“Violet, are you ready?” Ray asked softly. He stared at the young girl hiding behind his leg. In front of him were Alex and Tucker on both sides of the steel door leading to the scholar’s chamber. With a single word, they would push the sealed entrance open.

  But only if the child was ready.

  Courage was something that had to be taken one step at a time, and only if the will existed to push forth. Tucker watched as Violet quietly crept out from behind Ray’s side. It reminded him of what his childhood could have been. One that was supported by other,s and the little good they could do for the girl that had been through so much. It would never be enough to right the wrongs that the Emerald Tower had done to her.

  However, it was a start.

  Violet drew closer to them while cradling the small branch in her hands, clenching onto it like it was her only lifeline. When Oliver and the other custodians saw her, their sharp gazes burned right through. In all other cases, they would have sent her away, but upon seeing the similarities to Adira—they went against the rule book. Deeming it a unique situation that was beyond their capabilities to evaluate. The matter was escalated to the administrators of the Order.

  “It’s fine if you aren’t comfortable,” Ray said. “You don’t need to force yourself to go through.”

  Violet shook her head, staring at Tucker and Alex before nodding.

  The two watchmen glanced at each other before delivering a subtle nod. Tucker placed his hand on the surface of the cold steel door. The etchings pressed against his fingertips as the watchmen’s principles entered his sights.

  Loyalty in silence, honor in deeds.

  Every time he came to the chamber, the words stood before him, reminding him of their cause. But he never interpreted what they meant. He slowly pushed the door open. The doors slid open, warm amber light from the chamber flooded into the somber stone halls. Before them were rows of wooden tables and chairs neatly arranged with even spaces between. Wooden staircases led to the second floor, and bookshelves lined the walls on all sides.

  “Ah! They’ve returned!”

  Tucker watched as Charles extended his arms. The long blue robe caught the edge of the table he was seated at, and with a light pull, he freed himself from the corner that held him back. His long grey hair fell to the side. He raised a brow, running his hand through his grey beard.

  “Whois this?” he asked.

  “She’s Violet,” Tucker said, guiding her towards the center of the room. “A friend of Adira.”

  Ray and Alex quietly followed from behind. Charles glanced over at the two, noting the composure of the veteran with a sharp gaze. His eyes briefly drifted to Violet before revealing a warm smile.

  “You must have been through a lot; I’m sure little Adira will be delighted to see you,” Charles said softly. “Please take a seat. Adira is helping my assistant, Daniela, in the back office. They should be back soon.”

  He turned to the three. “Is there anything you would like to drink?”

  “Some tea would be great,” Alex replied.

  “Tea… I see…” Charles mumbled to himself before nodding. “Please come this way. Could you stay with little Violet for a bit, Ray?”

  “Yeah, you can leave it to me.” Ray dragged out a chair, and Violet quickly scrambled onto it. He narrowed his eyes just in time to catch her pouting up at him. With a tired sigh escaping his lips, he gently pushed in her chair as her legs swung back and forth above the floor.

  The watchman quietly grumbled before sitting on the surface of the oak table with his arms crossed. He wasn’t used to babysitting, but since Charles asked, he had no choice.

  The remaining members walked towards the inner section of the scholar's chambers. Tucker could hear two voices from a nearby room. The door wasn’t closed; on the contrary, it was wide open. He leaned in, staring at Adira and Daniela just as they noticed him. Their eyes widened.

  “Tucker!”

  Adira’s expression brightened as she launched herself at him. But right before she could tackle him, Tucker caught her midair with a surprised laugh as she scowled.

  “You should know better than to tackle a watchman,” he said. “My protection runes would’ve sent you flying.”

  “Tsk.” She crossed her arms. “I did it because I knew you would catch me,” Adira pointed out. “That’s how much I trust you, but you just keep leaving without saying a word.”

  Tucker felt a jab at his heart, but forced a smile. They had returned their helms to the custodians, but their armor would be collected later. He gently held Adira with both hands before putting her softly on the ground.

  “That was wrong of me. I’ll try not to leave without saying goodbye.”

