Gideon caught up quickly to Edwin and his friends, tailing them at a good distance as they moved west through the slum’s snaking alleyways. Their route was erratic, making their destination impossible to predict, but Gideon saw no indication that they were aware of his presence. They seemed agitated—he occasionally caught glimpses of them arguing—and if they’d been more alert they might have realized he was following them.
Their only stop was at a dingy old flophouse sitting on a particularly muddy alleyway. Gideon hid behind the wall of a nearby house and waited. Just when he began to suspect he would have to sneak into the building they finally exited it, with sheathed swords hanging from their belts.
Now armed, they set off to the west once again, and after half an hour or so they reached the tangled snarl of alleyways and side streets that marked where the slums met the merchant’s quarter.
Where the hell are they going? It’s dangerous for Edwin to be in this part of the city. He shouldn’t be anywhere near here.
After a while, though, he began to change his mind.
It might be good for Surelin if he’s captured again…but she wouldn’t want that. What should I be doing here?
The buildings around them became noticeably richer and better maintained as they passed deeper into the merchant’s quarter. They came close enough to the market street for Gideon to hear its routine cacophony of activity before turning north into a narrow alleyway running between two walled villas.
Finally, after nearly reaching the main strip, Edwin’s group stopped before a one story timber-framed house situated at the end of a quiet side street. Gideon watched as their argument abruptly escalated, all four of them becoming more animated and angry. He scanned the street around them and spotted another alleyway close by, one that was narrower and cloaked in shadow, which would allow him to take up a better position. Moving quickly, he doubled back through the alleyway they had taken, then walked up silently through the closer one. He crept through the shadows towards the mouth of the alleyway and halted once he heard voices.
“...said it yourself that it can’t go unanswered,” someone said.
Gideon identified the next voice as Edwin’s. “I know what I said!”
“Then why this hesitation? You have every reason in the world to go through with this.”
After a brief moment of silence, Edwin spoke again.
“We should go for one of the others. What if his children are home? If Surelin-”
“He’s still afraid of his sister! Coward.”
“Fucking coward,” a different voice chimed in.
“You said it yourself. If she’s not strong enough to lead us then only you can do it. Or have you changed your mind on that, too?”
“Of course not,” Edwin said defensively.
Gideon heard an angry scoff. “So the princeling doesn’t have the stomach for what’s necessary after all. All that talk was hot air.”
“You just stay here then, prince,” a third voice said disdainfully. “We’ll do your dirty work for you. Just stand back and watch.”
Gideon heard several of them walk away, and after a few quiet moments he decided to peek further out into the street. Edwin still stood where he’d seen him last, gripping the handle of his sword tightly as he watched his companions approach the front door of the house.
They walked up and immediately knocked on the door. Soon afterwards a middle-aged Losoan woman with long black hair answered, and Edwin’s friends suddenly pushed their way inside past her. They slammed the door shut behind them, and a scream emanated from the house.
I get it now. They decided to take revenge into their own hands. But Edwin chickened out at the last minute. Well, good for him.
Slowly, Gideon walked out of the alleyway towards Edwin.
“Not going with them was smart of you,” he said coldly.
Edwin was startled by Gideon’s voice, and he turned to face him. His eyes widened with fear when he recognized the person stepping out of the shadows. At the same time, the sound of glass shattering came from inside the house, along with another—louder—scream.
Edwin looked deeply afraid as his eyes darted towards the house then back to Gideon.
“Run home, kid,” Gideon menaced. “And tell your sister what you’ve done.”
After a short, frightened pause, Edwin replied.
“...What will you do?”
A third, bloodcurdling scream sounded inside the house.
Gideon’s expression darkened. “Clean up after you.”
Edwin was frozen stiff for a few more moments before he abruptly broke into a run. He sprinted past Gideon, entering the alleyway behind him.
As he walked over to the front door of the house, Gideon wondered what Surelin would want him to do.
Doubt they’ll listen if I tell them to stop. But she’s gonna be upset if I don’t at least try.
The front door was locked when Gideon reached it. He took a step back, then leveled a powerful kick at the door by the handle. Splinters flew into the air as it broke open. The door flung backwards, and he walked inside.
A narrow carpeted hallway led straight from the front door to the far end of the building, with plain white wallpaper covering the walls and several additional doors lining them. The hallway was empty, but Gideon heard a pained grunt and scuffling feet from one of the nearby rooms.
Blood slowly trickled from beneath the half-closed door to his immediate left. He stepped over and pushed it open, discovering a kitchen. Inside, two bodies lay face down on the floor in a widening pool of dark red blood and broken glass. One of the bodies was an adult Losoan man with black hair, the white shirt on his back covered in bloody stab wounds. The other was just a boy, no older than thirteen, and covered with similar wounds.
