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“Adelana,” He yelled. Caught off guard, she mumbled a faint, “y-yes”.

“Please follow that man who just left, I don’t care who does it.” He ordered as he entered the vile cabin. Shocked, everyone tried entering alongside, but a quick glance and a small gesture warned them to not do so. No choice in the matter, Alyson volunteered to follow her master’s order. Hence, she disappeared, a faint mist of black smoke was left behind. Clueless, Adelana carefully examined the area until, “Girls, please come this way.” One of the elder ladies painfully got up and led them inside the firs wooden house – there out of curiosity; Undrar asked about how Staxius was as a kid.

Said question put a glimmer back inside the lifeless eyes the granny had, a feeling of happiness soon arose. The lady who seemed frail at first became livelier – she finally had someone whom she could recount tales from her past. As luck would have it, Staxius’s upbringing played a big part in her life as well as the village.

Outside, the remainder of villagers arrived; they looked tired and hungry. Father Ashford, peacefully told the worried parents and workers about who had come and that the young kids were mistaken.

With a sigh of relief, they all headed back to the farms. Their pace slowed down considerably, it felt as if they didn’t want to go there ever again. Sadly, such was how Krigi of new, operated. On top of the raging famine, the nobleman in charge here was; Gregory Wyne. Someone they didn’t know, nor ever saw, Gregory was but a shadow keeping the villagers from fleeing. It was but recently that

orders came from the council stating that; anyone who tried fleeing their villages and setting up

camp somewhere else was to be killed on sight. It was harsh but necessary, hungry peasants can become: murderers, thieves or bandits. None can gauge the will to survive of a person.

.....

Thus, the bitter look of resentment and regret on their faces was justified – the order was carried out and many people lost their life. May they be children or women; none were spared. In the end, everyone gave up and tried to survive using any means necessary, whether it was to be through slavery – which was the only way to get out or plainly, suicide. Krigi of new was lucky in that respect, as other villages turned into a carnivorous den; drought made it impossible to farm, but the inhabitants in Krigi held strong until the well was exhausted. Remember about the first time when

Staxius slaughtered a certain nobleman’s child – that boy was Gregory Wyne’s child. Adding to that, the sight of how the other people lived was revealed as well.

Alyson is now on the trail of a certain unknown noble, the rest of the squad were listening to how

Staxius grew and was as a child. From the story she spoke, despite being clearly thirsty, she pressed on as if being a berserker. Her heart was filled with pride and joy, never did she know that reminiscing her old life in the company of lovely ladies could set someone at ease.

The piece of cloth separating the outside from the inside was lowered once more. Staxius quietly walked it as if a cat had possessed him. The girl, whose face yet remained hidden by the messy hair and blood; further pushed into the self-made pillow. Whimpers and inaudible sound – almost inhuman soon made itself known. Out of which was presumably frustration or anger, she started ripping the right side of the bed made of hay and covered by only a small curtain. Staxius quietly gazed at her, he carefully watched her body movements. He was trying to see if the girl was insane or plainly angry. At last, she finally spoke, “Why me… Why does it have to be me? I’m tired, I want to

leave, please… Just end me already.” Her tone was weak and fragile.

This girl was named Jessica, Staxius was now certain of that fact. The way she spoke was something unique, within her voice it felt as if a rose – that description is confusing at best but that was how he felt and described it. It was something unreal, almost angelic, too hard to put into words, he slowly approached.

A few gentle taps on her cheeks got her out of the daydream or nightmare she was in.

“P-pleasure t-to meet you, I’m afraid that I haven’t gotten the strength to work today. If you still wish to continue, I-I’ll ask f-for double.” She unwillingly spoke, her breathing got heavier, “Why is this world like this? Everyone I cherish or meet is either sold into slavery, killed, or plain prostitution, frankly, I’ve had enough.” He voiced as he sat down beside her.

“I’m a-afraid I don’t understa..” Her sentence was interrupted by Staxius who began humming. A song, the same one he first hummed to calm Eira, something from his past, unknown in origin but pleasant. “How do you know that song,” She brusquely got up, held Staxius’s face and stared intently. On the other hand, Staxius only saw a face covered with hair and blood. The realization hit, her hand began trembling, “S-Staxius…”

Out of shame, she tried removing her hands from his face – which proved to be a useless endeavor. Staxius gripped her wrist and forced her to stare at him. “P-please l-let go of my hand,” she looked away. The girl still hadn’t given up on getting free from him, the meeting turned into a battle of strength. In the end, due to exhaustion, she gave in and slowly faced him.

Before she could open her mouth and speak, Staxius embraced her with all his might.

“Jessica, it’s you, – it’s actually you.”

“Y-yes…It’s me.” She seemed disappointed.

“Why are you so woeful, I’ve come to find you as promised.”

“What promise… and can you let go.” She asked confused and embarrassed.

“Oh – what promise indeed…” He wondered, said promise was never actually made, or so what he

thought.

“Never mind that, what are you doing here?” Anger flowed, Staxius sensed it. “Are you not happy that I’ve come to see you again, my dear old friend?”

“Happy, please don’t kid yourself – I haven’t forgotten the d-day you l-left me…” Anger turned into

sadness, she cried. He had no recollection of the day he left – nor how Jessica felt at that time. He

only remembers that she was a very good friend, after the implementation of dark-arts; most of his memory vanished. Only the essentials were left, like his name, places he visited, knowledge about magic and the people he met and not to forget the battles he fought. Most of the childhood memories were gone – but he had some precious ones left; burnt not only in mind but in heart and one of them being, the day he met her.

Unconsciously, as she continued to cry, Jessica rested her head onto his shoulder. Staxius patted her head to calm her.

