“Was that Dorian I saw running away, or a ghost?” Jamie walked up to them smiling. He put down a big leather sack filled with money and joined Torgga and Ruby who were cleaning up the collateral damage the fight had caused.

“Seriously that guy needs to leave the tavern more often…” Jamie said throwing a rock into the grass next to the tavern.

“As if you’re one to talk…” Torgga said, hitting the nail right on the head. He also threw a rock into the same patch of grass, just a few centimetres further than Jamie’s rock.

“Anyway, I never thought I’d see you two fighting. After what happened during the ‘incident’ I was under the impression that you had gained mutual respect for each other.” Jamie had cleverly averted Torgga’s comment by changing the subject. Another rock flew through the air.

“Listen I was just following orders. That may sound weird to you, but I actually do something when someone asks me to do it.” Ruby could feel the tension in Torgga’s voice but was interested in their conversation. So instead of stopping them she decided to let the whole thing play out to learn new information. She also threw away a rock, joining their game but they didn’t even bother with her.

“Oh? You mean that one time during the ‘incident’ where I saved your butt from certain death? You are right, back then I fortunately completely ignored your idiotic orders otherwise we wouldn’t be having this discussion right now.”

Shots fired…

Without looking Jamie threw a brick at Torgga’s rock with enough force to split it open. Ruby was curious to see how Torgga would counter, to Jamie’s statement but also this his throw. However to her surprise Torgga just began laughing.

“Oh no, I am not talking about that, I was talking about the beginning of the ‘incident’. You remember how I told everyone to stay together but you wandered around and attracted those time reapers? Up to that point everything was fine you know. It’s true that Scan is the one who set it all off, but you were the one responsible for the chaos and destruction that followed.” Torgga’s words cut his friend deep. Jamie was aware of what Torgga had said himself but hearing it like that still hurt. And adding insult to injury Torgga created a barrier around the debris they had swept together and let it hover directly over Jamie’s rocks. With the snap of his fingers the barrier disappeared and the fragments of the road came crushing down burying Jamie’s efforts completely. How would Jamie react?

“…you’re right, I am sorry.” Jamie gave up and thus Torgga had won their battle of words. But Ruby was actually worried seeing Jamie in such a state, he didn’t even give a snarky remark in response. She didn’t really knew him, but she knew that something was off when Jamie gave up so easily. Whatever that ‘incident’ was, it must have been really hard for the people in town.

“Uh, what was that ‘incident’ you are talking about?” Ruby asked in an innocent voice hoping to get them to open up to her. But instead of an answer she got stares of disbelieve. It was as if she had mentioned a taboo topic, despite Torgga and Jamie arguing about it literally a few seconds ago.

“…guys? What’s wrong?” Ruby’s was trying to sound as ignorant to the situation as possible but the guys didn’t buy it for a second.

“That’s none of your business and I’d advise you from speaking about that to anyone here.”

“Jamie is right your highness, please refrain from asking about that topic any further.” Torgga who had been answering every of Ruby’s questions so far refused her an answer. Now Ruby was really intrigued but she was aware that she wouldn’t get any more information today.

“Alright, we’ll leave it at that. But I actually have another question.” Ruby had given up but there were more things she was curious about.

“Ask away your highness I’d be happy to answer all of your questions.” Jamie gave Torgga a dirty look, he didn’t seem happy about his friend’s new behaviour.

“Dude, hearing you talking like this is just so…” Jamie sighed and looked at Ruby waiting for her question.

“Ahm, yes. Jamie your ability is to mind control people but in turn you overtake their pain, is that right?”

“Yep, that’s the gist of it. The problem is that I overtake their pain if they have it or not. Say for example I’d overtake the most pure person in the world I would still feel incredible pain just by overtaking someone. It’s like an entrance fee I pay and everything else that person feels is being added to that and just why am I telling you all of that?” He looked confused and Ruby chuckled a bit.

“I sometimes have that effect on people, my mother says it’s a gift by the gods bestowed on our family. My sister and mother have the same ability.”

“Damn that’s some dangerous shit… It’s like a natural lie detector…”

“You could say that but it only works sometimes and I don’t know how to activate it.” Ruby looked down, thinking about how her sister was the first one in the family to master that ability.

“Alright, then it’s a broken lie detector, still pretty useful if you ask me… Hey could you maybe ask Diane if she actually hates me? I am sure she actually loves me when she says that I should have my skin slowly pulled off and be thrown into a pit of acid, but a confirmation would be great.”

Ruby felt bad for him, because she knew that there was no way in hell that this girl Diane liked him if she said stuff like that to his face. Trying not to hurt Jamie, she ignored him and turned to Torgga.

“Your ability is the power to create force barriers, which can physically interact with things, right?”

“Yes your highness. The better my state of mind the stronger, bigger and more barriers I can create. But the longer they exist the harder it is to maintain them. I can also control them with my mind if I really focus. Was that the information you were searching for?”

I still can’t believe this is the same man who tried to sleep with me and called me a prostitute… The moment I told him my full name he instantly changed and even drank some horrible smelling brew to make himself sober again.

