Free Fall

Heindrich was the only one to face me on the ground; the rest of the guards remained on top of their horses. Their hands were occupied with spears and crossbows, vaguely directed at me. Even if I tried to run now, they would either catch up in an instant or shoot me, ending my life here and now. I first looked at Solitaire, whose presence did not bother anyone; I was indeed the only one able to see him. The ghost was not looking at me, but rather at the horse, which was gasping for air through the pouring rain. Then, I peeked at the guard, who was still patiently waiting for my answer. His eyes were devoid of that fake friendliness he showed all the way back in Wülgenville. They flickered with caution, despite appearing hollow. But he was not afraid of me; if anything, he was more bothered by the prospect of getting ill. There was something else that raised the anxiety within my acquaintance.

"What will happen if I do not comply?" I asked casually, to which several guards rustled up, and Heindrich had to halt them with a waving gesture, "We will have to restrain you."

"You will not kill me, huh?"

Heindrich narrowed his brows and stepped towards me, his hands clenched into fists, "Dusk! Do you have any idea about your situation? Please, just do not make it harder for me and let me tie your hands, okay?"

I glared at Solitaire yet again, but he simply shook his head with that nasty smile of his. Useless as ever. After a moment of hesitation, I extended my hands, since there was no way out of this anyway. I was caught due to my carelessness; maybe next time I would better consider my course of actions.

Heindrich tied my hands with a rope but did not search my pockets, which were occupied with the dagger and the gemstone. Onward, he helped me get on his horse and then hopped on himself. Before we left, one of the guards walked up to my horse, which was still trying to get up on its four legs. He observed its hooves for a couple of minutes and then turned to the rest of his crew, shaking his head.

"Make it quick," said one of the guards, to which another added, "Shall we pray?"

All the guards, six men in total, exchanged gazes and then held their hands in prayer, including Heindrich. My ears even caught his silent apologies to God. Meanwhile, the man near the horse gently lifted its head, allowing the unnamed horse to take its last breath, and cut its neck with one swift slice of his dagger. The animal wept for a mere second, then dropped to the ground dead. Afterwards, he proceeded to pray as well.

My heart ached from its cry of pain. I clenched my teeth and yelled at the guards, "What is the point of praying for it after you kill it? Do you think this horse will feel any better about it!?"

But nobody answered. Only after a few minutes of silent departure for this horse did they all return to their duty and began moving in the direction of Wülgenville. Although Heindrich seemingly did not ignore my question, he turned his head to present a question of his own.

"Have you ever prayed, Dusk?"

"Only fools rely on God."

"I see." He turned away to face the road, "It must have been tough for you."

I narrowed my eyes at his choice of words, but ultimately said nothing. We continued our long journey to the city where it all began. Solitaire still accompanied us, his eyes running over the guards and occasionally myself, as if he expected some kind of move from me. But there was no point in struggling now; I did not see a way to escape without harming myself in the process. Dogs of the nobles were all the same, after all.

Their horses moved way slower than I had expected from mine, which was to be expected for moving in the rain and up the hill. I expected to be ridiculed, interrogated, and hated for what I had done, but so far none of the guards broke their vow of silence. And the issue was surely not the intensity of the rain, since thousands of droplets were not enough to silence hatred. Were they still praying, perhaps?

I thudded Heindrich lightly with my hands and said, "Why are you all so silent? Should you not be celebrating the surrender of a criminal such as myself?"

Heindrich sighed lightly and once again peeked over his shoulder, "Dusk, what did these people do to you? The ones whose houses you burned down."

I tilted my head in confusion and said, "Well, the Crawley family deceived me. They called guards from Wülgenville, despite me clearly stating that I did not want anything to do with you. But honestly, what else would you expect from nobles? They are always like that, so I decided to take down several more noble houses as well. It was only a matter of time before they deceived anyone else. No, it was rather revenge for those they deceived in the past! That's right!"

