Chapter 6
written by Darknezz
Note:
The content of these chapters was written 10 years ago and wasn’t changed since. Writing style differences may occur as the story goes on. Only the translation is recent.
Cheyennes thoughts are cursive.
Secret suspicion
Hope for a future
Saraley, Southern Lowlands of Luminastrelle
“Oh, she’s waking up!” “Baby, I can see that myself, no reason to expose my poor ear to this sound volume.” “Oh, shut up!” Cheyenne blinked until her eyes were open and she turned her head to the side. She was apparently lying in a bed, in a small room with a window. The voices she had just heard definitely came from Sasha and Glaczio, who were both next to the girl. The healer squatted next to her and the young woman stood behind him, with a worried look and an expectant attitude. Before Cheyenne could say anything, she felt Glaczio’s cold hand on her forehead. He smiled at her and then spoke to her. “Hey, pretty angel… It’s nice that you’re finally back among the living. You don’t seem to have a fever anymore and you shouldn’t feel any more pain. Contrary to our expectations, your body has recovered pretty quickly from all the exertions. I helped a little bit, but I’m still amazed at your good healing process. I’ve also taken on Adocaz, he’s doing great again. However, I am sincerely sorry for what happened to Falconheart.”
Cheyenne turned her head so that she could see to the other side of the bed where Adocaz was lying. He actually seemed to be doing very well, because he wagged his tail and his eyes radiated joy of life. The girl hugged the fairy wolf and was glad that he was okay again. However, many thoughts haunted her head. I can still remember everything exactly before I broke down… This is good. But Falconheart… I’ll never forget him, but I just can’t sink into grief again… for Adocaz… Luckily, Sasha found us, but how can I ever thank her for her help? She and Glaczio seem to know each other… I ask myself, from where? Oh no, Glaczio! I… I have to apologize to him… and thank him and… What luck that he showed up… How did he get to the waterfall so quickly?
Cheyenne didn’t feel any more pain, the healer had done miracles and now that she had rested, she could muster enough strength to talk. “Glaczio… I… I’m so sorry for everything, everything that happened. If it hadn’t been for me, your pony would still be alive and you wouldn’t have fallen down the slope and instead of admitting my mistakes, I just ran away… And now Falconheart is dead because of me. Why do I always put everyone’s life in danger? Thank you so much for still helping me and Adocaz despite everything that happened. I don’t have the right to be curious now, but how did you manage to get close to the waterfall so quickly? And… while I’m already asking questions… Where are we here and how long have I slept?” Glaczio’s gaze became soft and empathetic as he answered the girl. “Sweetie… It wasn’t your fault, please stop blaming yourself all the time, you’re just beating yourself up with it. It wasn’t your fault. Nothing was your mistake. You can’t help it that the knights are chasing you, and you couldn’t have known that the stone path would collapse. And of course I’ll help you, even if you just left me standing there, like the last idiot. Hehe. But, well, I assume that you were simply overwhelmed with everything and so it’s understandable that you ran away. To give you an answer to your questions: I first ran after you and when I came to a river, I followed it on the left side. But I knew you were on the other side because the ground there on the riverbank was quite wet and hoof and paw prints could be seen. I kept walking until I saw the waterfall and a few mutants from the knights’ research lab, but they probably didn’t notice me and disappeared into the depths of the forest. Sasha-Mouse here told me that they had hunted you, which I can imagine only too well, and you must have already thought that the knights had set them on you… After a short time I came to the waterfall and looked for a place where I could get down. When I finally arrived at the bottom, it was already very late and I made my way to the village, hoping that you would be there too. But three times you can guess who I met then, little angel. Hehe, of course you two pretty ones. I, the strong and heroic savior in need, then carried you here and we are now exactly where you wanted to go all along. In the village of Saraley, in the coziest and best inn there is. You slept from last night, until now, so today at noon. Oh, I’m so happy to see you again, I really missed you, little doll.” Cheyenne sighed, but somehow she also thought it was nice to have met him again. He was right in what he said, and she wasn’t entirely to blame, but she had always looked for the faults in herself for as long as she could remember. She did it automatically, even though her grandparents had constantly told her not to feel responsible for everything that went wrong and in which she was involved. The girl would try to listen to Glaczio’s words and improve this behavior. But at least she was now in Saraley and could look for Xaver. At last I can see him again! So… that is, if he was able to escape the knights and is doing well… I really want to go look for him at once. I should be able to do that by now and I don’t want to stay here any longer and waste valuable time. The faster I find it, the better. But… What do we do afterwards? And… didn’t Glaczio say we’re in an inn here? Where does the money for this come from? In the end, Sasha paid for me and I can’t give her the money back… Cheyenne sat up in bed because she didn’t want to lie down anymore. She would definitely ask how they got in here before she went in search of Xaver. “Um, Glaczio, Sasha, if we’re in an inn here, someone must have paid for this room for me, right? It’s very uncomfortable for me now, but I have no money at all to pay off my debts and Glaczio actually knows that.” The healer grinned mischievously, closed his eyes and lowered his head and now let Sasha have her say. “Oh, wow, the dear gentleman finally lets me say something. So, first of all, I’m really glad you’re okay again. I’ve been so worried about you, you’ll never believe it. And, um, well. No one paid for this room. Glaczio has… his very own methods of getting something without money… Even though I don’t like them at all, I have to admit that they are sometimes very practical. But I still can’t understand it and I never will. And… Believe me, you don’t want to know why he usually gets everything for free… But I think you’ll find out soon anyway. Well, anyway… Well, he told me everything about you and also what a great, great hero he was when he healed your scratches in Mediasilva. But one question burns on my tongue… How on earth could you put up with that idiot for so long?!” Glaczio seemed to be having a great time and before Cheyenne could answer Sasha, he began to speak. “Hehe, hey, Sasha-Mouse, quiet. How about you learn to control your temper and forgive me? Just don’t listen to this evil woman, little angel, she sometimes turns the wheel quite a bit. Hehe. And hey, I told you that I can do just fine without money, remember?” Sasha was visibly outraged by the healer’s statement, as he had called her ‘evil woman’. Cheyenne couldn’t help it, she just had to grin. These two behaved like an old married couple who were constantly quarrelling. Now the girl was interested all the more how they knew each other, and she continued the conversation. “Well, Sasha, I don’t know how I could stand it with him either, without Adocaz and Falconheart I would probably be desperate. Hihi. But it wasn’t that bad. And, yes, Glaczio, I remember your words, but now I find them even stranger than before. Oh, and… Would you tell me how you know each other? I know I’m way too curious and stuff, but… I’m very interested in it.” The healer and the young woman looked at each other and Sasha averted her gaze. Glaczio spoke again in her place. “The cute mouse here has known the handsome, charming Glaczio since childhood. She had lost her parents at a very early age and no longer had a family, so back then, as a five-year-old girl, she wandered around my home in the area and begged people until we met. Me and my parents decided to help her and that’s why we know each other. But the rest… She has to tell you herself at some point. I don’t have the right to talk about it, because her story is not exactly the most beautiful.”
