Andrew

He had to admit, Chase knew how to use a sword. It became clear that he was not only good, but he became accustomed to sparring with people bigger and stronger than himself. And even though Chase’s strength was no match for his own, he held more power behind his strikes than an average kid his age. His physical strength was not purely from swinging his sword. His time working on a farm had given him an edge many would not respect until they got on the wrong side of him. There was something else, too. An unspoken groundedness to his strength that went beyond even his physical stature.

He’s on the very brink of awakening. As Andrew increasingly pushed Chase, there was something about how he challenged his strength that betrayed a deeper inclination of a primal power. An embedded instinct that told him much about the boy’s dormant affinity. Every time he stretched the boys’ limits, he saw it. A glimmer of that stubborn, firm groundedness permeated beyond the boy’s own self-awareness. As their swords clashed, he understood it. Chase was sparing him, but not just for the sake of training or to prove to everyone that he was not a kid… there was a deeper emotion running under it all, Andrew thought. Chase was frustrated…

At first, Andrew thought it was because Chase was being looked at as nothing more than a young boy. He thought it was because of how much stronger Andrew was to him despite holding a lot back, but as time went on, Andrew noticed that it was not him or anyone else he was upset at. Ultimately, Chase was fed up with himself. It was no wonder Andrew could see a lot of his own struggles in the young boy.

If I could go back and meet my younger self, what would I tell him? What lessons would I instil in him? Before Andrew knew it, he’d taken hold of his affinity. He did not temper his dark powers around his practice sword or around himself. Instead, Andrew let his power roar. Dark waves of energy exploded off him and slithered along the field like an uncoiling snake.

Unleash… it was one of the first things a knight in training learned before it got beaten out of them, controlled, and tempered into the power known as knight’s armour. And unleashed power would pour off them like liquid out of broken water skin. It made for an impressive and intimidating sight; but ultimately, this was an enormous waste of energy. It was also considered rude in most cultures to unleash your powers in such a way.

From physically violating someone's personal space to simply passing wind in the same room without apologising, how seriously the act is perceived solely depended on the individual. It was also not subtle as it attracted the attention of other people sensitive to the power. But what it lacked in efficiency, it made up for in other ways.

As Chase charged towards him, he staggered still as Andrew’s unbounded power washed over him. Eyes widening, Chase fell to one knee, his wooden sword stabbed into the earth for support. As the boy’s steady breath sped up from his effort to remain standing, Andrew knew for certain that he was caught in his presence.

“-A bit unfair, to use your powers like that,” Flynn said off to one corner. Andrew noticed Gracie was already on her feet. She was about to stop him, but before she could make her way to him, Flynn intervened.

“It’s totally unfair. You will hurt him!” she called out.

“The boy is not harmed, just a little spooked. Though you could have warned us,” It was a trick sometimes used in battle. It was perfect for a diversion tactic or for an element of surprise, but nothing more. It was only against someone far less experienced in using their own power to protect themselves that this trick beard its true fangs.

“That’s as good as harming him!” she was again about to go past Flynn and break off the fight, but she was stopped once again.

“He’s not necessarily doing something we ourselves had not gone through to awaken to this power,” Flynn said.

“You think he’s ready to awaken?“ Gracie mumbled.

“A diamond only becomes a diamond under pressure. Or are you telling me, young and as talented as you are, that you awoke to your powers from a nice day’s nap?” Andrew could see the conflict in her eyes. Like she was proud of his efforts, but upset that she was about to lose him.

“I did not. But his power feels…” Gracie’s mouth remained open as she struggled to keep an eye on Andrew. For a moment, even Flynn looked over at him doubtfully. Andrew did not blame them. Chase slowly stood, his eyes widened as if still seeing a nightmare he thought he’d awoken from. His shaking legs looked like they were about to buckle. Even Andrew was starting to have doubts he’d pulled through, but… After a long pause, Gracie finally looked away.

Comeon, Chase. Fight it! He had it in him. Andrew just knew it.

