Hector silently pointed at the stovetop and it lit instantly.

“Thanks…” Jon said.

He reached up into the cabinets to see what was available.

“It’s empty,” Hector said. “I doubt there’s anything up there except for some-”

Jon opened the cabinet door to see several cases of spices.

“What the hell?” Hector looked up in surprise at the full cabinet.

Jon reached in and pulled out a bottle.

There was a piece of paper wrapped around the bottle. Written on the paper was “Tumeric.”

Turmeric. Jon had remembered this from his mouth. He opened the bottle and stuck his hand inside. He then put it on his tongue to taste it.

Mmm… Yeah. That was it.

He walked to the table, grabbed a large piece of ribs among the mass of meat, and started seasoning it.

“Uh… Jon,” Mallory said.

Jon turned.

“Yeah?”

“You forgot about the flame.”

Jon looked down and saw the open flame.

“...Whoops…”

A gust of wind blew it out.

“...Thanks,” Jon said.

“Isn’t that a waste of mana?” Hector asked without turning.

“Shuddup,” Tallow responded. “I’m not doing anything else with it.”

Eventually, whatever was cooked from the meat had been preserved in some salt bags.

Jon had placed the ribs in the oven after seasoning with whatever he found. He couldn’t help but be reminded of his mother’s kitchen at home.

It almost made it hard to miss her. It was as if he was hearing echoes of her voice in his ear, telling him what to add next.

He sat down at the table while everyone talked around him.

“Did you only make enough for one?” Tallow asked Hector, who presented his piece of cooked pork belly.

“Sorry…” Hector said. “I’ll cook more…”

“Hey, man, you don’t have to-” Hector ignored Mallory’s pleas and went back to cooking another piece of pork belly.

“...I think he needs the alone time,’ Mallory said. “He’ll be done.

“Right…” Mercy frowned. “I wish I could be useful… but Jon…”

“Huh?” Jon looked up. He was thinking about his kitchen at home.

“You were amazing back there,” Mercy told him.

“Yeah,” Tallow said. “I thought you were supposed to be bad at the memorizing thing.”

“...muscle memory,” Jon said. He didn’t know how else to put it.

“I don’t know anything,” Mercy began, “so-”

She stopped talking as Jon had reached across the table and placed his hand on hers..

“Come,” he said.

She was blushing.

“Sure.. but…” Jon gripped Mercy’s hand and pulled her to the stove next to Hector, who had already brought a few pieces of pork belly with him.

“Can I have one?” Jon asked.

“Sure.” Hector handed Jon a large piece.

Jon handed it to Mercy.

“You’re gonna show me how to cook it?” Mercy asked, giving a short gasp.

“...Watch Hector,” Jon said.

“Oh…” Mercy frowned. “I guess, but-”

“I learned watching my mom,” Jon said, “so, we’ll watch together.”

“Sure.’ Mercy nodded. “We’ll do that.”

Jon didn’t remember how to cook pork belly either. He figured they could learn from watching Hector himself.

Soon, the ribs had been pulled out of the oven and placed at the center of the table. Enough pork belly had been cooked to serve everyone else, including the couple.

The first person to come down was Helia.

“I smell cooking…” she said.

“Yeah,” Hector said, “come on!”

“Stewart!” She ran back upstairs. “There’s food!”

Soon, she and her husband were at the table, eating ravishingly.

“...Not really much of a balanced meal, isn’t it?” Mallory commented, cutting into his pork belly.

“You don’t cook vegetables,” Hector said, “and besides, there aren’t any around here.

“I’m gonna pretend like I didn’t hear the bloke say that,” Tallow said. “How do you live around this dunce and not get dumber by the minute.”

“It’s quite the opposite,” Mallory said. “In fact, I learn something new every day.”

Jon looked at Mercy, who hadn’t touched her own piece of cooked meat.

“Are you okay?” Jon asked.

“Yeah,” Mercy said, “I’ve just never… cooked my own meal before…”

Tallow scoffed.

“Shuddup girl,” Mallory said, “you get fine meals with Sabez and his sister feeds you too!”

“I’m just so nervous that it’ll taste bad…” she said, “even though it looks so-”

“If it tastes bad, just cook another one,” Hector said.

Mercy sighed. She grabbed the large piece of meat with her bare hands and picked it up, biting a huge chunk off of the top.

“...This is amazing!” she said.

“Things taste ten times better when you cook it yourself!” Helia said, now rejuvenated with energy. “Doesn’t it feel great?”

“I dunno about-” Tallow didn’t finish since she noticed Mercy wasn't paying attention. She was too busy biting into her own food.

“How about we try one of Jon’s ribs?” Mallory asked. He reached for the large plate.

Jon quickly grabbed Mallory’s hand before he could touch it.

“I’ll serve…” Jon said.

He didn’t know why it felt so important. He picked up one of the previously cut pieces of ribs and put it on Mallory’s plate.

“Thanks, bro,” Mallory said.

He reached and took a bite.

