Life in a new Kingdom

Gale spoke with me about Rys and what happened with Cornelius during our travels. I disclosed that we were able to kill him and leave with our lives but didn't tell him about the true identity of Rys. I promised him I would keep his secret safe, and he would do the same for me. After Herk recovered, everyone shared the experience with Lukia, who missed out on the whole event. She felt ashamed she was too sick to handle anything.

Her condition has more or less improved. She still eats lightly, but it's enough for her to be fine. Sleep was still difficult for her, but with everyone's support, she seemed to progress bit by bit, which is all we could really ask for at this point in our journey. Lukia has found herself more inclined to talk to me out of everyone in the group. Not that I didn't mind, but I thought she would like to ask Gale, but she only responded that she didn't want to bother him much since he already has a lot to focus on with the whole quest and all.

I didn't think about it much. Our talks were awkward initially, but soon, she opened up about her mom and what she felt. I comforted her as someone who knew of her pain. She really liked the little things I did to cheer her up. To be honest, it's what Soriko had done for me that brought me out of the dark. I applied to Lukia. It worked for the most part.

Until Lukia had a bad night during one of our camps; she lay while she was having a terrible nightmare. Worse than before, and she nearly scratched her own neck from the panic. Herk and I had to hold her down. Her nails cut my arm pretty severely, which she quickly apologized for after waking from the nightmare. Herk took care of the scratch, and I stayed up all night talking to her.

After another week of traveling, we arrived at a small town with rooms available in their local inn. Each of us paid for our own rooms. Gale gave Lukia space but told her if she didn't want to sleep alone, she could choose someone to stay with her if she feared hurting herself. Before turning in, Gale approached me and asked me to join him outside the Inn for a walk around town for a talk. He told me to bring my sword and anything else I thought I would need. I set my equipment down except my sword and dagger. Nothing but my casual attire on, I left my room to find Gale outside looking at the moon.

"A beautiful night like this is a reward in itself as an adventurer. Wouldn't you agree, Caleb?" He handed me a small satchel filled with letters. Looking up at the sky and moon, I felt a distinctive pull from it. A small smile appeared across my face before I responded.

"We should take time to absorb moments like these."

"Exactly. That's why I need to talk to you. I saw a patch in the woods where we can talk privately."

"Uhh, if you say so. Mind filling me in?"

"Soon, just come on, follow me."

I didn't think about it much, but we set out into the dark. It didn't take long, but there was a small open field where he said. Walking into the middle of the field, Gale placed his hand on my shoulder. The expression on my face shifted to confusion.

"Gale?"

"I've been thinking about leaving Lukia behind at this rate."

"What?!" I slapped his hand away and backed from him in a fit of anger. "Why?!"

"It would be for her own good. Besides, I am afraid she will get hurt if she continues like this, or worse, one of us will die because of her, and guilt will consume her forever. I rather not do anything like that, but I fear this may be our only option if she doesn't get better. The mountain range is only five days ride away before we reach it. It will take us another week, maybe two, depending on the paths. It should be big enough for our horses to walk as long as we guide them, but it will be slow."

"So, you've been thinking about this for a while now, huh?"

Gale looked down, put his arms behind his back, and leaned forward. "Yes, I have. No one else knows except you. I've seen Lukia confined in you more than anyone, so if you want to tell her, I won't stop you, but I'd rather someone break open her shell before it comes to pass. If anyone can, I think it's you."

"Me? I am not good at any of this. If there's someone who should really talk to her, it's you, Gale! She looks up to you; she cares about you more than anyone in our group. She trusts you implicitly."

"Even if that was fully true, I don't have much to offer her other than the truth. Abandoning her doesn't sit with me at all. I just want what's best for her."

"Is that why you told her she could go to one of us if she can't sleep? Just put her in my care?!"

"Busted... I wanted to talk to you before that happened because she will choose you. I just hope you can comfort her through this and make her fight whatever is eating away at her."

"Gale! I'm not your mule that you can just place any baggage on with not a care in the world. Sometimes, you need to do more than the heavy lifting as a leader. Besides, she won't choose me, that I know for sure."

