Aldelmo turned the key to unlock the dorm room and was promptly shoved inside for his trouble.

 

 

Aldelmo stumbled into the room, with Ryan following closely behind. Once inside, Ryan surveyed the room making sure it was secure before he closed and locked the door. It was apparent from where Ryan was standing that the side closest to the door was his side of the room. Aldelmo moved towards the opposite end of the room, cautiously keeping an eye on Ryan as he did so.

 

Or rather the side opposite Reed Ratliff's half of the room.

 

The room had the typical layout of a college dorm, albeit with a touch of elegance. The decor was a bit too upscale for a typical dormitory, although there were no closets present. Instead, the room was furnished with two sets of identical bunk beds, with desks located underneath them. They each also had a wardrobe, cabinet, dresser, and finally, a footlocker to complete the furniture arrangement.

 

The two sides of the room were starkly different, almost like polar opposites. Aldelmo's side was in complete disarray, cluttered with an assortment of notes, study materials, books, and personal mementos. In contrast, Ryan's side was pristine, devoid of any personal touches or individuality. The surface of every object was spotless, except for his current work materials, which were neatly organized. Aldelmo's side of the room looked like it a normal person lived there, whereas the other side was maintained by someone suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder.

 

Something about the room felt amiss. Typically, a dorm room would be split down the middle, with each occupant having an equal share of space, assuming you used the window as the midpoint. In this case, however, the layout was peculiar. One of the bunk beds was situated next to the window, while the other was located by the door. The bed by the door was adorned with a makeshift curtain, which was fastened to the ceiling to enclose the sleeping area. The unusual positioning made the division of the room feel lopsided and off-center.

 

Ryan took this all in while Aldelmo cowered on his side of the room. Aldelmo made a lame attempt at striking up a conversation, "Uh... so you have... medication, is it?" Aldelmo's half-hearted smile conveyed unease.

 

Ryan carefully observed Aldelmo's nervous behavior, ~I wonder if he's been drugging me and he's afraid I finally caught on.~ He quickly glanced around the room before heading over to his side, feeling the need to distance himself from Aldelmo, ~One more reason to put some distance between this place and me.~ Ryan put on a friendly facade, which only seemed to increase Aldelmo's fear.

 

"Yes. Somewhere." Ryan began searching for the medication, ransacking the wardrobe in the process, "I might have lost it." The first item that jumped out at him was a pair of boots. An upgrade over the hard wooden soles he currently was sporting. Ryan paused to put those on by sitting on the edge of the wardrobe. It was then that he spotted a short sword in an ornate scabbard, partially hidden on the inside edge of the wardrobe. Ryan took it out, unsheathed it, and stood up to give it a few practice swings. Ryan was no stranger to knife fighting, but this blade was much larger and heavier than he was used to.

 

Aldelmo retreated towards the ladder next to his bed, causing him to jump and spin around before staring at the ladder in relief. He then turned his attention back to Ryan, "What sort... heh... of medication... did you say you were taking?" Ryan noticed the sweat starting to trickle down the side of Aldelmo's cheek.

 

Ryan narrowed his eyes at Aldelmo as he slowly put the tip of the blade to its sheath. He stopped moving while he just stared at Aldelmo. Ryan let the silence drag on and on. Noticing Aldelmo was preparing to say something by his nervous swallow, Ryan abruptly shoved the blade into the sheath. The sound of metal on metal made Aldelmo jump out of his skin. Ryan smiled as he spoke with a rather calm tone, "What was your name again?"

 

Aldelmo was visibly shaking, "I'm... I'm-a ah... Aldelmo? Your... roommate?" He sounded unsure about everything at this point.

 

"Al… Can I call you Al?" Ryan figured he had laid it on too thick and it was time to back off, "You look like an Al." Ryan strapped the weapon around his waist, "Al, I'm taking Prozac." Ryan went back to looking through the desk. Aldelmo stood there for a few moments with a puzzled expression, "Pro... Zack?"

