Dark Crown {Crowned Trilogy, Book 1} | ↺

[VI] Talon - The Man ✔ [revised 10/14]

                 

Whoa, come with me now

I'm gonna take you down

Whoa, come with me now

I'm gonna show you how

Afraid to lose control

And caught up in this world

I've wasted time, I've wasted breath

I think I've thought myself to death

I was born without this fear

Now only this seems clear

I need to move, I need to fight

I need to lose myself tonight

                                         - Come With Me Now, by Kongos

                 

"Thank ye, lad," a man said gratefully as he reached up and took the tankard out of Talon's tight grip. "You look better when you're all cleaned up. More approachable." The Streetknight from the day before nodded approvingly.

Talon nodded back stiffly.

"You know each other?" Pa asked, appraisingly.

"I found your boy at the temple yesterday. He looked like the most defeated soul I'd ever seen. A few months training with me, and he'll have a new spring in his step."

"My sister was killed in front of me!" Talon exclaimed, before he could stop himself. "Why are you all acting like it's normal? Like it's something I can recover from?"

"Boy!" the Streetknight roared. "You were not the only one who lost someone yesterday. But life goes on. Do you think your sister would be happy, seeing you give up just because of her death? The point to life is to live. That's all. You can be as sad and angry as you want, but you need to keep on living. Lying in bed all day - cowering in bed all day is not acceptable! You might as well be dead! Live the life your sister wasn't able to!"

Talon took a step back.

"I'm a trained soldier, boy. I have seen death every day of my life. But I get up in the morning everyday because I have a duty to this country and to the people. I see gory deaths so that people like you don't have to." He glared at Talon.

Talon opened his mouth, but closed it, unsure what he could say.

The Streetknight continued to press. "Perhaps you don't want to leave your family. But if you stay with them, they'll only be a target. If you come with me, to the castle, you would have the full protection of the Crown behind you."

Talon opened his mouth to attempt to speak again, but there was a sudden disturbance in the inn as the door jangled open.

Standing at the doorway, with the sun behind them, casting looming shadows ahead, was the Orientan trader from the day before and a group of four Streetknights.

The room slowly fell into an eerie silence as all the customers noticed the group standing at the doorway. Not even the drunkest of the drunkards spoke. It was never a good sign to see a trader with a group of armed Streetknights at your door. Not even if they were all smiling, with or without teeth.

The trader took this as his cue to start speaking, and his voice, though not a booming type, could be heard throughout the whole tavern, because of how quiet the place had become. "That boy, over there. He took." The man lifted up a trembling, wizened finger and pointed at Talon.