7 in 3

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Porter

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“Why are you so slow, Mr. Knight?” Lord Wight’s mocking tone floats back to me as he tries to outfly my sprint. Thankfully he's not much faster than me, so he never gets too far ahead. The kid’s been zipping around the manor all day and has kept me moving nonstop. If any other knight had this position, they’d be dead right now.

 I wipe the sweat out of my eyes as the small boy jumps off the edge of the noble level without hesitation. I skid to a stop, looking down over the side of the artificial cliff. Below me a small golden shape is rapidly plummeting towards the roofs of the shopping level. Godsdammit, why is this kid so gods damned insane?

Steeling my resolve, I jump off the edge after the dragon brat. My heart leaps into my throat as the wind rushes through my ears. I look down and see the rapidly approaching patio of a pastry shop. The tiles crunch under my landing, shards of porcelain spraying around me. I lock eyes with the shop owner, who looks appropriately stunned by the sudden turn of events. 

“Send the bill to the Count!” I sprint after my charge, looking for any signs of his golden light, or at least the sound of buildings being demolished. Looking down each alley I pass as I run, I eventually see a flash of gold. I turn sharply, nicking the corner of the nearest building as I sprint into the narrow space. The mortar explodes as my knee makes contact, but I just keep moving.

Hurriedly I close in on the golden light shining from behind some barrels. I finally found the stupid kid, god, why can he fly? Why does the Count even have a dragon chil— I skid to a stop, directly behind the small glowing kid.

On the other side of the bored-looking noble boy stands a group of rough-looking men. They all have weapons of some kind, mostly cobbled together from scraps. I eye them up and down, but they haven’t even noticed my approach. The group is solely focused on my small master, greed glinting in their eyes. Lord Wight seems completely oblivious, or possibly just totally uninterested in the large group of assailants. This could get messy.

“Lord Wight!” My shout makes the kid snap his attention on me, a gleeful smile spreading across his face, exposing his pair of wicked fangs.

“Mr. Knight! I was sitting here waiting for you to catch up, because it was boring just flying, and then these people came over. They look weak so I just ignored them.” The five-year old’s words cause fury to flare in the faces of the gang behind him. 

I have to get this kid to not obliterate these morons. “Lord Wight, you’re right, these men are very weak. It would be much too boring to fight them, so why don’t you come over here?” I wave the boy over to me, but he just looks at me, a finger in his nose.

“Weak? You brats! I’m gonna crush you shits and show you who’s really weak!” the largest of the group bellows at us in fury, the veins in his face twitching. I start sprinting, to try and get between the thug and Lord Wight, but I’m a step too slow. The man’s broadsword cleaves down on the child’s head, shattering into scrap as it lands. 

The muscular criminal looks at the hilt in his hands, now devoid of a blade, and then looks at Lord Wight in disbelief. In a flash of light, Lord Wight flies at the man like an arrow. I don’t bother interfering, resigned to what's about to happen. The small child punches the man’s upper arm, causing it to explode into vapor. The bottom half of the guy’s arm falls to the ground, leaving only a stump hanging from his shoulder. The large man looks over at his now missing arm, mouth agape.

As the small golden shape lands next to me the thug starts to scream in pain and collapses to the ground. His companions disappear into adjoining alleyways, wisely abandoning their leader. I take the small Lord’s hand, leading him away from the screaming figure rolling on the ground, before authorities arrive. I don’t stop rushing until we make our way onto a main street.

At this point Lord Wight’s glowing scales and wings have disappeared, making him look passable as a normal child – at a distance, at least. I look down at him and he meets my gaze with his yellow, slit-pupiled eyes. He gives me a smile again, sending a shiver down my spine. Those fangs are truly frightening.

The boy suddenly grabs my hand, wiggling like he has to pee. “I wanted to get snacks Mr. Knight, can we please?” I almost fall over, shocked by my charge’s abrupt politeness. My face must’ve cracked a bit, because the kid explains himself. “My dad said that if I want something I have to ask nice.” He nods sagely at his own words. Holy hell, the Count can control this kid? 

I nod slowly at him.“Sure, my Lord, I have some coins on me.” 

At the mention of coins, the boy looks at me with a predatory hunger. “Mr. Knight… can I please have a coin? I like coins!” The continued politeness makes my skin crawl, so I give in. Just so he’ll stop. I pull out a gold coin, a peasant’s average monthly spending, and hand it to the child. Lord Wight swipes it from my hand too quickly for me to see. In one swift movement, the strange boy shoves the entire coin into his mouth, and swallows it whole. My mouth drops open in shock. The kid looks up at me again, smiling. 

“Thanks Mr. Knight, I’m gonna put it in my secret place later.” I nod at the boy’s words, not wanting to know how he’d retrieve the coin. 

“Let’s go get those snacks now, my Lord.” I give a light tug on his hand, pulling him behind me. Lord Wight follows obediently, as if he was a normal child, who hadn’t just eaten one sixth of my savings.

【〓〓〓〓】

For the first time since I met Lord Wight, he is sitting next to me, voluntarily content. The lack of glowing scales or extra limbs is strange now. I watch him tear a pastry apart with all the violence of a cat ripping into a mouse. I try to ignore the strange glee in his eyes, as if he’s imagining the same thing. 

Now that he’s not smashing something or flying somewhere, I notice that Lord Wight looks like a normal kid. Well, mostly. Ignoring his unique dragon qualities, like the tail, he smiles like any other kid I’ve seen on the street. I feel my face crack, the smallest of grins moving my lips. My enjoyment of the moment is short lived.

As if someone had overlaid another person where the boy was sitting, he’s replaced by a full grown man. A naked, full grown man. I jump to my feet, feeling my face flush slightly, and draw my sword. 

