Zach said, “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure, why not?”
“Do you know someone by the name Markinson Tombbreaker?”
The name hit her like a slap. Her relaxed posture stiffened, and her head snapped up. “That much is obvious. Why ask?” Her tone grew sharp, her eyes narrowing. “Would you want to meet him?”
Zach hesitated, feeling the weight of her sudden intensity. “No.” He exhaled, dragging a hand through his hair. “Markinson will never forgive me.”
Melijuia expression shifted to confusion, then suspicion. “What’s that supposed to mean? How do you know him? When did you meet him?”
Realizing something strange was going on, he Zach stumbled over his words. “I—I didn’t mean... Look, it’s not what you think.” He groaned, frustrated. “It was a long time ago, okay? I met a kid with the same last name. In a forest.”
Melijuia was already moving. She crossed the room in three swift strides, her hands gripping his shoulders with surprising strength. “Follow me.”
“What?” Zach blinked, confused. “Where are we going?”
“You’ll see,” she said curtly, pulling him toward the door. “Now, come on.”
As they walked briskly down the hallway, Zach tried to make sense of her urgency. “Markinson—he’s your brother?”
She glanced back at him, her eyes flashing. “Of course, he is. How don’t you know that?”
“I had amnesia,” Zach said, keeping pace with her.
She waved the excuse off like it was irrelevant. “Keep your voice down.” Her tone dropped to a harsh whisper. “How did you meet my brother?”
Zach’s lips tightened. He was starting to piece together how sensitive this topic was. “Like I said,” he whispered back, “I was in a forest. Bandits were about to kill a kid. His parents were laying on the ground dead, too. When I saved the kid, we exchanged names, he said his last name was Tombbreaker.”
Melijuia stopped so abruptly that Zach nearly bumped into her. She turned to face him, her expression a mix of hope and anger. “Which forest? Where? And my brother—where is he?”
Zach looked away, guilt gnawing at him. “I don’t know the names of those area--.”
Her hand shot out again, gripping his shoulder hard. “What do you mean you don’t know?”
“I mean I don’t know,” he snapped, his voice low but firm. He grabbed her wrist and squeezed, matching her intensity. “And don’t think you can treat me like I’m scared of you. I’m the one who saved your brother. Maybe show a little gratitude.”
Her grip faltered, and she stepped back, looking conflicted. “I’m sorry,” she murmured, her tone softening. “I just... I need to know.”
Zach flexed his shoulder, feeling the lingering ache of her grip. Superhuman strength, he thought uneasily. He reached into his pocket, fishing for his map. When his fingers came up empty, his heart skipped. The country map. Gone.
He dug deeper and pulled out a smaller, crumpled map. It was the one of the city. Useless.
His brow furrowed as he pieced together a plan. “There’s a carriage hub that goes to this city,” he said finally. “The village near that hub—it’s where your brother is.”
“There are a lot of carriage hubs,” Melijuia said, her skepticism cutting through her hope. “Which one?”
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
“How many are near a forest?” Zach countered.
Her eyes flickered with thought before she nodded. “Only once I can think off... Come with me.”
Zach raised a hand, stopping her. “Hold up. Before I go anywhere, I need documents proving I’m a cityizen here. I didn't enlist for the fun of it.”
She frowned, her confusion evident. “What? How? You’re a knight trainee, not one of their soldiers.”
“Exactly,” Zach said, crossing his arms. “So, what kind of perks does being a knight come with? One where I can operate in a city without facing issues would be nice.”
Her expression shifted to something like disbelief. “What benefits _don’t_ they have? They’re chosen ones to the likes of soldiers, respected and revered. People would kill for the chance to be one.”
That could be useful.
“Is there anything more to it?” Zach pressed.
She sighed. “Only knights can become Iron Breakers, and Iron Breakers are... well, they’re worshipped by everyone. Even other knights.”
