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“Be safe at work today, love.”
It was something Ballister made him promise every day. Being a knight was a lot more dangerous than it had been before, statistically speaking. Prior to the wall coming down, the biggest threat to the Kingdom was people—though no one realized it, too caught up in stories of monsters trying to crash down the walls to notice that all knights ever protected them from were other humans. Now, there was the added threat not of monsters, but of the unknowns of nature. A couple of knights had already died or been seriously injured during run-ins with wild animals, storms, cliffsides, and the like while beyond the wall on expeditions.
Ambrosius didn’t go on expeditions often—apparently being Captain meant more paperwork than anything else, which was a tad disappointing—so he wasn’t in danger on as frequent a basis as some of the other knights. Ballister still said it anyway, though, whether Ambrosius would be facing down the unknowable wrath of mother nature or merely a stack of files.
Today, the statement was amended a bit.
“You two be safe.” Ballister said, giving them a look that spoke of just how much more worried he was now that both Ambrosius and Nimona would be out of his sight. She was accompanying him to a meeting today to discuss her thoughts on how things were going. It was something Ambrosius had advocated for heavily, saying that Nimona’s involvement in decision-making was extremely important given that she was the one most affected by the Institute’s actions. He’d only just gotten it approved, and gotten her to agree to it, and so this would be her first time sitting in on a meeting. It would be nice having her, but it was also clearly a little disconcerting for Ballister.
“We will be, Bal.” Ambrosius promised. “I swear, nothing’s going to happen.”
It took exactly one hour for the alarms to go off.
The meeting hadn’t even started yet, Nimona was just hanging around his office while he worked and they waited. Nothing should’ve even had the opportunity to go wrong, but somehow something did.
Ambrosius jumped into action immediately, grabbing the intercom off of his desk and rushing to lock the door. He pressed the talk button, holding it up to his face and speaking at a whisper. “What’s going on?”
He received only static in response. Something must’ve been blocking the signal. He sighed, tossing the intercom back on his desk. He looked up, only to find that Nimona was no longer in sight. He felt his heart stop. “Nimona?”
No response.
He searched the office high and low, turning the entire place upside down. Where could she have gone? Why didn’t she say anything before going? Did she leave? It’d be a good thing if she did, wouldn’t it? She’d probably be safer outside than anywhere in the building, but then what if she hadn’t left? What if she’d gone to find out what was happening? What if she didn’t come back? What if she was hurt by whatever had tripped the alarms?
Ambrosius felt his breath pick up and his chest begin to burn. Ballister would never forgive him if something happened to Nimona. Ambrosius would never forgive himself. How could he have lost her? Where could she have even gone? The alarms were still blaring in the background, and he could barely hear himself think over the sound of them. He needed to figure out what was happening. He needed to find Nimona.
Ambrosius grabbed his intercom off the desk just in case before carefully moving towards the door. Just as he was reaching out to open the door, he heard something move behind him. He turned around just in time to see Nimona transform out of bird form and land on the ground.
“Nimona!” He said, maybe a little too loud for a lockdown. “Where did you go? What’s—”
He cut himself as he took in the sour, determined expression on her face. “We have to go.”
“What’s going on?” Ambrosius asked as she grabbed onto his arm and began leading him towards the door of his office. “Nimona?”
“I don’t know for sure.” Nimona said quietly, creaking the door open and sticking her head out to look around before ushering the both of them out and closing the door behind them. “There were a bunch of guys with weapons and masks. I couldn’t tell why they’re attacking, but they don’t seem like they’re planning on letting anyone past them.”
“Is anyone hurt?” Ambrosius asked.
Nimona made a face before turning away. “I don’t know.”
She was lying, and Ambrosius knew it, but he decided not to think about it. He could freak out over it later. “Okay, well, what’s the plan?”
“As much as I hate it,” Nimona said. “We’re probably just going to have to hide and wait for them to leave or for someone to stop them. We won’t be able to make it out without them catching us.”
“Well if that’s the goal, why not just stay in my office?” Ambrosius wondered. “Why take the risk to move?”
“Are you stupid?” Nimona hissed. “That’s the first place they’ll look when—if they come to find you.”
Ambrosius narrowed his gaze. So this attack was about him in some way, or at least Nimona interpreted it as such, and now she was trying (and failing) to keep it from him. He decided not to push it. “Alright. Then where is safer?”
“Wherever they won’t know to look.” Nimona said. “Got any secret rooms?”
“Well, as a kid I would hide in this broom closet on the third floor.” Ambrosius said.