Gideon instantly froze up at the sight, and watched as the boy’s eyes slowly opened to look up at him. In a flash, the bodies changed form. It was no longer two strangers lying in a pool of blood and glass—the man became Deb, and the boy lying next to her was his younger self, looking up at him.
Panic overwhelmed his senses. He leaned against the doorframe, squeezing his eyes shut to block out the vision.
The sound of shuffling footsteps in the hallway nearby grabbed his attention. His eyes flew open, and after turning to look he saw the young Losoan emerging from a nearby room, sword in hand. His pants were splashed with blood, and he had a surprised look on his gaunt face as he stared at Gideon.
Gideon’s body moved on its own. In one fluid, blazingly fast motion, his hands drew his claymore from his back, and he lunged.
“Hey— !”
His claymore penetrated the Losoan’s chest before he could complete his sentence. The blade sliced through flesh and bone like butter, exiting out his back and pinning him against the hallway’s wall just beyond.
A hoarse, agonized scream left the Losoan as his hands feebly grasped the claymore’s blade, and he crumpled instantly after Gideon ripped it from his body. Moments later, the Losoan’s two Forelian friends appeared in a doorway further down the hallway. Their mouths fell open with shock at the sight of Gideon standing over their bloodied companion with his claymore drawn.
An enraged roar left Gideon as he charged at them down the hallway. The one closest to him raised his sword, only for Gideon to swiftly bat it away. He followed up with a rapid thrust, stabbing the shocked-looking Forelian in the exact same manner as the Losoan.
With his companion skewered in the doorframe, the second Forelian didn't have enough space to swing his sword, instead he quickly aimed a punch at Gideon’s head. It connected with his jaw, and white-blue stars exploded across his vision before he yanked his claymore free from the Forelian.
The second Forelian jabbed at Gideon with his sword over his supine friend. With a fierce grunt, Gideon deflected it. Both of their swords collided with the doorframe, sinking deep into its wood. The Forelian managed to yank his sword free, but Gideon’s claymore would not budge. He released it and launched himself at the Forelian before he could bring his sword up to strike.
The Forelian slammed against the floor underneath Gideon’s weight, the air leaving his lungs with a gasp. Weakly, he tried to bring his sword to bear, but Gideon fired a brutal right hook at his head which left him stunned.
Gideon grabbed the shirt collar of the now helpless Forelian and began to level punches at his head with his free hand, an enraged grunt accompanying every blow. Punch after punch after punch turned the Forelian’s face into a red, bloody mess.
After dozens of punches the Forelian stopped moving, and Gideon grew too tired to continue. He sat up, panting heavily, and finally realized that someone was screaming at him from very close by.
The Losoan woman from before was tied via a rope around her wrists to the footboard of a bed not three feet away from him, with a broken, bloodied nose and the most terrified expression he’d ever seen. After staring at her for a few moments, Gideon realized she wasn’t screaming at him, but at someone behind him.
“Get back!!! Get away!!!”
He turned to look behind him and saw two children, a very young boy and a slightly older girl, standing in the hallway next to the slumped corpse of the other Forelian. They stared at him with wide, frightened eyes.
Panic rose up through Gideon once again, so strongly that it spawned a wave of nausea which crashed through his insides, and his forehead began to pulsate with pain. Suppressing the urge to vomit, he looked back at the Forelian beneath him. He seemed to still be breathing, if only just.
Slowly, Gideon got to his feet, and the children suddenly rushed past him, burying their faces in the woman’s clothing. Her screaming finally stopped, and she looked up at him with the same terrified expression, sobbing.
He swallowed past his dry throat before walking over to his claymore, still stuck in the doorframe. After working it free, he sheathed it and moved quickly back through the hallway, stepping over the corpse of the Losoan and averting his gaze from the kitchen.
A small group of worried people had gathered on the street outside, and they all took a wary step backwards when Gideon exited the house. He barely registered them as he stood still, taking in a deep breath of air that didn’t smell like blood. His hands shook.
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Stop it, he told them mentally, but they wouldn’t obey. When he looked down, the knuckles on his right hand were bloodied and missing some of their skin.
That was completely out of control, he thought. Then, Surelin’s going to be mad.
He set off towards an alleyway on the north side of the street, almost at a run, and the crowd silently parted for him well out of his way.
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No solid destination came to mind as he crossed through the market sector’s narrow alleyways and side streets. The urgent desire to get as far away from the house as possible propelled him forward. But after walking for a while, a semblance of calm returned to him, and the shaking in his hands ceased.
I can’t face Surelin. Not after that.
