Broken Chains

After Scarlet finished her story, Puck didn’t know what to say. Some months ago, Puck would have thought that nobody would tell him about their lives under any circumstances. After all, who would talk to Puck, the shittiest Gremlin of all?

But now, not only had Zephyrian told him about a part of his past, but also Scarlet. Of course, both of them had only shared a small part, but still, for each of them, even this small part seemed like an adventure full of wonders on its own.

Most of all, Puck would like to know more about what happened to Scarlet, why, instead of adventuring on the surface, she was back here. He knew though, that such a matter was not something he could simply ask after she hadn’t told it to him freely.

Puck would like to tell Scarlet a tale of wonder and heroism from his past too, but in the end, he could only outline his miserable existence till now.

When Puck’s story started to arrive at the point where he would find Zephyrian, he became unsure. Should he tell her about the sword? She had been nice to him and all, but … No, there was no but, what she had done to him could never be repaid and as such he would at least be truthful.

Truthfully, Scarlet seemed much less surprised by his story of this talking weapon than Puck would have imagined, but who knew what she had seen on her adventures?

As Puck’s story came to an end though, something changed. At first, it was not something some observer would be able to note, no, it was in Puck himself. While talking about his time with Zephyrian, Puck started to remember the emotions and the new worldview he had built on.

Over the past months in healthcare, where each moment seemed like a chore, Puck also had tried to think about the moment of the attack and his decisions there. But he hadn’t thought about his new vision of his future all that much. Now it came rushing all back. All this rejection of the life he lived till now. All the want for something new. The burning need not to simply tolerate the things that had been thrown at him anymore. It all came back.

And even as Puck became intimately aware that exactly these desires and emotions had been what had brought him near death, he became very clear of something. He didn’t regret it, not the least bit. And not only because it had brought him to the woman before him. No, also because it had brought him nearer to the new version of himself he recenly had started chasing.

As all these things went through Puck’s head, they soon also started to affect his behavior outwardly. First, Puck started to sit himself up straight, and next he invested a Herculean amount of effort to stop staring at the wall and instead looked Scarlet straight in the eyes.

Instead of talking like somebody defeated with a life full of setbacks, he now started to talk like somebody with a fire burning in them.

Instead of talking about what had been, Puck started to talk about his visions for the future and his will to change himself on a fundamental level.

It was at that moment in Puck’s own monologue that Scarlet started to ask questions and bring in her own belief.

Instead of simply telling stories, they now started to truly talk. Puck didn’t know how long they talked, but when they finally both grew quiet, every part of his body hurt tremendously because of his efforts to sit straight.

Scarlet, seemingly having noticed Puck’s discomfort and judging it was time to sleep again, brought him something to eat and drink again and then brought him to the toilet. After that, she covered the gleaming mousse up again and got ready to leave the room.

Right before she stepped to the door, she turned back again. For a few seconds, she stared evaluatively at Puck, then she seemingly came to a decision.

“I have a proposal for you. As you no doubt have noticed by now, we aren’t exactly in the middle of the village, in fact, we're about thirty minutes away from it. That is because of a few reasons. One of them being that I don’t like to talk to the other Gremlins, another one being that my work and my lifestyle require this separated location. I am no normal worker, and neither do I exercise any other normal job. No, I may be back near my old Gremlin village, but I’m still not content there. Every day I adventure into the tunnels, searching for … for … for something. Every day I find new wonders, but also face new dangers.”

Puck, listening attentively, couldn’t help but get his hope up. If this truly was what it seemed like, then … Before Puck could spin his thoughts, Scarlet talked on again.

“And no, I am not offering you to come with me.”

Puck started to deflate, he already wanted to start pleading again, but soon it became clear there was no reason for it.

“At the very least, I’m not taking you with me in any near future. And not only because you are hurt. You are also weak, and you are inexperienced. I am going to train you if you want. But before you decide. It will be no kind training, neither will it be easy. In fact, I will stop caring for you like I did in the past. Even though you’re still ill, you will have to look after yourself. Do you want that? Think carefully.”

Puck already wanted to cry out a loud yes, but he was stopped by a wave of her hand.

“You can tell me your decision tomorrow. But know this. If you accept, you will have to absolve your first training task in the next week. You will have to go to the village again and get your sword and anything else important from there back here. Can you truly do that in your current state? Are you willing to face the danger of meeting your old enemies again?”

Seemingly done, Scarlet stepped out and closed the door behind her. Leaving Puck behind in the darkness, already thinking how he would be able to overcome the first task of his new master.