Hildebrand woke up in the infirmary, rubbing the sides of her head. “Oww,” she moaned. She was certain the projectile was coming for her face, so why did her temples ache?

“Hilde!” called a familiar voice. It was Hugo. He rushed to her side, kneeling beside her bed. “Are you okay?” he asked. “How are you feeling?”

“Terrible,” she moaned.

“Sorry,” he said.

“What?” she asked. “Why would you be sorry?”

He smiled stiffly, then laughed just as stiffly. “I-uh-I might have accidentally hit you.”

“What!”

He put his hands up defensively. “I was trying to protect you!” he said.

He explained everything. How the buried post the target sat on had come unburied, how it soared through the air, how he tried to intercept it just before it hit her, and how his elbow collided with her head, knocking her unconscious. Also, how his elbow had been fractured from the impact.

“In my defense,” Hugo said, “that Dolph fellow also hit you.”

“What!” she shouted again, raising a fist.

Hugo gestured for her to calm down. “He was trying to stop the debris too,” he said. “Or so I presume.” Hugo gestured to himself. “But I was the one who stopped it.” He looked like a puppy, expecting praise and a treat for a job well done.

Hildebrand scoffed. “You just turned me into a sandwich in the process,” she said.

He laughed. “Yes,” he said. “A Hilde sandwich.”

“It’s not funny!” she said, giggling. “What were you going to do if you hurt my pretty face?” she asked.

He opened his mouth, an answer on the tip of his tongue, but he held it. He smiled instead. “That wouldn’t happen,” he said, raising a hand. “On my honor as a Rosenthal,” he said.

“Rosenthal…” Hildebrand repeated, recalling his first introduction. “Since when were you Hugo Rosenthal? Weren’t you—”

“What do you mean?” he asked, his brow arching high.

Hildebrand blinked a few times. She thought carefully. She didn’t want to reveal too much. Is this how Hugo felt, too? she wondered. “I mean, who are the Rosenthals?” she asked. “I’m not sure I ever heard of that family.”

He rubbed his chin. “Well…” he murmured. He hemmed and hawed. “They’re my adoptive family,” he confessed. “They own the Rosenthal Trading Company, in Hess. They’re still young in the aristocracy of Hess.”

“Adopted?” Hildebrand shouted.

“Yes,” he said. “I was an orphan. When I was a child, I managed to impress the heir apparent of house Rosenthal at the time, Walter Rosenthal, and he brought me into the family when he became the head of the household.”

“What did you do?” Hildebrand asked.

“I saved him from some thugs who were attempting to kidnap him,” Hugo said. “And he had me adopted just like that.”

“Just like that?” Hildebrand asked.

“Just like that,” Hugo said. “Well…” He tilted his head from side to side. “There were some other things, but nothing too interesting.”

“Hey,” Hildebrand yelped, her brows furrowed with concern. She gave Hugo’s shoulder a light punch. “Are you sure you can just go around telling people your secrets, all willy-nilly?”

His eyes strayed off from her. They strayed all around the room before returning to her. “I think I can tell you,” he said. “I trust you’ll keep my secret.”

“We don’t even know each other that well,” Hildebrand said.

“Still—”

“We only met today,” she continued.

“Yes, bu—”

“And I broke your ribs!”

“Yes! That’s all very well and true!” he said. “But! I trust you regardless… Just my intuition.”

Hildebrand crossed her arms and sighed all the air out of her lungs. She shook her head slowly. He was so naïve! “Fine,” she said. “Then I’ll tell you a secret of mine, too.”

“Yes?” he said, his childish smile brimming with anticipation.

“I’m a commoner,” she said.

His mouth hung open, and then he scoffed with a smile. “That’s hardly a secret, I think.”

“What?” Hildebrand snapped.

“I think anyone could tell,” he said.

“How!”

Hugo placed a hand over his mouth, trying to hide his grin. “Well, you just have that air about you,” he said, playing coy. “You’re not very lady-like,” he said. “Sorry!”

Hildebrand sighed. “Yes, of course,” she grumbled. “I don’t have any lady-like qualities.”

“I mean… No… But you’re very interesting!” Hugo said nervously. “You’re like—”

“No, that’s true,” Hildebrand said. “You’re absolutely right. I’ll tell you something else!” She half-expected him to refuse the offer, but he waited patiently, like a dog waiting to be fed. “I’m an orphan too.”

“Ah,” Hugo said. “Now that’s a secret.”

“Yeah,” Hildebrand said, “it’s a secret. Promise to keep it?” She held a pinky out.

Hugo seemed to offer his own, but he abruptly pulled back. “What is this?” he asked.

“Oh,” Hildebrand muttered. “It’s something I learned from… From travelers,” she said. “Guests from the far east. This is how they make a promise.” She wagged her pinky finger, gesturing for Hugo to offer his own.

“Foreign guests? You are an orphan, correct?” Hugo asked.

