"Sure."
He nods his head. "Follow then, let’s go." He speaks, his voice barely audible.
I take slow and careful steps, my knees trembling as I continue walking behind him.
It might be because I’m not used to this body.
We walk away from the garden on the hill and towards a massive stone wall that has an opening, like a door.
Dinan walks in front of , his shoulders swaying rhythmically as he takes calm and graceful steps.
I turn back, my eyes drinking in the sight of the hill we’d just exited.
From a far distance, stone walls loom, raised from four corners around the garden like so kind of fence.
Hm?
I squint my eyes, taking a better view of the garden.
Ah, so I was wrong. There are three stone walls, not four.
At the place where the last stone wall is supposed to be, it’s just empty. I think it leads sowhere.
My neck snaps forward as we walk past the stone wall.
The atmosphere around changes. My skin tingles as the cool breeze in the air cos in contact with it.
Still, we continue walking, our pace never slowing down as the annoying sound of both our boots clinking on the interlocking stones fills the air.
Why isn’t he saying anything? It feels awkward. But, well, it’s better for anyway. I’m used to the silence.
As if the world hears my complaint, countless male voices stream into my ears from multiple directions, cutting through the awkward silence like a knife to butter. And with these voices, laughter follows.
We’ve arrived at an area not too far from the hill. And in this place, the vibrant sounds of the male voices and their laughter subtly heighten.
In this place, massive shadows loom above , interrupting the sweet warmth that the sun casts on my head.
The sun... I never thought I’d get to see it ever again.
My neck makes a crackling sound as I raise my head, looking at the bright blue sky as I walk.
The sun is there, shining its warm, radiant light down on the world.
My eyes narrow. A squint.
It’s still odd. All of this is. I haven’t even had the ti to think about this properly. I need to clear my head.
Various tall stone buildings tower above . The source of those shadows.
The buildings are really tall. And even though they’re not as tall as a skyscraper, they’re still tall, and they have roofs that point upward — toward the sky.
These buildings are everywhere around this place, both left and right. And the spaces between the buildings form the roads that we pass.
As we walk further, the buildings, which were all stone and unpainted, begin to be replaced with blue-painted, taller buildings.
Now, along the road we pass, I see various n dressed in brown, ragged outfits. It’s as if they’re wearing rags. Brown sacks and black pants. They all wield swords and are headed in the sa direction.
Every ti we pass a group of them, Dinan pauses to greet them, speaking the sa words to each of them, but in different variations.
Just like now, a group of three n is walking toward our direction, probably headed to the sa destination as the others, behind us.
As they reach us, they bow their heads imdiately. "Good day, Vice Captain!"
Dinan slightly bows back in response, saying: "Lift your heads, n. Do not bow to , I am not your Lord. Have you all been training diligently?" He asks in an elegant, refined tone. Different from the way he speaks to .
"Yes, Sir!" They reply in unison. Their right fists raised to the right sides of their heads, and their backs straighten as they salute.
Dinan turns his neck, his black, warm eyes peering straight into mine.
A frown forms on my face as his lips curl slowly, forming a small smile. He imdiately turns forward, continuing the long walk.
What was that grin for? Is he crazy?
"How long is this going to take?" I ask, my words co out fast. Hurried. I need to have a quiet mont with myself, to think this whole scenario through and plan my next move.
"We’re almost there. Stop whining." He replies in a curt tone.
And indeed, he isn’t wrong. We’re almost there. I know this because of the weird feeling in my heart. My body recognizes this place. A place that had always invoked fear in this body. A place that houses the man who this body respects, hates and fears at the sa ti.
That’s the reason my heart, or the heart of Ralyn, keeps pounding against my chest.
I won’t be surprised if soone can hear my heartbeat.
My eyes focus ahead. Fixated on the large black gate made of bars of black-painted steel that stands, creating a demarcation between the places we have walked along and the place we’re heading to.
And beyond that gate, no matter how unfamiliar I am with this place. No matter how much I am a stranger to this environnt, I can still tell that our destination lies there.
"We have arrived at the main residence of the family," Dinan speaks with a low voice as we reach the gates.
I clench my fists. My breathing goes slightly off rhythm as the tension crawls up my spine. I don’t even know why this body feels and reacts this way. But still, I reply with utmost confidence. "I know. Let’s go in."
Dinan gives hand signals to the guards dressed in colorful uniforms guarding the gate, and they open it.
In reality, I am not Ralyn. I am Viriel. I am not scared of any human. What’s the worst thing that could happen inside there? My death?
Please.
I’ve died before. Death is not sothing that I fear at the mont.
So I ignore the cries of Ralyn’s heart. And I also ignore the gripping feeling in Ralyn’s body, one that seems to cage . And I walk in, slowly following behind Dinan, who matches in with steps so refined it looks like he owns the place.
The air here is indeed different. The buildings are like castles. But their roofs are made of black steel.
There are many buildings. I can count ten of them just by looking.
So this is the place you hate more than anything, Ralyn.
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