Guenevir stared down at the clouds. She stood there for a moment after Morwin and Galvin jumped off. She didn’t want to go back to Rathalin. She’d spent the last ten years of her life holed up within those walls, serving the enemy. She wanted to be free of it to go elsewhere and live out the rest of her days in peace.

  But she couldn’t.

  On that day during the battle fifteen years ago, she made a vow to continue on fighting. A vow to no one but herself. And she had to see it through.

  “Darius,” she said, turning to the brute. “Will you help me get down from here?”

  Darius raised an eyebrow. “Eh? You want to leave for Rathalin now? We should have time…”

  “No,” Guenevir said. “Kaden’s life is in danger. We don’t know where they’re at in the Screening process. The longer we wait, the more of a chance for him to get captured there is. Now let me down, please.”

  Darius unfolded his arms and nodded. “Fine,” he said.

  She saw the same sights that Morwin and Galvin did. The sight of clouds growing closer, of the mountains turning into a blur, of the ground growing bigger as she got closer. Darius had an arm wrapped around her. She couldn’t help but let out a yelp as she nearly crashed into the ground, but something held her back. A pushing of the wind against her body stopped her from striking the dirt.

  She let out a sigh of relief. Darius let her go first, and she stood upright. The wind stopped blowing and Darius dropped a couple inches.

  He got up and smirked. “That’s never going to get old,” he said.

  Guenevir nodded. “Must be nice to have powers like that,” she spoke.

  “Good luck,” Darius replied. “You’re going to need it.”

  Guenevir nodded. “Thank you Darius. I’ll see you soon, alright?”

  They exchanged hugs and Darius backed away. He started jumping, scaling the mountain with his Gemming powers, leaving Guenevir on the ground.

  A thought suddenly occurred to Guenevir. Galvin’s actions… it didn’t make sense. Sending Guenevir back for one person. One person all throughout Justicar.

  Galvin has led people to their deaths before. He’s seen people close to him die before his eyes. Why did he send her back into Rathalin, putting her life at risk, to save a single person? What was Kaden to him?

  Guenevir shrugged. She didn’t know the answers. She hardly knew half the things that went through that man’s mind, despite working closely with him for ten years and fighting in the same organization with him for fifteen. She didn’t question his instructions further, so she began the first steps towards the hellhole she just escaped from.

  Guenevir gripped her oak bow in her hands, the familiar cloak of Justicar on her back, the fabric flapping in the wind as she rode upon her steed’s back. He didn’t think she’d be back in Rathalin so soon, but if it was a part of Galvin’s plan, then so be it.

  She stared at the walls which have tormented her the last ten years of her life. Guenevir never did understand why Galvin wanted her inside. To watch over Morwin? To learn the enemy’s secrets? All the while she was there, she’d wanted to leave, but as long as they were undercover, she couldn’t. And after obtaining the freedom she wanted, here she was again.

  She steeled her horse and its hooves slid against the dirt. While her mind wandered, she didn’t realize she’d already come to the camps surrounding the city. She took off the cloak and stashed it behind some rocks nearby.

  She breathed in and rode the horse through the camps, pretending she always was supposed to be there.

  Some soldiers bade her hello and continued on their way. Some told her to be on the lookout for rebels that may be lurking in the area. She overheard some complaining about their long and arduous shifts.

  Before she knew it, she came upon the gates again. Before entering the city, she left her horse at one of the stables and dropped a bag of some Mets for them to watch her horse. She didn’t know how long she’d be so she gave them more than what they asked for.

  “That weapon you’re carrying,” the stablemaster said to her. “It’s starting to become outdated you know. There are other better options.”

  Guenevir raised an eyebrow. Jules had taught her how to use the bow, and she’d used it as her trusty weapon this entire time. Outdated?

  “What do you mean?” she asked.

  “I know a woodworker in town,” the stablemaster explained. “He can get you a ranged weapon just like that and ammunition for a fraction of what you gave me. Go to him and tell him Raul sent you. He’ll know what that means.”

  “Who is this person?” Guenevir said, shrugging. She didn’t know why she even considered it. They could be conners after her money, but she always did consider there to be better options than this bow. “Where would he be?”

  “Saelsgar’s woodworking,” the man answered.

  Saelsgar… for some reason that name ringed a bell. “Thanks,” Guenevir said. “Will do.”

  She left the stables and moved through the walls. She didn’t have her servant uniform on her, but that’d be an easy fix. Who would be the next head servant for Lord De’Shai now that Mr. Axwel retired?

  Before she made her way to the palace, she asked around the city. Despite living there for almost half her life, she’d never heard of a woodworking shop called Saelsgar’s before.

  She eventually got directions to it and started down the path. Along the way, she noticed some posters put up depicting wanted people, including herself, Morwin, Darius, and Galvin. Names weren’t present for her or Darius. Her picture only had her with her mask on. Morwin and Galvin, however, their faces were drawn clearly, every detailed penciled by a masterful artist. A huge reward was printed at the bottom, more money than Guenevir could ever hope to come across.

  “Damn,” she muttered under her breath. “Guess there’s no going back here for them.” Most of the walls and shops she passed while walking along the cobblestone streets were plastered with the same four posters. Everywhere she looked. Justicar became known again, and it’s once again the enemy of all of Agnius.

  Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

  She eventually came to a little shed, gripping her bow tightly in her right hand. A hanging sign read “Saelsgar’s woodworks”. She peered inside, a little wary. The little shed sat on the outskirts of town, away from where most of the civilians roam, and it seemed a little run down.