Standing on shaking legs, Chase stepped closer. Andrew had seen that stear Chase was giving him plenty of times. It was the look of someone who was scared, the fear of their own safety and preservation preventing them from taking another step. But more than anything, they were more scared of what might happen if they remained there. What they would lose if they did not move forward. It was the look of someone who’d always been on the back foot in almost any endeavour they had taken and refused it to be true for the rest of their lives. Now, standing before his most daunting task, he glared down the pits of his own fears. Fear made Chase’s knees shake. He looked drained, sweat began to glisten on their face. As Andrew watched Chase wipe his forehead in bafflement, he felt a stab of pity.

He recalled the looks of his peers’ eyes whenever he unleashed his power before them. The trick itself was nothing unique. Most of them could pull it off in their first years of training. What made Andrew’s one stand out was simply how terrified it made people feel. Every affinity had a flavour, a prime emotion attached to them. Gale knights inspired freedom, Aqua knights inspired a sense of still calmness, earth knights steadfastness, and for steel knights it was the unyielding will and drive. All could be used to shock and intimidate. But for Andrew, his power inspired something deeper, more primal. A bottomless pit of fear. As Chase looked questioningly into his eyes, Andrew understood the unspoken words that filled them.

‘What am I?’ Yeah, I ask myself that all the time. When backed into a corner without a strong will, it was often the question that ran through one’s mind. It did not take Chase long to look at him with a level of understanding, however. To that, Andrew smiled. Good, he counted on his previous training kicking in. Allowing that practice to fill the void that he wiped clean with his power. As Chase made it back into a fighting stance, Andrew nodded to himself. He could see his power forming instinctively to counteract his presence. He was close, so close. He just needed one last push.

“You got a sense of it at least, but it’s over now… kid.” He raised his sword out to his side as the surrounding air thickened with darkness. Chase curled in as Andrew’s presence intensified around him. With his eyes closed, he took a timid step back. Grace stood there as she helplessly watched it happen. She’d stopped trying to intervene and Chase looked at her now, betrayed. Andrew had to respect her. Despite their differences, she must have seen what he was doing and against everything held fast.

Andrew’s dark powers washed over him like inky mists, but among his sea self-made darkness glimmered the green glow of another presence. A power blossomed its way around the young boy surrounding him in a rough outline of light. As if a second layer of skin it veiled him in its protective embrace. Its evergreen glow pushed back the darkness that Andrew willed into existence like a sailing ship cutting through the ocean waves. Chase’s eyes turned to Andrew, now burning with blooming anger, teeth gritted at his sheer attempt to contain it. He was in a trance of his own awakening. He lost a grip on his emotions as the ever-present will of the planet fused with him directly for the first time.

The overwhelming sensation of one’s first awakening was common. It differed depending on the situation and the emotional state they were in prior. Some will be enraptured with awe, others overwhelmed with relief to the point of crying. For Chase, it seemed like anger was the closest emotion at hand. And although he’d mastered himself enough to not fly completely off the rails, it was apparent that he was on the cusp of striking him.

With a roar like an avalanche, Chase charged towards Andrew. The sheer speed and power of Chase’s strike surprised him. Had he not been half expecting it, he would have landed a clean blow. But he was expecting it. Because Andrew had the utmost faith that the young man would pull it off. In a blur, Andrew used a clockwise counter. The world around him moved at a snail’s pace. Chase’s overhead slash struck a perfect twelve on Andrew’s spinning wooden sword. Activating his counter strike, Andrew retook his sword and, with a speed that bent light itself, struck Chase’s front. The snap of his practice blade echoed in the air as if he’d struck a faint tree.

Earth knight, if the green light and the peppermint-like aura it gave off were not a dead giveaway, then the sturdy feel of his presence sure was. Time turned into a blur as it caught up with Andrew’s sheer speed. Chase’s sword fell from where he stood. In the exploding cascade of light, none of them saw him make the shift. All their eyes were still focused on where he last stood. Although that made Andrew smile, a part of him winced as the pain in his ankle protested.