“Yes, thank you very much Torgga.” She smiled, her grandfather had always told her that information was the most important thing in the world and she had just gained a lot of it.

“But that wasn’t your actual question, was it? You already knew about our abilities so just tell us what you are really after.” Jamie still looked bothered that he spit out all the secrets of his ability.

“I want to know what Dorian’s ability is. He told me that it is called Immunity and that it renders poison useless, but that can’t be it, there must be more to it right?”

Jamie and Torgga looked at each other and seemed to have a discussion with only their eyes. Then they turned and looked at Ruby again. Jamie stepped forward and cleared his throat.

“…We think that Dorian should be the one to tell you.” Hearing those words, Torgga pulled Jamie back and began arguing.

“Hold up I thought we agreed to tell her?”

“No, my eyes were clearly telling you that it’s none of our business!”

“No, clearly they told me that she deserves to know about it!”

This argument went on and on until they finally came to a conclusion. They were going to tell her but only under the circumstance if Ruby promised not to tell Dorian from whom she got her information. That way they couldn’t be held responsible if Dorian was against the idea.

“Alright then here we go. You are right, Immunity is indeed the name of his ability. But he isn’t immune to poison.”

“What? But he told me so! He said that alcohol was a type of poison and that that’s the reason it doesn’t have any effects on him. Did he lie to me?” Ruby seemed bothered by the thought of it but Jamie quickly clarified the misunderstanding.

“No, poison doesn’t have any effects on him, you are right by saying that. But his ability covers way more than that.”

“Huh? So what you are saying is that he is also immune to charms and curses?”

“No, well probably. I don’t know after all no one ever tried to do something like that. No, he is immune to almost everything.”

“C-could you be a bit more specific?” Ruby looked confused.

“Well for example it looks like he is immune to death. He drank acid once, but his face returned to normal after a minute or so. He got eaten alive, crushed and pierced through his heart yet none seemed to have lasting consequences. Well except for the emotional and unbelievable physical pain that is…”

Dorian… died before? And in such cruel ways… How come he is still so…

“How come he is still so ‘cheerful’? Don’t give me that look your expression gave it away. Well to tell you the truth… He isn’t. Most of it is an act and there was a time where he… Well he actually tried to kill himself. To him all was better than living in such a state. We were all shocked when we discovered it, but…”

“But the whole town came together to restrain him.” Torgga took over from the disturbed looking Jamie. It must have been hard seeing his friend in such a bad mental state and Ruby was the reason he had to remember it...

“Dorian cried out, begging us to find a way to kill him, in that state all we could do was be there for him. Eventually he calmed down, a big reason being Miss Belle who stayed by his side day and night comforting him. The reason he is constantly trying to brew harder drugs is to kill the emotional pain that is constantly lingering in the back of his mind. Putting up this front is another way of him to overplay the trauma.” Torgga’s voice was upset while speaking about his friends problems.

After a moment of silence to let the said let sink in, Ruby noticed something. “Then why are you treating him like you are, shouldn’t you be more considerate?”

“We think that keeping things like they have always been is a better way of supporting him, this is something that can’t be fixed by us and thus we all ignore it as harsh as that may sound. Of course we would always rush in to help him if something were to happen.” Jamie had found his voice again and shook of this depressed feeling lingering in the air.

“Well that was enough serious talk for today. Ruby, I heard that you quit your job? Not even one day in and you already give up, looks like you really are just some spoiled brat…” Jamie smiled at the sight of Ruby’s flustered face.

“I-I didn’t quit… I got fired…” She looked to the ground while speaking and Torgga’s jaw dropped.

“You can’t be serious Jamie! You fired a princess?!! What the- not even you can be this stupid!” Torgga began scolding Jamie who looked at Ruby searching for help but she just made a grimace and began laughing.

Soon after Torgga and Jamie joined in and the three of them laughed over nothing specifically while cleaning up the debris.

When I first met Jamie and Dorian I thought of them as total failures, people who didn’t care about anything at all. But now I think I might have been wrong with that. I am starting to see their potential as heroes, even if they don’t see it themselves yet. However I believe that they will save the world one day, I believe in them.

Ruby smiled and hummed while being lost in her thoughts.

“You still want the job kid?” Jamie’s words got her back into the real world.

“Well if it’s not too much of a hassle, I would appreciate it. But what about my room, do I get that back too? I told the nice girl on the reception that she could rent it again.” Hearing those words Torgga looked shocked and a bit insulted.

“What about the room I provided to you your highness?”

Ruby looked at him and with the brightest smile possible said: “It was garbage, I’d rather live in the room barely big enough for a bed, than return to your house!”

Torgga fell to the ground looking like a beaten man as Jamie had a blast.

“Holy shit, you just got rejected so hard! I mean no one wants to sleep over at your place but hearing it so directly is priceless! I mean- wait, hey stop that! Using barriers is unfair, stop it! Argh, Ruby stop chuckling and tell him to stop!”

Yes, I think I really like it here.