A Delicate Balance

Chapter five: The Miscreant

It was early morning, just before dawn, and I was standing by the kings room, where I could hear him arguing with my brother.

I had no idea what he'd done this time, but it sounded like he might have gotten in serious trouble.

Suddenly, the door slammed open, and he stalked out, ignoring me and throwing his knights crest to the side.

I moved to follow him, but Bdubs stopped me, shaking his head. "He's made his choice, Wels. He's not going to listen to you." He quietly told me.

"Well where's he going?" I asked, growing worried.

"I don't know, but he's made it clear he's not coming back, and that he doesn't want to see you." Bdubs responded, before heading back into the kings room. "If you want to take the week off, you can, just don't go chasing your brother."

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It had been a week since Hels had quit, and I was glad, to say the least.

Sure, Wels was still sulking in his room and lamenting about it, but Hels had shown signs of diverging from Ren's rule, like when he'd scoffed at him when Ren was talking about keeping the peace, or how he'd grumble about how he was surrounded by weak idiots.

Now, I thought it best to go to Spes again, after checking up on Grian.

I walked into the medical wing, wondering why the incense always made me feel nauseous, and saw that he'd had a few of the bandages removed, revealing the raw pink skin that was still healing.

I walked over to him, and gave him a gentle smile. "Hey, Grian. How've you been?"

He looked up at me, before weakly smiling. "Oh, I've been doing okay. You know, soon I'm going to be able to get all these bandages off." He happily informed me, though I noticed how he was speaking more like a ventriloquist than normal.

"That's good." I noted, also smiling. "You know, has Ren been bothering you about your own problem, or has he left well enough alone?" I asked.

Grian sighed, leaning back. "He at least doesn't mention it often, but I can tell he's worried about it." He solemnly noted. "Fortunately, they seem to agree I'm in no condition to go on any adventures in my sleep, and have left me alone... for the most part."

I put my hand on his shoulder, and glanced suspiciously at the shadows. "Alright, well, you let me know if they cause you any trouble. I'll find a way to keep them away." I assured him. "Okay?"

Grian slowly nodded. "Alright..."

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I had made the trek to Spes and was talking to Zedaph when I spotted Hels, and my expression must've soured.

"What's wrong, Moss man?" He asked.

I sighed, itching at my wrist. "That guard got kicked out about a week ago for major insubordination. Oh the things he said to the king." I shook my head, noting the look in his eyes.

I shivered, noting that he was now walking over, smiling in an eerie way.

He leaned close to me, his breath smelling like something rotten. "So, you're that Moss man I've heard about. Funny, I don't think I've ever seen you around the castle."

I rolled my eyes. "And I don't think I've ever seen you be genuinely nice to your brother." I retorted. "And yet he still cares about you."

He waved his hand dismissively. "Bah, Wels is an idiot. He'd care about an ant if it so much as crawled on him." Hels snorted derogatorily, before reaching to grab at my poncho. "Who are you really? Which one of that king's fools is beneath that poncho?" He suddenly asked.

I sighed, before feeling my poncho begin to wrap tighter around me and change slightly. "Don't you dare touch me." I growled, slapping his hand away.

He chuckled, shaking his head. "Or what?" He taunted, suddenly lunging forward and grabbing at my scarf, ripping at one of the vines I'd used to weave it.

I yelped, pushing him away, before leaping back, and feeling my poncho starting to grow. "Hey! I'm warning you." I growled, sensing my energy spiking.

Hels lunged forward, tackling me, and I felt a sharp pain in my arm.

I hissed in pain, feeling a rush of energy, and suddenly I was pinning him to the ground and punching him while Zedaph tried to calm me down.

I shook my head, a few dead leaves falling off my face. I finally stood, noting there was a thick vine wrapped around Hels' waist, holding him down.

I glared at him, not caring that there was blood spurting from his nose, and growled. "I said don't. Touch. Me." I venomously reiterated. "But you clearly can't hear a thing."

I stalked away, leaving him to free himself, and found a stump to sit on.

I'd been sitting for a while, tracing the rings on the stump, when I felt a presence approaching.

I ignored it, opting to try fixing the rips in my poncho, but I was too frustrated for it to work properly.

"Are you okay, Moss man?" Xisuma asked, keeping his distance.

I sighed, looking up. "That fool ruined my poncho. It's going to take me all day to get the blood out." I grumbled.

Xisuma walked over, studying it. "Can I help?"

I shook my head, and focused on the biggest tear, the edges of which were stained with blood.

Slowly, it began to grow back, somehow thicker than last time, and I sighed in relief.

Xisuma hummed, studying me, before asking a question I'd been dreading. "How did you do that? I've never seen anyone knock down a knight so fast."

I looked away. "He touched my poncho, and practically asked for it. No, I'm not going to apologize to that fool."

Xisuma shrugged. "Eh, too late anyways. He ran off as soon as False cut him free, didn't even let me help him."

He crouched down, reaching for me. "How about we go to my house, and I can tend to that gash?" He offered.

I looked away. "It'll heal itself. Besides, I should probably go in case I— I lose it again." I stood, opting to run home.

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Word count: 146? that does not sound right... Yep, my docs say it's 1029