The night passed quickly with all its secrets upon the breaking of the day. Axel was strolling back home with a bucket and wet hair, when the usual bunch of kids came rushing towards him.
Good thing there was no strange man floating by the lake this time.
"Sir Axel," chirped the girl of the red ribbon. "They chose us!"
"Chosen for what? Who chose?"
"The good people," answered a young boy with a beaming face. "We're going on an adventure!"
"The Legion?"
They nodded.
What's the Legion doing around these parts? Ah! Was it that Knight from earlier?
Then came some chattering and much familiar walking from one small alleyway and into the street, from one house to another, moving from door to door, yet relentless under the morning heat. It was sudden, and everywhere all at once. Guards, obviously lesser than soldiers of the Legion, but still greater than peasants, spammed from the distant high of the sloped street, and scanned every building they visited.
Axel had never seen them on so much high alert. It got him so worried that he nearly forgot what the children had told him.
"It was that man," Bell said, pointing at one of the guards. "He said we should all wait outside."
"Why?"
"I..dunno," she confessed, scratching her hair. The ribbon binding one of her ponytails loosened slightly. And then Axel glimpsed a strange glowing mark on her neck.
A Trailbinder.
There were now two things on Axel's mind at the moment. The first was his need for an explanation as to whatever was going on here, while the second was paranoia.
These guards don't seem particularly agitated. But I can't be too sure. Is this about Aiden? Was he a spy?
Last night, Aiden had piggybacked him back to his house, while he muttered something about spending the night in the stable. However, when he woke up, Aiden was nowhere to be found.
At first, Axel brushed it off, thinking he wasn't a child and really just could be anywhere. But, now seeing the guards, he realised how naive that thought was.
When did I start trusting him so much?
After a few children had been gathered in the streets, Axel approached one of the guards.
"I'm sorry, but if I may ask-!"
"Are you a guardian?" asked the guard.
"Yes. I am," Axel said, stepping closer.
"The Legion is recruiting promising ones," he explained.
"Why?"
"Expansion," he muttered briefly, before shooing him off.
Since when did the Legion struggle for numbers?
"Um..I'm sorry-!"
"Leave!" warned the guard, as he wove a spear at him. "Under Legion Law, orphans are offspring of the priest. Hence, it is in our power to bring them to the Mountain."
"The Mountain? Why?"
"I said to leave, did I not?!"
Seeing that he could question no further, Axel stepped away in his dismay. For one, it was good that the Legion took interest in them, however, there was a crippling unease that he simply couldn't shake off.
It's the Legion. They'll be fine.
Axel stood by his doorpost and watched, as more children were taken from their sheds, rounded together like rice from chaff, and taken away on carriages and carts to the Black Mountain. Before Bell left, she made sure to tie a ribbon around Axel's wrist—as she always did every chance she got.
"And a parting gift," she wheezed, as Bill, a younger boy, thumbed her face together.
It was her stuffed, fabric doll, and her only memory of a mother who abandoned her. Axel refused to accept it, but she was already racing off before he could do anything about it.
"Watch them," said Walter, suddenly appearing by his side.
"Huh?"
"Watch them," he repeated, retreating indoors. "See what happens after."
And the door slammed shut.
Click! Click!!
Aside from the door-knocker's rhythm, there was no sound in response to Axel's befuddlement.
I should look for Aiden.
*****
The children were led into the Middle City, and then the Inner, from whence they flew in flying carts and griffins to the Mountain. By land, the journey would have taken 3 whole days to complete.
Soon, they were walking in a vast, white corridor, led by the hero of their dreams—an Holy Knight himself. It was rather difficult for them to bottle in their awe, and occasionally, it did slip out.
"Is that an enchanted sword?" asked one curious child.
"Be quiet," hushed the Knight.
Out of respect for him, the girl did go quiet. Neither her nor anyone else took offence in his commands and his instructions. Though, they all remained curious about many, many things.
"We are here," declared the Knight.
A large white hall, it was. Of tall, towering walls. Many pillars upholded the structure, making it appear like a small temple. There were blue, glittering pools in corners ahead, where crowned maidens in white sang and danced. One couldn't tell where it came from. It was almost as if it was a magical waterbody.
One woman stood in the centre of the hall. She had a black mantle binding her waist, and her crown was the red of blood.