A loud sigh escapes his lips before he rubs his face. Looking at me sternly, he places a hand on my shoulder. His eye stares into mine. I placed my hand on his chest and pushed him away.

"Whatever... What's the other reason you brought me out here, Gale?"

"Nothing gets past you. Draw your sword; I want to teach you something."

"You sure it's not going to be Lukia?"

"Okay, I get it, you're upset. Just listen for a second."

"Go on."

"I want you to try to defend against my attack. If you do, I'll maybe consider not leaving Lukia behind for her own good. If you don't succeed, then you'll try to help her recover from her trauma."

"You make it sound SO easy, you know."

"Never hurts to try. Come on, sword up."

"Gale, I don't think you-" The moment my sword came out of its sheath, I sensed a sudden chill crawling along my body. It was a split second, but I felt the tip of his sword graze my cheek. My legs moved without me thinking, but I narrowly avoided a solid cut on my cheek. When my feet finally touched the ground, Gale took a single step, and I felt the same chill.

Hesitation would make me lose. A moment to decide what I needed to do. Taking another step back would give me too far of a disadvantage to defend if I was too late to avoid the strike. After the first strike, I began to understand the pace of his movement. Turning my blade around, I shifted my body to turn around, exposing my back to the attack. With Tempest now behind me, it clashes with his strike, and I slip past and draw my dagger, throwing it at Gale.

Unexpectedly, the dagger is slashed out of the air but leaves a small window for a counter. The distance between Gale and me was too great for me to close in and stop him. With all my might, I throw Tempest directly at him during this window. His body shifts to avoid the blade entirely from hitting him. Little did he knew; I have sparred with someone who used similar techniques in a sword fight.

Gale didn't see that the dagger he knocked away was only a small rock. Carlo showed me a little of his tricks with his Sword Stance. It wasn't hard to replicate a simple trick like using an illusion, Sword Art. I still had my real dagger in my hand. Carlo showed me how to fight someone with the ability to hide his attacks with speed or illusions themselves. I'll have to give him my thanks when I see him again properly.

With his footwork now unbalanced, he couldn't attack without me directly seeing it, or I would be too close, and I could have full control of the battle with just my dagger. Giving no time to act, I charged forward, swiftly attacking. Gale sidesteps and jumps back; I throw the dagger and slide to pick up my sword. The real dagger is knocked away this time, but my sword is within reach of his body.

"Tempest Burst!" With the sudden blast of wind, I propel myself into Gale and press the blade to his throat. Leaving it to my victory. Gale takes a deep breath before having a smile.

"Impressive. You know how to handle something like that. However, I've fought long and hard in many encounters with swordsmen who trained in many different styles."

"Wha-" The cold steel of my dagger pressed against my chest. Gale held it in his hand tightly.

"The funny thing about daggers is that they can be easily hidden if you know how." Not realizing he placed a trap in the first place, I had charged in as he didn't knock away my dagger when I threw it. He deflected it into the air but caught it behind his back and then pressed it against my chest before I even held my blade against him when I attacked. I had lost.

"Damn it..!"

"You put up a good fight. Now, you know that not everyone is straightforward in their approach. Next time, you'll learn to anticipate something like this and avoid an early grave." I slowly got off of him as he spoke and sheathed my sword. Gale flipped the dagger in hand to present to me. I grabbed it and placed it in its sheath.

"You win this time."

"I know I do. Now about-"

"I'll see what I can do. But I fear I won't be enough for her. I'll try my best, okay."

"That's good enough for me. Thanks."

"Don't thank me yet. If that is all you wanted to show me, I'll head back now."

"You're not going to ask what I just did?" Gale had the biggest smirk on his face. His ego wasn't hard to spot, and I smiled, too.

"I don't need to ask. Before you tell me, I'll figure out how to counter it first."

"Alright then. Good night, Caleb."

"You too, Gale."

Walking away from him, Gale sighs softly before looking at his bleeding hand. The dagger he caught was too fast for him to grab without injuring himself. I smelled his blood the moment I pounced on him, but it left me confident that I was close to fully beating him with whatever he had been hiding. Figuring it out was for later, I returned to the inn in hopes that Lukia talks to Gale. She needs to talk to him... I don't want to say goodbye to her...