Anarchist Knight

Chapter 11-Melanie

She shrank back obviously terrified and Tobal instinctively stood up without thinking.

"Wait a minute Ox", he said. "I’ve been waiting here three days and I think you’re rushing things a little bit. She might prefer to go with me than go with you."

His challenge stopped the Ox in his tracks.

"You still here scarface?", he asked, "You’d better run back to Rafe before I mess you up."

"Why don’t we just explain the situation to the newbie", said Tobal reasonably, "We can both talk to her and she can make her own decision about who she wants as a teacher."

The Ox didn’t even wait. He spun and lurched over to where Tobal was standing, grabbed him by the tunic and threw him down on the floor. In disbelief Tobal narrowly missed being kicked in the face by a huge boot. This guy was really trying to hurt him! He rolled hastily to his feet and watched the Ox with fear in his eyes. There had been no real warning. Tobal was caught completely off guard by the viciousness of the attack and had no idea what to expect next. The Ox was obviously used to getting his own way and was coming around the end of the cot to close with him and give him a real pounding that could involve serious injury.

Instinctively Tobal’s hand went to his knife and he held it in front of him protectively with the edge upward. The Ox halted, shock registering on his face. He was obviously not used to being threatened with knives and didn’t know what to do about it.

Sensing an advantage Tobal took a quick step toward the Ox, waving the knife slightly.

"I said let’s talk to her. Let’s explain things to her and then let her decide."

The Ox stood still, not moving, a nervous tick showed on his left cheek and his eyes were bulging. Like most bullies, the Ox was a coward at heart. He was clearly unprepared for any of this and didn’t know what to do. The silence built until his nerve broke, unwilling to challenge Tobal any further he spun away with a dangerous glint in his eye.

"I’ll remember this", he said and stalked heavily out of the room.

Tobal turned toward the girl who was shrinking from him in fear. Then it occurred to him he was still brandishing the knife in a threatening way. He put the knife away blushing.

"Sorry about that", he said in an embarassed way. He felt a red flush creeping up his face making the muscles go tight and pulling the scar tissue making it stand out in the dim light. He was uncomfortably aware of how he must appear to this frightened girl.

"Sorry", he said again weakly and sat down on the edge of a cot.

"It’s ok, don’t be afraid. I’m Tobal, What’s your name?", he asked trying to lighten the situation a little.

"Melanie", she whispered. "I’ve come to seek sanctuary but they stole all my things!"

She burst into tears not able to take any more. Despite himself Tobal chuckled at the irony of the situation. Apparently she knew as little about sanctuary as he had when he first arrived a little over two months ago. He laid back on the uncomfortable cot and looked her over with interest. She was taller than he had first thought and came up easily to his shoulder. Her dark hair was straight and stringy and her face was thin and long but her eyes were dark brown and vulnerable right then. Her shoulders were shaking and she was obviously going through an ordeal.

"You’re not from around here are you?", He observed thoughtfully.

She whispered "No", with a sad and lost look on her face that told him she didn’t really want to be here now either.

"Why did you come here then?" He asked.

Gradually her story came out. She had heard about the mysterious, forbidden city of Heliopolis and of how anyone, no matter their race, religion or past could go there and claim sanctuary. There were rumors of time travel and witches circles and magick. She had run away from an abusive home to get here and now she was scared. She didn’t understand anything about this place.

"It’s not at all like I thought it would be", she confessed tearfully.

"You ran away from home?", Tobal asked.

She blushed and her face went red to the roots of her dark brown hair. That’s when Tobal noted in the dim light the remains of a black eye and a yellowing bruise on the left side of her face. This girl was not a stranger to violence. He shuddered to think of her with the Ox as a teacher. She was seeking sanctuary in a totally different way than he had claimed sanctuary. He had been seeking for clues about his parents and their deaths. She was simply looking for a place of safety.

Not quite knowing how to begin. "This is kind of complicated", He said at last.

"Sanctuary is not that easy and becoming a citizen takes a long time", he began lamely. "You see, they don’t just let people into Heliopolis…."

She started to clench up and quiver at his words fighting back tears and he motioned her to keep quiet and let him finish. He tried a kindly smile and saw her flinch at his attempt.

"Heliopolis only grants citizenship to those that have proven themselves worthy of being citizens. Claiming sanctuary just means you are applying for citizenship and willing to prove your worthiness."

He stopped as he realized she didn’t understand a word he was saying. He tried again.

"You just had a medical exam right?" She nodded. "You’ve also taken a bunch of tests and been given a pack with some clothing and a sleeping bag right?", again she nodded.

"What you are now expected to do is go out and prove that you can live off the land by yourself for an entire month."

She looked at him in shocked disbelief. Her eyes were starting to widen in horror with dawning comprehension.

"You mean there is no sanctuary here?" She asked.

His face relaxed into a grin as he sat up once more on the hard cot.

"There is safety and sanctuary in a way. A group of us live outside the city in the wilderness. We have all claimed sanctuary, even Ox whom you already met. We are proving ourselves worthy of becoming citizens of Heliopolis. The requirements are completion of three degrees of work and study. The Apprentice degree is to learn how to survive alone in the wilderness for an entire month or 28 days which is the moon cycle. You do this without any assistance from anyone else. Once you have soloed you are expected to train six other people to solo. Training these six people proves your mastery and ability to survive in the wilderness. Once these six people have soloed you are eligible for the Journeyman degree which we can talk more about later."

"Ox has already trained five people to solo but I haven’t trained anyone yet. I just finished my own solo three days ago. I came here hoping to find someone to train."

She was much more curious now and attentive to what he was saying.

"Ox came here to find someone to train and we had a little personality clash as you noticed", He grinned ruefully. "At least I’m still alive! I thought he was a little too offensive for my taste." He looked at her solemnly and said, "I’d be glad to teach you the survival skills needed to solo and receive the Apprentice degree if you would like."

She looked at him with a glint of humor in her eyes and a light smile on her face.

"I’d like that very much Mr. Tobal", she said.

"Tobal", he replied, "Tobal."

"Mr. Tobal", she said, " I like your style."

"Drop the "Mr.", he said, "just Tobal, ok?" They both laughed.