“...I didn’t think it was possible to miss Jon’s mom more than I do now,” Mallory said. “Wow.”

“Uh, gross,” Tallow responded.

“Jon’s mom is very nice!” Hector said. “Lay off!”

“You lay off!”

“Shut up and eat the damn meat!” Mallory interrupted.

Both parties grabbed their own piece of meat before Jon could serve them and ate it.

“...Holy shit,” Tallow said in between bites, “this shit is good.”

“Makes my cooking taste like shit,” Hector said, his mouth stuffed. “I think I’m gonna stop cooking after this.”

“You better,” Tallow replied.

The three of them ate their ribs without any more comment.

The couple also reached across and started eating at the ribs.

All Jon could hear was the smacking of people’s mouths. He noticed Mercy staring at him, and he began to feel embarrassed.

After dinner, the couple stood up to go to bed.

“We could use another nap!” Stewart said. “Honey-”

“Nope!” Hector wagged his finger at them. “You’re not sleeping in the same room. Split up!”

“Oh, that’s rather…” Helia frowned and looked at Stewart.

“...I suppose we’ll have all the time together when we get there,” Stewart said, also frowning. “Better listen to our protectors, right?”

“Right.” Helia nodded. “Alright.”

They both walked solemnly upstairs.

“Did you just divide a couple from sleeping together?” Mallory asked. “That’s cold.”

“I just didn’t want them making noise all night,” Hector muttered. “They’re loud!”

“...You mean with their talking, right?” Tallow asked.

“Of course,” Hector responded. “They never stop talking.”

“Right… figured…” Tallow stood up. “What should I do with this plate?”

“Toss the bones outside,” Hector said. I’ll take care of the plates.”

“Right, then.” She tossed her bone out of the nearby window, then walked to the door.

“Where are you going?” Mercy asked.

“Outside!” She yelled before slamming the door shut.

“So, touchy,” Hector grumbled. “Give me all of your plates then.”

“I’m not done!” Mercy said, grabbing onto hers.

“Then bring it outside when you are!” He collected the rest of the plates and brought them outside with him.

“...Touchy, right?” Mallory asked.

He stood up. “Hey, Jon, take a walk with me… if that’s fine.”

Mercy took a while before she realized he was speaking to her.

“Oh, sure!” she said.

“Come on.” Mallory grabbed Jon by the shoulder, and they walked upstairs.

“I know I’m always needing your help, Jon,” Mallory said, “but I was wondering if maybe you could talk to them.”

“..Huh?” Jon asked.

“I mean…” Mallory rubbed his chin. “I dunno. This all seems kinda weird, you know?”

“No,” Jon said. “Sure.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter.” Mallory said, “You’re way more subtle than Hector is, and I don’t want to worry-”

“I can do it.” Mercy had appeared next to them, speaking low.

“Whoa!” Mallory freaked out, throwing his hands back and backing up into the wall. “I forgot you’re a ninja!”

“I’ll talk to the woman,” Mercy said softly, “you can speak to the man.”

“...You understand too?” Mallory asked.

Mercy nodded. “I was thinking the same thing. I was hoping it would involve my father, but-”

“Anything happening with the clans involves your father,” Mallory finished.

Mercy grimaced. “Glad you understand. Come on, Jon.”

She grabbed his arm and they went upstairs.

They went over to a room further down the hallway.

Mallory stopped in front of a closed door.

“He’s in here?” Mallory asked.

Mercy nodded.

“Alright.” Mallory straightened his robes. “Talking time.”

Mercy knocked on the door in front of her.

“Hello?” Helia’s wiry voice echoed through the door.

“It’s me, Mercy.” Mercy spoke to the door as if it was Helia herself.”We… Were we properly introduced?

“One moment… come in!”

Mercy opened the door, and Jon followed her inside.

Helia had let her hair down, and she had taken off some of her clothes. She was wearing a large gown.

“You brought that with you?” Mercy asked.

‘Yeah. Well. No more house, right?” Helia shrugged. “I wanted to keep this.”

Jon noticed that her temperament had calmed down now that she was by herself. He could even see a tired look on her face.

“How long ago did you get that invite from the clan?” Mercy asked.

“A week ago,” Helia said. “We went to the local leader in town, and he said that it was legitimate. So, we decided to leave.”

“...Like that?” Mercy asked.

Helia sighed. “Yeah. Like that. It’s fine, though. We were thinking of moving anyway. Somewhere where we could live out our artistic dreams. The houses where we lived were a bit too boring.”

“Who delivered the message to your door?” Mercy asked.

“It was nailed on the front when we opened up,” Helia said. “There was knocking, and when we opened, no one was there.”

“Right…” Mercy said, “and you haven’t encountered any trouble since?”

“Not at all!” Helia said. “No trouble at all!”

“...Then why did your husband put up that sign?” Mercy asked.

“Oh!” Helia began grabbing at her hair. “It’s… it was a precaution.”

“Against what?” Mercy replied.

