Brutus looked between Allistair and Alicia, "Huh?" He turned to Allistair. "Why's she got to go back to those guys?"
Allistair kept walking, boots grinding on the sand. "Because running from a wound only lets it rot." He continued a few steps later. "Show them that letter when you get there. They'll be more lenient with you."
Alicia continued to stare at the sand. "...yessir," She whispered.
"Both of you, wait here," Allistair commanded, finally walking out of earshot.
Brutus gazed at where Allistair had just been, then turned to Alicia. "Hey..."
But Alicia ignored his worries; instead, she began walking up the tall slope almost as if in a trance.
Brutus stood stunned. "What the hell is going on?"
A few minutes later, Alistair returned carrying Brutus's old knight armour. He held it out. "Here. Take these with you." In his other hand was a small linen pouch tied with hemp cord. He dropped that into Brutus's palm, too.
Brutus took the small brown bag and examined it. "What's this?"
"Just open it and see," Allistair replied flatly.
Following what he was told, Brutus loosened the small cord, squeezing the bag closed. Inside it was... full of gold coins.
Brutus almost dropped the small pouch into the sand, hands trembling. "What... What is this for?" He barely managed to push out.
"About five thousand gold, why?" Allistair asked almost cluelessly.
Brutus's eyes were fixed on the gold inside, unevenly reflecting a warm yellow light on his face. "This..." He inhaled deeply. "Is the most." He exhaled, "Money I've ever held in my life..."
Allistair's deep blue eyes stared at Brutus, a resemblance of pity in them "Oh... I see."
Brutus looked up, "No-" and with a resigned sigh, he stopped talking. Forcing himself to refocus, Brutus pointed to the armour Allistair still carried, polished enough to blind.
"What's that?"
"It's Alicia's," He said, "Where is she?"
Brutus frowned and slowly shifted his head to the top of the mound. "Up there," He nodded.
Allistair shook his head. "I see, well, give this to her." He handed the armour set to Brutus.
Brutus's muscles straining from the weight of the armour, grunted. "Sure..."
At that, Allistair turned around once more. This time it feeling more final.
Brutus stared at the back of Allistair as he walked away, until he suddenly stopped and looked over his shoulder.
"Good... luck."
A smile slowly crept onto Brutus's lips. "Thank you, sir!"
Then Brutus turned to look at the peak of the dune. And climbed up to it.
At the top, Alicia was sitting against one of the metal beams, gazing out towards the rising sun, the envelope gripped in her hand.
Brutus sat at the opposite side of the metal beam. Sliding the suit of armour across the sand to the side Alicia was on, "Here, brand new armour set for you."
"Thanks." A soft voice replied.
For a few moments, all that separated the two was metal, sand, and silence.
"Do you... wanna talk about it?" Brutus gentled.
More silence followed before another almost inaudible murmur broke it, "yes."
Brutus let out a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding. "I know it must be hard to go back to people who tried to-" He searched for the right word. "-force you into something you didn't want."
Brutus waited for the beats of silence to end with Alicia's reply.
"It's... That's not what im upset about."
Brutus tilted his head over his shoulder. "It's not?"
"No."
Brutus scratched his chin, "Then what made you so upset?"
More silence followed, her fingers digging into the envelope, knuckles whitening. Then an almost silent voice cracked.
"You."
His body shot up. "What was that? Me?!"
The silence prompted him to slide over to Alicia's side. Finding her hugging her knees and staring at the envelope gripped tightly in her hand.
Brutus eased down next to her. "Can you tell me what it is I did wrong?"
Alicia continued to stare at the letter.
"Alicia?"
She opened her mouth to speak, only to shut it again. She turned her head to Brutus. Her long brown hair cascaded down her shoulders.
"It's... because it's forcing me into leaving you." She finally muttered.
Brutus stared into her emerald eyes, stunned. "Wait… really?" He almost laughed in disbelief. "That's what's got you so upset?"
She turned her head back to the letter. Resting it on her arm. Causing her hair to flow down her shoulder even more. "Yes."
He turned to look at it, too. "Why's that such a big deal for you, though?"
Her hands gripped the envelope tightly, creasing it slightly. "Because you're the only person I've met that's similar to me."
He gazed at her flowing hair, then at the brilliant and pristine shining armour. Comparing it to his dull and dented set.
"I think we're opposites." He put bluntly
Alicia turned her eyes to the rising sun. "We're not that different, you know."
Brutus snorted. "Oh, come on. You're a genius with a rich family, I'm just some random runaway knight with no backing."
"Do you even know what the ghost step is?" Alicia asked with her grip tightening.
"Yeah, a step with no force isn't it?"
She looked down. "That's only half of it."
"What's the other half then?"
She paused, her eyes burning a hole in the sand." The ghost step is one of the Ironheart family secret techniques."
Brutus's eyes widened.
"And," She added, "it's one of the hardest to learn." She turned to him. "The only one I haven't mastered."
"But wait." Brutus massaged his temples. "How come I've learned it, and you haven't?"
"It's because... you've got something I don't." She hugged her knees tighter.
"What could I possibly have that you don't?" Brutus blinked.
She released her knees from her arms. "That... I don't know." And stood up off the sand. "I assume that's why Uncle is sending me back home. To find whatever it is im missing." Starting to walk toward the slope.
"Wait!" Brutus scrambled up. "Where are you going?"
She turned. "To Ironheart."
"So soon?"
"Yeah."
"Can I come with you?"
"No."
"Well, where am I supposed to go then?"
"Where else? Go to civilisation. Make money for the academy."
"I don't even know how we got here!" Brutus snapped. "And you expect me to find a city?"
Alicia blinked. "Do you not know how to read a map or something?"
Brutus blinked, too. "...What map?"
"The one in the pouch?" She scoffed.
Brutus opened the gold-filled pouch, dug through it a little, and, feeling a texture different from the gold, he pulled out a small piece of wood-pulp paper. Upon unfolding it, he saw an illustration of the surrounding area—an orange landmass to the left, with tall parabolas, the dunes. And to the right, green, with lines that depict hills, the living world.
Near the rightmost edge of the page, halfway down from the top, was a drawing of a city, with light grey circles housing a city within, and a label under it, written in crude writing, said, 'Thornepoint.'
Brutus's eyes scanned over the map. "Thornpoint. Huh?"
Alicia turned around. "Good, know where to go now?" And started walking away.
And all Brutus did was watch Alicia's back as it walked away from him, words begging to be spoken but were kept behind his lips. Exhaling, he turned and looked in the direction of Thornepoint, the map and letter being crushed by his grip.
He tilted his head to the ground, hand trembling.
"Dammit."
Then something slammed into his back, and a pair of arms wrenched themselves around his waist.
"Promise me..." A muffled voice trembled from behind him. "Promise me you'll be at the academy gates when we next meet."
Brutus smiled, "I do," He placed a hand on one of Alicia's shaking arms. "I promise."
Her hug tightened before finally letting it go, leaving Brutus's body cold without her warmth.
Her steps, crunching the dry sand, faded as she walked further away.
He loosened his grasp on the letter and map.
"I promise I'll be there."