Chapter 4: A promise

- "Are you sure those two men told you their names were Skander and Zarek?" Interrupted the girl coldly.
- "Yes, I am sure. I would not forget this." Answered Darian.
- "Please, continue, young man." Said Richard.

After another few minutes of Darian telling the tale of the weirdest day of his life with a fair amount of details. He told them about how his eyes were forced to be closed after Skander spoke in a shrill voice. Darian observed the different reactions around the table very closely but could not perceive anything strange. Everyone was closely listening to his story while showing little to no emotion.

- "After a few seconds, I heard a gunshot. I thought my friend was dead. Then I heard a second one. I thought that I was dead. But I still heard other things after that. When I finally opened my eyes, both of the men were dead, and that little girl was in a pool of their blood." Darian told.

Some looks were exchanged between Richard, the girl, and Edgar. Darian stopped talking.

- "Darian, please, continue." Said Richard.
- "I am not telling you anything else before I have more information. I do not even know who you are, and I still have no guarantee about my family." Said Darian
- "Who do you th-" said the girl, interrupted by the old man :
- "We are on the same side Darian. You have to understand that what you saw is a grave matter and could change the tides of this war. I can not tell you more, but note that we are citizens of the coalition just like you."
- "What does it have to do with the war?" Asked Darian.
- "That girl that you found is a critical individual. We have to wake her up and-"
- "You are saying too much, great-uncle." Interrupted the girl.

Richard clenched his jaw and said:
- "I am sorry."
- "I really do not understand. What are you guys?" Said Darian

First, Darian was answered with a moment of silence. The two grown-up men waited for the girl to speak. She decided to answer after sighing :
- "Look, I can imagine that the situation is difficult for you. But I promise you do not want to know the full picture."
- "I will not say anything more than what I already said unless I have something in return." Answered Darian.

This amused Richard and Edgar a lot. Richard smiled slightly while Edgar looked at the table before him, obviously hiding his amusement. It was now clear that Darian understood well the situation he was in. He had the information and the upper hand. They needed to know exactly what happened to those Skander and Zarek.

- "What do you want? Money? You should be grateful that we are not threatening you and your family." Asked the girl
- "I am quite sure you would not do that. I do not want money. What I want are answers." Said Darian.
- "Fine, if you tell us everything we want to know, I will heed any request from you." Answered the girl.
- "Make it two requests, and you have a deal." Said Darian.
- "Fine. Did you leave the bodies where they were? Also, continue with the same level of detail." Said the girl coldly.
- "First, I want you to promise me that you will satisfy my two requests and not hurt my family or me." Said Darian
- "That makes it three requests, Darian. Are you not playing too much with my patience?" Asked the girl.
- "Okay, fine. One request is that you promise to not hurt my family." Answered Darian
- "Fine, we did not plan to hurt you or your family anyway." Said the girl.
- "Promise me this and that you will fulfill another request when you do not have any more questions. Please." Said Darian.

Darian was not really convinced that a promise would guarantee anything. But he figured from the atmosphere of the place that promises could mean a lot for those people. He perceived them as some old-fashioned royal family that had some power and a lot of money. A promise from them would not hurt and might be a strong guarantee.

- "Very well. I, Serene Pendragon, heir to the throne of the Pendragon dynasty and permanent member of the coalition council, promise to Darian Nowak that I will not hurt you or your family. Also, I swear to do my best to accomplish any other request you may ask when we finish the ongoing conversation."

As she was stating her promise, the 3 standing guards and Edgar, who stood up during the statement, put a hand on their hearts. Edgar sat again at the end, and the other men returned to their posture.

Darian felt like his intuition was right and that this promise was solid. Nevertheless, something felt wrong. The coalition is a union of countries that decided to come together to face the threats of the modern world. All the different rulers of the nations stepped down when it was created 62 years ago. A parliament elected democratically was supposed to be ruling it. But those people definitely look like royalty or something.
Furthermore, Serene just affirmed that she was part of a coalition council. Darian planned on asking for more information about the girl that fell from the sky with his question. But now that he was facing someone with such influence, he immediately thought about his father.


