The trip to the nearby town was less tiring thanks to the borrowed wagon. The farmer next door was reluctant at first but changed his mind quickly when presented with the gift. The leftover meat from yesterday made the farmer’s mouth water, it proved that it was a rare commodity.

Cindy objected to trade soo much meat just to borrow the wagon, but she couldn’t say anything as the hunter herself had made the offer. A glare from Nusia and Cindy quickly shut up and stayed quiet.

There might be more than just what was on the surface as Cindy was complaining in silence when the meat was handed over. They must have talked between themselves. He didn’t care what it was as girls always had secrets that they often shared only among girls only.

He peered at the back of the wagon. Rolled beside the passengers were a perfectly treated deer fur Nusia prepared for trade. What should have been more than a few weeks of work was done overnight.

There was no need to say that everyone had realized by now that she wasn’t as simple as they had thought. Between how they had first met and what Nusia had done to help them, no one had the guts to complain.

Artus had just followed along even if he had no clue what the hell was going on. Why they even needed to go to town was beyond him, but the line formed outside the small town had him worried. He turned towards Nusia and the face she made told him enough.

The girl noticed him and she seemed to understand what he was thinking.

“Cindy, take the reign, will you?” said the girl without breaking eye contact.

“Ah, yes, of course,” said Cindy a little puzzled.

“I have a matter to discuss with Artus, in private,” she said before she pulled him down the wagon and headed towards the nearby tree line.

“Anyone who asked, just tell them that we’ve needed to pee,” he added.

No one else should notice their little escapade but he had to be safe. Cindy nodded to him as Nusia yanked him to hurry. As soon as they were out of anyone’s sight, Nusia pulled him into a kiss.

A goodbye kiss. He knew it from a mile away.

“We have to part, Artus, for your safety,” said the girl while looking into his eyes, reading his reaction. “They are tracking me,” she added.

“What have you heard?”

“They say I’m an escaped indentured slave,” she gritted her teeth. “And I’ve kidnapped a lord’s child.”

Artus chuckled, “kidnapped indeed,” he said sarcastically.

Nusia jabbed him in protest, lightly, of course. He groaned in pain while exchanging looks with the girl with a short temper.

“Who said this?” He asked with a smile.

“The guards at the gate and others in the line, but you seemed to take it well,” she questioned him with her eyes.

“I’ll miss you, dearly,” he admitted. “But I’ve seen this coming long before we got here. Basker had kept you within reach without you knowing.”

Nusia scoffed, “I don’t know why though.”

She looked genuinely puzzled. Artus had to let her know, at least.

“The note the dead mage had said something about a female Celestial,” he quipped.

Nusia gasped. “How-” she paused and stared at him. “Did he really write that or are you fishing for an answer again?”

‘Goddamn, she really is a Celestial,’ he mused inside. 'What that is, it must be something huge.'

“Both,” Artus said simply and shrugged. “How do you think they tracked you?”

Already used to his subject changing habits, Nusia sighed with a smile. “My Core might have a mark placed, there is no other way as we already reformed our [Body].”

“They might be tracking me,” he stated the obvious.

“No, I’ve checked. Last night,” she added. “That’s why I need you to pass out, and the thing about Core tracking is, it is undetectable by the one marked.”

Artus gave it a thought. “Yes, it would be pointless if the marker can be found by the one who had the mark. Well, unless they’ve wanted you to know. It could be removed, right?”

“Of course, no magic is omnipotent, but I only trust one person to remove it cleanly. Only then will I come back for you.”

“Goddammit,” he cursed. “So I’m stuck with you?”

The jab came fast and a lot stronger this time. He laughed while his ribs ached in protest, but despite her anger, the girl soon got infected by the laughter.

“Your sense of humor is obnoxious,” she complained after the mild laughter died down. Her eyes said she was loving it, but either the odd quirk or the opportunity to punish him was still everyone’s guess.

“This is how I cope with this... farewell?”

The girl dove in for a hug. He hugged him tight in her arms. Inside, he missed to be smooched in between her breasts but he would take this over nothing anytime.

“Don’t be afraid to take any [Bound Mate] Artus, I would have made you a girl if men didn’t have the upper hand.”

He reeled at the reveal but his curiosity won, “what is this [Bound Mate]?”

“You’ll know, eventually,” her face flared red. “I would have taught you how if there is no mark at my [Core].”

