Chapter 21

The days passed, and the cart Enel and the others were on had remained quiet for almost the entire journey. Tiny still complained about how hard the wood was from time to time, and Gregor told him stories about Widow's Wall.

Ansel joined in from time to time, and so did Enel. And during the nights, only the stifling sobs of Ansel whispered to them—but none of them sought to comfort him. He wouldn't want to be comforted, either.

And now, with them nearing Widow's Wall, only the wheels made sound. Gregor sat with the driver, and Ansel sat curled beside Tiny, brushing his fingers along the healing skin around his ankles.

Enel looked at both of them, then settled on Tiny.

"Tiny."

"Yes, M'lord?"

"Are you certain? Of leaving Riverdown?"

"There..." Tiny looked back at the road. "There is nothing for me in Riverdown, M'lord."

"There is nothing to steal in Widow's Wall, Tiny."

Tiny shrugged. "Maybe not. But at least you are there, M'lord."

"Me...?" Enel looked down. "I thought you feared me."

Tiny looked at him for a moment, then looked away. “I do, M'lord... but I respect you more."

"Respect. I... do not know if I deserve that."

"I don't think that's for you to decide, M'lord."

"Ha!" Gregor laughed. "The boy makes sense."

"Hm..." Enel placed a hand on his chin. "Very well, then. When we arrive, you must receive your punishment for being a thief."

"Wa—" Tiny’s eyes snapped back to him. “Still?”

“Yes.”

“M’lord, I followed you into war.”

“Yes.”

“I almost received an arrow to the knee.”

“Yes.”

“I carried water for wounded people.”

“Yes.”

“I did not even steal the good knife I saw in the quartermaster’s tent.”

Enel’s eyes narrowed. “You considered stealing from the army?”

Tiny stared at him, then he slowly turned toward Gregor. “Is it too late to go back to Riverdown?”

This time, Ansel also laughed. It wasn't that loud, but enough that Gregor glanced at him, and for a moment, some life returned to his face.

The road continued.

By the third day, the trees began to thicken again. The air cooled, and the light changed. Spirits moved between roots and stones, though even they seemed quieter than before. Enel watched them, but none came close.

And then, finally, Widow's Wall.

At first, it was only the top of the old wall between the trees. Then the watchtower. Then the gate.

Enel stood before the cart had fully stopped.

"Gregor..." Something was wrong.

There were fewer people outside the wall. The fires that usually smoked near the road were almost gone, their places marked only by gray patches on the dirt. The field near the gate had been torn open in several places, and one side of the wall had been freshly mended with wood.

But most noticeable were the roots that crawled along the lower parts of the gate.

Tiny blinked several times. "That... is Widow's Wall?"

Ansel leaned forward. “What happened?”

Gregor's eyes widened. "The Dark Forest... is awake? It—"

Before their thoughts could wander, a loud bell rang in the air.

“Open the gate!” he screamed. “Open the gate! Lord Enel is back! He... he brought people with him!”

The bell rang hard enough that the sound struck the whole city, and the people came running.

Not many at first, but when they realized who was coming, even those who were hiding deep in their alley all rushed out. There was, however, one who pushed herself out of the crowd—Lysa.

And as soon as he saw her husband, her cry tore through even the gate.

“Gregor!”

Lysa shoved past two men before the cart had even entered properly. She ran straight to him, almost falling in the mud. Gregor jumped down and caught her, and she struck his chest with both hands before grabbing him and burying her face against him.

“You're back,” she sobbed. “You stupid, stupid man.”

"Son... where's our son?" Gregor held his wife tight, so much so that Tiny worried he might break her bones.

And then Ansel’s mother appeared.

She was holding a needle in one hand and thread still trailing from it, as if she had not even noticed she carried them. Ansel saw her, and whatever strength had kept him sitting upright vanished. He stumbled down from the cart and ran.

The two met in the middle of the street.

His mother touched his face first, then his shoulders, then his hair, as if checking whether he had returned whole. Ansel tried to speak, but the only thing that came out was a sound too small for words.

"Lamb... Lamb told me Enel was going to bring you back. I... I didn't believe her. I..." Her focus quickly snapped toward Enel. But before she could thank him, Lysa fell to her knees. Gregor did the same.

Enel only smiled at them, telling them to get up before he glanced at a group on the side, who seemed to be waiting for him to say something.

"I—"

"Please, M'lord..." Gregor blocked his path. "Let me be the one to tell them that their wives, husbands, sons, and daughters fought bravely in the war. Go home, M'lord."

"Enel..." Ansel also stepped forward. "I owe you my life."

Enel only stared at Gregor and Ansel for a moment, then nodded and turned around.

Tiny, who'd been quietly judging Widow's Wall and its people, immediately moved in front of him.

"Make way. Make way for the young lord!"

