Chapter Text
Sometimes, Ajax would think he was born cursed, and maybe it really was so. If a God really existed then surely he must have committed some truly unforgivable sins in his past lives, because dear God, why else would he have been born into such horrific circumstances? Maybe after it was all said and done, he could finally have a chance to ask, because what the fuck was up with all of this?
Chapter I - New Beginnings
Ajax feels his consciousness fading back in, he must have managed to fall asleep after all. It feels warm, the August sun greeting him good morning, and although it was not the sun’s fault that he was here, Ajax could not help but feel contempt. It must be early morning, the rise of dawn was here, and the insects and birds were singing. He sits up slowly, feeling his body aching as he squints to get a better look around the forest. All alone. He sighs as he brings his legs up to his chest, hugging them close as he recounts the events of the previous night, it brings an ache to his heart.
‘’Let go of me you piece of shit!’’, ‘’You listen to me and get in the fucking car Ajax! We warned you already and you didn’t listen!’’. Ajax struggled against his fathers ironclad grip on his wrist, his mother said nothing and looked away, as if this was simply an uninteresting Thursday. They were standing in the hallway of their family home, Ajax struggled to remain in the house while he forcibly held back tears of both sadness and anger, until his father managed to drag the young man out the familiar door and down the walkway to their old car. Having gained a rapidly blooming bruise on his cheek, Ajax talked- no, pleaded, a million words a minute. ‘’Father please listen! I’m sorry for insulting you earlier alright but I didn’t do it! Tonia must have gotten hungry at night like usual, I didn’t take any for fuck sa- Listen! Agh-’’ He was cut off by his father yanking his thin wrist and found himself inside the car, the seat was pleasantly soft however it offered no comfort with the heinous situation that it preceded.
‘’...’’ His father said nothing, hell he didn’t even look at Ajax. The only sound he got in response to earlier was the car engine starting, but he didn’t care to put on a seatbelt. Hell, what did it matter anyway? He knew this was coming, during the daily insults thrown his way, and the flying punches coming for him, he constantly heard his parents threaten to throw him out, lest he behaved. Now Ajax was rowdy, he wasn’t unaware of his, say, wild nature. But to behave to his parents meant something else. Something that wasn’t possible to achieve. They expected him to be perfect in every way, and each was a contradiction; to somehow possess knowledge of how to do adult things, even though it was never taught by his parents. He was expected to shoulder all the burdens in the family, to run errands and to constantly be used by his parents, but he never got anything back. Ajax had tried for as long as he could remember, to be a perfect son, and maybe if he was good enough he would be rewarded with love. But his father was a raging wildfire, burning him while his mother was as cold and immovable as stone, keeping him far away, as if he was something not to be touched even with a ten foot pole. He never knew what he had done wrong, but only learned that it could seemingly never be righted.
He was broken out of his deep thoughts as the car came to a halt. It was dark outside and they were surrounded by an icy forest, the gravel road behind them lit only by the lights of the car. Ajax felt his stomach tumble as his father got out of the car, carrying an axe. Was he going to rid himself of his son right here? All because they thought he had eaten some of their food?
‘’This is all I can offer you son, should keep you safe at least. You know I wish you had listened, wouldn’t have had to do this but we really warned you. Give me the keys.’’ Ajax was pulled out from the car and stumbled as his father forcefully dug into his pockets to confiscate the house keys, and he let his son go with a push. Ajax felt the crystalised grass under his body as he hit the ground, his fathers footsteps crunching as he got back in the car, started the engine and drove away, not even bothering to spare a last look or a goodbye to Ajax, not that he wanted those anyway.
