“Take me with you,” were John’s first words immediately after barging into Marleya’s room.

The knight looked up from her dinner plate, a surprised look on her face. “What?”

John leaned forward, both hands over the dining table. “I heard about the hunt for Vasilis, and I want to take part.” His plan had only half worked. While he did manage to murder Edgarth and incriminate Vasilis, the bastard somehow escaped. John refused to rest until he completed the job.

“Absolutely not,” was her answer. She then turned her attention back to her food, as if it matter had already been settled.

“I’m your squire, it’s my obligation to follow you into battle.”

“And I’m obligated to follow lady Athalia’s orders, who, under no circumstances, would ever allow you near a battlefield.”

“I’ll be in full armor the whole time, she will never know.”

“She will if you turn up dead. A battlefield isn’t like the training grounds where you spar against one opponent at a time. It’s complete chaos. One moment you’re shoulder to shoulder with your fellow soldiers, the next you are on your own defending against three enemies, praying for assistance.”

“We’ll be accompanying the duke’s forces so I doubt there’ll be any danger. Furthermore, you’ll be by Athalia’s side the whole time, who won’t even get near the frontlines.”

“The front lines can move real fast, trust me. The answer is still no.”

John took his hands out of the table and started pacing around the room. He couldn’t stay here waiting for news of the hunt for Vasilis, so he needed to convince Marleya to help. John finally stopped, looking her dead in the eye. “He killed my mother.”

Marleya paused, eyes slightly widening. “What?”

“Vasilis. He killed my mother. She was the huntswoman in a small town called Greenflower. One day, she came across a group of poachers and killed them, as was her duty. Unfortunately, those poachers turned out to be Vasilis’ men. A few days later, he came to our doorstep.”

John took a deep breath before continuing. “They fought. Vasilis was a Paladin but also weakened due to the castration, while my mother was both a Crusader and an Archmage, which is the only reason why she managed to come out on top. Did you ever wonder how he lost his arm? That was her, she ripped his arm out despite the wounds to her body.”

Tears pooled in his eyes and Marleya stood up from her chair. “John…”

“She died from her wounds soon after that, and I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t even check to see if Vasilis had truly died. If I had done so, then Jacke’s grandfather would still be alive right now. Please, take me with you, I’m begging.”

“John, why did you never tell anyone about this? I understand how you may feel, but I still can’t allow you to fight.”

“Then I’ll stay in the camp and away from the fighting, but please take me along. Please. If not, then I’ll go out on my own, and it’ll be much more dangerous for me.”

Marleya looked back at him, not knowing what to do. She passed a hand over her shaved side of the head. “Why do you have to be so stubborn. Fine, I’ll help you come along, but you have to do as I say. I’ll have someone watching you at all times, and you must never leave the camp, understand?” John nodded. “Good, now get back to your bedroom. Tomorrow I’ll ask a friend to look out for you.”

“Thanks, truly.” John looked towards the door and then back to Marleya. He opened his arms wide and wrapped them around the knight. Despite not being in armor, her body still felt stiff due to the hard muscles beneath the tunic.

The two of them never shared much physical contact before, which is why the hug felt somewhat awkward. She probably was of the same mind from the way she pushed him back soon afterward. “If you want to thank me then don’t do that again. Ever. And you better not let anyone find out about me helping you or lady Athalia will have both our heads.”