“I’m sorry,” He spoke out, “I’m sorry for leaving.”

“Y-you b-better be,” her cries got better. Face still covered, he helped by lifting the oily hair and tied it into a ponytail – the same as he had. At last, a familiar face was revealed, she looked identical to way back then. Her freckled nose, light brown eyes, rosy lips. Sadly, it was overshadowed by cuts and bruises.

“T-thanks,” She smiled, her head was once again rested on the shoulder that gave her a feeling of being safe. “You’re welcome,” He smiled. Up to now, her old friend was only focused on her face but now that the atmosphere was cleared a bit. Her not so virtuous state was apparent, only a piece of cloths covered her thighs and her chest was protected by the bed-sheet.

“Jessica… You truly are messed up, is that how you greet a friend, semi-nude?” He jokingly asked.

“Pfft, spare me, I don’t care, this body of mine is no longer worth hiding or protecting.”

“You’ve given up on the fact that you’re human? You view yourself as a lustful toy… What a shame…”

“STOP,” Her tone got intense, “Don’t spout nonsense about what is good or wrong, I haven’t

gotten the time. To be honest, I’ve given up, if someone is to blame then it’s YOU.”

“What do you mean me, I haven’t forced you into selling yourself.”

“Shut up, you broke our PROMISE the day you left.” Adamant, her argument pressed on.

“What promise? Didn’t you just say we never had that sort of promise.”

“On top of that, you’ve forgotten that too,” She sighed.

A voice whispered, a soft voice, the one of a child, it felt like roses, “Staxie, promise me that one day you will take me along on an adventure far away and then we can be like mother and father, hehe – our family…”

“STAXIUS,” She screamed, “On top of forgetting our promise, you also ignore me, whatever,” Back to her former self, she got off the bed and was ready to leave when in one motion, Staxius grabbed her arms and pulled her close for another hug. “I r-remember, an adventure… both of us.”

“Welcome back, Staxie.” She smiled and got up

“Now then, Jessica, you still haven’t told me why you do the things you do.”

“I thought you were smart, figure it out.”

“Sorry, that was foolish of me, the village is in a bad state isn’t it.” He got up as well.

“Now that I take a good look at you, Staxius, did you do it? You manage to become a sorcerer; your dream was accomplished.” A fireball was brought forth, it was another way of saying that he had

done what he set off to do. That concluded the reunion of two friends who swore to be together, the storytelling inside the other cabin ended too.

Jessica changed into her normal clothes; her body wasn’t that exposed anymore. Her hair was still tied in a pony-tail, the gloomy look she always had was gone. Playfully fighting and shouting with Staxius, they both left the vile cabin; seeing her daughter smile so cheerfully – father Ashford rejoiced. At the same time, his party left the house directly in front. Earlier on, when Father Ashford held Staxius’s suit jacket, Eira was handed over to Undrar.

They all stared at each other, the tension was palpable. On one hand, you had Staxius with his long-lost friend and on the other, you had his party. Having heard the story of his childhood – everyone was shocked to see him act like was described. The serious and emotionless leader was playing and joking around like a little kid; that’s the effect of meeting someone from your past.

“MASTER,” Fenrir yelled from across the dirt path separating cabins, as usual, she didn’t care one bit – father Ashford nearly went deaf. “Hey,” He waved back even though they were a few meters apart. Hesitant, Jessica chose to stay back, her first impression was that those girls were too much for her. They looked imposing from the perspective of another person. “Come on,” Staxius held her hands

and approached his party.

“Hello everyone, I’d like to introduce you to my wife… Jessica Ashford – and of course I’m only joking.” Everyone remained silent until Ayleth cracked. The joke was so bad, everyone began to laugh. “M-master, you telling jokes is the best thing ever,” Annet spoke out hysterically. “I agree,” Adelana followed up. After catching their breaths, everyone was properly introduced.

“Jessica, I’ve saved the best for last,” He reached and grabbed Eira who finally awoke; the sight of her father made her giggle, her cheeks were big and rosy red. “Aw, what a lovely child, who’s the parent, is it the lady with blue hair?” she asked confused. Any normal person would make that

distinction, the facial figured matched – only slightly.

“Idiot, this is Eira. Eira Haggard, my daughter.” He rose her into the air, her laughter turned into spit which then fell onto his face. “Damn it,” He laughed. “Brother, I swear,” Undrar wiped the saliva rolling down his face. “Thanks,”

“Staxius?” Confused, Jessica called out his name.

“What is it?”

“Is that your kid sister?”

“Yes, weren’t you listening?”

“Does that mean you’ve met up with your mother and sister then,”

“…y-yes,” He lied not wanting to raise the question about Undrar’s identity.

The conversation continued inside the father Ashford’s house, which was further down the street;

the last one ever built. Everyone got acquainted quickly, Staxius and Jessica along with Eira played around like little kids. Nighttime slowly approached; no word had come from Alyson who left earlier on. The villagers came back from their daily duties; as usual, no one had any food to eat. Before everyone could have headed off the sleep; Staxius called in a big meeting near the well and gave out food that he fetched after seeing the state of things. Everyone had life put back inside them, they all laughed, danced, and had fun. Staxius’s arrival brought back life into the village.

*Tsst,* “M-master, I f-failed…” The transmission ended, before embarking onto the trip to Krigi; Staxius handed out earpieces concealed by magic to facilitate communication. He built it in such a way that it would react to their magic and convert it into letters and send it back to everyone or him, depending on the individual. Amidst the laughter and noise; hearing that message, he panicked.

“Alyson, no, don’t tell me it’s going to happen for real. T-that d-dream… it started of j-just like this, nononono… THIS CAN’T BE.”