XXVI — Defense

The carriage driver drove like he was a man on a mission. 

They had finally arrived at the town, the driver himself unwavering through the roads as he had landed, and the townspeople surrounded them, concerned about the sky lanterns they had just lifted up into the sky.

They became especially more concerned as Sam, Ellen, Roger, and Kat hurried out and carried with them, in tow, the children they had rescued from the burning harbor stuck in the clocktower.

Some of the teenage girls that had helped Ellen before with accounting asked her what happened.

Everyone chimed in, asking the same question or something similar, and completely surrounded Ellen; quickly as they came concerned, she became overwhelmed. She was sweating as she trembled. Not knowing where to start, her mind became a jumbled mess, where Sam had been ready to step in. Just as he tried though—

“S-Stop…!”

Silence. Everyone turned around toward a small girl who seemed taller than she had originally been, her medium short hair disheveled and eyes closed as she screamed at the top of her lungs.

Sam had reached his hand towards Ellen, but stopped midway; and as for Ellen, her trance had broken. Roger had reached forward to calm her down, but she breathed deeply enough to keep herself calm, having learned indirectly from how Sam had tried to keep himself calm.

“Please,” she started, her voice still ringing so high. “Don’t bother Big Sis Ellen…!”

They stared at each other for a while before slowly backing away, and Sam had immediately hurried to warn the watchers. Kat rallied the children. Roger’s friends had tapped him to help him set traps. Barricades and everything that they needed they made right then and there; it was hectic.

Sam had watched them work around the clock, everyone helping out. Ellen, who had just secured the town with a magical seal alongside some of the teenage girls, stood next to Sam.

“Are you nervous?”

“Very,” Sam replied. “I’ve always been nervous. I’ve always felt like my heart popped out of my chest.”

He gestured towards the hardworking people who had set traps, prepared barricades, and brandished weapons especially with the blacksmith who had barked in laughter while he told stories about his own battles and war.

“Everyone had been working so hard,” Sam said, wistfully looking over yonder.

“I hope we can pull it off,” Ellen had said, herself looking wistful as well, carefully finding her way to Sam’s hand before he grasped it himself.

Sam smiled, softly as he seemed. “I believe we can.”

Sam closed his eyes.

I know we can.

—————————————

Somewhere they had set camp from where the carriage driver never led them, soldiers of the imperial guard saw lanterns light up the night sky. One had been a scout, seen bloody gore sprayed across him like it was nothing, and hurried back to the imperial camp within the wilderness to report what he had just witnessed, a fairytale in the making that he pitied, since they were on their marks to be crushed.

The scout had knelt down in respect for the general.

He was not so much obsessed with formality, as Sam had remembered him to be, but he enjoyed the luxury. As more and more missions came about, he grew to be more of a megalomaniac, using a servant he had captured from Melusina as a table where he rested his boots on.

He believed that peasants such as him deserved to serve the higher ups and the imperial army, and non-servitude would result in straight death, or a fate worse than that.

He had seen the scout coming, he normally wouldn’t care what he would say, except he’d known this man for a long time, so it was perhaps important that he himself asked for his presence.

“Report, Isaac. And make it quick.”

“Yes sir,” the scout stood up. “There seems to be sky lanterns floating through the coastline of Melusina. That might be who you were looking for.”

General Gerwyn struck the back of the servant with his feet in glee, blood spurting from the servant, as he boisterously laughed. As the servant stumbled down, marks too noticeable and reflective of his cruelty, Gerwyn kicked him aside to rot and die somewhere.

“Prepare our troops, Isaac. These fuckin’ rats better know who they had just crossed paths with.”

Gerwyn had just received an order to quell the situation around an unmarked beach of the empire, near the dangerous wilderness, which was the port harbor of Melusina.

With it gone, and his scout seeing the sky lanterns for himself, it was his time to strike.

He had readied his troops, rallying them for the sake and glory of the empire, his pride notwithstanding his own cruelty catching wind towards Sam’s direction.

Gerwyn, Sam thought, meditating standing with the watchers and helping keep a lookout for his forces.

You dared threaten the family that had found me, treated me, and held me better than you would.

And at the same time, while riding into the wilderness, Gerwyn smirked, eager to crush the gutter rat himself.

Sam, you gutter rat. Somehow, someday, we will meet again. But before I find you within the wilderness, I will crush the people within this frontier and by the time you would want to seek asylum with them, your time would’ve already been gone.

Try not to die, Gerwyn thought, his cackle echoing as he rode towards where he didn’t know Sam would be watching.

As if Sam overheard what he said, he replied back.

You first.

When he readied his stance, the watchers did the same. The way rabbits and other wild forest animals ran across them meant that something or someone—a lot of them in this case; they were just close by.

Sam’s eyes opened.

At that time, the battle Sam would fight to protect his newfound family, had already begun.