In The End

Section 2: Chapter 3

Naoki had been falling behind for a while. He was playing with his weapons - toys, really - getting used to their weight. His armour didn't give him much protection, but it did hold all sorts of useful objects such as the map, compass and his knife. He had the feeling it was stronger than he thought, and had some resistance to water and fire and other elements. Underneath was the chainmail, and he couldn’t believe how light that was. It felt barely there compared to his army gear, but he it would give good protection. He stopped to admire the letters engraved on the swords. Each had a slightly different pattern, and he knew they meant something. He didn’t have to know what it was.

He looked up, noticing Silvana was beginning to get pretty far away. He took a deep breath, gasping slightly. Silvana kept walking away, not looking back. Naoki stepped forward, and fell onto the ground. He lay there for a little while, struggling to breathe. The air wasn’t giving him much oxygen at all. He tried to yell for help. It was like he was underwater.
He managed to sit up. His vision was starting to blur again, and he couldn’t see Silvana. It was getting dark. He looked around frantically, searching for her, wondering when she would turn back and notice.

..........................

Silvana started retracing her steps, standing very stiffly, listening out for Naoki's breathing. It was shallow and irregular, as if he was wounded. She started walking closer, bringing her head low to the ground. Eventually, she spotted him leaning against a tree. She stepped forward, and he relaxed.

"Help," he said, forcing the words out his mouth. He was turning blue again. This seemed similar to magical exhaustion, whatever it was. She’d honestly expected Lockhart’s pills to last longer.

"Do you still have the pills?"

Naoki nodded, patting his front trouser pocket. Silvana reached forward, digging into it. Lockhart’s bottle had come undone, and many of the pills had turned to dust. Silvana frowned. She managed to find one that was whole, and forced it between his lips. A few minutes later, the blue colour left his face, and he stood up, shaking slightly.

"Let's go," he said. Silvana wanted to agree with him - she wanted to push on - but she’d felt how few pills there were in Naoki’s pocket. She couldn’t afford to lose him.

"We need to go back. We need to stay with Lockhart.”

Dejectedly, they turned around and walked back over the hill. The guard let them through immediately this time, avoiding Silvana's gaze.

Something was wrong. The city had been lit at night, before. Not like the city in Naoki’s world, but people had used orbs of light to light their way when they went out at night. There had been coloured torches on walls. Lights had been on in the windows, and the Lecture Hall had glowed slightly blue. Now, there was nothing. The tall buildings reached into the darkness, their tops barely visible. The wind sighed as it blew through the buildings. All it needed were the city-soldiers, standing at their posts, and this could have been Argenta’s land.

Silvana stopped. All the buildings looked the same in the gloom. She closed her eyes to think for a moment, then started to walk towards where she remembered Lockhart’s house to be. Before long, she could see the walls of his house. She followed them up, and they led her to the entrance. Intricately carved white stone surrounded a simple wooden door. She walked up and knocked on it, and the sound carried across the whole city. For a minute, nothing happened. Naoki leant against the wall, and Silvana moved so she was facing the door. She shifted her feet.
“Do you want me to break you down? Because I know you can hear me.”
The door opened quickly onto a small lawn. It was surrounded by white paving stones, and the grass looked like velvet. There was a sign, hidden by the darkness. Whatever it said, it wasn’t important.
"We can sleep here," said Silvana, curling up on the lawn, and wrapping her cloak around her. The lawn was softer than any bed, and smelled slightly sweet. She yawned and stretched.