-
Ajax hasn’t moved, for how long he doesn’t know. The air is chilly along with the smell of soil, and the grass tickles him through his pants as he sits on the ground. He feels empty, discarded like garbage by his supposed family. He frowns in annoyance as tears threaten to spill, and he runs his fingers through fiery hair as he tries to calm his thoughts. What do I do now? He sighs, feeling like he no longer has a purpose in life, like all has been swept away like a fictional rug from beneath him. In a way he feels free, how he had longed to escape from the nightmare of his family, but he never thought it would happen like this. Freedom at last but, how the hell is he supposed to live? Ajax was quite literally lost, with everything taken from him. The young man sits in the clearing, sun shining brightly through his messy hair as he laughs, he doesn’t know why. All he has to his name are the clothes on his body, he is a man with nothing left to lose, and so he laughs as tears stain his rosy cheeks.
A few minutes later, Ajax is strolling through the forest after having composed himself from his breakdown, feeling a bit more optimistic as he hears the crunch of his own footsteps against the gravel road as he hums to himself. He is damned if he is going to die here like this, it would take more than that to make him surrender himself, but he feels as strong as he feels fragile. He feels like he could take on anything being thrown his way should anyone dare, but at the same time he feels as though one more mishap might make his strong facade crumble. He keeps his head up high as he takes in the scenery, the forest really is pretty. The green grass and the sweet flowers, growing among the bushes and between the pine trees, decorating it with speckles of gold. The sun is shining through the trees and the day is still young.
The gravel path eventually opens up to a road, and Ajax wonders just how deep in thought he had been in the back of the locked car, to not have been paying attention to how long they had been driving. Just how far out had his father dumped him? The area seems rural, no houses in sight or even streetlights. All he sees are fields of grass and forests in the distance across the field on the other side of the road. He kicks up some dirt as he walks along, feeling his stomach grumble as hunger hits him, and he sighs. He might not be dead yet, but he has no damn clue what to do next or where to go. He has no family or close friends, some acquaintances sure, but he isn’t quite ready to swallow his pride to show up on their doorstep like some lost puppy just yet. Also, Ajax does not even have the slightest idea of where he is, he is going to have to at least navigate his way to some sort of populated area, or at least hitch a ride but the road is severely empty this far out. Not even a single car in sight as Ajax plops down on a boulder near the gravelly road. The stone is warm and the sun is shining as he finally allows himself to relax for a bit. He stretches his arms out along with his back, having felt a bit stiff from sleeping on the ground, and he groans slightly. Head leaned back as he exhales in slight bliss, the sun feels good on his skin, grazing him with a bit of warmth. He feels strangely relieved as he looks out over the landscape, sure, his whole life has practically been turned on its head but, part of him is glad to be free of his family’s shackles and hold on him. Ajax hates how his father had broken his spirit. Shattered him into two halves of himself.
Ajax has always had a fighting spirit, and he rarely backs down from a challenge, no matter the opponent. Trouble has a curious way of finding Ajax, he might not be looking for a fight but a fight is almost certainly looking for him, and he would often get into brawls on the streets or dragged into unlucky circumstances. But with his father there was no victory to be had, the games were downright dirty and Ajax knew that he could never win. Any leverage was always twisted to his disadvantage, and his father always made Ajax out to be the villain, and so he learned to never play in the first place. To keep his head down and just quietly nod and agree with whatever the damn bastard was saying, even if Ajax wanted to strangle the man in his sleep for what he had done to him. He found comfort in the fact that Anton, Teucer and Tonia were the family favourites, and since Ajax was the sole black sheep, no harm would come to his dearest siblings at least. And so he had learned to suffocate his own emotions, to bottle them up and to play along, he had worn the mask of the perfect son, hell it was more like a puppet for his parents.
But now it is finally over, one day he would make them pay, but for now he can breathe and he feels as though the world is his for the taking. No longer held back, finally he can just live . ‘’Only flaw is that I don’t have a damn cent to my name.’’ Ajax groans as he stands up with a stretch, contemplating which direction might lead to some form of civilisation. He is, quite frankly, having enough of the silence around him and the feeling of being the last man on earth.
