Reincarnated - A Solitary Love

Chapter 15 - Verdant Stems under Violin's Tensions

[Lord Isdenna, second Lord of the Caranor family. Outer roads of the urban area, a couple kilometers away from the bridge.]

Slightly losing the neck of my uniform, I watched the western flare rise up in the sky.
I wondered in awe, for a moment, why such a potent barrier was around a city who had never seen the battlefield and was a symbol of peace to every country in its vicinity.

I scratched my chin, silencing those thoughts for the next walk. Turning around, I spotted the nearest district guard, who was - too - staring at the sudden light, and yelled at him to come closer.

Time to grab his spear, and he was already in front of me.
“Orders, Sir?”
“Anything unusual to report during this day?” I asked.
“Nothing Sir, another happy day Sir.”
“Good. Your turn is over. Run to the central garrison, prepare two horses and bring them here as fast as you can. Urgently. Now go.”
“Uhh…Isn’t it better to prepare them from the peripheral barracks, Sir?” he asked, hesitating. 
“Every mount there has been transferred to the outer walls, knight. You should know it.”

I think it came out harsher than I wanted, because he flinched, bowed again and screamed “Yessir! Sorry Sir! On my way Sir!” before sprinting off in the maze of the roads.
“Was I, though?” I whispered.
“You really can’t notice how intimidating you are?” Chalice said, always behind me, a foot from my right arm.

I turned again towards the flare.

“I have to be more careful I guess…”
“You always say it, milord.” fake reverence in her voice.

I chuckled, and a light smile cracked her face too.
“That barrier should not have been active, am i right?” she asked.
“You are. In any case, we’re going there.”

The guard returned shortly after, with the steeds perfectly ready.
On my servant’s one, there was even a smallsword, hanging from the saddle. 
After jumping on mine, I looked at the man again and fished a couple of coins from my pockets.
“Well done, go get a drink now.”
“Yessir, with pleasure. Ah…Should I go back and alert those on the clock to reach you? ” He asked, catching his breath.
“No, if this was an attack, I’d say that the walls would at least be ablaze by now.”

Given the short distance, we pushed the animals to their limits.
Chalice managed to keep up remarkably well, given her unfamiliarity with the mount. 

The crowded bridge became bigger and bigger and, after tying the reins on a casual carriage, I followed the gaze of the crowd to two soldiers and someone else under one of them.
I approached the nearest man, asking for his account.

“A while ago that kid was walking down the bridge and then boom: a lightning sound and that light went up in the sky. After that, she fell into the river and the two dudes went and fished her out of the water. No clue on why they’re pinning her down though.”
Meeting the gazes of two more merchants, they agreed on the tale and I decided to take it as the truth.

With Chalice tailing my cloak, I made my way through the crowd and on the opposite side of the river.
The bowman saw me and instantly called the other up. He watched in my direction and bowed his head, without letting the child off. His face rang a bell but no name followed.

“I am Isdenna Caranor, Higher General of Yuvna’s Cavalry. I want your names and an explanation.”

They both stated theirs and I, potentially for the second time, knew about Lieutenant Lindhart Axsin and Captain Galen Fylwin of the West Gate. 

I looked down on the child who, still blinded, was tailing the direction of our voices. Her eyes seemed normal on the outside, but I knew far too well the effects of that type of witchery.
Understandably, her neck was a sash of tensed muscles and sinews, giving away her terror. Her movements, too, were snappy as a hunted deer.
“And the demon lady?”
“We found her close to the outer walls. She didn’t say her name but, by her words, she wants to join the Academy. We were escorting her to the city but the barrier reacted to her touch instantly. To my eyes, she was not casting nor chanting anything in those moments so I can’t say why she reacted to it. In anycase, she got blinded, fell into the river and now we’re here. We wer-”

He stopped instantly, as my hand rose. The bowman didn’t change his pose, still aiming his bolt. 
Chalice, on the same frequency of the latter, silently embraced the guard of one of her knives. Quietly, she took a few steps on her left, but the girl turned her head towards her anyway. She had a good hearing.

I took a moment to examine her horns: one radical group in her homeland had the tradition to carve some sort of symbol directly on them, marking the owner as theirs. They were ruthless and a numerous bunch -quite problematic too- since many members amongst their ranks had the fame of not only good fighters but excellent sailors too.

I was sincerely glad to not find anything. I didn’t want to hurt nor restrain a child

“Milady.” I called. She turned to me. 
“Now, the man on your back will rise up, letting you free, but you must not run away. Understood?”
It took a few seconds for her to nod. 

I wondered, for another second, why she wasn’t speaking or screaming.
Since I arrived here, not a single sound came from her.

The captain said that she talked to him so she is not mute…Is it possible that the barrier can also hinder the voice?

Fear was also a likely cause and I very much hoped for one of these two options...traditions and taboos were and will always be an uniquely thorny stem to deal with.

Chalice closed in of one step and, at the same time, the archer took one away. His bowstring, despite being tensed since before I arrived, was still steady and close to his cheek, hinting at his ability with the weapon.

Her blinded eyes still on me, I waved Galen to get up.

As the weight on her back slowly lifted up, her gaze wandered, at the same pace, on the grass beneath her. 
Despite the rising tension of the moment she did not move at all, remaining prone on the ground. 
We waited, immobile,  for any possibility to happen but, as ordered, nothing changed.

“You can sit now, milady.” I conceded.

She raised herself on the arms and sat on her knees, legs folded underneath.
In the movement she gained a leaf of distance from us, detail which did not go unnoticed.
My servant calmly took an aggressive pose, ready, and I could sense the string tensing a tad more. 
Galen, on the other side of the spectrum, kept a relaxed but frowned pose, perplexed by, I guess, that unnatural way of sitting.

Another stand-still took place, with everyone involved waiting for the other’s actions, and, for the second time, nothing happened.

I had still some concerns -if the barrier reacted to her it meant that something was not in the norm- but at this point, with three people armed and her inability to chant anything, I decided to drop my guard.

Making sure to be as noisy as possible, I took two steps towards her and kneeled again.

“Milady, may I know your name?”

Somehow finding my very eyes, she showed a forced calmness and replied.

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Autor's Note.

Hope you had a nice summer!