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Alexis Veres sat alone in the dark, warm enough not to shiver, but too cold to be comfortable. Her arms were bound in iron shackles, hurting her wrists, and the stale air of the dungeon made her nauseous. She was seated in a chair with uneven legs, at a table that had been made from the roughest wood available and would give a splinter with every touch. A heavy door, locked tight, stood at the end of the small stone room.
As uncomfortable as she was, she appreciated the quiet. It gave her time to process everything she had just seen. It was Knight's Day, and just hours ago, she had watched Noah defeat Prince Seraph in battle, then proceed to torture him until he attempted suicide. She and Noah did not have a normal friendship, but watching him inflict so much pain on someone had shaken her to her core. Soon after the fight ended and Noah disappeared, Alexis was arrested, and she feared Sophia had been as well.
Interrupting her thoughts, the door to the room opened, and an old dwarf entered with a lit candle. "Lady Veres, do you know who I am?"
"Sir Marcus Berholm, Royal Adjudicator," Alexis replied, trying to keep her voice steady and her fear in check.
"That is correct. When the king needs to know things, I am the one who finds them out. Right now, the king needs to know everything you know about Sir Noah. In a just world, you and I would be enjoying this day, celebrating with our fellow knights, but instead, you and Lady Rosege are locked in here, and I have the task of acquiring every truth and secret you hold. You are fortunate that Sir Gradius is no longer in charge of interrogations. I do not share his draconian measures."
He then reached into his robes and pulled out a small glass bottle. "This is a potion you wouldn't have learned about at the academy, as we no longer have the means to produce it. It is a truth serum, the last bottle in the world. A dose of this would have you spilling every secret you keep buried in the depths of your soul. I have been authorized to use this on you and Lady Rosege should you fail to give me what I want, and any other methods I see fit to get my answers."
The mentioning of Sophia sent a tremor of fear through her, but Alexis steadied herself. "You won't need it," she said softly, with tired eyes.
"Oh?"
"He knew this would happen. He knew that someday we would be questioned like this. He even mentioned a truth serum being used on me. He saw it all coming."
"Sir Noah, you mean?"
Alexis nodded. "He made me and Sophia swear that we would never reveal his secrets, not to anyone, but he offered an exception. He told us to sell him out if it guaranteed our freedom and safety. He said he didn't want to force us to choose between him and each other."
"So he knew that you would inevitably be questioned for the things he did. Did you know what it would be for?"
"No. Sophia and I had no idea what he planned to do to Seraph. He kept us in the dark about a lot of things, including how sadistic he could be."
"Do you know what he did to Henryk Schtern, or the whereabouts of Mark Saveat?"
"I don't. He looked me dead in the eye and told me he had nothing to do with them. I guess I was a fool to believe him."
"I want you to start at the beginning. Tell me how you two met."
"We met last year on a ship heading down the Paleon Channel from a town named Took. At the time, I was tracking a pack of ogres that had ransacked my family's territory. The ogres attacked us, and we ended up fighting side-by-side. His skill was incredible. It took everything I had just to keep up with him.
We ended up exterminating the whole pack together, then separated after that. He continued on his way to Colbrand, and I had to return home. We met again several days later, enrolling into the academy." She gave a dry chuckle. "We became friends out of mutual respect for each other on the battlefield, and because neither of us had anyone else to talk to. We were stuck together like that for the whole year."
"What did he tell you about himself?"
"Very little, unfortunately. He was quiet; we both were. The things he initially told me about his life, I later found out were all lies. He claimed to be the son of a mighty adventurer and told me what it was like growing up, about his family, but none of it was true."
"But you knew that for a while, didn't you?"
"I had my suspicions. I could tell that there was something strange about Noah. I sensed there was so much he wasn't telling me. Even now, I'm still trying to figure out the truth from the lies."
"I understand there were some incidents involving him at the academy. I've heard them retold from others, and now I want to hear you explain it."
"It started when he sparred with Lady Zodiac on the first day. I wasn't there to see it, but everyone who witnessed it spoke of him like a god. Not to be outdone, Prince Seraph attacked Lady Zodiac, but failed to match her as Noah did. When dueling was introduced, Seraph immediately challenged Noah, and he refused, treating the whole thing as a children's game that he could just ignore.
