Imryll Rosemonde

The garrison’s outer walls were swarming with citizens demanding answers for today’s attack, kept at bay by a line of guards. We bypassed the pandemonium via a secret passage underground. From there, we arrived upstairs in a hallway lined with soldiers and military memorabilia.

“We’ll take both of your accounts separately. Lady Verity, please enter this room on your left,” the man from the hospital ordered. As I went inside, Eleanor was directed to an adjacent room.

“Name?” a disheveled man asked me, writing away with an excessively large quill. Standing beside him was a tall woman wearing plate armor with her helmet lying on the table.

“V—Verity,” I chittered, crossing my arms, for the stone chamber was freezing.

“Do you have a family or house name?”

“It’s just Verity. Now, can I have s—something warm, please?”

“No, you cannot; especially if you can’t answer something as easy as—”

Cuffing the scribe’s mouth, the woman spoke in a gentle voice. “Here, let me help you.” She unlocked my hands before wrapping me in a blanket while handing over a cup of hot water.

“Captain! Why!?”

“A sleazy boy like you doesn’t understand what it means to serve the kingdom. Report back to your quarters until further notice.”

Riddled with sweat, the scribe left in a heartbeat, nearly tripping over his own two feet. “The name’s Imryll. Imryll Rosemonde. Sorry about his rude behavior. Whenever you’re ready, you can begin with your account.”

She sure was nice. Then again, that didn’t mean she was trustworthy. Putting my concerns on hold, I answered honestly, starting from the moment we received the invitation to the battle with the cloaked man and bull.

Her eyes lit up when I mentioned Alear. “You met Alear?”

“Did I do something wrong?”

“No, it’s just that he’s my younger brother. However, we don’t have another sibling.”

Oh… So that’s why he requested my signature during the tournament.

“Now that I’ve answered your questions, can I ask some of my own?” I asked.

“Go ahead, but try to keep it concise. We’re due to summarize the findings with the king.”

Heeding her word, I stuck to a handful of questions, mainly about everyone’s safety, including whether Mirefield was attacked. Fortunately, it seemed Ragosopolis was the only target with the situation contained for the time being.

As we wrapped up, we rejoined Eleanor and were escorted to the castle via a party of carriages. Because of Imryll’s authority, we were allowed to be transported in the same wagon. Even so, throughout the city’s streets, citizens bombarded us with eggs and tomatoes as they protested.

“Shouldn’t the kingdom have released a public statement by now?” Eleanor asked with a frown.

“I agree that they should, but as it stands, the bureaucracy is keeping a tight lid until they can process everything,” Imryll answered. “Rest assured, as one of the army’s commanders, I’ll do everything in my power to protect the people.” With a smile, she offered us a bag of her rations. Contained inside were an assortment of fruits, nuts, and dried meats.

Eleanor and I thanked her before eating. Having spent so much energy earlier today, I ate ravenously.

“Hey, Veri, are you finally eating for once?” Eleanor teased.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m only eating to sustain myself, not for pleasure.”

“Tell yourself whatever you want; we both know the truth.”

That woman, ugh! Why is she so… Eleanor!

Imryll chuckled as we neared the castle. “You two should have no problem corroborating your stories for the king. Speaking of, you’ll need your staff.” Once the horses stopped at the front gate, Imryll retrieved my staff from another carriage and returned it to me. The knights must have inspected it thoroughly, for it was smeared with fingerprints, not to mention damaged at the bottom shaft. It was a miracle that they didn’t blow themselves up.

“Follow my lead and ignore the nobles; they can be a little bit… pretentious if you know what I mean,” Imryll said. At first, I didn’t believe her warning, but I couldn’t have been more wrong.

“Hey, look at those two! Two commoners walking through our great halls; what a joke! They’re devaluing the marble tiles with their filth!” a purple-robed man shouted.

“Wait a second, isn’t that Variety? The one who won the Fossilium finale? Why, she must have cheated to beat Hubert. Trash like her love to resort to dirty tactics all the time,” replied another nobleman.

“You know, I actually would love to invite them to my palace. Two girls like that must make for some good—”

“Will you two shut up! Verity is worth more than both of you combined!”

Eleanor? You shouldn’t—

“Really? Wanna bet on that!? Who are you anyway? Her slave or something? Being a disobedient servant warrants punishment, don’t you think?”

Both men dawdled over, hiding something behind their backs. “Come here, beautiful. Come to—”

In the blink of an eye, Imryll swooped in and detained the men, revealing a pair of knives in their hands. “Arrest these two!” Imryll ordered a group of idle guards.

“Wait a minute, we were only joking! You know, having fun! Hey, get your hands off me! Wait! No!” protested the noble in purple as he was whisked away.

Given what occurred, Imryll offered to take a slight detour through the castle’s garden. We graciously accepted.

“It’s so pretty out here!” Eleanor said as she ran around smelling the flowers.

“Eleanor, stay on track, we have important business to attend to,” I replied.

“Aww, fine.” Catching up to Imryll and me, Eleanor gave me a flower. It glistened a radiant pink in the sunlight as I held it.

“What am I supposed to do with this?”

“Smell it, silly,” Eleanor quipped.

Doing as suggested, I took a whiff of the flower. As I did, my nose tingled, making me instinctively go to itch it. But after the fragrance settled, I felt:

Calm? Happy? Just what was this feeling?

The aroma lured me in further, enticing me to do something I hadn’t done in forever.

With my head turned away, I smiled.