 

Ryan nodded absentmindedly without looking back at Aldelmo, as he proceeded to dump things from his drawers onto the desk. "Yeah. It's a medication that helps with mood swings and treats depression," Ryan kept muttering as he searched for anything useful, but it seemed like there wasn't much to find, "Yeah. Ever since the divorce I've been having issues." As he rambled, Ryan found a small pouch in the back of the dresser. Holding it up to his ear, he shook it and listened to the jingle of coins, "But I can't let anyone know. I have to get the medication off base because if anyone knew I was taking psych meds they'd pull me from active-" He paused and realized he was rambling about his actual life. Ryan slowly turned to look back at Aldelmo, "You know what? You-"

 

There was a noise at the door.

 

Ryan stopped dead and abruptly brought a single finger to his lips. Aldelmo nodded and remained stock-still. Ryan moved closer to the door and could see that the lock was turning, ~Someone has a key?~ Ryan placed a hand on the hilt of his sword. It wasn't something he wanted to use, but if push came to shove, he'd defend himself.

 

As the door opened, the student dressed in black whom Ryan had noticed earlier walked in. The tall and lanky teenager barely made it into the room before Ryan attacked. He slammed into the door, bouncing it off the intruder's head, causing him to let out an "OW!" and stagger. Ryan grabbed an arm and yanked, causing the intruder to fall to the floor Aldelmo's eyes widened as he exclaimed, "Kyle?"

 

Caught off guard by the attack, Kyle couldn't prevent his glasses from coming off and skittering across the floor. As he reached for them, Ryan stomped down on Kyle's outstretched hand, "WHO DO YOU WORK FOR?"

 

Kyle let out a strangled yelp! When Ryan lifted his boot, Kyle yanked his hand back to cradle it. It might have been better if he had tried to get away for Ryan dropped down to put a knee in Kyle's back, causing the taller boy to cry out incoherently in pain.

 

Grabbing Kyle's long green hair, Ryan repeatedly slammed Kyle's face into the floor.

 

"WHO DO YOU WORK FOR?" *WHAM*

"WHO DO YOU WORK FOR?" *WHAM*

"WHO DO YOU WORK FOR?" *WHAM*

 

Aldelmo was frozen in terror by the unfolding events. He was unable to even process what was going on. Kyle struggled to get free, but with Ryan applying pressure directly to his spine, and his head fuzzy from repeatedly being bashed into the floor, Kyle was in no position to do anything.

 

"Are You INSANE? I work for the CROWN PRINCE!" Kyle cried out as he tried to reach behind back and grab Ryan. Ryan grasped said hand and twisted it into an arm lock behind his foe’s back.

 

Ryan leaned his knee into Kyle's spine HARD and yanked back a handful of green hair. Ryan froze, ~Wait... green? His hair is green. Not... dyed green. ACTUALLY green?~ Ryan shook his head to clear it and focus on more important matters. He twisted the arm a bit harder before using a growling and intimidating voice, "Who is this Crown Prince? Why did he send you?"

 

Kyle took a moment to compose himself. When Ryan pulled back, threatening to smash Kyle's face into the floor again, Kyle spoke rapidly, "I'm with the disciplinary committee! I can go into any dorm room I like! No one SENT me! Do you have-" He was cut short as Ryan pressed Kyle's face back into the floor.

 

"Shut! Up!" Ryan shouted with such ferocity that spittle flew from his lips, "Tell me everything you know about Lieutenant Ryan Yauger! WHY IS HE A PRISONER?" Ryan pulled out his short sword and stabbed it into the floor directly in front of Kyle's face, "Which Country Are We In? Where is the nearest American Embassy?"

 

Kyle's pupils became pinpricks in the middle of wide eyes, "What?" Ryan slowly lifted the sword. Kyle babbled as his eyes remained locked on the blade before him, "You don't know we're in Lyonesse? Have you lost your MIND?" His eyes flickered up in desperation, seeking salvation, "Aldelmo! DO SOMETHING!!!"

 

Hearing his name brought Aldelmo to his senses, "Reed! Calm Down!" Aldelmo got as close as he dared while holding his hands out flat. This was both to show he was unarmed and perhaps give him a chance to grab the blade before anyone got murdered, "Y-you... you aren't well, Reed! Everything is fine! J-J-Just let go of the blade?"

 

Ryan pointed his weapon at Aldelmo, "Shut up, AL. That's Not my name! I don't know what you are trying to pull..."

