His prison sentence was unknown. He was thrown into the damp cell whilst he was unconscious. Vogef left to deal with the king and spoke to Lilith about freeing Fishy. But it was uncertain when he would awake. So, it was to Vogef's surprise when he heard that Fishy woke up after only 5 days.
"You're awake!" He screamed as he opened the creaking door, rushing to crush Fishy with his large caramel armour.
"I am…" Fishy tried to smile but couldn't remember how. He was only just able to lift half his face.
"I heard from the… you know what… about the two girls, what did their dad have to do with the king?"
"The 'you know what'? Do you mean Lilith? The Vampire?"
"Shush shush shush…" Vogef slammed his hand against Fishy's mouth and whispered "Don't say that. If people find out you are protecting a vampire, they will do whatever they can to make sure you and everyone you know dies a very painful death."
Fish's eyes widened as if he should have known this from the beginning.
"Anyway, forget about that. Who was that man?"
"I don't know…" Fishy sank on his wooden bed and rock mattress.
"I asked the king about it but he just ignored me. I had noticed an increase in new recruits but also an increase in power level. More and more people are showing up knowing advanced magic and they are all growing quicker."
"Is it magic?" A voice from Fishy's shadow called. The two of them looked down and hoped no guards heard the sudden female voice that appeared but kept speaking regardless.
"I don't know, I don't possess the power to know. I'm merely a swordsman."
Vogef sat down next to Fishy and rested his prized silver sword on his lap, staring at his own reflection in its pure blade.
"I suspect King Dean is hiding something from me… I'll go and investigate..."
"No!" Fishy and even Lilith jumped up, onto Vogef, but quickly turned their alerting screams into whispers. "If you are found out, you will be killed on the spot. You won't be able to make it out alive."
Vogef stood up and turned to Fishy's sunken face, fiddling with the blade of his sword to check its sharpness.
"I'd rather die than serve a traitorous king. I have a feeling this is connected to the church of heroes."
"The church?" Fishy asked, "The one that worships Fintan?"
"I suppose that makes sense," said Lilith, putting her small hand against her pale chin, "The church of heroes is full of mystery. No one knows about the head or any of the higher-ups. They also have a lot of rumours relating to them. Creating the order to exterminate all vampires, elf slave trade, human experiments, destruction of the celestials and the merging of the forgotten continent. All rumours so it's impossible to know what is and isn't true, but they certainly aren't nice."
"Agreed, I'll keep watch of the king." Vogef said, "I'll do what I can to uncover the truth."
# # #
The journey back home felt as if Fishy was dragging a giant boulder behind him. Vogef freed him from Va's prison but Fishy was left alone as he walked the same route home. He was left with his thoughts and depressed mood to remind him of his failures, but at least he had Lilith to try and cheer him up.
"What do you plan to do on your return?"
"I don't know…" Fishy replied.
"Alright…" Lilith's tone became more and more bothered by the situation, as being in Fishy's shadow meant she felt some of his emotions, "Well, I have a plan."
Fishy listened as he had no choice because of the intruding voice ringing in his head as he slugged through the forest to get back home.
"You should study. You've always been good at learning, so why don't you study and learn how to control your magic better. I've been following you around and you have natural reflexes just fail in the magic department, and you need the experience."
"What do you suggest I do?" Fishy grumbled.
"When we get back, go into your room. Ignore everyone, they'll be fine without you. Once we are in your room. I'll train you."
Fishy was sceptical, but he couldn't escape the feelings he felt back when he encountered Gabriel. It was like he stared up at a mountain he once thought he could climb, but as he took his first step, the ground under him crumbled even deeper.
"Alright. We'll do it. I'll train under you. We'll kill that bastard."