I suppose the mana I was stealing from her eventually caught up. For the first time in nearly three weeks Noel ventured far enough away from the bag for it to collapse in on me. Despite typically loathing the sensation, it was a welcome change of pace, and I didn’t think Noel would be gone for too long.

Sure enough, when my eyes did eventually open once again, her voice was just as clear and cheerful as the day she found me. She was quick to ask if I had been lonely without her. Unwilling to hurt the feelings of the child I of course explain that it was ‘nearly unbearable’.

With a giggle in return Noel began explaining her day. On orders of the mistress Noel lead a few children around the forest and showed them ways to contribute like she does. Collecting nuts for the livestock, flower pressing, even ways to best find usable kindling no matter the season.

Noel is truly a jack-of-all-trades it seems, but apparently she enjoys flower pressing the most, and it can’t hurt that it’s probably the most profitable.

“The new boy almost got lost on the way back but luckily we found him before it got too late.” Noel concludes as her story winds to its end.

“There’s new orph…” I begin to say before thinking better of my words. “A new kid moved in?”

“Yep, I guess he showed up a few days ago.” Noel ponders before returning her attention forward. “That’s the only bad part about living here. I never know what is happening in the big house.”

“Is he younger or older?”

“Around my age.” Noel plainly states as she bangs a handful of rocks together to prep the cooking fire.

“Well it will be good to have someone your age to hang out with.”

“Eh.” Noel shrugs noncommittally, “He’s kind of rude. Sara told me, that the reason I was teaching them today was because Rhun kept pulling pranks on the mistress, he even made all the babies cry at the same time.”

Noel seemed particularly peeved when she mentioned the latter. I suppose that is unforgiveable in a certain sense.

So Rhun is his name? I suppose its not as bad as Noel’s given name, but it still doesn’t feel lika a name you give a child.

Parents these days.

▐◊▌▐◊▌

Competing forces, like the drafts that form a hurricane, pulling and tugging in opposite directions they eventually collide to create a storm. Sometimes they can be seemingly cataclysmic forces, like the ocean and the drafts which form a tsunami, but sometimes they can be mundane forces in either case the storm can still cause damage.

The forces; Noel’s desire to monopolize me, and Noel’s desire to fulfill the expectations of those around her.

The storm; This exact moment.

I suppose I understand now why she was reluctant to bring me with her the first time she and the rest of the orphans went to the forest.

The moment the kids laid eyes on her, and better yet, me, the ruckus was seemingly incessant. ‘Where’d you get that?’ ‘It’s pretty.’ ‘Is that a gemstone? It’s huge!’ The questions were nonstop. And this is all before Noel had even mentioned that it was magic.

At that point she logically kept that to herself, much to my appreciation.

With answers to all the non-rhetorical questions given. Finally, Noel began to lead them towards the forest.

From time to time she would point out a tree with a burnable bark, or an edible mushroom that warms your belly. It wouldn’t surprise me if she could live out here if she had to.

I understand now why she doesn’t just leave. I suppose I always suspected it but to these children she’s a reliable big sister, a mom even, despite being no older than most of them. It would take something monumental in order to make her leave this place for another home.

It’s not as if there isn’t enough money for all of them to leave. Even a single coin could buy them all a life of luxury for decades.

Historic value alone, one of these coins has got to be worth a fortune.

“OK, I am going to search ahead for some flowers. Those who want to find kindling follow Sarah. For the ground nut crew, Ken, can you watch over them?”

“Roger!” The boy responds with a salute before dashing off with a few younger kids in tow.

I’ve become a real champ at detecting fluctuations in the mana fields around the bag. It’s almost like being able to see outside. Of course, I don’t see detail, I don’t know what Noel or the rest of the children look like, but how they are moving or their height is as easy as feeling the density and reflections of their individual pulses.

I think I first noticed it with the adventurer team, after getting intimately familiar with each of their individual mana quantities, I began to notice them even when they weren’t holding me directly.

I never expected I’d get used to this life.

