Say It Isn't So

“You are dismissed,” Mathias said.

The gentle taps of raindrops against the window. Alejandro’s initial gasp stunted his thoughts as his tired eyes glanced away. The rumbling storms were astray as the Gardenian sunset shone through the parting clouds. Iscah overheard everything as she stood outside the office motionlessly as she thought about Enne’s state.

“I—” he stuttered.

“I don’t want to hear whatever foolishness leaves your mouth! Do you understand how much you and my sister jeopardized our position?”

“Jeopardized?” The “You have a two-pronged issue here, a migrant crisis and a vampiric skirmish. That’s beyond anyone’s control, but she laid out a simple solution—”

“Oh, yes…I must be mistaken! Which envoy did you come from? Hm? Because I don’t recall you having any say in the matters!”

“You’re right,” he nodded. “But, there’s a lot of nuances involved in these issues.”

“Well, you could’ve fooled me since you seem to be a fling.”

“Excuse me?”

“She certainly has an interest in you.”

“I’m here to discuss how we can address this.”

“Her efforts are just misguided; We can’t have a compassionate society! There is no such thing.”

“No such thing?” the wanderer raised his voice. “I guess, if you want things to remain the same, then—Yeah, it wouldn’t happen.”

“You’re telling us how we should maintain order?” he replied. “A stateless wanderer?”

Silence lingered between them; He could see the troubled expression on the wanderer’s face. Alejandro was out of his depth, never having a leadership role, but he felt the principles still applied. The dead stare of her brother left him reluctant to speak up. Alejandro had always kept to himself, especially against the authority.

“The duty of a leader is to uphold and establish a fair society,” he spoke. “Isolationism can only get you so far—”

“And draw the ire of the Republic?” Mathias chuckled, seeing the wanderer’s scowl. “You really don’t understand how these things work. She’ll be incapacitated for the next few days, so until then, I’ll be in charge of things.”

“It’s my fault. We were—I was supposed to cave in the mine to let the sunlight in, but I couldn’t. She wouldn’t have resorted to using her mana if I did my fucking job.”

“Then you’re just as inept as her? And you expected to be her advisor? Pathetic.”

Alejandro looked toward him, watching as the Elven lord twirled a pen in hand while drinking his wine. The wanderer lowered his head, wondering about the extent of her health; It weighed upon his conscience since he awoke. How could he look at her again if he felt so worthless?

“I—I wish this would’ve happened differently,” his voice trembled.

“As the designated second-in-command,” Mathias shrugged after noting his sorrowful tone. “I am dismissing you from her service and out of here by sunrise. You have a week to leave the city, which I’ll inform Rita soon.”

“And, En?”

“My sister doesn’t need to associate herself with any more failures.”

The distraught wanderer bowed out, finding little reason to debate. He exited the doors, passing Iscah without making eye contact. Alejandro gathered his belongings with a heavy heart as he slowed down to think. To think he had given up so easily; His self-conceived sins weighed upon him. After bagging his journal, he noticed a unique pen on the desk. His stony expression softened, examining the fine craftmanship before pocketing the pen.

When did she—he thought.

His attachment ran deeper than he imagined, but out of principle, wanderers weren’t supposed to have worldly attachments. Upon leaving his room, he glanced toward her door, wanting to see her once more. He cracked the door open, seeing her laying in a slumber. Alejandro remembered the contorted pain she displayed when they arrived.

“What are you doing?” the maid startled him.

“Iscah?” he responded. “Sorry, I—I just wanted to see her once last time.”

“You don’t have to leave until the morning.”

“I let her down when she needed me to pull through. How could I sleep comfortably knowing this? I can’t — ”

His eyes watered, words couldn’t escape his lips as he closed the door. Iscah’s indifference remained with faint intrigue.

“Are you really a wanderer?” she asked.

“No—I’m just a man,” he responded.

Tourists and locals flocked toward the bar from the rainy weather. The wanderer stood outside, wanting to pay Derek one last visit. The merry atmosphere overcame the dreary atmosphere as people danced to a live band. Alejandro summoned the courage to enter. This time there weren’t stares as he’d expected. Derek greeted him over the clamoring steps, gesturing for a seat at the bar.

“You look so glum,” Derek noted.

“It’s been—A rough few days,” he responded.

“I feel ya. I can give you the usual.”

“You think you could bottle it to go?”

The wanderer couldn’t hide his concern as he fixated upon the hardwood floor. Derek poured his house brew into a clean bottle while thinking of something to say. He passed over the foam-topped bottle.

“So, how’s En?” he asked. “That was a hell of a performance she put on the other night, huh?”

“She’s—something else,” Alejandro smiled.

“Seems like she took a liking to you.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Everyone in town sees how perky she is when you’re around. She’s usually snarky most times.”

“But she’s spoken highly of around here.”

“Princess is code, but we love her anyway!”

Alejandro took the revelation by surprise, albeit keeping an air of indifference. Yet somehow Derek could tell by the glint in his amber eyes. Alejandro couldn’t understand why she had an eye for him. As he took another gulp from the lager, he looked upon his haggard expression from the smooth ripples.

“How’s Sean?” the wanderer asked.

“He’s doing fine,” he answered. “That prosthetic arm functions as well as a real arm. It’s amazing, right?”

“In many places, that would have just been a lifelong disability.”

“The city has it good.”

“Al, how’s it going?” Jeb emerged with a case of alcohol from the storage room.

“Great,” he responded. “Just chatting with your father a bit.”

The wanderer’s eyes shifted with thoughts of leaving soon, feeling as though he was shedding too much of his guard. He wasn’t sure how to speak on his departure, but his expression betrayed his collected inner workings. Realizing there wasn’t much to say, he took his leave with the bottle clenched.