“The Holy Kingdom’s Church took me in,” she explained.

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

“I’ve heard they don’t accept many foreigners within their borders,” he said. “And the Church has been withdrawn for quite some time. Since the last—”

“Since the last Crusade,” Hildebrand said. “Yes, yes.”

“How old are you?” Hugo asked.

Hildebrand smiled, hooking Hugo’s pinky with her own. “You shouldn’t ask a lady such questions,” she said. She held her thumb out, waving it for Hugo to do the same.

Hugo rested his other elbow on his knee and placed two fingers on his brow. “Hmm,” he murmured, holding his thumb up, but not pressing it to Hildebrand’s. His eyes were drifting away and taking his attention with them. He tapped his head once, then twice, and—

Hildebrand pressed her thumb to Hugo’s. “It’s a promise,” she said.

“Yes,” he said, snapping back to Hilde. “It’s a promise. I’ll keep your secret.”

“And I’ll keep yours. But why’d your family—why did the Rosenthals send you to this hellhole, anyway?” Hildebrand asked, gently pulling her hand away. Hugo didn’t seem to want to let go.

His fingers curled back bashfully, and he used them to rub away the subtle pink shade of his cheeks. “Hellhole?” he asked. “This academy?”

Hildebrand nodded.

“It’s hardly a hellhole, I think,” he said. “But they have high expectations for me. As you know, it’s on the boundary between human territory and the World’s End.”

“The Salted Lands,” Hildebrand said.

“Yes, the—The Salted Lands?” he asked. “Where did you hear that?”

“Oh, that instructor, Roy, I think,” Hildebrand lied. “Dolph too… I think.”

“Interesting,” he said. “In any case, Walter expected me to become an accomplished knight. What better place to accomplish that than the Salted Lands?”

“That’s dangerous,” Hildebrand said.

“I’ll be fine,” he said. “You, on the other hand… You should be careful. You’re even a danger to yourself.”

Hildebrand giggled. “You’re a danger to me, too!”

“I suppose so,” Hugo said, chuckling. “I’ll have to be careful not to hurt you from now.”

“Please do!” she said. “And I won’t hurt you.”

“I can only pray,” Hugo said, touching his side. He held his pinky out. “Shall we make that a promise?”

Hildebrand hooked her pinky on his, and they stamped their thumbs together. “It’s a promise,” she said.

“Yes,” Hugo said.

Hildebrand held her pinky up and wagged it. “If you break it, you have cut your pinky off!”

“This isn’t a vow, right?” he calmly asked. She expected more of a reaction.

“There’s no magic,” Hildebrand said. “Just trust.”

Hugo sighed with relief.

“Were you already thinking about breaking it?” Hildebrand asked.

“No, but I like my fingers,” he said. “By the way, why didn’t you dodge? It looked like you saw it coming.”

“I have terrible depth perception,” Hildebrand said, pulling down her eyelid on her blind side. She stuck her tongue out too, much to Hugo’s amusement.

***

“Are you certain you’re okay?” Hugo asked, standing beside Hilde in the chilly courtyard of the academy campus. It was already dark, but they stood under lantern lights.

“The nurse said I was fine,” she said.

“The lady doctor,” Hugo corrected. “This isn’t some paltry school for the masses.”

She shot him a look.

“Not that there’s anything wrong with those schools. I went to one myself. For a short while…” Hugo said. “Regardless, the doctor—"

“Yeah, yeah. The doctor,” Hildebrand said. “All the more reason not to worry.”

“Still,” Hugo murmured. His tense hands played with his coat. It was a familiar sight. He still had the same sense of fashion, if it could be called fashion at all.

“The priest said there were no problems with the healing either,” Hildebrand said. “You should worry more about your elbow.” She reached out to Hugo, making him flinch. But he still allowed her to take hold of his coat by the plackets. “Was this expensive?” she asked.

He stammered and babbled a little. “No! Not at all,” he finally answered.

Hildebrand pulled tight on the plackets, pulling the coat tight around Hugo’s waist and closed it, although she didn’t button it. Her hands drifted up to the collars, where her thumbs brushed against the familiar fleece. The stitching she had left wasn’t there. Nor was Rinaldo’s brooch. It didn’t even have any patchwork, her patchwork. The coat lacked its scars, Hugo’s scars.

But it also lacked the Sword in the Sun pin. Maybe that was a scar, too.

“You should still take good care of it,” Hildebrand said, buttoning one button for him. Then she buttoned another. “And yourself.”

“Yes,” Hugo whispered. “I will.”

“Then,” Hildebrand said, placing a hand on Hugo’s chest. She gave him a gentle push. “Good night.”

But Hugo held onto her wrist. “Take care of yourself as well,” he said.

Hildebrand smiled, and she told him, “I will.” She pulled gently away from him. “You don’t have to remind me.”