But I won’t claim it isn’t handy now that I can apply it.

“You’re coming to find flowers too?” Noel asks glancing at the footsteps sounding behind her.

“You said it’s the best way to help.” A lisped voice answers without pause.

So this is Rhun? If it were any of the others I can’t imagine her voice would have been so distant.

Noel, now beaming at the realization that he was listening, quietly nods to herself before pointing to a shaded area under a tree trunk. “That is ‘queen’s gold’, but it doesn’t sell to well anymore because of politics or something, so let’s keep looking.”

“Mhm” Rhun nods as he follows her deeper onto the game trail.

Eventually the two came across the real prize, ‘crystal blooms’. As they carefully pick, and Noel carelessly places flowers into the hero’s vessel, finally Rhun’s real interest comes out.

“Where did you say you found that?” The boy asks curiously with a finger towards me.

Tugging the bag closer from where it sat on the ground Noel reluctantly starts her answer. “I was…”

“I actually lost a bag, it looked just like that one, with the huge gem and all.” Rhun earnestly explains inching closer to Noel to pick a patch that sat between them.

“You di…”

“Give me it.” Rhun growls this time. “I want it back.”

“N… No.” Noel mutters hesitantly before repeating it with a shout. “NO!”

“WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH…”

As much as I’d like to say it was Rhun having the meltdown, life simply isn’t that comical. The cry was coming from where they had left the other two groups.

Finding the moment perfect Noel tosses one last flower into my hand before sprinting towards the new situation.

Laying the flowers out on a tray I found, I can only patiently await what happens next. Perhaps that is the real hell of being stuck in here, I can only ever be an observer of that world.

▐◊▌▐◊▌

“Does it not taste good?” Noel whimpers, interrupting the silence between us as we ate.

I hadn’t even noticed, “It’s good, I like it. I was just lost in thought, sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Noel sighs in relief with a grin. “What were you thinking about?”

Nothing good. Uncertifiably familiar feelings of discomfort. But nothing I am sure enough about to speak aloud.

“Do you think trees feel pain when we cut them down, or are they happy to turn into something as incredible as a flame?”

Of course, these are completely conflicting questions, but it should do well enough to chase her off my tail.

Indeed with a wooden fork now scraping her head in confliction Noel tries to answer even half. “W… Huh. Maybe, coal is better? But who’s to say rocks can’t feel? Then again, aren’t most rocks just fragments of much larger r… Huh…”

Of course, the ‘rock hivemind’ theory. A classic.

Who’s using who? Wake up sheeple.

“Oh! The candle!” Quickly puffing a breath towards a nearby bedside table to extinguish the flame, Noel sighs in relief. “That was close, I’ll have to grab some fur blossom roots tomorrow. Don’t let me forget.”

“Yes ma’am,” jotting the name down in a notepad and underlining it Noel begins her bedtime preparation.

Locking the door carefully by touch, swapping her shirt and finally scrubbing her teeth with dried pine needles and a foamy sap.

I honestly can’t imagine, but she swears by it.

Eventually, she lunges into bed and tugs the bag hanging at her waist into her arms. Clutching it dearly, she doesn’t ever immediately close her eyes. Its rare for her to fall asleep less than an hour after blowing out the candle. There’s something she would apparently much rather do.

“Today was kind of scary I think.” Noel mutters in a voice low enough that I couldn’t have typically heard her.

“Scary, how?” I return, curious of her opinion on the event. I know how the bloodlust in the mana felt, but what did she feel.

“I don’t know.” She admits in honest confusion. “Rhun is only pulling pranks to get attention, I know he isn’t a bad person. But he shouldn’t lie like that, honestly he was kinda scary. I wanted to run away. Does that make me a bad person?”

Maybe that really is all it was? But it doesn’t discount the efforts.

“There’s nothing wrong with disliking someone. Kindness, unlike a river, must flow both directions to work. You can’t be expected to source it all yourself. There’s only so many chances you can give.”

“When is ‘too many’ though.” Noel mutters halfheartedly.

