Chapter 6: His Secret

                                    

                                          

I nearly melted in relief, almost overjoyed to find that I finally had someone on my side. 
                          
Pumpkin reeled his arm back, hurling the sword he held in his hand at us. It spun straight past, and my head snapped back just in time to see it sever off the head of a guard clean from the body. Her figure stayed up for a second before collapsing to the ground, dead. Her head rolled down the stairs, a thump heard each time before it slowed to a stop. 
                          
Horrified, all three of us turned back to gape at Pumpkin, who only walked calmly up to the body, picked up the sword and polished the blade off on the guard's clothes. A swipe of crimson was left in its wake. 
                          
 I gawked at him in both amazement and terror; what more, I wasn't sure. The movement, so precise and well executed, had only taken a single, lethal second to aim and send the sword flying, ending the poor woman's life.
                          
Was this the same sweet, innocent Pumpkin I knew?
                          
"I'll cover for you all while you get back." Pumpkin declared as he went straight to business, turning back and setting his hands on his hips. He was clearly pleased with himself. Lydia tilted her head closer to him, intrigued by the light accent his voice carried. 
                          
"But wait- you should come with us." I insist, and Navia barks in agreement, licking the side of my neck. 
                          
Pumpkin shook his head. "I've got a duty to fulfill here. How else do you all plan to keep Calix safe from torture?"
                          
He was right, I thought with a sigh. 
                          
"But if you've killed all these guards," Lydia reasoned, still slightly in shock. She was clearly still hesitant, not having met Pumpkin prior to now. "Won't they kill you as well?" 
                          
His grin answered the question on its own. "Not if they don't find out." 
                          
Before I could stop him, Pumpkin slashed his sword across his stomach, thick liquid spurting out of the gash. It took me a moment to process before Valentine rushed forward, pressing his hands to the wound in an attempt to staunch the blood. Pumpkin frowned, removing them from the injury. 
                          
"Are you mad?!" I shrieked, ripping the sword out of his grasp. Val immediately began to bandage him up, but despite the effort Pumpkin shoved him back. 
                          
"I'm not." He protested, taking Navia back. "I just need to be believable. Besides, it's hardly a scratch."
                          
"Scratches don't bleed like that," Lydia commented, crossing her arms. The wound was, as he claimed, not as deep as we might've been making it seem, but it still had disturbed me how insistently he'd cut himself. 
                          
Shaking his head, Pumpkin shoved us forward. "Doesn't matter. You all gotta get going anyhow." 
                          
Ushering us to the edge of the balcony, he patted my chest in comfort. "Now get going, Your Majesty," he ordered, lightly pressuring the small of my back. 
                          
Turning around, I hugged him tight against my chest, no doubt lifting him a few inches off the ground in the process. Words couldn't convery how thankful I was that he'd stuck with me. Pumpkin giggled, ruffling my hair as Navia roughly bit my shoulder. 
                          
I was almost caught up in the moment until Val cleared his throat obnoxiously, letting out a huff of exasperation. Pumpkin smirked at him, and I could've sworn he stuck his tongue out. When the situation finally registered into my head, I could only groan. 
                          
"We're leaving now, thank you." I told Pumpkin irritably, who held out Navia. 
                          
"Say goodbye, Navia." 
                          
She barked, offering her paw out to me. When I stared at it in confusion, Pumpkin told me to hold it, and I did. Navia shook my hand energetically, panting heavily as she did so. I chuckled softly, scratching behind her fluffy ears as I'd seen her owner do countless times. Her tail wagging in response, a low growl coming from her throat.