Chương 14: The Starboy And The Anger That Almost Shook The World

"You told me you did not know them. You lied." The soldier's hand remained frozen near the hilt of his sword. His eyes moved from Enel's loose golden hair to his white sleeping shirt, then to the cracked mud beneath his bare feet. Ale had splashed across the table from where Enel landed, and one of the cups was still rolling slowly in a circle.

"M'lord," the older soldier said, swallowing.

"There must be some misunderstanding."

"There is not." The other soldiers behind them looked at each other, and none of them laughed now. Some of the travelers who had been lingering outside the inn also turned quiet, their cups lowered, their conversations dying one by one as they noticed the young noble standing in the middle of the yard. His ears were still ringing, and the noise was too much—but all he could hear right now were the beating hearts of the soldiers in front of him. Hard, beating so hard that it caused him to tilt his head to the side.

But he no longer pressed his palms onto his ears, no. He wanted to hear them all.

"You are soldiers of the realm. Why would you lie to its people?" he asked.

"W-we swear, M'lord! We don't know them!" Enel's head once again tilted to the side, and he could hear their hearts beat even faster and louder.

"Mother taught me people's hearts beat faster when they lie." Enel's fists tightened.

"You lie."

"P-pardon, M'lord? Our heart—""Say their names," Enel cut in, causing the man to blink.

"Their... names, M'lord?"

"You said them earlier. I heard you. Say their names."

"M'lord, we don't—" Enel stomped his foot, and the soldiers, the people in the inn, even those in their own caravan felt it. He barely stepped, and yet the mud split beneath his heel, and the tremor rolled through the yard hard enough that the table jumped and every cup on it spilled. One kaniin even fell from his seat despite their renowned reflexes. Most of the soldiers drew their swords at this. Almost. They stopped... and stared. Stared at Enel's hands that turned open.

Open just enough for them to imagine their necks being gripped by it.

"Say their names," he repeated, a frown now painting his face. The older soldier's mouth opened, but nothing came out. Enel took one step closer, and the older soldier dropped to one knee. The others followed almost immediately, most of them confused about where Widow's Wall was hiding such a... monster.

"Gregor," the older soldier finally said.

"Gregor, butcher of Widow's Wall."

"And?"

"Ansel." Enel glared at him. The soldier lowered his head further.

"Gregor and Ansel, M'lord."

"You remembered."

"M'lord, please." The man's voice cracked.

"Please understand. We had no part in taking them. We were not the men who entered Widow's Wall!

'Tis as you say, M'lord! We are guardians of the—""He is lying, M'lord!" One of the people watching from the sides suddenly pointed at the older soldier.

"I saw him chaining an older man when the conscripts passed by here!" Enel's head quickly snapped back to the old man.

"You chained Gregor?!" He stepped forward once more, and smoke began to trickle from his eyes. One of the younger soldiers began to draw his sword out of panic, but his blade had barely left the sheath before Enel suddenly appeared right in front of him... lightly pushing the blade back. Before he could gaze up, Enel was already back in his place. And right there and then, all of them truly understood what was in front of them.

"You carry the duke's colors. You carry the trust of those you take from their homes. You carry names." The smoke in his eyes began to sizzle.

"How can you lie about not knowing the names of those who fight for this country?" Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"M-M'lord," the older soldier whispered, "men pass through here by the hundreds."

"Then remember hundreds. Strip yourselves of your armor."

"M'lord?"

"You do not deserve to wear it." The older soldier's head lifted slightly.

"M'lord, please. That is—""Now." The soldier's lips trembled.

"Please, M'lord! We... we have families! We were just following orders."

"Your order was to chain the men and women who fight and die in the war?" Enel said.

"Are you mocking the Sovereign of the Seven Laws?"

"I... I would not dare, M'lord!"

"You lied about the people you took. You laughed at Widow's Wall. If your armor means duty, remove it. If it does not, then why are you wearing it?"

"M'lord, pl—""Everybody keeps calling me their lord..." Enel's hands once again curled into fists. This time, his knuckles cracked so hard the soldiers felt a blast of wind hit them.

"... I am a lord of Widow's Wall. Not yours." The soldiers looked at each other. Still, no one moved. It wasn't until Enel took another step that they began reaching for the clasps of their armor. Before any of them could truly remove anything, a hand rested on Enel's shoulder.

"Calm down, kid." Enel's head snapped to the side, and Ulf stood there. He gasped for a moment, gulping as he raised both his hands and forced a smile. It only lasted for a second, but there was fear in his eyes... and Enel saw it. The sizzle in his eyes began to wither, and he saw Tiny standing behind Ulf, his face pale as he looked between him and the kneeling soldiers.

