Cellestra returned, her flame leading the way. Once near me, I cast my flame spell to light up the area during the night instead. Soon, she had dinner while I was still trying to make sense of all the thoughts and emotions racing in my mind. I’d almost forgotten the tea I was holding.

“We should get you to sleep as soon as possible,” Cellestra said softly. “I can already see you overthinking things. It’s not pretty.”

“I know… it’s making my head hurt.” I looked down into my frontal spider eyes. “Both of them.”

“Go sleep.”

“We both know I’ll not fully sleep, perhaps even less this time.”

“Still.”

“Ugh,” I let out as I laid my torso down on my back. Despite the usual softness, I didn’t seem to get comfortable this time around. “I’ll try.”

“Good,” Cellestra said with a stern but warm voice.

I watched her finish her dinner as evening fully set in and the world around us went dark. My flame spell illuminated the direct area, but the two braziers not too far out meant that it wouldn’t be too dark either way. At some point, the doors of the temple closed. About the same time, Cellestra positioned herself at my side and pulled one of the wolf pelts off my abdomen to cover herself.

“Good night,” She whispered as she petted my side.

I wanted to reply but found that my speech organs had already been cut off from the rest of my body, leaving me to reply to her by just lightly tapping her lap with one of my legs. I was surprised my elven head managed to find the rest it needed to fall asleep, but I wouldn’t question the why or how.

Instead, I cast the healing light spell on Cellestra and watched her smile as she dozed off.

Then, I prepared for the longest night yet.

Hours of incessant thoughts storming in my mind later, things began to quiet down as I started to structure things out. At the end of it, my biggest concern was not meeting my parents again, but what came after. Right now, they had no idea I existed, so they couldn’t worry about me. However, things were about to change, which was a cause of anxiety deep down. There was no denying I was going to put my life at stake sooner or later, and it made me feel guilty.

I didn’t want to cause them distress, but I knew there would be no avoiding it. Was I being selfish?

Sure, I didn’t plan on dying… again, but still. It wasn’t something I could entirely control. There was also the ordeal with the obelisks and the darkness clawing at the back of my mind. I hadn't seen the last of that problem, and I knew sooner or later, I was going to be involved one way or the other.

I had already determined that I would grow as strong as I could. I was not going to have happiness taken away from me a second time. This time, I had even more to live for, and I would protect it with all my heart and mind.

I would show Elysa that I was worth all this.

With that determination, I waited and waited until at long last, the sun appeared on the horizon. The doors to the temple were opened once more and in the distance, I could see the farms around the village spring to life as the occupants started going about their business for the day.

Since I was told we would meet here, I saw no reason to get up just yet. Besides, Cellestra was still fast asleep.

I saw some priests from the other shrines enter and exit their buildings. My suspicion regarding the color of their robes indicating the god or goddess they worshiped seemed to hold strong. There were the green robes from Nilene’s shrine, then the white ones from Elysa’s, but in addition to those, there were blue, orange, and red ones.

I had the tendency to link the blue robes to the god of the sea that Cellestra talked about. It just clicked in my mind, but I couldn’t be sure.

The priest we’d talked to the day before stood in front of the shrine and had a few of the other shrines’ priests and priestesses come over, no doubt to talk about my presence. Their gazes did not escape me.

I was some distance away from the entrance in the low wall, so the braziers weren’t roaring blue, but it became clear soon enough that my presence wasn’t viewed in a negative light. In fact, I believe I saw some of the priests smile when they watched me sleep. I wondered if they knew I was technically awake.

The brunette awoke with a loud yawn and stretched her arms. I woke up my own torso and hoped that all the worries of the night hadn’t seeped into my other brain. I didn’t want to have a headache this day.

“Morning, Kealyna. How are you feeling?”

I let out a yawn of my own as sensations returned. I kept my torso on my back and tried to fix my hair as much as I could. Cellestra saw me struggle, giggled and pulled out her comb to at least get it somewhat decent before I’d meet some important people.

