---Indigo---
By the time we woke up the next morning, the town was buzzing with the news that Eric had died in prison from excessive bloodloss and lack of medical treatment. It made sense; who would want to help a murderer who used the dark arts? Eric's goons had disappeared as well. I guess once their leader died, they fell apart as well.
The festival would go on for a few more days, but we had no time to lose. Who knew how long Lord Victor would stay at Devil's Peak, if he really was there? Katherine brought up the idea of buying horses, so we could travel faster. Lucian found a man in his forties who was selling horses and went to inquire about the price. He came back with eyes as wide as saucers.
"One hundred gold coins," he spluttered out. "Per horse."
"That's seven hundred gold coins," Aaron said, doing the math. "We don't have that much."
"And even if we did, we need it for our entire journey's worth of food and boarding," Katherine pointed out. "Indigo, what should we do?"
"Can we bargain with him?" I asked. We really can't afford to spend too much time on foot, but we also didn't have that much money.
Lucian shook his head. "I already did. He lowered it to a hundred gold coins."
"How much was it before?" I was almost afraid to ask.
"Two hundred fifty gold coins."
The group was stunned into silence. "Maybe we should just travel by foot…" Ashley said slowly.
"Are there donkeys? Can we travel by donkeys?" Jason asked.
"I don't think they sell donkeys," I said. "But maybe we don't need seven horses."
"How?" Everyone asked eagerly.
"We split off into pairs. That way we only need four. Or three, if a horse can carry three people." That was the only way left. Otherwise, we really have to travel by foot.
Everyone eyed each other. "I suppose four horses will work. We can take turns riding solo," Katherine said.
"Yeah. Let's all pool our money." We took out our money pouches, counted out the money, and sent Katherine and Lucian to get four horses. Four hundred gold coins took a huge chunk out of our money stash. Katherine and Lucian returned with four beautiful horses, and in different colors too: a white one with a flowing mane, a sleek black one with fire in its eyes, a calm, light brown colored one, and a grey dapple mare.
"Okay, four girls, three boys. How are we going to split into groups?" Katherine asked as she petted the white horse, which she dubbed Winter. I looked at Aaron.
"Boy and girl?" He suggested. "And then one girl can ride alone."
"Okay! Ashley, ride with me." Jason grabbed the reins of the grey mare, swinging himself up.
"You're not going to help her up? What kind of a man are you?" Rachel teased.
"Whoops." Jason slid off and bowed towards Ashley. "My lady, may I please help thee up?"
"Oh shut it," Ashley rolled her eyes. "Let's get going already."
Lucian paired off with Rachel, saying that he needed the protection of a great sorceress. That earned him a playful punch on the shoulder. Katherine volunteered to ride alone, which left me with Aaron. He helped me onto the black stallion before getting on in front of me himself. "Better hold on to me, lest you fall off," Aaron said over his shoulder. "We can't risk losing our mastermind."
I obligingly slipped my arms around his waist, feeling very awkward at first. But as soon as we set off, I felt much more at ease. Katherine sped on ahead on Winter as our scout while the rest of us following behind.
"Aaron? Can I ask you something?" I said as we galloped north. He turned his head slightly.
"Yeah sure. What is it?"
"Why was your mom murdered? Like, can you tell me the entire story?" I remembered how Aaron single-handedly proved that Eric was cheating and that Reginald's death was in fact a murder. But I was curious how Aaron's mom was murdered, and why.
"Um…" Aaron appeared to hesitate. I suddenly felt like I had intruded on a personal subject.
"Actually, it's okay. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," I added hurriedly. "I know it's a sensitive topic for you. Sorry for being inconsiderate."
"No, no it's fine. I actually haven't told anyone in all these years. I guess it's nice if someone else knew too." Aaron tightened his grip on the reins and took a deep breath.
"My mum was murdered when I was only about eight years old," he said quietly. "When my mum was younger, she took part in a group called the Knights, which was composed of many top fighters who aimed to rid the world of evil. It was during a time of turbulence, when the Evils attacked often and evil ninjas were everywhere. The Knights were the assassins of the good side—the people who protected the innocent and fought the dark side."
"I've heard of the Knights," I commented. "They were pretty cool."
"Yeah. Well, my mum made many enemies through her work as the lead fighter of the Knights. Right after my first birthday, she was called to take on another mission, even though my mum already 'retired' from the group several years ago. It was imperative she took the job because it seemed that no one else could. It would be her last mission, they promised, and then my mum could totally severe ties with the Knights if she wanted to."
Aaron swallowed and continued. "My mum agreed. She was supposed to protect some important person, I think. I don't know the specific details of her mission. Three days passed and there was no movement from the opposing side. The date that the Knights told my mum when an assassin was coming was wrong. My mum decided to wait one more night, just in case. And that was when a deadly ninja by the name of the Black Star appeared."
"Eric?" Everyone who dabbled in swordsmanship knew of the infamous killer who went by the name of Black Star. It was said that in his career of kills, he has only ever missed three targets. Was Black Star Eric's secret identity?
"No, it wasn't Eric." Aaron shook his head. "My mum fought the Black Star. The battle lasted for nearly three hours. At last, the Black Star had a slipup and my mum was able to severely wound him. He was half an inch away from death. For some reason, my mum decided to not kill him on the spot and just leave him there. I guess she thought that it was unlikely he would survive, given the condition he was in. Everyone assumed Black Star was dead because he never appeared again. My mum was rewarded for her work, and she was finally done with the Knights. That's when she started teaching instead."
"I'm guessing the Black Star didn't really understand the concept of gratitude and owing your life to the person who saved you," I inferred, tightening my grip around Aaron as a series of jolts on the bumpy road almost threw me off. Aaron let out a sigh.
"No, he did not. From what I've heard, the Black Star barely survived. He lived in seclusion for several years in order to heal, but he never forgot the woman who caused him his pride, reputation, and almost his life. The Black Star remained in close contact with whatever dark group he was in and vowed revenge."
"But I thought Eric murdered your mom." I said in confusion. "Eric's not the Black Star."
"The Black Star was so wounded that even when he healed he couldn't fight anymore. He was lucky to even be alive, but thinking of it now, my mum should've just ended him." I couldn't see Aaron's face, but I can hear the steel edge in his voice.
"One day, someone heard screams from inside the school my mum taught at. All the doors were locked from the inside, and people had to kick them down in order to get in. The students, all young children, were huddling in corners and frightened out of their wits. They said that there was a masked man who suddenly appeared out of nowhere and was killing people.