The Forsaken Hero

The quarters Andres gave me were on the edge of the fort. They were small but cozy, with a fireplace on one wall, a crude nightstand, and a small straw bed on the other. An open window overlooked the lake, letting a cool draft in.

Rylam left me alone there, promising to return after I’d settled. Once the door clicked shut, I used a spell to mend the damage to my dress and collapsed on my back onto the bed, my arms spread wide, my hair splayed across the sheets. The highs and lows of the last two days had left me completely drained, my tail too tired to twitch.

High Valley had been destroyed, and yet, it lived. Somehow, by some twist of fate, it had become a place of refuge and hope. I still didn’t understand half of what was happening, much less why, but I could see that much. Slaves, refugees, soldiers... it was a haven away from Haven. Even the air held traces of the astral breeze, and the warm, soothing glow of starlight.

The only thing missing was Luke.

In the soft quiet of the room, my heart ached at the thought of him. I curled up on my side, the ring slipping off my chest and bouncing on the thin sheets. I touched it, soft and tentative, tracing the gold curve.

My hand closed around it, clutching it tight as a faint sense of warmth tickled the palm of my hand. But was it really warmth? Or was I imagining it?

”I need you...,” I whispered to myself, closing my eyes as a tear leaked through. Despite the hollowness in my chest, I clung to hope. Jessia had hidden him from me when he’d left me in Sylvarus. Just because I couldn’t feel him didn’t mean he wasn’t there.

I didn’t know how long I lay there, quietly weeping. For Luke and my companions who had fought so bravely. For me, who was lost and alone.

A gentle knock at the door made me sniffle as I sat up. I scrubbed my eyes with my sleeve as it creaked open, and Rylam peeked through. His eyes widened as our gaze met, and he hurriedly pulled back.

”Forgive me, my Lady, I didn’t mean to intrude.”

”N-no, I’m fine. Please...?” I didn’t know what I was asking. I was just tired of being alone.

He lingered a moment longer before entering. He brought with him a wooden tray with a cup of water and a few slices of thick, grainy bread. After setting it on the nightstand, he hesitated, and I smiled faintly, patting the bed beside me. He gave me a grateful look and sat down. The mattress sank beneath his weight, and I shifted, my knee brushing against his leg.

”Are you alright?”

I started to nod, then shook my head. He was an unfamiliar man in my room, sitting just inches away, yet something in me knew I didn’t need to lie to him. I couldn’t.

”You’re not what I expected,” he said after a long pause. ”Is it true you were a hero once?”

”Maybe in name, but in all else, I was just a slave with a different purpose.”

He went quiet at that. The tip of his tail stirred, absently flicking back and forth. I clasped my hands in my lap, shivering as they brushed my tail. It was so different from looks, so...soft. It tickled.

He didn’t seem to notice.

”You know, you kind of remind me of a slave I knew once,” he murmured, his tail falling still. ”She was timid, like you, but then again, what young girl wouldn’t be when they’re suffocating in a cage.”

”I don’t like cages,” I whispered.

”I remember the day she was brought in. Locked in a cage right next to me. Gave me a dead rat.” His lips quirked in amusement. ”To think that was the best meal I’d had in months. Real meat.”

I shuddered at the thought. ”That sounds awful.”

But I understood that on the most familiar level. The warehouse I’d stayed in had been similar, filled with cages and fed by rotting scraps.

”You might not believe me, but that rat probably saved my life. A little ray of light in the darkness.”

”You? But you’re so...”

”Positive?” he shook his head, his ears twitching. ”Darkness has a way of wearying the soul. It drains you of everything. Takes all you have, all you love, and spits you back out. But not her. She always made the strangest claims, and didn’t give up, even when they almost killed her.”

”She sounds brave. I wish I could have been more like her.”

”So did I. She was a lot like my sister, about the same age. Both scrawny, but beautiful in their own way.”

”What happened to her?”

He sighed, resting his chin on the back of his hand. ”She pushed too far, telling the wrong lie to the wrong person. The mistress broke her. When she was shoved back into her cage, she couldn’t even lift her head. I had to tie her own dress around her to keep her from bleeding out.”

My breathing stopped, and I froze. Icy butterflies danced in my chest, a cold shiver prickling down my spine.