For a brief moment there was silence. None of the three said anything. Sasha seemed to be a little depressed and she was engrossed in thought. Glaczio stared out of the window and probably thought as well. Cheyenne looked at both of them in turn, regretting that she had asked that question. But she couldn’t have known that it was such a difficult topic. She apologized to end the silence. “Forgive me, I didn’t know it made you so sad to talk about it. I won’t ask anymore, I promise. I shouldn’t have been so curious. I’m sorry.” The girl lowered her eyes, but Sasha shook her head and sat down next to her by the bed. The young woman put her hand on Cheyenne’s shoulder, looked her deep in the eye and then said something. “Oh, girl, you can’t know that I don’t have good memories of my childhood. I might also tell you what happened back then at some point, if I feel able to. I’ve always repressed it so far and never wanted to think about it again, but… If I talk to someone about it again, maybe I can put it behind me? Hm… Oh, never mind. Cheyenne, I heard you’re looking for someone, aren’t you? Your best friend, as far as I know? Glaczio said he had to stay in Saraley. So you’ll probably search the whole village for him next, huh?” Cheyenne nodded, because that’s exactly what she wanted to do. She wanted to find Xaver as soon as possible. Sasha’s sadness had disappeared and she was happy again. Full of enthusiasm, she continued to speak. “Nice! Then I’ll come with you. You should be fine again, but you never know and if you suddenly get dizzy or something like that, it’s advantageous if I’m there and can help you. There are also knights here, so it’s better if you’re not alone. Yes and I actually have another reason why I want to come along. I want to talk to you about something, about the tin cans. I may have an idea that can help you so that they stop chasing you or at least so that you are safe. We can leave at any time, I’ll follow you.” Does she mean the knights by tin cans? Because of their metal armor? Hihi. Cheyenne didn’t really want to put anyone in danger anymore, but she had the feeling that Sasha couldn’t be shaken off anyway. Besides, terrible things only happened when the girl was alone anyway. On the one hand, she wasn’t quite comfortable having someone with her again, because something always seemed to happen to these people somehow, but on the other hand, Cheyenne was happy to spend time with Sasha, because she really liked her. Besides, the young woman had said that she could probably help her. Now I’m taking the help of others again… I really have to come up with something to say thank you. Glaczio and Sasha do so much for me and I do nothing more than put them in danger and worry them.
Cheyenne remembered the young healer’s words. He had said that she was not to blame for her situation. The girl tried to believe that so that she would have a better conscience and accept Sasha’s help. “Thank you very much, Sasha. As far as I’m concerned, we can start right away. I can’t wait to see Xaver. I just hope he’s really here… Well, we’ll find out.” The young woman nodded and stood up. Glaczio did the same and then went to the room door. He winked at Cheyenne and tilted his head before saying goodbye. “All right, then you two pretty ones go through the village and I’ll do a few things in the meantime. We’ll meet again later here at the inn.” Sasha rolled her eyes in annoyance and poisoned the healer. “Why did you have to meet Cheyenne? Argh… But I have no choice but to follow you at the moment, because I’ll stay with Cheyenne in any case. And if she accepts my offer, we’ll get rid of you sooner than you think. Believe me, this will be the best day of my life and I hope I never have to see you again after that!” Sasha didn’t seem to like Glaczio. She was always so cheerful and incredibly kind to Cheyenne. But when she talked about or with the healer, she was upset and angry. I’d love to know why she hates him so much… But somehow he deserves it, hehe. Glaczio seemed absolutely unimpressed and justified himself. “Hey, you know the reason I’m here, Sasha mouse… I want to stay with my little angel. The fact that you happen to be here too, I can’t help it. I know that you hate me abysmally and don’t forgive me, even though so much time has passed since then. But for now, you’ll have to put up with me, willy-nilly. Besides, you wouldn’t even have gotten a room here without me and my little angel would still be in pain. Maybe you’ll reconsider your opinion, sweet mouse.” Now he turned to Cheyenne. “See you later, doll. Good luck with your search.” Then he left the room grinning.
Sasha was extremely annoyed with the healer. She had turned quite red in the face and clenched her teeth. Then she took a deep breath in and out and calmed down again.
Cheyenne stood up, swayed a little at first, but found her balance again relatively quickly. Adocaz jumped down from the bed and trudged to the door. His legs no longer caused him any problems. The girl and the young woman went to the fairy wolf and then all three left the room. They came to a large room made of wood and were on the first floor. A staircase led to the ground floor, where the reception desk, a sitting area and a few other rooms were located. Everything was nicely decorated. Overall, the entire inn seemed inviting and friendly.
Just as Cheyenne was about to go downstairs, Sasha grabbed her arm and stared intently at the reception desk. She followed her gaze and saw Glaczio playing with the shoulder-length pink hair of a girl behind the counter. She smiled at him and giggled from time to time. He definitely seemed to be flirting with her. Sasha sighed and then spoke quietly to Cheyenne. “That girl with the pink hair again. She was there last night too. She gave us the room – for free, as you know. And now you see the reason why. The world is crazy. He flirts briefly with a girl and gives her nice compliments, and suddenly we have a room in the best inn in this village. He only has to wink at women and they fall in love with him. I mean, it’s unbelievable, isn’t it? How can anyone fall in love with such a complete idiot? Above all, this girl is risking her job for him. If the innkeeper finds out that money is missing and the room hasn’t been paid for, he’ll definitely hold someone accountable. But that’s not all. He does this to every woman and girl he thinks is old enough when he wants something. It’s not right, he takes advantage of them, flirts with them and then disappears, usually without saying a word. He never used to be like that, he was always friendly to everyone and gave more than he took. But for the past year… everything has changed. I’ve only seen him once since then, but he hasn’t seen me. I watched him for two days and wondered whether to show myself and talk to him, but he always had women around him. Then I left and realised once again that I had been very wrong about him back then… Oh, I’m talking too much. I’m sure I’m making you really curious, but I just can’t tell you what happened yet. It has a lot to do with him and, well… Did Glaczio ever tell you his story?” While Sasha was talking, Cheyenne had often shaken her head at the healer. She thought what he did to the girls was unfair and wrong. She thought for a moment and replied. “He only said that about a year ago, the knights killed his family, burned down his house and chased him out of town. I don’t know for sure which town, but I’m pretty sure he lived somewhere in Luminastrelle. I guess he lived in Excidoma Magna… But that’s all he said about himself.” Sasha nodded and said something barely audible. “So he only told her half the truth… Hmm, but there’s no other way, really…” Cheyenne had understood the words, because she could hear quite well, but she asked again anyway, hoping the young woman could tell her more. “What did you say?” But the opposite was the case, because Sasha gave the girl no further information. “Oh, nothing, nothing at all. Come on, let’s finally go and find your friend. I don’t want to watch those two down there any longer, otherwise I’ll go crazy.” With that, she went down the stairs and left Cheyenne standing there. The girl ran after her, followed by Adocaz, but Sasha’s behaviour was strange. What’s going on? She’s hiding something from me. What did she mean by ‘half the truth’? Is it to be believed that everyone has secrets from me? First Glaczio, then Sasha, and when I think about it more closely, my grandparents must have known more too, the way they reacted to the knight, I just never noticed it before… That Atropax surely knows more about me too, otherwise he wouldn’t have me followed, and Xaver? His behaviour when we fled… We could have shaken off the knights together… He didn’t have to take my crystal… But there’s nothing to know about me that I don’t already know myself. That’s illogical… I must know everything about myself, mustn’t I? After all, it’s my life. I want to know once and for all what everyone is hiding from me! When Cheyenne caught up with Sasha, she was already standing outside the inn, looking around. The girl spoke to her directly. “Sasha, you’re hiding something from me, aren’t you? Glaczio does that too, but he’s so stubborn and won’t say anything, and he thinks I’m too stupid to realise that he’s keeping things from me. He always avoids me when I ask him about it… Please don’t be like that too.” The young woman looked down at the floor, looking upset, and said nothing. Then she looked at Cheyenne sympathetically and gave her an answer. “What would I have to hide something from you? I’ve only known you for a few hours. Why would I know anything about you that you imagine I do? I know that idiot sometimes speaks in riddles and stuff, but… there’s nothing, okay? Um… well, now that we’re here, what does your friend look like?” Cheyenne sighed deeply. She wouldn’t find out what was going on from Sasha either. She gave up and described Xaver. “He has short blond hair, is half a head taller than me, has green eyes and a slim build. And um… if you see a horse that looks like the knights’ special horses, but with a long mane and pink streaks in it, similar to Adocaz’s antennae, we’re definitely near Xaver. That would be his mare, Shiva.” Sasha nodded and confirmed that she understood. „All right. Let’s get going then.”
