- Bridget -

I finally got away from him. I was worried he might be secretly following me or something though. He did say he would come running if I got in trouble.

I made my way back to the inn. I didn’t know where to find Stacy, but Leslie should still be in her room. I could regroup with her at least.

Everyone in the inn threw bewildered expressions my way as I stepped through the door. Right, I almost forgot. I’m the girl who stabbed herself in the heart in the middle of a crowded room. It’s strange for me to be walking around, isn’t it?

Whatever. Just ignore them. On the way up the stairs I passed someone who looked like a guard. I think he was the person we met when we first entered the village.

Just to be sure I checked our room first, and it was empty as expected. Next I knocked on Leslie’s door. “Leslie? It’s Bridget. Can I come in?”

“It’s unlocked,” she responded. I pushed my way through the door.

Leslie was in bed, her aqua hair disheveled and she appeared to be naked save for a thin blanket covering her body. The air was filled with a very particular odor which was what I could only imagine sex smelled like.

“Did you change your mind about having some fun with me?” she asked with a coy smile.

“Actually I was looking for Stacy,” I told her, my eyes glued to the floor.

Leslie sat up, her hair and the blankets sliding down and exposing the side of her slender body. “I thought she was with you,” she said, a concerned look arising on her face.

“Yeah, she was,” I said awkwardly. “While she was feeding on me, this weird guy showed up. He thought she was was attacking me, and he chased her away.” Tears started to well up in my eyes. I wasn’t sure why.

“He chased… Stacy off?” Leslie asked with an incredulous look on her face. “Hold on,” she said as she climbed out of bed, still completely naked. She picked a pair of panties out of the pile of clothes on the floor and started getting dressed. “I want to have a word with this man.”

- Stacy -

The white knight stood in front of the inn, blocking its entrance.

Ever since he drove me away, I had been waiting for him to leave so I could return to Bridget’s side. But his vigilance had no end. Did he not need sleep?

Right now Bridget was meeting with Leslie. I could probably slip through a gap in the window, but if I did that then he would probably rush up to the room as well. It was my presence he was watching for after all.

I was hiding in the tree branches at the edge of town, my body an incorporeal fog. Yet his eyes still managed to follow me. Somehow he could detect me even with my shadow meld and mist form active.

He wanted to take my Bridget away from me, but I wouldn’t let that happen. If it came down to it, I felt I could take him in a 1 on 1 fight, but it would be difficult. That man had some troublesome gifts. Ideally I’d prefer to assassinate him, to end the confrontation before it even started. But sneaking up on him or slipping past his notice would be impossible.

- Bridget -

Leslie and I exited the inn together to find Gregory waiting at the front door. Eck, so he was following me.

“Lady Bridget, you’ve returned. And…” His eyes turned to disdain as they landed upon the person next to me. “Lady Levire.”

“My, so you’ve heard of me,” Leslie said, placing a hand over her mouth to cover an amused smile. “I’m flattered. And you are, mister knight?”

“Gregory,” he replied, flicking his eyes to the forest and then back to us. “Paladin of Chercella.”

He addressed me next. “Lady Bridget, you should really be more careful about who you choose to associate with. You do realize this woman is a succubus?”

Leslie’s eyebrow twitched. “So what if I’m a succubus? What, are you afraid I’m going to deflower your crush? Mister Stalker.” Leslie’s extended finger was an inch away from drilling a hole in Gregory’s breastplate.

Gregory took a deep breath and huffed through his nose. “Call me what you will, I only wish to keep the lady safe from beasts like you.”

The two continued to argue back and forth for a while. Their voices bled together, and started to echo and fade as I tuned them out. They were so engrossed with each other that they didn’t even notice when I slipped away.

I internally thanked Leslie for distracting him. Even though I knew it wasn’t her intention, now I could search for Stacy in peace. I weaved around the buildings to cut off line of sight and made my way to the forest where I last saw her.

As I passed the tree line Stacy instantly materialized beside me. He eyes were shifted to the side, glancing at the bickering knight and succubus.

“Stacy!” I exclaimed and threw my arms around her.

“What’s this?” she asked with a smile, shifting her attention back to me and gently placing hands over my arms.

“I missed you,” I said as I pressed my head against the side of her neck.

“It’s only been half a day. Silly girl.” Stacy returned my hug, moving her hands to the back of my waist.

“But you suddenly disappeared. And I didn’t know when I would see you again, because…”

We broke from the hug and both turned our attention back to the white knight.

“That guy,” Stacy began. “It’s almost like he can see through my shadow meld and mist form. I thought those gifts would be unbeatable when used together…”

“He thought you were attacking me last night, so now he won’t leave me alone.”

“I figured that was the case. Those paladins do tend to be the self-righteous types. I’ll probably have to kill him.”

I lightly tugged Stacy’s cloak to grab her attention. “Actually, I had an idea.”

But before I could tell Stacy about that, Gregory, finally having realized I was gone, turned and met eyes with me and Stacy.