We Could Go Anywhere (Nimona)

Part 1

"Why do you have your cloak on?" Nimona asks.

Ballister shakes his head, breezing past her. "It doesn't matter. The proof of the Director's deceit is in the right hands. My name will be cleared thanks to you and your...unique methods."

Nimona grew suspicious. "What are you talking about? You said that we'd come up with a plan together."

Ballister suddenly turned to her and locked eyes. "Have you...been over the wall?"

"Boss, what happened? Why are you acting like this? You're usually the boring level-head, and I'm the impulsive chaotic one." Nimona questioned.

She was right. Nimona had always been right...about everything. The Institute which never believed in or wanted him. The Director...Ambrosius. There were only two people who had believed in him his entire life. One was dead because of the Director. The other was Nimona. Ballister sighed. "I know that clearing my name was the plan. Now, it's in the works. You made it all possible. You got me the Squire. He gave me what I needed to prove my innocence, and I did." Before Nimona could ask anything else, he fell to his knees and started crying. "You...were right, Nimona, I should never have trusted Ambrosius. He cut off my arm. Shouldn't have trusted anything except you."

Nimona ran to him and wrapped her arms around him. "Boss, what happened? Where did you go? You could've gotten caught! I...I could've never seen you again."

After she helped him up, he spoke again. "Even now, all you worry about is me."

"Well, of course. You could've gotten caught, shithead!" Nimona spat, trying to make him see that gallavanting of without her was a foolish mistake. She rubbed her arms. "Sorry, Boss. I just...haven't had anybody like you that I actually gave a shit about and gave a shit back...in a while."

Oh, yeah, that brought Ballister to his next point. "So, it's true...? You've...been around...since..." he cut himself off. Just thinking about the scroll that Ambrosius had shown him. It couldn't have been the whole story. Nimona was NOT a monster! She couldn't be.

Nimona's face contorted to terror. "Y-you...where did you...who have you been talking to?" Her voice grew increasingly panicked.

Ballister held his hands up in a peaceful gesture. "No, no, Nimona, I know you're not a monster!" He reaches for the scroll and unrolls it on the table in front of her, pointing to the long-haired little girl in the center of the shadow beast. "Is this you? Were you...this? Did you know Gloreth?"

He...he knew? This was impossible. She looked between him and the scroll, making sure that he wouldn't move. She picked up the scroll and it was her eyes that welled up with tears. "I--Boss, I thought that these had all long disintegrated or something by now. That I was safe." Her eyes met his once again, more serious than he'd ever seen. "Who gave this to you?"

Ballister let out another sigh. He couldn't lie to Nimona. He pointed to Gloreth while he explained. "Ambrosius found it in the castle walls once. Back before I knew you and I was still in training. We always wondered who the girl was. He inherited that part of the castle because...he's her descendant, Nimona."

There was no denying it now. Nimona shook her head and scoffed. "A thousand years and this bitch's bloodline and her stupid rules still both run strong. Before you get mad at me, remember, I actually knew the real her a millennium ago. She knew...she FUCKING knew that I would never try to hurt her or anyone else. That if those villagers had cast her out for standing up for me, that I would've protected her. What did she say to me at that moment, though? Take a fucking guess!"

Ballister nodded. "'Go back to the shadows from whence you came.', right?" Nimona, nodded, turning away.

Full-on sobbing, she could barely get the words out. "The one moment that I needed her on my side, she decided to call me a monster. The villagers saw me retreat from her and that's how the wall, the Institute, all of the bullshit happened! She was no hero! She was a child when she betrayed me with a wooden sword. We...we were children. I was a child then, too."

Ballister was horrified. Gloreth, the so revered figure and first hero of the realm...was a fraud? Here was the one person who knew the truth. He could tell, Nimona was a terrible liar and she wasn't lying. He held her shoulders and she fell into his embrace. A thousand years of lies and pain and everyone against her...how horrible of a life that must've been. Sensing that she wanted to change the subject, Ballister chucked the scroll into the fireplace before asking one of his questions again. "So, you have been over the wall?"

Nimona nodded. "Many times...recently. There's a whole world out there, Boss. With animals, nature and even people. Notably lacking in monsters, sorry." Her jovial, trickster spirit was back.

He smiled. "Metal. You were right. Even if my name is cleared, it won't change the fact that there's no place for us here. We're just too different."

Nimona raised an eyebrow, having a suspicion where this conversation was going. "So, what are you suggesting, Boss?"

Ballister chuckled. "I think you know what I'm suggesting. If you feel gracious enough, is there anywhere that we can escape to, together?"

Nimona beamed. "Are you...serious? You wanna go...with me?"

Ballister nodded. "Of course. You're the only person who's been by my side through all of this."

Nimona smiled. "We can go anywhere, Boss. Pick a direction. We can pack in the morning."