I walked around until I found a stick that I could bring tomorrow and went back to my room.
Stick under the bed, I spent the morning with Mom watching how she cooks breakfast, we have servants, but she cooks for me and Etanya.
Cabbage, beans, eggs, oats, and brown bread, "the brothers too big to eat with us now?" I ask and Mom freezes, and then says yes. "Good, I like to keep you to myself." Got me a smile and a hug, I think I saved that slip-up.
The day, like every other day was absolutely nothing, I found a library that had some books, and this is the reason I like audiobooks, especially when it's all history-related.
"You can read?" Etanya asks as I was sitting in bed with a book, shit, am I not supposed to be able to read?
"I know enough to read a little," I answer.
"Mom! Oliver is reading!" Etanya screams from the bed next to me.
"Shhhhh, I'll teach you if you shut up," I answer but it was too late, Mom hearing is a magic all of its own, I hear the slipper steps coming down the hall.
"What happened?" Mom says walking into the room, taking one look at us on the bed, checking the fireplace and then walks over. "Books are expensive Oliver, you can't play with these." I think she thought I was feeding the fireplace with the pages.
"I'm not, really, look, I show her and read a few lines, making sure I do it slowly and sounding out the words like I figured a child would do it.