Saraley was a village straight out of a picture book. It was quite large, almost a town. The stone-paved ground was sandy, and you could smell the sea. Seagulls circled above the pale-coloured houses with red roofs, and Saraley was adorned with colourful flowers and green trees. Behind the village was a beach that the inhabitants called ‘Beach of Light’, and behind that was the sea. The inhabitants of Saraley seemed to have no problem with the word ‘light’, they had no inhibitions about saying it, and some could even be heard talking enthusiastically about it as they passed by.
There was silence for a while. Cheyenne searched every alley and corner of the village for Xaver, but she couldn’t find him. She was about to give up and hung her head. By now, she didn’t care what Sasha or anyone else was hiding from her, she just wanted to find her best friend and know he was safe. But her wish didn’t seem to be coming true, and she shared her doubts with her new acquaintance. “What if they caught and killed him after all… If I never see him again… He’s not here… We’ve searched almost everywhere…” Sasha encouraged her. “Don’t give up now, dear. We’ll find him somehow. Ever heard of ‘hope dies last’? We haven’t even searched the whole village yet. Come on, we’re not giving up now, okay?” She really is an optimist… But at least she’s helping me with the search, and she’s right. Giving up is the last thing I’m going to do now.
Just as she lifted her head again to look ahead, Cheyenne bumped into someone. Startled, she took a step back and apologised. “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to… It wasn’t on purpose. Sorry.” Standing in front of the girl was a man who was about a head taller than she was. He wore glasses with blue-tinted lenses, had sea-blue hair combed back in a strange way, with orange strands that seemed to start in the middle of his head and hang down at the sides behind his ears. However, the strands looked very strange, as if they weren’t hair at all, but something else that just looked very similar. Almost a little like Adocaz’s antennae. But Cheyenne suspected that he had simply used too much hair gel on his hair. The man was quite muscular and the girl estimated him to be about thirty years old. He was wearing a long dark brown coat, which was very unusual for this time of year. For some reason, his aura made Cheyenne shudder, he seemed almost creepy to her and her heart began to beat faster. Finally, he accepted her apology and spoke in a powerful but not angry voice. “It’s all right, child. But in future, you should keep your eyes open and watch where you’re going. What beautiful hair you have. Black as night and green as the colour of hope, and your eyes are as red as the colour of love… or blood and death.” Without saying goodbye, the man walked past Cheyenne and disappeared into a side street. Sasha was the first to find her voice again. “Um, yeah, okay. What a strange fellow. The way he stared at you. And where did he come from anyway? From that street? Well, even if he did, he could have just as easily avoided you. How strange. He must have been crazy. Did you see his hair, hihi.” Cheyenne didn’t find it as funny as her companion. The man’s last sentence gave her pause. She replied to Sasha. “Yeah, the guy was strange, but I’m more concerned about what he said than how he looked. That man was almost creepy…” The girl shuddered. Adocaz barked softly, as if he shared his owner’s opinion, and then had to sneeze. Cheyenne and the young woman had to grin and quickly forgot about the strange man. Then Sasha brought up a more important topic. “So, listen, Cheyenne. I told you I needed to talk to you about something concerning your future… I might know how we can protect you from the knights. Glaczio told me he already told you about the Shadow Servants, didn’t he? They are the arch enemies of the knights, and I can well imagine that they would protect you and take you in as one of their own. The tin cans are desperate to get their hands on you, so it looks like it would be a win-win situation for both you and the Shadow Servants. If the knights want to kill you, they see you as an enemy, but in this case, you would actually be the opposite for the freedom fighters, namely an ally. And if you then join them, the knights won’t get you and you’ll have the protection of the Shadow Servants. That’s an advantage for both sides. So, the Shadow Servants may not be able to guarantee your safety, but then again, who can? Still, it’s better than nothing. I could take you to one of their strongholds, and that way we could stay together longer. I’m really happy to have finally found a friend, so I want to be with you. I’ll even volunteer to protect you.”
Cheyenne was surprised. She talks as if she were one of the Shadow Servants herself. But she’s right, it would be a win for me and these freedom fighters. This idea is actually really good. I hate the knights, so why shouldn’t I side with their enemies? Yes, that’s what I’ll do. Hmm, Sasha already considers me a friend. How nice. Then I’ll do that too from now on. The girl replied to her new friend. “You’re right. I agree and want to join the Shadow Servants. Do you have a specific task that you have to do as a member? Um, Sasha… Are you one of them? You just sounded like you knew quite a lot about them.” The young woman grinned and replied. “Hihi, yes, that’s right, I’m on their side. The knights…” She looked around before continuing, but no one was nearby, so she went on. “…are a nuisance. They’re all dimwits with pea brains. If they keep this up, the world will die before our eyes. It’s already so bad. But I think it’s great that you’ve made this decision. It’s really better this way, believe me. Oh yes, exactly. You asked what you have to do? Well, since the knights want you so badly, I think you’ll be accepted just like that. What you do after that is up to you, but if there’s a war, you may have to take part in it. You have a bow, don’t you? If you’re good with it, you’ll fight in the background with the other archers. But you don’t need to worry too much about that, they only call up members who are near the place where the war is taking place. We’re miles away from those places here. But actually, I doubt they would expose you to such a battle, because the knights’ goal seems to be your death, and you could die in the war. We have to make the tin cans’ targets unreachable…” Cheyenne seemed to have made the right decision, and she found it amazing that her friend was one of the Shadow Servants. She was curious and wanted to know what Sasha’s job was. “That sounds great. Thank you for making this suggestion. What do you actually do for the Shadow Servants?” Sasha proudly gave the girl an answer. “I’m a field spy. It’s the best job you can be assigned. All I have to do is travel around the country and listen to what people are saying. I have to find out as much as possible about the knights and their plans and pass on information to my assigned clan. This information is then forwarded to the Imperator, the boss of the Shadow Clan, who then passes it on to the Superator, the boss of all Shadow Clans on the five continents, each of which has at least one clan. The Superator then decides how we should proceed and act. So he is the boss of the emperors who give us shadow servants our tasks. That sounds very confusing at first, doesn’t it?” But Cheyenne thought she understood and gave Sasha a summary of what she had just tried to explain. “No, no, I don’t find it confusing at all. So, the Shadow Servants are us, the members, who all have tasks. I just count myself among them already. We are assigned to a clan that is located near us. There is at least one clan per continent, and they are led by Imperators. The great leader of the Shadow Servants and commander of the emperors is the Superator. Have I understood that correctly? It’s not that difficult to understand. Hihi.” Sasha nodded and smiled. “Yes, exactly, Cheyenne, you’ve understood. I’m proud of you, you’ve grasped what I’ve explained. Most people always find my explanations very complicated. All right. I think we’ve searched all of Saraley now, and your friend doesn’t seem to be here yet. Let’s go back to the inn. I want to rub it in Glaczio’s face that I was able to persuade you, because he thought you would be against it, since you didn’t want to put anyone else in danger because of you. But don’t worry, the Shadow Servants can take good care of themselves. Come on, let’s go back.” Sasha always managed to make Cheyenne feel better, no matter what. She was happy to have such a good friend now. So the girl, the young woman and Adocaz went back to the inn.
There were many colourful clouds in the sky, and the source of life was already moving towards the horizon. Soon it would disappear behind the blue sea. So it was already late afternoon.
