#fount

Chapter 4: Sweet Lies and Rumors

Starting a new job is never easy. The Fount had asked for you to start with restocking the shelves once books were returned. It was a bit of a hassle trying to remember where things go but you got used to it after a few days. The struggle was when you finally memorized what section went where and then he changed which library you worked in. He called it, “Testing your memory.” The tasks had slowly been given for more responsibilities. For example, fetching the items he needed when someone came for a meeting, or taking on some minor security jobs dealing with the people outside.

The Fount never gave you a “stable” job you could get used to for a more professional career; you were always moving around. That is until you hit the one-year mark of being employed under him when he finally proposed to be his assistant. Claiming that all the other tasks were sort of like training for this part of the job.

Your new rank unlocked more pay, but overall, more responsibilities. You declined the position.

“B-But why? Is there an issue with the benefits? Do I need to take away some of the responsibilities?” The Fount was at his desk when offering it to you, sitting in his grand chair.

You were on the other side of the desk, “No, I simply wish to graduate from college before I take a job like this. Obviously, I will still help with my normal duties until then, but I would like to be able to commit full time if I were to take it.”

“Ah… Understandable. If I remember correctly the graduation is in May, correct?” He inquired.

“Yes sir.” You spoke monotonal.

The Fount always had to look the opposite direction when you used some sort of different title other than the ones he was comfortable with. It was honestly strange to you.

“Well, I suppose a few more months won’t hurt, will it?” He sighed and picked back up where he left off on a book.

“Anything else you need before I punch out? I mean, I’ll still be in the Spire if you do remember something.” A light chuckle escaped you.

The Fount was more focused on his book than you, “No, no, not in particular dear.”

It was a common name that he used when he slipped up, you however paid it no mind. If you pointed it out you would be sent away out of his own embarrassment. That indeed has happened before, little after you started working at the Spire too.

------------------

Graduation day had finally arrived. Scholars were in their navy-blue gowns and gold tassels on their caps. Students were with their families, laughing and smiling before the grand ceremony. You however had nobody to attend the ceremony with. Your family wasn’t the greatest when they had to come together for an occasion, if they knew a certain member would most likely come, they wouldn’t go at all. And what do you know? Nobody came. Sighing, you just sat down in a random seat near the front. It was better to be near and get it over with faster. It also saved the embarrassment from walking down a long ass hallway just to get to the stage. You were here for the diploma, and the food from the small get together after the ceremony. You guessed that a civil get together would become rowdy with some of the delinquents spiking the punch. So, you wouldn’t spend much time there. Your plan was: grab half the sweets, grab lunch, grab some water, and go.

Everybody and their mother were sitting down and the lights were dimming. Afterall, this is a big moment for everyone.

Some old educator you have never seen in your years of college stepped up to the mic, “Hello classes of #### and families! Welcome to the Blueberry Academy’s auditorium for rewards! You all must be wondering who I am, I’m sure.-“ Oh yes, a boring speech, “-I was the Deputy Headmaster back in the day! I heard from our good ole’ headmaster that this bunch of kids was going to be a good one so I decided to make the trip back out here in my old age!”

The speech drew on and on and on. It only got a little less boring when The Fount of Knowledge came out onto the stage to start the degree handouts. Which even then, took ages. Besides the little extravagant people when receiving the paper, nothing worthwhile happened. Your name seemed to be called near the end of the list. You weren’t too thrilled with being on stage while hundreds, if not thousands of other students watched.

The Fount said the same repeated line except holding your hand while giving you your degree. You couldn’t blame him as his voice was being projected to every student in the room. With a nod, he sent you off.

----

It wasn’t your fault that you fell into a light sleep while waiting. It was the same thing over and over. If it weren’t for that random kid a family had next to you waking you up, you would have missed the hat toss. Which overall, wasn’t that eventful.

You were correct, the punch had been spiked. It wasn’t like anybody minded either. Except you.... People were talking with a bit of a slur and everybody was noisy and rowdy. You stood leaning on a wall enjoying all the foods you stole. The lights were dim with some small blue and pink lights shining around. It looks like the students planned to change the get together either way.

“Seems you’ve got a feast there, dont’cha?” A small giggle came from the person next to you.

Ah of course, seems someone had to mess with your peace. However, this on particular boy had been bugging you all throughout your years of college. In fact, you met him in high-school! This boy- Almond Butter Cookie, rode on his high ego all the time. No matter what, you couldn’t knock him down a notch. Too busy gloating how rich he was to even focus on academics. You wondered just how he was able to graduate with the low scores he got. Most likely paying off the teachers to change his scores. What imbeciles…

You had a strained smile as you replied, “Heeeeeeeeyy… What do you need?”

“Nothin’, just wanted to see what you were doin’ over here pouting like a cat scared of people. Don’t wanna join the fun?” He leaned on the wall next to you.

“No. I have better things to do. I’m just waiting until the staff refill the food.” You huffed.

