Theodore

What an unproductive day, Benedict thought. He looked at his basket of herbs and sighed at the insignificant harvest. I guess the experiment will have to wait.

Benedict was about to turn around when a noise caught him by surprise. He stopped and listened intently; sure, he must have heard wrong. But there it was again, the wailing of an infant. Immediately, he dropped the basket of herbs and ran blindly through the trees, heading in the direction of the child. His skin was cut by sharp leaves, and bristles clung to his clothes as he ran. When he reached the source of the noise, his breath caught in his throat.

Before him lay utter carnage. A carriage, driven off the road several yards above Benedict’s standing point, was completely smashed to bits. It’s passengers…

He hurried towards the scene, covering his nose with his cloak, trying to mask the scent of blood. But he dropped the covering as soon as he saw a child’s tiny hand sticking out from under a piece of battered wood. Lifting it off the infant, the child started at the sudden movement, and Benedict hurried to scoop it up in his arms. Hushing and coddling the child, Benedict wondered how such a fragile thing had survived the accident. He had heard that small children, especially infants, could avoid disaster in such situations because of their small size. But this incident seemed more a miracle than anything.

Perhaps the parents used magic, he thought, looking at the almost indistinguishable bodies laid out in disheveled heaps before him. A shame, Benedict shook his head, the child never even had the chance to properly know them.

After he got the baby to stop crying, Benedict was torn. He didn’t want to leave the bodies to be eaten by wild animals, but he had to get the baby home and inspect him for any injuries. A quick once over had convinced Benedict there were no outward wounds, but he wanted to be more thorough.

In the end he decided to use a bit of magic and created a landslide on the hill where the road had been located. The dirt and rocks covered the bodies of the deceased at the very least.

“I’m sorry I cannot do more for you.” Benedict said to the pile of rubble, then moved back into the forest. He promised himself he would return later and perform a proper burial, but the child took priority.

As he had kept the young boy close to his chest for some time, Benedict managed to put the child to sleep, which made the journey back easier. The sun was setting by the time he got underway, the old magician hadn’t realized just how late it’d gotten. If the boy had been awake and crying, they may have been put in danger by the beasts that lurked in the ancient woods at night. Even with Benedict’s powers, he was unsure of his rusty abilities, and did not want to try protecting a child and fighting at the same time in his old age.

After about a two-hour trek, they finally made it back to Benedict’s mansion. It was a well-worn home, but nonetheless grand. Benedict did not really need a house so large, but an old friend had insisted upon giving it to him as a gift long before, and he ended up being unable to refuse. Now, he was grateful for the grand manor, as it might become the home of a lonely orphan child.

When he reached the front door of his home, the entrance flung open and a barrage of people flowed out, all making explanations of relief.

“Master! You are back!”

“Oh, what a relief, sir! We were so worried upon your late return!”

“My lord, where have you been?”

The last comment was made by the old butler, and he was the first to notice a now very lively child in his master’s arms.

“My goodness sir! What are you doing with that?”

“I’ll explain once we are inside, Charles. For now, call the physician.” Benedict replied.

“Right away sir!”

Benedict looked at the child in his arms and whispered, “You are safe now.”

The child looked at Benedict and cried once more. This time, in silence.