Siegfried Fors
"No sign of it anywhere in the manor, young lord," the soldier reported, his helm tucked beneath one arm.
I let his words hang in the hollow air of the hall. The cub had woken, shattered glass, and slipped past us. And now… now it was gone. The sun was already slanting low, spilling long shadows across the floor. Night would come soon, and with it will come dangers I didn't want to imagine.
The creak of the front doors broke the silence. Granny and Grandpa stepped inside.
"What are you all doing in the middle of the hall?" Grandpa asked, his tone a mix of confusion and concern.
"The green cub has gone missing. It broke a window and ran off before we noticed," I explained the whole situation. Then, I asked about the other thing on my mind. "How are the... knights?"
Grandpa's gaze softened. He looked tired, lines of worry etched around his eyes. "Luckily, Father Kaelen and Doctor Ridge were able to restore the limbs they lost."
Relief arose within me, before Granny's eyes cut toward me. With a firm voice, she spoke, "Even so, we cannot allow a green bear to roam free. That will only invite panic." She then turned to the soldier. "Take your men. Search the streets, the fields, every corner of the barony. Find it before the dark does."
The man gave a crisp nod before hurrying off, boots echoing against the floor.
"I'll go too," I said quickly, already moving a step forward.
"No." The word was instant. Final. Granny's tone left no space for argument, but the refusal burned hotter in my chest than I expected.
"I can help," I pressed. "I—"
"You will not," she cut across me, her voice sharp as tempered steel. "Not this time."
I took a deep breath, fighting the frustration and words threatening to spill. With nothing left, I turned on my heel, my boots striking hard against the floor. James, silent and unsure, trailed after me.
Behind us, I heard Grandpa start, "Sieg—"
But Granny's quiet reply stopped him in his tracks. "Let him cool himself."
The hall faded behind me, my steps carrying the weight of unspoken frustration. Always treating me like a child. The thought bit at me, sour and sharp. But then I stopped, a sudden wave of clarity washing over me. From their eyes, I really was one, small and still fragile, they weren't trying to punish me; they were trying to protect me. I was a child to them, a grandson and they wanted to keep me safe. I ran a hand over my face, the familiar shame of a temper tantrum taking hold. There was no need to let anger burn when all they wanted was to protect me.
"...Sieg, are you fine?" James' hesitant voice wavered from behind.
I glanced over my shoulder. He looked even smaller than usual, wringing his fingers as though afraid to even stand there. Seeing him like that stirred something heavy in me. No matter what, I couldn't let harm ever reach him. Perhaps Granny and Grandpa felt the same about me. If only they could trust me a little more.
"Sieg?" James tried again, softer this time.
A smile tugged at me despite everything. I reached out, resting my hand atop his head with care. "I'm fine," I told him, my voice steady now. "Just worried about the cub."
His face lit with faint relief. "I am too. I was really scared when it broke the window and jumped out."
"Why did it jump?" I asked quietly. "Did it see something?"
The words lodged themselves in my mind, refusing to settle. Something about the cub's sudden flight gnawed at me, but I could think of nothing.
"Come on," I said at last, turning down the corridor. "Let's check the library."
We walked in silence until the tall doors gave way to familiar rows of shelves. At the far end, where the window had shattered, the mess was already scrubbed away. A square plank of wood sealed the broken frame.
I moved to the nearest window and unlatched it, leaning out. The land stretched wide and open, gold with the sinking sun. A little further out, the greenhouse stood quiet, cradled by its ring of gardens. I watched it for a while. Soldiers had already combed through every corner of it, yet the cub was nowhere to be found.
"Sieg, see this."
James' voice reached me from behind, laced with excitement.
I turned to see him coming toward me, a book clutched tightly in his hands.
"Did you find something?" I asked.
"Check this book." He lifted it slightly, Encyclopedia of Magic Beasts Volume II.
My brow arched. "What about it?"
"Check this book," he said, placing it on the table. He fumbled with the pages, finding the right one, and slid the book toward me. "After you brought the cub home, I was studying up on it so we could take better care of it. Read this."
My eyes scanned the text he pointed to: "Green Bears possess the incredible ability of being able to remember the mana signature of the human or beast they come in contact with and can sniff it out, following even the most minor of trails."
"Sniff it out?" I read, confused.
James nodded. "I think it caught a familiar mana and went after it."
Familiar mana? But whose?
The cub had only been at the manor for two days. The only people who had used mana in front of it were myself, my mother, my grandparents, Silas, and some soldiers. I highly doubt it was anyone from the house.
