"Man, that dinner was great." I sigh in contentment while relaxing on a long bench by the side of the road. Paul settles down beside me and slides into a comfortable slouch. All around us is the hub dub of the city center as people flow through the street like blood in an artery. The place is busy but peaceful. There's none of the frantic energy you'd find during working hours.

"It was rather satisfactory." Paul agrees with my assessment of the dinner. He places a brown paper bag beside his place on the bench and whistles idly, admiring the buildings towering over us.

"You sure about ditching Yvonne and Sara back at the penthouse?" I ask Paul, "They could have used the help cleaning up after the meal."

"Let women do the women's work." Paul plays with the paper bag while replying, "Part of being master of a household is knowing how to delegate."

"You're the boss." I lean back in my own spot on the bench and look upward, "Those buildings sure look high when you're sitting here, huh?"

"That's why this place is my special spot, Robbie." Paul explains, "I like to come here by myself sometimes. Helps me keep a certain perspective about things."

"Special spot." I hum to myself, "I'm touched boss. Seriously."

"You sure about that?" Paul smirks crookedly at me, "Sounds to me Robbie would be more enthusiastic if someone else had invited him."

"And who might that be?" I snort, "Not sure you noticed this yet but I don't have many friends."

"Yvonne, maybe?" Paul lightheartedly cuffs me on the head.

"Yeah, maybe." I nod to myself, "You think we're good for each other?"

"Follow your own heart, Robbie. Its your happiness at the end of the day." Paul muses as he goes back to people watching, "But I am sure of one thing. "

"Which is?" I raise an eyebrow.

"You make Yvonne happy." Paul states in a matter of fact tone.

I nod to myself in silence. I've never said it out loud but despite my worries about the reasons behind Yvonne's attraction for me, she makes me happy too.

"Anyway, the whole reason I invited you out here was to thank you." Paul continues.

"There's no need to get hung up about Carl's ambush." I shrug easily, "You'd have done the same for me."

"You don't understand, Robbie." Paul stares straight ahead, marshalling his thoughts, "It isn't just about helping me fight off Carl. You've let me live my dream."

"Don't have a clue about what you're talking about." I turn to Paul, who's clearly struggling with what to say. After a pregnant silence, Paul begins speaking again.

"I was born as the heir of the Wyvern Conglomerate." the boss finally says, "From birth, I was groomed to fill this role. To my parents I was more of an employee than a son."

"That sounds tough." I respond distantly to Paul, not sure about what to say.

"It probably sounds stupid to you, Robbie. Like a rich person's problem." Paul bites his lip, "There's probably millions of people who wouldn't mind swapping places with me."

"Yeah, I gotta admit. That's true." I agree wholeheartedly.

"And yet I couldn't stand living like that." Paul takes a deep breath, "Being controlled all the time, like a puppet. There were constant targets to meet. A never ending stream of expectations. Meeting my parents was more like a board meeting where my performance was dissected."

"Sounds tough." Looks like I lucked out with how free and easy mom and dad are with things.

"One day I suffered a nervous breakdown." Paul suddenly says.

"What?" I spit out, totally not expecting the story to head in this direction.

Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

"The doctors called it a psychotic break." Paul morosely elaborates, "But to me, the whole affair was a nightmare. A nightmare I couldn't awaken from."

"So, uh, how was it like going crazy?" I ask as delicately as possible.

"Real smooth, Robbie." Paul smiles at my show of finesse.

"Sorry. Didn't know how else to phrase it." I apologize in embarrassment.

"Its fine. I like your candor." Paul shuts his eyes and continues the tale, "There were dreams, where I was trapped in a water filled capsule. And there were tubes plugged into my entire body. There was a tube shoved up my nose like a pair of needles. It hurt to even breathe."

"Wow." I grunt in amazement at how outlandish the whole situation is.

"The worst part of the nightmare was this massive plastic thing," Paul shudders, "attached firmly to my mouth. I would try screaming at the top of my voice for help. And the mouth tube would begin force feeding me with this sludge."

"Damn." I wipe up mouth nervously. Seeing Paul so badly shaken is giving me the chills too.

"So one day I was having dinner with my parents." Paul opens his eyes again, blinking away the tears, "And the nightmare hit. I tasted the sludge in my mouth and the next thing I know, my dinner had been thrown up all over the mahogany dining table."

