It took three months for the Blaise family to reestablish the Talcan’s position.

During those days, William was getting immensely bored. His training was done or rather he was kicked out for not finding a master. And frankly, when Brice wasn’t around the drama was nonexistent.

One night he even began rereading the letters Harvick had sent him through the years. He especially found the one accompanied by his treasured sword, a read worthwhile. And yet… The sentence: But please, I’d be thrilled to hear more of your ideas to weaken the enemy. It brings me laughter in a castle where there nowadays is none…

William muttered to himself depressed, “... It brings me laughter in a castle where there nowadays is none…”. It really did sound depressing, didn’t it?... His thoughts and heart began to churn. How could he not have noticed this written despair before? Was he really that self-absorbed? Another letter stated: I’m happy that you have such reliable friends…

Clearly envy and yearning permeated those words. William rummaged through the stack of letters and realized that in every one of their exchanges, he had always been the one talking about friendship and happy moments. Harvick’s were void of such interactions…

As if he was indeed all alone, and had been all this time…

William’s hand trembled as he thought: How could I let this happen before my very own eyes!? Isn’t Harvick clearly sad and lonely?... Living in a castle filled with power struggles and people dropping dead left and right… With all that chaos and instability, of course, he wouldn’t be alright... 

William felt a new passion burn within his chest as he lifted his brilliant sword up into the air, thinking: So what if Halbal isn’t safe? I know that although I’m still small I can be useful too!... This brave boy that once saved my life, doesn’t he deserve to be ‘saved’ as well from this torment? Besides… If I want to bond with a dinosaur, Harvick is the one who can help me achieve this goal… Surely, once his problems are swept away, he will be more than available to accomplice this task together with me...

William packed the letters into a bundle once more as he stated, “I’m not going to wait anymore for a pass from you… Whether you want it or not. I’m going to selfishly help you defeat those who dare question your lordship! But first!... Erh… I should break this news to Brice. Ah… I wonder how he’ll react when I say the words: ‘I quit’?...”. Thinking of his lord’s possible reactions he smiled. Most of them were deliciously funny. Then he thought back to how Brice ground his teeth at him before leaving. William muttered to himself, “Why did he seem so pissed before he left? In the end… Was it because of too much stress?”.

If only that was the case… What William didn’t know, was that Brice had merely postponed his judgment until the Talcan spectacle was taken care of…

****

A redheaded lord glared up at the skies as he was casually riding home. He had sought god for guidance these past weeks but the heavenly figure left him with no signs to follow. So he asked one of the creatures, who stood the closest to Solvi’s side, for advice. “What do you think Gibby?... Should I-”. The dinosaur that was now the size of a big dog didn’t let the young man finish. It growled and huffed out a cloud of smoke. Seeing this little show of affection, Brice laughed and said, “Of course! It’s like I thought… Thanks, Gibby!”.

Rex who saw this odd communication between man and beast, rolled his eyes like always. He had for some time felt guilty for what had happened at the rock formation. But his silence also cost him a price. For unlike Mirabelle, Rex suffered from a severe frostbite. One which made his skin burn at the soles as his toes slowly lost their sense of touch. It was a painful price to pay indeed...

When the duo returned to Brice’s chamber, they kept it to just the two of them, until Rex was ready to leave for some rest. Rex was barely out of the door before he heard Brice call out to him with a final order, “Ah, before you leave… Please fetch Mirabelle”. Rex halted his painful steps and nodded, “Of course, my lord”. With not a hint of unease displayed on his face.

“The lord has returned and he wishes to see you… Now”, Rex conveyed briefly. Hearing this, made William cross his arms in animosity. Because being called out this late didn’t make him happy at all!...

He did want to quit his job as soon as possible, but being summoned at this hour was abnormal and frankly, it made him imagine the worst of outcomes. He had this wild feeling corrupt his mind all the way to the doorway. Fortunately, everything was rather normal the moment he peeked inside the chamber.

Brice saw the servant girl enter but didn’t react immediately. Instead, he took out a bottle of dino-feed. A little snack, so to say, for his Gibby. He didn’t mind seeing it get fat. The fatter it was the more intimidating it would look.

While pouring those delicious drops down to his beast, Brice nonchalantly said, “Instructor Solomon told me that your time is up… It’s a shame since you were such a promising page... William…”. Said page stretched their lips into a thin line. William now knew why Brice had been so agitated before he left. He had somehow messed up his disguise!... If only he had figured it out sooner and not waited for his lord’s return! Damn it! He should have run while he had the chance!...

Brice rose from his seat as he scolded, “And you even wanted to bond with a dinosaur?... This degree of blasphemy demands that you get rinsed by fire… If you’d like I can personally redeem your spirit… Right here. Right now...”. As this threat sank into William’s skull, smoke slowly rose from the corners of the young lord’s mouth.

It was too late to regret now! He was done for!... William screamed inside himself. He thought of running away but he knew he wouldn’t be able to reach for cover before most of him would be burned to a crisp. He couldn’t flee! But could he fight?... No, he couldn’t! For Brice had already begun to open his mouth as if to bath him in a scorching death! William stopped his body’s cowering and closed his eyes, accepting this sudden development.

He was ready for the blow, but instead of melting flames a slowly-spoken sentence came out, “... Any holy man who serves god would have made you pay for your outrageous crimes against Solvi… But without your presence there that day, Avian would probably have been killed... You know as well as I, that the Talcans and Blaises are the only defense we presently have against the growing bandit threat… The Ravaging Shades... If the Talcans had lost all their leaders that day… It’s safe to say that a good chunk of territory would have fallen together with them; giving the bandits more ground to stand on…”.

Brice closed the bottle and so did his glaring eyes as he continued, “Hehe… For someone so small and delicate as you, you’re really strong. Truly, a miracle hidden by god… At least, that’s what I’d like to believe. That your intervention was all part of god’s plan. So how can I punish someone who acted on god’s behalf?”.

Brice smiled wryly and answered his own question: “... It’s rather simple… I can’t”.

He presented a pouch of money before William, which gave the servant girl déjà vu. Then he said, “But I can’t turn a blind eye either… From today and onwards I forbid your entry to this castle and you will be banished from its grounds… Leave this place. Or I’m afraid you must face the punishment that I have spared you from this day...”. As Brice settled the pouch into William’s hands, he trembled slightly. William understood his message but he didn’t understand why Brice was so keen at sparing him?...

The young lord saw the servant leave. His fists were kept taut at his sides as regret surged throughout his entire being. This goodbye hurt more than it should…

Before William completely disappeared, he turned cautiously around and said, “Thank you for sparing me, my lord… It’s as the head servant once told me. Although it doesn’t seem apparent at first, you’re indeed very generous…”. Brice felt oddly embarrassed hearing such words used to define him. It wasn’t the image he intended to portray in front of other people…

And also. It was kind of refreshing for once, to not see a dismissed servant leave drowning in tears or with a face brimming with killing intent ... Instead, this one left with a semi-relaxed smile and eyes that displayed gratitude. A smile that Brice unknowingly replicated back.