B1 Chapter 11: Power

“It’s a strange thing to know that people don’t trust the Heroes Guild, but worship them at the same time,” Modivar said nonchalantly.

“People see them as heroes, but they also see them as harsh captors of anyone with even the faintest possibility of stepping onto a dark path. Even if you have a good reason, they’ll come after you. I was guilty of that myself when I was younger. I thought anything dark was monstrous. I’ve seen far too much to be that naive now.”

He gave a small shake of his head. “I’m rambling.”

“No,” Belladonna said quickly. “No, I want to hear it. If you can tell me, I want to know.”

Rain fell steadily around them. Gwendolyn lurched sideways and nearly walked into a cart left out beside the road. Belladonna grabbed her halter and tugged her back before the horse toppled over entirely.

“I grew up afraid,” Belladonna continued once Gwendolyn was steady. “Afraid that if I stepped out of line, the Heroes Guild would take me away. If I chose the wrong path, they’d come for me and anyone near me just to make sure I was handled. But then you hear stories about heroes like Sir Valentine, and… well… you. They can’t all be bad if there are people willing to sacrifice everything to protect the world. Right?”

“Valentine’s a piece of shit,” Modivar said flatly.

She burst out laughing. “You’re telling me the Golden Sunrise is a dick?”

“That’s exactly what I’m telling you. The man would kick puppies for fun.”

“No. You have to be joking.”

“I’ve seen him do worse,” Modivar replied. “I couldn’t say anything because he was my superior.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“Fine,” Modivar said. “Perhaps that was hyperbole. He didn’t actually kick puppies. He was cruel. Deliberately cruel. He enjoyed it.”

Belladonna studied him for a moment. “And what about you, Modivar? The Last Light of Salvation. What makes you so horrible?”

“I’m not a good person,” he said.

He said it without drama, without bitterness. As nothing more than fact.

“I tried to be,” he continued. “I’m not going to lie to myself and pretend I succeeded. In the end, everyone I knew and loved died because of my failings.”

The words landed so casually that Belladonna stood stunned for a moment.

“What do you mean?” she asked quietly.

Modivar met her eyes. Rain ran down his face and mixed with something darker in his expression.

“Everyone I ever knew and loved died because I failed them,” he said. “I failed to stop the Lich Lord in time, even though I saw what he was becoming. I had the chance to slay him before he rose to power, and I hesitated. I got my companions killed because I was blinded by my own loyalty.”

Behind him, Gwendolyn let out a long, mournful snort and rested her heavy head against his shoulder, as if the drunken beast understood far more than she should.

It took them far longer to reach his shop than it had taken them to get to Papa Bruno’s, mostly because the conversation and the drunken horse slowed them immeasurably. Gwendolyn stopped twice to stare at nothing in particular, once to attempt to eat a hanging sign, and once to lean against Modivar with her full weight until Belladonna pushed her upright again.

When they finally reached the shop, Belladonna looked at him and said, “I know this is presumptuous of me, but I don’t want to leave. I want to hear more. I want to know who you are. And if you don’t mind, I’d also like to get my clothes from your shop before I go. Maybe I can leave them out in the rain and wash some of the vomit off.”

Modivar laughed softly. “Sure. It’s not like I’ll be sleeping now, anyway. My horse is going to need a lot of care.”

“I’ll stay and help,” Belladonna said.

They stepped inside together, guiding Gwendolyn through the doorway. The moment the horse crossed the threshold, her legs gave out completely, and she dropped onto the floor with a heavy, satisfied grunt.

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“Well,” Belladonna said, hands on her hips, “I don’t think we’re moving this lovely lady any farther tonight.”

Gwendolyn snorted in agreement and stretched her neck across the floorboards.

“Maybe I can help you clean up,” Belladonna said, wincing as she looked around the ruined shop.

“Sure,” Modivar said. He looked down at his soaked sleeves.

“Also, can I borrow some more clothes? I’m soaked, and so are you.” She asked.

“Yeah,” he continued a moment later, answering himself with a tired shrug. “Let’s go upstairs so I can get something dry.”

Belladonna smiled at him, cheeky again. “Oh, so you do want to watch me undress now?”

Modivar blinked. “You can go first.”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll wait for you,” she said, then rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. “Sorry. I’m not usually like this. For some reason, I just like teasing you.”

“I can see that,” Modivar said. “You’re not the first person to say that, but thank you for the apology. I don’t mind you coming upstairs while I change. I’ll set out some clothes for you. We don’t have to look at each other while changing, if that makes things easier.”

“Yeah,” Belladonna said. “That might be for the best.”

Before following him, she crouched beside Gwendolyn and gently turned the horse’s head to the side so she wouldn’t choke if she vomited.

“Good girl,” Belladonna murmured.

Gwendolyn responded with a sleepy, drunken puff of breath.

Modivar watched for a second, then headed up the stairs. Belladonna followed him after making sure the horse was settled.