Secrets

"Hmm, but I don't know if I can believe you…" Alexios sighs and sits on the wooden log behind him with the expression of uncertainty in his breath.

"What should I even do to make you believe me, why would I lie… if I wanted to do anything to you I would have the moment I saved you from the monster inside you, I just want your help… because I feel we both kind of have the same motto" Leon yells at him and pushed his away in a frustrated tone.

"If I ever find that, you have any ulterior motive than this… I will shove my blade to your throat," Alexios glares at him for the last time before sheathing his blade into its scabbard,

For him to trust Leon was not easy… he had lost his family by people of Yorkan and another Yorkan man was telling him to help him to kill people of his homeland.

"I'm fine. It's your choice. Kill me if it fulfills your bloodlust… but you know that way you will never even get to touch them. You can't kill them alone… but together we can." Leon was done explaining he had enough of him and couldn't keep a calm. And grabs his axe and swings it on the wooden logs, cutting them half in frustration.

"Like you, Alexios, I've lost everything." He take a deep breath as he covers his face with his palm making space for his eyes through the fingers… his face was full of stress lines it appeared all this time he was waiting for something or someone like Alexios and when it happened it failed.

"I'm sorry, I don't trust anyone anymore… I feel everyone will betray me. I have no choice… but I put my trust in you. I hope you don't break it.," Alexios grabs a log and throws it in the fire and pans the meat they had put on the fire as he speaks in a sorrowful tone, making no eye contact with him.

"Thanks for having faith in me-" before he could finish his sentence, Alexios interrupts him.

"Who are you fighting for? Your people have forgotten the Ivrea kings… your ancestry… no one knows a name of them… you could have run away and start a new life?"

"I can't run away… that's not what I have learned. If I did runaway what will I say to my great all fathers that their last heir ran away with his tails between legs?"

He stands up and draws his sword toward the sky and pumps his chest with proud and honor and speaks with courage in his eyes.

"The Ivrea's are not dead… I am still here…ME, Leon, Leon lionheart Ivrea and I will bring back my empire back to life just you watch"

"I believe in that." A smile covers Alexios face but quickly turns into confusion as he remembers something,

Hey, you spoke about some monster inside me, didn't you?"

"Well, I don't know much but I would call it something similar. I saw you killing those soldiers and at first I was shocked because it was unnatural sighting here in the north. I even thought you were a dragon or something but when you came down I saw you and you were a person." Leon explained as he munched on the meat he had cooked on a stick.

"I waited on the outskirts of the village and observed you, because why not we don't see something supernatural every day and then you were heading my way but you collapsed on the way. So I brought you here."

"I felt it too, like if there was someone else in me like I feel I have this power but I am possessed by it and I can't control it on my will" Alexios explained.

"Is it bothering you?" He asked as he rested his back on the rug mat.

"Yeah, I want to know more about it. Maybe it will reveal the reason why the king of Yorkan slaughtered my village."

"Hmm, wanna come with me?" Leon raised his head from his bed and raised his eyebrows in question.

"Are you travelling to the west?" Alexios asked casually.

"Yes, I have some things to do there, accompany me if you're okay with that…"

Alexios also laid on his bed by his stomach and spoke as he kept throwing small woods into the fire "I have nowhere else to go either. I guess I'm coming with you."

"Brilliant, I truly need you Alexios in this because I know we have the same goal now, whomever did this to our families, I want their neck on my sword… Alexios, I want to see their expression when I push my sword into their chest"

Leon's eyes were filled with rage as spoke while starring at the stars.

"They will pay for every blood drop spilled on my homeland I won't forgive them," replied Alexios.

Both of them fell fast asleep soon after their brave chat unaware of the hunt crew set after them, it was their last night of peaceful sleep before the calm storm.

***

Here beneath the large tree, the white knight and his men remained. Having a dinner with men singing and dancing drunk on ale…

While other danced and drank wine, Eriso sat with some of his comrade in the white knight's tent with his bowl of dinner.

"Master, you said we're heading to the town Yskiu, but why?" he asked as he chewed on the cooked rabbit's bone.

"Because it was where it all started and I hope he might have left some clue there or he could be there himself" the white knight looked at him and spoke as he stirred the wine of his glass.

"But shouldn't we inform our comrades about this?" one of the warrior asked.

"No, we can't do anything wrong this time. We have to wait for him to attack our allies, and we'll use our allies as bait to discover him," the white knight explained.

"We need to put our comrades at risk so that we can win, and make the martyred of Yorkan proud" the white knight spoke and walked out of his tent to get some air.

"I don't care about anyone. I just want to find who the new heir is and kill him…" The White knight spoke to himself about something he kept secret from everyone.

There are too many questions and not enough answers; will the White Knight ever face Alexios or his inner monster?

To be continued...