  Hesitantly, Guenevir pushed the door open. A bell rang out as she entered.

  “Welcome!” the man behind the counter spoke with arms splayed out wide. “And welcome to my little wood works shop! How can I help you?”

  “Uhhh,” Guenevir said. “Raul sent me.”

  His eyes narrowed immediately. “I see. That bastard’s still selling me his customers for weapons huh? I swore I paid off my gambling debt to him years ago!” The old man let out a long drawn out sigh. “Come here, put that bow on the counter and come with me to the back.”

  “Weapon first,” Guenevir spoke, her hands moving before her thoughts could catch up to her. Before she knew it, she had an arrow notched into the string, her knees bent slightly and apart from each other. She didn’t aim the bow however.

  The man looked at her and chuckled. “Come on, you can’t notch the bow like that and not aim the tip at me. If you’re going to seem threatening, you might as well commit to it.”

  The man pulled out something from under the counter and chucked it at Guenevir. She ducked to the right as a knife soared past her, its tips sinking into the wood of the shed.

  As she moved, she raised her bow and aimed it at the man, releasing the shot.

  The man raised his other hand and a clicking sound rang out. Before she knew it, the shaft of her arrow ripped itself in half, and a tiny arrow struck the wall. Splinters of the arrow she’d shot hit the floor.

  “What-,” she began.

  “Raul told you about my weapon did he,” the man said, slamming some kind of wooden machine onto the counter. “This right here is known as a crossbow.”

  Guenevir hesitantly approached it, not realizing she’d already notched another arrow into her bow until the man shot her a dirty look.

  “You didn’t have to provoke me like that,” Guenevir said with a frown.

  “I figured a demonstration works best when you’re trying to sell your weapon. It’ll come at a discounted price of course, since Raul’s sent you.”

  “No wonder you barely have any customers,” Guenevir retorted. “Half of them is probably dead and the other half ran the moment you shot at them.”

  The man let out a laugh. “It’s just how I do business.” He gave a deep bow. “Saelsgar, at your service.”

  Guenevir breathed a sigh of relief and set her crossbow on the counter. She picked up the weapon and examined it. The tiny arrow was launched somehow with a button of some sort instead of manually.

  Saelsgar put one of the tiny arrows on the counter. “This is a crossbow bolt. Regular arrows won’t work as they’re much too big. The advantages of this weapon is that it’s more suited for close to mid range while bows cover large distances. You can have it loaded before going into battle and it’ll remain loaded until you fire it. It’ll take longer to notch a bolt than an arrow, but I think the tradeoffs are worth the benefits if you’re closer to your enemies.”

  “I’ll take it,” Guenevir said, counting out some Sets and setting it on the table.

  “I’ll give it to you for free if you give me the bow,” Saelsgar said.

  Guenevir stared at the weapon she’s carried for a moment, considering. She always did prefer to be closer to the enemy in battle. Perhaps this new weapon would be better suited for her.

  “Fine,” Guenevir said, setting her bow on the counter.

  Saelsgar pushed the new weapon towards her. She also exchanged the rest of her arrows for the new bolts. Thirty tiny deadly ammunitions packed neatly in the leather pouch.

  As she turned to leave, Saelsgar spoke from behind her. “I hope Justicar wins.”

  Guenevir froze.

  “I know you guys think you’re going to win, but the king just can’t be beat. I truly do want to believe there’s a way we can win.”

  Guenevir moved to notch a bolt into her crossbow. How did this man know? Is he a friend or foe?

  She spun and raised the new weapon at him, but found nobody there. A breeze blew one of the curtains and dust flew in front of her.

  She left the woodworks shop in a hurry. After that encounter, she found herself looking over her shoulder no matter where she went. Suddenly, the people in the streets seemed to stare at her as she moved. The crossbow was small enough to hide, but no matter where she looked, eyes peeked out from the shadows and watched her. If that strange man, Saelsgar, knew about her status as a member of Justicar, who else within these walls knew?

  There was one more place before she had to go before returning to the palace.

  Guenevir knew where this place was. She always went here to get her uniforms tailored. She couldn’t just wander back and declare herself a servant without the right uniform.

  She went to the local tailor and made a quick purchase of her tailoring gear. The old lady there, who’s name she never learned, had one her size in stock already, luckily for her. A nice tuxedo with a dress that also doubled as an on-the-fly battle gear. The fabric wasn’t made of the traditional material, but a special cotton that stretched and allowed free movement if something were to happen. Most of Lord De’Shai’s servants wore this kind of uniform, as they doubled as bodyguards. Guenevir wasn’t the exception to this.

  She went into the fitting room and quickly changed, throwing out her old clothes. These will do just fine. If everything goes well, then she’d just be able to leave the town through the way she came and pick up her Justicar cloak and mask on the way out.

  These suits were also specially designed to be able to hide weapons. Guenevir was able to hide her new crossbow easily in her jacket pocket, and the bolts she attached to her belt.

  “Thank you,” she said to the lady on her way out, dropping her some Mets on the table. Thankfully Saelsgar gave the deal for the bow, else she may not have had enough money to purchase this new uniform.

  Standing outside, the palace towering high over her, she felt prepared. Going back to the town gave her a sense of anxiety, but now she felt more confident. All she’d do is walk back in, pretend like nothing happened, find Kaden, then get him to leave.