Chapter 20: The Taste of Freedom
It wasn't often Dal got to eat breakfast, and it was even less often he got to eat one like this.
Sitting at a round, outdoor table, he felt so out of place as a serving woman brought him a plate filled with eggs, ham, and toasted bread with an assortment of jams. This…this was not something he was accustomed to at all. And Master Churbud seemed to notice this. He made a loud, jolly-sounding laugh, one that emanated from his belly.
"Eat up, Dal. It's a long trip back to the capital."
Dal hesitated. He was nervous, uncertain, and he had so many doubts. Even now, surrounded by the prince, Rethi, Denin, Lord Ashmere, and Master Churbud, he was still shifting his eyes around and looking for an escape. His instincts told him to flee. They always did.
"This guy looks so paranoid," one of the three kids training under Master Churbud said in between massive bites of his food. If Dal recalled correctly, his name was Jona. He was tall for his age, and he really liked to talk a lot of shit. All morning, he'd been going on about how "he" would have handled the demon if "he" had been there.
"Can we train on the way back, please?" the one named Billee asked. He was like Jona's opposite in every single way. He was short, red-haired, and he had a face full of freckles. He was also a great deal more polite. "I really wanna learn to use the mace."
"If time permits," Master Churbud said.
"Pass the…butter…please," the one called Raval said at just above a whisper, barely enough to hear him. Dal wondered what was wrong with the boy, as he had to be the shyest, most timid person that Dal had ever encountered. Rethi smiled at him and then slid it across the round table where they were seated in this third-floor balcony that let in just the right amount of morning sunshine.
"So anyways," Jona said, munching down his food so fast that Master Churbud was likely to scold him again. "Rethi, I've been meaning to tell you something. Uh, I turn 16 in four more months, so I'm definitely like, basically an adult now. So, um, I want you to sit on my face."
"J-Jona!" the Paladin shouted at him. "How dare you say something like that to a woman?"
"What, I'm just being honest?"
Rethi responded by reaching across the table and pinching his cheek. "I'm already swooning over someone. Sorry, Jona."
He scowled. "Who?"
Here we go, Dal thought, suppressing a groan.
Rethi made a heart symbol with her hands and pointed it in his direction. For some reason, this caused Jona to swear and throw a piece of fried potato at his face. "Jona!" Master Churbud shouted at him again. "Do not make me have to take harsh disciplinary action!"
"Sorry, Master Fallowthorne," the boy said.
Dal peeled the potato off his cheek and then leaned forward and buried his face in his hands, suffering from a state of total frustration. And it was only made worse as the other boy, Billee, asked, "So, what do you think you'll turn into next, Dal?"
I can't believe the prince told them, he thought.
Not only did Master Churbud now know his secret, but so too did three random kids. The number of people who knew about his curse was starting to increase way too rapidly, and he wasn't sure what he could do to stop it.
"Are you all right, Dal?" the Paladin asked him.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
He rubbed his chin as though unconvinced. "You three," he said to his apprentices, "go finish your breakfast on the second floor."
"And leave Rethi alone with this freak of nature?" Jona asked, sounding genuinely angry. "There's no way we can trust her with this—"
"Jona!" the Paladin snapped. "If you do one more thing unbecoming of our holy order, I will make you regret it deeply."
He sighed. "All right, fine." To the other two boys, he gestured with his head towards the door that led back into the noble house. Both of them grabbed their plates and got up, following behind him. He must've been the kid the other two looked towards like a leader, because they meekly followed him out. Almost immediately afterwards, things quieted down significantly.
Releasing a heavy sigh, Master Churbud looked at Dal and said, "I'm sorry about that. They can be a handful sometimes."
Dal made a waving gesture with his hand. "It's fine."
Leaning forward in the table and staring directly at him, the Paladin asked, "I can tell you don't want to come with us."
He nodded. "I don't. Like I've told the prince many times now, I just want to be free to live my life the way I always have."
"But you must realize how dangerous you are, son." Dal opened his mouth to correct the man, but he ended up correcting himself before Dal had the chance. "Sorry about that. I keep forgetting you're not actually as young as you look."
