Light stabbed my eyelids before I even knew I was awake. The scent of fresh pancakes rushed into my nose.
'I'm home?'
I felt a strange jerk and movement on top of my blanket.
"Gryphon? At my house? Great. I must be dead. What in Spirthas name are you doing here? My parents never let me have any animals at home."
The Gryphon rolled over, tangling itself in the blanket, and fell. Its jet-black head poked out from the mess, talons at one end and hind paws sprawled awkwardly at the other.
I got out of bed, excitement bubbling inside me.
"Hey—my arm can move!" I jumped, shouting with excitement.
"Here, let me help you out of that bud."
As I moved closer, I spotted a mark on the Gryphon's back leg. I don't remember that before. My fingers hovered but didn't touch.
I untangled the Gryphon and observed it more thoroughly.
"You also look bigger."
The Gryphon let out a soft squawk and nodded.
"Did you just understa-"
Before I could finish, my door burst open, and my mom rushed in. My father followed behind her. Mother grabbed me tightly as if she'd found her lost doll.
'Ow! It still hurts, Mom!' I yelped.
Her voice was gentle-almost too gentle. It made me uneasy, like I'd done something wrong. I gripped my hands, trying not to waver.
"It's ok."
I glanced at my dad. Regret shadowed his face. I had never thought to see my dad like this. I shifted my eyes away from him.
'I still remember what he said, and what Noelle said about no one coming for me. No one ever cared; they don't even bother to stop Ken and Ben from teasing me. I bet he's gonna make up some lame excuse.
My father didn't take his gaze off me.
"Listen, Damien."
"I-I'm sorry," my father said, his voice cracking.
"I hope you can forgive me." My jaw clenched so tight, I thought it might snap. Part of me wanted to scream, but another part... just wanted to believe. I swallowed the bitter taste of disappointment.
"How can I? Noelle told me you guys didn't come for me. You didn't even try to send one guard."
My father turned away, then glanced back again.
"We did. It's just that... how do I put this..., he was not sober. He got here late. But when he did, he found you both. Well, all three of you."
The Gryphon let out a plaintive screech. My mom gasped and stepped back.
"Oh my! Who's this? What's a Gryphon doing here? The Twin Peaks are far from here. And a black one? I've never seen one of those."
I held my breath, then let it out in a slow sigh. The tightness in my jaw faded as the anger melted away.
"One day I left my cave, and when I came back, he was there with a bigger one."
Father's left brow raised.
"And the bigger one?"
I glanced at the Gryphon as it turned its back on us and sat down. I sighed.
"When I met them, the big one was all bruised up and had been clawed all over it. Later, it flew off and was found dead at the bottom of the cliff."
I walked over to the Gryphon and sat next to him, trying to help him. It didn't work, so I got up and sent the Gryphon to Noelle's chamber, where she had been sleeping. She was sleeping like a baby. I smiled at the thought, knowing she'd be annoyed if she heard me say that. After closing her door, I made my way back to my chamber.
'Maybe they do care for me. I should stop being rude for now, after all, we did get rescued. However, I can't forgive them this easily.'
I reached the golden doorknob, closed the door, and continued the conversation.
"Who found us? You make it seem like they were important."
Father ran a hand down his face and sighed.
"As a knight, he's of the fourth-highest rank—Ascended Saint. His name is Stark. He's in his forties and is a Ki user."
My eyes widened, and I fixed my posture.
"A Ki user? I thought you said we could never get that strong."
Father sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Only three other Ki users have ever passed the fourth and third highest rank, Divine Saint. Mastering Ki takes crazy determination."
'Three?!'
He looked at me seriously. "I don't have Ki, so I won't be training you. Stark will. You leave tomorrow. By then, your arm will be recovered."
His eyes narrowed, searching mine.
"Are you sure you want this?"
I met his ocean-blue gaze without flinching.
"After surviving out there, I know nothing will be easy. But that doesn't mean I can't do it. I will."
A slow smirk spread across Dad's face.
"Just what I wanted to hear."
We walked downstairs, then we walked outside from the back. I stepped onto the stone pathway outside. There was someone at the gazebo.
There was a tall man with a man bun, brown hair, and gray strands. He had pale skin, brown eyes, and reeked of the stench of alcohol. The silver, pristine armor he wore was engraved with scratches, begging to be thrown away. He sat down holding a bottle of wine, gazing at the field of blossoms.
He looked down, and he smirked.
