The feast was loud.
Cups clinked.
Wine sloshed.
Laughter rang
in the stone.
Sir Aldric sat
at the high table.
His armor was
polished bright.
It gleamed
under the tallow lights.
He did not eat.
He did not drink.
He watched.
His hands
were still.
They rested
on the map
spread before him.
The ink
was fresh.
The lines
were sharp.
They cut
the parchment
like veins.
Across the room,
Captain Elias
raised his cup.
"To victory!"
he shouted.
The hall
roared back.
Aldric
did not smile.
He looked
at Elias.
at the map.
at the boy
standing by the door.
The boy
was young.
Too young.
His face
was pale.
His eyes
were wide.
He wore
the livery
of the house.
He held
a silver tray.
The tray
was empty.
trembled.
reached out.
He took
a cup
from the table.
He poured
the wine
into the tray.
The liquid
swirled.
Dark red.
Like blood.
Like life.
"Bring this
to the Lord,"
Aldric said.
His voice
was low.
It cut
the noise.
stumbled.
He bowed.
He turned.
He walked
toward the door.
Elias
leaned in.
"Who is
that boy?"
he asked.
did not look up.
"He is
my shadow,"
my mirror."
laughed.
It was
a harsh sound.
"A strange
metaphor
for a servant."
lifted his eyes.
They were
cold.
hard.
"Eat your meat,
Elias,"
"And watch
the boy."
was gone.
The door
was open.
The night
air came in.
It was cold.
It smelled
of rain.
Of earth.
Of death.
felt the chill.
It crept
up his spine.
at the map
again.
moved.
They twisted.
They became
roads.
rivers.
bodies.
He knew
the truth.
He had always
known it.
The map
was not
just paper.
a curse.
It showed
the way
to the enemy.
But it also
showed
to the self.
Every line
was a choice.
Every choice
was a death.
He thought
of the boy.
had seen
the map.
the wine.
the eyes.
would speak.
would betray.
Not out
of malice.
of greed.
But out
of fear.
Fear is
a loud thing.
a bright thing.
Fear
shatters
silence.
stood up.
The chair
scraped
the stone.
The noise
stopped
the laughter.
All eyes
turned
to him.
to the door.
He pushed
it open.
The rain
fell
on his face.
cold water.
clean water.
was there.
He stood
in the mud.
the tray.
The wine
was spilled.
It mixed
with the mud.
It made
a dark stain.
a stain
that would
not wash out.
walked
toward him.
His steps
were slow.
were sure.
He drew
his sword.
The steel
shone
in the rain.
bright.
sharp.
true.
"Boy,"
was soft.
gentle.
"Did you
see
the map?"
looked
up.
His lips
He said
nothing.
were wet.
full
of pain.
of love.
A strange
love.
A deep
He loved
the secret.
the weight
of knowing.
saw it.
He saw
the obsession.
It burned
in the boy’s
eyes.
a fire
that could
not be quenched.
burn
the house
down.
"I did
not come
to kill
you,"
He lowered
the sword.
The tip
rested
on the wet stone.
"I came
to give
you
the choice."
blinked.
Rain
dripped
from his hair.
"The choice?"
he whispered.
was thin.
broken.
"Yes,"
"Knowledge
is a curse.
It binds
you.
It chains
You can
carry it.
Or you can
let it go."
at the stain
at the sword.
at Aldric.
He understood.
He always
understood.
He was
a mirror.
He reflected
what he
was not.
what Aldric
was.
A soldier.
A leader.
A man
who knows
the cost
of truth.
set
the tray
on the ground.
He let
run
into the dirt.
the red
mix
with the brown.
the color
fade.
the stain
spread.
the truth
soak
into the earth.
He knelt.
He bowed
his head.
He closed
his eyes.
He breathed.
hit
his back.
clean.
free.
watched
him.
He felt
a pain
in his chest.
deep.
his pain.
the pain
of letting go.
of losing
the mirror.
Without
the boy,
who would
see him?
hold the curse?
Who would
carry
of the map?
know
the price?
No one.
Only he.
Only
the silence.
the rain.
sheathed
The sound
was a click.
final.
quiet.
"Go,"
he said.
"Go into
the night.
Go into
the wild.
Be free."
rose.
He did
not look
back.
into the dark.
took
The mud
The world
stood
in the doorway.
back
into the hall.
The lights
were warm.
The faces
were bright.
The laughter
was loud.
They did
not know.
not care.
They lived
in the light.
in the lie.
away.
into the rain.
into the cold.
the map
in his mind.
were still
there.
The roads
The bodies
The curse
was still
But it
was lighter.
barely
a whisper.
a ghost.
a memory
of a memory.
on.
fell.
The road
stretched
before him.
long.
dark.
his.
not need
to.
The mirror
was his.
And he
could bear
it.
He could
bear
the weight.
into the night.
The stars
came out.
small.
distant.
But they
were there.
watching.
waiting.
toward them.
Step by step.
Foot by foot.
alone.
cursed.
was happy.
stopped.
The air
was clear.
The moon
full.
It shone
on the road.
on the man.
on the truth.
The truth
was simple.
was heavy.
was real.
He carried
it
all the way
to the end.
To the end
of the road.
of the night.
of himself.
not stop.
not rest.
He walked.
was vast.
was dark.
the way.
the cost.
the price.
paid it.
Again
and again.
And again.
Until
the end.
the silence
came.
the rain
the light
the soldier.
the man.
the curse.
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