The wagon traveled in comfortable silence for the first part of its journey. Jon, who usually looked out to the road to ingest the new landscapes they traveled, instead spent his time observing his friends in the wagon.

He couldn’t tell what anyone was feeling based on their face. Hector seemed content with just driving the wagon forward. Mallory leaned back comfortably in the seat next to him. Mercy was next to Jon, but she seemed invested in her thoughts, not staring at a particular thing or person.

Tallow was chewing on something while also seeming to be in a very absent-minded state.

It was her who eventually broke the silence.

“So, that was a pile of garbage, amirite?”

“Pfft, tell me about it,” Hector said. “Load of garbage.”

“It wasn’t all bad,” Mercy said.

The carriage stopped.

Hector slowly turned to the back of the wagon. Jon’s heart stopped in anticipation for some shouting.

“That was nearly all bad!” Hector replied, slightly dismayed. “I'm getting married!”

“It could have been worse,” Tallow said, “you could have been marrying that whip girl. Who knows what dirty stuff she’s into?”

“...Why do you sound like my sister?” Hector asked. “And just because she uses whips doesn’t mean she-”

He turned away and shook his head. He then started up the wagon again.

“Lysenthia would have been pretty awkward,” Mallory said. “Can you imagine? With her brother and her dad around?”

“She didn’t even seem to like you,” Mercy said, “but I guess it’s better than marrying that Jaqueline girl.”

“Well, I at least could have sparred with her,” Hector grumbled. “She was pretty cool…”

He quickly turned his body to Tallow fumbling over his words. “I didn’t mean to demean your-”

“Ah, stop right there!” Tallow held her hand up. “It’s fine, just keep driving.”

She turned to Mercy.

“If we’d known that redhead was gonna show up, I should’ve just let you fight Jacqueline. Then, I would have taken her out in a second. She can move around the field nice and all, but she still lacks a stance that allows her to hold her ground well.”

“Yeah…” Mercy whispered.

"You chased her around, didn’t you?” Tallow asked.

“Yeah…” She repeated it while she looked down to the bottom of the wagon. “I did.”

“You were tired,” Hector assured, “and Amalia excels at looking weaker than she really is.”

“...Damn…” Tallow said. “That isn’t an insult, but that is an insult.”

Hector completely turned from the front of the wagon, causing Mallory to quickly slide over and grab the reins.

“It’s all garbage there,” Hector said. “So, don’t feel bad about anything that happened. You fought hard, you fought fair, and you should’ve won!”

“It’s fine.” Mercy gave a small smile. “I’m okay.”

“...Sure.” Hector shrugged. “As long as you know that.” Hector turned back around and received the reins from Mallory.

“Even when you’re being nice, you sound like you’re threatening someone,” Mallory said.

Hector gave a disconcerting look to his friend.

“...I’ll try not to offer observations without solutions anymore,” Mallory added.

Mercy now turned her attention to Tallow. “By the way, Tallow, I’m sor-”

“Nope!” Tallow wagged her head. “Don’t you dare!”

“...As long as you know…” Mercy gave her a smile.

Tallow turned away,blushing. “Stop that. It’s creepy, You shouldn’t be so happy.”

“I’m happy being with you guys,” Mercy said. “This was pretty crappy… but I’m glad we were able to do this together. I think if I was Hector, I’d be angry all the time also.”

“You are angry all the time,” Hector said simply. “You just know how to cope with it better than I can.”

This garnered a silent shocked reaction from everyone except for Jon, who was just mildly intrigued with Hector’s strong sense of reflection.

Hector turned around again but held steady on the reins to ease Mallory’s concern.

“My life is garbage at times,” Hector said, “but I’m glad you guys stuck by it with me.”

He turned his attention to Jon.

“By the way,” Hector added, “Jon, I should tell you, we have a two day-”

“Sign!” Mallory yelled, pointing in front of them.

“Huh?” Hector looked to the front of the wagon. The horses had slowed to a stop even without Hector’s suggestion, halting in front of a large cricket wooden sign.