When Cheyenne, Sasha and Adocaz arrived at the inn, Glaczio seemed to be waiting for them, leaning against the wall and watching a butterfly flutter past him. When he saw the three approaching, he pushed himself away from the wall and crossed his arms. The wind played with his long, ice-blue hair as he winked at Cheyenne. She sighed and Sasha rolled her eyes before opening her mouth to tell him he was wrong. “Hey, icicle, Cheyenne accepted my suggestion. What do you say now, hm?” The healer grinned and didn’t let the young woman rattle him. He calmly gave her an answer. “Very good, then my little angel has made a wise decision for a change. By the way, I also have a suggestion for you, doll. How about a little combat training? You really need to learn to fight back and defend yourself. The last few times you got away with it, almost unscathed, but it won’t always end so well. There’s a large garden area behind the inn, we’ll go there now and I’ll teach you a few things, sweetheart.” He turned away and walked behind the large house. Sasha seemed to like his suggestion for a change and followed him. Cheyenne timidly trailed behind, while Adocaz happily rushed behind the inn. Was he… serious? He wants to teach me something? He wants to train with me? That probably means he’ll fight with me too… I don’t stand a chance against Glaczio… When I think back to what he did to the knights… But it’s true, in a way. I have to learn to defend myself, at least. Then I wouldn’t be so dependent on help, and others wouldn’t have to put their lives in danger for me. Hm… All right… Close your eyes and go for it.
When she arrived in the garden, she saw Sasha sitting on a stone bench with Adocaz lying next to her on the grass. Glaczio was standing in the middle of the lawn, waiting. The garden was full of fruit trees and colourful flowers, and through a gate made of roses, a few steps led to a terrace from which a path led to the beach. It was a beautiful place.
The healer approached Cheyenne and thought for a moment before speaking to her. “All right, little angel. You have a foldable bow, as far as I can see, but do you have any other proper weapons?” The girl shook her head, because the only thing she had besides the bow was the small knife, but that wasn’t much use in a fight. Glaczio seemed to see it the same way, because he looked at it sceptically and didn’t pursue the matter further. Then he continued. “Well, until you have a sword, you’ll have to make do with your bow. I assume you know how to use it and your arrows hit their target?” Cheyenne nodded again and the healer continued. “Wonderful. By the way, I had already stopped by the blacksmith’s earlier to ask about your sword, but unfortunately the shop was closed. Now then, unfold your bow; you don’t need any arrows right now. But as I see it, you don’t have any with you anyway.” He walked back to the middle of the garden and motioned for the girl to face him. She did so, unfolding the black metal bow. She pressed the button on the side and the weapon maximised its size within half a second. Glaczio examined the unusually large bow and Cheyenne proudly told him about her weapon. “Impressive, isn’t it? I’ve had it for as long as I can remember, but my grandparents didn’t give it to me until my tenth birthday because they thought it was such a dangerous weapon. When I finally got it, I practised aiming with it every day and now I’m really good at it. By the way, it doesn’t need arrows, Glaczio. They just appear when I concentrate and imagine one. And now that I know that black mist or black fire is Umbraurore, I would say they are Umbraurore arrows. But Umbraurore can’t actually take physical form, can it? Then it must be magic, right?” To convince the others, Cheyenne made a black arrow appear and then disappear again. The healer continued to look thoughtfully at the bow and exchanged a glance with Sasha before answering the girl. “Little angel… So you’ve had this bow for as long as you can remember, yes? Very strange… I know you want to know what I think, don’t you? Well, that was definitely Umbraurore. No mistake about it. But it wasn’t elemental magic. It was Umbraurore in its purest and clearest form, the thing is… For a normal human being, it is simply impossible to control pure Umbraurore, or non-physical Lumenium, to such a degree. The few people who can do so are only able to do so using highly sophisticated equipment from research laboratories, but this research is still in its infancy and only began a few years ago. It’s not really progressing either, because the Knights close most laboratories when they find out that experiments are being conducted with Umbraurore. I’ve never seen a bow like this before either. I would almost guess that it was created on the same basis as an elemental sword, except that this bow does not have a specific element… Unless… It carries the darkness within it… This is pure Umbraurore in a minimally transformed form and produces black magic, which is much more powerful than all other elemental spells. But that’s impossible, no one in this world can still produce the element of darkness and thus cannot make a weapon with it. People no longer know how to bring one of the special Umbraurore spheres, which take on elements, into contact with darkness. But even if one were to miraculously manage this, no normal person could handle it… Hm… Hehe, little angel, you have an enormously extraordinary weapon and a special gift for controlling Umbraurore. You are one of those people who have a great deal of life force in their bodies. That also means that you should be able to wield elemental magic. But first, I will finally teach you how to fight. Take your bow like a sword and attack me.” Glaczio tilted his head and waited. While he was speaking, the healer and Sasha exchanged meaningful glances from time to time. Once again, they seemed to be hiding something from the girl. My bow is supposed to be special? First he says that no normal person could master Umbraurore, then he changes his mind and wants to tell me that I’m special because of it? So now he thinks I’m not normal, or what? And I’m supposed to be able to master black magic?! Pure Umbraurore in the form of a darkness element? But then he said that was impossible… Cheyenne’s thoughts were interrupted when Glaczio challenged her to attack again. “Hey, angel. Come on, attack me. I know it’s hard to fight someone who is so pretty and strong, but you can do it. Just remember how much you hate me for giving you those nicknames, for always hiding so many things from you, in your opinion, and I’m sure Sasha has also told you some bad things about me that you don’t like. And if that’s not the case, just imagine you’re Sasha and I’m your mortal enemy, you’re so incredibly angry with me and hate nothing more in the world than poor, dear Glaczio. Let’s go, pretty angel!” Now that the healer had listed so many things, Cheyenne had become really angry. She added a few angry thoughts of her own to make sure she could actually attack him. Why won’t he just tell me what’s going on? Why is he, to use Sasha’s words, such a complete idiot and exploits girls for his own benefit? Cheyenne now felt ready and ran towards the healer. Fortunately, he did not have his sword, but a wooden stick in his hand and waited for the attack. She raised her bow, took a wide swing and struck with it. Without much effort, Glaczio, holding the stick in only one hand, blocked the attack and pushed the girl back, but Cheyenne did not give up and tried again. Not a good decision, because her opponent seemed to have been waiting for it. Before she could attack, he stopped her with a sufficiently powerful blow to the stomach and she had to retreat to regain her balance. However, he had placed his foot behind her legs, so she tripped over it and fell backwards to the ground. With half-closed eyes, the healer looked at Cheyenne with a grin and held the wooden stick to her throat. At that moment, Cheyenne could not have said for certain that he was not an enemy.
Sasha had been watching the whole time and was horrified. “Glaczio, are you completely stupid? What was that all about? You know she has no idea how to fight, and you’re already using your nastiest tricks? And get that stick away from her throat, for Goodness’s sake! Can you believe this…” The healer sighed and helped the girl to her feet, asking her how she was feeling. “Are you all right, sweetheart? You did everything wrong that you possibly could have done. Hehe. But at least now I know what we need to work on. It’s going to be a lot of work, sweetie… I’m sorry about that, but your enemies aren’t going to be so gentle with you either. At the moment, we’re only dealing with knights who just attack stubbornly, but you never know what’s coming next. Well, let’s see. You’re small and petite, so we need to work more on your defence, reaction and speed. If a really strong knight attacks you, you’re no match for him unless you can dodge quickly enough. You wouldn’t have enough strength to block his attack and resist him. So I’m going to teach you the same methods I use. First of all, you need to be the epitome of calm. You have to concentrate hard so that you can think quickly and wisely about what to do next. Then you must never lose sight of the enemy unless you are one hundred per cent sure of his location. You are clever, in my opinion, and once you get used to close combat, you are guaranteed to have the same responsiveness, calmness and concentration as when you work with your bow. All that remains is speed and defence. A few nasty tricks won’t hurt either. Hehe. Once you’ve mastered all that, I’ll show you how to attack properly and carefully, and we’ll spend a little time on elemental magic. You always have to think one step ahead. I know this is difficult for someone who isn’t as highly intelligent as I am, but Sasha here manages it reasonably well. Even if she mostly just attacks stubbornly, just like the knights. But to be honest, I think you’ll learn very quickly, because I really think you’re quite intelligent, angel. For example, you have no problem understanding complicated things. That’s unusual for someone from the undercity, but it’s all the more sad that your intelligence was never encouraged. Anyway, let’s start training.” Cheyenne understood what she had to focus on during the fight. It was probably just a matter of practice. He said he even wants to teach me elemental magic. That’s great! But will I really ever be able to attack and hurt someone? Maybe I’ll even have to kill someone… I don’t know if I’m capable of that… So the training began, and Glaczio taught the girl many important things and the basics of fighting.
