Shadow's revenge : A Monarch's Hunt

Puzzled, Gloria looks around. Since Dorian's departure, she became stronger and improved her magical sensitivity. Sometimes, lone witches and wizards did pass through her village but she never felt this. Two presences are here, exuding the exact same properties as Dorian's magic. This should be impossible, her sister in the coven did ask other covens and his abilities should be unique.

Walking, without apparent aim, she approaches those presence. From her feeling, both walk in line, right to the well near the village's center. When she arrives, her face pares itself with a frown. In front of her, near the well, stand an old warrior and a little girl, nearing her own age, but the magical signature doesn't come from them exactly, it comes from their shadows.

Garm straightens himself. Someone is looking at them, differently from the other villagers. As his gaze roams through the square, he finally finds who it is. A little girl, apparently around Isa's age, is frowning while looking at their feet. Since there is no village elder appearing for now, he sits on the floor and beckons the stranger to come.

Isa stares intently at Garm, she couldn't miss his unusual behavior. Her gaze then follows the direction in which he gestures, to see a frowning girl approaching calmly. She frowns too, now. No one ever acted calmly in their first interaction with Garm, obviously a mercenary. Both are more used to distrust, fear or a badly veiled awe instead of this.

As she walks to them, Gloria begins to smile softly. Both act the same way that Dorian acted at the time. They should at least know each other, but she shouldn't make such conclusions on her own. Of course, her mother is waiting nearby, she wouldn't approach strangers without warning her beforehand. Her powers, while potent in her sisters' words, do not make her invincible, even less here where she can't display them to the villagers.

— Hello Mister, Miss. My name is Gloria, and you ?

— Garm. And she's Isa.

— Sheesh Garm… You really could talk more, you know ?

Gloria has to hide a chuckle. The man's concise answer, with an arched eyebrow, makes him look even more alike to Dorian. On the other hand, due to their similar age, she can relate to Isa and appreciates her playful reproach. Since the girl let herself do it, it means that she feels secure, at least.

— Sorry for being direct but… Do you know about a "Dorian" ? Young, brown haired, using a sword and wearing leather armor ?

Isa tenses on the spot, her frown coming back immediately. This simple name reminds her of the traitor, the liar who fled even after saying that he wouldn't, the boy who abandoned them. Sure, Garm told her why, but still, it stings. Moreover, who is this girl, by the way ? How can she ask for him directly, as if she already knows that they are linked to him ? Isa's gaze unconsciously goes to her own feet, her shadow, but she catches herself quickly and focuses once again on Gloria.

Garm, too, frowns slightly. While the girl could ask all mercenaries passing through her village about Dorian, her previous actions, her attitude, everything tells him that it isn't the case.

— Why ?

Gloria keeps herself from sighing. The man is worse than Dorian. The girl, on the other hand, seems to have problems with him.

— I know him, but before saying anything else, forgive me for asking… Friend ? Or Foe ?

— Friend.

— Foe.

Isa glares angrily at her caretaker, then at Gloria when she sees the girl's subtle smirk. She opens her mouth to develop but finds herself cut off by the townswoman.

— Good, follow me please. We'll talk somewhere else.

Gloria finds herself quite amused by Isa's behavior. Her admiration for Garm is obvious, but she seems to really hate Dorian, while the man simply ignores her gaze and stays awfully calm. She then leads the both of them to her house, her mother joining them during the walk.

Garm, seeing the mother approach after they begin to follow Gloria, stays cautious. While the mother's presence explains a little about the apparent calm of the girl, it is still not enough. This girl is more than it seems, as Dorian was at the time.

As soon as they enter the family's home, Garm sees that there is no one else but the four of them. Despite the friendly demeanor of their hosts until now, he can't help but tenses. The previous confidence of Gloria should mean that she thinks to be able to defend herself if needed, making this isolation a possibility about a plot in order to frame them should she hold a grudge against Dorian.

— What do you want ?