Ceaful…

It was not until Grace gasped did Andrew knew everyone had finally caught up to what just happened. Well, all except Chase, he still had his back to him. Andrew grinned.

“You’ll feel the impact of that one in a minute,” he said. Chase turned back to him as if he’d heard a phantom. He tried to pull his sword out of the earth, only for his grip to slip and fall onto his butt. With a steady sigh, Andrew stabbed his practice sword into the earth before walking out of the line of upright sticks that made the training arena. Whether the kid knew it or not, it was over.

When Chase turned to see what kept him from taking it, he saw a giant pile of earth standing before him. The hilt of the sword was stuck in the side of the mound of earth like a crewed rendition of the mythical sword in the stone. As Chase gawked at his creation, Andrew saw him mentally piecing together how it happened.

“Chase!” Gracie ran over to him, grabbing his shoulder.

“Gracie? I-”

“-Look at your hand-look! You’ve done it!” baffled, Chase looked at them. They glowed a light hue of green. His knight’s armour had awakened.

“I did it…” he whispered in awe. “I did it!” pumping a fist into the air, Chase leapt skyward.

“How do you feel? Do you remember the sensation when it happened?” Gracie asked. Him, the celebrations died down as he got to thinking. He turned to Andrew soon after, his eyes studying him like one does a dark ominous pit you almost fell into. Understanding how unnerving his powers were, Andrew did his best to put on a light-hearted smile. Although he himself was conflicted, Andrew became the paragon of goodwill and openness. Despite his efforts, however, Chase visibly shivered. Following his line of sight, Gracie frowned casually at him.

“Should have warned me that you were going to do that,” she said. Andrew shrugged.

“Was not going to at first. But seeing how close the kid was to awakening, it just… kind of happened.” Andrew said. It was half true, at least.

“Impulsive,“ Gracie sniffed before she turned to Flynn. “Did you know about this?“

“A little, ” Flynn said. “My only surprise came from failing to see what as saw in the young man, but as things continued, I knew.“ Andrew nodded.

“I knew the kid had it in him,“

“I’m not a kid!” Chase shouted. Flynn sighed a chuckle to himself as Andrew looked back at him.

“So you keep telling me,” Andrew said, an amused smirk etched on his face. Before Gracie could protest, Chase pointed his practice sword at his opponent. Flynn laughed. Andrew simply looked at him.

“You really want to go another round?” Andrew asked.

“He’s already forgotten how scared he was of you. You should really watch out for people like them,” Flynn said. Andrew nodded.

“He’s got that going for him at least,” Andrew said.

“Enough talk! Come and face me like a man!” Chase shouted. He was eager, more than angry.

“You say that you are no longer a kid? Well… I guess you are no longer a one at that.“ Those words seemed to break the wind of his fighting spirit. Perhaps he wanted to keep a grasp on his newly awakened powers before the sensation vanished. Either way, Andrew was impressed by his will. He was willing to oblige him for another round too, if he could withstand what came next.

“Your minute is almost up,” Andrew smiled. Chase’s baffled look almost made him feel sorry for the boy. Almost. In that instant, Chase folded over as if hit across the abdomen with a blunt object. Toppling to the ground, Chase groaned as he held his stomach.

“Chase!” Gracie reached over to Chase in a panic until she saw him get back to his feet with no apparent issue.

“I’m… fine,” Chase said carefully. Bafflement became sweet relief on his face.

“Are you sure? Tell me if there is anything wrong with you I’ll be sure to get him back with-”

“-You’ve hit me harder before,” Chase smiled. Gracie’s face coloured at this. Avoiding eye contact with everyone, she stood up and fixed her hair.

“Well, then… so long as you’re ok,” she said.

“I’m ok,” Chase sighed. “But I think I’m done.” Flopping to the floor, Chase let out a long and exasperated gasp. This newly formed knight’s armour eroded. Andrew understood that crash of power. After tasting such strength for the first time, coming off such a high, often left one struggling to remain up. Of course, over time, you grow accustomed to the difference in power having your knight armour up. He was the same as everyone else in that way. What differed him from the others, however, was…

“When did you strike him?” Gracie said.

