“Mmmrmm…”

I let out a small groan, and slowly open my eyes.

Ugh… why is my vision so blurry? Everything hurts… please… tell me it didn’t happen again…

I try to reach up to my face, but the moment I do my entire arm lights up in pain, the shattered bone shrieking into every nerve.

“Aghhhh!”

My face contorts, and tears unconsciously start dripping down the side of my face.

“Diane! Lay still! You are seriously hurt, stop trying to push yourself!!”

I turn my head to the side, each movement aching terribly…

What the hell… happened?

Thistleman pounced on to the edge of my bed, much like a dog does when their human wakes in the morning. His eyes matched mine with a laser-like intensity, his hands gripping the fabric of my bed as if there was an earthquake, and his face was creased with worry. Behind him, Emily was laid out on a hay mattress that was brought in to my room, and she was covered in bandages.

Ryme and Jotuun were also asleep in the corner, their clothes covered in our blood and a pile of old, bloody bandages piled next to them. Even through their fur, I could see the black circles around their eyes…

Hehe… she looks just like a mummy… I wonder… is that how I look? They must have worked so hard…

Unconsciously, I eked out a small, weak smile.

My voice trembled as I whispered “Hey, you made it…”

My eyes began to close on their own again, as my labored breathing relaxed for a moment.

I will never let this happen… not again… I can’t keep risking the only people I have left…

My relief began to slowly drift in to anger, and in spite of my broken arm, my fists tightened.

I need… to get much stronger… nothing… nothing can stand in my way… I will never lose someone of mine again…

Thistleman’s eyes never left mine as I drifted back to sleep. Slowly he kneeled back down by my bedside, crisscrossed his arms and rested his chin on them like a pillow. Even though his face still showed concern, his eyes hardened, boiling with internal rage.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Recovery came relatively quickly for Diane. Her injuries, which would have taken a normal person month’s to heal without paying for a healer, took her just over one.

At first, she started with moving the uninjured parts of her body to keep her blood flowing, like wiggling her toes or stretching each of her fingers. Then, she would reach out with her mana, trying to regulate its flow within her body.

As it passed through her shattered arm, she could feel the area around her bone fragments heating up with an intensity fierce enough to temporarily turn her skin red. Each time, it would cause her face to crinkle in pain, but she would still repeat the exercise, and each time it would hurt a bit less… and it would feel more concentrated.

By the time she was halfway through the month, she could use her arm again and had enough energy to start playing a little with Clover and harass Emily as she worked through her own recovery.

Meanwhile, Emily was terrified when everyone saw her without her hat on, looking at everyone with her eyes wide open and her mouth tightly shut. Yet when Rhyme tended to her, or when Thistleman brought in a meal, or even when Diane was harassing her, nobody asked her about her ears… ears which had clearly been cut shorter than that of a normal persons’ ears.

The fact no one said anything filled her with relief, but even so, as soon as she was able, she put her hat back on. The last thing she needed anybody finding out about was that she was an elf.

At the moment, though, a far worse problem plagued her, and she had far too much time on her hands… especially when nobody was around to distract her.

Everyone, I lost… everyone… I couldn’t convince anyone to listen to me…

Tears rolled down her cheek, each moment alone: a prison sentence.

Why… why am I the only one who got to live?

Quieter than the flight of a barn owl, Thistleman made his way into the room carrying Emily’s lunch.

“Eeeep!”

Surprised at his sudden entrance, Emily couldn’t hold back making a small sound of shock as she quickly tried to wipe away her tears!

“I got your food a little early today since Diane wants to go on an easy gathering quest this afternoon, so here ya go.”

….

“Still not saying anything, huh?”

….

“Hrmmm…”

Thistleman popped a squat right next to Emily, staring unblinkingly at her.

What… is he doing?

….

….

….

*sigh*

“If you wanna stay a mute forever, that’s your business. As far as I am concerned, you are beyond useless, practically sacrificing yourself to save people who were too stupid to listen to you. If it were up to me, I would have left you to die.”

Emily swallows a bit of her saliva, her throat feeling a little dry. Thistleman’s eyes radiated a cold, emotionless calculation, her body trembling in response as it felt as if she was chilled to the bone.

…

…

“I am curious though, why did you do it? What about them made you willing to stay in an Ogre’s path to warn them and try to buy them an inconsequential amount of time?”

Tears welled up in Emily’s face, and a momentary flash of anger was just as quickly replaced by sorrow.

