Wistre had a saying among its commercial district: “The early merchant gets the gold”. Thus, even at the break of dawn, there were already hundreds of merchants selling their wares in the crowded stalls dotted around the Inner Rim. And where there were crowds, there were hawkers selling street food, performers trying to make a living.

The smell of delicious skewers made Fel’s mouth water and she was tempted to stop more than once to watch a particularly dazzling act, but she persevered. She had to get help.

Minutes passed and Fel had been wandering the city for almost an hour as the sun rose high over the city and she had yet to find the Galiens’ house.

She was getting tired from carrying an unconscious Evan around, however, her eyes shone with determination as she took step after step.

‘Must. find. Help.’

Nevertheless, she was still only six years old. Her body was weak with malnourishment and thirst and Evan wasn’t exactly light either.

She stumbled on the sidewalk, dropping Evan on the ground.

The cobbled roads were rough on her face, scratching her face, but they felt nice. Simply laying down, without a care in the world-

‘No.’

‘I can’t stay here.’

‘Get up.’

‘I have to find-’

“Hey kid, are you alright?”

Fel looked up to see a young guard kneeling by her side.

‘No,’

‘They asked me that too when they took me.’

‘He’s going to-’

“Kid?”

‘Wait, Evan…’

“Please,” she said softly, “Help him.”

“Oh my god, what happened to this boy?” The guard’s face paled when he saw Evan’s injuries.

“Wait, Haskel! Get over here! I think we found the Galien boy!”

‘Help,’

Fel thought, smiling sweetly before she fainted.

…

The adults had been worried when they discovered Evan’s disappearance.

There had been traces of a break in and several items stolen from the house. They immediately reported the incident to the city’s guards, hoping desperately for any sign that Evan was alright, even a ransom note.

So Cara was both overjoyed and heartbroken when she saw Evan.

Overjoyed, because her son was alive and home. Heartbroken because of how pale and thin he looked.

A problem with healing spells that Evan had yet to overcome was that they were not entirely magical as they appeared to be. Healing spells were not exactly the magic they appeared to be.

Sure, to the naked eye, it might seem like the mage was actually healing someone with their mana. In reality though, the mage was only enhancing the patient’s metabolism and natural regeneration.

This meant that any healing done would require nutrients to regrow and replace lost cells.

Leon immediately left silently for the church and tavern for Mage Erso while Cara took Evan in her arms and carried him to his room, crying.

‘My boy, what happened to you?’

…

Meanwhile, the twins watched curiously beside Maren, unaware of what had happened during the night.

“Grandpa, is that an elf?” Zed asked inquisitively while painting at Fel.

Fel blushed and covered her face in shame.

She had been left standing awkwardly at the door, not feeling welcome enough to come inside the house but with nowhere to go either.

“Yes, kiddo. That's an elf and a pretty one at that.” Maren said with a kind smile. “Also, it’s rude to point and your mother seems to have forgotten her manners. What do you say when someone who helped you is at your door?“

“H-Hello, I’m Zedekiah. Thank you for b-bringing back my brother. Please come i-in and make yourself at h-home.” Zed said, stammering.

‘Come on, Zed. Keep it together, man. Make a good impression on her.’ He thought to himself.

“Thank you.” Fel said quietly, still wary of meeting strangers.

Unsurprising, considering that her previous encounter with humans ended up in her nearly being sold as a slave.

“Are you really an elf? You look exactly like us.” Wyra asked her.

“Yes I am.” Fel replied with a nod. “My name’s Felarya, are the two of you Evan’s siblings?”

“Yeah, we are. I’m Wyra, and this idiot here is Zed.” Wyra said pointing at her twin. “And this is Grandpa Maren.”

Maren waved politely at the elf as he was being introduced, noticing her discomfort.

“Why don’t all of you go inside and play in the living room while I go to your mother?”

The twins nodded eagerly, grabbing Fel by the hand and dragging her in the house before she could object.

‘Kids, so full of energy.’ Maren thought, chuckling as he followed them soon after.

…

“So how old are you, Fel?”

“Me? I’m six years old this year.”

“Wow, but you’re almost as tall as us.”

“I told you, Evan’s just short.” Wyra replied with a giggle.

Zed joined in laughing while Fel could only manage a smile.

“So you’re two years apart from all of us then. We’re both eight years old.”

“Oh, are you both going to be participating in an Attunement Ceremony?” Fel asked, curious.

“Yes, we are. I’m a mage and Zed is an augmenter.” Wyra said, pointing over to her twin.

“You know about the Attunement Ceremony, Fel?”

“Yes, we were taught human customs in Allanar since it’s close to the human border.” She replied with a nod.

“That’s so cool! What else did you learn there?”

