Word had already spread within an hour of Rami mentioning to Heril that he required ten of his best men to prepare for travel by dawn tomorrow. There were whispers of the secret mission being a mysterious trip to the mountains that apparently Azul frequented to calm his mind every now and then. Mihir was the only brave one to come to Rami himself and gently ask if the rumors were true and if he could join in on the fun. But Rami only politely declined the offer to which Mihir promised to prove himself worthy for the eventual next time.
With the word out Rami expected Noor and Yulhan to turn up at his door with questions. But neither of them ever stopped by to say anything, in fact the both of them avoided him entirely. Rami even noticed them sneaking back into their room when he made an appearance at the empty tavern that afternoon to Heril’s request to go over the business dealings for that week.
“We just began sending out the debt collectors this morning, Master. They should be back with at least a considerable amount of coins by the end of the day. I will see to it that everything is accounted for and stored at the silent chapel,” said Heril, beginning to give a run down of it when Rami’s eyes lit in alert.
“The silent chapel?” Rami murmured.
“Yes, Master,” Heril nodded, his eyes still glued to his paperwork on his lap.
“Right, the silent chapel is where we store the money,” Rami repeated just to make sure.
“Of course,” Heril replied without paying much attention.
“Maybe I’d like to visit it sometime, Heril,” Rami threw in a bone hoping Heril would catch onto it without much protest.
Heril’s eyes stayed scanning the numbers on his paper when a swift response followed, “I can arrange something, Master.”
Rami felt a relief flood. It wasn’t like he was not allowed to see the actual money he was being the treasurer of. It was that Rami was concerned he might be doing something out of the ordinary, something Azul would never do.
He thought he was in the clear when suddenly Heril looked up from his papers and took a quick scan of the room. As the last thief headed out of the double doors he swiftly turned to Rami with a concern overtaking his face, “Master, I must confess…”
Rami looked up uncertain of what was to follow.
“…You do not sound like yourself ever since you returned this time. Is there something wrong? Something making you uncomfortable?”
Rami panicked. His sweaty palms rubbed against Azul’s pants in rapid motion as if Heril were to grab them and shame him for their watery state.
“Ah! Well,” Rami looked at Heril’s concerned eyes. Rami trusted his guts and went for it, “To be honest, Heril. It was quite rough in the dungeons…this time. I don’t quite remember many things, you know. Simple things like…”
“...where the out house is?” Heril finished the sentence for him, reminding Rami of the painstaking moment he was found lost looking for the toilet only two days ago.
“Right…yes. I seemed to have amnesia of some sorts.”
He stopped, gazing at Heril, who listened carefully then smiled gently, extending an arm over Rami’s shoulder, “Master, why had you not let me know sooner?”
“I was afraid it might…” Rami was lost for words to which Heril jumped on, “No one else needs to know, Master. I am your right-hand man and I will help you through this, till you one day get better.”
Rami felt a sliver of relief looking at Heril yet his mind started nagging him as he remembered how Dolovan explicitly mentioned that nobody else should know of his condition.
It’s only just Heril...and he doesn’t even know the full extent of it…
He thought to himself as his mind started soaring with calculations on how to keep up with his white lie to Heril and also not reveal his moment of weakness to Dolovan or Noor or Yulhan. He worried if they’d ever forgive him for such a deliberate slip up.
That afternoon Heril surprised Rami with a sudden tour to the silent chapel. Apparently, Heril felt too deeply about Rami confiding in him with his amnesia situation that he felt Rami deserved to be up to speed much quicker so that others would not catch wind of him slacking off due to his memory loss. Rami only bit his lip a few times in utter loss of words for he was quite certain if he were to continue to stay as Azul he would never really fulfill Heril’s innocent dream of his Master regaining his mysteriously absent memory.
The silent chapel indeed resembled a small place of holy intent when they reached it. It was stuck right in the middle of two small houses and appeared derelict, run down and abandoned; a quite perfect place to stash black market money indeed. The streets leading to the chapel were as lonely and empty as they could be with a dark shadow of a sky scraping building from about five streets beyond casting its heavy shadow making it more nestled in and forgotten even in the bright midday sun.
Heril excused himself suddenly citing a separate visit he needed to take to collect some debt from nearby.
