“I’m starting to think you have no idea where you’re going,“ Emyr stated, almost conversationally as he appeared from the shadows to Liliana’s left. Liliana bent over and grabbed a pinecone, chucking it at the boy’s head as soon as he became visible.

They’d been in the area for three days now. Three grueling, tiring, and difficult days. Liliana struggled through each one as she continued deeper in the forest. It wasn’t the hiking that bothered her. Her Endurance and Strength were too high for such a thing to bother her anymore. No, what made the days so difficult was that Emyr had apparently decided she’d permitted him to speak to her while she walked. Which he didn’t do often, but even once was more than enough for her.

Whatever God I need to pray to, to make this boy leave me be. Please. I’ll sacrifice at least twenty goats to you, Liliana mentally pleaded to the gods above them as Emyr dodged her thrown projectile. He didn’t speak again. Other than the few times his curiosity had overcome his naturally quiet nature he typically didn’t.

Except to occasionally say utterly unnecessary criticism about her choices. And to remind her that what she was doing was reckless and idiotic.

“Polaris do you have it?” Liliana asked the fox ahead of them, ignoring Emyr other than her initial piney assault.

The fox yipped at her and she smiled. They’d gotten the Cheshire’s scent halfway through the first day. The issue was even with its scent they still had to track it down through its territory, and based on the past days Liliana could confidently say it did use its territory to the fullest.

A sudden flurry of yips alerted Liliana to a new discovery. Surging ahead with a burst of speed fueled by excitement Liliana pushed to where Polaris was. She paused as she came upon what looked to be the remains of a large creature’s meal. Nudging the remains with her naginata Liliana examined the evidence. It seemed to be a Silver Stag, a large one too. There was very little left of it, mostly just bits of hide and bones. Liliana shooed off a crow trying to eat the remains she pushed at some of the bones. Many were broken or gnawed on. Whatever had used the bones as chew toys had massive fangs.

“This can’t be more than a day old,” Liliana said as she pulled her naginata back and stepped past the remains, leaving the gathered crows to their feast.

“So it’s nearby,” Emyr spoke up, Liliana shot him a glare. She hadn’t been talking to him. She’d fallen back into the habit of talking to herself while she’d been out. A bad habit when one wasn’t actually alone. Liliana started to push forward, following Polaris who seemed as excited as she was now that they were close.

“Liliana.” Emyr’s voice held something indiscernible in it. It was a mixture of the tone and hearing Emyr say her name for the first time that froze her. Emyr hadn’t said her name since they’d been introduced when they were both 11. Not once since then had Emyr ever said her name.

“This is dangerous,” he said, walking in front of her and forcing her to catch his eyes, “you could die.” Maybe there was the tiniest scrap of concern in his voice this time.

“I’ll die if I don’t do this,” her tongue moved without her brain's input. Liliana took a half step back, eyes widening. She hadn’t meant to say that, not at all. Everyone knew her life was awful, that was common knowledge. What wasn’t common knowledge was that her stepmother was actively trying to kill her. It was information she couldn’t do anything about, not yet. No one would believe her word over that of a full noble.

“What? Are you just trying to prove you’re strong? I’ve already seen that you have the proof in your bag with the wolves,” Emyr tried to convince her, his voice warming with the rising fire of frustration as his warning fell on deaf ears.

“Do you have any idea what my life is like?“ Liliana asked, her voice cold. Emyr paused, face twisting in confusion. She knew asking for something like empathy from a noble was a tall order. Putting oneself in someone else's shoes was difficult for people never taught such a lesson.

“Imagine, if you can. What it’s like to live hated by your entire family. To have a father who won’t even look at you. To have a stepmother who openly despises you. To have a brother who tries to hurt you, he hates you so much. Imagine living as a noble who even servants disrespect. Imagine living as a noble with no future. Ever tried to think what my future will be, Emyr?” Lilian’s voice grew louder as she spoke. The dam on her emotions had been broken and months, years, of repressed feelings were gushing free. Liliana couldn’t stop the tide, even if she wanted to.