…

…

“… Fine. Keep your silence.” Thistleman stood up and walked back to the door, his footfalls appropriately audible again. He stopped at the doorway, before looking back over his shoulder with a smile.

“Just remember, Diane told me to nab you, so you pretty much owe her your life. No dying until you pay her back, or else I will make sure you suffer!”

Something about the melodic pleasantness with which he said those words cut straight into Emily, her eyes locked with speechless fury on the empty doorway.

What a bastard!

In her silence, Emily had found a new pastime to occupy her, and that was loathing Thistleman. For now, at the very least, she had forgotten some of the despair which had been plaguing her.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

“Is she back again from another quest? Goodness me! She is covered with blood again…”

***

“What did she kill this time? I heard she went after a small goblin tribe…”

***

“Lookout, she is coming through again! It’s that bloody girl, what is her problem? She’s got this wild, obsessive look on her face…”

***

“Another quest? Again? Doesn’t she take a break?”

***

“Why does that boy keep following her around, she is like a monster… is he a monster too?”

***

“This is new, looks like she is dragging another girl along with her… I don’t know why, but this feel like a kidnapping… but she isn’t saying anything, so I guess she is fine?”

***

“There they go again, that poor girl looks so scared next to that little devil! I wonder if anything is going to happen to her!”

***

As Diane began to quest again, she focused more and more on the quests she could do. She picked a different type each time to try and improve her skills, and with the glut of quests caused by the exodus of adventurers, it was an adventurer’s dream gallery!

She didn’t care what she had to do to refine her skills, and every day she would secretly read through her new book. In it, she could feel immeasurable knowledge and power… but not once did she see a single word. It held nothing but pictures, each one moving through dozens of forms… each of the pages felt as if they moved and were alive themselves.

However, trying to practice the skills out of the book was the hard part. Facing enemies alone made trying a new maneuver too risky, and she refused the thought of putting Thistleman in danger if she could help it. She needed a better way to get an opportunity to test her new skills… she needed a training partner and someone who could also create ‘opportunities’ in battle. Someone with a good support role, and works well fighting from the back…

Hehe

Hehehehe

Emily was taking a bath, finally rid of most of her bandages and had taken a moment to relax. However, her relaxation was soon interrupted by a capricious laugh…

“Teeehehehe, Oneeeeesan! Oh Oneeeeeee-saaaaaan! I need your help, Oneeeesan!”

Emily looked in terror at the door to the bath… she could sense a change in Diane’s voice… she pulled her hat lower and tried to sink deeper in to the bath water, a feeling of dread permeated her bones.

*thump thump thump*

Footsteps echoed down the hall….

*thump Thump Thump*

They were getting closer…

*THUMP THUMP THUMP*

I can see a shadow by the door… oh please don’t tell me she is going to break through the door!

*click*

The window above her bath flies open! As far as Emily is concerned, she is witnessing the descent of a small female devil!

“KYAAAAAAAH!”

That was the first time Diane ‘abducted’ Emily for training. From there, it only got more constant and demanding, as Emily rapidly learned the terror of an 8 year old child with a tad too much power…

And at first, as much as she wanted to, she couldn’t get herself to speak a single word of complaint.

She got abducted:

When she was eating.

***

When she was shopping.

***

On a nice, quiet date?

***

Going for a walk?

***

Getting abducted by bandits… just to get abducted by Diane again?

Days blended into weeks, and the weeks blended into months, through winter and into spring. People couldn’t help but take notice. No less than once a week, Diane would return from a quest covered in some creature or others blood. Several times a week she would she drag Emily on a quest with her and Thistleman, while Emily’s once resistant attitude was replaced with enlightened admiration and acceptance!

Not that she could go anywhere even if she wanted to… the few times she tried to sneak out, Thistleman and Clover always happened to wander in to block the doorway. She couldn’t handle his cold stare, reserved exclusively for when no one else was looking… absolutely not!

Then there was Diane… she had a supernatural sense for finding her any time she had managed to get alone time outside.

Lastly, there was Rhyme and Jotuun. How such sweet creatures as them wound up sheltering those two… she could not figure out. She had lost more than one opportunity to escape when they cornered her on the pretense of her condition… not that it stopped Diane. But at least they made her food, and tended to her nicely and didn’t take advantage of her silence. It is just how they are, and they really made a fuss when Thistleman suddenly got really sick one day! It apparently didn’t last long, but it made his near picturesque health seem a lot less unusual.