“The bellboy will let you in, Master. You only need to knock three times. I will be back before you know it,” he said before disappearing around the corner of the narrow street.
Rami gulped, unable to function without his right-hand man. A part of him contemplated just staying at the doors waiting for Heril to return, but another part did not want to see Heril’s disappointed face when he would find Rami still waiting for him in the scorching heat.
He knocked on the door three times and waited. The strange symbol of a flower with a snake wrapped around it made him question what sort of holy establishment the place was before getting abandoned.
A small window on the door slid open violently with a pair of annoyed eyes peeking through. “What is it?”
“Umm…here for business?” Rami wasn’t sure what to say.
A beat of silence passed before the voice asked, “Password?”
Password?!…
Rami panicked. Heril never mentioned a password. Was Heril playing a joke on Rami?
“Oh! Goodness, it is you, Master. My sincere apologies. One moment!”
The tiny window shut back equally violently before the locks clicked and the door began to creak open. Rami stepped in swiftly to let the boy close the door back almost immediately as if he despised the air beyond the four walls.
The place was small in nature with no light other than the few tinted windows letting in a few streaks through. There were about a dozen benches facing a bare altar with no sign of any religious or otherwise use of the space at all.
“It has been a pleasure working for you, Master. For two weeks we have been guarding the place with no one but Master Butcher making a visit. We have guarded it from many many visitors trying to open the chapel in place of you including Master Elyan,” the boy started rolling out the weeks worth of happenings as if he had been practicing for hours.
Rami only nodded in reply while he took a swift walk about the place and stopped at one of the tinted windows at the back end of the hall. He did not know what to do, or how to ask to see where the money was stashed or if he should be even asking to see the money. He was simply going to listen to the boy’s speech and wait for Heril when he suddenly caught a glimpse of a familiar figure in the back alley of the chapel.
“What is your name, boy?” Rami immediately turned, releasing the boy from listing his work.
“Yevin, Master.”
“Yevin, I have to step out to the back alley, right now. Where is the back door?”
“It is right behind you, Master. Is there something wrong?”
“Oh no! Nothing, just wanted to get some air,” Rami turned, finding the door hidden in the shadows and grabbed the knob twisting it open, “Ah Yevin, Heril will be in shortly. Just let him know I will be back soon.” Rami gave a quick wink and vanished behind the door leaving poor Yevin disheveled and confused.
The back alley was too narrow to fit two people side by side. Rami pushed the hanging clothes back and forth trying to gain a clear vision of the figure he saw earlier. His mind raced, unable to find the person when he heard the familiar voice speak.
“Now repeat after me, twice a day, morning and night, for seven days.”
Rami followed the voice to finally see Talin, in a dark cloak, crouched beside an old and withering man, handing him three bottles of what Rami thought was most likely medicine.
The old man barely repeated after Talin but it satisfied Talin enough that he stood and bid farewell to his patient unaware he was Rami standing right behind him. Talin almost jumped out screaming in horror.
“Goodness, boy! You almost had my heart stop right there,” Talin shouted back heaving to a stop.
“Oh sorry about that. Forgot you were old—“
A nasty look from Talin had Rami taking back his words, “—older than I am.”
“I may be older than you but I am capable of much more than you could ever know, boy. What are you even doing here?”
Rami faltered, “Um…working.”
“Ah right! You are a criminal, my memory almost failed me.”
Rami rolled his eyes letting Talin pass through and started to follow him.
“I am assuming you and I are both heading in the same direction and that is why you are up my buttocks right now?” Talin gave a warning look.
“No, actually. I saw you and I followed you here.”
Talin stopped on his tracks listening to Rami’s honest reply. With his hands to his hips, he asked back, “Did Lady Yara—Commander Dolovan not tell you to ignore me at all costs before you left my chambers?”
Rami thought back, “No, not exactly.”
“Well then, I will be sure to let her know—”
“No, don’t. I—I actually need advice,” Rami stopped Talin from leaving.
“You do not need advice from me, boy—”
“It’s about…Sir Tucci,” Rami whispered the name, successfully gaining Talin’s attention.
“What about the knight?”
“She’s not listening to me. I can’t do it. I can’t kill—behead a man, I can’t do it.”
“Well then, you should talk to her.”