Hugo looked concerned. He looked down, and then back up with brows furrowed. “About that Dolph fellow. Be careful,” Hugo said. “He doesn’t have the best reputation. I know he’s your friend, but he’s a troubled person from a troubled land. I even heard he was removed from the dorms because he attacked his dormmate. I don’t know why he’s still at the academy.”

“Dormmate?” Hildebrand asked.

Hugo nodded.

“Do you have a dormmate?” Hildebrand asked.

“Huh? Excuse me?” Hugo asked. “Of course. Do you not?”

“No…”

He was dumbstruck. “So, you’re alone?” he asked, exasperation in his voice.

“Yeah,” Hildebrand muttered.

“All the more reason to be careful!” he said. Then he shook his head with incredulity. “But… Just to clarify, you are—” he whispered, “you are an orphan, correct?”

“The Church took me in,” Hildebrand reminded him. “Bishop—”

“Yes,” he said. “I understand that, but are you sure you’re not secretly a princess?”

Hildebrand laughed, and she giggled. “Where is this coming from? Because I have a dorm to myself?” She even snorted. “It’s about ye big,” she said, gesturing around the large fountain in the courtyard. Her room was about a third the size.

“That’s massive!” Hugo said. “That’s larger than the room I share!”

“Is it?” Hildebrand asked. “Who is your dormmate, anyway?”

“Uh,” Hugo stammered. “This dark-haired fellow, kind of gloomy. Tall. Very tall.”

“Does he hang around a prissy, golden-haired girl?” Hildebrand asked.

“No, not him,” Hugo said, as if he knew exactly who Hildebrand meant. “He’s not as tall.” Hugo waved his hands to dispel the conversation. “I’m sure you’ll know when you see him. He sticks out like a sore thumb. He has dark rings around his eyes, like an asberlin.” Hugo leaned in close. “More importantly,” he whispered, “are you the Saintess?”

Hildebrand paused. She recalled Roy Garland’s words, his little nickname for her. “What?” she asked. “No. I don’t think so, at least,” she said, her voice pitched. “I don’t know why I’m getting special treatment,” she confessed.

Hugo pulled back to touch his brow with two fingers. “Hmm…”

“Maybe I just got lucky,” she said. “Maybe they didn’t have any other rooms left.”

“Yes, could be,” he said, still thinking, still tapping his head.

Hildebrand gave him another gentle push. “Go think somewhere it’s warmer,” she said. “You’re going to freeze out here. And so will I!”

“But—At least let me walk you back,” Hugo said.

She got behind him and pushed him with both hands. “Go on,” she said. “I’ll be fine. It’s right there!” She jerked her head towards the ladies’ dorm building. It was further than she had initially thought. “I-it’s close,” she said. It wasn’t close at all. She recalled a useless factoid. The academy was originally an all-boy’s military academy. It only started accepting girls only a few decades ago.

“All right,” Hugo muttered. “Then, stay safe,” he said.

“Sleep tight! Don’t let the bedbugs bite!” Hildebrand said.

He grimaced. “I assure you, there are no bedbugs,” he said, taking a few cautious steps away from Hildebrand. “So, please don’t say that.”

Hildebrand waved him off, more than once. Hugo kept looking back. “Hurry back!” he yelled in the distance. She saw Hugo off until he walked into his dorm, his head peeking around the heavy oak double doors, until he disappeared behind them.

Finally alone, Hildebrand looked up at the darkness above. The night didn’t seem so infinitely dark anymore. She could see the once lightless stars; they were glimmering specks on the black canvas. The night’s embrace was chilly, but it didn’t chill her to her bones.

Standing beneath the night sky, standing before the fountain, Hildebrand fished through her coat pocket. She found a single copper coin. She had money in her dorm room, but she had brought none with her when leaving.

Maybe the gods were looking out for her after all. And maybe returning to the past had been a kindness after all, one she failed to recognize at first. But she was clever. She wouldn’t fall for the gods’ tricks so easily. It was too early to call it a blessing. It felt like a burden. It was a change to do things right, but she would have to do them alone, without Hugo.

It was scary. Was this how Hugo felt, too? she wondered. She understood why Hugo had kept her at a distance. She understood the burden he felt. She understood the responsibility he had. To make things right. To build a better future. To venture into the darkness first. To suffer. To suffer alone. To not share his suffering. Not with her, anyway. He was a silly man, a foolish man. He wasn't fit to be a warrior. His heart was too wayward, too tender. And he cried too much…

Hildebrand gripped the copper coin tight, and then not so tight. She cast the coin into the dry fountain. “I wish for Hugo to stay safe,” she said. “For his coat to not be covered in scars.” She closed her eyes and clasped her hands together. “I wish… He’ll be safe.” The coin clinked and clinked as it hit the stone. Hopefully, her wish would come true, even without the dancing emeralds at the bottom of the fountain. It was a big ask. Even getting through just the academy would be a challenge. It was a crazy place.

If no one granted her wish, then… “I’ll protect him,” Hildebrand declared, “and keep him safe.” Like something precious.