unable to meet his eyes. It seemed as if she was hoping that the dark sky would give her the strength to answer his question.
"You are to be executed," she explained somewhat subdued. "And that is just so wrong!"
"What’s wrong?" Elio replied.
"You are not a crook, you seem to be an very nice man. Certainly, you are not one of us, and I know you do not like us guardians, but it is not right that you must be punished for it."
"Do you know what happened to this part of the country when the guardians gained power?" Elio asked.
Elnora shook her head. "No, I do not know."
"You guardians destroyed and pillaged settlements and towns when you discovered that those who lived there were not on your side. This town seems to have prospered once, but I don’t want to know what happened to those who once lived here. People like you and I, were brutally driven away, and saw their lives and dreams shattered. Had their possessions taken away from them. Entire cities were burned to the ground. It was guardians such as you who did this."
"I knew nothing about it," Elnora replied.
"I understand that you did not know. They have no reason to tell you."
"It feels so wrong. I regret that I ever became a guardian! I have done ever since the first day. Everyone is horrible to me and I have no real friends. I have to put up with those no good drunks the whole time. I just want to get out of this. I do not want to be a guardian anymore, but they said it was irreversible."
"If you had not become a guardian, what would you have done instead?" Elio asked.
"One of my old friends, who was also forced to leave the orphanage, got a job on a farm in the northern forests. I bitterly regret that I did not go with her. I really did not want to work on a farm. It just seemed dirty and hard, but I regret that choice now. Anything is better than this."
Elio caught her eyes. "If you get me out of here, I could help you to get safely to the northern forests."
Elnora looked surprised. "Would you help me? I am a guardian, and I almost killed you."
"Well, if you help me, then I'll help you. You seem like a nice person, a favour for a favour?"
Elnora looked around nervously, to make sure that none of her fellow guardians could be seen.
"You must not betray me," she said anxiously.
"Of course not" Elio assured her. "Do you know where the key to these chains are?"
Elnora nodded. "I have it."
"You do, I never thought they would entrust it to you."
"They did not," Elnora said cheerfully. "I took it from them. I wanted to feel powerful. I wanted to feel that I was important." She could not help laughing, despite the circumstances.
"You're important," Elio said. "All of us are."
"You are the only one who has ever said that I'm important," Elnora said." I hope you really mean it, and are not just saying it because it sounds good."
"I don't say anything I don't mean. You have my word."
"I understand that. I am not surprised."
"I need water," Elio complained.
"Your face is dirty. There is a spring a short walk from here, where you can wash and drink."
"Are you going to release me ...?" Elio asked anxiously.
Elnora nodded gently.
"Wait here, I must check that my friends do not see us."
The young girl stood up and walked cautiously towards the gate. Elio could see she was shaking. He knew he had put her life in danger, but it was his only way out.
She looked anxiously to see if she could spot any of the other guardians. As soon as she felt the coast was clear, she returned to Elio. The campfire in the square had gone out, but embers that remained still spread much needed warmth. With trembling hands Elnora stretched for the key in her pocket.
"You're brave," Elio said.
"I can be brave when needed," Elnora smiled.
She reached for the shackles. A few seconds later, the soldier was once again free. He rubbed his sore wrists and stood up.
Elnora looked more nervous and scared than ever. "You can leave me to my fate now, if you want. You can betray me now, your path is free."
"Don't you worry. I've learned to never be too emotional. Never to care about anybody else if I want to survive. But without your help, I would soon have been dead."
Elnora smiled proudly. "We must hurry. It is less than an hour until dawn."
"Is there a safe way out of town?"
"I know of one, and do not think my friends know it. I often explored the area when the others were drinking mead."
"You call them your friends," Elio remarked.
"I'm used to saying that. I have learned to regard all the guardians as my friends, but to be honest, not many of them are really friends with each other."
"Can a guardian learn to love someone?"
"I do not know," Elnora replied sadly. "I've never thought about it. Elio ... am I evil?"
"No," Elio said firmly, "you are not evil. But you are part of a coalition whose goal is to destroy me and those I love."
"I never wanted to kill or harm anyone. The other guards said that I have to learn to kill, but I don't want to. They said that I would learn in time. They patted me on the shoulder when I hit you with the spear and said that I had taken my first step. I'm afraid they're right. I am about to become evil."
"Even if you had killed me with the spear that would not have made you evil."
"How come?" Elnora asked with a trembling voice.
"Because it was the natural thing for you to do at the time. You had learned that I was your enemy. Even if my arm does hurt a lot you did nothing wrong. I have been attacked by you guardians before and had to defend myself. I have killed several of those that you call your friends, but I have never considered that it makes me evil. I want to live! Just like you."
Elnora nodded. "I want to live too. I thought the guardians would give me a good life."
Elio put his hand on her shoulder. "There's a new life waiting for you now," he said quietly. "Now let’s head off towards the forests of the north."
She looked at Elio, and he noticed her eyes filled with tears, as she did her best to hold them back.
"You may cry if you want, it does not matter," he pointed out gently.
"But what about you?" she said sorrowfully, and tried to wipe away the tears with the back of her hand.
"I will always be a sty in the eye of the guardians. I can not be anyone other than myself. I have to keep fighting."
They stood in silence for a long while. The sky slowly started to brighten up.
"We must leave now," Elnora said resolutely.
"I know," Elio replied. "Forgive me for turning your life up side down. I hope you understand that it was not my intention. It was simply my only chance to survive, and I am a survivor."
"It does not matter now, Elio. I should have understood sooner. It is now my life really begins!"
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