The child still struggled. "Uncle Anthony told me!"

Elijah frowned staring down at him. "Don't call him that, I understand you're angry. But he had no right to promise things. You have a family, as terrible as they are. Do you know how much trouble we'd be in if we just suddenly claimed you as our own? There are ways to do things, but that wasn't it. And you're being angry because you feel lied to isn't the way to go either. If you made us bother miserable or kicked out of town, would you really feel better? I wanted to help you, but you didn't even listen to my advice."

"What advice?" said James, because listening wasn't his strongest point. He was basically hanging on Elijah's arm now, forcing the constable to drag him. "I didn't want you in the package in the first place! Nobody wants you!"

"I told you, you could go to court and sort of.. divorce your family. That way you would be technically an orphan and could be adopted." Elijah explained but then frowned at James, "That is a terrible and untrue thing to say. I would never say that to you. Your mother might be a bad person but she does love you, even if she never shows it and .. I believe forgets it a lot.'

James looked up at the constable while hanging off his arm. "My mother only loves alcohol. If I go to court, they'll put me in prison or hang me!"

Elijah shook his head. "I saw your mother fight rather strongly in a bar once for your big brother Noah. She does love alcohol and it clouds her mind to her family but she does love you too. And I promise if I tried to take you from her without a court behind me, she would fight me tooth and nail." Even with a court order he was certain. He shook his head and frowned more. "Why on earth would they put you in prison or hang you? You're no angel, but you haven't done anything so heinous that I know of."

James looked at the constable skeptically. What an idiot. His mother might fight tooth and nail for a child she believed to be her child, while letting her own get into all sort of trouble. Like hanging. "Because if you have to go to court, they put you in prison or hang you."

Elijah rose his brow. 'You really think that's all that people do in court? I promise you, people go into court for all sorts of manners. Sometimes it is merely to clear up a dispute. Such as if I had a disagreement with my landlord over how much I paid for my home. We would both go and fix the matter. No one goes to jail over such things. Sometimes you need some sort of paperwork that they must sign and put a stamp on. I assure you, despite what you've dealt with or heard, court isn't only for locking up people."

"Oh..." The boy said with a frown, and he seemed deep in thought, which mercifully shut him up for a moment.

Elijah sighed and finally relaxed. "If you want me to help you break off from your family, I can. But you must stop causing this sort of trouble." He waved his hand, gesturing to the boy telling everyone his secret.