17 A Royal Proposition (2/2)

She nodded back, and he lunged forwards. He went to stab her, although he planned to stop his blade just before reaching her stomach.

Instead, displaying an agility Ker'Tallen didn't expect, she spun and landed the side of her blade against Ker'Tallen's head, hitting him like a punch and only slightly cutting his green skin. What kind of a technique was that?

”Again.” She said.

He ran forwards, and went for a vertical slice. Effortlessly, the queen raised her blade and deflected it. He tried to slash her waist, and again, she avoided it.

Strike after strike, he couldn't get through her defenses. She wasn't a perfect fighter, she slipped up from time to time, but she was insanely skilled. Finally, she pushed him back with a single kick to the stomach that knocked the wind out of him.

It was only then, as she raised her pale leg that he realized, or rather, remembered, that this entire time, she was fighting in a dress. If he fought in a dress, he would be cut down immediately. Still, with her mobility hampered, she still beat him.

”You are skilled.” She said with a strained voice. Despite her victory, she was certainly tired. ”I will entertain your request for now.”

She tossed her sword down, and nonchalantly went back to speaking with the man, who stood with his mouth wide open.

Ker'Tallen understood then, why she had fought him. The message was loud and clear.

If he betrayed her, as he did his home country, she'd kill him herself. His respect for this woman grew by the minute.

”Uh,” another guard spoke up. ”Where do we take him?”

”Keep him here, at the castle where you can keep a close eye on him.” The queen quickly answered. ”Surely, you must have a guest room? Otherwise, where will I be staying?”

”S-Sure, your grace.” The guard bowed and grabbed Ker'Tallen by the shoulder, dragging him to a nearby room.

They went through a large hallway, but all the while Ker'Tallen could only think about how he'd gotten here.

He risked everything when he ran away. He'd let go of his family, his friends, his... Well, it didn't matter. Somehow, this idiotic plan worked. All he could do was see it through.

Mariana's POV

Querida madre,

Ya hoy llegué a mi quinto día en esta ciudad tan extraña. He conocido a muchas personas, y los extranjeros aquí me han tratado muy bien. Espero que hayas recuperado de tu enfermedad, por lo menos un poquito.

Te quiero, Mariana

With dirt all around her, she let go of the quill she held in her right hand. She stood, and began walking over to the nearby post office.

The citizens around her, equally as dirty and tainted as she was, scowled as she moved past them. The truth was, this village had been hell from the moment she walked in.

In just five days, she hadn't been able to secure any sort of safety for the one she left back in that small colony called Corona.

Her mother.

She still remembered the day she left, the way the older woman looked at her, with a mixture of love and hatred. Love, because she was her daughter. Hatred, because she left her in her time of need.

Mariana explained many times that she was leaving to gather funds, to pay for a healer, for her mother's disease to be cured, but her mother couldn't believe it. There weren't any mages in Corona, most people believed they didn't even exist.

But Mariana dreamed the opposite. She held an ember of hope in her heart that there would be someone in the world with the skill to cure her mother. And so, in the dead of night, she left her home.

After several days of walking, a thirteen-year-old girl, alone in the wilderness, she came across this village. It was a magical moment for her, until she realized she'd have to make enough money to pay for a healer before she could return to Corona.

So, she did the only thing she knew how. Stealing.

Now, after she gave her letter to the courier's office in this detestable village, she turned and walked back into the dirt alley she called home.

There, alone, she stripped her ripped clothes off, and put on a black shirt, black pants, and a black mask. The only things she took with her when she left Corona.

Nighttime fell upon this village, and Mariana got to work. Only, this time, she wasn't heading for some random house, she was heading to the largest structure here. The castle.

Normally, it would take months of stealing to garner enough money for anything significant, but today, like a divine light falling on one of those priests she used to mock, an opportunity fell on her lap.

The queen of Nova had come to this village.

Truth be told, she didn't need to do this. She had already acquired a few dozen silver, the her only failure so far had been that embarrassing encounter with the elf. Mariana could almost still feel her cheeks heating up at being treated like such a child. Aside from that though, she'd been pretty successful.

