The Last Hero

Chapter Five

"Excuse me?" Caden lifted his gaze to Katherine as his anger began to boil slightly. To him, those words were tantamount to one of the most evil of actions. How could someone willingly make someone their slave? To take their freedom as if it meant nothing. To invalidate their entire lives until that point. Caden glared at Katherine, noticing how his gaze made her squirm slightly in discomfort.

"You have to." Katherine said as she took a few steps back. "If she is unowned when we go into the towns ahead of us. Many will take her and make her a true slave. You need to understand that what you are doing now is ensuring her safety within public." Katherine basically pleaded with Caden trying to get him to understand her thought process.

"You wish for me to take her freedom?" Caden started to slowly make his way over to her. "To condemn her to a life of servitude?"

Katherine seemed taken aback but his words as she couldn't find a way to respond to him. He seemed resolute in the way he thought and Katherine knew of no way to convince him. Still, the angry look on his face scared her. She never thought he could become someone who could make that expression.

When he first arrived here in this world, he seemed confused but happy. Learning new things about this world made his eyes widen in happiness. Just how does something like that turn into something like this?

~~~ Katherine's Recollection ~~~

A few days after the training academy had finished with Caden, Katherine decided to take him out on an adventure. To one of the lesser spots within the nearby area that housed some of the monsters one could consider training materials.

"Come on Caden, we need to get going!" She shouted at him as she tried to pull him along the long pathway between the various buildings of her city. She wore black leather pants with a no sleeve dark brown shirt that had a slight blue shimmer to it. Her dark brown hair pulled into a braided ponytail that hung over her left shoulder. She wore two small daggers, one on either side of her waist. Both daggers were inlaid with gold and bright red gems. They seemed the perfect weapons for royalty. On her back she had a dark purple bow with more gems inlaid the handle.

"Where are we going?" He asked with a slight chuckle in his voice. He had never seen this side of the queen before and he seemed to like it. It seemed this side of her was meant for him. Or so he thought.

She smiled as she glanced back at him noting that he looked good in her world's clothes. With dark brown trouser, a light blue long sleeve tunic. With a leather breast covering that connected to a pauldron on his left shoulder. The long thin one handed sword with the simple steel handle hanging from his back with the handle behind his right shoulder.

When they exited the city gates the guards standing by gave each other odd glances as they watched their queen drag someone behind her as if her pet. Some were jealous and some were just confused but all just let her go. They knew her strength and knew that she would not go out further than what was needed.

She let go of his hand once she was sure that he would keep following and once she did, she felt a ping of loneliness enter her heart, but she kept her smile on her face as she knew he was right behind her.

"Will you tell me where we are going now?" Caden asked as he looked around the large open hilly area lush with the green of its grass. It was a beautiful sight and one he never had the privilege to see in his own world.

"Your first adventure." Katherine replied with a chuckle as she turned to look at Caden. "Think of this as a little more training, but on the practical side." She clasp her hands behind her back as she turned to the clear area beyond both of them. "It should be time."