Star of Blood

8 | At the Empire's Gates

Mateo had been taking a relaxing stroll through the village when a familiar voice called his name. He turned around, then grinned when he laid eyes on Jude's mother. "Hello, ma'am."

"It's been a while, young Mateo," she replied, weaving her way through the commoners walking around to get to Mateo. "We were visiting a few people. How have you been?"

"I've been fine, but it certainly has been a while." Considering his relationship with Jude, the latter's parents were like an uncle and aunt to Mateo. Or even his second parents. I've just been caught up with a lot of stuff now that I've been promoted to Knight Captain."

"Yes, we heard about that. Congratulations," called Jude's father, who wasn't too far behind his wife.

"How is it so far?" asked Jude's mother.

Mateo looked up at the late afternoon sky, which had started fading into darker-but still vivid-colours due to the sunset. "It's alright. I've had to take care of many things that were only available to my superiors before. There's quite a bit of responsibility involved, but I think I'll manage."

"If I recall correctly, this was your dream ever since joining the knights many years ago?"

"Yep." He paused, briefly shifting his gaze to the cobblestone under his shoes. "Though, I'm going to be honest-it's not exactly as special as teenage me believed it to be. Sure, getting more recognition and being able to lead people is fun, but some part of me thinks it could still be funner. If that's a word."

Jude's father nodded. "And it's like what you said on responsibility. From now on, you have people to lead in and out of battle. You may have to take charge of entire battles, and you're likely to be held responsible for the outcome-"

His wife nudged him. "Dear, stop scaring him!"

"It's okay," Mateo laughed. "I don't care how hard it might be. Even if it's hell, I won't back down from this position. I want to lead my people to victory, and I'll keep going until I get to Knight Commander. Your son has ten times more responsibility than me, and if he's not giving up, then there's no way in hell I am."

"How very honourable, Captain Mateo . . . but, speaking of which, do you know where Jude is? The sun's already falling, and he's not even back yet."

"Not sure. Maybe he's on a really long walk?"

Jude's mother shook her head. "It can't be the case. If he was going to be out until sunset, or perhaps even longer, he would've let us know. But that rarely happens. He always returns from his walks around the same time, usually at the moment where the sunny weather reaches peak heat."

Mateo looked around, as if he'd see his best friend somewhere in this part of the village. "Huh. He never told me anything either."

Jude's father scratched his beard. "Do you think something bad happened?"

"I don't know, but I really can't imagine any scenario where someone as powerful as Jude is in serious trouble. Even if he were ambushed by an army of Dorobans, the best they could do is scratch him a couple of times."

"Well, let's hope for the best," sighed Jude's mother. "Worst case scenario, the Crown might dispatch as many search parties as possible to find the Saviour."

Like the two esteemed parents, Mateo hoped there would be no need for any searching.

***