A few hours later, Cheyenne had internalised most of what she had been taught and was able to apply it excellently in combat. She had already managed to defeat Glaczio once in a training fight. Even though he had obviously let the girl triumph without resistance after a long fight, she counted it as a victory. Sasha was thrilled when the healer admitted defeat, but he had ignored her and continued with his training. Teacher and student seemed to be having a lot of fun. Now it was evening, the chromastars were fading and some had already disappeared on the horizon.
Glaczio threw the stick aside and drew his sword from its sheath. The cold emanating from the blade was clearly visible, as the heavy, icy air sank to the ground as a light blue mist and slowly dissipated. The ice sword had several symbols and patterns on its blade, and the elemental orb was visible through the pale blue metal. It was a truly beautiful weapon. Cheyenne found it almost sad that something so wonderful served as an instrument of death. What does he want to do with his sword now… The healer played around with the sharp object for a moment and then pointed its tip at the girl. He looked at her defiantly and revealed his intention. “Right, angel. The last fight for today. Metal against metal. If you don’t hurt yourself now, you’ve mastered today’s training. Attack me.” Cheyenne was shocked. Was he serious? She was supposed to withstand his ice blade without hurting herself? But she believed she could do it, and even if something happened, he was a healer.
The girl slowly stumbled towards Glaczio. When she was already quite close to him, he struck with his sword as fast as lightning, but Cheyenne had also become quick and blocked the blow. His blade struck her bow several times, forcing her to retreat. She managed to push him back briefly, and he praised the girl before launching another attack. After further blocking manoeuvres, Cheyenne bumped into a tree and could not retreat any further. The healer pressed the ice sword hard against the metal bow; if she gave way now, the blade would cut her throat. Above her, she saw some branches hanging down from the tree. She pushed Glaczio away from her with all her strength, jumped up to grab hold of the branches, and when her attacker came closer again, she kicked him with her feet. He fell backwards, but rolled backwards and was back on his feet, ready for another attack. Cheyenne had hoped for just that, now she could get away from the tree and had freed herself from her predicament. Then she moved sideways towards the healer and tried to attack him. He used the same trick as in their very first fight and tripped the girl. She fell backwards again, but this time she planned it, landing on her hands and shifting her entire weight onto them. Then she swung her legs up, knocked the ice sword out of Glaczio’s hand, did a handstand for half a second, and then landed back on the ground with her legs, further away from her opponent than before. The healer seemed very surprised and retrieved his sword, which was stuck in the ground a few metres away. Meanwhile, he praised his student. “Perfect. You couldn’t have done it better. Little angel, you didn’t tell me you could do a somersault like that, and backwards too. Impressive.” Cheyenne was delighted and thanked him. “Thank you for teaching me so much, I think I understand everything now. I’ve never been able to do a somersault before, I’ve never even tried, but trying that seemed to be the only way to avoid falling.” The healer had picked up his sword and put it back in its sheath. But he paused and said a few quiet words. “You… learn very quickly and well, little angel… It’s almost as if you have fighting in your blood. I also managed this kind of roll quite quickly and without much thought back then…” He slowly turned around and looked the girl straight in the eyes. He seemed very thoughtful once again, but this time in a different way. Sasha and Adocaz had also come closer. The young woman went to the healer and whispered something to him. “Don’t you think we should tell her now? How much more proof do you want? A normal person could never learn all these fighting techniques so quickly, and you know that.” Cheyenne understood every single word her friend said. Glaczio closed his eyes and sighed before answering Sasha. “I wanted to be absolutely sure before we caused her unnecessary worry. But on the other hand… you’re right. We’ve been hiding it from her for far too long, and since everything currently points in that direction, we should slowly tell her the truth.” The healer opened his eyes and looked at Cheyenne again. What’s going on? What truth and what do I need to know? She became nervous and asked, hoping to finally get all the answers to her questions. “What do you mean? Would you kindly tell me what’s going on here? What evidence do you mean and what truth? Please tell me what’s going on…” Unlike Glaczio, Sasha seemed surprised that Cheyenne had heard the whispering again and took a step back. She looked at the girl sympathetically and left it to the healer to speak. It was one of those rare moments when he was exceptionally serious. “I wish I had been mistaken. But everything points to it at the moment. Even when I first saw you, you seemed somehow different to me, little angel. Then you told me your story and showed me this scroll. The knights see you, a seventeen-year-old girl who has never hurt anyone, as a threat. Strange, isn’t it? You possess a black crystal that they want. You have amazing healing abilities and learn incredibly quickly. Your bow is a weapon that shouldn’t exist… Considering all this… I’m almost certain that our assumption is correct. Cheyenne LeBlesse… We believe you are… the Chosen One of Darkness.”
The girl stood there confused. From the way Glaczio
had just put it, this thing didn’t seem to be a good thing. But she didn’t
quite understand what it meant anyway. Chosen one? Um… me? What does that
mean? Seriously, if he’s finally going to tell me the truth, he could at least
do it in a way that I can understand. Cheyenne looked at him questioningly and the
healer sighed. Sasha now began to speak in his place. “Well… First of
all, it’s just a guess, we’re not entirely sure, but as Glaczio already said…
Unfortunately, pretty much everything points to it. Um… Judging by the look
on your face, you don’t know what we’re talking about or what it means… Well,
I don’t know… maybe it’s better if we don’t tell you yet.” She looked
away, embarrassed, but Glaczio slowly shook his head and reproached Cheyenne’s
friend. “It was your idea to tell her, sweetheart, so explain to her what this
situation means. It’s too late to keep quiet now.” But Sasha closed her eyes.
The healer sighed and took over speaking for the young woman. “I can see
that the unpleasant part is once again left to me… All right, sweetheart. As
Sasha-Mouse here has already mentioned, I can’t give you any guarantees about
our assumption at this point, but if it were true, you would have a big
problem. Because you would be constantly pursued, always in danger, and people
would continue to try to kill you. You would have a destiny, a fate that you
must fulfil, and thus you would not be able to live your life freely as you
would like. And what would probably be the worst part of it all for you is that
you would see many people die because of you and for you. If you really are the
chosen one, it would explain why you are being hunted and why Atropax wants
your crystal… Hm… Where should I start? There is a legend about two gods
who watched over and protected this world during the Yin-Yang era. But one day,
it is said, they began to quarrel, and their mood spread to the people who knew
of their existence and worshipped them. The entire world population was divided
in two; some were followers of the goddess of darkness, while others sided with
the god of light. Eventually, a great war broke out, destroying much of the
world and nearly wiping out humanity. The gods blamed each other and a bitter
struggle ensued between them. Then came the great apocalypse, in which the
world changed and all the dead were miraculously brought back to life. Peace
reigned for a long time until a few people found records in ancient temples.
