The decision, once spoken, seemed to suck all the air from the carriage. The silence that followed was heavier than before, thick with the unspoken implications of his choice. Liam's single word, "Yes," had irrevocably severed him from his past. He was no longer Liam, the village boy who fixed roofs and tended gardens. He was… something else. A weapon, a key, a problem. The labels shifted in his mind, each one ill-fitting and cold.
Merlin gave a slow, approving nod, his expression a complex mix of pride and pity. "A brave choice, lad. The first of many you will have to make."
Princess Evelyn said nothing, she leaned back onto the carriage closing her eyes assuming a meditative posture. It seems she didn't want to be part of the conversation anymore.
Liam decided to stare out of the wagon, the scenery was beginning to change. The wild untamed forests and rugged hills began to change, gradually beginning to soften into long golden stretches of cultivated fields and groves of trees.
