and our _______ follows us

A day and a half of travel brought them out of thick forests and into well-paved roads more suited for casual travelers. Various villages and little settlements clustered around Orie, the largest city on the continent. Knights patrolled the roads, though, forcing the trio to weave through villages until they neared the edges of the port city. There—

“Customs? Seriously?” Shay groaned, as the group stumbled to the side to avoid the rush of people heading to the gates. Knights occupied stands that bottlenecked the crowds, allowing people to filter in to Orie proper one by one. Which meant they got a good look at every individual who came in. Shawls and masks wouldn’t do much good either—a few people had theirs ripped off by knights as they entered just to be sure.

Investigation yielded little hope. They sealed off all the major roads in. And climbing a building was completely out of the question. “Shit—okay, okay, let me think,” Zane said.

“Yeah, keep thinking while we sit here and wait for the knights to see us,” Shay grumbled. “Why’d I leave with you guys again?”

“Technically, your father made you come with us,” Lucian said. “Which is good! I’m sure, once you see Orie in all its glory, you’ll be glad you came with us.”

“I’m not feeling ready to thank you guys when I’m seconds away from being gutted like a fish.” Shay brought his bag closer—the sparks chirped inside, having hitched a ride for the last stretch.

Wait.

“I got an idea,” Zane said. “Get those creatures ready, I’m gonna need them.”

Shay gripped his bag. “You’re not gonna put them in danger, are you? I’m kinda attached to the little critters now. If you hurt a pebble on their head, you’re done for.”

“Promise I won’t. Just had a little plan. We’ll need to be quick, though, when I say we go we gotta go.”

Lucian nodded. “I trust you. So, what’s the plan?”

“It’s a surprise. Just stay close. Gimme the bag, Shay. I’m gonna leave the knights a gift. Keep some ore with you, though, we’ll need it.”

Man, this was about to be satisfying.

Sparks weren’t native to this area. So when one knight saw them, it warranted attention—several more, crawling all over you? It caused a scream, panic, and a chance for Zane to beckon Shay and Lucian; they followed him as the chaos increased. The checkpoint became backed up, and some impatient people pushed and prodded to get into the city, giving them the perfect opportunity to slip by.

And finally—

“I’m gonna be laaaaaate!!”

A girl slammed full-force into Zane, sending him tumbling past the checkpoint. Tossed onto the cobblestones, the girl pinned him, face shoved into his—

“Hey, personal space!” Zane pushed her off of him. The girl had dark skin and coiled hair flowing past her shoulders, tied into little messy braids on the side. Freckled with a big gap in her front teeth, her salt-stenched overalls and toolbox brought to mind a dock worker.

The girl frowned, pushing to her knees as people weaved past them. “Sorry, but next time, don’t push through the checkpoint, that’s how we get crowd crush, dead bodies and—oh shit I’m gonna be late!!”

Before she finished her lecture, she leapt and sprinted off, leaving Zane to pick himself up. The sparks crawled off, and he followed them to find Shay and Lucian.

“What happened to you? Someone roughed you up?” Shay guided the sparks into his bag. “Did the knight see you?”

Zane coughed, brushing off his cloak. “No, just some girl. Now come on, let’s get away from here. Be cool, okay?”

“Right!” Lucian moved to the front. “Follow me. We need to move out of the main street.”

The path, well-treaded, led into a view Zane hadn’t seen for years—not that it took the awe away. No, if anything, Orie had only grown since he’d last been here. Buildings scaled high above, establishments crammed into every nook and cranny. Homes stacked on homes, a big fountain adorned with a statue at the center, roads sprawling out to equally massive districts with more homes, more stores, more people. The perfect kind of place to disappear in. A few knights patrolled, but the trio managed to give them the slip as they followed Lucian’s lead.

Not that it was easy, still…

“Woah, that suit’s looking real good. You think I should get one of those? And what’s that over there, I think we’re gonna have to—”

“Shay, please, stay focused!” Lucian grabbed Shay so he wouldn’t stop every few yards to gawk at something or other. As much as Zane wanted to share the sentiment, it was hard to get into tourist mode with all the people who wanted them dead hanging around, so he kept his head down and moved.

They turned down a few streets, away from tourist-y and commercial areas and through a back road. Some establishments had broken windows and crowds of unsavory people lingering, but they left the three alone until they made it to a tiny inn tucked at the edge of the alley.

“Here… this is it, everyone.”

Shay grimaced. “I thought we weren’t staying the night. Especially not in a craphole.”

“We’re not! It’s, uh—obviously, we need to be careful, so I… along the way, I penned a note to someone asking for a favor. We’re going to pick up supplies here, take a moment to rest, and then we’ll leave by nightfall.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Zane said. “Friend of yours?”

Lucian said nothing. He took a deep breath and pushed the doors open—only for someone to grab and yank the young man in.

“Oh, my little Lucie’s here! He’s back! He’s back, oh my baby, come stay in our little cocoon for as long as you want! Even forever! Forever’s perfectly fine with me!”

What.

Zane hurried in first. A woman with long blonde hair which nearly touched the floor, wearing an oversized sweater and looking as though she’d been rotting along with the rest of the inn, clung to Lucian, rubbing his cheek against hers.

“What,” Shay said, which at least reassured Zane that he wasn’t the only one weirded out.

The woman looked up, regarding Zane and Shay with utter dismay before going back to doting on her—son? Probably son. Lucian pushed back with a polite smile.

“It’s nice to see you again,” he said, and somehow it looked like he actually meant that? “You got my letter, didn’t you?”

“I did! Don’t worry, even if it rips my heart to pieces to send you out into that horrible world again, I did as you asked.”

“And you didn’t put anything funny in our supplies, right?”

“…”

“Um, I’ll just double check.”

Funny? Zane swallowed his question. The woman beamed. “Of course, my little Lucie! Whatever you want! And if you want these boys replaced with better bodyguards, I can do that too!”

“Please don’t replace them. I love you, okay? So just—um, if you could… calm down a little, I’d appreciate that.” Lucian planted a kiss on her cheek, and she happily went to get their supplies while Shay grimaced. Zane wondered whether he knew that families did cheek kisses in Orie, or if he actually thought—

…Yeah, Zane didn’t feel safe here. “While you do that, I’m gonna walk around for a bit. See you guys in an hour or so?”

Lucian smiled and waved while his mother glared from behind the counter. “Okay, have fun!”

“Wait, take me with y—” Shay began, but Zane already threw himself out the door before he finished his sentence. Sorry, man, I need a break from you guys. And from learning more about Lucian’s weird mother. And from everything in general.