"There's the boy. You ready for tomorrow, boy? Don't think I'm going to go easy on you because you're Reinhardt's boy."
I sneered, "Stop calling me 'boy'. You smell terrible."
"Oh, you're so funny, boy. Listen, just get ready and say your goodbyes for tomorrow. I'll be at the second guest house if you've got any questions."
Stark said with a straight face, almost irritated.
'Strange man.'
"For sure, I'll see you then, I guess."
My Father pulled me away with a cool-headed expression.
"I need to talk to Stark. You go get ready for the king's arrival. We will be having a banquet later. And stop being disrespectful, Stark is going to train you after all."
"Fine."
As I walked away, my father turned away, and their voices faded into low murmurs behind me.
"Been a while, Stark. Haven't seen you since the committee gathering for the peace pact. How's the family?"
Stark fidgeted with a ring, took another sip of wine.
"Frankly, it could be better. Ever since my granddaughter awakened Ki, he's been worried, even his sickness won't stop getting worse. So I decided to take her with me while he got better."
"I see. With you taking care of Damien, too, do you think you can handle it? When I used the communicator, you didn't hesitate to come."
Stark sighed and stood up, then proceeded to place his hand on Father's shoulder.
"No need to worry, I just need to take a break from all this.
When I heard your adopted son got lost and you wanted me to help, I thought it could help me flee from reality for a bit. But listen, I won't be going easy on him. Life is brutal, and it's not going to stop."
Then Stark let go of him and sat back down in the gazebo. Father opened his mouth, but nothing came out, so he left.
"One more thing, Stark, make yourself at home. And make sure to come to the banquet later."
I ran upstairs and walked into the hall.
'This all feels a little fast. I hope Stark isn't a bum. They also left out a lot. I should ask him more, like how long we will train for and how far away it is. I need to get stronger, so I might as well go, no matter how hard it's going to be.'
As I reached for the golden doorknob, a flash of red lightning zipped past the corner of my eye.
"Am I seeing things?"
I looked around the hall, and nothing was there. I slowly opened my door. A familiar face appeared in my chamber.
The old butler looked at me with a smile.
"Hello Damien. Let's set you up for the banquet. I have provided a large number of suits to pick from. From your favorites to your most used."
"Chosen! It's been a while since I've seen you. Glad you're working here again, you were one of the people I could ask for advice growing up."
"Yes, yes. But now is the time to get prepared for the feast. If you look here on your bed, there are four suits. Pick one, and do take your time if needed."
Four suits lay folded on my bed, each one woven with impossibly fine threads and stitched with symbols; The first suit was black and green, the second, black and white, the third, white and gold, and lastly, black and red. I unfolded each one and felt the soft texture of each suit, pressing against myself. I had already chosen. I stared at the black suit with a red tie and the red pocket square.
"Chosen this one speaks to me. Though, please make sure to get the black dress shirt so I can put it under the suit."
"A fine choice, Damien. Come back in ten minutes while I get the whole set for you."
I departed the chamber and walked across the hall to open Noelle's chamber. Inside, she sat on the wooden floor, with her left hand patting the Gryphon's feathered head. She raised her head to meet my gaze, and a smile stretched across her face.
"Hello Damien. I've realized something: your Gryphon needs a name, and I know just what to call him, Nox."
I raised my brows with a confused expression.
"Why Nox?"
She got up off the floor.
"Well, a while back, Mom told us about Nox, the Roman goddess of night. She's not just the absence of day, but the mother of endings and dreams. Mysterious, powerful. Sounds fitting, right? We don't know if he's a girl or a boy, so we can give it this name, sure, the goddess was a girl, but the name itself sounds like it could be for both boy and girl. What do you think?"
The Gryphon raised its two feathery ears, got up, and started jumping up and down. The wood creaked, and claws tapped.
"I mean, I think we can see Nox likes it."
She laughed.
"Nox it is!"
I sat down and erased my soft and easy expression.
"Listen, Noelle, I'm going out to train for a while, and I wanted to say sorry. Sorry, I never came back, I never held up the promise I made, and I hope you can forgive me."
She frowned.
"Dummy. You're still here, aren't you? You are alive and well, that's all that matters. How long till you come back?"
"I don't know the specifics, but I'd assume a long time, another Ki user is training me starting tomorrow. And you're right, Thanks for that."
Noelle pointed behind me. The old butler stood there.
"Damien, your attire is ready for you. The banquet will soon commence. Noelle, your mother is arriving to help you change."