Darian then resumed telling what they did to the two dead bodies and when they tried calling for help but failed. He did not omit any detail and kept telling the story until he fell asleep. After ten seconds of silence, indicating he had finished. The girl said:
- "Very well. Now you can request anything from me."
- "Wait, Serene, I have one more question for Darian. Darian, can you continue the story until the moment you arrive here with as many details as you can?" Said Richard.
- "Of course." Answered Darian with a grin, not minding adding another story since he was about to get his reward.

He then resumed describing the way from the room he was asleep to the room he was in now with disturbing accuracy. He stated every painting on the wall and even mentioned them in the correct order. At least, it was the order Richard would remember. Edgar and the girl now understood what Richard wanted with that question, and the three exchanged disturbed looks.

Darian noticed that the looks became weird and understood that he displayed an uncommon skill. Expecting the next question, he said :
- "I always had a good memory. Can I have my request now?"
- "This is way beyond good memory, young man." Answered Richard.
- "You can now ask anything." Said Serene.
- "Wait a minute, I have to think." Answered Darian.


Darian had a big grin on his face, he thought to himself that he could now get a wish for free, and he loved that feeling. Richard was thinking. He also had a smile on his face, probably amused by the boy's manner.
After a short moment, Darian said :

- "The coalition has a parliament, not a council. What did you say exactly when you presented yourself?" Asked Darian, interrupting his thoughts.
- "Is this question your second request?" Asked Serene.
- "No. Not at all. Sorry." Said Darian
- "Take your time. We are ahead of schedule anyway." Said Richard, enjoying the scene before him.

- "While you are thinking, young man, may I further abuse your kindness and ask you another question?" Asked Richard kindly.
- "Of course, go ahead. Sir." Answered Darian.
- "Did you have a weird dream while sleeping before coming here?" Richard's voice had become icy now. And his dark blue eyes cut through Darian like a blade.

Darian immediately felt pressured. He remembered the weird dream he had in a second and understood that it was not just a bizarre dream. His face stayed emotionless, but his thoughts were boiling, and he remembered the voice in his dream saying, "Do not trust the people you will meet today.". Darian clenched his jaw and answered:
- "Nothing unusual. I do not dream very often, to be honest."
- "I see. Very well. Thank you, Darian." Said Richard.
- "Have you thought of your second request yet?" Asked Serene, impatient.
- "I want my father, Konstantin Nowak, and another soldier, Pavel Kravchenko, to be brought back from the frontlines and never to have to go back to the frontlines again."

Darian was a bit disturbed by his idea now. Richard's question completely destroyed his cool. It made him doubt two things that he believed. First, he did not think that his dream was a trivial matter anymore, and second, he did not know whether he could trust anything from these people.

- "Very well. Your father and that other man will be sent back home as soon as possible." Answered Serene.
- "When will I be able to go back home?" Asked Darian.
- "Once your friend and your mothers wake up, you will be sent home without delay." Answered Serene.
- "Mothers?" Said Darian, Surprised.
- "Of course, we did not know precisely where you were in the domain. We also kidnapped your friend's mother. But she is fine." Said Serene coldly.
- "Did you also cut the land cables?" Asked Darian.
- "Edgar, please take care of the rest." Said Serene.
- "Yes, your Highness." Answered the blond guard.

Without another word, Edgar took Darian gently, and Richard and Serene left the room from where they came. Darian was full of questions again. But looking at the bright side of things, he would reunite with his family soon. After a bit of walking in the endless mansion. Darian was led to the room where he had woke up earlier. And after opening the door for the farmboy, Edgar said :
- "It should take a few hours for your family to wake up. You can do whatever you want in this room. You will all be taken to your home when they wake up."

Darian did not know what to say or think at that point. Things ended abruptly, and Richard's last question left him wondering whether he had made the right choice in telling them everything. At the same time, Darian tried to convince himself that he had no choice. He then remembered his dream. That voice, Hypernova, told him to return to her as soon as possible and claimed to be the girl he found with Ivan in the field. What if everything she said was true? Darian had a lot of trouble wrapping his head around it, and after checking the room thoroughly for cameras and other hidden devices with no success, he decided to try to sleep.