  “Try?” Adira glared at him.

  “I won’t,” he corrected quickly.

  “Good!” Adira grinned while putting her hands on her hips. “So—do you notice anything different about me?”

  Tucker slowly shook his head. “Not… really?”

  Adira grabbed the cushion from her seat and threw it at Tucker’s face. “I grew half a centimeter taller! How could you not tell?!”

  If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  Tucker kept a straight face. “You know that’s actually very hard to tell—”

  “Oh?” Alex peered around the corner while raising a brow. “Did you grow a bit taller, Adira?”

  Adira’s hand shot out towards him, then dropped with a triumphant nod. “See?”

  Tucker glanced back at Alex to see the smug corner of his mentor’s lips.

  “You old jerk…” Tucker mumbled.

  He knew Alex was waiting around the corner with Charles to give him a moment of peace. But seeing them step into the conversation meant that they needed—not want—to hurry things along. From the corner of Tucker’s eye, he could see the color drain from Charles’ face. The scholar’s weathered skin seemed to have aged a few years.

  Tucker patted Adira’s head lightly. “I trust she’s been behaving while I was gone?”

  “Of course,” Daniela replied, brushing her long black hair to the side. “She’s been nothing but good since you’ve left.”

  “Really?” Tucker raised a brow at Adira. “You didn’t bribe her with your cookies, did you?”

  “B-bribe?! Who do you take me for!” Adira protested.

  “Hm… in that case, since you’ve been so well behaved, I have good news for you,” Tucker said, holding out his hand. “Do you want to know what it is?”

  “Are you going to leave again?” She mumbled.

  “Not for a bit, but I will eventually.”

  Adira rubbed the tip of her pink cotton slippers on the stone floor. She didn’t want Tucker to go. She didn’t want any of them to go but understood why they had to. The black boxes at the teleportation platform kept increasing with each day, and when she saw the person in the box. Her heart ached with a sharp throbbing pain. Oliver told her they were resting, but she knew that wasn’t true.

  The watchmen were dying.

  They were slowly getting pushed back. Their numbers were dwindling with each engagement.

  And all she could do was wait and watch.

  Tucker stared at the disheartened child and held out his hand. “Don’t worry, we’re a lot tougher than you think.”

  “Are you saying that to make me feel better?” Adira asked, grabbing onto his hand.

  “Is that what you think?” Tucker responded with a smile. “Do I seem like someone who would say things he wouldn’t mean?”

  She shook her head, walking alongside him as they moved towards the chamber. “No, you just run away instead.”

  Alex and Charles coughed while holding back their laughter. They received a sharp glare from Tucker but simply brushed it away while pointing at Ray and Violet in the chamber.

  Adira was the first to stop. It was as if her body had forgotten the next step. She didn’t blink, and for a brief moment stood there. Stuck between memories of the past and the realization that the small girl before her was real.

  Her eyes drifted to Tucker. Small beads of water forming around the corners. Adira kept her quivering lips together, fighting back the tremor trying to break through. Yet once she saw Violet’s small frame standing before her, clenching a slender oak branch to her chest, the last bit of strength Adira had crumbled as tears streaked down her cheeks.

  “Go,” Tucker said, gently releasing her hand and giving her shoulder a gentle push. “It took a while, but we found one of your friends. She’s been waiting for you.”

  Adira nodded and ran.

  Violet did the same, and the moment they reached each other, their arms wrapped around one another in a tight embrace, refusing to let go as tears streamed down their cheeks. Neither of them spoke. Tears soaked their shoulders before pattering softly onto the stone floor as they held on, refusing to let go.

  Tucker stood in the hallway and didn’t enter the chamber. The shadow of the stone arch covered his body, blocking the light from the golden chandeliers. Beside him were Charles and Alex, while Daniela was quietly wiping her tears. None of them said a word, allowing the moment to linger just a bit longer.