“Do you think I’ll inherit the Duchy? No, of course, I won’t. Do you think that I can marry? What noble will marry someone with commoner blood? I can’t marry a commoner myself, it would only further shame my house. I can’t pick up most crafts because ‘it’s not suitable for a noble’. Don’t you see? I’m too noble to be a commoner, but I’m too much a commoner to be a noble!” Liliana practically screamed the last words. This time it was Emyr who took a step back, face blank with shock.

“So this is the only choice I have, Emyr. I have to gain my own power. So I can make my own life. Not strapped down by the titles of ‘noble’ or ‘commoner’. If one has enough power, no one can tell them how to live their life, “ Liliana regained some of her composure as she finished her speech. Running a hand over her braided hair she wrapped the shreds of her poise around herself. Liliana sidestepped Emyr and walked past him, head held high.

As the words she said cycled in her mind Liliana felt her face heating up in embarrassment. Most certainly this would be one of the memories that replayed in her mind right before she fell asleep for years to come.

Gods, that was awful. Did I really just trauma dump on Emyr of all people? What is wrong with me? Liliana wondered as she rubbed a hand over her flushed face. Probably a lot. I wonder if there are therapists in this world? Liliana wondered with a wry laugh. It only took her dying, a hundred years, a Goddess, and getting reincarnated to finally get her to consider therapy. In a world where it likely didn’t even exist.

Liliana shoved the thoughts to the side as she followed Polaris through the forest. She needed to focus, they were close to the Cheshire and there was no telling when they’d come on it. She could deal with her personal drama later. Behind her, Liliana could hear a second pair of footsteps. She knew Emyr could make himself utterly silent if he wanted to, his mastery of [Stealth] made her envious. He wanted her to know he was there with her, even if he kept blessedly silent.

Or I’m overthinking it and I traumatized him so badly he forgot to use [Stealth], Liliana considered with another embarrassed flush. That would certainly be an accomplishment. Using her own trauma to mess someone up so badly they forgot they had skills.

Ahead of her Polaris froze so suddenly Liliana nearly tripped over him as she came to a stop herself. Instinctively she knelt next to the fox, who had lowered himself to the ground. The fox didn’t make a noise, but Liliana could see his hackles rising and his fur standing on end. When she reached out a hand to touch him she could feel shivers coursing through his body. She didn’t need to ask. They’d found the Cheshire.

Liliana followed his gaze, at first she didn’t see anything out of place. They had stopped close to a large creek. There were no other animals around, in fact, Liliana couldn’t hear any either. It was as if the entire forest had been muted. The realization struck her, instinctive fear filling her. Forests never went silent, unless there was a predator around. A strong one. The more primal part of her brain begged her to leave the area, flee quickly from whatever had brought silence upon the forest. The bigger part of her brain was filled with anticipation. Adrenaline was leaking into her blood at the thought of finally achieving her goal.

With a closer look, Liliana looked over the area until a rippled at the creek drew her eye. The wind rustled through the trees, shaking their leaves and spilling light in new areas. For the barest seconds, Liliana saw a shimmer of light, illuminating a massive shape. Her eyes widened as she finally spotted the camouflaged stripes.

Evanesce Tiger. That was the Cheshire beast they’d found. All Liliana could see of it were the stripes, and even those were hard to see despite knowing where they were. They were camouflaged so well with the forest around them. A quiet gasp behind her let her know that Emyr had finally spotted it as well.

Stark terror filled Liliana, so sudden and overpowering it froze the blood in her veins, paralyzing her where she knelt. The only thing that was free was her eyes, but those too were trapped when they locked with a predatory gaze. Rainbow eyes, as beautiful as they were terrifying met her own. Slowly the image of a massive feline body became visible, first, a shimmer of light like sunlight caught in a prism heralded the shift. Slowly color filled the once invisible body, silver fur with a rainbow sheen between dark stripes became visible. All too soon a predator of a caliber Liliana had never faced was revealed, less than two hundred feet from her.