Nimona raised an eyebrow but shook it off, sighing. “I guess it’ll do. Not as cool as an actual secret room, but it’ll do.”
Nimona kept in the lead as he directed her towards the broom closet. They were almost there when a loud blast sounded from behind them. Ambrosius stilled momentarily, enough that Nimona harshly yanked him to get him to pick up the pace. “They have explosives?”
“Apparently!” Nimona said, gaze firmly ahead. “Okay, new plan, we’re going to book it.”
“What happened to not being able to make it without getting caught?”
“What happened is now I know that they have bombs and just hiding is not gonna cut it.” Nimona said. “We’ll just be sneaky.”
“Are you capable of being sneaky?” He teased a bit, recalling a story Ballister told about them—well, him—attempting to stealth through the Institute.
“I made it through a thousand years of living within the walls and never got caught.” She rolled her eyes. “Of course I’m capable of being sneaky. I just don’t like doing it.”
“Threat big enough to get in the way of your dislike for sneaking. Got it.” Ambrosius said, continuing to follow her. They made it about five more steps before Nimona suddenly stopped dead in their tracks.
“Nearest hiding place?” She snapped quietly.
“What?”
“Someone’s coming this way, where’s the nearest hiding place?” She said, speeding through her sentences.
“Well, there’s a couple offices around here.” Ambrosius said. “Though I don’t think they’ll be unlocked.”
“Doesn’t matter, let’s go.” She said, turning him back towards the direction they came.
He led Nimona to the nearest office and watched as she turned into a small insect, flew through the keyhole, and a second later opened the door from the other side. He rushed in, following her lead and hunkering down beneath the desk. A few minutes later, Ambrosius stilled at the sound of hurried knocking on the other side of the door.
“Hello? Is anyone in there?” A voice called out, sounding winded. He felt like he recognised it, like it was one of the knight’s voices. “Please, I need help.”
Just as Ambrosius started moving to go check it out, Nimona grabbed him and pulled him back down. “Don’t. It’s a trick.”
The person continued pounding at the door, pleading for help. Every nerve in Ambrosius’s body was screaming at him to go and help them. He bit his lip. “We don’t know that for sure.”
“And we don’t not know it for sure, either.” Nimona said. “It isn’t worth it.”
The person didn’t let up. It seemed like they were on the verge of tears now. “Nimona, it’s my job to help people. I can’t just sit here if someone needs me.”
“Is it also your job to get killed?” She snapped.
“Kinda? For the good of the people.” Ambrosius whispered. “If necessary.”
Nimona scowled. “That’s stupid.”
“Nimona.” He said. “What if they’re really in danger? What kind of Captain would I be if I let someone get hurt under my watch?”
“You promised Boss you’d be safe.” She said, and Ambrosius felt it like a punch to the gut. It was a low blow and she knew it, but she also wasn’t wrong.
“That’s—” He was cut off by the sound of a pained scream and a thud. He felt his blood run cold. He was moving before he even knew what was happening, his hand on the door handle.
“Don’t you dare!” Nimona hissed, pulling him back.
“Nimona, whoever’s out there could be dying as we speak.” He said, ripping his arm away from her.
“And?” She hissed. “What are you going to do about it, get yourself killed too? How would that help anyone?”
“There might still be a chance to save them!” He argued. “I’m not letting anyone die on my watch.”
“And I’m not letting you die on mine!” She said, raising her voice for the first time since the alarms went off. He paused, staring at her. She looked on the verge of tears. Ambrosius had never seen her eyes so much as water. “You don’t even have a weapon, dumbass.”
“I’ve been trained to fight without one.” He defended.
“They have bombs!” She hissed. “What makes you think they aren’t waiting to set one off as soon as you open that door?”
He looked away at that. “I can’t just do nothing.”
Nimona looked like she was about to burst a blood vessel. “Okay, let me put it this way. Either you let that person in the hallway die, or you die alongside them. You aren’t going to be able to save them no matter what you try, especially if there’s someone out there waiting for you to do exactly that.”
Ambrosius squeezed his eyes shut. She was right, and he knew it, but he couldn’t just let himself stand here. How was he supposed to live with himself knowing he could’ve at least tried to save someone, and didn’t? He glanced back at the door, gritting his teeth. “So what, are we back to plan ‘hide and cower and wait for them to explode the building with us inside’?”
Nimona narrowed her eyes. “I’m just telling you not to be stupid.”
“Nimona, you said it yourself. Trying to get out of here is our best option.” He said. “We’ll have to leave this room eventually, potentially dead knight on the other side of the door or not.”