“That’s for you to decide, I think. Remember, you are young, so it’s okay to make mistakes sometimes. It’s even okay to be a bad person if you feel like you need to. Sometimes, doing what everyone around you doesn’t want you to do, is the right thing.”

“In that case, tomorrow I am taking the day off with you.” Noel laughs sleepily. Slacking her eyes momentarily I feel the mana flowing into me begin to soften with her breathing.

Flipping open a book with that calm pressing in on me a sudden jolt nearly knocks me out of my seat.

“You… You won’t disappear, will you Bag?”

“I won’t go anywhere.”

“How can you promise that?” Noel rightly notes with any tiredness now vanished from her tone.

“If someone tries to take me from you, I will stop them with my magic.”

“Promise?” Noel asks, lifting me from her lap as if to look me in the eye.

“Promise.”

▐◊▌▐◊▌

The following day as promised Noel took the day off, amazingly she had saved up a multitude of extra pressed flowers for just such an occasion, so her income flow wasn’t even impacted by the break.

With Bag in tow Noel walked all around town meeting with all the friendly faces she saw.

Concluding the outing with the thrill of finding venison tendons at Pat’s butcher shop, Noel returned home smiling.

That night, as Noel drifted to sleep after a particularly filling meal, she felt no terrible premonitions, no strokes of panic. Thoughts from the night before passing, a grin plastered her face as her eyes shut.

▐◊▌▐◊▌

“Okay. But you have to listen to what I say. If it gets dangerous and I say run, you run. Okay?” Noel explains to the figure on the opposite side of the doorway.

Rhun, forming a smile nods in affirmation.

So, he wants to make more money and get a situation like Noel’s? I suppose if he is used to living with fewer people a sudden move to a crowded orphanage overnight would be hard to handle. But his way of accomplishing that involves pestering Noel for lessons.

There’s nothing particularly wrong with his methods, but his way of asking could be a little more genuine.

Banging on the door first thing in the morning and demanding to be brought into the forest to find flowers wouldn’t exactly be considered a polite way of asking for help. But, Noel being the person she was, would never outright reject a plea for assistance.

Chaining me to her belt tightly, Noel ruffles her hair before shutting the door firmly behind her.

With Rhun in tow Noel begins pointing out different potential wildflower locations that will come into bloom throughout the coming year.

“This spot is good in winter,” Noel points out with a finger towards a patch of tall grass. “Fire lilies are usually heavily demanded too. Religious people seem to think they are good luck. But you have to remember to never harvest the entire cluster or else they won’t come back.”

“Hmm.” Rhun nods absently as they continue.

Once we get to the river the options widen as she ceaselessly points out one flower after the next. White Thronds that occasionally float down the river, King Ibory which blooms at the top of the hard to climb trees, they even spotted an Oaqua fruit that had been left over by the birds.

Smooshing it up with her thumb and offering one part to Rhun –And another, stealthier, to me– Noel sighs in content joy while savoring the chunk of juicy red fruit. When this is your job, I suppose a day off like yesterday really doesn’t mean much.

Plucking a few of the Thronds that drift by and depositing them to me Noel begins working as usual while keeping watch over Rhun.

Watching him roughly grapple up a nearby tree after spotting a tall Ibory stalk Noel nods in approval.

Finding a particularly good grouping of Butterfly blossoms Noel begins to venture further down the rivers flood plain.

She’s on a roll. I’ve been flower picking with her countless times but we’ve never found a haul quiet like this. I suppose we are a bit further out than we typically go. I think Noel wanted to show him every patch she hits even if it meant venturing past the spot where she encountered the wolves. Perhaps this would excuse her of ever needing to lead the boy around again. Although the security of being with another person probably isn’t hurting her confidence to venture further.

“Rhun?”

And then that security vanishes.

Looking down at me to assure herself he hadn’t done anything malicious Noel again makes the loud plea. “Rhun? Where are you?”

This time running back in the direction of the trail and scanning the tree he had been climbing she noticed the flowers were indeed gone. Did he already go back?

