The Descendants of Ardwall

4. The Secret Skills

It was hard to be certain what time it was now. But having the town leader Lord Darius make time to see them tonight must have meant this was a matter urgent enough to discuss. How long they actually did have with Darius, it was hard to be certain, but Raiden was well aware that they didn't have forever.

Darius would be meeting them here in Listing Academy, where there stood a sparsely-decorated private room for all of them to talk. They would wait for him there until he arrived. Sebastian had led the three boys through the halls to get to this place, so here they were now, waiting for Silva's town leader.

As the minutes went by, Raiden found himself drifting in and out of his newly-returned memories. Sometimes he found himself exploring those that had to do with his brother, though most of those memories involved having nothing but happy ones – watching him train or even playing with him. If anything, most of Raiden's earliest memories were of playing.

But in between those fragments he saw, there were other remnants that prodded at the back of his mind. These memories felt darker, more...scarring. As if they didn't want to be remembered yet. Try as he might, Raiden couldn't force them to come. They evaded him as he tried to settle his focus on them, like butterflies that slipped through one's fingers when you tried to take them in your hand. Eventually he just settled for leaving them alone.

Breaking out of his thoughts, he found his gaze landing on Hajime once again. Some part of him still felt awkward with them being in the same room, especially knowing that they'd had such a strong bond in the past. A bond that probably didn't even exist today.

Raiden wanted to say something but then the door suddenly clicked open. Light from the halls flooded inside, bringing with it a small old man with thinning aged-white hair and an almost perfectly-curved back. He wore strange garments – a long white robe with a silver sash, along with a satin headpiece that capped his crown.

A scraping of chairs on the floor told Raiden that Sebastian, Hajime, and Luke had hurriedly stood from their seats. They were now bending from the waist, bowing in respect for the old man standing before them. Raiden suddenly didn't know what he had to do. Did he bow right along with them? Or was it too late?

"Good evening, my lord," said Sebastian, recovering gracefully from his deep bow. "I'm sure you've been acquainted with Hajime and Luke, but I don't think you've had the pleasure of being introduced to Raiden Larter yet." He gestured towards Raiden who just sat there like a lost puppy. "Raiden, this is Lord Darius, Silva's town leader."

Black beady eyes surrounded by wrinkled liver-spotted skin caught his. Raiden bowed his head, not really sure about what he ought to do in the town leader's presence. Would the old man think he was being disrespectful? It wasn't as if Raiden knew what to do in the first place. You didn't meet many town leaders in the Demi realm when you spent half your life in the other one.

"Young Master Raiden," came Darius's voice after the others sat down. It was rather coarse. Not the voice he'd expected to have come from one of the most respected men in this town. It sounded like he'd used up his voice from a lifetime of speaking. "Welcome back. It's good to finally meet you."

Because he wanted to make up for his blunder, Raiden replied, "Likewise, er...my lord." The words felt foreign on his tongue. Foreign yet...familiar. Though he never had spoken the words, he was certain some part of him in the past knew these words were a staple in this world.

The old man shuffled through the room to take his seat along the long table around which they sat. The chairs creaked in protest as Darius settled down, breathing out deeply as he leaned back into the seat. For some moments, all he did was stare at the three boys before him. Raiden suppressed a shudder from that lingering cat-eyed gaze.