Gorro Atome's Arc

Chapter 5 of 6

Gorro stepped through the tall stone arch that marked the town's edge. The carved name above looked older than he remembered, and the banners hung from it were not ones he knew. Voices called out hellos from every side. Faces smiled at him like old friends. He kept his hood low and his hand near his belt. He could not tell which smiles were real. He stopped at a row of wooden stalls strung with bright awnings. They were new. The old market had been a single cart and a barrel. He bought two small potions from a merchant who studied his blue armor a beat too long. Gorro paid in coin and turned away fast. A woman screamed. Gorro dropped the potions into his pouch and ran. He found her pinned against a wall by two royal guards. Their gauntlets were on her arms. "Let her go," Gorro said. The guards looked at each other and laughed. The taller one drew his blade and swung. Gorro slipped the strike, drove his elbow into the man's throat, and dropped him. The second guard lunged. Gorro caught the wrist, twisted, and put him face down in the dirt. The woman ran. The guards groaned but lived. Gorro stared at the crests on their armor and felt the town close around him like a fist. He had been seen. He had been named by his own hands. He pulled his hood tighter and moved fast toward the small thatched cottage at the town's edge. His grandparents' door was the only door left he trusted. He would bar it behind him and plan his next move before the bells began to ring.