Although, Diane isn’t as bad as I first thought… she really is quite nice as I get to know her better! Serves Thistleman right, I hope he gets sick more often too…

People also began to take notice that the orphaned children that once roamed the streets were slowly disappearing, even as the war to the west raged on and families were destroyed. Instead of increasing, the number of orphans in Njord began to almost disappear…

Soon, parents began telling stories of Diane like she was the boogeyman.

“Listen to me good here, Bjorn! I know you have seen that little She-Devil running around here, always coming back late at night and covered in blood. Do you know where she gets it from? Well I’ll tell ya, it’s from all the bad boys who don’t listen to their mothers! If you don’t start behaving, she will abduct you like those orphans and you will be just another blood splotch on her skirt!”

Around this time, there were also unconfirmed sightings of another little girl carrying an oversized scythe that started to appear. Apparently, she stood on the rooftops of the buildings around the slums late at night. However, just as quickly as she was seen, she disappeared again. This did nothing except exacerbate the rumors already swirling around Diane.

Soon, her new nickname would start to spread across the Kingdom through merchants and travelers… tales of the Little She-Devil of Njord could no longer be suppressed. Tales that would bring the attention of many new eyes to the former Viking Town.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

The Year of Emperor Hirohito IV: 240

Mist Vale, Kingdom of Luthas

“You must not forget… you must never forget”

Amala tossed and turned restlessly on her bed, her mind plagued by a vision she first had more than a month ago.

“Spare her life… and send her North… more than just your freedom will depend on it…”

Amala shot up from her bed, her breathing wild and a cold sweat doused her body and her sheets. She let out a small groan…

These damned nightmares… I should have never stopped to pray at Almalexia’s temple. The priest even said they hadn’t felt her inspiration in months, and now all I got was a curse for it.

Her small room at the inn felt very constricting for the moment, but she was able to regain control of her breathing. At least the people here were surprisingly welcoming! She was originally worried that the people here might be suspicious of her as an outsider, but as she spoke with the innkeeper and told them her ‘story’, their expressions changed from tense to relief. Odd that they would be relieved at a single stranger coming in, but from that moment on they were more than accommodating! Even the other people in the town would smile and wave at her, and her first day was finally relaxing until she had the nightmare again!

They were quite the pleasant elderly couple, I still can’t believe they let me get this room for free!

Amala allowed herself a smile as she looked out the darkened window, enjoying the sight of a nice fog bank rolling in over the town.

Shortly after the fog rolled in, Amala heard a soft knock at the door.

“Dearie, are you alright? May we come in?”

Did I make a lot of noise with my nightmare this time?

Amala scrunched her face in thought for a moment, before relaxing it.

“Yes you may, it is quite alright.”

As the door swung open, all the hair on Amala’s arm stood on end, and her skin was covered in goosebumps.

Next to the little old innkeeper stood an extremely tall and thin old man, wearing a trench coat and dark leather clothing. He also had a nice bowler hat, which somehow felt like it contrasted his gaunt, pale face and cold, lifeless eyes.

“Ah, my Lady Amala, since I heard of your arrival in my small, quiet town, I have been… hungering to make your acquaintance. My name is Mobius, Mobius Strathclyde.”

Mobius strode across the room towards Amala’s bed in moments… her eyes wide in fear, but unable to open her mouth to let out a single sound!

Her body trembled, but with a moment’s push with all of her will, she broke the eye-lock with Mobius and sprinted to the window… and then froze before attempting to leap out.

They’re all… every last one was in on it…

The entire town was standing around the Inn, all of them with a peaceful smile plastered on their faces. All of them watching Amala’s window… the friendly shopkeeper who gave her an extra apple, the stable master who recommended the inn, and the craftsman who offered to clean and sharpen her sword for free… and all the people she came across in the street who had waved and greeted her, making her feel almost accepted for the first time in her life…

“Now now, Lady Amala, where did you think you were trying to run off to? I really hate it when I have to give chase…”

This is it, then… all or nothing…

Amala reached into her pajamas and pulled out a hidden dagger, swiftly twisting around with a stroke to Mobius’ throat… when she met his gaze again. Her body froze in place, unable to move…

“Ahhhh, but I do enjoy the feisty one’s, I can make good use of you, even after I take my fill and dine…”

Amala felt a sharp pain in her neck, unable to move, unable to scream, her face frozen in pain and the surreal feeling of this silent, smiling town watching her… somehow, she kept remembering her dream.