I walked back into the bedroom to find May huddled up in her blanket and seemingly having already fallen asleep with her back facing toward me. I did my best to be quiet as I climbed into mine, and a sudden weariness overcame me. There was no fatigue that I could feel in my body, but I still felt like I was on the verge of falling asleep the moment my head hit the pillow. I hoped it was not simply a leftover reflex from being human as there was a comfort and satisfaction of getting into bed after a long and exhausting day, and that was an aspect I did not want to lose.

"Was it scary? The spirit, I mean." a meek voice asked from across the room as I drew the blanket over me.

"No," I answered without thinking but quickly amended my answer. "Actually, yes, it was scary, but I wasn't alone. I had capable people with me, and we beat it together."

"Did you get hurt?"

"It struck me on the head once, but I'm fine now. Tristan broke his arm, unfortunately, but otherwise, we only received bruises."

"On the head?" she exclaimed, turning around to look at me. "It was so big, though! It... it threw my dad so far like it was nothing. And he had a wood enhancement."

"Only a wood enhancement?" I asked, hoping to tease some more information from her.

"Yes," she gave a sad nod. "We could only donate enough to the church to get one altering gem. We needed it to protect ourselves after my uncle passed last winter. He had a full set that our village collected over a few years. I'm a girl, so my dad was next in line to be the protector since we were a family of hunters. I was meant to have two younger brothers, but they died as babies."

Holy shit, her life is rough. And she's still so young.

"Do you..."

Have any family left? No way I can ask that.

But I wanted to know if she had anyone left. To know if she had any hope left in her. Even if there was absolutely nothing I could do for her, and despite the fact I only just met her, I still wanted to hope, to believe that there was still a light in her life.

"Do you have anyone else in your family? Or someone you are close with?" I asked tentatively, doing my best to tread lightly.

"There is my aunt, I guess. My uncle's wife. I don't really get along with her. She has a baby, so I guess I have a cousin too. But we are all like one big family in the village. We take care of each other. But..."

"Hmm?"

"It's...nothing. Do the others know you got the spirit?"

"I don't think so. We only just got here, and pretty much all went straight to bed."

"Oh, right. Sorry. I should let you sleep."

"It's alright, don't worry about it. I can always sleep in if I need to."

"No, um, I'll go sleep. Sorry. Good night." She said as she once again laid her head down and turned away.

"Good night," I replied as a slight, sad smile played upon my lips at her thoughtfulness and concern for others despite everything that had happened to her.

She is such a sweet girl. She did not deserve this. Neither did her mother. Was there anything I could have done back then?

The thought plagued my mind as I tried to fall into my sleep trance, the scenario of what transpired in that small, dark room playing out in my mind. It was honestly a moment I really wanted to forget and never have to think about again, but that was not the reality.

Just thinking about the woman, May's mother, and the condition I found her in began to make me feel sick, especially now that I was learning more about her. Holly was her name if I remember right. The thought that I drank her blood and very nearly killed her myself revolted me, and I began worrying I might end up vomiting if I continued letting the memory plague my mind.

I took a deep, calming breath and tried to find something else to think about. Something more pleasant, but in actuality, this ended up having the opposite effect.

Everything I could think up that I might have once considered happy thoughts were now ones filled with sadness. My friends and family that I would not be able to see, the places that I can no longer go to, and even the simple things, like enjoying food or watching series and videos is now no longer possible. There was also very little for me to look forward to. Of course, there was magic, but it felt like I would need to cross a minefield to even get to the point of learning it properly.