Nimona was silent for a second before she looked him dead in the eyes. “Then I hope you’re mentally prepared to kill people.”
“Excuse me?”
“Those guys are not gonna go down easy, Goldilocks.” She said. “If you want to get past them, we’re going to have to murder a couple of ‘em.”
“Absolutely not.” He said, immediately. “I can’t kill anyone.”
“Even if they’re trying to kill you?”
“No one deserves to die.”
“Unless they’re a monster, right?” She said, glaring at him. Ambrosius’s stomach pulled, his gaze hardening within a second.
“No one deserves to die, Nimona.” He said, which made her look away and redirect her burning gaze to the floor.
“Some people do.” She said darkly.
“Nimona—”
“You didn’t hear what they were saying.” She growled. “You don’t know why they’re here. You don’t know what they’re planning to do.”
“And you do?” He snapped, finally fed up with her keeping things from him.
“Well—”
“Nimona, if you know why they’re here, then why aren’t you telling me?” Ambrosius said, taking a step forward. “If it’s so bad you think it’d change my stance on killing people, why aren’t you trying to get me to understand?”
“I don’t want to repeat it.” She said, still not looking him in the eyes. “You just have to trust me, okay? It was bad.”
Ambrosius was silent for a second. There was a part of him that needed to know what it was, that was so curious it was practically killing him, but he also believed Nimona when she said how bad it was. He knew she was just trying to protect him from whatever was said. He sighed heavily. “I do trust you, Nimona, but I’m not going to kill anyone.”
She looked up at him again, that fire still in her eyes. “Fine. But you aren’t allowed to stop me from doing it.”
He grit his teeth, looking away. “Fine.”
“Here.” She said after a moment, grabbing a lamp off the table, removing the bulb and shade and shoving it towards him. “You need some kind of weapon.”
He accepted it, weighing it in his hands and giving it a practice swing. He swallowed back a bit of bile. “Lead the way.”
Nimona opened the door slowly, and within seconds someone was forcing it open the rest of the way. She roared, transforming into a lion and wrestling them to the side. Ambrosius averted his gaze immediately, running out into the hallway only to see no one there. Either Nimona was right and it was a trap all along, or whoever was here had been dragged away at some point. Ambrosius didn’t like either of those options. He pressed his back against the wall and waited for Nimona, who emerged from the room after a couple minutes with a bit of blood on her fur which Ambrosius pointedly ignored. She started sprinting down the hall after only a few seconds and he diligently followed.
They’d only just made it down the first set of floors when he felt someone crash into him, tackling him to the ground. He flipped himself over immediately, grabbing the lamp and swinging it towards his assailant’s head. At practically the same time a blade drove through his bad shoulder and he yelled out in pain, already fragile nerve-endings ablaze.
The next few seconds were a blur as he watched something pink leap towards him. Soon enough, the pressure was gone, but the unbearable pain in his shoulder didn’t let up for a second. He hissed as he pulled himself into a sitting position just in time to clock someone rushing towards him. He sprung up, ignoring the pain in his shoulder as he grit his teeth and drove the lamp towards their side. They hissed, going to grab his arm, only for him to sweep his leg beneath them and lay them out on their back.
He raised the lamp above his head, preparing to swing, when he felt something pierce his back. Acting purely on adrenaline he whirled around, throwing the lamp in his hand towards someone standing a few feet away with a crossbow. He sprinted towards them, ignoring the now much louder screaming and roaring behind him. He moved in a zigzag pattern, knowing how much harder it made aiming, and eventually landed in front of them in time to throw a punch that snapped their head to the side. He picked the lamp up off the floor and whipped it towards their knees, bringing them crashing down. He didn’t bother to look behind him before beginning to run. “Nimona, come on!”
He heard a roar in response and in seconds he was joined by a lion running at his side. He had the exit in his sights when he was suddenly stopped in his tracks by a man holding a strange contraption in his hands, flanked by two others with crossbows.
“Well, then.” The man said. His face was hidden by a mask, but Ambrosius could practically hear the smirk behind his words. “Sir Goldenloin. It’s good to finally meet you.”
Ambrosius didn’t even have time to respond before his vision was obscured by the pink skin of a rhinoceros. He heard as the crossbows went off, but Nimona didn’t so much as flinch. He winced, taking a step backwards. His brain was screaming at him for being a coward, for letting Nimona shield him from the damage. He placed a hand on her side. “Nimona.”