Gloria shivers. She heard the edge in his tone, the subtle movements of his body with his hands nearer to his sword than before. Margaret already told her, if one day an experienced mercenary acts like this in a seemingly peaceful environment it's because he feels pressured and readies himself to fight for his life. She sighs.

— Don't worry, I consider myself one of his few friends. He lived in this village for six months and left a month ago. Mom, can you brew us some tea please ?

— Gloria. Do you still remember who the mother is in this house ? Of course I'll do it.

The amusement in her tone defuses all tension that her words could give. Garm, however, frowns a little more at Gloria even if he relaxes his body and keeps his hand farther to his weapon.

— So ?

— I have to ask you. Do you know who Dorian is ?

Isa tenses, even she is able to understand that this question is deeper than it appears.

— Yes. I also told her.

Gloria sighs and relaxes. This will be easier than she feared.

— We call him a witch, here. I am one too, but my abilities are different from his. I sensed his trace on you, that's why I directly went to talk.

Garm immediately looks down, staring at his shadow, as he tenses. This is a risk, one that he never took into account. Isa, her, perks up.

— Can I become one too ?

With a soft chuckle, Gloria shakes her head.

— Sorry. You can only birth as one. Why do you want to become one ?

— When we saw his powers, he fled. I… I want to be strong and confront him.

— Isa…

— Garm, let me talk.

Isa turns back to Gloria, as the mother finally comes back with the tea set.

— He told me that… He made the mistake to talk about his powers, once. Well, he didn't say it like that, he only said that he couldn't tell me something, saying this. "I made this mistake. Once."

Gloria widens her eyes. With what Dorian told them, she already knows what Dorian hinted to his friend.

— And you…

— Wait, please. Later, we were ambushed by bandits, lots of them. He didn't use his powers until we were running out of options. After that, he fled on his horse without a word.

Gloria sighs.

— I know. I know about the mistake. And I have to tell you, if you had begun to learn magic on your own, with the very idea of confronting him, you would have proven him right.

Gloria looks at her mother, lost about what she has to do. With a simple nod for answer, she sighs. Isa looks at her with wide eyes, she obviously wants to ask for more but, at the same time, Garm's hand on her shoulder keeps her from it.

— I, can tell you. But for that I have to ask someone.

Gloria stands and walks to a window, under the watchful gaze of the two wanderers. Seconds after, a bird enters and perches itself on her shoulder.

— I am with Dorian's friends, they know about his powers but not his past. One of them was on the verge of following her steps. Can we meet them all ? Can I reveal it ?

The bird takes flight and, less than a minute later, he comes back. A woman's voice sounds from his beak.

— Yes, and yes. We don't want another rogue.

With a serene smile, Gloria thanks the bird before sitting back on the sofa.

— Dorian was alone, when he discovered his powers. He asked a girl, one that was always kind to him, about it. She told him that she needed to make researches about it.

Isa shivers, she doesn't like where the story goes.

— As she searches, she learnt magic while not being a witch. We call those wizards. However, at the time, she had numerous bad emotions that she kept bottled.

Gloria takes a deep breath, staring seriously in Isa's eyes.

— Magic, you see, tends to reflect and amplify what we feel if we don't take the utmost precautions. She didn't have anyone, no helper, no friend, no mentor. She was corrupted by the very same magic she was learning.

Isa lets a frightened gasp escape her mouth, Garm widens his eyes.

— He feels himself responsible for her fate. So ?

— He wanted to protect you.

Hearing Garm conclusion, mirroring the one she deducted, Isa feels her eyes moisten. By wanting to confront her friend, as she kept repeating herself that he was a bastard liar, she would have undone all his efforts.

— I… I… I didn't know…

— Yes. That's what I thought. But, if you still want to learn. You'll have to convince my sisters too.

Two days later, with Garm beside her, Isa pleaded in front of the coven to be allowed to learn. With a unanimous vote, it was accepted on one condition. She had to learn in the coven and become part of it, even if she resumes her travels later.