And then there was Andre. As much as I dismissed Qubit's warning, it still stuck with me. I only had this night to prepare myself before seeing him again, but I honestly had no clue how to. What I needed was a quick crash course, but all I could do was hope for such an opportunity in the morning. For now, I needed to rest. If not physically, then mentally, so I once again cleared my mind and eventually drifted into my trance.

~~~

I was glad to find that, despite there being a window in this room, it was so far inlaid into the thick wall that the sun did not shine directly into the room. That, in addition to it not even facing the direction where the sun had begun to rise, meant this was luckily a safe haven for me to reside in. Having to constantly monitor and examine where the sun can reach at various times of the day is going to suck. It will have to become a habit for me, or I might end up finding myself with horrible burns or even death just by opening the wrong door.

Right now, as I peered out of the window, it seemed like it might rain today. May had woken up and left the room not long ago, which somewhat surprised me considering how late it was when she finally fell asleep.

Quickly downing my morning dose of blood, I left the bedroom. I paused for a moment before opening the kitchen door, trying to remember exactly where all the windows were, and I once more lucked out with the one in here mirroring the one in the bedroom.

May was currently in the kitchen, and I seemed to have caught her gathering a bunch of cooking utensils and ingredients onto a table by a large pot that was hanging above a yet unlit firepit underneath a chimney.

"Morning," I greet her as I enter. "Is that your breakfast? Wouldn't have expected you to be able to eat so much."

"Good morning." May paused as she turned to me, and I realized this was her first good look as her gaze lingered on my white hair. "I'm preparing lunch for everyone. Sir Casper said it was okay for me to cook."

"On your own? How many are you cooking for?"

"Sixty or so before you arrived. Alice and Lila come to help a little later. I just wanted to start early as we have more mouths to feed now."

"You don't need to include me. I will be out all day. You can have my serving if you want, though."

"I can't eat that much, but thanks."

Leaving her to it, I walked on over to the other door in the room leading back into the atrium. It was still early, so the sun should not be able to shine in through the roof yet, but nonetheless, I remained cautious while opening the door. After a quick glance back at May to see she was starting to chop vegetables, I stepped out.

It was just as quiet and seemingly deserted as it had been during the night, and I wondered if it was just the three along with Casper that were living here. Rather than snoop around, I decided to head back to what had appeared to be the main hall by the front entrance.

I was surprised to find Casper already in the hall, sitting at one of the tables while reading a book and sipping a hot drink. He rose from the stool as he saw me and laid down the book and mug before making his way toward me.

"Ah, perfect. Good morning. I must say, I was prepared to wait quite some time for you to wake up, so this is a pleasant surprise. I hope you had a good night's sleep?"

"You were waiting for me?" I asked in slight concern and apprehension.

"I simply wished to extend a proper welcome. As the others are still sleeping, all I know is that you are an ascended who helped exterminate the spirit they were after. If only for that, I wanted to express my gratitude. Besides that, I also take care of the castle and any residents within. Do you intend to stay, or have you already made plans to depart?"

"It seems like I'm staying for now. I agreed to help with catching the spirit currently in this town. Beyond that, I have no plans yet."

"Oh, that is just great news. I really appreciate you keeping those three safe and helping the residents of this town, especially with Master Thornton being away. It truly is a relief knowing we have two ascended to rely on. I assume you have met Andre?"

"I have." That was when an alarming thought struck me. "Wait, is he the only ascended in this town or the only one that is helping?"

"The only one, unfortunately, but we are lucky to even have him here. He is an inquisitor, after all. Personages of such stature rarely stay here long."

"Do you know why he is here?"

"It is not my place to ask, but if I had to venture a guess, I would say the church is looking out for us. At the very least, I hope so. If he were to leave for the frontier, a spirit stemming from the mainland could cause chaos here, and our only hope would be for Lord Hagan to intervene, as unlikely as that is. No spirit coming here would dare take it far enough to draw his ire after all. The same goes for rogue ascended and transcended. Such are the troubles of living in a low mana zone."

I did my best to take in as many details as I could, but in all honesty, I had even more questions now than before.

Qubit, are you noting this all down? I don't want to forget anything.

"Yes, I have retained a transcript of the conversation," Qubit spoke, startling me for a moment.

I still had to get used to it being able to talk out loud in a way that only I could hear. I quickly tried to cover up my reaction with the first question that popped up in my mind, which I immediately regretted.

"Who is Lord Hagan?"

I could see the visible surprise on Caspers's face at my inquiry.

"The transcended ruling over our little island. The great Hugh Hagan, Terror of the Southeast. If you don't mind me asking, where are you from?"

"Somewhere very far away. I doubt you know of it. Coming here hasn't exactly been a planned trip." I answered quickly, hoping I do not seem suspicious.

"Well, I won't pry. The business of ascended is not for me to poke my nose into. Doubly so for a guest that has helped the master's proteges. Are you hungry? We can get you something to eat, and I'll give you a tour of the castle if you wish."

I breathed an inward sigh of relief for the topic to have been switched so readily, making me both wonder and worry how important ascended were in this society.

"I'll have to pass on the food, but I'd love to get a tour. I feel like I might get lost otherwise."

"Then let's get right to it. This way, please."

Casper led the way back to the atrium, leaving his cooling mug and book behind.