Chapter 26

 Chapter 26

I remember that when I was little, I thought I had the best singing voice on the planet. Even better than the songs that played on the radio. I would sing my heart out in front of a camera and would laugh at myself later in life for being so silly. My parents would laugh too and their faces would be full  of pride. Even my brother joined us in those moments. I explore the memories like they are a distant land, like they are familiar yet that life no longer exists. I’ve read books about how people can read minds and levitate and do other cool stuff like that. I would’ve wished for those powers instead of the ones I have here.

But I guess that when you're lying on the ground, helpless, there's not much you can do with mind reading and all that to save yourself. I still see black, the color of sheer darkness. “Wake up Byleth, wake up.” says a voice. I open my mouth to speak yet nothing comes out. I become more clear of my surroundings, I lay on something soft. I cannot see yet I don’t quite know what it is but I do know that I’m not in the place where I was last conscious, not being dragged away by a hooded figure. I will my eyes to open and they do, but just a little bit. The face I see is Will’s, “You ok? You scared me so much when you went lost in the woods. Turns out the person that captured you didn’t go too far in the woods.” Will explains. I nod weakly, my neck throbs when I move it so I just decide to keep where it is: propped up on a pillow.

“What happened to me?” I mean to say. It comes out more like, “Wht happened ta meh?” I cringe. Will I have to get used to talking again or….? “You were knocked out by someone, we don’t know who yet. A whole bunch of those guys attacked the castle. Nothing was permanently damaged though. But we do have a few men missing.” Will replies. I ponder about what he says. People right now are in the forest, unconscious and helpless? That’s not fair that I was saved, they should’ve been saved and then me! “We have to go find them!” I sit up, wincing in pain. “You need to rest now, no movement for at least a week.” I hear a voice say. I slightly turn my head to the right to see a man with a doctor’s outfit on and some glasses. He is definitely older with wispy silver hair. “My name is Russel and I have been taking care of you for the last couple of hours.” Russel says. “Thank you.” I manage to say. “Look, I’m sorry about what happened earlier. I should have checked with you and I-” I cut Will off. “No, I was being stubborn. I just felt like the more people in the group, the more people that might be people who we can’t trust. I always think of the worst possibilities when meeting someone new. I’m really sorry, this was my fault. You're the leader and you don’t have to ask me for permission.” I say.

Will nods his thanks. “Yeah, I guess there was quite a bit of misunderstanding. I think we still need more protection though, what happened just back at the castle? You getting knocked out and us having to find you? That would have never happened if we would have had more guards on the watch.” Will looks around, his eyes darting around frantically. “We already have twice as many guards on watch than there were when we came here. And they're taking shifts so if anything unusual happens, we’ll know immediately.” Will says. I nod again. “Oh, and I have someone I would like you to meet. If you don’t mind of course.” Will adds. I nod. “Ok, then.” Will says. Will goes to the door and talks to someone I can’t see. A young man-probably the age of Will walks in. He has black hair, a plaid shirt on, and some jeans. “Byleth, meet Nixon.”