She’d thought the wolves were massive. In comparison to the beast before her, they were mere puppies. Taller than even the warhorses at the manor the Evanesce Tiger would meet the draft horses eye to eye.

I-I don’t know if I can Bond this, Liliana thought, finally coming face to face with the reality of a Rank 6 beast. Almost unbidden [Identify] happily let her know precisely how fucked she was.

Evanesce Tiger

Level 90

A beast that has such a high degree of Light Affinity that they’ve unlocked Illusion magic. Able to turn nearly entirely invisible an Evanesce Tiger prefers to ambush prey utterly unaware of its presence. They have been known to stalk prey for days before finishing them off. A creature with high Vitality and defensive capabilities from its Light magic an Evanesce Tiger is a truly formidable foe. Highly territorial the Evanesce Tiger will attack anything it deems a threat.

Rank: 6

Her weapons probably wouldn’t even tickle it. If it decided it wanted her dead, there wasn’t a single thing she could do to stop it. Liliana felt the air in her lung leave violently as her attention locked on ‘Level 90’. The creature had fifty-one levels on her. More than double her level. Nothing she had would even slow it down. Her spells were all Light-based as well, meaning with its natural Light resistance she might as well try throwing cotton balls at it. They’d have the same damage.

An eternity passed as the Tiger and the girl remained locked in a stare-down. Time moved as if caught in molasses, achingly slow. Liliana didn’t even dare to breathe, afraid even that minuscule movement would prompt the feline to pounce.

Lungs burning, Liliana could feel her head beginning to swim from her lack of oxygen. Unable to fight against her body's natural instincts she drew in a breath.

The moment shattered.

Time sped up at a breakneck pace, going from frozen to double-time in the span of a heartbeat as the beast launched itself forward.

Despite its higher level, its Speed was low enough that Liliana could easily follow its movements. It gave her the time to grab a frozen Polaris and toss the fox away before she dove away. Behind her, she could hear the crash of the Tiger connecting with trees instead of a fragile human girl. Fear coursed through her body, but right behind it flooded adrenaline.

The near addictive rush of a fight filled her as Liliana activated her abilities. [Dance of The Daystar], [Dance of The Windsong], [Tempo], [Enhancement], she activated them all. She didn’t need to care about how her Health dipped, even at full Health she wouldn’t survive even a glancing hit from the Tiger. The world slowed noticeably as her Speed very nearly doubled with the stacking of her Skills. The Tiger slowly turned to focus on her once more. Its movements were easy to follow now, though all it did was enable her to avoid dying for a bit longer and maybe run away.

Liliana met its iridescent gaze and despite the fear in her heart she refused to turn and run. Not when she was so close she could touch it. The Tiger readied another pounce when shadows surged around it, blade-like tendrils lashing out against the beast. Though the level disparity would usually mean even a scratch against such a creature would be impossible the use of an opposing element managed to actually harm the beast.

“Don’t kill it!” Liliana shouted to Emyr, who was standing back, both hands held out and coated in inky shadows. His face was scrunched in effort, sweat already visibly beading on his brow.

“Tell the Tiger to not kill me first!” Emyr bit back, gone was the suave coolness. In its place was a terror-colored tone.

“Just hold it long enough for me to get the Contract started!” Liliana barked out her order, focusing once more on the Tiger. Already it was breaking free of the shadows trying to cling to it. As much as Dark was a weakness to it, so too was Light a weakness to any Dark constructs. As quickly as Emyr could summon the shadows the Tiger ripped through them.

Liliana was forgotten by the beast as it focused on the threat that could actually do damage to it and Liliana cursed when the Tiger pounced at Emyr. The boy dodged but with the Tiger's full attention, he struggled to dodge and summon shadows.

