--- Roric

"Did you practice like we said, my boy?"

Tolwin swung his hammer towards him, trying to land a hit. Roric knew they were just training, anyway, since the paladin smiled brightly as they sparred.

"I did," he answered. "Tell me, do you think I will be able to protect others one day?"

The man stopped, and gave him a warmer glance.

"That's something you must decide for yourself, Roric. When you feel ready, you will be."

Suddenly, the ground opened. Rotten, skeletal hands reached for Tolwin's legs, pulling him down. The boy wanted to save him, but he was stuck as well...

***

Roric opened his eyes, and pain surged through his body.

He was lying on a soft bed, inside a familiar room. There was smell of food in the air, and the rays of the sun shone brightly from the nearby window.

This is definitely the house. How... How did I get here?

The young warrior tried to lift his torso, slowed and crippled by wounds, and with a great effort managed to sit. The last thing he remembered was fighting the men of the western valley, those bandits who had come to destroy the village...

The village! If I'm here, it means we did it. Fradot is safe!

He wanted to stand up and look outside, but he was still too weak. How many wounds had he gotten in that battle? His left arm hurt like it was on fire, and was immobilized with linen bandages. There were cuts and bruises all around his legs, and another heavy medication covered the entirety of Roric's torso. A crossbowman had probably shot him, but in the heat of the fight he couldn't tell for sure.

A noise from his right attracted the boy's attention. When he turned, he found that a person was there. Eyes wide, Elise stood by the door. She carried a book, but it instantly fell to the ground.

"Roric... Roric!" she yelled, kneeling at his side with her face buried into the blankets.

"Hello," he greeted, with a weak voice. "Glad to see that you are alright."

"You idiot!" whined the girl. "What was the big idea? Coming back just to fight alone against all those enemies... You could have died."

Roric patted her head, and moved to let her sit near him on the bed. She cried and cried, without even looking at his face. He smiled through the pain, dragging her closer with his free arm.

"Don't say that," he said. "I couldn't possibly die. Not when I had someone important to protect."

Elise lifted her teary gaze. She wiped her tears with the sleeve of her dress, then blushed and quickly stepped back.

"You... Don't minimize it!" she babbled. "You were gravely injured, and I don't even know how you can be awake after only two days!"

The way she failed to hide her concern behind that scolding was just adorable.

"Well, I have to say I was surprised to see you," went on the girl. "I mean, you really came back for... For us."

Damn, I don't think she gets the point. Oh, whatever.

Roric lay down once again. Tolwin had taught him that it wasn't a good idea to force your body to sit when you had serious injuries. He had to be patient.

"Sorry for that. I just... I just realized that leaving wouldn't have solved anything," he admitted. "In a way, you were right."

Elise smiled, shyly, and glanced at him for an almost unnoticeable moment.

"Thanks," she whispered. "It means a lot to me. Also..."

"Also?"

"I... I wanted to apologize too. Had I listened to you, nobody would have died."

"You can't know that," replied Roric. "Just promise me you won't be this rash in the future."

"I will. I won't forget this lesson."

The boy sighed.

"What does the village think of you, now that the danger is gone?"

"There's a part who still agrees with me, no matter what I did," explained the girl, with a sad face. "But I'm pretty sure that a lot of people hate me. It's not like I'm the only responsible, but I helped causing the deaths of their loved ones."

"That was inevitable, once you challenged the bandits."

"It's all my fault."

"Just be happy that it didn't get worse."

He closed his eyes.

I feel so exhausted...

"Oh," gasped Elise. "You must be tired."

"I am," nodded Roric. "I think I'll sleep for a bit."

The silence fell in the room again. But while trying to relax, the boy still felt the presence of his friend near the bed. She breathed in, like she was about to say something.

"Roric," murmured the girl. "Is it alright if... If I stay here for some more time?"

"Don't worry. It's not like I'm going anywhere."

***

It took Roric another full day to be able to stand and walk. He couldn't do it on his own, but with the help of Elise he finally managed to get downstairs, and at least have a look around.

Fradot was still a mess. As he sat just outside of the house the boy saw many people going back and forth on the road, and nobody seemed to be in a good mood. Somehow, it was just like joy itself had been sucked out from the village.

These folks lost so much. They blame Elise, sure, but in the end it's all because they acted without thinking. They have definitely won and nobody is going to torment them anymore, but at what price? Their lives are ruined now.

Old Gerna passed by, heading for her place, and gave him a silent nod. Many others glanced at him without speaking, probably still shaken by the events of the previous days. No, that wasn't the case, not entirely. Hour after hour, Roric began to notice that they were scared of him.

They probably don't like the idea of being near someone who has killed an entire band by himself, even if he was doing it for their sake. It's not that surprising. These villagers hadn't known the horror of a battle in their entire lives, and now that they have experienced it they will start seeing things a lot differently.

With his decision to return the boy didn't aim to gain their trust, but he still expected a bit of gratitude for having risked his life. Staying in Fradot would have been more difficult from that moment onwards.

What happens if they start pointing fingers at us? They have all the right to be mad towards Elise... And I'm definitely the next on the list for what I taught her.

He called for the girl, who helped him to get inside. The nervous way she acted while doing so, like she was eager to get back to the safety of the house, confirmed his doubts. Roric still needed to protect her, after all.

***

For the rest of that day, the two stayed locked in and didn't dare to show themselves to the rest of Fradot. Elise didn't talk much, because she probably felt still too shamed by her lack of judgment.

Later, Gardn and the rest of those who had supported the girl with the village council came to pay a visit and heartily greeted Roric, amazed by the fact that he was already up.

"My boy!" exclaimed the carpenter. "I can't believe it. You were on the brink of death just a couple of days ago!"

"I got lucky," minimized the boy, who didn't want to attract any unnecessary attention.

