Lief

Lief was born and raised in the small, peaceful town of Shollery. He lived with his mother Caedra in the small home his father had left them, without any memory of the man in question. His mother spoke so little of Thatcher that Lief wasn't sure if the man had died or abandoned them. He learned a little from other townsfolk, but due to her complaints and bickering people quickly held their tongues. Caedra wanted to forget and move on, and wanted Lief to leave the past alone. She found him other father-figures, but the men she brought home weren't always the best role models. None of them left any less of a victim than they left her; she always had the upper hand. On top of being a strongly acerbic woman, Lief realized after many years that she wouldn't bring home a man that she didn't think she could control in some way or another. In time, any bitterness that remained with him over the idea that Thatcher had chosen to leave them dissipated. He couldn't blame anyone for running away from that, even though he himself was determined to weather the storm. Despite his determination, he avoided home as much as he could. It was all he could do to keep his resolve in the long run.

Their financial situation fluctuated. Though most of the townsfolk were patient with her, Caedra could be hard to deal with considering her moods would shift suddenly and unpredictably. Still, she was good with her hands and took pride in her work. During the fruit-bearing seasons, she would prepare preserves and jams and brew sweet wines. Her specialty, however, was needlework. Her embroidery was flawless and the lace she crocheted was the envy of all. There was rarely any demand for finery that expensive in Shollery, however, even at weddings. In the end, she tailored simple garments and mended old ones most of all. With too few opportunities to create pieces worthy of her skill, her spirit withered.

In order to make up for Caedra's lack of diplomacy, Leif had to learn to be especially charming and forthright. For the sake of his mother and her customers, he often acted as the intermediary to the point where people would see him running around town and hand him a shirt with a torn seam and a few coins to take back home. He started taking up other small jobs and errands when he was seven. The complicity of the work slowly evolved as he aged, and included a wide array of things such as carrying messages and small deliveries, shopping, washing tables, brushing horses, cleaning stables, waking someone in the morning, herb picking, acting as an extra set of hands for artisans and projects, fixing fences, babysitting, and finding that god damned chicken. The work wasn't steady and it didn't pay well, but it got him out of the house and gave them a few more coins to spend.

At every opportunity, Lief was with Baldric. He would even wait outside of the other boy's house until he finished his chores. Most of the townspeople saw Lief as a bubbly, optimistic child, but he was only truly happy when he was with Baldric. They were inseparable, closer than brothers. Every day was another adventure and a dream of places far away from their little town. They dreamed of things they would never have and never be, and they were happy just to chase and pretend, just to be together. Baldric gave Lief confidence he didn't have on his own, even if the other didn't see it. Though he was well-behaved on his own, when they were together Lief wound up getting them into trouble more times than either of them could keep track of. In the beginning, he could also get them out of it, but the adults eventually learned that Baldric was a horrible liar and, by consequence, that Lief had a talent for it.

They got older, and he could see Baldric beginning to lose interest in their stories and make-believe. Lief did everything he could to make it more thrilling and keep the spark alive. He fought to keep Baldric motivated, and the other humored him. By that point, it had become something of an escape for Lief, but so had Baldric himself. Even when it all dissolved down to speculations and what-ifs, it never crossed his mind to leave Baldric's side. The stories couldn't replace him, nor could anyone else. They were brothers; comrades; friends. Nothing could separate them, or pull them apart.

Nothing other than cruel fate and harsh reality, at least. One day, Baldric told him of things he had only just learned himself, that some noble lord had claimed him as his bastard son and wanted to sweep him away to become a knight. Lief was devastated. All he wanted to hear were the words, 'I'm not going,' but they never came. Baldric was leaving him, and by the sound of things he was never coming back. It wasn't fair. There was no way Lief could go with him. Even if his future in Shollery was uncertain, his mother needed him.

They both said things they didn't mean and things they would regret. They fought, and the explosion of anger and emotions turned yelling into brawling. It was the last time they saw each other before Baldric left.