Silent Noise (1)
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"Please help me’"
Those three words were all Julia needed to hear before she made her abrupt decision. It was hard to even call it a decision in the first place, right now, her actions were incentivized not by logic or reason, but by the elusive concept of ‘emotions.’
The second Emma had asked for her help, the only actions she took prior to following behind her was securing her freshly caught batch of what I could only assume was now going to be my dinner. Without even changing her clothes, she immediately asked Emma to lead the way, saying she could ‘fill us in’ later.
Right now, I was running alongside the two of them as we made our way through the bustling crowds of the small town. Just like the last time we were here, Julia was still getting a lot of attention, but the only difference this time was that she hadn’t even bothered to spare them a glance. It wasn’t out of disrespect, but simply a result of her sharpening her concentration. Her expression grew more stern and with every breath I could hear her breathing conforming to a single, monotone rhythm as we all dashed through the compact streets, weaving through pedestrians and passengers alike with nothing but determination and focus.
As embarrassed as I was to admit it, my fragile frame was lagging behind their swift strides. Julia noticed the steady decline in my pace and flashed me a tender smile over her shoulder before saying -
“We're almost there.”
And as if right on cue, Emma cut in to support her claim.
“This is it! We’re here.”
Once again coming to a halting stop, we’d arrived at some part of the town that I’d never seen before. This place wasn’t bustling with as many people as the town square, but we still had curious heads turning in our direction the moment we made our brazen entrance onto the scene. It seemed to be some sort of residential district, so only a few horse drawn carts were passing by at the moment, along with the usual gathering of onlookers stationed around the various shops the area had to offer. What stood in front of me now was a large house that boasted a mixture of both concrete and timber segments, it was undoubtedly the biggest house in the entire area and was at least three times bigger than mine.
Separating the extravagant dwelling from the outside world was a wooden gate that barely managed to surpass my height. Nestling behind its timid borders and leading the short distance to the house itself was a small road in pristine condition that managed to perfectly divide the lush shades of lawn grass on either side of it. Despite its obvious age, you could easily tell that this makeshift barrier had seen little in the way of wear and tear given how polished its timber frame was.
There was even a nameplate attached to the forefront of this gate, and written on it was the word “Ashwell.”
For some reason, there was an unusual number of horses gathered outside and around the place, but they weren’t entirely left unattended. In fact, it would appear that this large gathering of horses had been the ones to initially garner the attention of the stationary onlookers.
“This is my house....my older brother’s inside.”
Emma discreetly tried to suppress the immense sense of fatigue she was now feeling by placing a hand on her chest, but that gesture was ultimately meaningless at this point. Just one good look was enough for anybody to see that she was exhausted.
Her body was now leaning forward, and her hands were firmly latched on to her knees. If not for that clever tactic, I could easily imagine her falling face first onto the rigid ground we now stood atop. The beads of sweat now dripping from her face had formed something of a dark spot on the dry patch of land beneath her.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Given how far we’d come ever since we started running, that much was a given. Even I could feel the involuntary expansion and contraction of my organs, the hot breaths of air that escaped me were indeed proof of life, but at the same time I couldn’t help but see them as proof of my own weakness.
Compared to me and Emma, Julia on the other hand didn’t seem very fazed by what was going on at all. But now that we were here, one thing became abundantly clear to me
(There were definitely people dying in this house.....)
“Oh, Lady Julia thank goodness!”
A voice I had no recollection of reached out to us. It was a man around the same age as Vreena, he hardly even had hair on his head but yet still, he was loosely dressed in armor that seemed to only cover the core aspects of his body. He even had a shortsword lazily hanging from his hip.
Making his way over to us, the metal joints lining his body let out a high-pitched grinding sound. “We really need your help..... a lot of my men are seriously injured!” His expression wasn’t panicked, but it wasn’t relaxed either. It was like his emotions were currently vying for the right of manifestation.
“Captain Owen....what happened?”
Julia immediately skipped all the formalities with that brazen question.
His gaze dropped the moment Julia spoke up, he stared at the ground as if his head was too heavy to even lift.
“I-It was the Basilisk. We received word that it was lurking in the nearby forest, so we rounded up our forces and headed off to dispatch it-”
Julia flinched for a second before regaining her composure.
“Alright, I’ll listen to the details after I’m done here. Where is he, Emma?” Julia asked in a hurried tone, clearly not wanting to waste even a moment.
Barely managing to lift her face, she pointed towards an open window on the upper right end of the building. “T-Third floor....hah....hahh”
It was starting to sound like she could barely even get her own words out, but then again, a creeping sense of lethargy was also starting to chip away at my own vigor. The backlash that came with pushing these bodies too far was certainly a steep one.
From where I was standing, getting to that ‘third floor’ Emma mentioned just now seemed like it was going to be a daunting task in my current condition.......or at least that was what I’d thought anyway.
Before I’d even realized it, Julia had somehow managed to lift me off my feet and hoisted me under her arm like I was some sort of burdensome load. Without even a word, she walked right up to Emma and did the very same, our legs now dangled in the air like we were nothing more than restless children.
“J-Julia?”
“Uhm...Mother... wha-”
Her expression was still serious, fixing her eyes on the destination Emma had indicated just now, she responded without even looking at us.
“You two, stop talking and press your tongue against the roof of your mouth....also I’m sorry about this Emma, I don’t mean to be rude.”
“Eh?” That stupid sound was the only thing that escaped Emma's mouth before our abrupt displacement. In an instant, Julia kicked off the ground and launched herself up to the height of the inviting window, landing on the windowsill with a poised posture, our bodies barely even shifted even after that immense burst of speed.
It was a good thing she’d warned me about keeping my mouth closed in advance, or what happened just now might have caused my own teeth to sever my tongue.
“Alright, we’re here, I assume your brother is down this hall?”
Even though her hands were still shaking, Emma nodded her head in agreement. Given everything that's happened in the last few minutes it's no wonder she’d be surprised and yet still, I saw her clutching her own trembling fingers, still trying to compose herself.
“Alright.”
Darting off with us still in hand, the pitter-patter of Julia’s feet made a series of conspicuous echoes each time they collided with the well-aged timber floors.