But, she couldn't take a single day further in this place. She hated it. Hated its condescending people, its dirt streets, its hopeless aura.

She wanted to be rid of it.

Also, she didn't know how much longer her mother had. Her mother had been living with this disease for years. She was on her deathbed when Mariana left. Could she save her? If she could, she still wouldn't be able to see it happen personally. The healer would most likely arrive at Corona much faster than she could.

But with this final heist, she could pay the healer for his service, and pay his trip to Corona. She'd have to remain here however, until she got enough money for her own travel, though she could just walk back, but she wasn't too eager to go on such a perilous trip again.

Especially with all this talk of monsters on the roads.

So, here she stood. Gazing up at a window on the side of a stone building, standing just beside the bridge.

The only sound in the air was that of the insects, crawling around the nearby grass.

She began to conduct her usual ritual. One long breath. She flexed her thin shoulders back and forth. She stretched her legs for a moment, and finally, she was forced to stop stalling.

She began by placing her small hands on the edges between each individual stone. The architecture may have looked impressive from a distance, but once you got close to it, you could see each random indentation caused by either sloppy construction workers, or just the flow of time.

She didn't like being so much smaller than everything around her, but it worked in this case.

With a few silent grunts, she propelled herself up the wall slowly. There were three guards to her right, all of them talking amongst each other, laughing about something she couldn't hear. For a castle, the security sure was shoddy.

It took just three minutes for her to reach the window.

With just a single muffled thud, she landed inside. Now, she couldn't even hear the insects. There was a dead silence, save for the man snoring away in the bed to her right.

She began to move across the carpeted room, quickly getting to the door.

This next part was one of the biggest gambles she'd take on this heist. What if she opened the door, only to find guards patrolling the halls? She'd be killed on the spot. Her mother would never receive the help she needed.

But it was the only way, and so, she opened the door slowly.

First, she peeked inside, looking to see if there was someone in her line of vision. She was careful not to let the intruding light hit the sleeping man as she opened the door further.

There was no one here.

She understood that she had gotten insanely lucky, and thus, she had to take advanatage of that luck. With a great quickness, she began to move across the hall, completely exposed.

How did she know where to go? She didn't. All she knew, from hearing the guards speaking to each other before she got to the wall she had to scale, was that the queen was staying in the guest rooms.

She was in the living quarters, so the guest rooms couldn't be much farther away.

She continued, and eventually, voices echoed in the air. A woman, and a young girl, who sounded just a little older than Mariana herself. They seemed to be arguing about something.

The noise came from a room just a few meters down the hall, which now extended into a few sort of, alleys. Behind her, she saw the glow of a torch, and ahead, where the two women were arguing, she heard a door open.

She ran to the side, crouching down in the other hall. She couldn't go anywhere else. She was at her luck's mercy now.

”Mother, I'm telling you, let me fight alongside the soldiers! At least let me act as their healer! You've said many times that I am as skilled with Light Magic as anyone you know.”

”I will not have it, Eliara.” The older woman said. ”You are my only daughter. I cannot risk losing you!”

As they continued to argue, the glow of the torch drew closer. Mariana's heart was about to burst.

”Do you trust me that little, mother?” The younger girl said.

”Of course not, I just...” It sounded like they were moving away. Good! Mariana thought of something, a sly plan to deal with the intruding guard.

As soon as that torchlight drew too close, illuminating her body, and that guard appeared within Mariana's vision, she sprang towards him.

He began to yell, but in an instant, Mariana was behind him. She leapt up, and wrapped her arm around the man's neck. Using her weight, what little of it she had, she tried to pull the man to the ground. He struggled, until Mariana wrapped her legs around his torso, trapping both his arms in the process.

After fifteen seconds, the guard stopped struggling. Mariana let him go. If she kept the hold up any further, she'd kill him. Her old mentor in Corona probably would have told her that should have been her objective from the start, but Mariana hadn't killed anyone before, and she wasn't about to start now.

She spun the guard off her, but didn't stand up. A figure prevented her from doing so. She wanted to scurry away, but her fear froze her.