“I told you she’s not listening to me. She’s not telling me her plan. I’m supposed to show up at the garrison and that’s it. I thought maybe you…you knew more about it.”
“Oh no, dear. I am merely a physician. Yara does not confide in me her plans. But I am sure whatever it is that she has planned is impeccable so you need not worry.”
“But she’s okay with it? Having me attack and maybe behead her mentor?”
Talin paused for a moment as if he was about to reveal something he probably should not but seeing Rami in such distress he continued.
“Oh no, dear. Tucci is not just Yara’s mentor. He was her father’s mentor and a dear friend. Tucci was beside Yara during her father’s death. He was a pillar of strength to her and what’s left of her family. You should rest assured knowing Yara would never intentionally put Tucci in danger.”
“But what if he wants to fight me? What if Tucci wants to fight me?”
Talin sighed, giving a gentle pat then directing Rami to follow him.
“Tucci may sound to be a man who never gives up on fighting his enemies. But in reality he’s only a knight still fulfilling his duties when he should be enjoying retirement, often nestled in his little room with his cat he rescued on his first quest as a knight. He’s easily won over by ones who he favors the most. And Yara is the apple of his eye. Besides, Yara has known Tucci for all of her life. I am not quite sure why I am telling you this but know that Yara’s plan will work in your favor—in all our favor.”
Rami did not know what to think. He felt reassured knowing that Tucci’s safety was something that truly mattered to Dolovan but it made him remain doubtful.
Suddenly he found Talin staring back at him intently, then fit his fingers on Rami’s chin to turn it from side to side observing his face.
“What are you doing—” Rami only started to ask when Talin let him go and replied.
“You seem to be finally gaining a bit of color in your lips. I take it you are eating better?”
Rami nodded.
“Ask your friend to brew you a gentle cup of tea with a few herbs to increase your energy...” Rami knew immediately that Talin was talking about Yulhan, “…And what about your memory? Are you gaining any of it back?”
Rami fell silent to which Talin looked to him with a quite intrigued face and said, “I must say I was quite dismissive when Lady Yara first told me of a criminal that had lost his mind he thought he was someone else entirely. But now that I think about it, I have heard of such a case back when I first started my career as a physician.”
Rami’s eyes lit up. There was someone like him Talin knew of? This was music to his ears.
“Who? W—Where?” Rami could not find his words.
“It was a man many decades ago. He’s most likely rotting deep in earth as of now…” Rami sighed frustrated but Talin only curiously looked into Rami’s eyes, “…He was thought to have been quite a peculiar fellow, every once in a while acting like a five year old, then an old lady and then magically he was himself again. How often do you find yourself switching back and forth from, say, different personalities?”
Rami froze. He was sure he had heard of this before. And he was sure Talin was beginning his diagnosis of him that he never asked for. He immediately started to explain, “Oh no, no. I am not switching personalities, I assure you.”
“But would one know if they are switching between personalities?”
“Um, I don't know. Look, I think I am wasting your time—”
“Not at all. I am very curious, perhaps too curious.”
“Well, let’s not be so curious because I am very sure I am not one of Azul’s personalities. That’s an entirely different condition—”
“How sure are you?”
“Very very sure! I had a life before coming here,” Rami pressed on.
“Coming here? How did you arrive here?”
“I don’t know and I don’t think you would either. So let’s not talk about it,” Rami wanted so desperately to end the conversation.
And hearing his desperation in his voice Talin stopped then looked at him softly, “Well, if you insist. But just know my doors are metaphorically open if you wish to talk about it more.”
“I thought you hated me…I am criminal, after all,” Rami couldn’t help but say it.
Talin smiled from the corner of his lips to reply, “I did too, boy. But I have slowly come to realize that I do not think so anymore. Something in your eyes tells me you are not all that it seems. Look around…”
Talin pointed at the narrow walls and then the paths beyond. The maze-like area was still covered by the dark shadows hiding it from the world. But the more Rami looked the more he began to see that it wasn’t just dark shadows. It was giant scorch marks on the walls decorating them as if a fire breathing dragon had walked through one night, wreaking havoc.
“...These streets were once torched by you as revenge when the people in these homes refused to pay their dues to the Circle…”
Rami felt his heart stop. His mind instantly painted the awful image of the entire street on fire, children screaming, people running for their lives. He felt the pain in his heart. He felt his hands pooling with blood.