“Around a minute ago. Like I said,” Andrew shrugged.

“But that’s-”

“-impossible? So I’m told by many others, but I guess I did not get the memo.”

Gracie looked at him questioningly.

“It’s a unique skill of mine, not too different from how you can send spoken messages through your arrows, I guess,” he continued.

“But I didn’t see the strike. Cycles Andrew… I didn’t even see when you got behind him.” Gracie said.

“For someone who has eyes as sharp as yours, I’ll take that as a compliment.” Andrew sighed.

“Don’t change the subject!”

“And here I thought we were past the awkward attempts to not offend each other.”

“What?“

“Listen, if you got something to say, then just come out and say it,” Andrew said. Gracie fell silent for a while as she bit her lip. Closing her eyes and taking a breath, she stepped forward.

“The power we use are drawn from the planet. Wind, water, earth, fire, steel but-”

“-Not all steel comes from the earth itself, but do go on,” Andrew calmly interjected. Gracie fixed him a glare before continuing.

“But… that power, the power to… to-bend… everything like you did, it’s… It’s something that-” Gracie said carefully.

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“-Only demons can do such things, Right?” Andrew asked. Gracie looked away, too ashamed to face him.

“Are you going to keep guessing what I’m going to say?“

“Only stop if I guess wrong, but I was on the money… right?“

“More or less…“ she mumbled before chancing a look back at the sword on his back with a tense caution.

“So… what are you anyway?“ she asked. Looking back to the hilt of his father’s blade, Andrew simply chuckled.

“I may have a few queries regarding that question myself, but I’m no host to a demon,” Andrew said.

“Then how?”

“Now that right there is a good question. I honestly wish I knew,” Andrew said. Looking down at his hand, he felt empty. All he’d ever wanted was to understand his father- understand himself and his powers and his place in this world, but once more he’s reminded how little progress he has made in understanding anything. Forcing on a smile, he looked up to Chase.

“Did you get your powers from your dad?” the boy asked. Andrew nodded.

“Yep, like father, like son,” he said in a long, dermatic tone. But the humour in his acting was too short-lived.

“And where did your father get his powers from?” Flynn asked.

“Another good question.” Andrew’s fixed onwards at nothing in particular. “Ever since I was a kid, father would have me spar the students. Being a senior, it was a custom that I faced each of my peers back to back without a break. Even though it increased the risk of causing them injury, I was told to use my knight’s armour against them.”

“He had you face everyone by yourself?” Gracie said.

“Although there were mistakes, I eventually learned how to pull my punches.” another forced smile. If he’d had the displeasure of meeting his younger self, he would have had more than a few stern words for him.” I thought Dad made me do it simply because I was so far ahead of my peers in skill.

Although that was partly it, I don’t think that’s the whole truth. Given that the mere presence of my power boosts the growth of all who stood their ground against me, I think I was used to fast-track my friends into graduation. Within the first year, my father and I anointed all the newcomers into harnessing their affinity at will.”

“Within a year?! That’s impossible,” Gracie said.

“You say that even after seeing what I did?“ Andrew asked.

“Chase is different! He’s been training steadily for years now!“ Andrew just looked at her silently as all the resolve in her faded into her frown.

“Knight’s armour is not some magic spell you can just cast on yourself to suddenly gain more power. It takes time, training, dedication, and years before one can use it properly. Only time and-”

“-stress and intense emotion can also pull the latent potential out of you.“

“Not those alone, not without paying a steep price down the road,” Gracie said. Andrew shrugged.

“Half of those graduated peers of mine looked at me like I was some kind of demon ever since then. If there was a price to pay, then I guess it was that.“ Graice looked shocked at first. She looked like she wanted to say something, only to drop her head soon after. Sighing to himself, Andrew looked elsewhere.

“You can say what you like about how things should and should not work. You’d be right in most cases, but when it comes to this issue and my powers, I’m the exception,” he said, “The impossible boy with impossible powers doing the impossible.”