I opt to stay quiet this time. What can I say anyway?

"I was sent to the hospital after that." Paul concludes and wipes his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt.

"Sorry." that's the only thing I can think of saying right now.

"But it all wasn't for nothing." Paul smiles weakly at me, "In the hospital I went into a violent fit. Sort of what happened to you during the fight with Carl."

"Wait, are you saying the nightmares were what caused your soul to awaken?" I peer at Paul's face with naked curiosity.

"My parents weren't hereditary knights." Paul folds his arms, "But apparently we had latent ability? Whatever the case, the stress of the nightmares was the trigger I needed to awaken."

"So how was it like?" I ask cautiously, "Awakening while being crazy?"

"I nearly died. Or so the doctors say." Paul says with forced jocularity, "My mind was in the process of giving itself a stroke. At the same time my parents were consulting all the knights we employed to create an ascension ceremony for me."

"No wonder you knew what to do while I was thrashing about in the dirt." I comment.

"The nightmare was crushing me, Robbie." Paul shudders at the memory, "But I could hear the voices of the knights and my parents calling me back. It let me focus and my soul did the rest of the work."

"So what was your oath?" I query softly, realizing we're stepping on very sensitive ground.

"That I would always live true to myself." Paul clenches his fist in affirmation, "It is both an oath and a dream."

"I don't see how I helped you live your dream though?" I shake my head in confusion.

Paul clasps my hand with surprising strength.

"Welcoming me when I first arrived at Rutger's. Letting me join your gang. Helping me meet Sara. Fighting by my side. You've done all these things for me, Robbie. Having friends that I can trust is my dream. And perhaps -"

Paul licks his lips nervously at what he's about to say next before deciding to just take the plunge.

"Maybe if Sara's interested I might even have family that could be trusted as well?"

"Interested?" I raise my eyebrows, "You're really thinking that far ahead with Sara already?"

"Why not?" Paul gets defensive, "And for your information, its perfectly acceptable for a knight to marry one of his master's servants. Majordomo included."

"Wow. Someone's really jumping the gun here." I cough loudly to cover my blushing face.

"We could even have both marriage ceremonies held together." Paul grins cheekily with the wind in his sails, "It would help make up for the lousy ascension ceremony you had."

"I'm not the kind of guy who obsesses over high class stuff." I protest, "You did your best after the fight with Carl, I'm sure."

"When I awoke from the nightmare," Paul thinks back, "I was surrounded by all the house knights in ceremonial uniform, a chaplain praying loudly for my soul, a choir singing in the background and my parents in their finest clothes on their knees."

"That does make the impromptu ceremony you held for me in a dingy alley feel kind of cheap." I frown in good humor.

"As you said Robbie, I tried my best." Paul smiles broadly, "And that reminds me of something very, very important."

"More important than this heart to heart?" I take a deep breath of the night air.

Paul opens up the brown paper bag and brings out a bottle of whiskey and two glasses.

"The good stuff." the boss grins as he opens the bottle, "Yvonne wouldn't allow it, so we're just going to have to drink outside of the penthouse."

"Wouldn't Yvonne find out when we get back?" I accept one of the glasses from Paul as he fills it with a generous serving.

"Not if we head back upstairs late enough." Paul clinks glasses with me, "Yvonne has to go back home sooner or later."

"You're really into the delinquent lifestyle, huh?" I grin back, "Alright, what are we drinking to?"

"To our friends, to us and to our future!" Paul cheers.

"Damn straight." we down our drinks, the whiskey burning hot. And Paul immediately tops up both glasses again.

"Never forget your oath of ascension Robbie." Paul swirls his whiskey about, "It will guide and nurture you."

"I know." my hand is firmly clenches on the glass in emphasis, "There's this warm feeling in my heart. A kind of strength that I never knew was there."

"By following my oath, I managed to meet Sara and you." Paul sighs, "It has provided me with more happiness than I could ever hope for. I'm sure your own oath would do the same for you."

The warmth in my chest swells in response, though that might just be the whiskey. But what the hell, I'm willing to give my own soul inheritance the benefit of the doubt.

"To the future!" we toast each other happily.

And to whatever the future may bring.