"Who could it be…" The words slipped from my lips, little more than a whisper.
James hesitated, his voice quieter this time. "H-he looked… quite aggressive."
Aggressive? Toward who? My thoughts tangled, searching for an answer I didn't want to find. The one possibility I'd been pushing away crept into my mind. Could it be…? No. That couldn't be right. The armored beast was certainly near the barony at that time, but the cub was smart enough to know I saved him, so it should know it would be killed by the armored beast.
Still, the doubt lingered, heavy and cold.
My eyes went back to James, who was reading another part of the book:
"Green Bears are bound by unshakable loyalty and kinship, living by a code where family stands above all else. They travel together, never leaving one behind. To them, the journey itself is the bond they share, each step taken as one. Fiercely protective, they would sooner face death than abandon kin. Even predators hesitate to challenge their unity."
I let out a slow breath. So... It's all about family.
A faint smile tugged at my lips, a particular movie from my old life came to mind. Just as quickly, however, the smile died. Reality pressed back in, and with it came the sudden, chilling realization of what the cub might be trying to do.
"James, let's go," I said, moving past him. "We need to tell Granny."
"O-okay," he replied, hurrying to follow.
As I opened the door, everything seemed to still. The air grew thick, sound dulled, as though the world itself was holding its breath. For a moment, even the beat of my heart felt muffled. And then—
The silence shattered.
A low buzz swam beneath my skin, prickling like needles of static. My chest tightened, breaths dragging heavy as if the very air resisted me.
"Sieg?"
I looked back at James. He was surrounded by a lighter shade of green, a gentle glow that pulsed around him, faint and uncertain, almost trembling like he was. Don't tell me… not this too…
My gaze slipped past him, and there it was again. That familiar serpent of emerald light, winding lazily through the air. Slithering forward as if it had purpose, as if it knew where to lead me.
My pulse drummed faster, faster still. My body moved on instinct, carrying me past James, following that trail. It stretched toward the boarded window, glowing faint against the wood.
The last time I followed this light, it brought me to Granny.
This time, could it be…?
"Sieg, are you alright?" James' voice was a thread of worry in the silence.
"James…" my throat was dry. "I'm going out for a bit."
"Huh?" His confusion trailed after me, but I didn't give him time to press further. With a push, the window creaked open, and I leapt into the cooling air. James' voice chased me, urgent, but I shut it out.
The trail was clear, faint but alive, leading past the greenhouse, brushing against the outer wall. Mana thrummed in my veins as I drew it from my soul crucible, letting it pour into every fiber of me. My feet struck the ground once, hard, before I vaulted lightly onto the greenhouse roof. The glass shivered beneath my weight, but I was already moving, a blur along its ridge. At the edge, I gathered everything into my legs, a surge of raw force coiling tight before I loosed it, hurling myself across the the vast distance between the manor's grounds and the top of the high wall, coat snapping against the wind, landing in silence atop the manor's high wall.
I crouched low, peering over the top of the wall. Below, two soldiers stood talking, their voices low.
"Did you find the cub?"
"No, not anywhere around here."
"It's really bad times… a green bear in the barony, and a magic beast outside."
"Let's leave it to the next lot. Shift's over."
"Right. Let's go and have a drink."
I waited until they disappeared into the corner before jumping down. The trail of green light shimmered before me, beckoning me onward. I followed it through the barony, keeping to the shadows and making sure I didn't come into the sight of civilians or soldiers. It would have been impossible, but for some reason, I could see the different colored silhouettes of people, even from the other side of walls. I continued my way until the trail brought me to the edge of the barony.
"...This isn't good." I looked out from the roof of a house. The path led outside the barony, and the trail pointed directly toward it. "It actually went outside the barony."
I looked up. The sky was fading from a brilliant orange to a deep black. I know I should go back and tell Granny and Grandpa. It would be too dangerous to continue alone.
"Let's just go back." I said, shoulders sagging with the decision.
"Oh? Giving up, are we?" A playful voice, light and melodic, coming far too close.
I snapped my head around, half a face, pale and fair, peered from a white hood. Instinct shoved me backward, but my heel slipped on the tiles. "Shit—" The world tilted, the ground rushing up.
A hand caught mine before I tumbled. "Ah, careful now." She rose with fluid grace, pulling me close as if I weighed nothing.
I finally got a good look at her. She was tall and slender, covered from head to toe in a stark white cloak. Only the lower half of her face was visible, but it was enough to reveal she was extremely beautiful.
"Who are you?" I asked, my voice laced with suspicion.
