FireBound

Chapter 6

A week later, it was time for me to say goodbye.

My thoughts had kept me awake all night, thinking of every possible outcome this day could have had.

From being killed in a duel to becoming an appetizer to a dragon. The possibilities were endless.

I locked my small trunk before I dragged it down the hall, stammering as if a sharp claw had torn my flesh. I turned around, taking in one last time what had once been my room- my eyes travelling to the small hole in the middle of the door, where three years ago during a round of drinking darts I'd thrown a small dagger in the wrong direction, barely missing Alyssa.

The sounds of our laughers echoing down the hall. The lashing we'd received the morning after, when we'd been caught trying to hide it during the morning inspections. That'd occurred during our third year.

"Packed everything up?" Alyssa's quiet steps joined me in the serene silence before dawn.

She was still in her uniform, half buttons were unclasped, her hair dishevelled. A permanent frown forming on her face as she saw my luggage.

rubbed her hands together, shielding them against the growing cold. Her hands found mine. Squeezing them affectionately.

"Yeah. I need to drop off my key before going to Lorin."

"I'll accompany you there," she said, growing with apprehension. "It's the least I can do for now." And she was beside me, squeezing my hands as our foreheads rested together. Our breaths becoming one.

It was only after the clock chimed six that we broke up. She went to close her door as I took the chance to peek at her room one last time.

Her bed was intact. Quills laid carefully tucked to the sides, with her pillow neatly resting on the base of the bed as if it'd not been used last night.

Had she stayed awake all night waiting like me?

The door closed. We looked at each other, smiling, and together we took the first step down.

☽ ༓ ☾

There was nobody waiting for me when I got off the small cruiser which'd landed in Lorin. Nor when I stopped in front of the main gates that led inside the complex of the Vanguard. Not a single soul roamed around the outskirts of Lorin.

That was for the best. Not to consider I'd arrived early to avoid the excessive stares. I wondered if the people here had heard of this whole ordeal. Not every day someone got transferred from the Brigade to the Vanguard.

That didn't help with the growing anxiety. Not at all.

My fist came into contact against the brass gates. The sound of gears turning on my right grabbed my attention.

Bricks started rotating, the gears moving them until what looked like a small crack the size of my wrist appeared right under the level of my shoulder.

I crouched down. Shifting my wight on my knees, I observed the spheric form.

"You have to place your finger inside." Mayor Wyrebrock's amused voice came from above, accompanied by a strong flapping of wings.

Before I had the time to reply, he jumped off his dragon, landing steadily on the dirt.

He was dressed in his riding gear: with the addition of dark-leathered gloves shielding his hands from the morning cold and a belt attached to his waist, where two twin blades hung unshed.

A light shade of red tinting his cheeks became visible, he approached, smiling at me, and he tucked his gloves away before ruffling his hair.

"My finger?"