The Forgotten Prophecy

Chapter 10

The city was empty again. The sun had set, marking the end of yet another tiresome day. The street lamps glowed in the dark, and the people had already gathered around the fireplaces inside their homes. Ines was enjoying the quiet. That was her favourite time of day; when she could listen the night's silence and marvel at the stars above her.

'That place was awful. Never going in there again,' Matthew said, breaking her train of thought.

'Yeah,' Ines agreed with him.

They were walking down the main street of the city. Before taking their posts on the walls, they had decided to take Grace to her father first. They hoped she remembered where he was and could give them directions.

'So, Grace, where do—' Ines turned to the girl, wanting to ask her where they should head to, but she found no one by her side. Matthew stopped walking and turned around, fear crossing his face. The girl was nowhere to be seen.

'What the—' he trailed off.

Ines started frantically looking around in panic. She couldn't have gone far. She scanned the street and noticed by chance a small girl running in the distance.

'Right there!' she shouted to Matthew, pointing at her.

They immediately started chasing after her, their boots scrambling in the dirt. They run as fast as the dark permitted, passing by houses and alleys, jumping over carts and hedges, but the girl moved incredibly fast. Ines couldn't understand how she managed to do that. As they were running in a gloomy and narrow backstreet, they saw her quickly turn a corner and vanish behind a building. Ines and Matthew followed right after, but the girl was already gone.

'Haven't run that fast in a while. Ugh! My lungs are killing me,' Matthew breathed.

'Where could she have gone?'

'No idea.'

They stood there without knowing what to do.

'I hope she knows her way back home,' Matthew said.

Ines sighed and glanced up at him. He gave her a small comforting smile.

'Yeah, me too,' she said.

'Come. There is nothing we can do, and it's almost 11. We should head back.'

'You're right. Let's go.'

The two of them rushed to the city walls in silence, both worried about the young kid. Matthew's troubled expression mirrored hers, as negative thoughts crossed through her mind. She felt useless and incapable of protecting the people, when she couldn't even handle a small girl.

The two of them arrived at their stations on the wall. The three captains of the army corps were standing by a fire, chatting lively, and noticed them coming. Ines knew they were late; she was sure they would tell them off. She spoke first in an attempt to avoid any more problems.

'We are sorry for our tardiness, sir. We came as fast as we could.'

'Well, well, well. What do we have here?' one of the men said with mock astonishment.

'Is that how you train your soldiers, Rob? Being late for their shift?' said the other, his mouth curving into a smile.

Both captains chuckled.

'Don't say a word,' their captain warned the two others, and turned to Ines and Matthew. 'This is not the first time you turn up late. Do you think you have better things to do than protect your own city?'

'Of course not, sir! We swear that will never happen again,' Matthew said.

'You'd better because you know what I would have to do then. You won't have another chance. Is that understood?'

'Yes, sir,' they answered in unison.

'Good. Now take your posts on the south wall. And don't expect not to be punished for strolling in late!'

Ines knew there was no changing his mind, so she bit her tongue and didn't say anything. She saw Matthew glaring at the ground and nudged him. He would have to postpone his murderous plans. She turned around and headed to her station.

The city walls had been built centuries ago to protect the people from attacks. They had withstood the Great War that raged for 200 years and stood as a symbol of the kingdom's strength. Any damage that had been made was repaired under the king's command, and new stones were added between old ones.

At the top of the wall catapults had been recently incorporated in the fortifications, a new invention made to hail rocks and fire against the enemy, while small niches had been built to provide safety for the soldiers and help them take aim at the attackers.

Ines ascended the stairs that led to the top. Some soldiers were walking back and forth, standing by for any suspicious activity, and others were resting until it was their turn to patrol. Ines took her position on the wall and stared ahead. She could see the plains and the forest that stretched outside the city and hid the small villages that lied behind it.

Ines let out a deep breath. Not only was every part of her body sore from the day's quest, but she also felt a throbbing pain in her head. She closed her eyes and let the light cold breeze calm her nerves.

'Hey! You're not here to slack off!' a soldier yelled at her.

Her expression hardened as she fired curses at him through her teeth. She left her spot and headed north. During her patrolling, she mulled over what had happened that day, trying to connect the dots. There was a secret network meant for illegal trading of weapons inside the city, and that underground place they had previously investigated provided enough evidence for that. The question was who was behind all this, and why.

The army clearly didn't know anything about it, which raised questions. Someone either expertly covered their moves without being detected by the king's soldiers or worked from the inside. Ines felt that this was bigger than she predicted and that she needed to be careful.

Ines was deep in thought when she suddenly saw Matthew repairing a catapult's ropes. His toned arms strained from the effort and sweat run down his neck. Matthew felt her gaze on him and glanced at her with a smirk on his face. Ines quickly averted her eyes and turned around, hiding her blushing cheeks in the collar of her armour. He had caught her staring at him, and that didn't sit well with her.

Ines suddenly heard footsteps behind her and prayed it wasn't him.

'You know, I have excellent perceptive skills.'

It was him.

She seriously considered throwing herself off the wall but restrained herself. She looked at the woods ahead, ignoring him.

'What? Cat got your tongue?'

She would have shown him how well she could insult him if something in the woods hadn't suddenly caught her eye. She tried to make out what it was. It looked like a small light behind the trees, like a shining gleam that beckoned her to follow it.

'Hey, Matthew. Do you see anything there?' she asked him.

Matthew's expression got serious and he looked towards where she was pointing. 'Like what?'

'Like...I don't know. Something strange?'

'I see nothing. Maybe you are mistaken.'

'No, I definitely saw something,' she insisted. 'Look! Right there!'

'Peter, there is nothing there.'

Ines kept looking at the small glint far away, her forehead furrowed. 'I'm going to check it up. Stay here,' she said tautly.

Ines straightened her armour and put on her helmet. She was ready to make up for her previous inadequacy in keeping up with a kid.

'Where are you going?' Matthew protested, but she wouldn't listen. She flew down the stairs by the wall and vanished in the dark.

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A/N: I hope you liked this chapter! Any comments and requests are welcome!

Phrase of chapter: ἔνθα γαρ σοφίης δέει, βίης ἔργον οὐδέν / force has no place where there is need of skill - Herodotus