“What the hell?” Hector muttered as he read it. “Danger, beware?”

“Go along alternate paths…” Mallory continued. “Hey, Hector, I think this is saying we should go the other-”

“There’s nothing here!” Hector threw his hands up. “Why would they put danger? We’re literally near the border of the Kingdom! It’s dangerous everywhere!”

“I dunno, Hector,” Mallory said. “But maybe we should-”

Hector punched forward, fire enveloping the sign as it broke it half.

“...put it to a vote?” Mallory sighed and shrugged while shaking his head. “Never mind.”

“Are you sure that was a good idea?” Mercy asked.

Hector, who was now standing up, faced the back of the wagon.

“No one has authority over how the roads are dictated other than the Kingdoms or the property owners of which those roads belong to.”

“Look who’s looking extra kingly now,” Tallow said.

“...Shut up,” Hector said to her.

“Yeah, but…” Mallory looked down at the broken sign. “This was incredibly unprofessional. Maybe it was a warning from a friendly neighbor, or-”

“If there’s anything wrong, it’s for the King’s Guard to solve,” Hector said. “We have to go this way. There’s nothing between the Ninja clan and the King’s Guard I’m not afraid of. And plus, we can pretty much handle anything between us.”

“True,” Tallow said, “but you didn’t have to burn the damn sign. Some blockhead worked really hard on it.”

“But-”

“Put it back up, and at least keep the common folk out,” Tallow suggested. “Then we can take care of whatever’s in the way, can’t we?”

“I… I didn’t burn the sign…” Hector muttered.

This was true. The sign was broken in half, but otherwise still intact and on the ground. His fire had only acted as a blunt force.

Jon was mildly impressed as always.

“At least you’re becoming more careful,” Mallory stated. He flicked his arm.

A tentacle grabbed the broken part of the sign and pulled it back up to its original palace.

Hector muttered to himself while he went to the back of the wagon and dug through a large bag.

He pulled out some bandages, nails, and a hammer.

“You keep all that stuff with you?” Tallow asked.

“Now, I do,” Hector said under his breath. He then wrapped the broken sign with the bandages before nailing the bandage to the sign so that it wouldn’t come apart.

Hector then went back to the bag and pulled out a large piece of parchment and a brush.

He wrote some words on the paper before going back to the sign and nailing the paper on it.

It read in large letters: This sign is not corroborated by the King’s Guard.

“Well, that was a giant waste of time,” Tallow said as Hector came back to his seat. “Almost more than when we sat in a castle for a week trying to avoid a wedding that happened anyway.”

“It’s not a waste,” Hector. said. "It’s my job,”

He flicked the reins and the horse continued forward.

The wagon eventually reached the edge of a forest.

“Be careful, everyone,” Hector said as they continued past the trees. “It’s hard to see your surroundings around here.”

“I know what a tree is,” Tallow said. “I’m well aware of how to watch myself.”

“...It’s just different here than it is in Jon’s land,” Hector said, not expressing anger or exasperation in the least. “The roads along here are… dangerous sometimes.”

“I think you mean everyone has a gun where Jon lives,” Mallory explained.

“...Right,” Hector muttered.

Jon understood Hector’s sentiment. The forest was a scary concept for him back at home. He was sure that people traveled with mercenaries or some form of protection whenever the left the Apartha townsend and went into that forest.

But, now entering this forest at the other end of the continent, Jon was reminded of the one near the farm.

And yet, the trees were just different enough to make him feel uneasy.

“If the roads were so dangerous,” Tallow asked, “then why did you destroy the sign back there?”

“...Shut up,” Hector responded again after a moment of thought.

The wagon moved through the forest without stopping. Jon couldn’t help but take another look at Mercy, who had been quiet.

“What’s up, Jon?” Mercy said when she noticed Jon watching her.

“..Hi,” Jon said.

“Jon, you’re not supposed to say ‘hi,’ to that,” Mercy said with a small giggle. “You’re supposed to like…”

“Ask you how your day is?” Tallow interrupted. “I mean, we’ve been in the wagon the entire day. “What are you gonna say in response to that?”