Enel watched him wave away the people. He wanted to tell Tiny not to do that, but it was already too late, and they had already started bowing and stepping to the side.

Still, they all whispered his name. Some of them were trying to reach their hands out to him. Enel didn't mind this at all, he was accustomed to them greeting him like this. Tiny, on the other hand, widened his eyes at this... display.

They were treating him... like a god. He looked up at Enel's face, and he just smiled and bowed to them. He, who had not smiled at all the entire way home, was still smiling for his people.

"This way to the manor, Tiny."

Tiny followed behind him, exhaling in relief as they were finally able to crawl out from the barrage of people. His relief, however, died as soon as he entered Enel's so-called manor.

It was dilapidated—perhaps the worst house in the entire barony, and its only grace was its size and large garden... which was dead. Tiny realized then and there that the rumors about Widow's Wall being the poorest of the noble houses were not rumors at all.

Then... the manor door opened.

Robert stepped out first. He didn't run, but his steps were faster than they should've been, and the calm on his face was too thin and so fragile—perhaps that was why he wasn't running at all. He was afraid his calmness would shatter.

Mira came beside him. She looked at Tiny at first, confused as to who this little boy was.

Then... she looked at Enel.

Enel bowed to them, and Tiny did the same.

"Father, Mother. I have returned." Enel raised his head with a smile on his face—this smile, however, completely stopped both his parents in their tracks.

Mira stared at her son's face, and her shoulders almost fell.

"No..." she whispered, her eyebrows lowering as she covered her mouth. "Oh, no."

Robert glanced at his wife, then walked to his son.

For a moment, he said nothing. Then his hand moved to Enel’s shoulder. It rested there heavily, carefully.

“You did it,” Robert said. "You brought them home."

"Yes, Father."

Mira didn't approach him yet. She remained staring at his smile.

“Come inside,” she said.

They could still hear cheering from afar for a while, but it became distant once the manor door closed.

Inside, the manor was dimmer than Enel remembered. One window had been boarded. A crack ran along the wall near the stairs. The old carpet had been rolled away, and there were dried stains on the floor that had not been there before.

Robert saw Enel looking.

“The forest has been restless,” he said.

“I... saw the roots on the gate.”

Mira’s hands closed.

Robert’s gaze moved to her, then back to Enel. “We will speak of it later.”

Enel nodded, and then, for a moment, none of them moved. Tiny, who was now trapped there in the manor with them, didn't know where to go or what to do at all.

Then Mira stepped forward, and the only thing Tiny could do was move away as she watched her wrap her arms around her son.

Enel carefully returned the embrace, lowering his strength as much as he could. He could feel her breathing against his chest. Her hands gripped the back of his armor, then the torn cape, then the cloth beneath it.

“You are thinner,” she whispered.

“I have eaten, Mother.”

“That is not what I meant.”

Robert placed a hand on the back of Enel’s head. He tried to say something, but whatever word he had found did not survive his throat.

Mira pulled back just enough to look at him.

“Your journey has brought them home,” she whispered.

“Yes, Mother.”

Robert looked at his son's face and finally spoke.

“And what did the journey take from you?” he asked.

And once again, their son only smiled in response—and that was when Mira's tears fell.

Not loudly, not like Ansel's mother or Lysa. Her face barely moved as she stared at his son's face, then once again placed him in her embrace. This time, her arms shook.

Enel, on the other hand, did not cry. He only rested his cheek on her mother's head, then held his father's hand.

“I am home,” he said.

"You are..." Mira nodded several times. "You're home."

Robert turned his face away, and the three remained like this for a while.

Well, the four—Tiny was still there. Several minutes passed by like this before the family separated. Robert immediately rushed to the kitchen after, and Mira finally acknowledged Tiny, whom she brought to a guest room... which had to be cleaned first.

As for Enel, he stepped out behind the manor to breathe. He glanced at the broken terrace, which his father said was hit by a Nightarrow. He then looked at the tall walls of the barony, which now had more cracks than before.

He walked into the yard and noticed the ground also had more marks than before. But not from the roots, no—it looked like they were...

"Footprints...?" Enel squinted, then suddenly heard a whistle beside him. His head snapped to the sound, and there it was—a set of dirty little toes, already heading straight toward his face.

He didn't dodge, and instead only turned his cheek toward the attack. The sound it made as it hit him caused the air to shake, and his golden hair danced wildly in the air for a couple of seconds as he slid a few steps across the dirt.

"Ha!" Lamb landed in front of him, already lowered into a stand with her sword in hand. Her arms were wrapped in fresh bandages, and there was a wild brightness in her eyes that had not been there before.

Tiny, who was cleaning the room he would temporarily be staying in, screamed and pointed at the window when he saw this.

"M'lady! Someone's attacking the young lord!" he shouted.