His route eventually deposited him onto the main strip. The usual amount of late-afternoon activity was present—the street was packed with carts and people. He received a few alarmed looks from the pedestrians walking past him on the sidewalk, then looked down at himself. His boots, pants and chestplate were coated with blood.
I have to get cleaned up.
He looked up, and after some scanning spotted the Black Alps off in the distance, further to the west. The notion of seeing a friendly face compelled him across the street towards it.
The Black Alps was nearly empty when Gideon walked in, except for two Losoan barmaids walking between the tables with brooms, sweeping. Kara’s brother Lee was present behind the bar, and he shouted at Gideon the moment he stepped inside.
“No, stop right there! I’ll be fucked if—oh. I remember you. You’re one of Kara’s friends.”
Gideon couldn’t find his voice, so he gave him a nod.
“Why’re you all bloody? You in trouble?”
Probably, Gideon thought, but he shook his head.
“...Well…Kara ain’t here right now, but come on and sit down. I’ll give you something to wash yourself.”
“Thanks,” Gideon managed to say before walking over. The barmaids gave him wary looks as he sat down on one of the stools at the bar. Lee bent down for a few moments, then stood back up with a damp towel in his hand.
“Can I have whiskey?” Gideon asked quietly while accepting the towel.
“Can you pay?” Lee shot back.
In response, Gideon pulled a denar out of his pocket and placed it on the bar. Lee wordlessly filled up a shot glass and set it down in front of him.
Gideon swallowed the whiskey, then set to work on himself with the towel, thinking.
…Alright. What happened?
But it wasn’t an honest question. He knew exactly what had happened, he just didn't want to think about it. He’d always tried very hard to never think about it.
I barged in and…made the situation about me. And now things are going to be worse. Fuck…I didn’t even cut that woman loose before running off.
The thought bothered him deeply, and he tried to focus on cleaning himself instead. The blood had soaked into most of his clothing, ruining most of it, but he continued dabbing at himself anyway. After a short while the towel was soaked, and he asked Lee for a fresh one.
After handing it over, Lee’s eyes shot to the window. Following his gaze, Gideon saw strange activity going on out in the street. Carts and people alike were hastily clearing out of it, and suddenly a column of armored hussars marched through the gap, headed west towards the market street.
“Does that have something to do with you?” Lee asked sternly.
“...Dunno.”
A grimace spread across Lee’s face.
“Yeah…it’s about time for you to go.”
Gideon blinked, then reached into his pocket for another denar and dropped it onto the bar.
“Thanks for the towels,” he muttered as he stood up to leave. He could feel Lee’s eyes glued to his back as he walked out of the tavern.
A low murmur filled the air as people watched the hussars march past.
This’s the overreaction I was worried about. Now I have to go see Surelin.
Gideon set off east down the sidewalk, navigating through the curious onlookers.
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The setting sun had turned the clouds overhead pink and orange by the time Gideon returned to the dyeworks. The rain had stopped, but the temperature had also dropped significantly, and he shivered while stepping up to the back entrance.
Celaena, Caeda and the rest of Edea’s retinue burst from the entrance well before Gideon could reach for the door handle, forming a barricade between him and the door. They looked angry, and after Celaena drew her sword the other soldiers did as well.
“I knew,” Celaena growled. “From the first moment I saw you. I knew you were dangerous. I warned them both, but they ignored me.”
“Get out of my way,” Gideon said flatly.
“Prince Edwin confirmed what I already told them. You’ve truly lost your mind if you think we’re going to let you inside after what you’ve done. The only reason we aren’t killing you this very moment is out of consideration for the princess. Turn around and leave, murderer. Let justice find you where she won’t see it happen.”
Gideon’s hands squeezed into tight fists. “You wanna talk about justice? Edwin’s little friends murdered two people in that house before I even walked inside. They fucking deserved death!”
“You lie!” Celaena snarled.
His eyes darted between the soldiers standing next to her. “Are you all ready to die for Celaena’s pointless grudge against me?”
Just then, Surelin ran up to the entrance from inside the dyeworks, with Edea slowly trailing behind.
“That’s enough!” Surelin shouted. “Gideon, come with me!”
“He’s a murderer!” Celaena shouted back. “We cannot allow him near you!”
“Remember yourself, Celaena,” Edea said sternly.
A look of consternation crossed Celaena’s face.
“Not armed,” she said angrily. “As your bodyguards we can’t accept that. He absolutely cannot be armed in your presence.”
“You may disarm him,” Edea replied calmly.
Gideon took several steps backwards and reached over his shoulder to grasp the handle of his claymore as Celaena and the others moved towards him.
“Try it, bitch.”
