Pull the Wool Tighter

Zaida stuck to different regions of the school until a fellow guard informed her that it was time for the luncheon watch change. She and the others turned over the school's security to a fresh team before heading off to the dining hall. There she met up with Tivra and Edie. The former of the two was looking better, though not quite her usual self.

After enough time passed for everyone to have eaten at least one serving, a woman climbed onto a table at one end of the hall to address the knights and trainees. She was short, with purple hair and... um... prominent features. Even before she bellowed her impressive call, people were quieting down out of respect.

"Who is that?" Zaida asked the women beside her.

"That's Dyna Montague," Edie whispered back. "The captain."

"Oh, so that's her." The novice looked at the captain again. "I was expecting her to be wearing a lot of medals."

"Quiet down, quiet down," Dyna was hushing the minority of those present that had not heeded her previous shout for silence. "I have a few things to say while I have you all in one place. First of all: beautiful work out there. We've only been at it for a few days, but you all are clearly bringing your A game against those haughty incense-huffers."

The hall erupted in proud cheers as the knights revelled in their apparent bedding superiority. Dyna waited for it to die down before continuing.

"That's right; be proud, but remember that it's not over yet. There's still work to be done - or should I say pleasure to be done?" What followed was a mixed reaction at the wordplay. "Anyway, the next thing I want to talk about is a bit more serious. We had a report come in this morning. Last night, amid the festivities, a pair of kids claim to have seen a demon - inside the town."

Murmurs broke out. Most of them were some kind of skeptical. How could a demon have made it through the barrier, and past Merridian's esteemed knights?

"Hey, captain," one knight shouted out. "Since when do we act on the word of some whimsical kid?"

"We don't," Dyna admitted. "But there were two of them, they both totally corroborated each other's story, and they swore up and down by what they saw."

More murmurs followed.

Zaida was tapping her foot absurdly fast. "Um... b-barrier? What barrier? What's everyone talking about?"

"The field that protects the town," Edie explained. "Its a magical ward that stops demons from sneaking into Merridian."

Tivra jumped in. "If a demon tries to enter..." she waved her hands like she was mimicking flames. "Poof! Ashes."

"And this is something that protects the whole town? Everywhere? No holes or anything?" Zaida swallowed hard.

"Well yeah. Unless..." Tivra looked at the other knight from the office. "Edie, you didn't leave the barrier open did you?"

"Oh my goodness, you're right! I totally forgot it open!" The two carried on with their mock horror while Zaida tried her hardest to suppress her genuine experience.

What do you mean there's a barrier? I walked right into this town and there was nothing! I didn't see anything, I didn't smell anything, I didn't feel anything. I could have died! How am I alive? And they know! They saw me in my true form and now they know that there's something hiding in the town. The minute they start searching I'm done for! It'll be three days - no, two days before they start checking which people are really human. If they can ward a city, they can see through me!

I need to do something. I can't just wait around for them to find me; that's just waiting for my own execution. No, I need to... to... Come out first? Maybe. Maybe if I come to them and come clean, they'll see that I mean them no harm, and they'll let me stay. Or they might just kill me on the spot. But what if I came out to Dyna? The knights all like and respect her. If I had her on my side, they wouldn't dare touch me. She seems like an easygoing person. She just might let me stay.

With her appetite quashed, Zaida spent the remainder of the luncheon summoning her resolve to tell Dyna the truth. She waited until most had left the hall before approaching the captain. She was seated on a table, conversing with Hellknox - that scary sergeant - and surrounded by a handful of other knights in no rush to be anywhere. A wayward odor reached Zaida and she put it from her mind, focusing on producing the courage to come clean to the captain.

The leader of the knights noticed her and spoke. "What can I do for you, my enchantress of a knight?"

"I... uh..." Zaida smelled it again. She could not place it, but it was familiar and very distracting.

Dyna noticed that she did not recognize the woman before her. "Hey, you're one of the newer ones, aren't you?" She sprang from the table, landing before Zaida. "By the look of your armour, I'd say you've already been with us long enough to clear training, but consider this my official welcome to the corps." She held out a hand. Her face was made more attractive by the friendly smile she wore.

"Thank you, I..." Zaida took her hand to shake and that was when it hit her. All at once she placed the smell and got an unmistakable read of Dyna.

Dyna was no human; Dyna was a demon. Not just her, either. Hellknox radiated it too. And someone else too. At least three of the people around Zaida were spawns of hell in disguise, and one of them was the most powerful woman in Merridian's knightly order.

Oh no...

"Are you okay?" Dyna asked. The novice had a look in her eyes and was still holding onto her hand despite the shake being over. "Are you feeling well?"

"N-no, I'm not," Zaida stammered. "I need to see a doctor immediately!" She took the excuse and backed up before bolting out of the dining hall.

"Hm. Hope she's alright," Dyna remarked after she was gone.