The bleeding appeared to be minimum but still using the dagger seeped in her blood I cut a piece of my dress and used it to apply pressure to the wound. And then an idea popped into my mind, cutting a second, larger, piece and clumsily folding it four times on top of the dorsal of the hand applying the pressure I pulled out the wand from the sack with my free hand and started a chant.

"Oh great water! The sustainer of life, the reclaimed of land, the ever loving and ever cruel, show your power, reveal your strength. Take a form which shines brighter than every gem, one stronger than the toughest of iron. Head my call and appear. Oh great water!"

The energy formed while I was chanting and on top of my dorsal, where the cloth was a cube of ice was formed, I wanted to hide under a rock from the embarrassment but it worked. Quickly I threw the wand to the side and made sure the ice didn't roll out of my hand whilst wrapping it inside the cloth before applying it on top of the already laid one and continuing to apply pressure.

Eliza: It's cold.

'Shhh now. Don't talk too much and try to keep your breathing steady. Count your breaths if that helps."

Placing the wand back to the sack I snuffed out the light and while picking the knife back up I lit a new fire, much strongest this time as I plunged the blade deep inside the heart of the it.

When I saw the tip turning red hot I snuffed out the fire and again switched to a light source as I removed the cloths and tear apart the fabric around the wound to make space. This wound had surprisingly minor bleeding given its position, and her wavelength was more than stable, which made me confidently consider that it had missed all vital parts in that spot, meaning that somehow Lana missed the heart, lungs, arteries, veins, the opposite of a freak accident. That didn't meant that Eliza was out of danger, complications can develop at any point, it only meant that now she had a better chance of pulling through.

"Listen well. What I'm about to do will hurt. I can't do anything about it but you can. I need you to keep your mouth open and try not to clench your jaw. Get ready. Three...two...one..."

I knew that cauterization was meant for flesh wounds to bind any cut surface blood vessels together and the damage was deeper than the heat could ever reach but still this was the best I could do. At the end this was no operating room and I no doctor. Taking a deep breath I pressed the heated knife against the wound, sealing the opening. The scorching of flesh was accompanied by a Eliza's screaming and Lana's rising. Snuffing out the light, the all too familiar smell reached my nose but I had no time to dwell in it as I began another spell to deal with Lana while she was still regaining her bearings. Eliza passed out from the pain so I was fixing her on my shoulder when Lana stepped inside my trap by creeping closer in a straight line. A wormhole, opened on the ground, leading to the maximum height of realm. I heard her splatter to the ground but still her wavelength didn't dissipated, I suppose on top of night vision, purple eyed women are absolute hard to kill. But I had no time to finish her off as the distant screaming and noise of the people fighting against the flames was coming closer, soon they would find us and who knows what happens then. Now whether Lana lived or died from her injuries depended on her own luck. I needed to carry Eliza out of here.

With Eliza on one shoulder and my sack on the other I slowly made my way through the street, under the veil of night. We may have walked out of the castle but was there any place for us to hide in this city. Come day and I'm sure they'll be out and about searching the city, worst case scenario Lana is lucid enough to twist the story every which way she likes and they know which head to hunt. And through all that I need to care for Eliza so she doesn't dies in my hands.

Everything just kept piling on and on and on. Like I was standing on a huge pile of randomly arranged trash, the more I walked the taller this pile became and one wrong step meant taking the plunge, straight to nothingness. For what purpose was all this for, so that I can survive in this world? I glanced over at Eliza, having regained consciousness a long time ago but still out of the game. I could just leave her, leave the city tonight, pick another decaying city to call home, surviving that way would be easy. That's right 'just surviving' would be easy. But the very fact that I'm carrying Eliza, that I'm not going to abandon her for the time being means I'm not 'just surviving', no I'm here to live my way even if it means taking the path of greater resistance.

Carrying Elisa, that final move having spent most of my inner energy and my originally weak constitution, all came together to leave me sluggish, in a snail like pace and gasping for air. Still by daybreak we were hiding inside a half collapsed house with a roof standing beneath my legs and walls afraid of a weak gust of wind. Our location was the slums of Myira, a much larger area than one would expect. It was, at the same time, both the best and worst possible place for us to hide a 'were do you hide a tree type of' situation. Our hideout wasn't the best of properties but that's the reason why I found it empty to begin with.

Checking on Eliza after setting her down I found her temperature had dropped severely so mispporting my duster I covered her up, we were about the same size, she a bit taller that myself still, so the duster covered her nicely. Her cauterized wound hadn't opened up while carrying her so at least that was a good sign. Still as much as I wanted to stay by her side surveying her condition I also needed to secure our basics. Before anything I'd like to move into somewhere more sheltered but since the warmer day was upon us I could leave that for later. My biggest concern right now was clothing, Eliza was wearing nothing but a nightgown and I myself was in a dress too good for the area, it may be ripped now but still it lacked the jury-rigging and wornness of a piece of clothing glued to a person and the leather jacket was out of the question since it screamed outsider and would, undoubtedly, make me a target.