“Who are you, where is Lord Wight?” The strange man’s eyes drift to my face, then my sword, then his lack of clothes. He lets out a laugh before standing up. I position my sword to strike, as to not let this man escape with Lord Wight. “Stop!”

“Alright, alright, already. Give me a second.” The man stands still, but his shadow continues to move. Not giving him a chance to attack, I swing my sword in an ark, aiming for his legs. My sword never hits home, as a large black hand shoots from the man’s shadow, grabbing my blade. As I struggle to free my weapon, the man’s shadow crawls up over him before slowly shaping into a noble wear. He looks at me, in the eyes this time.

“Hello there, sir, I am Coil Holdings, can I ask who you are?” The man moves with practiced grace. Wait, Coil? I pull back my sword, the shadowy hand finally releasing it.

“Impersonating a noble is a punishable offense, I suggest you stop and tell me where Lord Wight is.” I put all the aggression into my voice that I can, but the supposed Coil is unimpressed.

“Well, I can tell you where Wight is.” The imposter points at his chest. “He’s right in here, sleeping like a baby, just like I was a few minutes ago.” He gives me a smirk that makes my heart stutter. I look around us, seeing no one in the small square we’re in. I lower my sword, but don’t sheath it.

“If you’re Lord Coil, prove it.” I stare into the man’s eyes as he gives me another smirk.

“Sure.” The man holds up his hand, showing me a ring. A blue gem glimmers inside the silver band, and I immediately recognize it as the Count’s. I sheath my sword and kneel in one movement.

“I’m sorry, my Lord, I had no idea it was really you.” My blood runs cold as I think about how I’ve treated the Count’s heir. I’m so screwed. I hear my Lord’s footsteps get closer before stopping in front of me. Lord Coil grabs my chin, forcing me to look up at him.

“Wow, you really make no expressions. What’s your name?” Lord Coil’s eyes are strange, lacking a pupil or iris, instead being swirling shades of black and gray. 

“I am Porter, my Lord, personal knight of… well, your personal knight.” 

Delight flashes in the Lord’s eyes, as if he had found a new toy. “Really? Oh, that’s great! I didn’t think Father would find someone trusted enough to be our knight. I’m assuming you’re the knight of all of us, then? But then why did you react to me that way?” Lord Coil tilts his head as he pummels me with questions. 

I remain silent for a moment, sorting out my thoughts. “Yes, Count Holdings assigned me to all of his children. I didn’t understand how I could achieve that, but I have been following Lord Wight. I wasn’t informed of anything besides the young Lord’s abilities. My reaction to you was due to my ignorance, Lord Coil.” I look at the ground again, hoping to not get punished too badly. I wait for a response, but none comes. I hear footsteps lead away from me before some rustling noises are let out. 

“So, you going to keep kneeling there all day, or do you want some of these… Are these cookies?” I look up and see Lord Coil sitting on the bench Lord Wight and I were occupying. The dark-clothed man is munching on pastries from the bag that were left on the bench. He looks at me with clear amusement on his face.

I quickly get to my feet before moving to stand by the bench. “I couldn’t eat with you, my Lord, it wouldn’t be proper.” 

Lord Coil scowls at me, irritated at something. “You were sitting and eating with Wight just fine, why not me?” Is… Is he pouting? Before I can say anything he grabs my hand and yanks me down onto the bench. His strength surprises me, and I fall onto the wooden seat. “That’s better, Porter.” Another pastry is devoured by him with a smile. “Want one?” He offers one to me with a smirk.

I quickly shake my head. I’m not even being polite, I hate sweet things. “No thank you, my Lord.” 

He makes that face that looks startlingly close to a pout. “Fine, then,” he says with a long sigh. “So how’d Wight convince you to take him out into the town?” He wolfs down another snack, looking at me expectantly. 

I repress a chuckle. “He jumped.” My face remains completely flat, like usual. 

“He… jumped?” My Lord’s eyebrows shoot up, a smile spreading on his face. 

I give a vigorous nod. “He jumped, my Lord, straight off the noble tier.” 

Coil is clearly holding back laughter at this point.“How’d you catch up to him, then?” 

“I jumped after him, naturally.” I nod, giving the obvious answer. 

The small square is filled with the man’s loud laughter. “You jumped too? Naturally? Who would just jump thirty stories after some kid, for a job? Holy crap, you’re hilarious, man!” Lord Coil’s eyes start to water as he continues to laugh. I feel myself blushing a bit, unused to this kind of attention. 

“Lord Coil, where is Lord Wight, really?” I pry a bit, somewhat worried about the invincible child. Can he even be killed? Well, maybe if he was stuck without air. But he could just break out of almost any situation. My thoughts are interrupted by Coil’s answer.

“He’s really inside me. All six of us share one body.” He gives me an ironically shining smile. “Father is too cruel, assigning you to us without explanation.” 

I shake my head at his words. “No, my Lord, I think Count Holdings is preoccupied with Lady Zenith right now, it probably slipped his mind.” My words make the heir’s face suddenly drop. 

“She’s back? What happened to Zenith?” The anger in his voice startles me, as does his intense stare.

“The Lady was found in a dungeon a few weeks ago, my Lord, she’s been unconscious since.” 

The Lord’s shadow vibrates as he listens, looking like it's falling apart. “A dungeon? Weeks? What? Has Wight been awake for weeks straight?” His shadow claws at the ground around it, ripping up the dirt. I quickly nod at him. “We need to go back to the manor, now!” Without waiting for a response he stands, immediately heading for the main road. 

I jump up and chase after him, noticing the shadows around us pulling away, like they're afraid of the young Lord.