A sudden jolt woke him up from his deep sleep. He tried opening his eyes but closed them immediately under the assault of sunlight peering upon him in between the green leaves overhead.
He rolled over to his side and opened them once again. A voice greeted him as he finally adjusted to his surroundings.
"Oh, you are finally awake."
A man in a green robe, the officially accepted uniform for the healers, sat across him. Glancing around, Adrain saw himself aboard a horse drawn carriage with an open roof. Few other unconscious survivors slept beside him.
The healer extended a warm smile towards him. "How are you feeling, young man? It must have been a traumatic experience to be in such a tragic incident."
Letting slight tremors creep up his tone, Adrian replied. "Yes, it was. I-i am glad I am alive." He let his fingers twitch at times as he continued, "I am k-kind of not in the best mood for normal conversation. Actually I am a bit confused with all..."
The doctor waved his hands in dismissal. "It’s okay to be nervous right now. But don’t let it unhinge your life. Move on..." With a little sigh he said, "And forget all those deaths you witnessed."
Pretending as if he just remembered them, Adrian asked in a nervous tone, with glimpses of hope in his eyes.
The healer’s face fell. In a sad tone, he replied Adrian.
"In total, only four of you came out alive. And each of you had been stuck inside the train. In a way you can say you are lucky you didn’t come outside...since they all died."
"Ohh..." Adrian’s eyes widened in horror. And the doctor seeing that patted his shoulders gently, letting him absorb the shock.
Internally, however Adrian was cursing.
’What the hell ! Only four alive? Out of the 150 something guards, only four came back alive?!’
But before he could further delve into cursing Luna more profoundly, a horse trotted towards their carriage.
A bored looking soldier pointed at Adrian and said.
"Boy, you. Yes, you! The Royal Guard has summoned you. Go and meet him now."
Saying that, the soldier moved back to his original position at the rear.
The healer smiled at him and said calmly, "Don’t be afraid. They just want to ask you about the incident. Just be honest with them and you shall be okay."
∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆
A minute later and he found himself inside a luxurious carriage run by two horses. Floral decorations covered the roof of the carriage and intricate designs flowed along the walls like a trapestry unveiling itself.
In the centre lay a thick wooden table and on the chair beside it sat Sir Marcus. The moment Adrian entered the carriage, the man’s eyes scrutinized him from head to toe.
Satisfied with whatever he seemed to have seen, he asked Adrian to sit at a chair across him.
Feigning a slight trepidation in his body posture, he sat on the wooden chair awkwardly. He tried flashing the Imperial Guard a small smile but hesitation crossed his features and he stopped.
Sir Marcus watched all of this, as he nodded slightly. He thought, ’Either he is really nervous due to a staunch belief in social hierarchy as is common with people or...he is simply good at acting.’
With a slight coughing sound that almost came as a sort of intimidation, he asked Adrian in a firm but probing tone.
"I shall get straight to the point. What were you doing when the fight broke out?"
"Umm sir, I-i was inside the compartment." Adrian replied with a nervous chuckle. "Ehh it’s my second day at job and I didn’t want to risk the goods inside."
He gulped down his next sentences as he saw the Royal Guard pierce him with a dangerous look.
He thumped his gloved palm on the table separating them, his voice echoing in the small space.
"Is that what the word ’courage’ has been reduced to by your generation? You hid in the Joint Carriage. Protecting the interests of your employee wasn’t your goal. It was to protect yourself."
Seeing Adrian cower in apparent fear, Marcus removed his hand from the table and rubbed his forehead, the distress in him expressing itself in the form of the wrinkles knitted on his forehead.
"Such cowardice... Anyway, tell me do you recognise this?" He asked as he pulled a piece of cloth from his oversized pockets.
The moment he kept the cloth on the table, Adrian’s body stiffened. It passed away within a moment but didn’t go unnoticed by Marcus.
And Adrian knew that.
Then with a genuine nervousness, he lied. "Yes. The person wearing this was the reason the train halted and..."
"And? And what?" Marcus encouraged him, leaning in slightly.
"And...and from the front of the Joint Carriage, there came a shout."
"Oh...what did it say?" Marcus seemed to be completely engrossed in whatever Adrian had to say.
With more shaking in his voice, he replied.
"They said that a Seat has blocked our path. The Seat had this red cloak on her. Just like the piece of cloth here." He pointed his finger at the cloth.
Marcus leaned back in his chair, his fingers drumming against the armrest.
"A Seat you say? Isn’t that interesting..." He spoke, more to himself than to Adrian. Then looking at him again, he instructed him.
"You are free to go now. But don’t say anything about the Seat to anyone else. And if the others wake up, send them straight to me. Got it?"
Adrian nodded in rapid motions as he scrambled from his seat, almost dropping it in process.
Before he could exit the carriage, Marcus called out to him once again.
"Oh. I forgot to ask you your name."
Without turning back, he replied. "It’s Leo, sir."
"Alright. I might see you around at Woodrock City then."
Coming out of the carriage, Adrian released a breath he didn’t knew he had been holding till this moment.
With a quiet sigh, he looked ahead of him.
It seemed Luna had left some evidence behind, not even bothering to wipe away the memories of the survivors.
A messy situation indeed.