In front of her, stood two women. One clearly of around forty years, the other much younger. Both were dressed in white nightgowns. Both had purple-colored eyes, and both pairs of eyes were locked on Mariana.

She gulped.

”That was impressive.” The older one said, before taking a few steps forward.

”Mother, she might-”

The older one lifted a hand, prompting her daughter to go silent. She walked over to Mariana, and smiled as she extended a hand.

”May I ask what it is you were doing?” The older woman said.

”Mother, is it not clear that-”

Again, she lifted a hand to quiet her daughter.

”I was...” What kind of excuse could she make? She had just rendered a guard unconscious. She was either a thief, or an assassin, clearly. But, she did know that thieves generally received lighter sentences than murderers. That was true no matter what country you were in. So, she decided to do something a thief would never think of. Being honest. ”I was going to steal something.”

”Steal? What? From whom?” The older woman seemed to be taking a great pleasure in this situation.

”I was gonna get some money... From...” Her already thick accent sounded even weirder with the strain in her throat. She tried to make up a name, lie about who she was going to steal from, but she was paralyzed in front of this woman. Nothing came to mind. ”The queen.”

The younger woman's mouth opened, but the older woman only smiled when she heard this.

”Why would you want to do that?”

”I... I need the money.”

”For food? Why not steal food from the tavern, or the inn, or-” With frustration growing inside her, Mariana interrupted the older woman.

”For my mother. She is sick, and needs treatment. I wanted to pay for it.” She said, looking down at herself. She wasn't fond of the pity her situation usually garnered, but her life was at risk right now. What else could she do?

”Ah, see, Eliara? This is what speaking with people gets you.” She spoke to the girl behind her. ”Dear thief, I have a proposition for you~” She said.

Eliara's POV.

”Mother, I don't think it is wise to just let her go.” The young girl said, with her arms crossed. Her mother lay on a bed opposite hers, with her arms behind her head.

”Why? Do you believe she will come and steal from us?”

”Not now, but what about on the road? During the journey?” Eliara said.

”Eliara, dear. There are still several lessons you need to learn.” Cerena leaned forwards, smiling at her daughter. ”One of them, is that generally, people want things. And sometimes, they will do anything they can to get those things. Even if that means behaving in ways they don't usually behave like. She is a thief, but she wants something. To ensure her mother's safety. And to get it, she is willing to stop being a thief. It's every living being's nature.”

”But, mother, why do we even want her? Did you see her? She's like, twelve!”

”She snuck in this castle rather easily, did she not? In a battlefield, shadows, people who can move unseen and strike from the darkness, are generally useful.”

”But, I...” Eliara couldn't find the words to reply. Not just because there was logic in what her mother was saying, but because she could feel her mother looking at her, as though she were much younger than she was. Even at sixteen, her mother still treated her like a child.

Heck, she treated the thief with more respect.

”Eliara, trust me. I know what...”

”Trust you!?” She snapped. ”Trust you!? How about you trust me! I've been telling you for the past hour, about how I know I could be useful to you out there, and you still refuse to see things my way. I'm skilled, mother. You know that!”

”Enough!” Cerena's thunderous voice sent a shiver down Eliara's spine. It wasn't her mother speaking, this was the queen talking. ”I've already told you, you will stay in the carriage with me, and that is final!”

Eliara surpressed the tear that threatened to come out of her eye.

”Alright, your grace. Fine.” She said, before walking out of the room. She heard Cerena beckon her back, but she ignored her voice.

It was always like this. Whether it was back at Nova's capital, or at Farrah Valor with the demons, her mother always treated her like a child.

She was sick of it. She wanted to run away, she wanted to leave, and never come back, but where would she even go? Even now, pacing through the halls all she could manage was to reach a balcony, where she could see dozens of places, south, north, east and west, but none that she could call home.

”Ah, I thought I had made reservations for this place.” A hissing, guttural voice spoke beside her. With fear in her heart, she looked to her right, and found that snake-man from earlier, standing there.

She was about to run away, when the man held a hand up.