Liliana flashed forward, crossing the distance in a blink. The Tiger barely paused its pursuit of Emyr to swat an absent paw in her direction, forcing Liliana to dodge or tank the hit. As Emyr dodged yet again, calling up shadows to trip the mighty beast Liliana flashed forward again.

Once more shadows were shredded and Liliana was forced to abort her rush to avoid death. Gritting her teeth as frustration filled her Liliana could feel the time on her [Enhancement] running low. Urgency filled her, speeding her heart in her chest until it felt like it would burst.

A shout of surprise filled the air as the Tiger finally grabbed purchase on Emyr. Its claws had snagged his cloak, yanking the boy down. Fabric ripped as the razorsharp claws sheared through the material. Emyr was sent tumbling, rolling across the ground until he came to a rough stop against a tree.

The Tiger, smelling the end to the fight, crouched down and prepared its final fatal pounce. Liliana’s own muscles coiled as she held herself ready.

Wait. She controlled her urge to lunge now, time seemed to slow once more as she watched the Tiger’s muscles tighten.

Now!

Liliana leaped the same moment the Tiger’s paws left the ground. Unable to block her this time the Tiger was forced to take the full brunt of her tackle. Liliana’s hands grabbed onto prismatic fur with a vice-like grip. Thrown off its momentum by Liliana the Tiger crashed into the ground, feet from Emyr, with Liliana clinging to it for dear life.

[Bonding Contract] activated with a flash of bright blue light. Around her hands circles appeared and under the pair, a giant circle filled with arcane symbols appeared. Liliana immediately presented the contract she’d worked on just for this. It was far more involved than the one she’d set up with Polaris. She put the full force of every drop of Charisma she had behind the mental and magical request.

I, Liliana Rosengarde, do swear to be your partner until either of our lives is ended. On the agreement that you too, shall be my partner until the end of either of our lives. No matter the events, we shall forever be Soul Tied. Our fates irrevocably intertwined. Bring sickness, bring misfortune we two shall forever more travel the same path side by side. Armies and kingdoms may come against us, but we two shall stand united against all. I, Liliana Rosengarde, shall provide you eternal companionship, a friend, confidant, and a safe place for you. On the agreement that you shall henceforth be my companion in body and heart. You shall fight beside me, and for me. You will become my sword and my shield. I, Liliana Rosengarde, shall provide you with ample food necessary for your health. I shall provide you with 1% of my Mana channeled at all times daily. Should you be injured, poisoned, or fall ill I shall provide you medical care until you are once more healthy. I shall provide you a place to call home, a safe sanctuary to rest your head. I shall never ask you to do something I would not, I shall never ask of you the ultimate sacrifice. I will never raise my hand to you, or intentionally cause you pain or harm. As you shall never raise a claw or fang against me. I shall treat you with kindness, patience, and love, every day that you are beside me. Your needs will come before mine, you shall eat first, you shall receive medical care first. In exchange for Bonding your Soul to mine permanently, and sharing your skills and magic with me I too shall share my own Skills and Magic with you. I, Liliana Rosengarde, do so swear to uphold this contract.

The Tiger was frozen as the Contract was presented to it. Liliana’s hands stayed gripped so tightly to it that she could no longer feel them. Her heart was pounding with fear and anticipation. What choice the Tiger made would determine if they all walked out of here alive. Or if the life’s blood of two humans would soak the ground before the sun set. Every second that passed built the terror in Liliana’s heart, certain that each new second would be her last.

Liliana felt a change to the Contract and hope filled her as it shifted. Additional requirements for specific food had been added. Other lines appeared in Liliana’s mind even as she read on. Specifics of care to be dedicated to the Tiger had been detailed. Translated from whatever way the Tiger communicated into a language Liliana would understand. A heavy moment hung in the air as Liliana read it over. Almost hesitantly a final item was added to the Contract that brought a smile to her face.

You shall provide me with a name.

Without hesitation, Liliana accepted the Contract.