“I’m… feeling surprisingly good. I hope it stays that way,” I said as she worked.

“It will get better,” Cellestra promised me.

I let out a slight chuckle. “Yeah. I can’t wait.”

Cellestra tucked away the comb, started unpacking some food, and asked me to refill her canteen. Every now and then during breakfast, some of the townsfolk made their way over to the shrines. They were hesitant because of my presence, but the priest in green’s nonchalance seemed to convince them that I wasn’t a threat to anyone.

After breakfast, and some business, as usual, we were left waiting for Selleron and whoever he would bring. There were still some formalities we would have to go through before I could be reunited. For me, this couldn’t go fast enough.

Fortunately, we didn’t have to wait for long. Three mounted figures left the city and made their way towards us. Two figures were armored, where one seemed to be more… casual. I had to assume that was Soranir, the mayor. I could clearly see what the priestess meant yesterday when she said that the farm had never really left him.

I stood up and smiled at the sight. If he was truly the mayor, one wouldn’t be able to tell it at first glance, at all. While the clothing he wore wasn’t the most basic, it was plain enough. Simple brown trousers and a green tunic made up most of his outfit. Only when he came closer did I notice anything that would make him stand out. Around one of his ears was some kind of gold jewelry that spiraled upward until the tip.

I’d never seen anything like it before.

Selleron was of course, easily recognized by his red-plumed helmet. The other armored figure wore a helmet, much like his, but with a blue plume instead. There was no doubt in my mind that this was the garrison commander that Selleron mentioned yesterday.

As they approached, I took a few steps towards the braziers until I was close enough to have the flames turn into blazing blue ones, causing the few people present to turn their heads in awe. They took a moment to watch, before going back to whatever they were doing.

The riders came to a halt and Selleron removed his helmet, followed by the other knight-like soldier.

“I hope you had a good night,” He said as he guided his horse slightly closer.

I nodded. “Better than expected.”

Selleron chuckled. “I can imagine. Do trust me when I say our mayor isn’t a difficult person. There’s no reason to fret.”

I nodded slightly.

“The commander… well, we discussed some things yesterday evening. He just had to see for himself. As for the mayor...”

“Enough talk,” The simple-clothed elf said as he brought his horse closer and dismounted. He then walked up to me without hesitation and extended an arm.

I smiled as I took hold of it and shook it.

“Kealyna’s the name, right?” he asked. As I nodded, he continued. “Soranir. Welcome to Thymhil.”

I blinked several times as I couldn’t believe what was happening before me.

What?

“I’m sure you’ll abide by the rules as long as you’re in or near the city.” He then walked towards my side and extended an arm towards Cellestra.

“And who’s this lovely young lady?”

“It’s Cellestra,” She replied as she shook his hand.

“Now then,” he spoke as he walked back to my front. “We’ve talked about a couple of things last night, yada yada, not interesting, so let’s skip that. You were looking for your folks, correct?”

I nodded in response.

“There is one thing I don’t get,” He continued, his voice losing some of his optimism. “I’ve met them and talked to them, and while they seemed to have lost memories, one would think they remember having a daughter. All in all, it’s an… atypical story, but those flames behind you confirm something that Selleron told me yesterday. Something with a goddess’s blessing and all?”

I nodded. “Long story.”

He eyed me from head to fangs. “I’m sure it is,” He said softly. “I’d like to hear it all someday, but I don’t want to hold you up any longer. As long as both of you agree to stay civil as long as you’re here, you’re free to go and do as you please. I’ll have Selleron lead you to your parents. I’d love to come with you, but there is a stack of paperwork waiting for me.”

I had the feeling it was due to me. I felt sorry for him.

“We will,” I said.

The mayor nodded and smiled before he walked back to mount his horse. “Best of luck to you,” He said as he and the commander turned around. “Let Selleron know if you need any further assistance.”

With that, he was off.

I was left dumbfounded but relieved as I used my spider eyes to stare at the wide smile on Selleron’s face.

“Shall we go?” He asked.