Mirefield, the night of the expedition.
"A defect?" Alanus repeat what Ruak says to my disbelief. My mind was to deny it, how can a... A DEFECT best my second in command? And with that speed? I only see intermediate air mages manage to go that fast! Then again, my eyes never deceive me and I saw his brown eyes turn crimson, I only saw that once before, but that surely has to be impossible right? The Crown banished that art a decade ago!
"Crazzzzy right?" Ruak breaks me out of my thoughts, his words full of spite. "A noble Captain such as yourself will still keep his end of the bargain right? It'll be a shame if something happens to Adi here you know?" In the last sentence, his tomahawk is brought closer to Adira's neck as his voice runs cold. It was as if a young teenager wasn't talking to me anymore, but a broken soul was, burdened by the cruelness of the world, and of sins no young man should bear. And his eyes? I only saw eyes like his once before, eyes didn't just burn with the flames of anger or defiance, but Rage. Rage of the system, rage of how the rich and the royal rule the world. This Ruak doesn't want to just change the kingdom, he wants to burn it to the ground and let it rise from the ashes. Ruak knows I would have never agreed to a defect dueling my second in command, let alone besting her, I fell for it and I fell HARD. I see it in his eyes, he won't lose a wink of the rare hours of sleep killing Adira, if it needs to be done for his plan to succeed, so be it.
"Who do you think I am? Some peasant knight? Your part of the bargain will be upheld, as long as you hid your truth of being a defect, so please get off Adira."
'Kill her Ruak, make a statement, show your devotion to changing this kingdom, don't tell me you already forgot our promise?'
It takes all my depleting willpower to keep my tomahawk where it is, as I see visions of myself killing Adira ten times already. 'Your.Not.Real.' I growl in my mind, repeating those three words like a mantra as I feel her presence on my back, her-mine-our? Desires whispers into my ears with no end. "Who do you think I am? Some peasant knight? Your part of the deal will be upheld, as long as your.. Defective nature remains a secret, so please get off Adira." Alanus's voice goes soft and almost breaks me from the demons who roam my broken mind, both of them are at my-a DEFECT's mercy! So fucking ironic isn't it? Most people would be intoxicated by this grasp of power, this change of control after being at the rich and strong's mercy for so long, but for me? It just leaves me… empty. I rise from Adira with a sneer, putting my tomahawk in its belt loop before walking off.
I walk towards my peers, a paradox of terror and respect surround me as I take one more breath of cold air as I slip my bandanna on my nose, putting the suffocating mask back on. I don't know if I'll last long enough to beat them in their twisted game, but "I will, no matter what" I whisper as I further solidify my determination.
'Who are you?' Thought Pela as she watches Ruak, amazed by not just his orthodox fighting style, but his intuitive mid-battle. Most of all though, Pela is amazed at how he's still sane with that much pain, loss, and anger in his soul.
"Alright listen up you bunch of fucking pigs" Alanus gathers everyone's attention as they wait for their next set of instructions. 'He must be out of it, he didn't even include "and piglets" this time' Ruak muses as he follows the rest of the knights and helps with lifting cargo and other chores, much to the other teen's disappointment. I tune out the resulting hunger games of a seating regiment, with the noble teenagers getting reserved seats, causing the slumie and peasants to fight it out. I shake my head in disgust, putting the anger and disdain towards the government away for when I need it when positivity and willpower can't get the job done as if it does ever. After 10 minutes of shouts, sobs, and fighting, the seating regiment is officially over. Those without a seat are doomed to walk the path behind the carriages and left to fate.
Alanus rounds me and the rest of the knights into their private, luxurious carriage to debrief us. Excluding Alanus, Adira, and I, five other knights make up the protection of Pela Sira, the daughter of Rozala Sira, the current monarch leading *Bevagria. Pela is being escorted to Ancesea to be a political hostage of the royal family, since Pela here is confirmed to have omniscient powers, being able to tell one's attuned element, if their defected or not, and is rumored to have the ability of telepathy and to know one's emotions. The royal carriage is roomy enough to fit all nine of us, but I hang outside the door, having no intention of being there for even a fucking second. For the duration of Alanus, 's debrief I was zoning in and out, but I know what to do, probably. 'As long as I'm paid huh' I muse.
"Alright, since everyone is informed, who's going to be shifting in and out of the carriage to provide Pela's protection?" I immediately raise my hand and say "I'll be on the roof of a carriage, the whole expedition and I'll take first shift on every night watch." No one raised any objections to my request, and the rest of the squad would be configured as follows:
Due to being the strongest, Alanus and Adira will be inside the carriage at all times maintaining Pela's protection, the five other knights are spaced around the noble carriages, leaving the peasant and slumie carriages unguarded. I intend to fix that, and getting paid to do so is the seasoning on top. I climb onto the roof of the peasant carriage, sandwiched between the guarded noble carriage and slumie carriage left to themselves. After some minutes of finalizing, we officially start the journey towards Anceasa.
*Bergia is a kingdom east of Tredor, mentioned in chapter three.