Parley?

In the cold glow of the morning sun, I shook off the dew that lined my clothes and, nodding to Sir Faaris, I stepped to another vacant tent - there were many of them - and laid down with a sigh of relief.

The night had helped me face my thoughts and while they weren't pretty; they were still my thoughts and I could face them with the courage in me.

Thinking back to the words on the prison that had enlightened me, I spread my arms and legs and stared blankly at the ceiling of the tent.

"My path is that of a man who can walk in the shadows or the light, but I shall walk it with swiftness and purpose. I will stand for what I believe in and nobody can shake my belief in my path. I will forge ahead or perish!"

The words kept echoing in my head.

But I disagreed with them.

I was bullied mercilessly by Harold. I was betrayed miserably by Paul. I was thought of as an insignificant trigger piece by Alastor. My parents' fates were unknown, as were the rogue teacher's. Frizelda's and Bridgette's fates were also up in the air, tied to my parents as they were. Thomas, Edwin, Master Wagner, and so many people who I knew were at peril at this very moment.

It should cast me into darkness.

I should be the shadow that finds comfort in it.

But I can only see the light.

The darkness calls to me endearingly, but I do not know why I reject it.

As for swiftness and purpose... Swiftness, I do not have. In fact, I would say that my main strength is power. Purpose also is a strange thing... because I do not know what my purpose is.

I recalled my life.

Only for it to appear in splashes of vividness and blankness. The vividness were memories that were as bright as day in my mind. The blankness were memories I couldn't recall for the life of me.

The blankness faded in totality after two months of my 5th birthday.

From then till now. I recall everything in painful detail.

Every single moment as though it was burned in my memory by a brand.

"Is it a gift? Is it a curse?" I wondered to myself.

"Both," I decided as unbidden the thoughts that I thought I had faced rushed back into my mind.

Shivering, I pulled in my arms and legs and turned over to my side, trying to find comfort in the sheet that I lay upon.

"But what happened during those 2 months," I thought futilely, as I had many times before.

I had asked Sia about it and she had looked blankly at me before saying that she had the same experience when she was 4 and a half or so.

Ares too.

There was something there, something that connected all of us together. But it was vague... and I felt as though learning what it was would cause great grief to me.

The blankness carpeting that portion was the strongest that I had experienced amongst all of my foggy memories.

As for my belief? I didn't know what I believed in.

Falka?

Perhaps.

Myself?

Unlikely, but closer to the mark.

Sia?

Definitely.

But she couldn't be my path.

So what was my path?

Angered at my ignorance, I punched the air in front of me before I banished those thoughts from my mind.

Shrugging my shoulders mentally, I thought of other more relevant things.

Things like the ones we had been pointedly ignoring.

The fact that enemies had already reached so far meant that our destination was likely not going to be peaceful.

Picturing my uncle, I tried recalling everything I knew about him - only for the same wide smile to keep coming back, along with his words, "The sea suits me better than the land."

Frowning, I tried to imagine what he would do if I was in his shoes.

An endeavor that I gave up on very fast as my mind started paining with the effort.

But you know how you picture the devil, and the devil comes to you?

The same thing happened.

For I heard a bellow from the sentry at duty, "Incoming unknown force!"

In seconds, I had gotten up and was garbing myself in my armor.

In a minute, I rushed outside to join the rest of the able-bodied soldiers and the not so able-bodied soldiers, who had nonetheless come out to see what was going on.

Nerves taut, all of us stood below the ramparts as a red-eyed, black-faced Sir Galen, who I suspected had not slept the entire night, climbed up behind the parapet and stood on the alure.

"Who goes," He drawled nonchalantly.

"The viscount of the viscounty of the Draykes," Came a bemused voice in response to the question.

"Oh?" Digging his ears idly, Sir Galen then said, "And who are the fine gentlemen beside you?"

"Retainers," came the voice, now sounding a bit angry.

"Really? I suppose gold rank knights and weapon masters are now common servants and horse holders?" scoffed Sir Galen.

"..."

"Who are you?" Asked the voice, now sharp with a hint of authoritativeness.

"Does it matter? What you fine gentlemen need to know is that we control this pretty as a flower establishment and we don't welcome you here. So you can push off."

Sucking in a deep breath below, I realized that our last hope, my uncle Jacob Drayke, was probably an enemy now.

A realization confirmed as a tired sigh preceded his next few words.

"Give up Sir Galen. Let's not beat around the bush anymore. You have the remnants of the Draykes and I would like to meet them. After all, family is family, no matter what happens. If one's family is at risk, one would do everything in his position to remedy it. You all are putting part of my family at risk, so stand down and let us parley."

"Parley?" asked Sir Galen incredulously.

"Parley," Said Jacob Drayke, my uncle and brother to my father.