The night clung to the city like a heavy cloak, and as I rode Hei Hei through the dimly lit streets, I could feel my body growing heavier with each passing moment. I hadn't slept in two days, not since I crossed the border back into this kingdom—my kingdom. My legs trembled with fatigue, and my eyelids felt like they were made of stone. I was running on the last dregs of my strength, driven by sheer will and the weight of my mother's last words echoing in my mind.
"You show them what it means to be a true Watcher, a true protector. The kingdom's future may depend on it… and so may yours."
I had been banished from birth, forced to live in exile with my mother, far from the kingdom where I was meant to belong. She had always told me that I would one day return—that the kingdom's fate would one day lie in my hands. I had never understood what she meant. Why would a Watcher with no magic be needed? But here I was, and now her words carried a weight I could no longer ignore.
"Return," she had whispered in her last moments. "You will find the answers you need and save your kingdom." And then she was gone, her body dissolving into a swirl of golden light, leaving me with nothing but questions.
Hei Hei nickered softly, bringing me back to the present. She sensed my weariness, her pace slow and steady. I patted her neck, feeling the warmth beneath her coat. "Just a little longer, girl," I murmured. "We need to find a place to rest."
Ahead, I spotted a small, unassuming inn tucked away in a quiet corner of the city. Its windows glowed faintly, and the sign above the door read, "The Wounded Stag." It looked like the kind of place where no one would care to notice a weary traveler, and that was exactly what I needed.
I dismounted and led Hei Hei to the back of the inn, where a stable boy, half-asleep on a bale of hay, looked up as I approached. I handed him a few coppers. "Take care of her for the night. She likes to stay close," I said, glancing at Hei Hei, who watched me with those deep, knowing eyes. She snorted softly, almost as if she was acknowledging my request.
The boy nodded, yawning as he led Hei Hei into a stall. "She'll be safe here, miss," he mumbled, rubbing his eyes.
I watched him for a moment, then turned and headed inside the inn. The common room was dimly lit, filled with the smell of stale ale, smoke, and the lingering scent of burnt stew. A few tired patrons sat hunched over their drinks, too lost in their own thoughts to pay me any mind. I approached the innkeeper, a grizzled man with a thick beard and weary eyes.
"Room for the night," I said, my voice barely louder than a whisper. I couldn't muster much more; exhaustion pressed down on me like a heavy weight.
He eyed me for a moment, then shrugged and held out his hand. "Four coppers. No trouble, and no noise."
I fished the coins from my pocket, dropping them into his palm. "You won't even know I'm here," I replied, my voice hoarse. He nodded and pointed to a narrow staircase at the back of the room. "Upstairs, second door on the left."
I climbed the stairs slowly, each step a battle against the fatigue that had settled deep into my bones. When I reached the door, I pushed it open and stepped inside. The room was small and bare, with a narrow bed against one wall and a single, cracked window that overlooked the stable. I closed the door behind me and slid the latch into place.
I collapsed onto the bed, the lumpy mattress creaking under my weight. My body was screaming for rest, but my mind was a storm of thoughts and memories that refused to settle. I stared at the cracked ceiling, replaying the events of the last two days in my mind.
Hei Hei squeezing through that narrow gap at the gate had been my first clue that she was no ordinary horse. I'd seen it with my own eyes—her body shimmering, almost like it was bending around the stones, as if she were made of something more than flesh and bone. Magic, perhaps, though I still couldn't be sure. There were too many mysteries surrounding her, and I hadn't yet unraveled even one.
And then there was my mother. Her death was still a raw wound, the image of her dissolving into light seared into my memory. I could hear her voice echoing in my mind, speaking those final words that had changed everything. "You show them what it means to be a true Watcher, a true protector. The kingdom's future may depend on it… and so may yours." What did she mean? What did she know that I didn't?
My eyes began to droop, my body finally succumbing to the exhaustion that had been pulling at me for days. I couldn't shake the feeling that I was missing something, that my mother had left me more than just words—she had left me a mission. And now, I was here, back in a kingdom that was not only foreign but also filled with secrets and dangers. If the rumors I'd heard in the market were true, the kingdom was teetering on the brink of chaos, and the new Watcher was unworthy or unable to protect it.
I turned over on the bed, pulling the thin blanket around me. My eyelids fluttered shut, and sleep finally took me, dragging me into a restless darkness.
A Dream of Shadows and Light
The dream was a chaotic swirl of images and sounds—memories interwoven with fears. I stood once more in that cold chamber where my mother had died, her hand limp in mine, her chest still as her final breath left her lips. I tried to speak, to call out to her, but my voice was gone, trapped in my throat. The air around me grew heavy, charged with an energy that made the hair on my arms stand on end.
Then her body began to glow, that same eerie light radiating from her skin, growing brighter and brighter until I had to shield my eyes. The room seemed to tremble, the walls vibrating with a low, deep hum that resonated in my bones. When I looked back, she was no longer my mother, but a figure made of light and shadows. Her eyes were pools of gold, and her lips moved, whispering those words again: "You show them what it means to be a true Watcher, a true protector…"
The room around me began to change, warping and shifting like a mirage. Shadows stretched and twisted along the walls, taking on strange, elongated shapes that seemed to move with a life of their own. I could see Hei Hei too, her form shimmering as she squeezed through that impossibly narrow gap in the gate, her body bending like water flowing through stone. Her eyes glowed with an unnatural light, something ancient and untamed. She was trying to tell me something, but I couldn't understand.
The darkness grew thicker, more oppressive, and I felt it closing in around me. I tried to move, to reach for my mother, to reach for Hei Hei, but my feet were rooted to the ground. The shadows whispered in voices I couldn't understand, voices that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere all at once. My heart pounded in my chest, each beat echoing louder and louder until it drowned out everything else.
I was alone. Lost. And then I heard my mother's voice again, soft but commanding, cutting through the chaos. "The kingdom's future may depend on it… and so may yours." Her words filled the darkness, and suddenly, the shadows were gone.
Waking to Uncertainty
I woke with a start, gasping for breath. The room was dim, the first light of dawn beginning to seep through the cracked window. My heart was still racing, my body slick with sweat. I sat up, running a hand through my tangled hair, trying to shake off the remnants of the dream. But the images remained, burned into my mind—the light, the shadows, and the feeling of something just beyond my grasp.
I stood and moved to the window, pushing it open to let in the cool morning air. It brushed against my skin, a small comfort against the unsettling chill that still lingered inside me. I looked down at the stable, and there was Hei Hei, watching me from her stall, her dark eyes seeming to pierce right through me. She looked almost… knowing, like she'd seen the same dream I had.
I needed answers. About my mother's last words, about this kingdom, and about what I was truly meant to do. And I needed to understand the truth about Hei Hei. She was no ordinary horse—I was sure of it now. Perhaps she was more than a companion; perhaps she was a key to something I had yet to uncover.
I dressed quickly, pulling on my boots and strapping my sword to my hip. There was no more time to waste. I had to follow the trail of secrets that this kingdom was hiding, and I had to find out what role I was meant to play in its future.
"Come on, Hei Hei," I whispered as I made my way down to the stable. "We've got work to do."
I mounted her, feeling her muscles shift beneath me as she turned her head to glance back at me, as if to say, I'm ready when you are. I couldn't help but smile, despite the anxiety gnawing at my insides.
"Let's go," I said, nudging her forward. And with that, we set off into the waking streets, the shadows of the night still clinging to my thoughts, the morning sun barely breaking the horizon. The road ahead was uncertain, but I was determined. I would find the answers I needed. And perhaps, along the way, I would learn what it truly meant to be a Watcher.