“A lot, really. Magic, martial arts, history, and most of the other subjects you learn at your Academies. It was a lot fun and-”

“Fel, are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m alright. Why?”

“You’re crying.”

She touched her cheeks, finding them wet with tears.

“I-I miss them, I miss them all! My family, my friends, my home! I want to go home!” She cried, breaking down in sobs.

Kidnapped by strangers. Taken forcibly from her homeland to a foreign land she did not know. Separated from her family and friends. Humiliated and toyed with endlessly.

No one should ever have to suffer such things, much less a child.

Wyra pulled Fel into a hug, letting her cry on her shoulder.

‘Is this really what people really do to each other in the outside world?’ Zed thought.

‘Is this what happens outside the doors of our own home?’

…

Zed’s appearance with his slick, black hair, pretty face, 1.3 meters tall, and charming smile made him seem like the typical narcissistic, arrogant noble. However, he was actually extremely kind and generous.

Wyra, on the other hand, was more reserved than her twin. She was around two hours older than him, making her the eldest child in the family, something she never let Zed forget. She had raven black hair that fell below her shoulders and 1.26 meters tall, slightly taller than Fel.

Both twins had black eyes and the same cream coloured skin although Zed’s was slightly more tanned due to his constant play in the sun. Fel started to nod off after talking with the twins for a while so Maren took her to the spare room on the first floor and let her rest.

Leon soon returned with Sister Marcel, the midwife that delivered Evan, and Sister Felicia, her assistant. Once they saw Evan’s condition, they got to work immediately, feeding him a cordial full of nutrients and water.

Although humans did not understand why people needed to be fed and well rested to be healed, they did know that it worked.

Now, all they could do was wait and hope it wasn’t too late for Evan.

…

After several days of being bedridden and unconscious, Evan finally showed some activity by shedding tears.

“Is he awake? Why is he crying?” Cara asked haggardly, worn from the lack of sleep. She had been nursing Evan almost nonstop ever since he came back.

Evan opened his eyes with tears still streaming down his from meeting Erin after almost four years.

He had missed every bit of her: her smile, her eyes, her hair, her scent, her patent mix of kindness and sass.

He cried for his loss, but his resolve strengthened.

‘I swear. I’ll come back to you, Erin. I’ll win this game and I’ll kill anyone who stands in my way.’

Evan wiped his tears sluggishly and asked, “M-Mom, is that you? Where am I?”

Evan seemed disoriented and drenched in cold sweat, but hearing those words made Cara rush towards him and embrace him, crying. “You’re home, baby. You’re home, safe with me.”

The room was silent as Cara held Evan tightly in her arms sobbing.

“It’s alright, mom. I’m fine. Sorry for making you worry.”

"I forgive you, just don't ever come home injured like that again, alright?"

"Promise." Evan said.

'Another note to self: Never come home without first checking and healing any injuries.' He actually thought.

"Speaking of which, how did I get home? The last thing I remembered was getting beaten by a noble, one of the viscount's sons."

"The viscount?! He's involved in this? I swear to gods I'll get him for this." Cara swore with vengeance. "An elf child was carrying you when the guards found her and brought both of you to the house."

"Fel? Is she still here?" Evan asked.

"I'm here." Fel said with a quivering voice.

'I wonder if my parents would welcome me back like that. They always seem so reserved and uncaring, not like Evan's parents.' She thought.

"Fel? Are you alright?” Evan asked, concerned.

“Yeah, I’m alright. Your family has been really nice to me. Your grandpa is really funny.” Fel said with a giggle.

‘Grandpa, what the hell did you do while I was asleep? I’ll just ask her after we’re alone’ Evan thought, anxious.

“By the way, Happy Birthday, Evan.”

Evan paused in the middle of getting up from the bed.

‘Wait, birthday?!’

“Mom, how long was I out for?” Evan asked.

“You slept for about six days straight, dear. We were all so worried you wouldn’t wake up again but the sisters from the church said you were still alive and probably just very tired.” Cara replied.

‘Six days?! I know mana depletion is often accompanied with fatigue and that Fool’s Errand uses an absurd amount of mana but six whole days?! I need to build up stamina or I won't even be able to use some of the spells I have been coming up with.’ Evan promised to himself.

“Dear, are you alright? Do you still want to rest? We could always just celebrate your birthday some other time, but you can still open your presents today in your room.” Cara said.

Sighing, Evan looked up at his mother and smiled, “It’s alright, Mom. I mean, I have been sleeping for six whole days. I should at least get some exercise done, right?”

“Sure.” Cara said with a laugh. “Like you usually exercise by staying cooped up in the house all day staring into empty space or reading. Even Wyra gets out of the house more than you do.”

Evan held his head in shame.

‘Am I really that much of a shut-in? I really need to build up stamina.’ Evan thought.