"It's fine." Dal turned his head a moment to look over the balcony and at the town of Bradford, and then he gazed beyond it, where a world of green fields and far-reaching roads reminded him of the nature of freedom. "I'm not dangerous," he said, continuing to stare into the distance. "The prince is mistaken. A series of coincidences has given him the wrong impression about me."
"That's simply not true," Prince Alain replied.
"Respectfully, Your Highness, it is true. You've seen a few crazy things happen to me in a row, so you've concluded that—"
"False," the prince said, cutting him off. "Let me be clear about one thing, Dal. You say you've lived your life for several decades without incident, yes? Well, I want you to know that I actually do believe you. But I also wish for you to understand that if these 'coincidences' had never taken place at all, my decision would still be the same. This is not about bad luck or what has already happened, but about what could happen."
Dal, taking a bite out of his toast, suddenly found that his appetite was gone—ridden from him by the frustration and stress of this whole situation. "And what I keep trying to tell you, Your Highness, is that I've learned mechanisms to prevent those things from happening. But fine. Let me propose to you a counter offer, then."
"Hm?"
Dal pointed to the prince. "If I'm so dangerous to the extent that my only option is captivity, then how about you just exile me instead? Send me to another nation, and I give you my word I'll never return to Ostros ever again."
For some reason, this made Lord Ashmere growl, Rethi firmly shake her head, and the prince sigh. "No, we'd kill you before we let that happen."
"W-what?" Dal exclaimed, shouting out louder than he'd intended. "Why?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Lord Ashmere asked. "Because then we'd risk—"
"FUCKING SHIT FUCKER!" Master Churbud yelled out, apologizing immediately afterwards. "Sorry."
Lord Ashmere waited a moment before trying to speak again. Going off his facial expression alone, he must've found the Paladin to be very annoying. "As I was saying," he continued, "if we let you leave Ostros, we risk letting you become a weapon for another nation to potentially use against us, such as the Empire of Jorminia. That's just not acceptable."
Dal chuckled darkly. "If you're doing so poorly against them that a single level-2 Goat Castrator can tip the skills against you, I'd say you have bigger concerns than where I end up."
"Don't be a smartass," Lord Ashmere said, giving him a threatening look.
Dal groaned and once again put his face in his hands. "I can't believe after all these years, this day has finally come. And none of you realize what's going to happen next. I know you're all well-meaning, but none of you get it. There is no place you can send me where I won't be feared and viewed as a threat."
"You're so wrong," Master Churbud said. "You don't even realize how much." Wiping his mouth with a cloth napkin, he stood up. "But you'll see that soon enough. For now, I need to look after my pupils. I encourage you to eat as much as you can. We're going to leave within two hours. Please do not try to flee. None of us wish to hurt you."
"I won't," Dal lied, knowing he would bolt as long as a genuine opportunity to escape arrived.
Rethi, smiling warmly at him, said, "You really aren't going to be some 'prisoner' like you think you are. As hard as it is to believe, you're going to live a much better life than you could ever imagine."
"It's true," Prince Alain said. "Certainly, a better life than most now that a demon has manifested." At once, a look of despair crossed his features. "Now that one has risen, there will be more to follow. And then more still. Ostros is in grave danger."
"We'll get through it, my prince," Denin said. "I promise you. We will."
As with all things, Dal remained skeptical. But then again, what did he know? Demons weren't his specialty. But perhaps the bird could tell them more.
"Ravenia," he said to her. She had been quietly eating the food Rethi had put on a plate for her. Now, she paused, flapped her wings one time, and stared at Dal.
"What?" she asked, coldly.
"Is it true what the prince is saying? That just because one demon was summoned, it means there will definitely be more demons?"
"Yes," she replied curtly, clearly not in the mood to speak with him. Luckily for her, she'd likely never have to see him again once he was taken to the capital. He doubted they would allow her to reside with him. And if so, they would be separated sooner rather than later.
"Everyone," the prince said, getting up from the table. "Start getting ready to leave. If you need supplies, procure them now. I want to be out of Bradford ahead of schedule." With that, he departed from the table, and Denin left soon after. Now, it was just Dal, Lord Ashmere, and Rethi, and he was fairly surely neither of the two were going to leave his die.
For completely different reasons.