"Just a passerby~" she said, her voice lilting and full of mischief.
"On a rooftop?" I questioned, raising a brow.
"On a rooftop under the stars, sounds more romantic than a dusty road, don't you agree?"
"I guess..." It was hard to disagree. The stars were out, shimmering like a thousand diamonds against the velvet black sky.
Something about her presence didn't feel dangerous. If anything, it was oddly familiar, tugging at a memory I couldn't place. "Have we met before?"
"Oh my~" She raised a hand to her lips. "Are you flirting with me?"
"What?" Heat rushed up my neck. "I was just asking a question!"
She giggled, her eyes sparkling with amusement at my flustered reaction. I groaned internally, watching as she clearly enjoyed my discomfort.
"Relax. I'm joking. If I'd met someone as handsome as you before, I would remember."
I gave a half-shrug, letting the words roll, a small smile touching my lips. "That's only natural, I'm hard to overlook."
Her giggle followed me, but it reminded me sharply why I was there. The cub. I had to go. "I need to leave. Enjoy your stars." I said, running past her.
"Won't you follow that cub?" Her words stopped me.
I spun back. "What? How do you know?"
"Oh~ everyone in the barony knows that the green cub the young lord brought in ran away." Her hand lifted, pointing toward the path leading out of the barony. "About an hour before you arrived, I saw something green darting that way."
"An hour?" My eyes snapped toward the direction she pointed. "Damn it."
By now, cub should already be in the forest. I looked at the large clearing that surrounded the barony, devoid of any cover, with soldiers patrolling. It would take a long time to go back and get a search party, but even then, would Granny and Grandpa actually send soldiers into the dark forest to find a magic beast? The answer was a definitive "No."
My hands curled into fists. Is letting it die the only way? After losing its pack, dying alone like this—How is that fair?
Warmth touched me suddenly, arms slipping around my shoulders from behind. I stiffened, looking up into a pair of striking, crystalline emerald eyes. Platinum hair streaked with hints of luminous teal falling from her hood. For a moment, I was lost in her beauty.
"Don't make that sad face. It doesn't suit you~" she whispered.
"Shut up," I said, turning away. "You don't know anything." The cub's image appearing in front of me.
"Then..." she said lightly, almost coaxing, "how about I take you there?" Her smile was dazzling and otherworldly.
I pulled away from her arms, turning to face her. "What? How?"
I gestured to the open path and clearing below us. "There are soldiers patrolling. It's impossible to reach there without getting noticed. There's no cover."
"Leave that to me," she said, winking. Her hand stretched out toward me, open and waiting, her eyes carrying a quiet question. "Will you accept?"
For a moment, I just stared. Everything about her felt uncertain, her smile, her lighthearted tone, the way she appeared at just the right time. Yet… nothing about her seemed malicious. And with the image of that cub dying alone gnawing at me, I have no real choice.
I reached out, grasping her hand firmly. "Alright. Take me there."
"Hmm~ you have strong hands," she giggled, almost sing-song.
"Please. Hurry," I urged, my chest tight with impatience.
Her grin widened. "Here we go."
The world twisted. Colors bled into each other, the rooftop dissolving beneath my feet. In the blink of a heartbeat, the view of the barony shrank away, replaced by the dense hush of forest.
"What—" The word slipped out as I spun, seeing the clearing behind us, the glow of lamplight from soldiers already turning in our direction.
A sharp tug pulled me off balance, and the next thing I knew, She pressed me close behind the thick trunk of a tree, her arms wrapping tight around me.
"Sshhh~ don't make a sound."
Her warmth sank through me, embarrassingly close, her scent brushing against my senses. My cheeks burned, and I held my breath until the soldier nearby passed, turning back toward the barony.
Only then did I lift my head. "You… you're a space magic user?"
"Yup! You're really smart," she said with a playful tilt of her head, loosening her hold. I quickly pulled back, needing the space.
My eyes traced the shadowed path deeper into the forest, the emerald trail was still there. I turned back to her. "I believe you won't come with me."
"Sadly," she sighed, a little dramatic, "we must part ways here."
"I see…" I placed a hand over my chest, a gesture of gratitude. "For the help you've given me, I'll repay you one day. That, I promise."
"Oh? Then I'll be expecting something unforgettable." She clapped her hands together, smiling wide.
I nodded, a faint smile of my own tugging at me. "I'll remember that."
Turning, I drew mana from my soul crucible, sharpening my vision, quickening my body. The trail beckoned. My pulse steadied, my hesitation burning away into resolve.
"Just wait. I'm coming."