Chase's progress was coming along well. But if they left him training at his current pace, Andrew wagered that he’d have awoken to his powers in the next year or so. He knew Gracie knew this, too. He could see that she wanted to refute him, but her mouth remained idle. Frowning, she instead looked back at him and said: “Did you know all of this, back then, I mean?”

Andrew thought about it for a while before sighing. Recalling how narrow-minded he once was made scanning his memories was a real pain in the ass.

“I was too busy with my own problems at the time to even care about how and why people reacted to my powers the way they did. It’s only when looking back at it now that I see the pattern.” Andrew said. “It’s obvious to me now that my powers more than others tug on something primal.“ all silence for a long while.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Gracie finally said. Her eyes were lost in distant thoughts.

“Your not too different from me. My powers often get mixed up with that of earth or steel.” Flynn said. Andrew frowned.

“Really? I thought it was some weird mix of both,” He said.

“No, it works a lot like how a Pentagon knight’s powers do, but it’s more fuelled from the rune smith system,” Flynn said.

“So then, is it one of them, or both?” Andrew asked.

“Cycles if I know, you’re better off asking Sophie,” Flynn said.

“Given up my hopes for that,” Andrew sniffed. Flynn gleaned at him.

“What changed? For you to notice how your powers affect others?” Gracie asked. She was looking at him now. And despite everything, Andrew could not help but feel a warmth wash over him.

“Natalie happened,” he said.

“How?” Gracie asked.

“That’s a long story,” he said to himself. “Let’s just say that she shed light on a lot of things that I was doing wrong back then. Though she can’t see it, she’s helped me immensely. I owe her a lot.”

Just then, a rumble of distant thunder sounded miles beyond the mountain. All looked in its direction in unison.

The battle… Has it already started?

Flynn was already looking at him expectantly before shaking his head. Before he could ask, he whispered, ‘demonstration,’. So then, the cat was out of the bag. In order to safely use her powers, she needed to show them how they worked. Natalie made no effort to hide her powers per se, but it was never in her interest to let everyone she met know how different she was from them. Though she did do it, Andrew could tell that it always grated at her.

“She’s special too,” Gracie mumbled. She had been watching Flynn and Andrew’s silent exchange. Andrew’s heart leaped in his chest.

“‘Special’?” he tried to recover, but Gracie did not budge. Was he that obvious?

“She has special powers just like you,”

“Oh, that,” he sighed deeply. Not like keeping this from her will benefit anyone. “She’d always had talent. She fought longer and harder than anyone else I know to acquire them, too. She could have been a great knight. But just as those dreams were at hand, her hard-earned efforts were replaced with something else altogether.”

“I thought so,” Gracie mumbled. Andrew held her gaze for a time. A sense of understanding flickered between them.

“Something happened between you both, didn’t it?” Andrew asked. All looked at Gracie now. Flynn leaned in and Chase sat up from the ground as even the gentle winds fell silent. With a long, tired sigh, Gracie looked at them.

“I’ve seen a knight who could conjure lightning once. I’ve even heard of men talented enough to use their powers to fly. To see someone able to do both without even the use of a weapon. It’s got to be a power beyond that of human reasoning, right?” She was nervously messing with one of the sticks that made the small arena, avoiding eye contact.

“What did you ask her to do?” Andrew asked. It took effort to keep his breathing steady.

“It’s my younger sister. She’s the only family I got left,”

“Isabella’s in danger?” Chase asked.

“No more danger than your dad, silly,” Gracie said. She gave his hair a rub as she put on a comforting smile. Chase pouted before smiling back, but Andrew saw through the facade.

“Maybe you want to talk about it later,” Andrew said, looking over at the now-confused Chase. Gracie got the hint. But before he knew it, Flynn had offered Chase a race back to the farmhouse.

“First one home gets to tell mum about your epic new powers!” Flynn was already halfway into a sprint. All interest in the conversation left Chase as he went running after Flynn, who was clearly pretending to be running at full speed. Gracie chuckled to herself as she watched them shrink off in the distance.