“Glutton.”

“Shut up. You’re no better than I.” You quickly turned to him.

“Ooh, got a feisty one, eh? What? Did I rattle your feathers?” Almond Butter Cookie mocked.

You were about to fist-fight this boy if necessary. There wasn’t anything you could lose now that you graduated. “I swear to the Witches I will shove this pastry so far up-“ You clenched your fist, “No, no, you’re not worth my time.” You huffed.

He had a shit-eating grin, “Grow up. Or are you still that weak little Cookie we used to beat up back in the day? Get mad at us, offer a fight, and then get your ass kicked. Go ahead, do it. Offer it again. I will gladly relive some mem-“

Almond Butter Cookie was yanked away into the shadows before he could even finish his sentence. Blue and yellow eyes stared at you before disappearing.

“What…?” You brushed it off as someone taking him somewhere else. If there was a crime committed, it wasn’t your fault.

It did give you the heebie-jeebies although. Once the food bar got refilled you took half of it and left.

You were walking on a random path eating your fill, wondering about your next destination. You didn’t want to go to the Spire quite yet so you decided to head to your old village, see what changed while you were away.

-----------------

The villagers looked at you with a hint of disgust, fear, and something unknown. You get that your family wasn’t well-liked, but the villagers at least tolerated you. Now? They couldn’t wait to get away from you. What had happened here? Mummers were being spoke behind your back, children playing stopped in their tracks only to get away from the area you were in, gossips started after seeing you. It was oddly strange.

Unlocking the door to your old house was weird too. The house you and your mother lived in looked abandoned. Dust piled up in corners of areas, the lights wouldn’t flick on, the water didn’t run, and overall hadn’t been used in ages. You looked for any sort of note your mother could have left but there was none. Last time you were here was the last summer break, how did this all happen?

Laying on your old bed, you pondered in thought for a long, long while. That is until you heard yelling outside the front door. Rushing to open it, you were met with a horde of villagers swarming to get in. They were yelling something along the lines of “murderer.” Squeezing through them was a struggle already, imagine trying to run away from an angry mob, which… You were doing exactly that.

By the time you were halfway to the Spire, most of the mob had dwindled down until you were faced with just one determined child. Your run had come to a stop when you had an idea, the child rammed into you, knocking the poor boy on his butt.

You faced the boy, “Why are the villagers trying to attack me? What did I do? What happened while I was gone?”

He stood up, clenching his teeth and fists, “You know what you did… You… YOU MURDERER!!!”

You were taken aback, “W-What…? No, I-I haven’t killed anybody! What’re you t-talking about!?”

“The damn murderer can’t even own up to their mistakes! Do I really need to knock some sense into your head!? You got amnesia or something!?”

“N-no… Please, tell me what I did wrong a-and I can fix it! I swear! I’m not a murderer!” You were shaking the boy by his shoulders, him quickly brushing your hands off.

“You murdered your own family… They were our friends, our neighbors… AND YOU TOOK THEM AWAY FROM US!!” He threw as hard of a hit as he could against your chest, which was quite a weak punch.

“I-I didn’t! I was at college! I have the degree to prove it!” You tried showing him the degree but to no avail.

“You psycho… Stay away from us and our village. You should’ve just joined your family when it happened.” And with that, the boy ran off back to the village.

You stood there in shock. You felt weak in the knees, kneeling down as you started to cry. “Haha… Hahahaha…” Before you knew it you were laughing as hard as you could, it was a way of dealing with stress. But the pain in your heart kicked in and made the laugh a full-on scream.

Crows flew away from the site, animals left the area, and you were ultimately… truly… alone.

Eyes were waiting for the opportune time.

You were hugging your knees tightly, bawling your eyes out. But a comforting hand was petting your head, making you immediately look up. It was the F- no, Light Milk Cookie. His eyes held curiosity but he wouldn’t ask about it right now. Your hands trembled, reaching for the bottom part of his robe. Before you could hug his robe, he knelt down and offered himself instead. You embraced him tightly, crying into his shoulder. He rubbed comforting circles on your back, attempting to calm you down. Occasionally, he would whisper sweet nothings into your ear.

He felt… warm, safe, and dependable. Like he would be there even at your d̵̨̡̩̞̺̫̙̞͖͍̗̈́̀̐̉͒̈́̀̾̊å̶̜͙̳̫̙̪̞̥̜̝͎̃̋r̶̡̤̪͙̗͓̩̣̟̻̮̮̕k̴̨̰͖͚̹͎̠̭͎̲̯̬͔̜̈́̎̑͘ę̴̬̯͚̠̀̀́̈͂̔̏̆̂̄̇̊̕ş̶̜̫̻͕̲̦̺̥͖̄̓̀́̌̊ͅt̷̝͙̻̑̈͊ moments.

Your body felt exhausted. So, you embraced the sweet release of sleep. You felt you were being carried every so often when you would wake up slightly.