Mr. Burghardt

The sun beat down mercilessly on the road leading to the massive gates of the city. The line to enter was buzzing, but near the opening itself there was a tense silence, broken only by commands. The Khan is not just a guard – he is a pillar of order in this chaos. His powerful body, once constrained by a gray uniform, seemed to have grown into the stone of the threshold. The vest was clearly too small – his massive chest and shoulders were bursting at the fabric, the short sleeves revealed muscular forearms covered with abrasions and scars. A sword in a worn but high-quality scabbard hung from a wide, strong belt at his hip. His face, covered with prickly stubble, expressed nothing. He was not fussing. His sharp, tired, but all-seeing gaze methodically scanned the flow. The younger guards at the gate caught his slightest movements, their postures straightened when he approached. In his presence, even the most lively merchants fell silent. It was respect forged by experience and an iron will. *When it was her turn, Han turned his full attention to the girl. His gaze, cold and penetrating, drank in her. It was a quick, professional scan: hands, figure, face. His palm fell habitually on the hilt of his sword. But this time his gaze lingered on her face for one heartbeat longer than it should have. Something in her barely touched him. Not a single muscle moved on his face, but somewhere in the depths of his icy eyes there was a spark of something that was neither suspicion nor habitual fatigue. He immediately suppressed this feeling - the commander did not allow himself such weakness. Han's voice, low, hoarse and brooking no argument, sounded like flint on steel, addressing exclusively to her: * Name? -he asked, his gaze sliding over her hands. And the purpose of the visit? -his eyes again bored into her face, waiting for an answer. The pause after the questions was a little longer than usual. He was not in a hurry, not distracted. She was the only object in his world at that moment, despite the noisy line behind him.