--- Roric

Roric got up early, finding his mood refreshed.

After the conversation of the previous evening, the boy felt like he was getting closer to a common ground with Elise. There was still a long way to go, of course, but he was relieved to know that the girl too was troubled by the situation. In addition, her plan of moving to a house inside the village together had completely blindsided him.

Elise appeared an hour later. She had promised to take a good night of sleep and seemed to have kept her word, but Roric didn't have any way to be sure of it. Being in different rooms, she could have spent that time actually resting or brooding about the problems in Fradot. It was just a matter of how much trust the boy had in her.

They left the farm shortly after breakfast and headed upwards, towards the Mountainside. While they walked the path, as usual, many people turned to greet Elise and thank her for the many times she had been useful during the past weeks. It seemed like her popularity had grown even more since Roric had last accompanied her to the village.

My father used to be treated just as respectfully. A shame he ended up dying among the first because he was such an important person. But I guess being a pillar of your community in times of peace is worth something. What if even someone like me could find a place in all this, I wonder?

They went through Fradot without any rush, meeting many others on the way. Her people, like Elise was so fond of saying. Each and every one of them left with a smile, a small gift or words of praise for the young girl.

Still, I can't help but thinking that there's something strange in the way everyone follows her blindly... Maybe some individuals are just gifted, and that's all.

"Look, that's the place I was telling you about."

Roric looked in the direction her finger was pointing, a short distance above old Gerna's place. From the outside, the building looked a lot newer than Dominic's farm and sturdier too, because the walls were made of stone and the door had probably undergone at least half as many repairs.

"It seems nice," commented Roric. "What about its owners? A pretty house like this can't be vacant, am I right?"

"You are correct, but I have already found a solution," said Elise, with a touch of pride. "You see, the people who live here are actually farmers. They moved in the village only a couple of years ago, but they couldn't afford any of the properties down in the valley... So I just offered them an exchange."

The boy's eyes went wide from the surprise.

"For... For real? I mean, you know how much you could make from a farm that big, right? You could buy a house twice this size, at least."

"I know it well. But I'm the owner, and I'll decide what to do with it."

"That's not what I meant..." replied Roric. "Do you realize you are basically giving away a part of the fields for free? It's generous of you, but this way they'll-"

"They'll owe me a favor, of course," the girl completed his sentence for him. "And the entire village will see that I'm not simply using Dominic's death as a way to get rich. That should work well for me when I'll apply for the council in the future."

Sure, how could he be that stupid? People talked, and if bad rumours were being spread Elise was bound to know about them. He glanced at her, a bit ashamed by how keen she was proving to be.

"Do I... Have something on my face?" asked the girl, abruptly.

"No, it's just... I wish the old man could see you now."

Elise blushed, but then she lowered her eyes and spoke with a sadder tone.

"I'm not so sure that he would be happy... But I'm doing my best."

***

A couple of minutes later, the duo finally reached the summit of the hill and came in view of the Mountainside. In front of the tavern Roric spotted Lod the priest, the bearded man he had met during his first time at the village and two elders who were probably husband and wife. For some reason the boy had almost expected to find Gerna among them, due to her age, but now that he thought about it he wasn't surprised by her absence. That old hag couldn't care for the village that much. And those people seemed way friendlier than her, anyway.

"Good day to you, young fellas," the priest called for them, with a goofy wave of the hand.

"Hello, Lod," answered the girl. "And to all of you as well. Have you heard about the fields? The future owners have agreed to lend a small piece of land for your healing plants. That will be advantageous because..."

There she goes. How does she do it? It's like she was born to lead others.

He looked at her tenderly. Only a short time before she was so different... What if that was just her true self, coming out in the light of the day? The safety of that girl, now that the old farmer wasn't there anymore, should have been his responsibility. Except that sometimes he just felt like a simple observer. She had pointed out to be some months older than him, but in that moment Roric was dazzled by how comfortable she moved around the adults. Once back home, he decided, he would have asked for her opinion on the matter.

"So, without further ado," concluded Elise. "May we enter? I can't wait to discuss my new proposal."

"Wait for a moment, Elise," asked the old lady. "Why don't you introduce us to this young lad? I saw him with you before but I don't recall hearing his name once."

"My name," stepped in the boy, a little upset that he wasn't being addressed in person, "Is Roric. I came to the valley a couple of months ago, when mister Dominic was still alive. He took me in, and allowed me to stay."

"Pleased to meet you, young one," the woman quickly replied. "I'm Enn, and this is my husband Jordo. Come on, dear, say hello to him."

"Good day to you. It seems like the average age of our meetings is getting lower and lower."

"Oh, cut it out," Enn scokded him. "My excuses, Roric. He was one of those who didn't trust the good will of our Elise. But now he's changed his mind."

"It's not like you wouldn't drag me here anyway," commented the man.

The bearded one, who had silently listened for the time being, extended his right hand to Roric.

"Hello again, lad. We've already met," he said. "My name is Gardnung, but you can call me Gardn like everyone else. This way is more simple."

The boy shook hands with him, then Elise took the word once again.

"I brought him with me today because he needs to report something. Am I correct?"

"Oh, yes," replied Roric. "But weren't we going inside? I'm thirsty."

"Now we're talking," observed Jordo. "I need a pint of beer to talk about serious things at this hour."

***

"And that is more or less what I wanted to tell you."

