Chapter 48

  Often enough, things build up to a dramatic conclusion. Simmering until boiling over. Lining up to an explosive resolution.

  And just as often, things didn’t end with a bang or some great finale. Sometimes they carried forth gently onto whatever it is that comes next, that which proceeds to be.

  Hektor’s departure was such an event. For two month’s he’d known about the inevitable and the time had been enough for him to make his peace, accept his plight, and gather the conviction to forge ahead.

  So, when the time came for Hektor to leave, it made for an unsurprising and anticlimactic milestone.

  Five days after his birthday, Hektor had bid farewell to Sabina. Both mother and son had gotten teary eyed and shared a long hug, and that had been it. What needed to be said had long been said and everything that could have been anticipated had been prepared for.

  Hektor had already said his goodbyes to those closest to him in the days prior. And now it was time. Time to go.

  Dressed inconspicuously, Hektor had left the castle early in the morning without making a fuss. With only Eric Gideon for his travelling companion, they made for the train station in a common taxi carriage. Travelling light with only a suitcase each to complete their guise of travelers.

  Yes, the day could have played out so differently. A farewell party and parade being the most conventional fare expected on such an occasion. Hektor being Hektor, had opted for the unconventional and the reasonable. He had had enough of festivities and celebrations in the past month alone to last a decade without.

  Unless forced, Hektor would take convenience and sensibility over flamboyant and elaborate, any day of the week.

  They arrived at the station with time to spare and promptly boarded. They had reserved a cabin, with the adjacent cabins manned by guards in plain clothes as part of Hektor’s protection. Additional guards were secreted throughout the train as a further precaution.

  The novelty of his first train ride had Hektor distracted. A strange thing that he had never the chance to ride one till now despite the convenience. Then again, he had never left the city and thus never had the chance.

  In fact, this would be his maiden journey. His first trek into the world out there.

  “Better late than never,” Hektor thought excitedly as the time for departure grew nearer.

  Gideon was a silent passenger, happy to observe Hektor’s childlike glee as he sat waiting by the window for the train to move. Gideon couldn’t help but be drawn in, sharing in Hektor’s wonderment.

  The train moved and for the first couple of hours, Hektor was bewitched. He could not put words to the experience. How could he when he hadn’t come across anything like it before?

  The world raced by as he sat stationary. Travelling at such speeds, at such sustained velocity! Carried forth in the momentum of something so large and heavy at the industry of mechanical and steam propulsion. The might and pull of the engine chugging at the front. The thrum and vibrations of coils and levers, of cogs and gears, and nuts and bolts working in cohesion to the application of scientific logic and engineering, when it all felt so magical instead. The symphony of the wheels on the track. The creaks and hisses. The clinking and rustling of the carriage trail flexing like the spine of a snake. The buffeting wind cocooning them in a static hum. The slight tilt whenever the tracks curved or arced round obstacles.

  An added surprise had been witnessing the sunrise abroad the train, watching the skies go from dark to bright. See the world change through a window, not just by distance, but through time as well.

  The awe of the scientific feat never left him, but it eventually lessened somewhat as Hektor was mostly mesmerized by the passing scenery. For a boy who had never left home, the passing vistas were filling in his blank canvas with places never before seen nor visited. Hektor remained glued to the windows, his eyes shining. Getting more livelier at spotting a human settlement or any natural landmark.

  For all the excitement, the hollow ache in Hektor’s chest never truly went away. It dimmed occasionally, but the hurt of leaving mother and home was always there, throbbing like a bruise. And while he was happy to walk away from Faymoren with the intention to overcome the past and live a better life, Hektor was still sad and afraid of the unknown. How could he not be?

  Thankfully, he was not without distractions. His very journey a balm to his wounds.

  After a five-hour expedition, they had to disembark at the station in the city of Stodard to board a connecting train. While Hektor would have loved to sightsee, their tight schedule didn’t allow for it. They had arrived at ten minutes after nine and their next train was to depart at nine thirty. Then there was Gideon and his fellow guardsmen. None of them were keen on entering the city, much preferring to remain grouped at the station in accordance with protocol. Their priority was Hektor’s protection and getting him safely to the destination without any detours nor taking unwarranted risks.

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  Though disappointed, Hektor didn’t make things difficult for his protectors and complied with their wishes.

  Looking to lift Hektor’s spirits and reward his restraint, Gideon managed to purchase a detailed map of the railways across north Ithica from a shop at the station.

  Hektor was ecstatic with the gift, excitedly looking forward to navigate the map throughout the rest of the journey. He was already retracing their route and deducing any of the waypoints he had seen so far on the map. For the first time, he could look at a map and say that he had been there.

  The second train had fewer carriages and a less powerful engine than the one before. Though Hektor missed the speed, the scenery more than made up for it.

  More of the ensuing journey pertained to traversing what the southerners called the wilderness of the north.

  Cutting through patches of wild forests. Climbing and descending across rolling hills and valleys. Plunging through carved tunnels in the mountains. Criss-crossing by rivers and lakes. Twisting and turning round small mountains.

