Chapter 10 — New Wounds, Old Scars

Morgan lay in a tent, tossing and turning. His breathing began to rapidly increase.

“Dad? Dad! Can you hear me?”

“I know that voice. Arthur?”

No. It had to be a dream. He was in another world, after all.

“Dad!”

Morgan sat up and screamed.

“Arthur!”

Across time, space, and reality, on Earth, Arthur stared at the burning sheet of paper.

He grabbed his drink and threw it against the wall.

“Damn it! I was so close!”

What went wrong?

He spread his notes across the floor again. With a determined look on his face, he began writing on a fresh sheet in his notebook.

Morgan looked around. Dre was passed out on a bunk beside him, to his right.

“What was that?”

“Bad dream?”

Sir Barnes was sitting on a cot. Bandages covered his torso.

“What happened to you?”

“I took a blow to my side. It broke a few ribs.”

Morgan hadn't noticed until now. Barnes was in really good shape.

Then he noticed something else.

Scars.

Barnes had scars across his chest and on his right shoulder. He had seen battle.

“Are you okay?”

Barnes looked up at Morgan. His eyes were different.

Morgan recognized the look. It was the same look he had seen in the mirror after holding his best friend in his final moments on the battlefield.

“It gets easier,” he said.

“What does?”

“The weight. That feeling you have right now.”

Barnes looked down.

“When?”

“One day. It takes time. Just don't let it consume you. But don't ever forget this feeling.”

Barnes snapped his head up.

“Why?! I can never unsee what happened tonight! I have fought on many battlefields, watched men die, even taken men's lives, but none of that can compare to what happened tonight!”

Morgan took a deep breath.

“And how can you be so calm? You two caused so much damage, almost as if death itself gave birth to you!”

Morgan hung his head, a swirl of emotions filling him.

Anger. Fear. Shame. Regret. Pain.

“You might not be far from the truth, at least for me.”

Morgan lifted his head and looked Barnes in the eyes.

“When I was a child, I learned what that feeling was.”

Morgan stood slowly and began to lift his shirt.

Barnes shifted uncomfortably.

Morgan turned his back to him.

Barnes' eyes widened in shock.

“These scars are not from war. I have carried that weight with me my entire life.”

Barnes stared, examining his back.

There was a story there.

Burns. Cuts. A branded W.V., all aged over a lifetime of darkness.

“If those were not from war, then where did you get them?”

There was a long silence.

Barnes could see Morgan tense up.

“Some people should never be around children.”

A knight poked his head into the tent.

“Sir Barnes, your brother requests to see you.”

Barnes looked over.

“Thank you, Klein. You may send him in.”

The tent flaps opened, and a tower of a man walked inside.

Morgan couldn't help but notice that he looked just like Barnes, but bigger.

“Ah, Charles. Thank you for coming so quickly.”

Charles walked closer.

“My gods, Barnesy. I haven't seen you in such bad shape since you pissed off Grandfather.”

“I told you to quit calling me that. I'm not a child anymore.”

Barnes looked irritated.

Morgan noticed that the weight in his eyes had dissipated.

Good, he thought.

“Who is this man? Your lover?”

Morgan stood there, realizing he still had his shirt partially off.

“Hold up there, buddy, I'm—”

“Not here!” Barnes hissed.

“I'll explain at the compound, but he's not my lover. I was checking for wounds.”

“Compound?” Morgan asked.

“Yes. We need to get out of here before we have any conversations about tonight. And Father should be involved as well.”

Charles nodded. He could tell something was wrong but decided not to press further.

“Very well. We have finished gathering the dead and survivors, and are preparing funerals right now.”

“Did—did we lose anyone?” Barnes asked.

“Yes. Five of the aspiring squires.”

Barnes' face flickered with a flash of hatred.

“Leave the bodies of those bastards. We will take our dead and wounded back with us.”

This took Charles by surprise.

Something had obviously caused a change in his brother.

The calm, gentle brother he once knew seemed to be gone, replaced with a hardened, cold soldier.

“As you wish, brother. We have carts for those who are too injured to walk. Come see me when you are ready.”

In the Woods

Two cloaked men stood in front of each other.

One was tall. The other was shorter, with a smaller build.

“How the hell did that happen? Do you know you set me up for failure?”

The tall man grabbed the smaller man by the shoulders.

“I honestly didn't expect them to fight like that, nor did I expect Barnes to send for his brother. You're the one who sent your men to be fodder.”

“Damn it! I even hired that bastard Gordon. I thought you said he was a top fighter!”

“I told you they were dangerous. What I didn't expect was for them to work together.”

“Look, we have the same goal, so put me down. We will have to be more careful next time.”

The man released his grip.

“You better not fail me again, Takahashi.”

“I won't. Just make sure you have quality soldiers next time.”