Roric had spent the last half an hour describing his recent hunting trip. He had been careful to explain what roads he had taken and the exact place where he had delved between the trees, and Gardn had confirmed that he knew where it was because one of his friends used to hunt near there as well, years before.

"No animals, huh?" he asked. "Are you sure you weren't advancing from downwind? They might have just avoided you."

"I've been hunting for a while, and I know that trick," replied Roric. "This isn't normal. For the moment, the only thing I'm asking you is to spread the word to the rest of the village. From the looks of it, there might be wolves or other dangerous beasts lurking in those forests."

"Wolves?" wondered Jordo. "Nonsense. We haven't seen them in ages."

"I'm not saying it was wolves. Just that it's strange and you all need to pay attention."

"We'll do, young Roric," said Enn. "Thanks for your help, we appreciate it."

"Now, how about we resume from where we left last time? The matter of the fields..." started Jordo. "It's of crucial importance right now."

"This is about to get boring, I'm afraid," whispered Elise. "Why don't you take a walk, in the meantime?"

"I can stay if you want," answered the boy. "Weren't you the one saying I should-"

"No, there's no need. I know you are concerned about me, but trust these people. We are working for the future of the village."

"Is there anything I can do to help at least?"

The girl thought about it for some moments, then replied.

"Can you go home, and make a list of the things we have there? From the looks of it, we'll move very soon and I want to be prepared."

"I'm on it."

With a last smile and a nod, Roric stood up and left the tavern. To be honest, he was kinda annoyed that his first contribution to the life of the village was so meager, but he still wanted to be useful to Elise and headed back at a steady pace.

***

--- Elise

Everyone at the table looked at Elise in disbelief.

"The safety of the village?" asked Lod. "What do you mean with that?"

"You know what I mean. I've been thinking about it for a long time... And found out that Fradot isn't safe at all. Roric mentioned wild beasts but nobody knows what could come next," answered the girl. "We might need to defend our homes, sooner or later. From what he told me, nobody ever expects to be at risk until it's too late. His own village paid the ultimate price for that. We need to instruct men and women to use weapons, in case of necessity. And I need the help of you all to propose this to the rest of the council."

A strange silence fell among those who were present. The first to break it was old Enn.

"Even if the the council gave us the approval, we'd be forced to hide the fact that this was your idea, my dear. There's too much risk that they won't allow someone young like you to-"

"Are my words that nonsensical?"

"No, that's not what I'm saying," explained the woman. "We all trust you, but you are not in the council yet. For that to happen, you'll have to wait at least two or three more years. Especially if you want to do something as daring as forming a militia."

"I'm not against it," said Gardn. "I've always feared the dwellers of the western valley. Who knows if they'll set their gaze on us, one day?"

"That's exactly my point!" exclaimed Elise. "I saw them. Near the northern border, where I met Roric, three of them nearly killed me. Had he not been there, they would have succeded. We need to act, at least to prevent any more of this from happening."

Lod sighed. "We are not fighters, you know. And hiring a trainer from the outside would be costly."

"We already have someone. Roric."

Four surprised faces looked at Elise. Even Jordo, who was usually the most detached.

"Think about that. Isn't he the right person?" asked the girl. "He lost his home because nobody was ready for it, and became a mercenary warrior. This is a golden chance for us."

The old couple exchanged a glance.

"You see," said Jordo. "I happened to exchange some words with Gerna the other month. I asked her about that guy because I didn't know him, and she told me a couple of interesting things."

"Let's hear them."

"She had already questioned him a bit about his past. And he said he wanted to leave it behind."

"That's what he told me as well," complained Elise, exasperated. "Still, in the end he already taught me a couple of things. I'm sure that I can bring him to our side."

"He just did it because he cares about you," said Lod. "He probably doesn't want you to get hurt. You should be more tactful when dealing with his personal demons."

"One way or another," said the girl. "If it doesn't work, I'm going to train volunteers myself. I already know the basics."

"Don't rush things, lass," Enn warned her. "There's still the matter of the council's approval."

Oh yes, the council. Once they hear this proposal, there's no way they'll say no. We'll keep our home safe.

***

When Elise left the tavern, it was already dusk. She walked the road back with many thoughts in her mind.

To be honest, Roric said multiple times that good training isn't enough. But it's something, in my opinion. I'm sure that his village would have survived by using weapons. Once I'm home, I'll have to think about a way to convince him.

There was still something she couldn't understand in the boy's story. He had become stronger to protect others, so why giving up? Was fighting really that bad? Elise clenched her fists.

***

"No," replied Roric. "We've already talked about this. No sparring lessons for anyone except you. Why are you so worried about this, all of a sudden?"

"It's because of what you said," explained the girl. "Because of what happened to your home."

Her friend seemed deep in thought.

"You... You may be right. But I'm not going back on my words. Yesterday I told you that avoiding conflict is the best way for everyone."

"It will only be a bunch of volunteers. Just to be safe-"

"It's for the best, trust me," said the boy. "I'm not going to do it. Even if I care about this village, I don't think it would be a good idea to teach those people how to fight. Just keeping their heads low will be enough to survive in most cases."

In most cases. He said it. There's no way to be sure. I guess I'll just have to work my way into the council for now.

"Are we having dinner?" asked Roric. "I left the list you wanted in the other room. We can take a look at it later, if you want."

Yet, Elise was already heading upstairs, sleepy.

"Elise?"

"Sorry, I'm too tired to eat."

She kept climbing the creaky stairs.

I will protect them, Dominic. I promise.