"M'lord," Ulf said softly.

"People are sleeping." Enel's breathing was still heavy, and he could hear every heartbeat in the yard... and Tiny's was the strongest.

"They lied, Ulf."

"Men lie, M'lord."

"They are soldiers."

"Yes. But they are men first... so are you." The heat building in Enel's eyes died down as soon as he heard that. He glanced at Tiny and then at the soldiers who cowered from his stares. He looked at the people, and they, too, looked away. His heavy breath began to slow, and his eyes finally gazed down at his hands, and he realized he'd been gripping them so hard it had become difficult to remove them.

"I know what anger is like," Ulf whispered.

"It doesn't suit you, M'lord. These people are not worth it, trust me. These people are just stupid. I have seen a worse monster in my own reflection looking back at me."

"Ulf..." Ulf sighed, then turned to the kneeling soldiers.

"Go," Ulf waved.

"Do not show yourselves until our caravan leaves if you know what's good for you lot." The soldiers glanced up at Ulf for a moment, then at each other before they all began to scamper away. Some of the people watching them, spitting on their path. A hisker woman even bared her fangs at them—showing just how much respect they had for these so-called guardians of the realm.

"Why don't you just join us at the camp, M'lord?" Ulf glanced at Enel, already making his way back to the caravan. Enel nodded, following behind him quietly. Tiny, although still a little shocked, hurried after them, glancing back only once at the ground that Enel cracked. For a long while, no one spoke around the campfire. They only lay beneath the stars. Tiny curled beneath a borrowed blanket, though his eyes reflected the fire.

Enel lay on his back with his arms at his sides, staring upward at the night sky—all the stars were the same, and yet it seemed so unfamiliar. It was... Widow's Wall that was missing.

"I was wrong," Enel whispered. Tiny shifted beneath his blanket, looking away from the fire and joining Ulf and Enel to stare at the night.

"I... don't think you were, M'lord," Tiny said.

"The soldiers of the duke had been... out of line. Even in Riverdown, they strut as if they own it."

"Still. What I did..." Enel closed his eyes.

"It was improper. I carry the name of House Blackwood and Widow's Wall." Ulf snorted at that.

"Improper?"

"I was angry."

"You'd every right to be, M'lord," Tiny shook his head.

"Kid's right."

"That does not mean I had the right to do anything I wished," he said, clasping his chest.

"My father taught me to be good to everyone, even to those who sinned. Mother taught me restraint, but only to those who deserve it. And—""That's what you did." Ulf smiled.

"Perhaps. But if you had not come..." Enel turned his head slightly.

"Thank you for stopping me, Ulf."

"I'm just doing something I wish someone had done for me, kid. The... sins I've committed..."

"I can't imagine you angry." Tiny blinked.

"I wasn't..." Ulf held his breath.

"That's what made them worse."

"Then I will make you a promise, Ulf of the East," Enel raised his palm toward the night sky.

"If there ever comes a time where your emotions call for you to do something violent, something you would regret—I will stop you."

"Ha!" Ulf breathed out in amusement.

"I'm afraid, M'lord, that you came too late. It's...... much too late for me." Back in Widow's Wall.

"You allowed him to go with a thief?!"

"Pft..." Axe had returned to the barony, immediately going straight to the manor. Perhaps that was a mistake, as Mira had her weapon ready by her side. It wasn't helping at all that Lamb was standing behind her, snickering at the thought of Enel adventuring with a thief. Fortunately, Baron Robert was outside bolstering the defenses of the city and watching the Dark Forest.

"I... I will take Ned and Cedrick with me and make haste to—""No." Mira stared at him for a while, then sighed as she motioned for him to get up from the floor.

"That... that boy will be fine," Mira convinced herself, although her face said otherwise. She looked at her palm, brushing her thumb against the two circular burns carved on it. After a while, she glanced back at Lamb, who quickly straightened her back at her gaze.

"I have a more urgent matter for you to do, Axe."

"Anything, M'lady!"

"You know your way around the Dark Forest more than most people. I want you to take Lamb with you and scout the Veil." Lamb glanced at Mira's back for a moment and nodded to herself.

"Lamb...?" Axe blinked.

"She's a child, M'lady."

"She is also one of the strongest warriors of Widow's Wall—and the fastest." Mira raised her hand.

"The girl trains with my son, Axe. If anything were to happen, she could carry you and escape the forest." Axe looked back and forth between Mira and Lamb, then bowed his head and stepped back.

"I will have our supplies ready, M'lady. We leave immediately."

"Very good. And Axe..."

"M'lady?"

"Whatever you find there will decide whether or not... Widow's Wall needs to be abandoned."