“...But you did not know that, did you? Your shocked face now is just simple evidence that you are not Azul…”
It was like whatever Talin was saying was just muffled in the distance now. Rami was suddenly fully living a night he never spent.
“...And if you were Azul, you would most likely do one of two things, justify your actions or simply dismiss me and walk away. And here you are unaware of what you had done, shocked to your very core. Am I wrong?...”
Rami simply stayed stunned, unable to swallow the sudden pill Talin had bestowed upon him.
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
“...Perhaps I could help you eventhough you seem convinced that I cannot…”
Talin’s chin pointed to something behind Rami. Rami turned to see silhouettes of Heril and the boy between alleys.
“…Now hurry back before your underlings find you colluding with the enemy.”
#
The night strolled in when Rami was on his way back to Azul’s residence. His heart remained heavy from the visit to the silent chapel. The revelation of Azul’s ruthlessness was weighing on him more than he had wanted it to. But Rami had to eventually push it aside for he was beginning to be overwhelmed by it every passing minute.
On his way back he passed by ‘The Tigress’. The gaming house was open with light beaming out the windows and music flowing through. He watched as men and women shuffled in and out of the place while he caught the eye of Dolla busy serving her customers at the front. She tilted her head in greeting to which Rami did the same feeling mildly glad that he was finally beginning to settle in.
His eyes swiftly moved to a man hovering on the rooftop of ‘The Tigress’, then another passing by into the alleyway behind his home. He tapped Heril to whisper, “Did you know Nanji has people following me?”
Heril smirked back, “It is the first time I have heard Master address Black Heart by his first name.”
Rami’s eyes bulged in shock yet seeing Heril merely laugh in amusement he calmed himself. “Mihir did inform me that you have three on your tail. What would you like us to do to them, Master?”
“Um…” it wasn’t a question he thought Heril would ever ask, “...What would you suggest?”
“Taking them out would only alert Black Heart or worse Master Elyan. But we can distract them. They are after all just men on a stake out bored out of their minds.”
“Right, that is true.”
Heril tilted his head to whisper, “Let me know when you need them distracted.”
Rami nodded with a smile crossing his face. He was finally beginning to get the hang of it with Heril by his side, a person who seemed to have interest in serving Azul and not really asking questions on why he should do so.
“I will let you know, Heril,” Rami said, reaching the double doors of his home before Heril stopped him for a moment to pass on a bag of heavy coins his way, “You almost forgot this, Master.”
“Thank you, Heril,” Rami gave a swift nod entering the Tavern fully operating with his underlings back from a full day’s work cheering his arrival.
He hadn’t noticed but he was quite charmingly entertaining the attention directed towards him with a slight wave and a few pats on the backs of the rowdy workers wanting him to join them in their intoxicating rituals. Rami somehow eased out of their grips to bid farewell for the night giving some encouraging words to the chosen ten men who insisted that they were absolving themselves from mead for tonight in preparations for the long journey ahead tomorrow. Rami only laughed, smelling alcohol on their lips. He did not quite frankly care about the outcome of any of what was to happen in the coming days. He was merely getting tired of it all by now.
His footsteps reached the beginning of the stairs when Rami briefly stopped to take a deep breath in. Somehow while galavanting around the city with Heril the entire afternoon he had come up with a solution to his nagging unsavory feelings plaguing his mind. He wanted to get rid of it. He wanted peace, at least peace knowing he wasn’t keeping anyone else in turmoil for any longer.
He made his way up the stairs quite bravely, nodding to workers passing by till he finally stopped at the foot of the final set of steps to his attic. Even then he could hear the whispers from the room he had accidentally eavesdropped on a few nights prior. Harsh whispers spoke over each other, unable to find common ground.
“We must leave, Yul. We cannot stay like this forever–” Noor’s voice was heard.
“Azul said he will pay us. That was the plan. Let’s wait till–”
“But when? He might have lost his mind like he says he has but I see the ideas brewing in his head. He’s not going to let us go that easily!”
“Of course, he will! What use are we to him?”
“Did you see his face when his very own right-hand man asked if we should get paid? He was calculating. He was calculating how long he could trap us with him.”
“Why would he even want to trap us with him, Noor?” Yulhan barked back, unable to keep his cool any longer.