Nusia hugged him for some time before she reluctantly pushed him away.

“We’ll meet again, I promise,” she said. “And I’ll make it up to you.”

Well, that’s what she said. All of them.

We’ll see each other again. I’ll call you. See you later. All of them hide the real meaning.

I don’t want you to feel hurt, and a little hope won’t hurt anyone.

But empty hope hurts a lot.

This might not be the same but it felt the same to him. Nusia gave him a short kiss before she disappeared into the forest. The last time he would see her. The only one who truly loved him.

He dared not to hope. Not again.

-

Artus caught up with the wagon when they were the next waiting in line. He smiled but she knew the look in those eyes. The young man was devastated.

He gasped as soon as he took a seat. Jane’s heartfelt embrace was unexpected, well, at least to him. The girl had changed and was no longer trying to look like a man. Anyone could tell that it was because of his kind gestures and what felt like almost fatherly love.

Cindy wanted to comfort him herself if she wasn’t holding the reins. They might have known him only for a few days, but Nusia’s complete trust made him very trustworthy. It wasn’t easy to find a man like that. The hug lasted for a moment before Jane was panicking all of a sudden, but before they could do anything, the man already separated himself from the girl.

“Sorry,” he said. ”Got caught in the moment,” he smiled but his eyes were not.

They were red. Cindy wished that it was her who comforted Artus, he could cry all he wanted for all she cared. She felt envious to Jane, and no one needed to tell them that Nusia had left him on his own.

She couldn’t say if she knew what it felt like as she didn’t have anyone that close. However, she knew how painful it was to lose someone dear.

“Can I ask, why do we have to come here again?”

“It’s for the long night,” Jane answered. “We’ll have to hole up in town.”

A small ‘oh’ escaped his mouth and Artus had his thoughtful look for a few moments. They had gotten used to this quirk, and of course, the silly questions. They had received a firm request to answer to their best ability.

“But what about other farms? They didn’t seem to be in a hurry.”

“Other farms had a well-built underground cellar to hide,” Cindy stated. “They save money in that way. Father didn’t have the coin to pay for an experienced builder to make one for us, and people could suffocate if it was built wrong.”

“Oh, I see, carbo- I mean, bad air poisoning,” he said. “We’ll die in our sleep.”

The statement surprised her. “How-”

“Alright!” the guard’s yelling interrupted her. “NEXT!!”

The old man with a loud voice shouted after his younger partner had made his round waving the metal rod and shook his head. The extra check had caused a lot of delay and the people in line had complained a lot.

Cindy urged the animal forward as calmly as possible and held her breath. She could only breathe again when they had cleared the huge slab of stone hung in between the walls.

“Wow, is that the gate? The slab of stone would fall when things got scary, right?”

“Yes,” Cindy answered. “There are times when people got-” she stumbled on her own words.

“That’s... an awful way to die,” Artus said as he chuckled darkly.

The young man had recovered almost instantly as if nothing had happened. Artus was acting indifferent even with his sniffling nose. Even a fool could tell something was off with his demeanor. Jane shifted on her seat uncomfortably, she was thinking the same thing, they should have done something more.

“If the long night is coming, why aren't Kent and the other one with us? Don’t tell me they are still at the farmhouse?”

“We want to save some money, and he volunteered to take shelter in his parent’s farmhouse with little Lilly. Don’t worry, she’ll be safe there.”

Cindy felt like she was telling herself that last part rather than to Artus. The young man nodded regardless of her obvious worry.

“Kent is a fine man, and little Lilly went with him because she believed in him,” Artus chuckled. “She’s a smart girl, I’m sure they’ll be fine.”

“Lilly believed in you more,” said Jane as she used the chance to push her chest onto his arm to make her point. “She just wanted to keep tabs on Kent.”

The young man didn’t react much other than a smile and scratching his head with his free hand. The intimacy made him feel guilty more than anything else. They would have found it odd if Nusia hadn’t told them about this quirk of his.

Their experience during the last long winter had them questioning general men’s capability to deal with things. Most men would lose their temper or mind on the tiniest problem.

Nusia was right when she said that not all men were made the same, most of them could only deal with what they could see. Artus is still one of them, but at least, he was able to make them felt comfortable being close to a man.

It wouldn’t be so awkward sharing a room with him. Maybe it would turn out to be great. Like Nusia had said, it would be a waste if the pelt money were spent on whores.