-
Ajax feels like he has waited forever before he finally spots a carriage heading down the road. Who the hell drives a carriage in this day and age? Did the shitty old man really drive me all the way to an Amish town? He gingerly waves as the driving lady slows to a halt. She looks at him curiously and he beams at her with an innocent smile in return. Now, to get a ride or at least some direction without freaking her out. “Good day ma’am! I was out on a stroll and I seem to have gotten lost, do you know how to get to town from here?” Ajax scratches the back of his neck as he plasters on a childlike smile and a chuckle, attempting to appear as unthreatening as possible.
“My, how did you get lost all the way out here, and dear boy, what happened to your cheek?” My cheek? Fuck, the bruise... I completely forgot.
“Ahaha I tripped on a branch and fell, ma’am you sure are attentive and kind.” Ajax drenches his words in charm, a bright smile to go along with it. She isn’t particularly observant, if it was anything like the past times, the bruise could surely be spotted from twenty paces. He didn’t realise how strange it must look, but there is no way he would let some random woman in on his little mishap. All he needs is to get to a nearby town, to give himself some sort of base to orient around, to figure out his next steps.
Ah, she definitely did not buy that huh. Ajax groans on the inside as the woman gives him a questionable look as she scans him from head to toe while he hopes she will not inquire further. C’mon lady. Ajax awkwardly shifts on the spot, gravel crunching under his shoes as the birds chirp, seemingly laughing in the distance at his pathetic excuse.
-
Thirty seemingly unending minutes later, Ajax steps down from the carriage as the lady cheerfully bids him goodbye. His face hurts from all the forced smiling as the lady hurries away in the distance, and his false cheerful facade is extinguished. She surely saw right through his excuses, but she ended up giving him a ride anyway, only downside being that Ajax seemed to have been the first human contact she had in ages with how excitingly and readily she chatted away at him once he got in the carriage. Ajax had really put on the performance of a lifetime, conjuring up stories about how he was out on a stroll and fell, and how he was just visiting the area because he loved walking outdoors, and a whole slew of other useless chatter. He’s honestly surprised his ears are still attached. Finally out of that situation, he takes in his surroundings of the town he has been dropped off in.
Ajax thought that maybe his father had dropped him somewhat nearby, but the town he is standing in is completely different in both architecture and weather from his family town. The town is vibrant and gives off a warmth that he has never felt before. The stone streets are decorated with stands and merchants, selling various items and food. Lanterns are hanging from the roofs of the houses and the architecture resembles those Ajax had read about in Asian culture history back in school, with warm cherry-like wood and paper panels along with ornamental carved wooden panels in each entrance of the houses. The green tiled roofs were slanted and lanterns hung about, giving the town an inviting and warm feel. In the distance Ajax could see tall mountain tops, almost like stone pillars seemingly cradling the town with the high peaks. He faintly felt a salty wind, and he turned and looked out towards a harbour. There was no ice in sight, and the weather was strangely warm and pleasant even. His hometown Morepesok was cold, and even in the warmer months of the year, or the ones who were supposed to be warmer anyway, it was still quite freezing. Wait a fucking second…
The world blurs for a moment as he realises what has been wrong all this time, what has been off ever since he woke up this morning. He looks around frantically as he pulls his hair back, the ground at least supports him as Ajax feels out of his mind, because surely he must be losing it. A few people passing by give him curious glances, clearly confused by the stranger with the otherworldly appearance who seems to be having some troubles.
There is no snow, or ice. Not even any condensation from his erratic breathing or a trace of frost on the ground. Not once since he woke up in the forest has he seen a single snowflake or icicle, and come to think of it Ajax should not even have survived a night in a snowy forest and certainly not without any fire or shelter. He had been too distracted, too distraught and confused to notice, too out of his depth and heartbroken. But how could he have been that oblivious to the sudden weather change? Am I…dead? Is this the afterlife? If there is a God here, I’ll give him a piece of my fucking mi-
Ajax’s last line of thought dissipates as he sees the ground rushing towards him, darkness taking over.