Zach thought about it, leaning back slightly. "And the pay for being a knight and iron breaker? How good is it?"
“1% of the population only ever see that kind of money."
"I can work with that. But I just want one more thing."
"What's that?"
"I only want to be a knight in name and training. I don't want to serve you. I want us to have a partnership. Informing me of certain secrets that relate to me and so on."
She stared at Zach for a while before saying, "Helping me out with my brother and everything to do with it is a fair trade for that request."
"Great."
As they stepped out of the building, Zach noticed the way people’s eyes followed them.
Whispers rippled through the crowd, and he caught snippets of murmured conversations.
The sun hung low as Melijuia led Zach toward a long, gleaming carriage near the gates of the fort. Its polished black exterior reflected the golden light, silver detailing curling like vines along its edges. The crimson curtains inside, edged in gold, made it look like something meant for royalty.
Zach stared at the carriage, brows raised. “This is yours?”
“Yes,” Melijuia said, walking ahead without breaking stride.
Zach chuckled under his breath. “Didn’t peg you for the luxury type.”
She shot him a glance over her shoulder, her tone brisk. “It’s not about luxury—it’s about making a statement.”
“Oh, a statement. Got it.” Zach followed her up the steps, muttering, “Some statement.”
Inside, the seats were plush velvet, and the air carried a faint, expensive-smelling perfume. Before he could get comfortable, two armored knights suddenly appeared at the carriage doors, one on each side.
Zach shot upright, his heart skipping a beat.
The knights’ polished silver armor gleamed in the light, their visors obscuring their faces. They stood rigid, like statues brought to life.
Melijuia barely spared them a glance. “They’re my knights.”
“I see...” Zach gave her a skeptical look. "With how they moved, I would have mistaken them for ninjas."
She ignored his comment and addressed the knights. “I have a lead on my brother—and my parents’ corpses.” She pointed toward Zach. “He’s the lead.”
The knights turned their helmed faces toward Zach. Their silence was oppressive, their attention like a physical weight.
Zach shifted uncomfortably. “Hello.”
After a beat, both knights nodded in unison, a gesture of respect that caught Zach off guard.
“They respect you,” she said simply as if it explained everything.
“Got it.”
Before Melijuia could reply, the driver appeared in the doorway, a wiry man with keen eyes and a formal demeanor. “Destination?”
Melijuia answered immediately. “The Sleeper Forest.”
He huffed, but didn’t argue further. The driver nodded and disappeared. Moments later, the carriage lurched into motion, the wheels crunching over gravel as they passed through the gates of the fort.
Zach stared out the window, watching the imposing walls grow smaller in the distance. "Hopefully it doesn't turn dark by the time we reach."
“It doesn't matter if it turns dark,” she said.
He glanced at her, eyebrows raised. “You know, most people would have a plan. Maybe bring a few more knights. I don’t know, play it safe since ground sleepers sound pretty scary.”
"What's so scary about them? They're like zombies but weaker."
Zach leaned back in his seat, arms crossed, his gaze flicking to Melijuia and then out the window. The tension from earlier was starting to ebb, replaced by curiosity that gnawed at him.
“So,” he began, his tone casual, “you’ve got quite the grip, you know that?”
Melijuia turned her head slightly, raising an eyebrow. “I see?”
“It's observation,” Zach said, rubbing his shoulder pointedly. “And these knights? The way they showed up out of nowhere? They’re fast. Like, really fast. Is that... something to do with your inner self?”
“Yes. It’s part of it. Knights are professionals at it,” she said simply. “It’s second nature to them. That’s why they’re so revered. What you saw with me and the knights—that’s just basic mastery.”
“Basic,” Zach muttered under his breath, glancing at her hands. “So, if I stick with this knight training of yours, I’ll be taught this too, right?”
She nodded. “Yes. If you’re serious about becoming a knight, you’ll learn how to tap into your inner self and refine it.”
Zach considered her words. “Sounds like a lot of work."