“That was clever of Flynn,” Andrew said. He knew that Chase would try to stick around and listen if asked to go back home directly. Andrew would not think of disguising his wishes into a game like that. That was very… mature of him. Somehow, that thought felt surprising to Andrew. Gracie only looked at Chase and Flynn with a blank expression before pulling out another stick that now littered the ground.

“Running away whilst leaving us to clean up the mess? Yeah, I guess clever is one way to explain it. If you had a blade to your neck,” he sniffed. Andrew blinked.

“You don’t think he thought that far… Do you?” Andrew asked.

“The traveller is your friend, you tell me,” Gracie said, her back to him. She’d already picked out several of the sticks that made the arena. Andrew folded his arms as he thought about it.

“I mean, it’s possible? Though I don’t think he’s as crafty as Sophie, he does have his moments.” He said.

“I was joking.” She turned around, the makings of an amused smile etched on her face.

Oh… perhaps his face revealed his shock and so she tried to be more comical with him. Now, because of him, her grin faded into an apologetic downturn of the lip. It was only then that Andrew’s slow, stupid mind caught up with what was happening, what she was trying to do.

She was trying to lighten the mood by offering him a rope, and he had not only fumbled the gesture by tripping on it, but he had gone and made a noose out of it and was this close to hanging himself in the process. An awkward silence settled between them before Andrew nodded to himself. If you fumble one’s rope, then you best throw back a rope of your own.

“Not your worst joke,” Andrew said as he picked out a stick and stood beside her as he watched Chase beat Flynn to the farmhouse before jumping in victory and running towards the front door.

“Joke?” she sounded confused. With a straight face, he looked her dead in the eye and gestured the stick as if it was a type of throwing spear.

“That one joke you did with the arrows last night? Now that one was well off the mark. Compared to that, I’d say this one is an improvement.” He had to summon all this discipline to hold his straight face, but some of his facade cracked into a half grin. Gracie just looked at him with squinted eyes.

“Really?” she simply said. She sounded disappointed, but that lighter tone to her words reemerged.

“You don’t believe me? Fine, I could lie, but it would be like shooting myself in the foot… with a bow,” Andrew said. Grace shook her head, a hint of a smile betraying her apparent disappointment.

“So you’re just going to tell jokes around bows and arrows now?” she asked. She turned away to pick out another stick, but Andrew liked to think she did it to cover up her smile.

“As much as I’d like to string together some stupid long-winded jokes involving bows and arrows, I’m afraid my attention span is too shortsighted and my wit too blunt to come up with anything pointed enough that you’d like. Even if I did manage that, I reckon the jokes would fly right over your head.”

That one caught Gracie unaware as she stopped mid-way from picking out the last of the sticks to compose herself. Her back was still to him. She continued on as if nothing ever happened.

“Does Natalie have to put up with your stupid jokes?” she asked.

“I aim for about three-to five a day. Why’d you ask?” He delivered it in the most nonchalant way possible. With her back to him, Gracie shook as she fell into a fit of suppressed giggles. After a long moment-the damn broken- she released a gale of genuine laughter. Smiling to himself, Andrew watched as the walls around Gracie fell away.

“Ok, you’ve made your point,” she sighed.

“‘Made my point’ as in I cannot make a joke using bows and arrows or that I can? Because if it’s the latter, then I think you’ve missed my ‘point’.”

“Andrew, there is a point where-” cursing to herself, Gracie gave him an accusatory look and composing herself to continue. “There is a… moment… where even a good joke told well still falls dead, and nothing you’ve said has been that good.”

“But I thought that’s the whole aim when you fired an arrow- ‘’ Gracie fixed him with a look that stopped him dead in his tracks. Clearing his throat, instead of completing his sentence, he said: “I think “I’m done now,” Gracie observed him for a moment longer before shaking her head to herself.