She didn’t acknowledge it at all. The man continued to speak as if she wasn’t standing directly in the way. “Come out quietly, and no one has to get hurt.”
He grimaced, not saying a word. As if people weren’t hurt already.
“Alright then, have it your way.” He heard as something metal hit the floor just before he was slammed against the nearest wall by Nimona. He let out a pained gasp as the movement reignited the burning in his back and shoulder, but the noise was quickly drowned out by the sound of an explosion. His ears rang, and his vision was obscured by smoke, but he was able to see as Nimona shifted out of rhino form and swayed.
“Nimona!” He shouted, grabbing her just in time to keep her from collapsing to the ground. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close and searching immediately for a pulse. He let out a short breath of relief as he felt a soft thudding beneath her skin. For a second, he forgot that there was even still a threat around, and began gently lowering her to the ground. He only remembered when he felt rough hands on his shoulders. He hissed in pain as he was yanked backwards. His shoulder burned terribly, but he couldn’t give in. He immediately jerked forwards, trying to kick or elbow the people dragging him away. One of them squeezed the injured shoulder and he bit back a noise of pain, only stopping momentarily before beginning to thrash wildly. The smoke began to clear just in time for him to see one of the men standing above Nimona. “No! Get away from her—!”
He shouted before being cut off by the squeezing returning alongside something being driven into his other side. This time, he couldn’t hold back the pain, and screamed as fire raced down his body. His vision whited out, and he stilled for just enough time for one of them to pull the object out of his side and deliver a blow to the back of his head, eliciting another shout.
His head pounded, the sound of his own heart drowning out most of the other noises around him. At some point, the two sets of hands disappeared and were replaced by one, holding him bruisingly tight. They pressed down on his shoulder, and he must’ve mumbled something because he heard someone laugh and felt hot breath against his neck. He cringed, trying to pull away, but the adrenaline had fled his body and he was left feeling sluggish and useless. He could barely move.
Suddenly, the hands supporting him pulled away, and he crashed unceremoniously to the floor. He felt his head bounce a bit on the linoleum, sparks lighting up his already hazy vision. He groaned, confused and unaware and more than likely concussed. He heard loud noises beyond the fog of his brain, but none of it made any sense. He couldn’t think straight. He couldn’t so much as form a single thought before his brain was jumping to another one.
He laid there for what felt like hours, his eyes slipping closed, before he felt something soft against his skin. He hummed, leaning into it. Distantly, he noticed it wasn’t so loud anymore. He mumbled something, unsure if it was even legible, but the soft thing moved slightly and a light pressure landed on his chest, so someone must have heard him.
—
Ballister chewed both of them out in the hospital when Ambrosius woke up almost 2 days later, but he seemed too overwhelmed by the fact that they were relatively okay for it to feel too much like a lecture.
Nimona never told him what exactly the attackers were there for that day, which made getting her pardoned for the maiming—surprisingly not murder, since that seemed to be what she’d wanted, so the fact all of them survived was either dumb luck or some subconscious effort on her part to not actually kill them—of six people difficult. Luckily for her, their crimes seemed to outweigh her own, and all of it was deemed self-defense at the end of a very long private trial. Ambrosius still couldn’t tell how he felt about not knowing, but from the look on Nimona’s face whenever it was brought up, he was probably better off oblivious.
In retrospect, he thinks he would’ve been fine with her killing them. Especially after finding out they’d killed three people, injured multiple others, and almost killed them both during their attack. But he wouldn’t tell her that. He had to at least seem like his morals were unshakeable.
He did, however, thank her. Multiple times. The exchange usually went like this:
“You saved my life.”
“Yeah, well, it wasn’t like you were gonna do it.”
“How many times will I have to thank you before you actually accept it?”
“Probably thirty thousand.”
“Well, thank you, Nimona. Seriously.”
And then she’d nod and turn back to whatever she was doing previously.
Though, late at night once when he’d been dozing on the couch while waiting for Ballister to come home, he heard her talking.
“You don’t need to keep thanking me.” She’d said. He deduced pretty quickly that she didn’t mean for him to hear this. That she thought he was asleep. “I don’t really get how I could have done anything but save you. It was kind of selfish, honestly. I want you to stay alive for as long as possible.”
Ambrosius elected not to ruin the moment. To let her believe he couldn’t hear her, and never bring it up. He couldn’t help but smile a little bit, though, when he heard her next words.
“I love you.” It was barely audible. “Don’t tell anyone.”
He was lucky she sprinted away shortly thereafter.
“I love you too, Nimona.” He whispered into the empty air. “And no promises.”