The documents were from the people who had fought on the side of the God, and
they clearly showed that the goddess was in the wrong. The people who found
these ancient records then assumed that the goddess of darkness had triumphed
in the battle against the god of light and changed the world in her favour, as
it is today. For nowhere was there any white light, as mentioned in the ancient
writings. Even the sky seemed to have changed, for at that time, according to
the writings, the stars were white and the black Noxastrum Vitae did not exist.
Instead, there was a bright white planet that people called the “sun”. Another,
called the “moon”, also disappeared. Everything that was white seemed to have
been banished. Now it was no longer difficult for people to believe the ancient
writings, and they founded the knighthood with the aim of restoring the old
world and helping the God of Light defeat the Goddess of Darkness once and for
all. They then hoped for his help and support in convincing humanity of their
leadership qualities in order to lead the world into a glorious future. For
when everyone was finally on their side, they would no longer have to kill so
many people. That doesn’t sound like evil knights at all, does it, little
angel? You probably think that their goals are not reprehensible, but
well-intentioned. Yes, that’s what I thought at first too. But then the Shadow
Servants were formed, because they had found records left behind by those who
were on the side of the goddess. These records stated that the old world was
doomed to destruction if nothing was done. This also seemed to be the reason for
the dispute between the gods. The ancient writings on this side said that the
god responsible for the world had been negligent, causing the land to slowly
die. The goddess, who had cared for all life, seemed to have had no choice but
to fight him and change the world for the benefit of all her creatures. The
Shadow Servants therefore consider the Knights’ plan to recreate the dying
world to be absolutely insane. In addition, archaeologists suspect that there
was no Umbraurore and no Lumenium in the Yin-Yang era, but today we can no
longer live without these two forces. So if the old world is restored, we are
all doomed to death. This theory has not yet been proven, but it is entirely
possible. I suspect that this is why the Knights are experimenting so much with
Lumenium. Either they want to test how the world reacts in addition to their
actual research, or they don’t care about wasting energy because they will soon
change everything anyway. For my part, I don’t think much of the Knights’
plans. Their approach is far too reckless; they could potentially wipe out the
entire world with their plans. In my opinion, they should leave everything as
it is and reduce the number of experiments. There must have been a good reason
why the world changed, whether you believe in the legend of the gods or not…”
Cheyenne had been listening attentively the whole time and found it interesting
to learn so much about the world. It’s amazing how much he knows… Hm…
Goddess of Darkness… Chosen One of Darkness… Could it be that these things
are connected? So far, he hasn’t said anything about this Chosen One business,
except for the problems and difficulties it entails…
The girl was unsettled and even a little frightened
after everything she had just been told, but she tried to remain calm and
waited for the healer to continue. “Now you know this old legend and you
know more about knights and shadow servants. I bet you’re wondering why I told
you this, since you actually wanted to know about the term “chosen one”. Well,
you can probably guess that it’s all connected… Since the Apocalypse, the
gods had never been seen again. That’s why, after so long, they are now only legends.
But twenty years ago, something happened that points to their existence; they
just don’t seem to show themselves to humans anymore. At that time, a child was
born. It is said that on the first night of its life, it was visited by the god
of light, because the next morning there was a scroll in its cradle. Written on
the piece of yellowed paper in Lumenium was that this baby was the chosen one
of light, and the god himself had signed it. The knights took this as a sign
that the God supported their plan and had therefore given them the chosen one.
This boy was trained by the best knights, his every wish was granted, and he
was given the best private tutors to nurture his intelligence. He was
considered a child prodigy because he made much better and faster progress than
other children. For this reason, however, they also experimented on him from
time to time… The knights wanted him to lead them one day, but then something
happened that only they and the chosen one know about. For this special boy, blessed
by God, who was already an adult at that time, ran away. To this day, no one
knows if he is still alive or where he is. Many people have already forgotten
him, but those who still know who he is have considered him a traitor ever
since, because he simply disappeared and ran away from his tasks and duties.
There are rumours that the knights have doubted him since the Chosen One of
Darkness was born seventeen years ago. For she was given not only a scroll, but
also a black crystal. The knights did everything in their power to find and
kill her as a baby, knowing that, like the Chosen One who had not received a
crystal, she was born in Excidoma Magna and could one day become a threat.
However, she was not found as a toddler. When she was finally discovered and
they saw that she lived in the undercity and made no move to go to the Shadow
Servants, they simply observed the girl and left her alone for the time being.
I believe you are the Chosen One, little angel. Your story matches theirs
perfectly. Of course, we can’t say for sure at this point, as coincidence
cannot be ruled out, but… the evidence is sufficient for a ninety-five per
cent probability. However, I don’t quite understand why the knights are now
hunting you out of the blue. You really haven’t been a great danger. They must
be up to something… After all, they don’t just want to kill you, they also
want your crystal… But what would the knights need the black crystal of the
chosen one for… There are so many questions on this subject. If the gods
really exist, why don’t they care more about this world? Why do the chosen ones
exist at all, and what is their task? Perhaps the gods are just using you
chosen ones to continue their battle? Then it would probably be your task to
thwart the knights’ plans… However, these are just some of my thoughts, and
we can only be sure once we read the scroll. But there is nothing written on
the note except your name and a few letters… You’ll have to find out for
yourself. But one thing I know for sure:
you must not die under any circumstances… So, now you know everything I was
taught about this subject at school.” Glaczio finished his lecture and
turned away from Cheyenne. He walked towards the garden entrance and raised his
hand in farewell. As he did so, he explained why he was leaving. “Right, you
two lovelies, I have to go. I have a date waiting for me and I’m already very
late. See you later, my darlings.” Sasha looked after him in disbelief and
sighed. “Why is he just disappearing like that? Argh… that idiot… He always
leaves in the most difficult situations…“ The young woman seemed extremely
annoyed, but then she saw Cheyenne staring thoughtfully at a flower. I’m
supposed to be… someone so special? But I’m just… a girl from the undercity…
A nobody… Glaczio sounded as if the chosen one was very important and had a
lot of responsibility… But I can’t… He said I mustn’t die… But if someone
hadn’t been helping me all the time, I would have been dead long ago. I can’t
be the chosen one, it just can’t be true… I’m not good enough for something
like that… I don’t even know what the chosen one’s task would be… Besides,
I actually want to decide my own life and choose my own tasks freely… Hmm…
Glaczio also said that it’s not certain yet and that it could be a mistake.
But… on the other hand, that would be the answer to all my questions…
That’s what everyone has been hiding from me. My grandparents, my best friend
seems to have known about it too, the knights, Glaczio and even Sasha… But I
don’t want any of this, and I’m not a threat, so why do they still want to kill
me? What if I just shirk my duty, if I really am the chosen one? Then the
knights will surely stop hunting me. But I don’t even know what my task is yet.
Maybe I should just give them my crystal… No… That wouldn’t be right. Then
I would be helping my enemies and probably bringing about the death of the
world. I don’t want that either… Glaczio suspected that I had to thwart the
knights’ plans, but how on earth am I supposed to do that? I’m just… me.
Cheyenne was confused. She didn’t know what to do
next. Sasha tried to free her from her gloomy thoughts. “That was probably
too much for you, huh? But just try not to dwell on it too much, okay? After
all, we’re not sure yet. For now, you should carry on as before. So, your
preliminary goal is still to go to the Shadow Servants. Then we’ll think about
everything else, yes? If you really are the chosen one, then… you have to
come to us anyway. We’ve been waiting so long for you to appear… When the
Superator realised seventeen years ago that a Chosen One of Darkness had also
been born, he greatly intensified the war effort and gave everyone new hope.
