The Great Hero is a Schoolteacher

I pressed my temple with my free hand, trying to ease the pain pounding through my skull. I didn’t expect a simple slap to hurt so much.

Saegorg was about the same age as Esthar, possibly a little older. He had the same kind of noble figure and pale skin, except with a much bonier face structure.

I wouldn’t be surprised if they really were distant cousins.

He wore an embroidered black and yellow waistcoat that nearly reached his knees, assorted breeches, and a feathered cap covered his long straight copper hair.

“What did we catch here? I heard about three spies, but given their description, I think I know their true identities.”

He gave a quick look at my companions, and stared at me with steel-gray eyes, up and down, as if he was trying to assess my worth. Then he laughed, to his guards’ amazement.

“I knew it! You look so much like your description that there’s no mistaking you for anyone else. Welcome to Malo, Great Hero Al!”

“I’m not…”

“Don’t even bother lying. I have spies like everyone else. The Great Hero Al is a forty-year-old woman, slightly taller than average, with straight brown hair and an oval face. She was last seen running away from Merumo with three young people, including a human cadet from the Royal Sword Academy and a Zimeon Magic Arts student.”

He pointed to Chess, then to Catalin, and to add dramatic intensity to his words, he removed her headscarf and pulled on one of her rat ears, hard enough to make her scream through her gag.

“Stop hurting her!” I shouted.

Saegorg let go of Catalin with a cruel smile.

“Why should I?”

“Because I’m the one you want! I’m the Great Hero Al!”

“Oh, you admit it now.”

He smirks as if he’s won, and he has, in a way, but I accept defeat if it keeps his hands away from Catalin. I can take it all, Saegorg’s ambition, his contempt for the innocent lives he’s ready to take for a pointless throne. Just let him unleash it on me, not on my friends.

I nodded.

“I do admit I’m Al, Lord Saegorg. I’m running away from King Esthar and his army, because, let’s face it, the summoning failed and brought a coward instead of a hero. I won’t fight you, or Kossi, or anyone. I’m just good at running and hiding.”

Saegorg laughed again.

“I was told to be wary of your tongue and I can see why! Kossi, let her go and leave her to me.”

As soon as the dragon released my wrist, Saegorg grabbed my woolen vest with both hands.

“Do you think I’m an idiot, Al? You’re probably used to fooling your way out of all sorts of situations, but I’m not taking it. If you were a coward, you wouldn’t be here, infiltrated in the keep of Malo Castle, trying to plot something concerning Kossi. What was your plan? Poison him like you poisoned my personnel? He’s a Gold Dragon, he’s immune to such a pitiful attempt!”

I hadn’t thought of it, but let’s roll with his theory. Let’s pretend it was my idea, and mine alone.

I gathered my strength and tried to push Saegorg away. “I had to try something! I couldn’t let him kill innocent people for the sake of your conquest!”

“So you were actually trying to poison him? You’re thicker than I imagined.”

“I don’t know anything about this world, Lord Saegorg! Or about dragons! I’m not thick, I’m ignorant. And I’m scared.”

The last sentence wasn’t a lie. I glanced sideways at Kossi.

Please, I’m sure you know better. Don’t go believing I was tricking you. I’ve been on your side, ever since I saw you struggle against that man’s influence, back in Carastra. I’m just improvising right now, because I want to save Catalin and Chess and I don’t even know where to start!

Saegorg tightened his grip on my clothes. “Listen to me, Al. Whatever you were trying to do, it’s over, now. If you wanted to act stupid, you should have stayed with Esthar. He’s better than me at giving second chances.”

I shook my head.

“I couldn’t. King Esthar wanted me to fight the dragon, and I knew I’d never survive it.”

I must keep saying “I”, never “we”. If I leave the others out of the plan, Saegorg might leave them out of whatever he has in store for me.

“King Esthar,” he repeated with disgust in his voice. “What did he want you to do?”

“Fight Kossi. He wanted me to be visible, to be the hero the people needed to see. I don’t know anything else, I ran away before the first strategic meeting!”

“So you can’t tell me what I should expect Kossi to find when he goes back to Carastra. How convenient.”

Saegorg looked thoughtful for a moment. My heart beat so fast it hurt.

Is he planning to torture the information out of me? I really don’t know anything!

He stared at me while I hyperventilated, drinking my fear like a good wine. Then he smiled.

“Do you know what your ignorance means?”

“No.”

“It means I, as Lord of Inabar, know more than you about the situation in Carastra, even though you’re supposed to be the hero of Brealia! You have no skills, no brains, no valuable information. You’re worthless, Al.”

I cringed. Even coming from him, it hurts.

“I…”

“But it makes sense. You’re a worthless hero summoned by a worthless king. Do you know Esthar usurped his throne? He never deserved to rule Brealia!”

I sighed. “You’re right. He didn’t.”

Saegorg’s eye twitched. “What did you say?”

“Esthar did nothing to deserve his throne.”

“Is it a second chance you’re looking for? I might give it to you if you repeat it louder, for everyone to hear.”

