Before Knocking on the Door of Truth
Sally walked seriously through the corridors of the Guard of the Veil, while too many thoughts seemed to be spinning inside her head. A faint nervousness was evident in her clenched fists, even as she tried to maintain a steady posture.
Several knights passing by on duty noticed her and greeted her with respect. It had been a long time since they had accepted Sally as one of their own, though not entirely on the same level. After all, she was one of only two mages working for the Order, something highly valued in a place dedicated to protecting magical objects, yet one that, ironically, had no other mages among its ranks. Although there had recently been rumors of a new magical member joining, no one had seen them yet.
Even so, mages were considered something like protected assets within the Orders. During missions, before Sally's arrival, mages usually went out constantly accompanied by knights. However, ever since she had joined, bringing new ways to create objects and potions useful even for people without magic, that changed quite a bit.
Even Mark seemed to have locked himself almost completely inside his laboratory, trying to improve those creations day after day, achieving surprisingly good results. Thanks to that, survival during missions improved noticeably, even in squads where no mage was present.
In addition, thanks to her magic being different from the conventional kind, Sally could enchant objects to hide in plain sight. Not only from view, but also from touch or any other sensation. This had considerably improved many of her infiltration missions within the magical world.
Sally continued walking toward the highest-ranking office in the place. Although, within the Veil, there did not truly seem to be formal ranks. At most, there were squad captains, but those titles were earned through merit in command and combat, meaning anyone could hold such a position. Even so, the structure was guided by respect for seniority. Younger soldiers always respected veterans as their superiors.
It was a tradition inherited from the days of the Round Table, where no knight stood above another, yet skill and time spent in battle were recognized. That was why such respect was deserved.
In this case, the office belonged to Vincent, who held the longest service time at that base. By definition, he should have been the leader, even if he refused to call himself that. Still, everyone respected him as such, and his work reflected that role as well.
Sally hesitated for a moment before knocking on the door, remaining still in front of it as her eyes wandered without focusing on anything in particular. She turned away and took a breath, trying to gather courage. What she was about to discuss with Vincent that day was truly serious, and if it was not handled carefully, it could place her entire family in the eye of the storm.
She slowly inhaled to calm her nerves and then let the air out just as carefully.
"Worried about something?" a voice suddenly asked beside her, startling her for a brief moment.
"Sir Adrien," she replied as she realized who it was.
Adrien was a dark-haired man, appearing to be around his early thirties, with light brown eyes, a perpetually calm gaze, and a friendly smile, at least toward Sally. He could easily be considered a true adonis. He always exuded a noble aura, yet at the same time a familiar one, almost like that of a teacher. Even so, Sally knew he could be lethal if necessary.
Sometimes she wondered if all knights were handsome. She also thought that the story claiming most modern knights were descendants of the ancient members of the Round Table might actually make sense. That chivalrous and noble aura they exuded, at least most of them, was not something that could be learned. One was simply born with it.
She could not help but think that every knight she worked with had good character. They were disciplined and always respected the rules of a knight.
It made her somewhat glad that Percy and Harry could learn something from them. Well, maybe not from everyone. Dorian was an exception. Although, according to Gema, Luther and Arthur might also need to be kept under watch.
Adrien looked at her for a moment and let out a soft smile. To an ordinary woman, it would probably have been charming almost instantly. Not so much for Sally. After all, she had already fallen in love with a Greek god.
"You know you still have the same problem as always," Adrien said casually. "You let all your emotions show on your face. And I already told you, you can call me Adrien. It's been years since we started working together."
"Ahem," Sally cleared her throat. It was a recurring joke among the brothers. They always told her she showed her emotions too easily. It was something she could not control, even when she tried to put on a poker face. They seemed to read her as if it were easy to see right through her, so she had simply stopped trying. "It's habit. After all, you're still technically my superior at work," she said in her defense.
"If you put it that way, technically the two mages working with us would be the superiors," Adrien replied with a gentle smile. "And especially someone who truly earned that position through hard work. Your Lamp of Truth is still a magnificent artifact. It helped in ninety percent of the interrogations," he added, nodding in approval.
"Well, Mark helped me a lot," Sally said with a slight gesture of embarrassment, as if she did not consider the merit to be hers alone.
"Then," Adrien said, returning to the matter at hand, "what is it that worries you?"
That made Sally slightly nervous once again. She hesitated for a moment before answering. Even so, it was necessary.
"It's something important that Sir Vincent needs to hear. Well, everyone, or at least the most trustworthy ones," she said softly. "It has to do with what attacked Gema," she added seriously. "Or rather, with that whole world in general."
"That world?" Adrien repeated, his expression growing increasingly serious.
"You said what attacked Gema?" another female voice was heard as someone stepped out of Vincent's office.
Adrien and Sally saw a middle-aged woman emerge, her gaze completely serious and fixed directly on Sally.
"You know what it was?" she asked, her tone filled with fury. It was not directed personally at Sally, but the aura she exuded was that of someone accustomed to holding power and authority in her hands.
That immediately made Sally nervous. Adrien stepped forward slightly, placing himself subtly between them, as if facing the invisible pressure the woman was projecting toward her.
"Lady Ravenshield, perhaps you should calm down a bit," Adrien said in a serious tone, looking at her directly. "Sally is one of our mages," he added.
Elara looked at him for a moment before retracting her aura almost immediately, a light, amused smile appearing on her face.
"Oh, I'm sorry about that. I got a little carried away," she said easily.
"So you're Sally Jackson. Gema has told me a lot about you. My apologies for that," Elara continued, approaching Sally naturally with a bright smile, one that Sally could not help but feel suited Gema perfectly.
"Ah… uh… hello," Sally replied, unsure how to react to such an abrupt change in mood.
"She's Gema's grandmother. I think we already told you about the three oldest knights still in active service. This is Dame Elara Ravenshield, Guardian of the Realm," Adrien introduced her, letting out a sigh, as if he could not help but feel that the elders of his Order were particularly eccentric, including, of course, his own grandfather.
"Come, dear, we can talk for a moment. Perhaps I can convince you to leave this dreadful dark place and come with me. The Silver Guard is mostly women; you'll feel more comfortable there. Besides, I want to hear more about what you said, about knowing who attacked Gema," Elara said, taking Sally by the arm without waiting for an answer and pulling her toward Vincent's office.
"That's impossible. You can't just come here and take my people. Don't try to start another fight, old witch. The last time you lost, and your granddaughter ended up with us because of your insistence," Vincent said, stepping out of his office almost immediately upon hearing Elara's words.
"Don't make me remember that, because Alaric isn't here to save your ass this time," Elara replied, nearly furious, releasing Sally's arm and preparing to grab the sword hanging at her waist, as if they were about to fight right there.
"You think I'm afraid of you? Hahaha. That's laughable," Vincent said as he clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking.
Sally, somewhat worried, glanced toward Adrien, fearing they might truly start fighting in that very place.
But Adrien was standing there with his arms crossed, a slightly tired expression on his face as he watched the two elders behave like complete brats. For a moment, he looked at Sally, then at the two mature figures in front of them, and could not help but smile, thinking that they looked quite similar to the way Harry and Percy usually acted with each other.
Sally frowned when she noticed his expression, sensing that he was thinking something inappropriate. Still, when she saw his smile, she could not help but let her mind drift back to a very simple and completely out-of-place thought.
That he really was handsome.