“Whatever Flynn’s reasons are, it doesn’t matter. I appreciate that he kept’d Chase to stay out of this.” she sighed, looking back at the farmhouse. “He’s a smart kid, but a handful sometimes.” Looking at the farmhouse himself, Andrew nodded.

“He certainly has a strong opinion of himself, and not all of it unearned,” Andrew said, knowing how his earlier years turned out. Andrew knew it could be tricky. He looked back at the handy work he did at the centre of the arena they fought in. “In any case, he’ll be one to watch out for in the future,”

“I want to be there and make sure he lives to see it,” Gracie said. There was a muted resolution in the way she spoke those words. Like swallowing a bitter seed.

“But you also want to protect your sister,” Andrew finished. Her prolonged silence told him all that he needed to know. And just like that, Andrew felt the weight of her burdens. It’s no wonder why Natalie kept from outright telling him.

“She is talented in the power. In some ways more so than me, able to summon guardians to her side.”

Her sister…

“Just like how you threatened to bring them here,” Andrew said. Gracie shook her head.

“I’m like a dog whistle. I just call them over and what happens next is up to the cycles. When I say she’s better than me, I was not trying to be flattering. Her power is much more subtle, more intimate. At a young age, she was able to make one of the wolves her spirit animal. And although nobody around the village really says it, they see her as the second mediator.”

“So, your sister is also… ‘special’,” Andrew said. Gracie sighed a chuckle soon after.

“She is. She’s also stupid, naïve, impulsive, rebellious, can’t read a room-stubborn to a fault. And yet is probably fighting tooth and nail to try to bridge things between the villagers and the wolves- because… because despite her faults- despite everything she loves and cherishes everyone.” Gracie took in a deep breath soon after.

“She’s trying to keep the wolves and people from harming each other?” Andrew asked.

“She’d make a case for why the wolves attacked them. She’ll try to convince everyone not to kill them. I’d like to think she’d sway them-she’s convincing like that. Failing that, she’d go her own way to try to set things back to the way they were. I hate the fact that I know for certain it’s what she’d try to do,” Gracie said. “So I’d asked Natalie to watch over her, when I realised that she did not explain that to you I-, I’m sorry if I complicated things between you.”

Cycles, of all the things to ask of her, it had to be that. Was what Andrew wanted to say out loud. Instead, he nodded and said,

“She has an affinity for wanting to help the underdog,” Gracie nodded in understanding.

“It really was a moment of weakness, didn’t mean to cause any trouble.” She said. Andrew shrugged.

“It was not as if we were not going to the village anyway,” He said. “At least this way, your mind is more at ease.” Gracie’s eyes fell as he finished speaking.

“And that’s the rub,” she mumbled. Not sure what she meant, Andrew remained silent. “When Colt left with the others, I was conflicted. Should I go with them? Isabella has her team, but I should be there too. As the days stretched on with no news that question bugged me, the issue with the wolves, along with nobody returning for so long, was unprecedented. It’s not like them, and it’s not like I promised to remain here. Though it was hard, I made peace with my decision. The farm needed protection, and I was the only one who could do it. And that’s when you show up. With strangers here, I could not leave. It proved my point of needing to be here, but it also trapped me here. That contradiction frustrated me.”

“’What would have happened if I abandoned the farm?’ The only consolation was that because you were here. I had a new focus. A new target to pin all my frustrations on, a reason to keep you all at a distance. I thought that so long as I did my job and kept trouble away, then I’d be content that I made the right call, and that my time here was not wasted. When I pulled Iris over all of a sudden to argue earlier, I’d asked her if she’d prefer if I left her here with strangers. She’d just got done speaking to Sophie and since then I could tell that any doubts she held about you had all but faded. She looked conflicted at first when I asked if I should leave, but in the end, she said that it was my decision, and that she would not hold it against me if I chose to be with my sister. ‘Maybe with them here, the cycles are giving you a chance’. It was like she peered right into me. You willingly offered your help just to put me at ease. You’ve been kind and patient. I began to think that perhaps you’d be better at protecting the farm than I ever could. I once again began asking myself why I was here. When I finally heard the news of how dire things truly were back at the village… I became really bitter.”