He turned me around to face his guards. Among them, Catalin and Chess stared at me in disbelief. I gave them a helpless smile. I don’t know what I’m doing either, kids. I’m just torn between my inability to get you out of here and my desire to speak the truth to that man’s face before he has me chained in solitary confinement.

“Tell them how Esthar is a usurper,” insisted Saegorg.

“I don’t believe Esthar deserves to rule the Brealian kingdom.”

As the guards gave me shocked looks, I repeated the same sentence, but this time, in Brealian, for my friends to understand.

“Esthar has no right to be king. Then again, neither do you, Lord Saegorg.”

Saegorg gasped. “What did you…”

Catalin’s eyes widened with horror and she shook her head as I went on.

“Absolute monarchy is a disaster, no matter who sits on the throne. No one should ever rule alone. Not Esthar, not you, just…”

I didn’t get to finish my sentence. Saegorg threw me down to the floor and kicked me in the stomach. I clenched my teeth to avoid screaming.

“How dare you deny me of what I was born to have?” he shouted, pointing a finger at me.

“Exactly, you were born, and that’s it! Where’s the merit in that? How does that make you worthy of anything?”

He grabbed me by the hair and pulled me up. It felt like having my scalp torn away from my head. This time, a little cry found its way out of my mouth.

“Does it hurt? Fine!” said Saegorg when I stood on my feet again. “Look at your friends, Al. Even they are appalled. They might be half your age, but they’re wiser than you. Maybe, just maybe, they can become suitable assets if we treat them the right way.”

Good. He’s not killing them. That’s what I wanted.

Saegorg pushed me in Kossi’s direction, and the dragon caught both my upper arms in his hands.

“What are you trying to do?” he whispered.

I smiled. “Take all the rage so they don’t have to.”

Saegorg pointed at Chess and Catalin. “These two can still be changed, but there’s no changing you, Al. You’re too old, too foolish, and you don’t even belong in this world. So this stops here. You’ll have one last use, as an example.”

I was scared, but I tried my best not to show it. What torture did he have in store for me? Would he go full Spanish Inquisition in front of my friends?

Saegorg watched me turn pale with a triumphant smile.

“You two, watch and learn! This is what happens to fools who keep defying my authority when they’re caught!”

He leaned forward, so only I heard what he added in a whisper. “They’ll be starved for a few days, and then brought along to see the demise of Esthar’s kingdom. It’ll give them time to think. Do you think they’ll choose wisely?”

Before I could find an answer, he took a step back and pointed to the open window.

“Out with her!”

My heard played a drum solo when Kossi began pushing me.

Out? This way? With the cliff underneath? How am I supposed to survive it? Well, I guess I’m not… No, please, I’m not ready!

Catalin screamed my name into her gag. She tried to break away from the guards’ grip, but she got hit behind the head and fell on her knees, tears running down her face. Seeing her like this was horrible. Was she crying over me, or over the fact that, as far as she knew, she no longer had a future?

She must live. Even if I don’t.

“Any last words?” asked Saegorg.

I turned away from him. I’d already told him what I wanted him to hear, so I talked to my friends instead.

“Catalin, Chess, don’t regret me. I used you, I lied to you, I failed to trust you when you were more than deserving. Lord Saegorg is right. You’re worth more than me. Please stay alive.”

Chess shook their head while Catalin cried in silence.

Do it, kids. Do whatever it takes to survive this.

Kossi sat me on the windowsill with my back to the cliff. His perfect face looked terribly sad. “I don’t want to do this.”

He doesn’t need to state it again. I know he’s obeying Saegorg against his will, but I must focus on my immediate survival…

“I love you, Al,” he added.

What?

I shook my head.

“No, you don’t. This is your trauma speaking. You can’t love me, you just love the idea that someone came to your rescue. Besides, I’m already engaged…”

Kossi cut my sentence short by kissing me. His lips locked to mine, they parted slightly, and he breathed soft fire into my mouth. It went so fast that it left me speechless, breathless.

I looked at him in shock as he tried to hold on to me. But the magic was too strong. He struggled against his own muscles for another second, then he pushed me away, far enough that I wouldn’t hit the wall on my way down. As if he knew I wasn’t out of options yet.

For a fraction of a second, I didn’t really fall. It felt like flying. Something was wrong with the universe and it’d rearrange… except it didn’t.

I fell. Fast. Wind swept past me. Saegorg joined Kossi at the window to watch me fall, but I could hardly see his face now. I was picking up too much speed. I closed my eyes, curled into a ball and called Cherub with all my heart.

“Cherub, I’m falling off a cliff and I don’t want to die!”

“This is quite a miracle you’re asking for.”

I knew it wouldn’t be easy. I knew I wasn’t supposed to survive, and many enemies of Inabar had probably known the same fate in the past. I might even find their remains down there. But what good was a guardian angel if they couldn’t keep me safe?

“Can you do it or not?”

“I’ll do my best. Brace yourself, Al. I think I can rearrange enough reality to keep you alive, but this is going to hurt.”

Over the sound of the wind, I heard various cracks and snaps in the forest below me.