Chapter 6: Lovely trip

Darian, Ivan, Julie, and Ivan's mother, Klara, sat in that order from left to right in the helicopter. Edgar and that mysterious girl who looked similar to the one who fell in the field were facing them. Edgar was in front of Darian, and the girl was in front of Klara. Between Edgar's legs was the X-shaped with an extra vertical piece object that Darian noticed earlier today. The X-part comprised four independent but paired straight wooden pieces, each measuring around 30cm. The thicker part was as long as the wooden parts. But, it was completely covered, like mummified, by a wide leather thread. It also had a handle on one end, uncovered. The leather thread surrounding it made it hard to recognize precisely what it was. Darian's best guess was that it was a blade, even though the shape and length made things weird.

Everyone spent the first few minutes of the flight utterly silent as the helicopter headed straight toward the east.

The members of Darian's family looked still sedated and partially in shock. They were obviously still processing the events. Ivan was looking at the ground before him with a grave expression. Julie had her head resting on the wall behind her, eyes closed, and Klara looked still under the influence of the sedative and half sleeping on the wall at her left.


The silence felt heavy for Darian, who felt observed by that unknown girl. Looking more closely, her pants and light boots reminded him of something. Darian quickly recognized the person who had attacked them before the kidnapping. He decided to break the silence by looking to his left and saying :

- "Erm, how are you guys?"
- "I still have trouble digesting what happened to be honest. You look way too relaxed, Darian." Coldly answered Ivan without lifting his gaze.
- "We are going home, Ivan." Answered Darian.
- "How can you be so sure? they might be transporting us to our death right now." Said Ivan.
- "You guys did not tell them anything?" Asked Darian, looking at Edgar.
- "I was only charged with caring for you, but I can easily imagine that your family got no information." Answered Edgar

Darian then explained out loud:
- "I woke up 4 hours ago, and they decided to ask me questions. We were supposed to answer them together when we all woke up. But I gave them all the necessary information, so now we can go home and pretend nothing happened. Oh, my dad and your dad are coming back home since I got that in exchange for the information."
Darian grinned as he declared his last sentence.
- "Really? You are not joking, right?" Said Ivan in disbelief.
- "Yes, I swear." He said while also looking at his mom, who woke up when hearing the news.

The atmosphere was now way more relaxed in the small room they had in the helicopter. Klara was still sleeping, but a slight smile could be seen on her face, which reassured Ivan a lot. Darian then proceeded to ask :

- "Edgar, do we know when our dads will be sent home?"
- "I do not know exactly, but you can be confident that the order has already been sent. So depending on your fathers' situation and state on the battlefield, it might take one or two days up to a few weeks." Answered Edgar.
- "That's perfect. Can I ask another question?" Said Darian

As soon as Edgar nodded, Darian followed :
- "Who are you?" He asked, looking straight at the girl sitting at the other end of the helicopter.

Edgar was, again, amused by the young man's boldness, and he looked calmly at the girl and softly said:
- "You can answer."
- "My name is Aurore." Said the girl.
- "And why are you and Edgar with us today?" Asked Darian.
- "You can answer." Repeated Edgar.
- "Me and the Captain are with you for a protection mission. We expect -" Aurore was interrupted by a motion of Edgar's hand.
- "Let's not go into too many details here. Aurore was about to say that the people who died on your farm's allies will probably investigate. We do not want things to escalate further into a bigger diplomatic incident." Said Edgar.
- "Yes." Said Aurore.

Darian was shaken by this news. He kept his gaze on Aurore and her hypnotic big red eyes. Ivan then said:

- "So they may be already waiting for us there?"
- "It is a possibility. But as long as Aurore and I are with you, you should be safe." Answered Edgar.
- "How can you be so sure? Are you that strong?" Asked Darian.
- "As a matter of fact, yes. But the point is not how strong I am because we are not going there for blood. We are going there to avoid the slaughter of your family." Said Egdar coldly.

The silence was heavy, and the atmosphere was taut. Edgar then resumed with a reassuring tone :

- "Do not worry too much, really. Things will likely go as planned because it is in no one's interest to kill you."

Darian immediately remembered his dream and deeply breathed while resting his head against the wall behind him. Ivan then asked:

- "How far are we from home?"
- "Roughly two hours now." Answered Aurore.

After a few minutes of complete silence, Edgar reached for the object between his legs, particularly the thick, short, and leather-covered piece. He took it by the handle and looked at it with great focus. Darian, observing the scene, asked :

- "What is it?"
- "This is my weapon." Answered Edgar.
- "So we are going a bit for blood, right?" Said Ivan.