“Well—” he muttered. “If you guys need anything, I’ll be in the cabin.”

“Leaving so soon?” Jeb questioned. “Karaoke hour is coming up.”

“Wait,” Derek interrupted. “Is everything alright? We heard you were staying at her place.”

“I’ll see you folks around,” the wanderer faked a smile.

On his walk toward the cabin, he thought about his time in Gardenia. The peaceful place contrasted every place he visited, but it was inevitable he’d inevitably leave. The way of the wanderer was that of a nomad, observing and learning about the world with little participation. This was his excuse and the choice he made for himself.

I’ll stay here for a few more days, and I’ll be off.

The cabin was left untouched by his absence. A draft of cold air sent chills after slamming the door shut. He still caught whims of her citrus aroma the further he walked in. He stood for a moment, remembering the night they met. The peculiar half-elf graced her presence on these decrepit grounds, treating him like a person as opposed to the thing he’d become. That radiance was far warmer than the fireplace could ever provide.

After starting a small fire, he sat on the weathered couch. Alejandro set his journal to the side, along with the gifted pen with the anticipation writing. But he stared upon the blank pages. Instead, he listened to the wood-crackling fire, taking a swig of the house mix. The second swig came with a loud gulp, hitting him much harder than he expected. What a lonely night it became, but he’d forget that feeling in a short time. His eyes teared, reminiscing on what was then and what was now.

What did it matter?

*******

Alejandro awoke to a long-extinguished fireplace. He found himself slouched in an uncomfortable position on the couch, experiencing minor discomfort as he stretched his limbs. Part of him hoped the events of yesterday weren’t real, but the frosty air confirmed his reality. Everything was exactly as he remembered it as he reflected quietly. Then his stomach rumbled through the absence of sound.

“Crap, I hadn’t eaten since I woke up yesterday,” he mumbled.

Wanting to hide away from everyone, he opted to catch a squirrel. He observed several curious squirrels sniffing the mana trap he set up. It was about an hour before one got close enough. Alejandro traced the rodent’s movement, as it seemed to be second-guessing.

Make it easier on yourself, the wanderer eagerly awaited the squirrel’s demise.

“SQUEE—"

The trap zapped the squirrel, frying it with a quick but painful death.

“I—I can’t get over how awful I feel after.”

Alejandro frowned with a slither of guilt before hearing a twig snap behind him. He hid behind the nearby tree, scoping out who was approaching. Kenneth Striker casually emerged from the beaten path, having smelled the burned scent indicated by his contorted expression. He found Alejandro holding the electrocuted squirrel by its tail when he emerged from cover. Kenneth took a few steps back when the wanderer tried to shake his hand.

“That’s—Uh, nice catch you got there,” he uttered.

“It’s my breakfast,” he responded, twirling his prize by the tail. “We can share if you’d like.”

“You may want to reconsider. There’s a chance that thing has bubonic plague.”

The wanderer dropped it without a second thought.

“You know,” his voice trembled. “The café has some nice breakfast options.”

“Yeah,” the old guard agreed. “That sounds like a better option.”

They arrived at the café Enne showed him, having also picked the same spot as before. The wanderer ordered an enormous meal while Kenneth opted for a cup of coffee. Alejandro wasted little time eating; The old guard watched with subdued amusement, allowing him to eat first.

“You sure you don’t want some?” he stopped to ask.

“I’m sure,” Kenneth declined. “I ain’t much of a breakfast person.”

“I forgot to ask. How did you know where I was?”

“Mr. Jones mentioned you. You could say this is a bit of a wellness check.”

How thoughtful of him, The wanderer grew suspicious.

“Are you planning on leaving town?” Kenneth probed.

“In a day or so. I didn’t know how to bring it up.”

“There’s something I have to ask you then,” Kenneth nodded.

“Ask away,” the wanderer insisted.

“What happened in the Hollows?”

The old guard’s wary eyes hid the troubling thoughts about what his son experienced. As much as he deserved to know, Alejandro couldn’t tell him the truth. He felt horrible for what Billy had to see. The feeding habits of vampires were more than anyone could bear, despite it being their natural function.

“There are just things we saw no one should ever see,” he responded.

“Thank you for bringing my boy back,” Kenneth glanced away.“I—I can’t stand the thought of losing him. After his mother passed away, I’ve been hard on the boy. I wanted to make sure he could get by once my day comes.

Facing retirement in the coming years, Kenneth worried about his son’s future; He knew he didn’t want to continue what many generations had done before. His son was always sensitive, usually cling to his mother, much of whom he saw much of her in. Kenneth noticed his son was happier doing other things and had only done enlisted for his father’s sake. The old guard went along with the obvious facade.

“I think you’ve done well,” The wanderer commented.

“But,” The veteran guard added. “He can learn a thing or two from you.”

Kenneth could see the conflict on the wanderer’s face, gently setting down his cup. Alejandro wasn’t too enthused by the idea, since he’d already mentally checked out. He recalled what Enne told him about the importance of knowledge the last time they spoke here.

“I know I am overstepping—" the old guard rambled in an attempt to make his argument.

“Let me think about it,” he smirked. “I can join you on your patrols for the next few days.”

“You mean it—I mean, thank you for making the exception. If there’s anything I can do for you—”

“You don’t have to… Welcoming me with open arms was enough.”

Kenneth smiled before glancing toward the river. As the wanderer looked on with him, the gentle breeze came with her elusive citrus scent.

“After all,” the wanderer uttered. “Knowledge is meant to be shared.”



It didn't take long before Alejandro jumped back in.
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