Ditching my sack and placing my jacket on top of Eliza I headed out into the waking city once more. To call this place a dump would be an understatement but given that the city had abandoned this place and its residents have more important shit going on in their lives to worry about public image it's understandable. As I peered in every house I passed with both realm and my own eyes I saw all types of people just hanging on, all with weak wavelengths and sunken faces until I fell upon my target, someone who didn't made the night. In this type of place it wasn't an 'if' question but rather a 'where' one and I just happened to fell in one such case. Barging into the house of this skeleton of a man with white hair all over I was the first of the scavengers to stake a claim in what little he owned in life with. Claiming his sack I placed all utensils in sight inside along any cloths laying around. I actively avoided the rations he had inside the house because despite rigor mortis being still in effect they were already emitting their own wavelengths.

Lastly I mispported the clothes away from his person placing them on top of everything else on the sack and grabbing a bucket he had laying around I was about to exit the dilapidated house before I threw one final glance at the empty hush before me, I wanted to at least leave him with an eulogy but no appropriate words came to mind no matter how much I waited. Moving fast since people were beginning to exit their houses. Exiting the slums I filled the bucket with water from the nearest working public faucet I found, this took way longer that I wanted so I had to be extra careful as I returned to our hideout to avoid any unwanted eyes on me.

Eliza was still out cold but at least her temperature had returned to normal. As I start a fire with my spell I removed her covers so she doesn't overheat during the day, also making sure to check on her wound that I couldn't dress properly once again and fortunately no visible complications had arisen yet. The reason why I had lit a fire was simple, to wash the clothes, naturally I set aside some water, to boil later, for the two of us to drink from but most of the water was meant for laundry. The fire was way to intense which meant that the wood that I threw in turned to charcoal quickly, without letting out much smoke, it didn't even stood a chance. While the charcoal turned to ash and cooled I took a moment to take note of our rations, for at most two days and that's stretching it a bit, given how I'm both a fugitive and very unemployable so...

I decided to do something interesting, to take my mind out of it and truly test if my spell absolute replaced the fire tetrahedron in its entirety. I started my spell inside the bucket surrounded by the water it was meant to heat. Lighting a fire, that's old news. Lighting a fire inside a body of water, now that's where the magic is. Least to say I was very amused by the result, so much so that my body relaxed and all the tiredness of the night rushed to me, it was as if a loan I had taken long ago knocked in my door alongside all its built interest. But I couldn't sleep, not yet, I needed to wash the clothes and then put them to dry, then clean all signs of life from this place and hide our stuff, keep an eye out for people, an ear out for gossip, watch over Eliza. I didn't had any time for sleep, I will not let myself sleep.

Checking the temperature with my elbow I caught some of the water with my hands and rubbed what little wasn't able to escape on my face. It was warm enough for what I wanted it. Opening a wormhole under the charcoal-turned-to-ash I let it fall into the water, a sizzling sound, I let it settle before 'tasting' it with my elbow once more. Taking a large plank I mixed the ash-water, let alone swinging it in a circular motion even holding the plank without it slipping every couple of seconds proved a challenge, I don't even have a washboard, or working fingers, how will I clean the clothes and say I do manage it then what, how will I wring them or hang them. My breath felt stifled, something was blocking my neck, an all to familiar feeling...

...:Cadence!

Like awaken from a dream I took a deep breath, there was no one choking me, no Lana to take the blame. Turning my head to where the voice came from I saw Eliza struggling to lift herself out off the 'bed'. Quickly I got up on my feet and rushed over to her side urging her to lay back down, making sure to not touch her in the process.

"You're injured. Don't move around too much."

Eliza: Forget about me, what happened to you? You look horrible! Where have you been all this time?

Where to start and where to finish? How much should I lie and where do I weave the truth in. What should I say or omit for her to be able to process? I suppose before everything an introduction is due.

"Please don't call me by the name that ba... that man decided upon me. From now one call me Alex."

Eliza: Why denounce him like that? He is still your fa....

"DON'T call it that!"

She was taken aback from how I raised my voice, cowering even further behind. If she had a shell she'd already be hiding inside it. I reached over to my sack touching the documents I stacked in case I got cold feet at the last moment.

"I'm sorry for raising my voice but after learning what I did I really wish I wasn't related to that dreg calling itself a human. Please read this and understand."

I mispported the ledger on top of her belly and, reluctantly, she picked it up, beginning to read its context.

Eliza: What is this...

Her voice trembled. I supposed Lana gave her too little credit. Well despite her not being a credible source she was the only I had so I, absentmindedly, gave her words more gravity than they deserved.

"Exactly what it looks like. A sales manifest. How the comte keeps his castle running when he has nothing to offer."

Eliza: How, isn't this illegal? Didn't His Majesty outlawed this practice for anyone not part of the royal family? How could he be involved in this?

"It's very simple actually. Even without the king's degree what the comte did was still very much illegal."

Eliza: What? Then... Do you imply that...

"I don't imply anything. People suffered, families uprooted, the very subjects he vowed to protect were abducted, shackled and sold off for his profit."

The ledger fell from her hands. It affected her more deeply than I thought. Her eyes wide and ready to pop out of her head, she was in the verge of a panic attack. I needed to act.