A Timely Knight

A Heavy Rock

The cave was damp and cold. Very cold. Still better than any place out there, though.

Eldon sat on a rock, his back rested against the moist walls. This was day three on the cave. Droplets of water fell on top of his head from time to time, reminding him that there indeed was an outside that they would eventually have to return to. He couldn't say he particularly looked forward to it.

The mood was bleak. Alder's death hit them hard. Nilla, quite possibly the strongest woman Eldon had ever met, pulled herself together as best as she could. Still, she looked positively exhausted; her bloodshot eyes reflected fatigue well beyond her years. Dark shadows and sunken cheeks proved that she hadn't slept a single minute or tasted a single bite during the last three days. And although all of them had left the cave at least once, Nilla remained inside at all times, as if terrified from the sunlight. Still, she coped. She managed. She even smiled from time to time.

Then there was Tim. The silver-haired man had formed quite the bond with the old man. Eldon suspected Tim even began to see Alder as not only a friend or mentor, but something more meaningful. That meant this was the third father figure that Tim lost, so despite his best efforts, he was on the verge of breaking. He cried at night and when he managed to sleep, he woke up shaking and soaked in sweat. Eldon's heart broke every time Tim clung to him, pressing him tightly, as if afraid of losing him.

As for the Marquise, her perfect mask remained unaltered. Back straight and shoulders back, Arabella's eyes never met the ground. Eldon knew that, perhaps, she suffered the most. She, who wasn't in the fight, who didn't even get the chance to defend the man who was, for all terms and purposes, her father. Eldon found herself alone with her on day two. After hesitating for a few seconds, he simply walked to her and hugged her. She remained frozen, neither fully accepting the hug, nor rejecting it. After some seconds, she muttered a soft Thank You and dried the tears that overflowed from her eyes.

It didn't help that all the people that she helped escape, all those noblemen and women who she took to safety, away from the bird's attack, turned on her the minute Queen Estella called for her arrest. Accusing her and the Viscount of Aronport of not only being the orchestrators of the attack, but also of the murderers of her husband and three sons, the Withered Flower launched a hate campaign against the young woman, one her bloodthirsty zealots were only too happy to join.

Through it all, Arabella remained cool-headed. It soon became obvious that her fight for tranquillity was becoming harder with each new day. She wasn't surprised at the people's reaction to the accusations, but she seemed shocked at the Queen's actions.

Still, she swallowed her hurt and betrayal, choosing instead to rely on her strong façade, something Eldon knew would not end well for her. The young Marquise earned his admiration, but he wanted to give her something else. He wanted to be there for her. She, who had lost so much in so little time. But he couldn't think of anything to give to her. Only his shoulder, should she ever need one to cry on.

Night fell upon them. The cave, already dark during the day, became the birthplace of nightmare at nights, providing them with the perfect hideaway. All eight sat around the bonfire that Eldon lit in the cave's northern side. Dinner consisted of fried fish and wild mushrooms that Shooter Viola gathered over the course of the day. They ate mostly in silence. Every once in a while, Captain Batchelor's whimpers would bring a chill to their bodies, for they were a sombre reminder that the man was not yet out of danger.

Eldon's sight went from the fish in his hands to the cave's entrance. Any minute now, Tim's face would appear. He left in the morning, on a reconnaissance mission. Eldon had gone the previous day. As the only two members of the group who were not yet recognized by the Queen and her son, Eldon and Tim were the only ones who could walk the streets of Ivoryport in a somewhat safe way.