“Bag.” She this time pleads turning her attention to me. “He’s gone… What do I do?”

“Take a look further down the river, he might have spotted another…” I began to reason while peeking carefully at the flows of mana coming from around the hero’s vessel. “Noel, run.”

“Wh…”

“RUN!” I shout this time, feeling mana coming closer from every angle. She’s completely encircled.

Following my command without another moment of hesitation Noel sprints down the gravel path of the rivers bank.

“What is…” Noel again starts to ask before distinctly hearing human voices behind her.

Bandits this close to town? What kind of security does this place have?

From the flow of mana it seems like she has properly slipped the encirclement but they aren’t far off her trail.

“Could you get back to town from here?” I ask, well aware of how far away the trail is.

I should really know better than to doubt Noel though.

“If I cross the river and cut through the forest I’d meet up with a road.” Noel pants through strides, glancing over her shoulder with every free moment. “But what about Rhun? What if they already…”

“Worry about that when you aren’t being chased.” I remind her trying to reign in my own rapidly beating heart.

I knew it would somehow come down to this.

“The wolves… Can you give me…”

“It doesn’t work like that. It’s useless here. Maybe it will blind them for a second or disorient them a bit, but they aren’t demons, so the effect…” Trying to explain the hero’s sword and the uses of a mana pulse rapidly to Noel, my eyes scan across a glass bottle similar to the one I gave Heather. “Open the flap of the bag and point the mouth behind you. Whatever you do don’t stop running, and don’t look back.”

“…” Hesitating a moment Noel’s mana eventually shifts to directly beside me. Noticing the hints of light penetrating the wall of the bag I ignite a rag stuffed into the bottle and throw it at the wall.

Feeling the morbid explosion from behind and hearing a few agonizing screams, Noel gasps in fear. “Y…”

“Just keep running!”

But there’s no way a kid can keep outrunning this many adults though. As fast as Noel is, her endurance isn’t nearly that of an adult male. And she still must cross the river. This is impossible.

“Noel is there somewhere nearby where you can cross the river easily?”

Panting harder than before Noel looks up the river not minding the shouts of the pursuers on her tail. “Up there, there’s a group of rocks that I could probably climb across. But the water is fast.”

“Run into the forest now!”

Again following my command Noel turns on a dime and dives into a nearby shrub, disappearing into the thick brush of the overgrown trees and grasses.

“Spread out!” A shout behind comes as the kidnappers follow the path of crushed grasses Noel left in her wake.

“What now?” Noel whispers from nestled deep in another tree’s exposed roots.

“Can you see those rapids you mentioned before from here?” I return quietly after finishing the preparations on my side.

“Mhm, barely but I wouldn’t get there fast enough. They would…”

“I have a plan. But you won’t like it.” I explain with the metal grip chilling my hands.

“Tell me what to do.” Noel obediently whimpers in clear terror.

“Throw me.” I state simply in order to let the statement sink in. “Once you do, I will shout, that’s your cue to run. Understood?”

“N… No.” Noel denies after realizing the seriousness of my statement. “That won’t… That’s… I won’t do that.”

“No hesitating.” I say with a hand to my face. “You knew this day would come just like I did. I’ll count to three.”

“I…”

“One.”

“You don’t…”

“Two.”

“…”

“Three.”

“…” Still clutching me carefully Noel quietly murmurs words I couldn’t deserve. “Thank you, for everything.”

Heartily throwing the hero’s vessel with her remaining might Noel wipes a tear from her eye as she tucks back into the root mass.

With the bag collapsing in on me, I use my remaining consciousness to release the mana pulse I had charged in the hero’s sword.

The bag, now massive, but quickly shrinking, makes the perfect chamber to amplify my voice. “OY! OVER HERE!”

Sounds of rustling brush began coming from all directions.

Perfectly timed, that will completely mask her escape.

“I FOUND HER!” I add for extra realism as the bag finally runs out of the mana I provided artificially.

Come to think of it, doesn’t this disprove Hea…