“Because without us he’d be exposed. Without us he has to rely on his men who would eventually catch on to his incompetence and let Black Heart know Azul is no more.”
Noor’s voice faded as silence filled. Yulhan sighed and whispered back, “I just don’t think you are correct. He is not who you say he is. I see it in him, the fear, the lost hope. He’s not being cunning, he’s merely lost and scared.”
“And what do you suggest we do? Take him back to his dear mother?...”
Rami’s eyes lit up at the mention of his mother. He wondered, simply wondered if she was here with him, in this nightmare.
“... You are simply defending him and waiting for him to release us, because you are soft hearted, unable to see through the act he’s putting on...”
Yulhan sighed deeply, listening to Noor go on and on. After a point, seeing Yulhan disengaged from the conversation Noor simply scoffed and fell silent. Yulhan rubbed his forehead in disappointment then looked to Noor and said, “I was simply watching out for our old friend, a friend that saved me and my family from ruin, a friend that we both treasured till one day he decided to leave us behind for whatever reason. Am I so wrong to want Azul, who had in reality done nothing wrong to us, to not end in ruins because of his current condition?”
“We are lucky we met Azul who has lost his mind. If he were still the Azul everyone says he is, we would not have stood a chance–”
With a sudden thud Yulhan stood pointing to Noor as anger suddenly burst through him, “Then why did you agree to it? Why did you agree to save him from the dungeons in exchange for coins to save the village? Why?!”
Noor had only seen Yulhan so angered once in his life before, which was when he and Azul had pranked Yulhan by hiding his pet mouse when they were only nine years of age.
But here he was, flames radiating from his eyes. As much as Noor always cursed Azul for leaving at the meager age of twelve, Yulhan had always defended Azul ever since he ran away. He took Azul’s side saying that one day Azul would return to visit his friends once more.
Noor quietened for a moment then whispered back, “I was not thinking straight until we saw him in the dungeon cell. That’s when I realized he could kill us if he wanted to–”
“And you think I would let that happen?” Yulhan retorted as he stared at Noor only inches away.
Noor turned back to shake his head not wanting to entertain Yulhan’s sudden change of subject. He held the door knob and spoke wanting to solidify his point, “We are leaving as soon as possible. Have your belongings ready and wait for my cue.”
Yulhan was about to pounce on the door knob with an argument when Noor pulled the door open to suddenly find the silhouette of Rami at the corner, startled by the sudden revelation of his position.
Rami gulped not knowing what to say as Noor took a step back, almost imagining the consequences if Azul were to overhear them instead of Rami. Yulhan glanced between the two before he stepped forward to greet Rami. Yet Noor’s hand stopped Yulhan pushing his torso back into the room.
“You must be heading to your room,” Noor said keeping it short, “Please, go on.”
He waved his hand to the attic then began closing the door behind him when suddenly Rami stuck his foot out and stopped him. Startled by Rami’s courageous act despite getting caught eavesdropping, Noor held the door firm before Yulhan slapped the back of Noor’s head and warned him to let go of it.
Rami swiftly slipped into the room in a second and closed the door behind him. He turned to see a fairly pissed off Noor and a sparkly eyed Yulhan.
“He’s right,” Rami spoke to Yulhan who perked up, “I–I for a very small moment selfishly thought of maybe having you two stick by my side for the time being…”
A scoff from Noor came but Yulhan waited for Rami to continue.
“...But that’ll only eat me from within if I trap you like that.”
Rami pulled out the bag of coins Heril had handed him earlier and threw it to Noor whose reflexes caught it in an instance. The sound of gold jingled as Noor felt the heavy bag in his palm.
“This is more than we wanted–” Noor started only to have Rami wave back.
“And I hope that is more than enough.”
Yulhan looked to Rami with worried eyes as Rami tried suppressing the gnawing feeling that he was soon to be without a trusted soul who was not reporting to Black Heart or Dolovan. He felt empty to say the least seeing how far they had come ever since he ran away that day after Noor and Yulhan rescued him from the dungeons.
“I thank you for keeping your side of the bargain,” Noor said almost in a whisper.
Rami simply brushed it off and continued, “I will let Heril know to distract Nanji’s spies outside. He will get it done within the hour. You should leave then.”
