A loud moan escaped his lungs as someone shook him awake. Tomas groaned as he felt the person shaking him again, only this time more rigorously. He wanted to open his mouth to say something but he could not, his head felt very heavy, and the world spun all round him.

  He burped and the stench of ale filled his nose, he then proceeded to gag and throw up on the side of the bed.

  He could hear Mera's voice but it was jagged and muffled. His hearing was not that good anyway. He wondered if the ale had anything to do with his senses being frazzled.

  "Is this why they say only men can take ale, my head feels like it's about to explode." He said up straight clutching to his head.

  The world still spun and he almost fell off the bed for Mera to catch him instead. She doused his face in water which caused him to regain a bit of his senses, he did not recover fully till she forced him to drink some water.

  Then his eyes opened to see her face filled with something akin to terror. His gaze went down to her apron to see that a considerable measure of his throw up had stained it. He spoke nervously, "Sorry about that."

  But she did not seemed concerned by that, she reacted very strangely and shook him rigorously. It took his by surprise but a while later she screamed in his face. "It doesn't matter, he's gone."

  Not she left him more confused, Tomas had not known there if there was anyone she could be referring to and what reaction she expected from him. But from the look of worry on her face he knew he had to be involved in it somehow. In a bit of a puzzled tone he asked. "Calm down Mera, who's gone?"

  She said without hesitation, her voice rising slightly. "The true knight, he left."

  For a fraction of a second Tomas' face remained empty and emotionless, his mind wanted to understand what she was saying. He knew she would never lie so it had to be true... Right?

  She continued, snapping him from his reverie. "He just had a discussion with my father, well after he carried you here and used my father's good name in the tavern. He said he had to return to his post and told us to watch over you. I don't think he's coming back."

  Tomas felt his mind starting to catch up to the reality of what had transpired in the time he had been hungover. Dots started to connect in his head, "It makes sense, the way he behaved. He was always planning to leave, is that why he got he drunk? He was planning on leaving me behind."

  "What are you going to do?" She asked in a concerned tone.

  Tomas took a moment to think, he knew he did not have much time and he had to make a decision very soon. A few seconds passed in utter silence, he could practically hear Mera's frantic heartbeat.

  He heaved a heavy sigh and pushed himself off the bed. Mera looked up at him with troubled eyes, "You're not going after him are you?" She pressured him as to why he would choose to follow a stranger he knew nothing about.

  Tomas had asked himself that very same question for days, would he choose to follow the true knight? What would he gain? What if he was turned down?

  He locked eyes with her and said in a clear tone. "Mera, I thank you and your father for nursing me back to health. I also wish I could pay you back sometime in the future."

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Mera felt uncontrollable tear well in her eyes, and like a dam it broke and overflowed. She threw herself on him and cried in his shoulders, she did not want to admit it but she had grown attached to his presence. Since she was always busy working with her father she rarely had time to talk to anyone her age, but Tomas had changed that. She felt an ache in her heart having to let him go, she wanted to know if he also felt the same about her.

  She proceeded to pound on his chest crying. "Why are you going after him, he never agreed to teach you a thing. Just stay here with me--"

  Before she could finish he cut her off with a gruff voice seething with rage. "And what!? There's no reason for me to stay here, I already lost a home. I'm not going to stay here being useless the whole day when I can go out there and do something actually meaningful."

  Mera did not know why but she felt like her heart had been pulled right out of her, she slowly pulled away from him and but down on her lower lip trying to take her mind away from him. But no matter how hard she tried, the pain from his words still hurt. But why they hurt so much was oblivious to her.

  Her lips parted, a small bloody stream slipped into her mouth and the cold metallic taste followed. "Tomas... Tell me you know what you're doing."

  There was a moment of pause, almost like the world grew still. Tomas looked at her unable to think of anything more than his goal, he could not understand why she was acting like she could change his mind. He gave her a little smile while patting her on the head and walking right past her.

  "That old man is a rare chance and my only chance, I don't believe in fate. But I believe I can catch up to him." He said as he walked past her only to stop by the door and saying in a cold tone. "I'll pay what I owe when next I return... Goodbye, Mera."

  She handed him a small satchel, "You won't want to leave this behind."

  He held the satchel which did not seem heavy nor was it light. He peeked into it to see a few items, a number of apples, and the last of his medications. But more importantly was Ash's book still intact from the flame of that day.

  He hesitated for a bit and thought if she had known he would choose to leave all along, leading her to prepare beforehand. If that was the case did that mean she understood him that well, wasn't it impossible to understand someone to such an extent in just a few days.

  Something within him ached as he took the first step forward, but his mind hammered it down. Hesitation was a curse he would avoid, the last time he did such a thing... Emberfall was devoured by the embers of fire and blood.

  With that he left and never once looked back, his heart hardened as he aimed for his future. And used his past as a fuel to push himself forward. After he left, Mera fell to the ground sobbing quietly and prayed for his safety.

  Minutes later Tomas was running through the streets of Larshak, panting and barely catching his breath. He did not feel any regret leaving the physician house, after all his health was already very good. He only chose to stay because he had fallen in love with the true knights dance of doom and destruction.

  Everyday watching that display had ignited a fire in his heart and now chasing after that fire felt like the most sane thing he could do now. "Please still he here."

  As he ran he tried to talk to people and ask which way the true knight went but they all seemed to avoid him thinking he was affiliated with the man. When all hope seemed lost he received help from a familiar figure, it was the trader who had brought him into the town in the first place.

  The man lent him one of his horses and sent him in the direction he had seen the truth knight heading in. "Kid, I hope we meet again." The man told him before sending him off.

  It was the first time Tomas would be riding a horse, the only thing he knew to do as the trader sent it into a gallop was to hold the reins like his life depended on it.

  He screamed as the horse moved like it had a mind of its own, whenever it would veer off the path he would pull on the reins, sometimes a little too hard and it would resume on course. In due time it galloped over the bridge and out of the town's borders, he could not help but glance back at the place where he had been for days.

  He did not know whether to feel attached to it or not, but he did know he did not feel satisfied in anyway.

  Steeling his resolve he looked forward and sent his horse galloping even faster. The horse would always grunt in disapproval but after a while it accepted it's fate.

  After half an hour of navigating the trail in the moonlight, he came across a figure in the distance. He would recognise the massive frame anywhere. The closer he got the more clearer it became, it was a man riding on a horse. He did not seem to be in a hurry but he did seem vigilant.

  As he got closer the man looked back over his shoulder and spoke in his familiar gruff tone. "You are one pestilent pest."

  Tomas heaved a sigh of relief and tried to stop the horse which the horse was all too happy to comply after a long night or partaking in the strenuous activity. "You old fart, you left me on purpose didn't you."

  He saw the man's lips curled slightly in a smirk but he said nothing.

  Tomas looked at him, then forward and said. "So where are you going?"

  After a moments hesitation the man spoke. "I will be going to the Gerounus, to see the king. And afterwards I will return to the wall. And maybe you might prove to be true knight material."

  Tomas could not help but feel elated by the words that he had just heard. "Thank you for the opportunity, old fart."

  The man did not smile, he simply spoke. "Call me Corvus if you still value your genitals."

  Tomas glared at the true knight, "Why are your threats always weird."

  "It makes them more memorable." He said back.

  Tomas was pleased to be given this chance, he felt he had been freed from something but what that was he did not understand yet.