Aurore looked at Ivan with annoyance. But Ivan maintained eye contact.

- "I do not like that you are playing with our lives without telling us the truth." Ivan proceeded.
- "There are many things that are better for you to not know." Aurore answered.
- "I want to know everything concerning my safety and family. I am tired of being weak and helpless." Said Ivan

At that moment, Darian was impressed by his friend's demeanor. Ivan was more often cheerful and goofy, but right now, he looked serious. Darian looked at his ginger friend, and even if he noticed the gaze, Ivan kept challenging Aurore with his glance.

- "Enough, Aurore." Said Edgar.
- "My apologies, Captain." Said Aurore while lowering her gaze.
- "Young master, with all due respect, you should inform your family that your world is slightly more complicated now. The danger you are in now is of a very singular nature. Also, Ivan, Aurore could kill you in a matter of seconds. Try not to be fooled by appearances anymore." Said Edgar.

Edgar's natural charisma and authority took over the situation. Clearly, Ivan still held a deep grudge against the Pendragons for kidnapping him and his family. On the other hand, Darian understood that he had no choice but to continue following Edgar's instructions if he wanted to stay alive.

For the next few minutes, silence was again the central theme of the conversation. Darian then decided to break it :

- "Can you tell us a bit more about the people who - might - want to harm us ?" He asked.

Edgar sighed. He took a second to think and answered:

- "I now feel like you do not want to be protected from our world."
- "We want to know. I need to know the situation I am in." Said Ivan, his eyes burning with determination.

The two mothers were slowly rising from their half-slumber state. They were both shocked at Ivan's speech.

- "You see, young master, the war that started two years ago has two sides. The first is where your father fights, and the second is where I and Aurore fight." Said Edgar.
- "Why are you calling Darian «young master»?" Asked Ivan.
- "Do not consider this important, please. It is only a mark of respect from where I grew up. Darian was the one I was in charge of during your sleep, so I chose to use this formulation to talk to him directly." Answered Edgar.

Ivan was still puzzled by the answer.

- "May I continue?" Edgar added.
- "Sure, please continue your explanation. Sir." Answered Ivan

Darian was fascinated at the growth of his best friend. Ivan, who had always been shy and goofy, held his own in a serious conversation about his survival.

- "This war's forces also have two different classes who each fight a different side of it. Let's call them the public side and the secret side for the sake of the explanation. The people who died in your field had very high ranks in Tajammu-al-Mumtaz's secret side. They were most certainly trying to get the girl who fell on your field that day. Now that they could not report back to their superior for some time, it is safe to assume there will be an investigation. They might be there waiting for us already. Or they might come in a few days. Are you now satisfied, young master, Ivan?" Explained Edgar calmly
- "I am satisfied. Thanks a lot." Said Ivan.
- "I also have enough information now, and I shall put my life in your hands, Edgar. Thank you very much." Said Darian.
- "I will now ask from you a favor. I wish that you all stay silent, I have not been in a dangerous situation for some time now, and I will need to meditate to be able to handle the worst-case scenario." Said Edgar.

The two young men answered with a nod, and Edgar answered with a smile.

Edgar proceeded to sit in a tailor position on the unstable ground of the helicopter. And started what seemed like meditation.

The rest of the trip was followed by just silence. The two mothers tried to talk but were stopped by their sons. On many occurrences, Darian and Ivan exchanged gazes of understanding. And Aurore just sat there, eyes closed, focusing like her Captain.

After almost two hours, a voice came from the cockpit :
- "Captain! We are there, and the computer does not signal a difference from yesterday's footage."

Edgar took a deep breath and answered:
- "Can you check again? Not a single difference?"
- "I am positive. No one has been here for the past 24 hours." Answered the pilot's voice.
- "It would have changed a bit even if no one was there. Aurore, fighting suit." Said Edgar with a grave voice.
- "Mat' give us 5 more minutes before landing." He added.

Edgar opened a compartment where he found 2 suits, he gave one to Aurore, and they both started getting undressed before getting into those fighting suits.

On the one hand, Edgar's body was not very big, but the muscles he displayed were definitely impressive. His forearms had many scars, and his core looked significantly developed.

On the other hand, Aurore had a rather skinny and only slightly muscular frame.

In their dark blue tight combat suit, they both looked impressive. Edgar wore his weapon with two straps like a backpack. He also put his cape back on his shoulder. Aurore had nothing except her suit.


- "Mat', you can land now." Said Edgar.

The helicopter approached the ground aiming at the exact spot where it landed last time.