There was bad blood between me and Seraph, so I took Noah's place. Seraph almost killed me, but lost on a technicality and was forbidden from challenging Noah again. Galvin then pitted Henryk and Mark against him, and they didn't stand a chance. When Galvin challenged Noah, Noah demanded they wager Sophia."
"I understand she was Prince Galvin's betrothed at the time."
"Yes, and he loved to torment her. He used her as a slave, made her watch as he violated women, and hit her when she spoke out of turn. I was looking for a way to break the engagement and save her from him. Noah beat me to it and ended up pulverizing Galvin." She spoke the words while staring off into the distance with a slight smirk on her lips, only for it to disappear. "Then... he and Sophia spent the night together. We all heard them. At the very least, he succeeded in breaking Galvin's hold over her."
"I recall rumors of him taking part in some strange performance at the Knight's Sheath."
"Apparently, many cadets wanted some bedroom advice, so he gave it to them, and then some. The first part was actually a very informative lecture on the human body and sex. I was there to see it and came away knowing more about myself than I thought possible. I decided not to stick around for the live demonstration.
Everything was peaceful for a while, then out of the blue, Henryk was struck with paralysis, and I heard rumors about Mark acting strange. Then, one day, I learned about Noah's... performance... with Duchess Herald. Noah revealed that the Knight's Sheath had been destroyed and that Galvin was the culprit. His stint with the duchess was an act of vengeance to humiliate them both.
After finding out about his mother, Galvin tried to kill Noah, and chased him into the slums. Noah claimed he abandoned him there, and Galvin was attacked by vagrants, but deep down, I knew Noah had done something horrible to him. I suspected then that he had a hand to play in the fates of Henryk and Mark. I thought that was the end of it. I thought the worst was behind us. But, today, I noticed Noah and Seraph were missing, and I figured out what was going on."
"You were a witness to his fight with Prince Seraph. You heard the things he said. According to Tarnas and others, he referred to himself as a 'spirit' that had lived for thousands of years. What can you tell me about that?"
Alexis gave a bitter laugh. "Believe him. Noah constantly lies, but the words he spoke then are words you can believe. After defeating Galvin in the duel, Noah revealed to me that he was older than he appeared, much, much older, and right before we were knighted, he let me and Sophia in on the details.
He wasn't born in our world; he simply arrived here. The young man you see is merely the form he takes. He sheds bodies the way a snake sheds its skin, and even if you kill him, he immediately gains a new body somewhere else. He is an ancient being, possessing knowledge and tools from other worlds, and told me straight to my face that he was alive long before I was born, and would be alive long after I died."
"And now he has defected with one of our best knights. Do you know where they are going?"
"He told me that they were going after Sir Valon Zodiac, to try and break Noah's curse, but he didn't tell me where exactly they were headed."
"But should he ever return, I need to know if he is a threat to this country."
"Noah is neither friend nor enemy, because he simply doesn't care, and if you act foolishly... pray he decides to give you a quick death."
"You act like he is above blame and consequence."
"And you act like you still believe he is a normal person. I made that mistake; we all did."
"You claim he doesn't care, but he performed unspeakable crimes because his favorite brothel was burned down."
"He told me he didn't care about the brothel, just about the notes and research the proprietress owned. He came to Colbrand looking for answers about his existence, and Seraph and the others took that away from him. I don't agree with what he did, but the fact remains that he warned them repeatedly not to antagonize him, and they stepped on the dragon's tail."
"Is that the stance you are taking?"
"My stance is that I did not aid Noah in his crimes, nor did I know about them. Right now, I wish I could give him a black eye for putting me in this situation."
"You claim that you and Lady Rosege had no knowledge or participation in Noah's actions, but the fact remains that Princes Seraph and Galvin, who you admit to having unfavorable relationships with, suffered at his hand. You even admit that he annulled Prince Galvin's arranged marriage, something that you wished to do. Prince Seraph almost killed you in a duel, and Noah has now done the same thing to him. The argument could be made that his actions were for your benefit, and possibly at your behest."
