21 Encounter

The young lady's voice, a glacial whisper, sent shivers down Leo's spine. "Why did you kill them?" she demanded, her words laced with ice.

Trapped. That was the only thought cohering in his mind. Running was a fantasy, hiding pointless, and fighting...well, the odds were laughably stacked against him. His eyes darted around, searching for an escape but finding only the cold, menacing glint of her icy blue eyes.

"I...well, you see..." he stammered, his voice a pathetic croak. A bead of sweat, fat and glistening, traced a slow path down his temple. "I just..." He let out a nervous chuckle, sounding more like a strangled gasp.

"Just what?" she pressed, each word a hammer blow. He instinctively recoiled, his back hitting the rough stone wall with a sickening thud.

His mind raced, a desperate labyrinth of lies with no exit. He needed a story, an elaborate tapestry of deceit so convincing it could weave doubt into the fabric of reality itself. Suddenly, an idea, as fragile as a spider's web, snagged in his spinning thoughts.

"I'll be honest with you," he declared, his voice wavering but laced with a forced semblance of strength.

Surprised by his audacity, she paused, her head tilted like a curious predator. "Speak," she commanded, the glint in her eyes promising a fate worse than death.

He took a deep breath, stepping forward until he was a hair's breadth away. "I have an ability," he confessed, his voice surprisingly steady despite the tremor in his legs. "An oath binds me to my master, sworn to secrecy – not a word to be uttered until I reach the academy. And I won't break it, not even for you."

Intrigued, she narrowed her eyes. "Interesting. And what is this...ability of yours?" she inquired, her fingers toying with the hilt of a deadly-looking ice dagger.

Leo gulped, the cold metal sending a fresh wave of terror down his spine. Yet, he held his ground, his voice laced with a newfound confidence that even surprised himself. "It grants me glimpses of intent," he lied, weaving a tale so elaborate it would make a bard blush. "I saw through this...attack. Not a random raid, but a meticulously planned strike. Those knights you see – traitors in your own ranks, working for your enemies."

His deception was a masterpiece, a web of lies so intricate it could make the deceased knights question their own loyalty. Even the stoic woman seemed momentarily stunned, a crack appearing in her icy facade. "So, you's saying your ability allowed you to see their true intentions?" she asked, a flicker of uncertainty flickering in her eyes.

"Not exactly," he said, shaking his head with feigned regret. "It's deeper than that. A burden of immense power I carry alone, a curse I must endure." His face contorted in a mask of invented sorrow, and with a swiftness born of desperation, he bolted.

Tears streamed down his face, but they weren't tears of remorse. They were tears for his fabricated "autopilot skill," its timer cruelly extended by a week. He wanted to scream, to thrash like a cornered beast, but he knew better. This woman, powerful and imposing, could crush him with a flick of her wrist.

"Wait!" she called out, her voice sharp with surprise.

'Out of lies already!' Leo thought, cursing his predicament. He turned slowly, trying to mask the rising panic threatening to consume him.

"Why don't you travel with me?" she offered, her voice surprisingly gentle. "The academy, you mentioned? I'm headed there too. Why not join me for the journey?" A disarming smile played on her lips, but the underlying anger in her eyes remained.

"No," he spat, his voice raw with fear.

"What?" she frowned, the charm gone as quickly as it appeared.

"There's a price to this ability," he lied, his gaze fixed on a point far beyond her shoulder. "I need to be close to nature, to answer its call."

"Don't worry about that," she dismissed. "If need be, one of my knights can escort you." While reasonable, the suggestion sent shivers down his spine. Who needed an escort when you were basically a prisoner?

"Absolutely not!" he declared, his voice gaining strength with each fabricated excuse. "The...odor would be unbearable for your esteemed company. I wouldn't want to inflict that upon you."

Her smile faltered, replaced by a glint of steel in her eyes. "Why do you persist in refusing me?" she stepped forward, her voice laced with a dangerous undercurrent.

Leo felt a cold sweat slick his palms. The noose around his neck tightened. He had gambled and lost, his carefully constructed facade crumbling around him. Desperation gnawed at him, a primal urge to fight overshadowed by the cold certainty of defeat.

"It's not what you think," he stammered, his voice barely a whisper. "I...appreciate the offer, but my connection to nature is...intimate. Requires complete solitude."

His words hung in the air, pathetic and unconvincing. He knew it was over. One wrong move, and the house of cards would collapse.

Before another lie could form on his lips, he bolted. But just like he suspected, escape was a mere fantasy. The remaining knights, once bystanders in his elaborate charade, now stood as a formidable wall. He had faced them before, but this time, defeat felt inevitable.

Cornered, his breath ragged, Leo choked out, "Why? Can't you just...let me go?" His bravado had dissolved, replaced by a whimper of fear.

"As I said, I insist, Leo," she purred, her voice laced with honeyed menace.

He swallowed, the metallic tang of fear thick on his tongue. The world shrunk, his breaths coming in short, desperate gasps.

"No!" he rasped, a final act of defiance before the inevitable.

Pain? Torture? He had faced worse. Threats? Empty echoes.

But then the dark glint in her eyes, the spikes of ice that suddenly materialized in thin air, made his blood run cold.

Resignation settled over him, heavy and suffocating, and here in was, in the carriage, his gaze drifting to the passing scenery, a silent question hanging in the air.

"What...have I done to deserve this?" The words rasped out, unanswered, echoing in the deafening silence of the moving carriage.