He couldn't allow them or Elise to find out that he was an Elemental at that point. It would have been too dangerous for his friend, plus who knew if the priest would have kept his mouth shut with the Order.

"Still, I can't really explain how did you recover that fast," wondered Lod. "You are tougher than you look, that's for sure."

"Let him rest, Lod," Enn scolded him. "He saved us, remember?"

"Yes... Yes," quickly replied the man. "I just found that a bit weird, that's all."

"Young fellows are surely quicker to heal than us, what would you expect?" Gardn mocked him. "You are too used to deal with weak elders, man."

"If you say so."

With those words, the priest announced that he had more people to visit and went out. Roric followed him with his gaze, but thankfully Lod didn't seem concerned by his fast recovery anymore and was heading down to the farms instead.

The old couple was the next to leave. They had brought a tasty apple pie for him, and even Jordo seemed a little more softer than usual. Enn, on the other hand, thanked him more times than he could count.

"I'm going to stay a little more, I think," said Gardn. "You don't mind, right Elise?"

"You are always welcome here," replied the girl. "But I'm too tired to talk. I'll try to get some sleep, goodnight."

She yawned and went upstairs. Roric and the man were now the only ones in the room, and the moment she disappeared the bulky carpenter changed his attitude, waiting for a couple of moments and then starting to talk with a much more serious tone.

"So... How did you do it?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"That mess outside of the temple. Don't think that I didn't see it. Everyone saw."

"I was trained in combat by someone who was very good at it," answered the boy. "And you should already know that I used to serve in a mercenary company."

"That doesn't explain how a fourteen year-old could take on more than twenty people at once and get away with his life," said Gardn. "The others may not notice it and just think that you are just a great warrior, but I know enough to say that you are hiding something."

The boy gulped.

"I'm not a Mage, if that's what you are asking," he coldly replied.

"I never said you were. I'm just trying to understand if what you are able to do could harm Elise."

"What is she to you?"

"A leader, and a good person who would sacrifice anything for us. I don't want to see her suffer."

"I saved the village. You still don't trust me?"

"I trust her, but even she can do a mistake or two sometimes. Look at what happened the other day, for example. I followed her blindly, and lost many friends. It's not like I'm regretting it, still things might have been done in a different way. Especially on your part."

Roric glared at him with even more determination.

"I promised the old man I would protect her, and that's exactly what I'm going to do. How I'm going to do it is none of your business."

Gardn smiled, awkwardly.

"Good. It's nice to see that there are still those who are able to honor a promise."

He stood up, and walked towards the door.

"I'll try to keep the others off your neck, Roric, but it won't be easy," said the man. "They are already telling stories about the monster who came and punished the invaders. I would be cautious, if I were you."

"What about you?" asked the boy. "What do you think of me?"

"I think you are a dangerous young man," laughed the carpenter. "But good-hearted at least. So, I'll keep my curiosity for myself."

Roric took a breath of relief. Still, he didn't like the idea of being seen as a bad guy after all he had done for the village.

"Anyway, allow me to give you a piece of advice."

"Go on."

Gardn lowered his voice and opened the door.

"Protect that girl, but get her out of this village as soon as you can."

He left Roric there, alone.

It's like I thought. We won't be welcome here anymore.

***

--- Elise

"There. Are you comfortable enough?"

"Sure, thanks."

Elise smiled and turned away from Roric. She had just helped him to sit on Dominic's armchair, something he could probably have done by himself but with all those wounds she felt almost obliged to aid him. The boy was still recovering, having waken up just five days before, but to be completely honest he seemed to be doing fine.

During that short time, however, the girl had been looking after him manly to forget about Fradot and all the problems that were waiting for her outside. She rarely even glanced from the windows for that very reason.

I'll have to face them, sooner or later. Even those who hate me. What am I going to say to them?

She could barely look into the eyes of her friends in the council now. No matter what they said to cheer her up, in fact, all she could see was her own failure. There were times at night when the girl could still hear the voices of those who had passed by, and all of them were yelling and cursing at her.

The evening came. Roric was peacefully sleeping on the armchair and she glanced at him at regular intervals, something she had found out to be doing more and more lately.

He has... Risked everything for me. Yet, I can't show my gratitude properly because of this situation. I should have paid the ultimate price for my lack of good judgment, but thanks to him I survived... And now we have to live like this. It feels like all we did was for the worst.

Her thoughts were suddenly distracted by a sound of horses approaching.

Horses? Who is it?

Elise rushed to the door, and looked outside.

Four mounted people were heading up the road. All of them wore heavy traveling cloaks, and seemed to have come from very far.

Travelers. Maybe merchants. They must be going to the northern valley.

The two who rode in front, however, didn't exactly seem ordinary merchants. The man on the right was noticeably bigger and carried weapons, while the other was thin and had an elegant blue robe. The girl didn't manage to get other details because the light was dim, so she just decided that it was time to head back in.

Fine, enough of this. Let's make dinner for Roric, shall we?

She had just locked the door when someone knocked. Elise shivered at the noise, but quickly got a hold of herself and went to open. The travelers had stopped there, and had all dismounted.

Are they looking for directions, perhaps? But they came all this way inside the village, so-

"Good evening," greeted the man in blue, lowering his hood.

He was in his fifties, with a grey stub and fluent hair.

"Good... Evening, stranger," she replied. "What are you looking for?"

The others got closer. The two in the back, who seemed like soldiers, immediately went guarding each side of the door while their bulkier companion, who had a full beard and wore a set of steel armour with helmet, stood behind the one who had just spoken.

What's the meaning of this?

Elise's interlocutor cleared his throat, demanding her attention.

"We are looking for a person, actually," he answered. "A girl who goes by the name of Elise. Is it you, by any chance?"