2.2

Aidan left the room quickly, trying to not give his father any second longer to make a snarky comment about ruining a perfectly good table. In his haste, he almost ran into a servant who was carrying another carafe filled to the brim with wine.
      “Watch where you’re going,” he snapped at the young boy. The tears welled up immediately and the boy moved away from Aidan as fast as he could without spilling the wine, sobbing quietly. Such a young kid, shouldn’t he be going to school? Even though Aidan felt indifferent about whether the kid should go or not, it felt off. He had never seen the boy before, let alone servants this young working this late.
      “Hey kid, where is your mother?” Aidan shouted after the child. The boy immediately halted and turned around.
      “She’s not here, sir. She was sent to one of the high class houses to care for one of the young ladies. Sewing fancy dresses, because that’s what she excels at. I wasn’t allowed to come along, so I stayed in the care of the other maids here,” he explained. “My name is Uri, by the way. You’re brother Aidan, right?”
      “That’s correct. But Uri, you shouldn’t be working. You’re way too young to be carrying around delicate things like that fine wine and carafe.”
      “What’s a carafe? I’m fine, I asked to help! I can’t just sit around and watch my mom’s friends overwork themselves.” Uri smiled, unaware of the exploitation of his caretakers.
      “A carafe is the thing you’re holding, the jug of wine,” Aidan explained, while he grabbed it from the hands of the boy. “I’ll bring it to the table, you go back to your mother’s friends, okay?”
      “Okay! Thank you! You’re very nice, I hope I see you around some more here,” Uri smiled. He definitely didn’t know who Aidan was or where he was working, Aidan was sure of that. He watched Uri run down the hall towards the servant’s quarters before bringing the wine pitcher to his father.
The dining room was now full of laughter and music, as per usual. Once his father was left alone, he gave in to all his desires and all things that he forbade the common folk to indulge in. Aidan counted at least ten ladies of various ages and body types, dancing and twirling around Father Xavierno, while another five young girls played music for them.
      “Father, I have brought you your new wine. Enjoy.” He put down the carafe and immediately turned away, disgusted by the sight of the women idolising his father.
      “Aidan, join us,” one of the girls purred and she grabbed his arm, trying to pull him back towards the vulgar scene. He recognised the girl from school. A quiet lamb that followed the mass and did as she was told, not from the elite, but definitely from a more well-off family than some others. Looking at her doting on his father, while wearing the very revealing clothes his dad had picked, made him feel sick to the bone. He couldn’t stand watching this freakshow any longer.
      “No, thank you. I will be taking my leave. Enjoy your evening.” He pulled his arm from the girl’s grip and quickly marched out of the dining room, to his room.