When Justin left Wyatt he was sad but his own heart was not heavy. He hadn’t known such joy in his life, and wondered at it, considering what lay before him. Before he had gone far he stopped and removed the vest, again marveling at the refreshing feel of the blood. He folded it and put it into his shirt then continued.
The sun had passed its peak when he reached Tory’s home. He found them sitting and reclining, under the same tree that they’d been under when Tory had told him about Wyatt’s parents’ history with Roth. When Tory’s mother saw him, she smiled and said, “We have plenty of stew left in the pot on the hearth and there is bread on the table.”
“It’s delicious, Justin. Breck took a stag today and brought us a roast. Get a bowl and join us here,” said Tory.
“Thank you. I will do that in a moment. I would like the chance to talk to you all first,” Justin said sitting down beside them.
“Certainly, go on,” said Barker.
Justin looked at them for a moment in silence, and then he said, “I must confess a great wrong against your clan and the Great King. I hope when you have heard it you will be able to forgive me.”
“What have you done?” asked Tory.
Justin took a deep breath and began. “You know how I have despised the way your people tolerate the tyranny of Roth. I tried to inflame you against him but you rightly resisted. You also know, Tory, how unforgiving I have been of some of my own clan. I have been wrong in bitterly judging many. Anyway, I found a kindred spirit in Wyatt, Gresham’s son, in the town. He hates Roth and I tapped into his hate and mixed it with my own. I then fed on that until I believed it was right to try to deliver you all from Roth. Wyatt and I conspired to kill him. I even stole one of the treasures, the mail vest, to wear when we lay in wait for him. I won’t go into the details of our plan. They aren’t important. What is important is that our plan seemed to go wrong, but I believe that it was actually the King causing things to go right. The mail vest changed. It became a shirt of old, reeking, bloody rags. Don’t worry, though, it changed back. But it now has the King’s crest on it and it stays wet with fresh blood.” At that point Justin drew the vest from his shirt and unfolded it on the grass before them. “What now?” Justin exclaimed, “Where has the crest and blood gone?” The vest looked just as it had the first time he saw it, beautiful, but it was dry, clean, and the front was unadorned.
“It is alright, Justin,” said Barker. “I think we now know much of your story and can explain a few things to you.”
“Yes, Justin,” said Tory, “I told you that the vest makes the wearer invincible and that is true. But there is more to it than that. It also, as you have learned, has the power to transform. It is said that if the wearer puts his trust in the King, rather than his own power and righteousness, that the King’s crest will appear on the vest. And if the wearer has received the forgiveness of the King for his transgressions, the blood will appear.”
“Yes,” exclaimed Justin, “I could tell that he had forgiven me, somehow I knew. I only hope you all will forgive me as well. And I am different now. Nothing has changed with the people on whom I wanted my revenge, but I don’t feel like judging them now.”
“That is wonderful, Justin. And you needn’t worry about anyone in the clan forgiving you. The vest has done what the King intended it to. No one will accuse you,” said Tory’s mother smiling at him.
He looked at her and smiled back. “I think I’ll take you up on that supper now. I suddenly feel very hungry. I’ll be right back.”
“Wait, Justin, I think I might just like a second bowl, myself,” said Barker sitting up and stretching.
“If you will, I think I will too,” Tory said, and they all rose.
Barker picked up the mail vest and refolded it. As they entered the house he laid it on a shelf by the door.
A short while later as the three wiped the thick gravy from their bowls with chunks of crusty brown bread, Justin said, “I would like to ask one last favor of your family, Tory. Could you return the vest for me tomorrow to its place among the other gifts?”
“You’re not leaving in the morning, are you?” asked Tory’s mother.
“Actually, ma’am, I’m going tonight.”
“What? Tonight? You may as well sleep here and start fresh in the morning, if you are determined to leave,” argued Barker.
“No. I thank you, but I have finally reached my destination, and it is time I returned home. I have peace to make with a couple of others. It wouldn’t make sense to delay my leaving for one night’s sleep. After all, I’ll camp out a lot on the way.”
“We’ll equip you for your journey then,” said Tory.
“I can’t begin to thank you all for all your goodness to me,” Justin said as he stood up.
“There is no need. We all consider you well met,” replied Tory’s father.
“I’ll help you gather your things from the barn,” said Tory.
About a quarter of an hour later found Justin starting back up the road with his blanket and the bag of provisions Tory’s mother had given him strapped loosely around his back and over one shoulder. His goodbyes were quick. He had never liked dragging a thing out. And he was soon out of sight of Tory’s home, the town, even the manor grounds, and walking briskly.
Although his feet were walking, he felt as if his spirit was dancing, and he was so light that he couldn’t convince himself that he was tired. He walked late into the night until the moon and stars had all risen to their zenith. The moon was in its autumn fullness, which had always seemed to him to be the brightest of the entire year. The stars too seemed more brilliant than usual. At last he decided to lie down for the night, but it was to look at the sky that he wanted, not to sleep. He moved off the road and lay down on his back on his blanket. From that perspective the sky seemed a huge dome that went all the way around him. He had always loved the night sky and had learned early to tell directions from it, so that he knew which way his home was. He lay there in the brilliance letting his eyes take in each constellation that he knew in turn. By the time he came to Adlai he was becoming drowsy, but he remembered his dream in which the starry man had come down from the sky to confront him. How different he felt now, so clean and happy. It was not to that dream he returned, though, but to the one that had him on the large, fine bed by the starlight-speckled window, dozing with a book in his hands.
