Inheritance

Part 2. Chapter Sixty-Two: Worry

As if he were undead, he woodenly arose and headed to the bathing room.

Out in the hall, his fine hearing allowed him to hear the whispering of nearly every recruit who accompanied him on the way to the baths.

There was one dark-haired human whose whispers chilled him to the bone.

He spoke of hurting Eory.

"When should we grab him?" The dark-haired man asked his dwarven friend.

Eory's eyes widened. His eyes scanned the crowd, trying to see where the dark-haired human had gone to.

He stopped in his tracks. He decided to look for Pollyanna instead.

She was behind him, looking at her feet as she walked.

She looked uncertain—she didn't look like her usual, confident self. She looked downright downtrodden.

She was covered in bandages. His eyes widened.

He rushed to her side. "Pollyanna, what happened?"

Pollyanna looked away. "Oh, I was just a little clumsy on the battlefield."

She sped up her pace—trying to get ahead of him. He sped up his pace, too.

Her manner was cold; it was as if she had forgotten the very intimate moments and conversations they had shared together. He touched her arm. "What's wrong?"

Pollyanna looked at him expressionlessly. "Be careful with Maruka, Eory."

She brushed past him.

"Pollyanna!" He called desperately.

She was already gone.

She's angry. Eory's heart nearly beat out of his chest at that fact; he went cold with terror at that fact. Don't be angry...

Eory watched her and the rest of the recruits walk away until he was left alone in the hall.

__

He arrived at the baths just when many were leaving.

He looked around for the black-haired human.

Sweat poured down his forehead.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw that the human had been staring at him since he had entered.

The human's face was low, his eyes were wild. Pollyanna, now fully clothed, was heading for the exit. Eory was relieved.

"Pollyanna! Wait, I—" She walked past him without a word.

His heart was pounding.

Even when everyone else was gone, the black-haired human and his closest friends remained.

Eory found that his legs were frozen.

The human's friends approached him; he thought they were going to hurt him, but they left without a word.

The black-haired human alone remained.

He smirked at Eory. He approached him with a confident stride.

On his way out the door, he grabbed Eory's collar and ripped it, exposing a shoulder.

He whispered in his ear, "Don't be nervous on account of me."

Eory didn't look at the man. He was too scared to move or speak.

The human laughed. "Lighten up, Arrozan. Your body is hideous, I don't want you."

He left after that.

Eory's whole body was trembling.

Frantically, he tore at the bracelet that blocked his magic. Please come off! Please! But the bracelet would not budge.

He shook with fear. No...

He took a bath and contemplated what he was going to do and how he was going to defend himself without Pollyanna.

It took all his courage to head to the mess hall afterward. I can't lose Pollyanna. I have to find out what's wrong before she goes to the battlefield, even if it means facing the black-haired human.

His legs were shaking, but he found his strength in memories of his brother as he had before.

He walked at a snail's pace over to the mess hall. When he arrived, he grabbed a plate of food and looked for Pollyanna.

He went cold when he locked eyes with the black-haired human. His mouth wobbled in terror, but he managed to push through that terror due to his newfound confidence. When he spotted Pollyanna, he approached her confidently.

Pollyanna saw him coming and moved to a different seat when he tried to sit next to her.

His mouth wobbled again; his eyes shone, but he refused to cry, despite feeling completely abandoned.

Them waved to him.

Touched by his kindness, Eory waved back with a shaking hand and sat next to Them instead.

He felt the familiar fear of talking to someone who wasn't Kori, but somehow pushed through it. "Hello, Them."

Them looked disappointed for a moment, and Eory realized that the waif was hoping it would be Taylor speaking to him. He recovered in a moment. "Morning."

Eory didn't have much of an appetite; his stomach ached and gurgled. He was sure it wasn't anything he ate.

Eory whispered, "Them, who is that black-haired human?"

"The wild-eyed one, you mean? I have no idea."

Terran, who sat on Eory's other side, took a bite out of his drumstick. "I do. His name is Ashaya, and word has it that the Arrozan family drove him mad."