“A precaution! There’s no need for a precaution to be against anything if there’s a precaution! You understand, right?”

“Right…” Mercy said. “So, whose idea was it to go into the forest?”

“It was an accident!” Helia said. “We wanted to go east! So, we went east!”

“...And you found the house?” Mercy asked.

“Yeah, of course!” Helia said.

“...right…” Mercy repeated. She looked at Jon.

Jon shrugged.

“Alright,” Mercy turned to the door. “We’ll leave.”

“Wait!” Helia stood up. “Are you guys… a couple?”

Jon and Mercy studied each other.

“...Not exactly,” Mercy said. “Why…”

“I have some questions,” Helia said. “Some… woman questions. I mean, are the redhead and the-”

“No, no,” Mercy quickly shook her head. “No couple’s here.”

“Well…” Helia shuffled uncomfortably, “I want to talk about… woman stuff.”

“Oh... “ Mercy turned red, “I don’t think I can do that…”

“Please, it’ll just be a moment,” Helia said.

“...Alright…” Mercy looked at Jon. ‘Uh, Jon…”

Jon nodded. He understood. He wasn’t a woman. He placed a hand on Mercy’s arm as a parting of sorts, then left the room.

He closed the door behind him, then looked at the room adjacent to it.

It’s open…

Jon decided to just set up to lay down.

When he entered the room, he noticed a small window.

Window…

He walked up to it and leaned out. The sky was completely dark by now.

He then looked down and saw Tallow and Hector sitting next to each other.

They were speaking quietly, so he couldn’t hear them, but he was okay with that fact.

Instead, he enjoyed the nice breeze. The farm was always incredibly warm, except for the winter, when it was incredibly cold. Having a nice breeze without things being too unbearable was a nice change for Jon.

Eventually, Tallow stood up and walked away, moving around the back of the house, instead of walking back inside.

Hector sat by himself.

Jon wanted to keep Hector company, so he stayed outside on the window sill.

He soon realized that it may have been smarter to go downstairs and actually sit next to Hector when Mercy had come outside herself.

She sat next to Hector, and after a few moments, she put her head on his shoulder.

Huh.

Jon watched them some more until he noticed some feet dangling in front of his head.

He looked up to see Tallow above him.

“Heyo!”

Jon moved over as she flipped upside down and swung through the window and into the room.

“You may not realize this,” Tallow said, “but that couple’s been hiding something.”

“...Hiding?” Jon asked.

“I mean, I don’t care per se,” Tallow said, “but I’m excited to see what happens when Hector-”

“What?”

Tallow grinned. “Oh, there it is!”

She and Jon looked back out the window.

Hector was standing up and looking down at Mercy, who was still sitting.

“No way!”

“I don’t know…”

Hector didn’t stay to hear what else Mercy had to stay. He stood up, but Mallory already ran to stop him from going inside.

“I’ll speak to you later,” Tallow said. “Bye!”

She ran out of the door.

Jon sat and waited. Hector and Mallory finally made their way into his room.

“I swear, Genevieve is lucky this is a favor!” Hector grumbled. He carelessly tossed his sword to the corner of the room, it landed flat, making a sharp sound as it did.

He went to one of the beds and threw himself on, putting his arm behind his head while he stared up at the ceiling in thought.

“...what happened?” Jon asked, learning to be more curious.

“We might run into some trouble,” Hector said, putting his hands on his forehead. “They might be in danger, we don’t know yet.”

“We don’t know,” Mallory assured. “Come on, Hector. Since when have a few bandits scared you?”

“I’m not scared!” Hector responded, throwing his hand at the ceiling. “I just don’t need anything screwing this mission up! I…”

He put his hands over his eyes. “What if it’s my last mission? I don’t wanna screw it up. It’s important… and after everything…”

“Hey!” Mallory pulled off his robes over his head, wearing a plain t-shirt and shorts underneath. “Don’t start crying!”

Hector sat up and pulled his hands off of his eyes.

“I’m not crying.” He said grimly. “I just feel like my whole world is crashing down.

“Hey,” Mallory said, ‘whatever comes, we can handle it, right? That’s why your sister gave you this mission. And that’s why Jon and Tallow are here as well. And we’re pretty strong together.”

“Sure…” Hector said. “I don’t know if I believe you, but thanks…”

He turned over. Jon sat down on a bed and laid flat down on it.

He hadn’t considered that Hector might not be able to go on any more missions. If Hector got married, he would have to stay at the castle. Would that mean that he would be at the King’s Guard alone?

He reminded himself that Mallory and Genevieve and Hestatham would be around, but even now it all seemed like they were stretched out and doing very individualized missions.

Still, Jon knew he wasn’t doing this because it was easy or because he wanted to have fun. He came to do a job, and even if he was alone, he would have to do the job anyway. That was what people were depending on him for, that’s what he wanted people to depend on him for.

Jon’s last thoughts before he trailed off to sleep was that it had been a long time since he had shot anything.