 

Aldelmo backed away, "Okay! Okay! Th-that's n-not your name! O-okay..." Aldelmo kept his arms outstretched. The sweat was beading on his forehead, "We're... we're friends! Re-remember? We... we've been..." He swallowed down the rising vomit in his throat, "Calm down. Please? Look. I don't know. Please. Whatever it is, I'm sorry. Okay? Just..." He gestured with trembling hands flat to the floor, trying to indicate where the blade should go, "Put down the sword. You aren't right."

 

Ryan's gaze shifted from the black-clad student to his trembling roommate. He hesitated, unsure of what to do next. "This is wrong. I don't know what this is, but this isn't-" Ryan muttered to himself, his voice laced with uncertainty. He barked at Kyle, "Stay down!" before rising to his feet. Kyle appeared to be in no hurry to do anything.

 

Ryan never took his eyes off the two as he backed up to the door. He could hear some noises coming from the hallway, and it was evident that he had attracted attention and people were on their way. Ryan berated himself for not closing the door earlier before he began his interrogation. He kicked the door closed and locked it while he weighed his options.

 

Ryan directed Aldelmo to get away from the window with a swift gesture of his sword, "Move." Aldelmo complied, his expression reflecting confusion. Ryan went to the window, unlocked and pushed it open. He leaned out to survey the surroundings from his second-floor vantage point. The courtyard appeared to be empty for the moment.

 

Aldelmo's jaw dropped open. For whatever reason, this act utterly blew Aldelmo's mind. With his mind struggling to comprehend the situation, he took a step back from Ryan, muttering to himself in disbelief, "Who are you?" 

 

Ryan was unaware of Aldelmo's words, but Kyle, who was nearby, noticed the bewildered expression on Aldelmo's face and cast a curious glance in his direction.

 

Looking back at Aldelmo, Ryan instructed him urgently, "If we're really friends, then stall. Delay them as much as possible." With that, Ryan sheathed his sword and leaped out of the window, landing on the ground with a roll. Cursing as he struggled to regain his footing, Ryan got back on his feet and began to flee. Initially limping slightly, Ryan soon shook it off and broke into a jog, disappearing around the corner of a building.

 

---

 

As soon as Ryan jumped, Aldelmo rushed to the window. He watched wordlessly, his mouth agape.

 

Kyle stood up, visibly confused by what had just happened, and exclaimed, "What in the name of the Seven Hells...!" He winced in pain as he gingerly touched his broken nose and cursed under his breath, "Damn it!" Kyle came up behind Aldelmo, grabbing him by the sleeve and yanking him backward while berating him, "A fat lot of good YOU were!"

 

Aldelmo looked like his world had turned completely upside down. Up was down and left was bacon. Kyle froze as he was genuinely worried that maybe Aldelmo had been hit in the head or drugged or something.

 

Kyle's anger toward Aldelmo lost its edge when he heard him speak in a hollow whisper, "He's not right in the head." Kyle blew a blood clot out of his nose, "You can say that again!"

 

"You don't get it." Aldelmo turned slowly to look out of the window, still in disbelief of what had just happened, "You don't get it. Reed is afraid of heights." Kyle released Aldelmo's sleeve and took a step back, confused. Aldelmo continued, his voice sounding distant and distracted, "He's utterly terrified of heights. It takes him several minutes every night just to work up the courage to climb up into his bunk bed."

 

Kyle stared at Aldelmo before shaking his head in disbelief and muttering, “Bah.” As he turned away

 

Aldelmo leaned out the window just to confirm how high up they were, "How the hell did he jump like that?"

 

Before Kyle could respond, there was a frantic knock at the door. Kyle waved a hand dismissively at Aldelmo, writing him off as utterly useless. Kyle decided to spend his time more productively as he went over to unlock the door,

 

On the other side were two members of the disciplinary committee, a male and a female, dressed in the same black uniforms as Kyle. They immediately asked what was going on. The female apparently knew Kyle well enough to reach up and touch his face out of concern. Kyle quickly explained what happened. As he spoke, the male disciplinary committee member's face slowly became clouded with rage.

 

Aldelmo couldn't hear any of the vows of revenge that were being uttered behind his back. He could only stare off into the direction that his roommate had fled. His mind was spinning as it contemplated what had happened and what may have caused all this. Under his breath, Aldelmo indulged his bad habit of talking to himself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"What have I done?"