”I'm sorry if I startled you. I didn't mean to do so.” He said. Eliara couldn't see his face very well in the moonlit darkness, but there was a sort of kindness in his voice.

”I'm sorry. I...” It hit her suddenly. What was she doing? This man was a potential spy, a bandit, someone sent to kill the queen, and she was about to engage him in friendly conversation? Ridiculous.

Instead of responding, or just walking away, she turned back towards the plains in front of her.

”Beautiful, is it not?” The man said. ”I haven't seen any of it up close, but I'm sure it must all be stunning.”

Eliara tried to resist the urge to speak, but a single question appeared in her mind, and her mouth moved before she could stop it.

”Why did you join the queen's mission?”

”Your mother's mission, you mean?”

Eliara didn't respond.

”Well,” he continued, ”I had nothing else I could do. I escaped from my home country, and I needed to find something better. And, I believe I've found it.”

”But, we're at war with you!” Eliara almost yelled. ”How could you even,”

”I was a slave.” He interrupted her. ”I was tortured regularly, I was starving most of the time. It wasn't really that hard to betray them.” He said. ”Well, we have a big day ahead of us tomorrow. As brief as this chat was, I found it pleasant. Have a nice night.”

Just like that, he walked away. Eliara was left standing there, with numerous questions hanging from the tip of her jaw.

Finally, she sighed, and decided to head back herself.

Jin's POV.

”What do you think?” Jin asked. He was currently sitting down, on his bed, facing Theresa who was standing by the door.

”It's a great opportunity, truly. But, logically speaking, Jin. You are not ready.”

”For the academy?” He asked.

”No, for the journey.” Theresa said, before moving towards the nearby window. ”Jin, we aren't going to be fighting mindless beasts. The queen is being hunted by experienced soldiers. People who have seen more battles than you could dream of. The chances that you will die if you go, are astronomically high.”

Jin slouched, looking down at the floor in front of him.

”Tell me about the academy. I know you already explained it, but I just... Don't understand.”

”Well, I can see why it would be confusing for you.” Theresa said, before turning and walking back towards him. ”The academy is a place where people go to learn about various things. The world, history, and magic mostly. Honestly,” She sighed, ”I can train you well. I have... Experience, but with different teachers and tutors, you will learn faster, and learn more than you could with I.”

”You're not doing a good job of not making me want to go.” Jin laughed.

”I'm not going to lie to you. Jin, if I'm not mistaken, this is your first real decision since you left your old home. I'm going to give you the tools you need to make the best choice possible.”

”Why?” Jin's question seemed to catch Theresa off guard.

”W-What? What do you mean?”

”Why do you care so much about me?” There was no malice behind Jin's words. He was simply curious. Theresa was fidgeting, clearly uncomfortable with the nature of this question.

She turned, and leaned over the window before she spoke again.

”Several years ago, I had an apprentice. Someone I tried to teach everything I knew. Someone I wanted to travel the world with, and watch him grow.” Theresa spoke with a clear pain in her voice. ”But, one day, this man died in front of my eyes, because I was too bad of a teacher to truly guide him. His death is on me.” She spun towards Jin, with a slight humidity in her eyes. ”When I met you, I saw traits of him in you. I've never been one to believe in religion much, aside from what is factually correct. But, maybe, just maybe, you are my chance to right that wrong.” Her professionalism returned. ”It is for that reason that I do not want to leave your side. I do not want to see you die in front of me, as he did. So, I'll tell you this. Whatever you choose, I will stay with you. I will help you become better, as you requested of me.”

She turned, and began walking towards the front door.

”You have until tomorrow morning to make a choice. I will be with the queen. You can tell me of your choice then.”

And with that, Theresa left.

Jin was left alone, but his head ached slightly. Why couldn't things be more simple?

Instead, here was, not even a month into his stay here, and he was making the biggest choice of his life.

Leave what he knows, or go with the queen and risk almost certain death?

He flopped back onto the bed, staring at the celing above.

At that moment, a single question appeared in his mind.

”What would my mother want me to do?” He asked himself. He wished, of course, that he could simply ask her.