Mira only peeked out the window for a moment, shaking her head before continuing to clear out the room.

"That's just Lamb."

"That's... Lamb?" Tiny's eyes widened. "But... Lord Enel told me she looked like feralfolk."

Below, Lamb pointed her sword at Enel. “You have returned, Nemesis.”

Enel looked at her... then, slowly, truly, he smiled.

“I am back, Hero.”

Lamb’s grin widened. "Hero? Being gracious now, are we?"

"W—"

"Well, you should be!" Lamb raised a finger in the air. "Because watch this!"

She moved her finger, and a trail of smoke was left behind.

"You—"

[Buf!] she Breathed out, and the words lit up.

She quickly grabbed the words, even extending her hand to the side for no reason at all, then slapped the invocation against her legs.

"Ya!" The dirt beneath her feet cracked as she lunged, and this time, Enel moved to meet her.

And as her sword met Enel's palm, the entire yard erupted.

Lamb was much faster now, not faster than him, but faster than anyone in Widow's Wall. Aside from Mira, of course.

She swung low, then lifted herself with her hand to launch a kick toward Enel's chin. He blocked with his palm, but he was also thrown several yards in the air—and when he reached the apex of his ascent, Lamb was there to meet him.

[Gale!] She already had words in both her palms. She raised her left hand toward the sky, and the word burst forth, causing her to spin wildly in place—well, perhaps not wildly, as her eyes always landed right on Enel's face.

And when she became satisfied with her speed, she swung her hand and slammed her palm right on Enel's face. The word exploded right onto his forehead.

Enel dropped toward the ground with enough force to burst it open, then Lamb gracefully landed right on top of him, her foot planted on his chest.

"You have been vanquished, Beast," Lamb said, pointing down at Enel's face. The two looked at each other for a moment, then Lamb just fell beside him and started laughing. Enel laughed, too. For the first time since the road, he was truly laughing.

Enel turned to Lamb. "You... have your Breath now."

"Of course. First Depth." Lamb scoffed, then once again raised her palm toward the sky. The bandages around her arm, unwrapping by themselves. "Look. You're not the only one with a scar."

"Hm?" Enel glanced at her arm and saw a long scar running from the top of her arm toward her elbow. The skin around it was still red. "Where did you—"

"You are not the only one who fought in a war."

"That... looks bad."

"It was bad. I thought I was going to lose an arm."

"Did—does it hurt?"

"It looks worse than—yes."

Lamb looked at the wound. And slowly, the confident smile on her face faded.

"Yes," she repeated. "It... hurts. I'm certain you're hurting, too."

"I'm not wounded."

Lamb turned to him, then jabbed a finger on his chest. She didn't say anything and only looked him in the eyes.

"I... thought I was going to die," Lamb whispered, looking back at her scar.

“Lamb…”

“I thought I was going to die,” she repeated, angrier this time. “And I hated it. I... fuck. I hated it.”

Her lips trembled, and tears began to drown her eyes. And as soon as Enel saw that, he remembered everything that had happened to him the past week.

Ulf, the barbarians, the war... all the death. And tears also began to break free from him.

"I... I wanted to go home so many times," he stuttered. "I didn't know anyone, Lamb. And everyone... everyone was so different."

"There... there were so many scary monsters." She nodded several times while sobbing. "There... there was this giant bear with four arms. It was..."

Lamb's voice cracked, and so did Enel's. Then... both of them just cried afterward, not even talking anymore.

For a while, there was no young baron. No strongest warrior of Widow’s Wall. No Hero of the West Camp. No girl who had fought vemons at the gates.

There were only two children beneath the sky, holding each other's hands because the world had become larger than either of them wanted.

The two of them just stayed there for hours... until the bell rang again.

The sound of the bell caused Enel to gasp, almost shooting up from the ground.

"Enel?" Lamb also sat up, looking up at Enel. She saw his hands tremble, but then also quickly calm down.

He glanced back at Lamb, a look of... almost clarity in his eyes.

"What's... wrong?"

"I think..." Enel whispered. "It's time for me to go, Lamb."

"What? What are you saying?"

"I... have made a deal with Lord Commander Duncan."

"Lord Comm—you've met with the Sword of the First Hour?! What did he—wait..." Lamb squinted. "What deal?"

"That I would—"

"Baron! Baron!"

Before Enel could finish his words, the scream of a messenger tore through the manor.

"A caravan had arrived from the south. Merchants!"

"Merchants...?" Enel also squinted, and he and Lamb glanced at each other. Then, without even saying, they lightly pushed each other before sprinting back into the manor, then quickly out into the front.

And there, far into the gates, were several banners glowing under the resting sun. An open golden hand with a pinecone hovering above it.

“A gold hand,” he whispered.

"Ulric."