The road to the mansion was damp, as if the mist itself were sweating. I don't remember how long we had been walking when the girl began to fall behind. Her steps were small, but not tired. It was as if she were measuring the distance between us and something only she could see. She had asked for our help. A monster had taken her brother. Something unspoken stirred in the rest of us. The first to break the silence was the man with hands covered in dark rings. He always walked with his fingers intertwined, as if praying to a god who refused to listen.
—I don't like this —he said without looking at me —. The mist isn't natural.
The man in the immaculate steel armor snorted.
—Mist is never natural to your kind.— His armor bore no dust. Not a stain. The symbol on his chest looked polished that very morning. He walked upright, even through the mud.
The one with green eyes, the one who smelled of crushed leaves and damp soil, knelt for a moment and touched the ground.
—There are no signs of a struggle —he murmured —, If the brother is being attacked, he wasn't dragged.
The woman said nothing. She never spoke first. Her cloak was gray, but its fabric carried almost invisible embroidery that seemed to move when you weren't looking directly at it. She was watching the girl. Not the road. Not the mansion that was already beginning to emerge between the trees. The girl.
—What did you say your brother's name was? —she finally asked.
The little one took a moment to answer.
—I didn't.
The silence that followed was not long. It was heavy. We kept walking. The mansion appeared between the trees like a memory no one wanted to have. The pointed towers looked twisted, and the windows were far too dark for that hour of the day. The man in steel stopped beside me.
—Captain... —He didn't look at me when he spoke.
—We still don't know your name.
I felt the blow of the question before I understood it. My name. I searched for it. It wasn't there. But I couldn't let them notice.
—It isn't necessary —I replied, keeping my voice steady. —. As long as we move forward together, the rank is enough.
The man with the rings laughed quietly.
—Convenient.
I didn't answer. The woman took a step closer to me.
—Do you remember who gave you that rank?
—Yes.
I lied. I didn't know who I was remembering. I only knew there had to be someone.
—And the last battle?
Blurry images crossed my mind. A gray field. A burning banner. Faceless screams.
—I remember it —I said.
The man in steel looked at me now. Not with contempt. With calculation.
—Then why are we following you?
I held his gaze.
—Because you already are — I added nothing else.
And when the girl pointed at the front door and said in a voice barely above a whisper.
—It's in there.
I was the one who began walking first. Not out of bravery. Not out of duty. Something in my chest recognized that place. Not the mansion. What was inside it. The girl stopped at the rusted gate.
—I'm not going in.
No one insisted. The man with green eyes whispered something that sounded like a warning, but the wind carried it away. The man in steel placed a hand on his sword hilt. The man with the rings closed his eyes as if listening to something. The woman watched me. Not the door. Me.
—After you… Captain.
It wasn't respect. It was a test. I pushed the door. It didn't creak. That was the worst part. The interior swallowed us, and I felt with absolute certainty that I had been there before. And that perhaps… I had never left.