He continued, sounding distant. ”She was unusual, even for a demonkin. With a crimson hue to her horns. She always sat on her tail, like she wasn’t expecting it to be beneath her. It was funny, but...”

He shook his head, and when his gaze found mine again, I couldn’t look away. Those grey eyes stabbed right through my defenses. My breath hitched, and my heart gave a painful lurch in my chest. I tried to draw a breath, but my ribs felt locked, as if the air had turned to stone inside me.

”She said she was a hero. And for that heresy, she almost died.” His words, soft and quiet, thudded against my ears. ”Her life was saved by pure chance. By fate, you might say. By the sun hero himself, who healed her wounds and sheltered her in his arms. Who took her out of the darkness and into the light. To the Divine Throne.”

A whimper caught in my throat, my fingers trembling in my lap. Tears welled up in my eyes, spilling over.

”Y-You...” I covered my mouth, choking on a sob. ”But I...you...”

I flinched as he shifted, then froze as his arm wrapped around my shoulder. He pulled me against him, and I fell into his chest, sobbing. My tears wet his shirt, but he didn’t seem to mind.

”I never said thank you,” he murmured, stroking my hair with a tender hand. ”For the rat, I mean.”

”It’s...it’s you...” I croaked, ”From back then? The one who...who saved me... It was you?”

His smile was tinged with sadness. ”It seems that way.” His finger brushed my horn, and I shuddered, a tingle racing through me. ”Same horns, same tail, though you’ve gotten much more comfortable with it, I see.”

Red colored my cheeks as I found my tail curled on the bed, resting against his. He held me a moment longer before pulling back, and I drew my tail into my lap, my need to hold something unsated. Or be held, but I’d asked enough of him already. Besides, stroking it sent a familiar thrill through me, and I took a deep breath, exhaling softly.

”I should thank you too,” I said, no longer trembling the same. ”You saved my life, too.”

”I guess we slaves have to stick together.”

I nodded, smiling faintly. ”I never even knew your name. But when you helped me rip my skirt, and held me through the bars, that was the first time anyone had done something like that for me.”

”Never?” He tilted his head. ”But I thought you were from another world, originally. You can’t mean...?”

I rested a hand on his arm. ”Thank you. It meant more than you know.”

”Well, you did give me a rat.”

I giggled, wiping away the last tear as it traced down my cheek. ”A worthwhile trade, I think.”

”And now look at what you’ve become. The Oracle of Eternity. I’ve heard so many rumors and legends about what you’ve done. Every slave has. I must have seen you, once or twice, when I was in the resistance army fighting alongside the horde. But to think that noble, beautiful lady was you this whole time...”

”Y-You think so?”

”You? As beautiful as the night sky.” He said it casually, without the shame to hesitate. He rubbed his chin, unaware of the blush that crept across my face. ”But...that begs the question. What are you doing here, instead of with your army?”

My gaze fell, and I shifted, squeezing my tail. ”Things didn’t go as we planned, and we were forced to retreat. I got separated from the others, and...barely managed to find my way here.”

”Are you going to leave, then?”

”I have to, but I can’t. Someone’s hunting me. Someone very powerful.”

”Then you need to speak to Rodrick.”

”Rodrick? The priest? He’s here?” I clasped a hand to my chest, looking up with shining eyes. ”Really?”

”You know him, too? Me, Andres, and the priest?” he chuckled, shaking his head. ”I can’t imagine the odds of that happening, but I suppose that’ll save an introduction. Are you ready?”

I nodded, and he stood, offering me a hand. I accepted it, holding it a touch after he raised me to my feet. I smiled shyly, and he raised an eyebrow. Unable to resist, I drew close and slipped my arms around him, hugging him fiercely. His chest tensed against my cheek before he patted me on the back. I rested against him for a single breath before pulling away.

”Sorry,” I whispered, looking at the ground, my hands clasped behind me. ”I wanted to give you a proper hug. As thanks.”

”Any time, my Lady.” He winked at me, opening the door. ”Though, you should probably ask me first. Don’t want anyone getting the wrong idea.”

My cheeks burned as my fingers instinctively found their way to the base of my horn, rubbing it self-consciously. I hadn’t meant it that way at all. But as he turned, leading the way out, my smile returned. As I followed, my footsteps were light and free, a weight taken off my shoulders. Maybe I wasn’t so alone here after all.