“An hour?” Yulhan muttered under his breath, surprised by the quick pace.
“The sooner the better,” Noor said.
Rami nodded quite instantly and turned to grab the door. He did not have the heart to look at Yulhan or Noor, any longer.
“Next time, just write to me for anything you need. If it’s money I will send it right away, if I am still me,” he said before finally closing the door behind him.
#
Rami stared at the small sand hourglass he had found in one of Azul’s drawers. A neat symbol of a dagger was etched at the top of it just like the little embroidery he had found in several of his clothing. The sand trickled as Rami’s mind weaved through an impossible amount of thoughts in a given drop of a mere speckle.
Have they left? I thought I heard them leave like half an hour ago?
His mind raced remembering how as soon as he closed the door to Noor’s and Yulhan’s room he had rushed to Heril to inform to clear the path. Heril, without a question, had got to it. He had nothing but to come back to his room to ponder away as to what was happening.
He tried distracting himself by looking through paperwork on Azul’s desk. It did not help to say the least. He was nervous of what was to follow. He was nervous of what to say to Dolovan or even Black heart once they would begin to notice Noor and Yulhan had disappeared. He was preparing his mind when suddenly he heard hurrying footsteps run up on the stairs to the attic in a flash. He got to his feet automatically just in time for his door to thrash open with a panting Yulhan holding onto the knob in desperate help so as to not fall down while heaving loudly.
“Wha–what is it? What happened?” Rami burst out concerned to see Yulhan in such a fashion when Yulhan’s face turned from exhaustion to elation.
“Come with us. You’ll be trapped here forever if you don’t come with us now, Rami.”
Rami’s heart jumped. He was confused, surprised, fearful, and excited at the same time. But most of all he felt taken aback by his name being called out so openly, his very own name.
“What about Nanji and–and Dolovan?...”
“Noor scouted the path and no one has their eyes on you as of now.”
“...What about Noor? He doesn’t want me–”
“Well, he’s the one who told me to come get you,” Yulhan smiled back to which Rami could only reciprocate as he felt the wind of freedom begin to breeze his way. The simple fact that Noor had agreed and sent Yulhan back to get Rami felt relieving. Even if Rami wasn’t in reality Rami himself, he felt watched out and cared for, something he had forgotten and had barely felt as a person in a while.
“Come now. We must hurry!”
#
Keimitaan streets during the night was a serene view glazed by the moonlight as the slowness of the usually buzzing streets appeared picturesque compared to during the day time. Rami hid behind Noor’s heavy hand that made the trio pause behind an alleyway while a group of drunkards passed by singing and hooting in joy, adding a bit of restlessness to the night.
Rami looked to Noor, who had simply nodded when he had appeared behind Yulhan when they found him by the alley next to ‘The Tigress’. Noor’s eyes were peeled waiting for his fellow run-aways to arrive. And ever since they met, they had been nothing but silent. Noor occasionally grunted as he spotted people lurking about but mostly it was smooth sailing getting them finally to the border wall.
“We are not going to scale it, are we?” Rami slipped up, making Noor’s angry eyes silence him. It wasn’t until Noor led them away from the wall and in through a familiar crevice did Rami realize they were going out through the gate Pec had helped them get into the city earlier in the week.
They walked through the passageways squeezing past as the darkness overtook the majority of the way, leaving them to bump into each other quite violently before the faint light of the moon lit the gate in sight.
Rami got to it first to grab the lock clasping onto the thick chain woven through the metal bars. “Damn it, it’s locked!” he scoffed, dropping it back.
Yulhan only gently moved him aside to grab the lock to his hands.
“No, let me,” Noor’s hand reached out but Yulhan swatted it away in a heartbeat.
“It’s too large to break. It will not work,” Yulhan spat back.
“We’ll find a way. Maybe Pec will show up–”
“He will only show up at dawn,” Yulhan held the large metal piece in his hands almost in a ceremonial fashion, making Rami slightly confused.
“No,” Noor’s hand hovered over the lock as he whispered, “Not in front of him.” He eyed Rami, who in turn threw his hands up in the air, frustrated that they were talking about him while he stood right in front of their noses in full view.
“He will find out sooner or later. Besides, Azul already knew,” Yulhan pushed back Noor’s hand to finally look at Rami and say, “Don’t be startled. This is only possible because I stole more Cazpin in the form of powder from Talin’s chambers while having a splendid time acting as his assistant, a necessary restock after using it all to get you out of the dungeons.”
