"Sure."
He nods his head. "Follow me then, let's go." He speaks, his voice barely audible.
I take slow and careful steps, my knees trembling as I continue walking behind him.
It might be because I'm not used to this body.
We walk away from the garden on the hill and towards a massive stone wall that has an opening, like a door.
Dinan walks in front of me, his shoulders swaying rhythmically as he takes calm and graceful steps.
I turn back, my eyes drinking in the sight of the hill we'd just exited.
From a far distance, stone walls loom, raised from four corners around the garden like some kind of fence.
Hm?
I squint my eyes, taking a better view of the garden.
Ah, so I was wrong. There are three stone walls, not four.
At the place where the last stone wall is supposed to be, it's just empty. I think it leads somewhere.
My neck snaps forward as we walk past the stone wall.
The atmosphere around me changes. My skin tingles as the cool breeze in the air comes in contact with it.
Still, we continue walking, our pace never slowing down as the annoying sound of both our boots clinking on the interlocking stones fills the air.
Why isn't he saying anything? It feels awkward. But, well, it's better for me anyway. I'm used to the silence.
As if the world hears my complaint, countless male voices stream into my ears from multiple directions, cutting through the awkward silence like a knife to butter. And with these voices, laughter follows.
We've arrived at an area not too far from the hill. And in this place, the vibrant sounds of the male voices and their laughter subtly heighten.
In this place, massive shadows loom above me, interrupting the sweet warmth that the sun casts on my head.
The sun… I never thought I'd get to see it ever again.
My neck makes a crackling sound as I raise my head, looking at the bright blue sky as I walk.
The sun is there, shining its warm, radiant light down on the world.
My eyes narrow. A squint.
It's still odd. All of this is. I haven't even had the time to think about this properly. I need to clear my head.
Various tall stone buildings tower above me. The source of those shadows.
The buildings are really tall. And even though they're not as tall as a skyscraper, they're still tall, and they have roofs that point upward — toward the sky.
These buildings are everywhere around this place, both left and right. And the spaces between the buildings form the roads that we pass.
As we walk further, the buildings, which were all stone and unpainted, begin to be replaced with blue-painted, taller buildings.
Now, along the road we pass, I see various men dressed in brown, ragged outfits. It's as if they're wearing rags. Brown sacks and black pants. They all wield swords and are headed in the same direction.
Every time we pass a group of them, Dinan pauses to greet them, speaking the same words to each of them, but in different variations.
Just like now, a group of three men is walking toward our direction, probably headed to the same destination as the others, behind us.
As they reach us, they bow their heads immediately. "Good day, Vice Captain!"
Dinan slightly bows back in response, saying: "Lift your heads, men. Do not bow to me, I am not your Lord. Have you all been training diligently?" He asks in an elegant, refined tone. Different from the way he speaks to me.
"Yes, Sir!" They reply in unison. Their right fists raised to the right sides of their heads, and their backs straighten as they salute.
Dinan turns his neck, his black, warm eyes peering straight into mine.
A frown forms on my face as his lips curl slowly, forming a small smile. He immediately turns forward, continuing the long walk.
What was that grin for? Is he crazy?
"How long is this going to take?" I ask, my words come out fast. Hurried. I need to have a quiet moment with myself, to think this whole scenario through and plan my next move.
"We're almost there. Stop whining." He replies in a curt tone.
And indeed, he isn't wrong. We're almost there. I know this because of the weird feeling in my heart. My body recognizes this place. A place that had always invoked fear in this body. A place that houses the man who this body respects, hates and fears at the same time.
That's the reason my heart, or the heart of Ralyn, keeps pounding against my chest.
I won't be surprised if someone can hear my heartbeat.
My eyes focus ahead. Fixated on the large black gate made of bars of black-painted steel that stands, creating a demarcation between the places we have walked along and the place we're heading to.
And beyond that gate, no matter how unfamiliar I am with this place. No matter how much I am a stranger to this environment, I can still tell that our destination lies there.
"We have arrived at the main residence of the family," Dinan speaks with a low voice as we reach the gates.
I clench my fists. My breathing goes slightly off rhythm as the tension crawls up my spine. I don't even know why this body feels and reacts this way. But still, I reply with utmost confidence. "I know. Let's go in."
Dinan gives hand signals to the guards dressed in colorful uniforms guarding the gate, and they open it.
In reality, I am not Ralyn. I am Viriel. I am not scared of any human. What's the worst thing that could happen inside there? My death?
Please.
I've died before. Death is not something that I fear at the moment.
So I ignore the cries of Ralyn's heart. And I also ignore the gripping feeling in Ralyn's body, one that seems to cage me. And I walk in, slowly following behind Dinan, who matches in with steps so refined it looks like he owns the place.
The air here is indeed different. The buildings are like castles. But their roofs are made of black steel.
There are many buildings. I can count ten of them just by looking.
So this is the place you hate more than anything, Ralyn.