Still though, the answer was clear. It was said to him just before he left for this place.

”She'd want me to go.” Jin stated, out loud. ”She'd want me to see the world.”

Could this journey help him do so? Probably. And, if that academy could teach him new spells, and how to better manipulate the magical forces around him, that objective would be made that much easier to accomplish in the future.

The choice had a clear answer, but there was still something Jin had to take care of before he could leave. A loose end he had to attend to.

So, he put on a black shirt, and left his room.

The night was frosty, and even hugging himself, Jin could still feel the sharp blades of the cold entering his body, but he didn't go any slower. Instead, he continued to walk through the village, until he was standing in front of a small, brown house. There was the faint sense of light coming from one of the windows, so Jin went up and tapped against the front door.

It opened, revealing a middle-aged man with brown hair.

”What do you want?” He asked. Jin could virtually feel the grime on his clothes through the sound of his voice.

”My name is Jin. I'm here to see Viscerin. Could you, tell her I'm here?”

The man scanned Jin up and down, squinting as he made eye-contact with Jin. Jin didn't flinch. What was this man doing?

”You're a brave one, eh?” He laughed. ”Though, you'll find my daughter is in no condition for a midnight dance. Sure, I'll get her down here.”

The door closed, but opened a few minutes later, revealing a girl in a wheelchair, with bobbed, cinnamon hair.

Those warm feelings returned, though, Jin didn't mind them anymore.

”Jin, what are you...?” She still sounded equally as crestfallen as the last time Jin saw her.

”Viscerin, I'm going away.” He said.

Instantly, understanding appeared in her expression.

”The queen thing, right?” She asked. ”I heard about that. I had a feeling you'd accept.”

Jin knelt down before speaking again.

”Come with me.” He said.

”Jin, that'd be pretty hard to do with this thing attached to me. How would I even move?” She laughed. Jin didn't understand, but his face still flushed. ”No, Jin. Besides, I've given up fighting.”

”What!?” Now Jin was shocked. ”You, but...”

”That monster.” Her voice broke, ever so slightly as she spoke. ”If I'm thankful for anything... It's that, it made me understand something. I'm not my mother. I'm not a fighter. I like archery, as a hobby, but I don't want to go out there and risk my life every day like adventurers often do. Like you will.” She said.

”I... I'm sorry.” Jin said.

”Why?”

”It was my fault. I should have done something to stop the thing, if I'd....”

”Jin, what happened to me was that monster's fault. Its fault alone.” She said. Jin looked up, and his eyes widened when he saw her smiling. ”Did you think I've been blaming you this whole time?” She leaned forwards, and before Jin could understand what was happening, she planted her lips against his forehead. ”I never blamed you. Heck, if anyone deserves any blame its... I don't even want to say his name.” A venom appeared in Viscerin's voice that Jin couldn't believe she was capable of producing. ”But, no. I never blamed you. And, actually, I want you to go.”

”Why?” It was Jin's turn to ask.

”Because,” she smiled at him, ”then you can come back, and tell me all about it. I'm still gonna be here, Jin. And heck, when you come back, I'll probably be walking again. So yeah, go. Don't worry about me. Besides! I've started painting!”

She leaned to the side, highlighting a canvas behind her.

”I didn't know art could be this fun!” She said. ”So, yeah. Go. I support it. And, understand, you'll always have a friend in this small, little village.”

He stood, content with what he heard, but still weirdly in some sort of pain. He turned to leave, but he stopped. An idea came to his mind.

”Viscerin,”

She was startled. She didn't expect him to speak again.

”Yeah?”

”Where's your bow?”

The next day.

Jin strapped his gauntlets on. He sighed as he saw Viscerin's bow lying on the bed, beside his sword. It was time.

He walked downstairs, and all eyes seemed to stick to him, even as he left.

The air had an almost somber tone. Jin couldn't tell why.

He continued, until he reached the southern gate. In front of him, were several different people, a luxurious caravan, and Theresa standing beside it. He nodded to her, she nodded back, and that was it.

His new journey began then and there.