Rami remained confused as the words poured out of Yulhan’s mouth. He continued to stare at Yulhan before Yulhan realized nothing was ever registering in Rami’s mind and moved forward regardless.
Yulhan reached the depths of his pockets to pull out a bottle of a loose powdery substance and popped open the cork. He sprinkled a good amount between his fingertips and rubbed them, generating heat as he mumbled under his breath. The powder never sprinkled on the lock, it looked to have disappeared entirely while being heated between his fingertips. Suddenly, Yulhan flashed his eyes open with his fingers pointing to the lock, then he stared closely at it, almost as if he was memorizing the large device seeing something beyond the hard shell.
Rami stared as nothing happened when suddenly he heard a distinct and hard click. The lock popped open and the chain began to unravel. Rami’s mind burst in questions as his breath lodged itself in his throat and he heaved at Yulhan, who seemed delighted to see Rami half broken to pieces by the revelation.
“You–you–” Rami stammered as Yulhan smiled cheekily. Noor only rolled his eyes knowing Yulhan’s cocky drill whenever he would surprise someone with his abilities, which was not many at all.
“You—you are—...” Rami was struggling when suddenly easier words hit him, “Tinker Bell! You are like Tinker Bell!”
Rami’s words left Yulhan confused, “What’s that?”
Rami’s buried reflexes came through as he shouted back “The–the pixie dust fairy that makes you fly!”
“Oh…oh no, I cannot make you fly, Rami. My apologies.”
#
They were deep into the night. Howls of wolves sounded every now and then startling the three on the run nestled by the deep dark woods that Rami found to be more of a familiar sight since he was once held with limbs gripped by Noor after their escape from the dungeons.
Noor’s eyes scanned through the barely lit area. He soon found Rami looking him up and down as if Yulhan’s revelation meant Noor had something up his sleeve as well.
“Stop staring,” Noor hissed to which Rami backed off.
A chuckle from Yulhan followed.
“It’s just me if you are wondering, Rami. I’m the one with magic. He’s nothing but muscle.” Yulhan poked at Noor’s flexed arm to which Noor simply slapped Yulhan’s hand away signaling the crew to keep moving.
“Tha–that’s how you rescued me from the dungeons then…magic?” Rami let his tongue slip, not caring if he would be breaking Noor’s ‘no-words-out-of-your-mouth’ rule.
Yulhan nodded, pulling out the same bottle with the loose powdery substance and tapped its tightly screwed cork, “A little bit of Cazpin goes a long way for us folk.”
“Us folk? You mean, ones with magic?” Rami asked the obvious questions.
Yulhan nodded excitedly, “I take it you were quite surprised back there then?”
“Oh yeah, quite a wild surprise. I didn’t realize magic is…you know….real. I wonder if there is anyone else with magic, you know, in the Circle.”
Rami said it so innocently not expecting Noor and Yulhan to stop in their tracks and glance at each other in shock. Slowly Yulhan looked to Rami with a hand to his shoulder and said, “You do know that magic has been banned in all of the seven kingdoms for over a century now, don’t you?”
He looked at Yulhan flabbergasted, “Well of course not. How am I supposed to know that? You all forgot to give me a history lesson, clearly.”
Noor grunted in frustration while signaling the rest to keep moving.
“Well then, just know that, nobody truly knows of my abilities other than Noor and the villagers, and Azul. And now, you!”
“Right. And I am guessing if you were to be found out by anyone else in the Kingdom you’d be burnt alive at the stake?”
Yulhan’s eyes popped open in delight, “Ah! So you are familiar with our history then?”
Rami only shook his head in bewilderment before Yulhan continued, “They burnt all witches alive back in the day. Being able to meddle with the nature of things was considered occult. The King in the North made all the seven kingdoms sign a pact to rid the world of magic, including destroying all of the ancient clans carrying centuries of rich history. My great-grandmother led the charge in the East to gain rights for all witches instead of having them burn innocent people alive for the sake of keeping the peace between the Seven Kingdoms. It worked! Only for a while before the East gave in and ‘The Great Eastern Purge’ began. Apparently she died fighting till her last breath.”