That’s why the clans gained many new members at that time, because with the
good prospects of a fair chance against the Knights, people dared to switch
sides. Even some of the undecided ones came to us. And now there will be even
more, because when you go to the Shadow Servants, their hopes of victory
against the Knights will be even higher than before. With you on our side, we
can do it. I’m absolutely certain. We’ll spoil the tin cans’ party. Hihi. And
add plenty of pepper. This world finally has a chance for a future again. Thank
you, Cheyenne.” Sasha seemed incredibly happy now that she had listed all
the good things they could achieve through the Chosen One. But Cheyenne only
felt more uncertain. Her friend had not managed to cheer her up this time. The
girl continued to stare at the flower. Adocaz nudged her hand encouragingly,
but even that did not help.
Sasha seemed to realise that she had gone a little
overboard with her optimism and added a few more sentences in a more serious
tone and with a sympathetic look. “Of course, it must be incredibly difficult
to process all of this and bear all this responsibility… But… everything
will be fine, okay?” But Cheyenne shook her head. It was all too much for her.
“My whole life… is built on a lie… No one ever told me the truth…
People are dying because of me, and because of me there are even more wars and
deaths than there already are. And how am I supposed to be able to thwart the
Knights’ plans? Why me? There are so many people in this world, why me? I can’t
do all this, I’m the wrong person… No… I’m not the chosen one. It must be a
mix-up and that will turn out. Hopefully soon. I… I don’t want to talk
anymore now…” The girl walked past Sasha, Adocaz did not leave her side
as she headed for the exit of the garden. The fairy wolf seemed to sense that
something was wrong. Cheyenne didn’t want to think anymore. Why had she been so
curious? She wished she had never asked. Her friend ran after her and together
they went to her room in the inn.
It was a wonderful evening. The last chromastars in the sky bathed the village in calm, pale colors and were reflected dancing on the sea. A cool wind carried a salty sea breeze through the alleys and streets. The chroma street lamps were switched on and colorful lighting could also be seen in the houses. You could hear cats meowing, dogs barking, horses neighing and some people talking about all kinds of things on their way home.
Cheyenne sat leaning against the wall on her bed in the small room of the inn and looked depressed out of the window. Adocaz lay next to her and snuggled up to her. Sasha sat on the wooden floor with her legs bent, also leaning against a wall and her gaze wandered back and forth between the girl and the fairy wolf. Nobody said anything and so it was enormously quiet in the room. Suddenly, noises sounding like metal and harsh voices could be heard from outside. A short conversation could be heard. “We suspect that she is in here.” “Good, then let’s have a look.” “Yes, let’s go in.”
Sasha stood up alarmed and at the same moment Glaczio entered the small room, closed the wooden door behind him again and locked it. The young woman spoke up in shock. “My goodness, tell me, can’t you knock?! You scared me to death! Complete idiot…” The healer was unimpressed by her words. “Sasha mouse, save your moral sermons and insults for later. We have another problem right now. Out there it is teeming with knights and they will certainly search every single room here for my little angel. So I would suggest that we get out of here. I don’t really feel like sharing my two cute bunnies with them.” He winked at Cheyenne, but she averted her gaze and made no move to get up. Sasha went to the window, opened it and found a possibility of escape. “Hm, that’s not too deep, we can jump down here and then run away.” She thought no further and jumped out. The excitement was also transferred to Adocaz, he began to whine restlessly and also moved towards the window.
Cheyenne was still sitting on the bed, she didn’t care about all the hustle and bustle. If the knights would kill her now, she would save many people from death and the shadow servants would get along well without her. Glaczio, who had come closer in the meantime, took her arms, pulled her to him and made the girl stand up. Then he took her head with his cold hands, forcing her to look at him. The healer looked deep into Cheyenne’s expressionless eyes and said a few quiet words to her. “I know what you’re thinking about, little angel. You want them to find you here and rob you of your life because you can’t handle this whole Chosen Thing or you don’t want to, am I right? You want to run away from the responsibility you have to bear. But it’s not that simple. I understand that you are confused and that everything is too much in the moment, but don’t throw your life away. You always have to think through your decisions carefully and not rush your actions, do you understand? Don’t let this chosen thing break you, you hear? This is very important… Only you alone determine your own life… Besides, I’m not going to let you die just like that, understood? Now come, little angel!” He’s right… It’s my life… If people want to die for me… I can’t do anything about it anyway… But I don’t want to and won’t die! Cheyenne took new courage and while she was still realizing this, the healer dragged her to the window. The girl looked out and swallowed. Not… deep she said… So that’s what Sasha calls ‘not deep’?! That’s easily four meters! I don’t imagine it so nice to get out of the free fall down there… But I guess it’s the only way to escape the knights. While she was thinking, Glaczio helped Adocaz out of the window. The four-legged friend jumped down and landed uninjured on all fours. Fairy wolves had a very robust and agile physique, which enabled them to cushion the impact gently like a cat and land on the ground unharmed, even after falling from a height of a few meters.
Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the door, and the knights tried to kick it in. Cheyenne was already sitting on the window sill, trembling slightly, but still hesitated to jump. Since they had no more time, Glaczio gave her a push and she fell into the depths. The fall seemed quite long to her and she feared that the impact would be painful for her. She was now really excited, so that her heart beat faster and threatened to burst. But strangely enough, she was not afraid. The only thing she could think about in that moment of falling was how stupid she had just acted. She almost forfeited her life by an ill-considered, hasty decision. If Xaver had been here, he would have reproached her and told the girl how unreasonable she was. Glaczio, on the other hand, had remained calm and had only advised her not to throw away her own life just like that. She would not have expected so much profundity and intellect from him. Her thoughts were abruptly interrupted when she landed painfully on the grassy ground. She had landed directly on her feet, but they buckled and Cheyenne fell. She had known that jumping out of the window would not go well. When the healer pushed her without warning, she lost her balance and could not adjust to the impact. Now she had stabbing pains in her feet and back. Sasha helped the girl get up, the young woman seemed unharmed. Immediately after Cheyenne, Glaczio had also jumped and now landed on the ground. The impact seemed to have affected him as well, but he only narrowed his eyes briefly and didn’t show anything else. However, the girl was quite sure that his legs were now hurting too. Because of her, her companions had to go through so much. She knew that they did it of their own free will, but she just couldn’t help but blame herself for it.
The small group had jumped from the window directly into the garden, but a few knights had long since noticed that their targets had fled. Soon the people in metal would storm the green area and find what they were looking for.
Cheyenne’s feet hurt a lot, but she gritted her teeth and ran after her allies, who were just passing through a hole in the garden fence into a narrow alley. Adocaz didn’t leave his owner’s side and pulled on her dress from time to time to tell her to run faster. But the girl was already doing her best and trying not to give in again. The little alley was not lighted. As soon as the last chromastars had disappeared on the horizon, Cheyenne’s companions would no longer be able to see anything here. But they all had no choice but to run on and try to outrun the knights. I guess the two want to get out of the village… But what about Xaver? I should meet him here! But on the other hand… if I stay here, the knights will have an easy time… They would find me in no time. I guess I have no choice but to rely on Sasha and Glaczio.
Finally, the narrow alley led to the main road and if they followed it for a few meters, they would get out of the village. Just as they were about to leave the dark alley, which was hidden from view, Cheyenne heard the clatter of hooves from two horses. Glaczio seemed to hear it too, because he held Sasha back, who had almost entered the main street. She looked at the healer angrily, but then she also heard the approaching animals. Due to rattling armor and rattling weapons, the two riders had to be knights. Shortly before the side street where their targets were, they seemed to stop their horses and dismount. They started a conversation and sounded quite upset and angry. “Argh, now we’re out of luck again! Where can this cursed chosen one be? I was so sure about the inn that I saw her going in that direction. Pff, we can forget about the promotion. Damn crap!” “Calm down. The little bitch will surely want to flee the village, but if we stand here and keep watch, she will never get past us. Haha. Maybe today is our lucky day and we’ll catch her after all. How does the boss always say so beautifully? Giving up is something for cowardly morons!” “Hm, I don’t want to be a moron. Good, then we’ll just stay here and guard the exit.”