There were many reasons for my actions, and all of them were valid. I did not feel any remorse in taking away the riches they certainly pulled from the poor. I was like a Robin Hood and should be thanked for my good deeds. However, Heindrich did not smile nor did any of the guards; instead, his expression dropped, and he whispered, "There are no nobles here, Dusk. They are simply people who worked the hardest in their lives…"

"That's a lie! This is simply impossible!"

"Dusk," Heindrich looked at me with notes of concern all over his face, "You are certainly not from this region if you know so little about this place. From Dlayla, perhaps? Regardless, did the nobles of the lands you are from harm you in any way? Is this why you are so obsessed about vengeance?"

His face at that moment was the most putrid thing in existence! Nobles, rich, high echelon of society, whatever it was, they were all wild animals who were ready to tear apart anyone who opposed them. They disregarded the core essence of humanity to feed their ego, so of course they had wronged me! Why were you even asking that? Was there anyone who did not suffer from their unfair existence!?

As the steam of wrath escaped my head upon contemplating Heindrich's series of questions, his final suggestion finally made me snap.

"Whatever this is, do not worry, Dusk. We can figure it all out. You committed a grave sin, but I will make sure that all you get is just a prison sentence. You are young; there is still life ahead of you. So all you need is time to think for a while, and if you do not act up, they might release you much sooner. I will help you with whatever I can, Dusk."

"Help… me?"

I leaned to the side and fell from the horse completely. Luckily, the moisture had softened up the road, and my fall was not as painful, although my shoulder still felt numb. I got up on my feet and started running for my life into the forest, only hearing Heindrich's plea to stop. I did not need anyone's help, nor did I need anyone's pity. I worked alone and always had. I was able to only trust myself, which was impossible to change.

My body felt heavy, but I managed to get past all the bushes and twigs on the ground without falling. My hands were still tied, one hand did not move, but I had a trump card by my side. I cast my gaze at Solitaire and said, "Help me escape, now!"

Solitaire squinted his eyes, observing my body, and peeked behind my back, noticing the sound of breaking twigs under the heavy steps of guards. They were screaming in the background; however, the weather made their voices indistinguishable. Afterwards, Solitaire sighed, "Can't do anything, dear friend. Not only are conditions unfavourable, but your body would simply break. I am afraid that you will have to look for a solution on your own now."

"Then disappear, you piece of crap!" I exclaimed, to which Solitaire showed his tongue and faded away, releasing his astral body into the gemstone. This proved my point of only relying on your own strength.

After a few more minutes of escape, my blurry vision noticed a cliff in the distance, quite a tall one as well, with a great view of the plains with several houses and even villages far behind the forest. This scenery, however, only blocked my path, and now I was cornered by the guards who caught up to me one by one.

Their crossbows were directed at me, but only Heindrich's arms were unarmed. I sensed annoyance mixed with fear in his eyes as he took one step towards me.

"You have nowhere to run, Dusk. Did my words insult you? I am sorry for that, but your actions will only get you into more trouble. Please, just go with us!"

I looked down the cliff and shivered from the height, then I cast my gaze at Heindrich, who was awaiting my answer.

"Why? Just tell me, why do you care so much about someone like me!? Why do you want to help me?"

Heindrich's hands dropped. He closed his mouth, and his eyes filled with pity, "Why, do you ask? Should there be a reason for wanting to help a lost kid?"

I clicked my tongue and narrowed my brow at his words. Then my hand instinctively took out the dagger from my pocket, and the next thing I knew, an awful wave of pain sprouted within my leg. I screamed.

"What are you doing, you idiot!?" screamed Heindrich back, although not at me, but at the guard whose finger pulled the trigger.

The guard shot my leg, making me lose my balance from the pain, and I leaned backward. Naturally, I fell down the cliff, not slowly with a sense of freedom but rather at high speed with a shiver of terror all over my body. The last thing I saw, before the endless sky and approaching forest, was Heindrich's pale face. I wanted him to show his true self, but it seemed I had failed to do so, or rather, he was true to himself all this time.

Now, however, it did not matter. Nothing mattered aside from the trees and the cold ground that flashed before my eyes. Afterwards, there was nothing but darkness around.