She withdrew into herself now, laying her heart bare. She looked hollowed out, a conflict of pain beyond her understanding etched into her face. Andrew’s chest went cold. He truly understood now why Natalie said what she said before she left. Their situations were not so different, stuck between duty, responsibility, and circumstances beyond their control. Left with crappy options that nobody can tell what is right or what one will leave you with the least regret. Before he knew it, Andrew put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“I get it,” He said. That brought her back from whatever edge she was standing on, only for her eyes to glisten with tears.

“No, you don’t get it!” she pushed his arm away as she shot to her feet and backed off. “Don’t you see!? Before you came here, I had no other options! I was the only person capable of taking care of the farm-the only one that could be relied on! But with you here… I’m unsure if I’m making the right choice. A part of me wished that I was wrong about you and you had come to harm us. Even if that meant you’d killed me here, then at least I’d know I died making the right choice. At least me being here had a purpose. Every time you proved me wrong, and that I was the ass to even think like that, it ate at me.”

“But we are past that now, right?”

“What if Natalie wound up dead?” the words hung in the air as Gracie’s eyes began to glisten with tears. Wiping them away in frustration, she turned her face away from Andrew to continue. “I asked her to look out for my sister, and even though she never agreed to out loud, a part of me knew that it would inconvenience her, and yet I still did it. And maybe she will not endanger herself to protect my sister, but if she gets wounded or ends up dead because of me, would you still say that?”

Andrew remained silent, perhaps taking that as a yes. Gracie continued to sob. As he stood beside her, his mind drifted up on to his own dilemma. Storm clouds began to form off in the distance, enveloping the land in its shade. It had not been that long since the demonstration. Was the battle for the village starting already? Andrew had taken a few steps towards the village before he realised it. Forcing himself to a halt, Andrew gripped tight as he folded his arms around his chest until he felt the crushing feel of his own embrace.

“My mother,” he began. “She’s in the next village over. She might be in a lot of danger. We were well on our way to reaching her until we stumbled here.”

“So you are choosing to protect strangers over dealing with your own issues? Why?!” Gracie said.

“I guess Natalie is not the only one with a soft spot for underdogs,” Andrew said as he turned and looked at the clouded sky. He needs to ask Flynn what’s happening. “Trying to do what’s right, not knowing where your loved ones are or if you’re at the right place doing the right thing… It’s torture, isn’t it?” He gave her a big grin as he looked back at her. The distant rumble of thunder ran across the plane as the winds picked swayed the wheat to and fro. Gracie looked at him as if seeing him for the first time. Her eyes looked up to the sky soon after and all the colour left her features. Andrew did not need to turn around to confirm what she just saw. There was only one thing in the world that could fall out of the sky and fill a knight with so much dread.

“Demons,” she mumbled. Slowly turning around, Andrew pulled out his sword. He spotted at least three dozen demonic spawns falling upon the field of wheat before them.

“You’re awfully calm,” he said as he layered himself over in dark energy. Gracie, who already had her bow out and game face on, spluttered as his words sank in.

“You’re one to talk!” she said.

“If it’s any constellation, I feel crappy about it too,” Andrew said.

“What?”

“The fact that I’m so calm, that I feel relieved to see the demons showing up here. It’s a shitty feeling to be grateful for such misfortune, but I cannot help it.” Andrew saw Gracie turn to him in surprise and knew that he was right on the money.

It was all true. He felt like crap that it took misfortune to make him feel better about the choice he made. At the end of it all, he was selfish and self-interested, just like the knights who they criticise. As forms exploded out of the demonic orbs, as the cries of demons filled the air with dread, as the trickle of warm rain began to fall on Andrew’s cheeks. A smile found its way on his face. “With some demons here, it meant that there will be less of them over there. At least this way we get a small taste of the hell our friends are walking into!”

With a sober and determined nod, Gracie ran back to the farmhouse, promising to call Flynn to back him up as the denizens of hell descended upon them.