Oh no… Cheyenne looked anxiously from Sasha to Glaczio. He seemed to be thinking about something and closed his eyes. Then he informed his friends in a whisper of his intention. “All right, you two pretty ones. I’m going to distract them now and you’re running away from here as fast as you can. Sasha mouse, I’m counting on you to take care of my pretty angel, yes?”
Before anyone could reply, the healer had already entered the main road and stood behind the two knights on the other side of the street. If they turned to him, they would not see when someone was walking by. What is he doing there? Why doesn’t he just attack the knights… Wait a minute… A fight would certainly make noise and then more of them would come… He told me in training to always think one step ahead… Did he mean, among other things, such a situation and not only when fighting? Sometimes he is so smart… Must be because he is a healer. But I don’t want him to do that… He… is literally sacrificing himself for Sasha, Adocaz and me… We can’t just leave him here now… “Come on, Cheyenne. Now is our chance!” Sasha snapped the girl out of her thoughts by whispering to her and tugging at her arm. But Cheyenne shook her head. This time she wouldn’t let anything happen to anyone because of her.
In the meantime, the knights had noticed the healer and were walking in circles around him. They seemed to know him from somewhere. Glaczio stood in their midst, with his arms crossed and his eyes closed, and began to talk to the enemies. “Hey, what are you doing here at such a late hour? If you’re looking for a bride, I’m afraid this isn’t the place for it.” The knights began to laugh wickedly and got involved in the conversation. “Hmph. You’re still alive, too. Hehe. Interesting, isn’t it, colleague?” The other knight also joined in. “And how… Will General Agamemnon also promote us for him? But he will certainly be happy if we bring him your oh-so-adorable head as a trophy. Haha.” Cheyenne noticed how Sasha had flinched at the name ‘Agamemnon’, but she couldn’t ask who it was now and focused on the conversation again.
Glaczio grinned and shook his head slowly. “Well, I don’t think so. If you two kill me, you would spoil Atropax’s mood enormously and then you would rather lose your skulls. Although this would not be a big loss, after all, there is only straw in it anyway.” “Just be careful what you say! You are a disgrace, we would and will now send you to the eternal hunting grounds without any promotion. It’s worth it to us, isn’t it, colleague? The Kommandant does not need to know anything about this. But then again, he has the privilege of killing you… Humph. Oh, I don’t care now, I want to see you suffer and die. This might be the best day of my life after all. Haha!” Both knights began to laugh and came closer to the healer. One of the two stood directly behind him and whispered something in his ear, but Cheyenne understood what he was saying, even if only very quietly. “Do you miss your family?” Then both knights began to laugh loudly. The one who stood in front of Glaczio drew his sword and ended the conversation. “Ha, then it’s all right, because you’ll see them again in a moment! Or not, because unlike your family, you will not go to heaven, but burn in hell! Muhahaha!” The knight behind the healer hit him the back with his fist and Glaczio fell to his knees. At that moment, the other man in armor swung his sword and hit his victim in the face with the sharp blade. Cheyenne caught her breath in horror and Sasha gritted her teeth. She seemed to have forgotten her anger at the healer at that moment and sympathized with him.
The sword blow had had such a force that Glaczio had fallen to the side and was now lying on his back. One of the two knights placed the tip of his white and silver shining sword on his neck and seemed to stab at any moment. But the healer didn’t fight back. Why do these knights actually know him? And why would Atropax want to kill him? Why does he let this happen to him at all, has he still not understood that we don’t leave him here? Or maybe he didn’t even notice… He could certainly free himself from this situation without much effort, why doesn’t he do anything? This complete idiot! He tells me not to throw my life away, but what does he do? No, not like that, friend, you have to stick to the advice you give!
Cheyenne took a step forward and grabbed her bow. She opened it and fired an arrow at the knight, who threatened the healer. The projectile hit the enemy directly in the head and he now moaned and breathed jerkily with open eyes. Shortly afterwards he fell silent, dropped the sword and fell back motionless. The other knight let out a loud cry of alarm, but it broke off, because Glaczio had rammed his ice sword into his back. The dying enemy spat blood before he collapsed and was also dead. What did I do? I… have… killed… There was no more time for the shocked and trembling Cheyenne to think, because Sasha came to her with the two brown horses of the knights and pressed the reins from one into her hand. Then the young woman climbed onto the other and rode a little away from the exit, closer into the interior of the village, from which more knights were now swarming. They seemed to have heard the loud noises. Sasha suddenly pulled a pistol with a bright purple lightning pattern on it from her belt and shot at the approaching enemies. Every shot hit its target, but it was deafeningly loud to Cheyenne’s sensitive hearing. The girl broke free from the rigid, shocked posture and swung onto the horse as well. She was shaking and a little disturbed by what she had done, but it wasn’t the right moment to think about it here and now. If this had happened a few days earlier, she would probably have had the shock of her life and had unbearable pangs of conscience, but since then she had learned so much and seen so many people die and kill that the whole thing was only half as disturbing. In addition, there was apparently only one principle for them with regard to the knights: Either kill the enemies themselves, or let themselves be killed. The latter, however, was no longer an option for the girl, after the healer’s speech a few minutes earlier in the guest room. She rode to Glaczio, who was standing with his back to her. She nudged him lightly from the saddle with her foot and he turned halfway towards her. “Angel, make sure you get out of here!” But Cheyenne was stubborn. “You miserable bastard, you tell me not to throw my life away and what are you doing? Please follow the advice you give to others! In addition, one hand washes the other, now I finally get the chance to return the favor for your help. You didn’t let me die, so I don’t either. We’re not going to leave you here and now make sure you get on this horse and get away from here!” Wow, I didn’t know I could be so determined… Must be due to the situation. He would certainly get along well on his own, but… I would have a terribly bad conscience if I let him down now and I really hate to admit it, but I guess I would also be a little bit worried about Glaczio… In addition, this way I can finally return the favor for his help. The healer seemed just as surprised as Cheyenne herself at her fierce determination, then he nodded insightfully for a moment, said a quiet, sincere ‘thank you’ and then turned completely towards the horse. The girl now saw what the knights had done. Oh no, poor thing… That looks terrible and must be very painful… A deep cut, from which blood leaked, ran across the right side of Glaczio’s face, his ice-blue hair soaked with the red liquid on this side.
Cheyenne helped him on the horse as best she could and finally he sat behind her on the back of the brown animal. The healer put his arms around her waist, she was uncomfortable, but somehow he had to hold on. She felt his cold breath on the back of her neck and felt that what the knights had said about him and his deceased family was getting to him. However, he seemed to notice that Cheyenne felt sorry for him and he didn’t seem to like it. “Hey, little angel, do you want to spend the night here? I thought we were going to get out of here… If there weren’t knights after us, I really wouldn’t have the slightest problem with this situation, on the contrary. For you, I would even live forever on this… Horse… remain seated. You have to know, I don’t like horses very much, but I would put up with it just to be able to continue to snuggle up to you… But I doubt you’d like that, doll, if you were so kind as to get this animal moving…” He snuggled close to Cheyenne, his face getting closer and closer to her ear as he whispered. He really hates being pitied… If I had known that, I would have pulled myself together and tried to ignore my feelings… He comes so close to me on purpose to get back at me that I feel sorry for him because he knows exactly that this situation is uncomfortable for me, especially with him… How nasty, that almost came across as a threat… Why is it so bad for him when someone shows compassion? Maybe men feel somehow weak when you feel sorry for them? Xaver doesn’t like that either… But maybe it’s something else… Hm… The girl called out to Sasha to get out of the unpleasant situation and both got the brown mounts running. Adocaz sprinted ahead and they stormed out of the village at full gallop.
English 
Deutsch