Mercy tried to interrupt but Tallow kept going.

“Why don’t you ask him how his day is going for a change?”

The carriage stopped.

“Why’d we stop?” Tallow asked, turning to the front. That was where she found her answer.

“Is that a house?”

There was a two-story house just a couple of feet in front of the wagon, with a small clearing in front of it where there were no trees, only wild grass and buses.

A house in the middle of the forest. Jon would have been more surprised if he hadn't met Graves just before he left the farm. All Jon could think about was how Graves would probably enjoy the peace and quiet the forest gave him.

Still, there was something peculiar about a house surrounded by nothing but trees all around that struck his interest.

“It is,” Hector answered. “That’s our pit stop. The King’s Gaurd-”

“Hector, I think there’s someone inside,” Mallory said quickly.

“...What?” Hector yelled. “How?”

Mallory tapped Hector and pointed up to the chimney.

Smoke was rising out of it.

“...Who’s in there?” Hector asked in his usual angry tone.

“Genevieve and Hestatham maybe,” Mallory answered,“but what if we-”

Hector stood up in the carriage.

“Who’s in there?” he called out.

“...Uh… beware!” A man’s voice called out from the house trying its best to sound menacing.

“I’m still trying to figure out who would build a house in the middle of a forest,” Tallow said.

“It’s a halfway house!” Hector yelled. “We-”

He threw his head back and grunted. “Whatever!”

“Hector, wait!” Mallory called as Hector pushed himself out of the wagon onto the ground.

“I’m coming in there!” Hector yelled, drawing his sword and charging towards the house.

“Beware the house!” The voice continued, “Danger lies behind-”

Hector kicked down the door and ran inside.

“Wait! Wait! I can explain!” The disembodied voice lost its edge and became very panicked.

“Aw, we better get in there before he kills someone,” Tallow said, jumping out of the back.

“That’s what I would usually say,” Mallory said, climbing down as well.

“Don’t you get tired of it?” Tallow responded.

“Ehh…” Mallory shrugged. “He hasn’t killed anyone wrong yet.”

“...Yet…” Tallow muttered, adjusting her gear.

They hadn’t stepped away much from the wagon yet when Hector dragged a man in non combative clothes out of the door and threw him on the ground in front of him.

“Explain!” Hector yelled, pointing his sword at him.

“Okay, okay!” the man turning over and bowing his head over on the floor. “Just… don’t hurt me!”

“I’m not gonna hurt you!” Hector responded.

“Then put the sword away!” Tallow called out.

Hector made a dirty face but replaced the sword in its sheath.

Jon looked at Mercy to see what she would do.

“...Let’s get out there, Jon,” she finally said.

Jon nodded, and together, they climbed out of the wagon and followed after the others

“I wasn’t gonna stay long!” The man said, looking up, “promise!”

“I didn't ask that!” Hector said, “just tell me what you’re doing, and why you’re on King’s Guard property!”

“I didn’t think it was anyone’s property!” the mais said, scared. “It was in the middle of the forest.”

“He’s has a point,” Tallow said, shrugging.

“No one’s property?” Hector scowled. “It’s a house!”

“Rest-stop,” Mallory amended.

“Yeah, whatever.” Hector waved the comment away. “ My sister made the house so… just keep talking!”

The man stammered. “Well, I-”

There was a flush from inside the house and a woman in plain clothes ran out of the house as well.

“What happened?” she asked. “Honey, I heard yelling!”

“Who the hell are you?” Hector asked, facing her.

“I’m Helia!” she said. “And that’s my finance, Stewart!”

She pointed to him on the ground.

“Please don’t hurt him!” she begged. “I still need him.”

“I’m not gonna hurt him!” Hector put his hands on his head in frustration. “I just… I just…”

Mallory patted Hector on the back. “Take a chill pill, man.”

Hector, still pulling at his hair, walked into the house without much comment and disappeared behind the door.

“Scary guy is gone,” Mallory said, “so, can we talk?”

“Sure!” The man stood up with relief. “But, first, food!”