“She was a witch?” Rami asked.
“The best of her kind. And ever since then my mother's family has been estranged, on the run. Changing their home every ten years or so.”
“And you and your family left the East because of that?” Rami asked curiously. He remembered a few details from his eavesdropping sessions.
“No, no. My mother’s family is one of the few surviving members of the Elwu clan, a traditional clan in the East that was famous for communicating with the dead…”
Rami’s face soured at once. And Noor was sure to witness it in full force and snorted out laughing, making Rami’s pasty skin come back to life to hide his embarrassing reaction.
“…Oh, don’t be so scared, it’s only a very difficult skill to acquire that it is very much considered a myth. No one in the family has been able to attain such abilities, not even my great-grandmother. But that goes without saying my mother’s family wanted to preserve every strand of magic left. And preserving magic also meant they were hoping to have my mother married off to another clan of similar magical abilities, to keep the magic alive. But my mother had other plans.”
A wolf howl disturbed the flow of conversation for a moment before the silence returned and Rami looked to Yulhan to ask.
“She had other plans?”
“She met my father. A normal man from a normal family. And they conceived me. And then her family found out. So my parents fled South in search of a better life for their soon-to-be newborn son.”
“Is that when you and your family first arrived at the village then?”
“No, I was only five when we first arrived at the village. And you two were…how old were you two when we first met, Noor?”
“Around seven or eight,” Noor followed up without missing a beat.
“Well,” Yulhan turned to Rami and repeated, “Around seven or eight.”
Rami did not want to say what he wanted to ask next but he did it anyway, “I noticed they call you Vermin, the people in Keimitaan. Is that because you are…a descendant of witches?”
Yulhan chuckled lightly then shook his head, “No one knows I am a witch’s descendant. It’s only much simpler than that. Migrants aren’t so welcome in the South as is in any other Kingdom. The great purge in the East brought too many people fleeing the war that took over fifty years. Many people, even non-witches, fled the war hoping to get away. The Southerners naturally adopted the word Vermin because they found us to be…invasive, I suppose.”
Silence fell as Rami looked to Yulhan who seemed quite cheery but a layer of sourness was beginning to manifest in him.
“I sorry—“ Rami started, only to get cut off the next second.
“Shut up,” Noor’s sudden angry whisper made them alert. Silence ensued when another deep howl in the distance startled them once more.
Noor’s heavy arm lifted, pausing the crew as they remained silent waiting for the howls to calm down. In the small pause of a moment Rami felt a bit relieved to not be nestled in the grimy streets of Keimitaan. He was glad he threw everything at hand and followed Yulhan and Noor out through the border wall and into the woods. Waiting in the silence now while breathing in the fresh air of the forest with no noise of the city and no smell of piss at every corner Rami started feeling a sense of peace settle into his mind.
It was the right choice…This was the correct decision…
He thought to himself as he imagined his life in their village. He could have a small cottage to himself. He could go fishing with Noor, make lunch with Yulhan, learn to make herb pastes and healing juices with Yulhan’s mother, and own some sheep or whatever animals they had and lead a peaceful life till maybe one day he would wake back up at his apartment when this nightmare was all over. He could just see himself finally walk into greener pastures.
The howls toned down and Noor’s arm dropped slowly as they listened to any movement in the forest. A slight breeze passed through as nothing but the leaves ruffled letting the moonlight peek through every now and then. Noor’s hand signaled for them to start moving when they suddenly spotted a shadow appear at the edge of the treeline in the near distance and began to move with them.
Rami’s heart stopped. Yulhan jumped to alert Noor when the sound of slinking metal burst out.
Rami turned only to feel a sharp edge against his back, pressing into his shirt making him halt in position. Yulhan and Noor too had swords pointed to their backs making them squirm in place as the familiar glint of swords appeared under the moonlight.
Rami’s eyes immediately searched for the main figure. The silver of the armor began to shine as their captors became more apparent when a slow clap suddenly disturbed the rustle of metal.
All three of them found the shadow at the end of the tree line walking out into the moonlight. They continued the slow degrading clap walking closer with a smirk plastered across their face.
“Oh, how long it took you three to finally get out of Keimitaan. I thought you’d never come,” Dolovan’s sharp voice mocked as her clap died and an equally degrading laugh followed.