How strange to not know the status of any other knights or apprentices as she climbed down from the rooftop where she shot at the ogre.
By that point, her body felt numb because of how exhausted she was. Not only had she gotten only a handful of hours’ worth of sleep before having to ride for nearly a day’s worth of travel, but the emotional weight of what she experienced so far was dragging her down.
She ran forward once her feet were on the ground and got to the end of the alleyway between buildings. Her head swiveled left and right. One way meant going back to Samson. The other meant going back to where she last saw the knights dealing with the ogre’s skeleton.
It was impossible to make a decision at that moment—at least until she heard someone behind her.
The girl pulled out her sword and held it in front of her as she turned, daring someone to sneak up on her. If it were a goblin, their fate would be quickly decided.
"It’s me," Sir Gunnar quickly explained, stepping a few paces back so that his apprentice wouldn’t catch him with her blade. "I will commend you for a good response."
The girl’s body slouched in relief at the man’s voice. She had a fleeting feeling of wanting to be small and comforted, but there was no place for thoughts like that in a battlefield.
"What shall we do next?" she wondered. "Where are the next monsters?"
Pride and pity coexisted within the knight’s heart for a moment. He wanted to say that all of Irene’s training had paid off thus far, but he never liked the idea of a child being burdened by adult choices. As far as he was concerned, the situation they were dealing with was the fault of the monarch who pretended that the north didn’t exist at all. They were left to their own devices and felt like they were failing.
"We have been directed to the inn," Gunnar explained. "One of the final standing strongholds in this township. After all, it was built around the old building after all it had withstood. Most people are hiding there. The reeve has said that’s where the rest of our knights are hiding. They fought for as long as they could before deciding it was most efficient to simply guard the survivors while they rested up."
Irene offered a smile, but it was miserable.
"That’s so wonderful," she responded, trying to be convincing that she was truly happy at the outcome.
However, her reddish eyebrows lowered, and her eyes began to water.
"Oh," she realized, as if her sadness was an afterthought. Her exhaustion made everything feel so numb.
"What’s the matter?" Gunnar asked, genuine concern etched into his face.
"Samson," Irene admitted. "His body is still in the smithy with one of his apprentices."
She sniffled and willed the feeling not to bubble over in the form of tears. How embarrassing it would be to not be able to keep herself together in front of the knight she was meant to help on the battlefield.
Gunnar’s expression then matched Irene’s. It was obvious why he would be so important to her after what he had done for her father.
The knight crouched down and placed his hands on the girl’s shoulders.
"It is our turn to rest in the inn," he explained. "The other knights will be going out this morning to search for survivors, retrieve the bodies of all the victims, and burn the bodies of the monsters. I will ensure that you can see the man off properly."
"Thank you, sir," she muttered. "I would appreciate it."
With one last pat on her shoulder, they were off towards the heart of town. The entire place was like a ghost town with all of the crumbled buildings and things in disarray. There wasn’t a sign of life as they went on.
"What of the horses, sir?" Irene asked as they passed an empty stable.
She could only hope that the horses that once occupied it were off somewhere else, but would come back once things had calmed down.
"Only time will tell," Gunnar admitted. "Ours will likely stay in the forest until morning. They’re all quite well-trained."
All she could do was nod at the information. She had an urge to go seek Sorrel out for herself, but she managed to resist, knowing that she would be more useful after a bit of rest. For original chapters go to novｅlfire.net
They made it to where the inn stood, devoid of any candles or warmth it normally provided the other times they had visited.
Irene merely followed Gunnar’s lead, and he went to the front door, which was a thick oak that was fortunately impenetrable—that much obvious by the slash marks that littered the building and door. How miserable it must have been to listen to the monsters as they tried to knock down the building. Fortunately, they didn’t succeed.
There was a caged door viewer that gave whoever stood guard inside a small picture of who was outside. It slid open, and they saw a pair of eyes scrutinizing them.
If it wasn’t obvious by Sir Gunnar’s armor...
Irene wiped the thought away. Paranoia was likely good in a situation such as that.
"Sir Gunnar and my apprentice, Iro, from the Knights of Tenetium."
The doors were opened for them momentarily, and there stood a large man who still looked at them a bit suspiciously, but there was no choice except for trusting the knights who went all that way to help them in a time of need.
"Thank you," Irene said to the man and bent at her waist.
When she stood back up, Gunnar gestured for her to follow along, and she did just as she was told.
However, the girl didn’t make it all that far because, before she could even round the corner, she was tackled by others who were so relieved to see her after what felt like hours of pure hell.