The next day
I was standing in front of the entrance to the underground prison, Uldric by my side. The guard opened the door, and I took steady steps towards the cell Tia was in.
"You're free now."
She looked up at me slowly, then got up quietly.
"I didn't expect to see you again so soon."
I smiled a little and said, "Didn't you?"
Uldric said as he picked up some clothes: "You've been told by the young lady to be the young master's personal servant. And... these are your new clothes."
Tia looked at the clothes, then at me, and said with a slight sneer:
"From a first-class knight... to a maid. Wow."
I replied jokingly:
"This might be the only promotion that could save us from death."
A few minutes later, we left the palace through the back gate. Uldrick hooked us up with a car, driven by a loyal servant, without making us jump through too many hoops.
"do you know the way to the inn?" I asked her.
"Obviously... there's nothing memorable about that place. We'll stop at the junkyard and walk from there. No one would dare enter Crow's Tail with a car like that."
She nodded, and it felt like we were taking our first steps towards the unknown... or destiny.
The neighborhood was just as Tia had described—the smell of sweat and Dirt filled the air, and anyone entering got suspicious looks from passersby. No one here trusts anyone.
"Stay close, don't talk, and don't look anyone in the eye," Tia whispered as she walked in front of me with surprising confidence.
She was moving carefully, like she was on a battlefield.
We went into a small, old, wooden inn. The outside looked kind of run down, but inside there were a bunch of serious people who didn't say much.
Tia went up to the innkeeper, a bald guy with a weird tattoo on his neck, and said a few words to him in a whisper. He gave us a look that said a lot, then pointed to the stairs.
"Second floor, last room."
We climbed the stairs, our footsteps creaking with every step. Tia stopped in front of the door, gave it a few short knocks, and then a couple of long ones.
Let's take a moment of silence...
And then the door opened a bit.
Kyle.
He was actually taller than I thought he'd be. Despite the signs of fatigue and regret on his face, his athletic body hadn't disappeared. His messy brown hair covered part of his face, and the long scar on the side of his neck gave it away — this guy had not lived an easy life.
"Tia?" He said in a low voice.
Then he looked at me, and his eyes narrowed.
"Young master?"
I didn't say anything.
But it was Tia who spoke.
Kyle, it's been a while. Here's the deal: we need your help.
Kyle didn't respond. He looked at me for a second, then turned his back and went into the room, leaving the door open.
We followed him inside.
The place was pretty basic, with no decorations. It's just a bed, a table, and an old sword on the wall.
He sat down on the chair and stared at the floor.
"Why'd you come to see me? You know who I used to belong to. You know how everyone looks at me now. No one wants me... no one trusts me."
I took a step closer and looked directly at him:
"I'm not trying to make you feel bad about the past, Kyle. I'm here to give you a chance."
He looked up at me.
"A chance?"
I nodded.
"I want you to fight with me and protect me from an assassination attempt in two days. In return, I'll give you something you can't get anywhere else."
Tia looked at me in surprise, not knowing what I was going to say.
"I'll give you a spot under my wing. You'll become my personal knight, and you'll get immunity in my name. This'll be your shot at getting your dignity and your name back."
Silence.
For a long time.
It was obvious that the offer had really rattled him.
"Your personal knight?" He finally asked, sounding a bit doubtful.
"Yeah, but I won't give you anything without seeing your loyalty first. On the day of the attack, show your loyalty. Then, I'll personally escort you to the palace in front of everyone."
He took a deep breath, then stood up.
He walked over to the wall, grabbed the old sword, and then turned to me.
"How did I not see it?" Kyle whispered, his eyes bluer with regret and sadness.
His master, a man who always seemed to have a bit of a mysterious air about him, had betrayed them all.
Then he looked at me, and his face was all twisted up like he was trying not to laugh.
"What about me, young master? Are you sure? Your reputation isn't the best, and you're going to take a shady knight like me? Aren't you afraid that everyone will say you might follow in your older brother's footsteps?"
I looked at him with a slightly faint smile and said:
"Well, I don't think that's going to add up to much, I already have a pretty bad reputation."
Kai laughed a little and then said:
"Young master, if you don't keep your promise, there's no need for someone to kill you... I'll do it myself."
I smiled and shook his hand.
"Fair enough."
He reached out and grabbed my hand firmly.
"I'm at your service , sir."
Somewhere near the Raven Inn
Sunlight filtered the gray clouds as we sat around a stone table in one of the abandoned huts Kyle had shown us.
I drew a map of the palace on parchment, using black charcoal, and marked the route of the carriage I'd use to go to the elders' meeting.
Tia stood with her arms crossed, looking at the red lines I'd drawn.
"They're supposed to carry out the attack like this," I said, pointing to one of the side streets that lead to the main square. "The road is pretty narrow, and most of the guards are in the front. If they attack us there, it'll be tough to survive without casualties."
Kyle leaned forward, took a lump of charcoal from me, and then drew an X on the road:
"It would be two, right?, Just two assassins?"
I nodded. "As I recall, yes."
"We need a plan to keep one of them alive. We don't want to kill them all before we find out who sent them."
Tia let out a sigh and said:
"The best way to do this is to take out the first one right away, then trap the second one. But to do that, we need someone fast enough to deliver the decisive blow... someone like Kyle."
Kyle gave a little smirk.
"Is this how you usually compliment me?"
Tia just ignored him.
"And you, young man, you'll be the bait."
I raised my eyebrows: "Bait?"
Kyle nodded. "It's all good. If you want to be a leader, sometimes you've just got to take risks."
I took a deep breath. I wasn't used to this kind of role, but I agreed.
"Okay, but I want to know every step."
Tia started dividing up the task:
Kyle's going to be hanging around, keeping an eye out for anything out of the ordinary.
"I'll go with you as a maid, but I'll have my sword and a small dagger with me."
"When the attack starts, we'll try to stop the first one, but leave the second one alive."
Kyle also said:
"I'll use a blunt sword, so I can wound him without killing him."
I nodded.
"Great, tomorrow is going to be a blast ."