  Hektor’s favorite had been crossing the massive bridge over Fardep Gorge. Just looking Hektor felt dizzy and his legs wobbled like jelly. The drop easily five hundred meters at the least.

  A little after three in the afternoon, Gideon spoke up, “Hektor, we’ll be arriving soon.”

  Hektor turned away from watching the trees blur by. For the past twenty or so minutes, the train had edged the boundary of Lehen Forest, occasionally passing through sections of tree cover on both sides where it had been unfeasible to lay tracks elsewhere.

  Hektor and Gideon proceeded to change into more formal wear from their suitcases. There was little else in their storage, with all of their luggage having been sent before them. Much like Hektor’s retinue who had travelled earlier and were already in Roheim, waiting on him.

  A little while later, the train began to decelerate. Nothing stood out differently in the scenery of the past half an hour or so, with the train still running parallel to the forest’s edge.

  It was only when the train came to a crawl that Hektor could spot the first man-made structure he had seen for the past hour beyond the railways themselves.

  It was a simple raised platform with a small cottage like shed built on it. And it was to be Hektor’s stop. The small structure being the train-stop to Roheim.

  As the train came to a halt, Hektor spotted people waiting on the platform.

  Once the train came to a rest, Hektor and Gideon promptly exited their cabins and proceeded to disembark their carriage.

  By design, the layover was an unscheduled one. It was done so for security and convenience, making Hektor and Gideon the only ones to disembark without other passengers. At the same time, there were no commuters on the platform to take the train either.

  Even as the two of them stepped on the platform, the engine’s whistle was sounding off and the train building steam forwards in its scheduled journey.

  On the platform were eight people. Hektor knew four of them, but he could easily guess the rest.

  Amongst the four he knew by face was Knight Thomas Quincy, his assigned Captain of the Guard. Beside him stood six recruits, three of whom Hektor had seen in Roheim. Hektor deduced that the other three were locals that the Knight had taken under his banner. All six of them wore similar attire indicative of a uniform.

  Gideon scouted the place with a keen eye, walking up to Quincy while keeping Hektor shielded. Only at some silent signal did Gideon relax and deferred to stand beside Hektor.

  Quincy stepped forward and struck his right fist over his heart in salute. “My Lord,” he stated plainly with a nod.

  Hektor returned the gesture. “Knight Quincy. Thank you for meeting us.”

  Quincy ignored the small talk and merely stepped aside to reveal that the recruits had lined up at attention.

  “At ease, gentleman,” Hektor played the part that he was expected to play. He looked to the last person, a tall middle-aged man, who took a knee on being noticed.

  “Mayor Williams, I presume?” Hektor deduced. “Please rise.”

  “Thank you, My Lord. Yes, I am Theodore Williams. At you service,” spoke the man in heavy voice and bowed.

  “Pleasure, Mayor Williams. Glad to put a face to the name,” Hektor spoke amiably. Hektor and the Mayor had exchanged a few letters in the past month and Hektor’s impression of the man was one of high regard. “Thank you for the welcome.”

  Hektor then turned to the recruits. “I know Messrs Wheeler and Haddock. Along with Miss Pauley,” he nodded to the familiar faces. “May I know your names?” he asked the others.

  The three haltingly introduced themselves by their first names. The boys Gavin and Errol. The girl Lindsay.

  “I am Hektor Ashborn. Recently made Lord and Count of Roheim.” It felt so strange introducing himself so. “Pleasure to meet you.”

  Pleasantries observed, Hektor faced his seniors. “Sir Gideon, Knight Quincy, at your guidance, please,” he indicated for them to lead on.

  “Follow, My Lord. The horses are just behind those trees,” Quincy spoke succinctly as he led the way. The horses were hitched at a distance to keep them from spooking from the noise of the train.

  They made for the lone backroad leading up to the train-stop, made of hardened earth and just wide enough for two carriages to pass by.

  “That could be improved upon,” Hektor made a note to himself.

  They heard the horses before they saw them.

  “We could have made for grander welcome, My Lord,” Mayor Williams spoke softly, for Hektor’s ears only. His tone apologetic.

  “No need for that, Mayor Williams,” Hektor spoke kindly. “I appreciate the sentiment. Truly. But I am more than fine with a quiet arrival and not causing a ruckus.” After all, he had insisted so in his letters to the Mayor.

  They soon come up the horses, a dozen of them. Ten for ten riders, two for emergency.

  Quincy led Hektor and Gideon to a pair of steeds as others mounted their saddles.

  “These are for you, My Lord,” Quincy gestured to a pair of horses. “We follow the road and will make Roheim in about ninety minutes at an easy canter,” he outlined the task ahead. “I will lead, followed by two of my recruits. Then yourself and Gideon. Then Mayor Williams. The others will bring up the rear and lead the spare horses. Am I understood?”

  Hektor looked to Gideon for a second opinion, who nodded.

  “As you will, Knight Quincy.”

  Soon enough everyone was mounted and in formation, travelling the road into Lehen Forest.