  After everything Tucker had been through, it was comforting to know that in the end his efforts hadn’t been in vain. That he had accomplished one of his goals to reduce the ever-growing list of regrets on his shoulders. But… if he were to fall on the battlefield, and Solas had asked him if he had lived a good life. Tucker knew he didn’t have an answer because no matter what he did, it never felt like enough.

  It was only until Charles quietly cleared his throat that Tucker was brought back to the reality of the situation. The scholar gestured for him and Alex to follow. Together, the three of them entered the inner confines of the chamber. Once Adira and Violet were out of sight, and they were certain the children couldn’t hear them did Alex speak.

  “I already told Charles the general gist of what happened,” he said. “He’s onboard and will begin the process of tracking Pyron.”

  “It shouldn’t take long,” Charles added. “The only dilemma is that the longer we wait, the more inaccurate the results will be once we begin.”

  The scholar opened an old wooden door that creaked with the slightest bit of movement. Beyond it was a cramped room filled with aged tomes stacked from the floor to the ceiling. The towers of knowledge were spread out haphazardly throughout the area, pressing in on a large circular stone table at the center. Chalkboards clung to the stone walls of the office, smeared with half-erased formulas and scribbles.

  What little room remained hardly allowed a person to enter without turning sideways.

  “I see you haven’t cleaned your office,” Alex said, carefully navigating the maze-like room.

  Tucker followed closely behind, staring at the rigid base of the stone table. “It’s hard to believe that the scholar’s chamber is so organized, and this is the current state of your office.”

  “It’s certainly seen better days,” Charles admitted with a dry chuckle. He stroked his long, grey beard. “I’ve been busy for the last few days—and our friend here, believe it or not, is the reason.”

  “I am?” Tucker asked.

  Charles nodded. “Do you remember that cipher you decoded a while back?”

  “Yeah. I haven’t heard a word of it since.”

  “Well, you see, the other scholars and I have devised a contraption that automatically deciphers the messages as they come. It’s by no means efficient, but by creating more of these devices, we’ve been able to compile a growing record of intelligence for our missions.”

  “That’s amazing, isn’t it?”

  “It is, but there was one mistake we made.” Charles slowly exhaled. “We were foolish to think that their encryption methods wouldn’t evolve throughout the course of the war.” His eyes flickered towards the walls with half-erased symbols. “It’s a constant battle to see which side reigns supreme, and we have the upper hand but only for so long.”

  Alex glanced at Charles as his friend’s expression darkened.

  “Recently, one scholar made a suggestion,” Charles said. “One I don’t agree with but have come to the reality of accepting.”

  A sudden realization surfaced on Alex’s face. “Is the Order planning to control the information?”

  “You were always sharp when it came to these matters.” Charles gazed at the chalkboard. “It’s been decided that the Order would pick the battles that we would win. We’ve had a streak of good luck recently in our operations, but too much success would raise suspicions.”

  “Are you saying that the Order would purposely sacrifice our forces?” Tucker stared in disbelief before gritting his teeth. “We solved that cipher to save lives, not to pick who lives and dies!”

  “I know, but given the circumstances, there’s no other choice. The Empire has already changed its cipher once, and there’s no telling when they will do it again,” Charles said. “That’s why I agreed to help Alex with his request despite the risks.” He glanced around the room. “If we push all the books to the far wall, it should give us ample space for our operations.”

  “Risk?” Tucker repeated.

  “Indeed,” Alex answered. “It’s a bit complicated, but from here on out, what we’re about to do needs to be kept a secret.”

  Tucker furrowed his brow. “What… do you mean?”

  Alex stepped to the far side of the stone table. Without saying another word, he unfastened the cloth wrapped around his waist and placed the severed arm before him. His gaze hardened as he looked back at Tucker.

  “We’re about to commit heresy.”

  Alright, I plan to create a Discord server probably around New Year's.

  Might as well, since one of you guys found me on Discord and asked.

  Also, I didn't realize one of my chapters was on Christmas.

  That's a surprise for me.

  Anyways thanks for reading and I'll see ya in the next one~

  If you see any spelling mistakes, please let me know as well!

  120 Ratings Goal - Bonus Chapter (Owed Chapters -> 0)

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