“Has everyone lost their minds?!” Surelin screamed abruptly. She took a few steps towards Gideon and extended her hand.
“Give it to me!”
Frowning deeply, Gideon released his claymore and began to unstrap it from his back. He wrapped the straps around it neatly before handing it over to her.
Surelin turned to Celaena. “Are you quite satisfied?”
She clearly wasn’t, but gave Surelin a quick nod nonetheless.
“Come!” Surelin shouted at Gideon.
He followed her inside, trading angry glares with Celaena while passing by. Edea followed, but when Surelin reached the stairwell she rounded on her.
“I want to speak with him alone.”
“I see,” Edea said, frowning. “Hopefully you will remember our duty is to act with the people’s best interests at heart.”
An angry grimace appeared on Surelin’s face before she turned to march up the stairs. Gideon looked down at Edea as they climbed, and she returned his gaze coldly.
Surelin led Gideon to the room they had breakfast in that morning, and set the claymore down on the table.
“Sit,” she commanded.
He sat at the table wordlessly, and she began to pace back and forth in front of him. She crossed in front of him several times silently with a deeply troubled expression, lost in thought.
“Explain what happened,” she eventually said.
“...I didn’t- ”
“For the love of Kali, why were you even there?!”
He looked down by his feet. I'm going to sound stupid or crazy if I tell her that I followed them because of a look from her grandma.
“Tell me!” she shouted.
“I heard them say something suspicious,” he lied.
Surelin stopped pacing and stared at him. “So you took it upon yourself to follow them.”
Gideon’s hands squeezed into tight fists. “They were fucking murderers! They deserved to die! I saw their handiwork with my own eyes.”
“Are you saying you did not kill all those people?”
“What?! Of course not!”
She crossed her arms. “...Tell me everything that happened. Go step by step.”
He did as best he could, starting with when they left the dyeworks. But he left out the part where he lost control over himself after seeing the bodies.
When he was done, Surelin sat down at the table across from him, rubbing her forehead.
“...Say it to me directly. Who did you kill?”
“One of the Forelians, and the Losoan who was with Edwin. That’s all.”
“That’s all,” she scoffed.
“...What’s the fucking problem? I killed two bad people, so what?”
“The problem is that you took it upon yourself to mete out justice!” she shouted, outraged. “You should not have been there! It is bad enough that Edwin and his cronies decided to take revenge on all our behalves, but you went and made a terrible situation much worse! People already viewed you with suspicion, but when they hear that you killed two of us in defense of a hussar they’re going to demand your blood!”
Gideon was shocked. That guy in the kitchen was a hussar?!
“I have to send you away. Do you understand? Your presence puts our leadership into question. The resistance will fall apart. And they might try to kill you if I don't do it.”
He heard her words, but understanding dawned on him slowly.
She’s sending me away…?
Surelin rubbed her face with her hands. “You’ve left me with no choice.”
“I’m sorry,” Gideon said desperately. “Let me try to explain to them- “
“They won’t listen to you. Just…”
She shook her head slowly, still covering her face with her hands.
“Get out. Get away from here.”
They were both silent for what felt like a long time. Gideon stared down anxiously at the table in front of him, and Surelin remained hidden behind her hands.
Eventually he stood up, and quietly grabbed his claymore.
“...Sorry.”
Surelin’s fingers curled into fists against her face. He could see wetness on her cheeks, and she was gritting her teeth.
“Take your things with you,” she said, her voice wavering.
He turned away from the table and slowly walked out of the room. After shutting the door behind him he stood still, staring at the wall before him.
I won’t beg forgiveness, he told himself. I’ll leave. Just like she asked.
Every person he passed on the way to his room glared at him as he walked by, but he gave them little thought. The memory of Surelin’s fists pressed against her face occupied his mind, wrenching at his insides.
When he reached his room, Gideon quickly packed everything he owned into his rucksack. Once it was done, he put it on.
Where should I go? he thought as he left his room, walking towards the rear entrance. Fuck it. Who cares?
Celaena stood alone at the entrance, and when she saw Gideon approaching a smug smile appeared on her face. She opened the door for him.
“Justice found you after all,” she said as he walked past.
He stopped mid-step in the doorway, and turned to face her.
“Maybe, but I’d rather be an exile than the willing slave of some evil old bitch.”
She took an angry step towards him, and he gave her a mirthless smile.
“She wanted me to follow Edwin. Understand? Now she’s getting everything she wanted. And all it cost were four bodies.”
He turned away from her with a scoff, speaking as he walked off. “There’s your fucking justice.”
She slammed the door shut behind him, and he set off into the darkness of the slums, the night’s chill biting hard at his face.