Jacque the Fox runs as fast as he can.
He might reach their kingdom quicker if Jacque was not carrying the woman he met in the woods. Jacque could not give her his real name. He does not want to trust her easily, even if she looks innocent and harmless.
People who traveled to their kingdom were those rejected by society from other lands. But the woman quickly got his attention when she spoke as if unconcerned about where they were. She does not seem to belong to that place. He needed to stand and face her to be sure he was not hallucinating. Her hair was as white as clouds, but her eyes were as black as coal. And her stature is not that tall.
He pondered at that thought for a moment while he ran. He was carrying a human body. However, it felt like nothing was inside it. It was not warm, not cold either. It was only a body with the same texture as human skin.
“You can put me down now.”
He did. Not because the woman asked him to. He wanted to check if what he felt was right. He held her shoulders and stared at her from head to toe. Then, he abruptly looks at her face.
“What are you?”
“I cannot tell you.”
It was not a lie. But the woman will also not tell him the truth either.
“Fair enough. You do not trust me. And it is wise not to trust a stranger, especially the ones you met in the woods.”
“We need to go back to your kingdom before night falls. It will be easier for you to see our path and avoid danger. Raven will also be our lookout from above.”
Jacque looked upon the trees. He saw her companion perching on a branch while gawking at them. Jacque did not hear anything behind him, so he assumed they had left her companion somewhere. But it proves her companion is also her protector.
“Hurry,” she commanded. “The young man chasing us will soon know our location.”
“You saw who was chasing us?”
“I saw him as you carry me like a sack of rice.”
Jacque smiled at her way of speaking. He sensed she was only stating the truth, yet he felt a fake apology was in order.
“Apologies, my lady,” he said while bowing to her. “Desperate times call for desperate measures.”
“Were you that desperate to escape?”
Was he? If Jacque could be honest, he would say he only acted purely on instinct. He needed to run because he was unsure if his opponents outnumbered him. And whenever they do, Jacque acts like a coward and hides from them. Lately, he was too lazy to beat any of his opponents.
He only carried the woman because it would make their escape faster. But he could not state his side, for it would make her ask why he saved her. And with that, he was unsure how to answer.
“Never mind. You do not need to answer any of my questions,” Aia said before walking away.
Jacque scratched his head before following the woman who left without him. This time, Jacque no longer knows if he should apologize sincerely.
He soon caught up with her. Jacque leads the way without touching her again. It seemed that she knew how to take care of herself. Aia avoided rocks that seemed slippery. She walks for more than an hour without complaining. And she does not seem to mind that they are not talking along the way.
It boggles Jacque to meet someone who looks like a deserted princess. And yet, she still acts like royalty. But when she found some footprints, she lay her hand on the ground and opened her legs wide, which made her skirt spread. There was nothing to see. Really. But Jacque looks at her as if she was a child who found something on the ground worth putting in her hand and mouth. Well, at least she was only feeling the ground. There was no reason yet to stop her from doing it.
The sun was already setting. Yet, there is still enough sunlight for him to see where they are heading. The Kingdom of Knaves is just ahead of them. And Jacque felt glad to be back in that place. It is still a mystery what happened with his fellow knights. What matters is he is still alive.
“Are you expecting some people to fetch you?” the lady asked him.
“No. Of course not,” Jacque answered while feeling confused.
No one else is in the forest. Yet Aia spoke as if another person was approaching them.
“Can you still run?”
“Of course, I can still run. Why do you—”
“On my mark, we will run towards the gate.”
Jacque looks at the metal gate. It is the only entrance to the tall, thick wall that covers their kingdom. It was not that they were afraid thieves would steal their property. It was to cover up the trash that other lands left to rot.
A plain surrounds the outer wall. It made it easier for anyone to see those coming in and going out.
“We will both run. None of us should look back. Ready?”
He could not argue. Jacque knew what they were about to do.
But three possibilities could happen.
Someone will catch up with them and attack them from behind. It could be that the Black Wolves had already gathered and would attack them first. Or will it be an animal he did not sense was coming? What about the invisible force that manipulated them in the river? Did it know that he had survived?
In an instant, Jacque wiped those possibilities from his mind. He focused on how fast he could run and how loud he could yell.
I hope those bastards were not asleep while guarding the gate.
“Now.”
She commanded firmly and quickly.
Jacque could not help but be a few steps behind the woman running. The distance between the forest and the wall is ten meters or so. He knew he would not get tired by running towards it. But not being able to fight back is what was bothering him. And that is rare for Jacque. To worry, especially if it is not for his safety.
He calculates what to do. He wanted to protect the woman if their pursuer reached them. He knew he needed to secure her first. Then, kill like a madman later. He held her hand in case their enemy got to pass through them from behind or to avoid making Aia the target.
Right at that moment, he only needed to do one thing.
“Open the gates! Open the gates!” Jacque yelled.
A man on the top of the wall spotted them. The man was unsure what to do first.
Since he knew Jacque and saw his armor from a distance, he signaled to the man below. It was a signal that someone was about to enter their kingdom. And that they must prepare for a possible attack.
“Jacque is coming back! Open the gates. Prepare your weapons. Something is following him!”
A dozen men ran and waited at the open gate with their various weapons in their hands. They saw the woman enter, followed by Jacque and another man. They close the gates.
“What's behind us?” Jacque asked the man who spotted them.
He was still holding her hand.
Raven stood between them to separate them.
“What? What do you mean what's behind you?” asked the man. He is now confused.
“You don't know what's following you? Then why did you run and yell like hell is about to get you?” a younger man asked.
“Because…” he breathed out. “The lady asked me, too.”
It was the truth.
And the men stared at each other before looking at the two strangers. Raven and Aia stood in a shadowed corner as if they hadn't run for a few minutes.
“Who are they?” one man whispered to the other. But because it was so quiet, everyone heard the whisper.
“The question should be… did he follow a lady's command?” answered the other man. “He is a lady's man. But Jacque is no gentleman.”
Jacque realized how sudden his arrival was. He was not able to think of how he would introduce the two.
The confused man walked near the strangers and studied them.
“Hand me some light.”
A younger man gave the man a fire lit on the stick. As the man held the light towards the two strangers, he became wary with his steps. The sun had set, and the corner where Aia and Raven were standing was quite dark.
It is common knowledge that monsters and evil-doers lurk not only in their land. The worst kinds are outside their gates.
Those from the Kingdom of Knaves are easier to distinguish. They are either the people who did or are still doing illegal things. Some are notorious. And most of them accepted their bad reputation. However, they believe those living outside their kingdom are the dangerous ones. They may seem young, pretty, or decent. But it would always surprise anyone that such humans can kill, steal, or lie and not feel any remorse about it.
When the light was enough to see the strangers, everyone stared. They were in awe.
Jacque needed to protect them. He didn't know why, but he felt they were powerless. Or that they are in danger.
“No shadows,” the man who held the light said.
The men gasped. And they look at the ground.
It is true. There are no shadows cast in any direction where the two stand. So they step back. They knew what it meant.
No shadows mean they are looking at something immortal.
“What are you?” the knight dared to asked Aia.
“I prefer not to answer.”
Raven flinched as he looked at the goddess sideways. He could not believe she would not offer any truth.
It was a wonder that one forgets there was a choice. Always.
“Why?”
If she were her old self Aia would gladly explain that she learned about the Departure of Deities from Klaus. And that it was not a bad idea after all even if it meant they will be leaving the humans into chaos. Instead, she only come up with a simple reply.
“It is better for you not to know.”
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