Free Fall

Heidrich is the only one to face me on the ground, the rest of the guards are still on top of their horses. Their hands are occupied with spears and crossbows that are vaguely directed at me. Even if I try to run now, they will either catch up in an instant or shoot me, ending my life here and now. I first look at Solitaire, whose presence does not bother anyone, I am indeed the only one who is able to see him. The ghost is not looking at me, but rather at the horse that is now gasping for air through the pouring rain. Then, I peek at the guard, who is still patiently waiting for my answer. His eyes are devoid of that fake friendliness he showed all the way back in Wülgenville. They are flickering with caution, in spite of how hollow they appear to be. But he is not afraid of me, if anything, he is more bothered by the prospect of getting ill. There is something else that raises the anxiety within my acquaintance.

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

"You will not kill me, huh?"

Heindrich narrows his brows and steps towards me, his hands are 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, ok?"

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

Heindrich ties my hands with a rope, but does not search my pockets that are occupied with the dagger and the gemstone. Onwards, he helps me get on his horse and then hops on it himself, but before we leave, one of the guards walks up to my horse that is still trying to get up on its four. He observes its hooves for a couple of minutes and once he turns to the rest of his crew, he shakes his head.

"Make it quick." says one of the guards, to which another one adds, "Shall we pray?"

All the guards, 6 men in total, exchange gazes, then hold their hands in prayer, including Heindrich. My ears are even shaken up by his silent apologies to God. Meanwhile, the man near the horse gently lifts its head, allowing the unnamed horse to take its last breath, and cuts its neck with one swift slice of his dagger. The animal weeps for a mere second, however after, drops to the ground dead. Afterwards, he proceeds to pray as well.

My heart clenches from its cry of pain, I clench my teeth and yell at 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 answers, only after a few minutes of silent department of this horse, they all return to their duty and start moving in the direction of Wülgenville. Although Heindrich does not ignore my question, he turns his head to present a question.

"Have you ever prayed, Dusk?"

"Only fools rely on god."

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

I narrow at his choice of words, but ultimately do not say anything. We continue our long journey to the city where it all began. Solitaire is still accompanying us, his eyes run over the guards and occasionally myself, as if he is expecting some kind of move from me. But there is no point to struggle now, I do not see a way to escape without harming myself in the process. Dogs of the nobles are all the same, after all.

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

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

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

I tilt my head in confusion and say, "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 when they would deceive anyone else. No, it was rather a revenge for those they deceived in the past! That's right!"

There are many reasons for my actions and all of them are valid, I do not feel any remorse in taking away the riches they certainly pulled from those poor. I am like a Robin Hood, thus should be thanked for my good deeds. However, Heindrich does not smile, instead, his expression drops, and he whispers, "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 looks 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 hate them so much?"

No, whatever you do, Heindrich, do not you dare show me this face! Nobles, rich, high echelon of society, whatever this is, they are all wild animals who are ready to tear apart anyone who opposes them. They disregard the core essence of humanity to feed their ego, so of course they have wronged me! Why are you even asking it? Is there anyone who did not suffer from their unfair existence!?

And as the steam of wrath escapes my head upon contemplating Heidrich's series of questions, his final suggestion finally makes 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 a 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 lean to the side and fall from the horse completely. Luckily, the moisture softened up the road and my fall is not as painful, although my shoulder still feels numb. I get up on my feet and start running for my life into the forest, only hearing Heindrich plea to stop. I do not need anyone's help, neither do I need anyone's pity. I work alone and always have been, I was able to only trust myself which is impossible to change.

My body feels heavy, but I still manage to get past all the bushes and twigs on the ground without falling. My hands are still tied, one hand doesn't move, but I have a trump card by my side. I cast my gaze at Solitaire and say.

"Help me escape, now!"

Solitaire squints his eyes, observing my body, peeks behind my back, noticing the sound of breaking twigs under the heavy steps of guards. They are screaming in the background, however, the weather makes their voices indistinguishable. Afterwards, Solitaire sighs, "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."

"Useless as ever!" I exclaim, to which Solitaire shows his tongue and fades away, releasing his astral body into the gemstone. This proves my point of only relying on your own strength.

After a few more minutes of escape, my blurry vision notices a cliff in the distance, quite a tall one as well with a great view on the plains with several houses and even villages in the background. This scenery, however, only blocks my path, and now I am cornered by the guards who catch up to me one by one.

Their crossbows are directed at me, but only Heindrich's arms are empty. I sense annoyance mixed with fear in his eyes, as he makes 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 problems. Please, just go with us!"

I look down the cliff and shiver from the height, then I cast my gaze at Heindrich, who is 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 drop, he closes his mouth and his eyes fill up with pity, "Why, do you ask? Should there be a reason for wanting to help a lost kid?"

I click my tongue and narrow my brow at his words. Then my hand instinctively takes out the dagger from my pocket and the next thing I know, an awful wave of pain sprouts within my leg. I scream.

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

The guard shoots my leg, making me lose my balance from pain, and I lean backwards. Naturally, I fall down the cliff and 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 see, before the endless sky and approaching forest, is Heindrich's pale face. I wanted him to show his true self, but it seems like I failed to do so, or rather, he was true to himself all this time.

Now, however, it does not matter. Nothing matters aside from the trees and cold ground that flash before my eyes. Afterwards, there is nothing but darkness around.