Joan regretted everything. When she had been the hero there had been times where he hadn’t just walked, he had run and fought for days without end, monster after monster swarming him, two rising up with every one he cut down. He’d been so tired, but it had been bearable.

It had only been about half the day and she couldn’t remember a time she had ever been half as miserable or tired. Overhead the clouds were thick and gray, sending torrents of rain down on the three silent travelers. While their cloaks managed to keep some of the cold rain off, it didn’t help nearly enough. Every inch of her ached and she wasn’t sure which part of her hurt the most. Her feet were likely more blister than skin now and they felt nearly twice as big. She had more chafing than she thought imaginable. She barely had the strength to even eat or drink and she only did it when Bauteut reminded them to.

It didn’t help that she had already been tired and a bit achy from the fight against the demon from the night before. Even though Bauteut occasionally would place a hand on her that would relieve or numb some of the aches, it did little to relieve the suffering.

However, beyond that there was one final bit that made all of this more painful and miserable than she thought possible. One tiny little thing that made her want to spend the little bit of energy she had to scream. One thing that even overshadowed the fact that they were likely not even halfway there and that if it didn’t stop raining it would only keep getting more and more miserable.

The fact that, as miserable as she felt, Searle seemed entirely fine. While she cringed with every step and felt like her legs were going to fall off, the chosen would occasionally go off ahead or behind to scout the area, to ensure they didn’t run into any trouble. That whenever Bauteut offered to use some of her magic to help support him, he merely told her to worry about the two of them.

Joan knew it was petty and childish but she couldn’t imagine any time in her life she had hated him more. All she wanted to do was collapse on the ground and sleep for the next few days. Maybe have a little bit of a cry until everything stopped hurting. Worst of all, a terrible part of her wanted him to carry her. He was a chosen, she was pretty sure he could have done it and as tired as she was she was pretty sure she could have passed out while being carried over his shoulders like a bundle of grain.

Joan would have sooner have jumped into a troll’s mouth than ever admit it, though. Instead she just focused on putting one foot in front of the other and not even considering taking a break. Joan knew if she stopped, she’d never be able to start again. She reminded herself that everyone was counting on her. That everyone needed her. If she couldn’t even do this, how could she ever fix everything?

It was just one day. If she could just push through this one day, then she could rest. Once everything was over, even if she died, so long as the world was saved then it didn’t matter. She’d never have to do it again. She could finally rest.

She felt a light tap on her back and glanced over to see Bauteut. The healer gave her a small smile and a little bit of the pain in her body melted away. Not much, but a little.

Just one day. That was all she needed to endure.

------

“Joan?” a voice asked, but Joan barely heard it.

All she wanted was to drop to the ground and just sleep. It was so dark now. She felt like she had been walking for months. The only reason she was even able to stay awake anymore was the sheer amount of pain in her limbs from the, seemingly, eternal walk.

“Joan, are you listening?” Bauteut asked.

She tuned it out and just tried to focus on walking and keeping her eyes open. She was so tired. If she could just close them for a moment, she’d be fine. Maybe just lay down against one of the trees and use it as a cushion. Just a short bit, that was all she had to do. Just a few minutes.

“Joan!” Bauteut said far louder this time. A moment later Joan felt something grab her arm and pull her back. She was too tired to resist, though. She fell into the other girl’s arms and just laid there. “Whoa, Joan? Are you… Joan?”

Joan closed her eyes and leaned into the hug slightly, struggling to keep her eyes opened. Bauteut was so soft and warm, she wanted to just sleep against her. How bad could it be?

“Joan?” Bauteut whispered it this time. Or maybe Joan was just struggling to hear it, she couldn’t be sure. “By the stars, I knew this was a bad idea. Here, drink this.”

“Huh?” Joan asked. A small vial was pushed to her lips and her eyes snapped open. Suddenly she felt wide awake and ready to face the day. Only to realize a moment later just how much agony she was in. She let out a hiss of pain but, slowly, pulled away from the other girl. “What the hell is that?” she asked, licking her lips.

“Energy potion. Powerful stuff, but has a few side effects,” Bauteut said with a small sigh. “It won’t last too long. But we’re here.”

“We’re here?” Joan asked. She glanced off to the distance and her eyes widened. Despite the pain, she felt a surge of excitement and joy flow through her. She could see lights in the distance, even through the rain and cold. She quickly cast her spell to try and see the wards.

Nothing happened. “No wards?” Joan asked.

“They’re there,” Bauteut said softly. “You’re spent, Joan. You should wait here and rest. Searle and I can—”

“Not a chance,” Joan said firmly. “If we’re going in there, we need to do this together. I may be able to recognize the threat.” Her eyes glanced over the camp and, far past it, she could see trees.

Silverleaf Woods. Once they were closer they’d probably be able to see the reflection of light off the strange leafs. Their journey was almost at an end, she could feel it.

“Come on, let’s go,” Joan said, but she couldn’t get herself to pull away from the other girl. She was just so much warmer than the cold night air. Or maybe it was because once she pushed off from her, she’d be bearing her entire weight again and her feet already hurt more than she thought imaginable.

“It’s going to be a while before the moon is at its height,” Bauteut whispered. “We made good time, we should rest.”

“Rest?” Joan asked. Rest sounded like such a great idea. She quickly shook her head. “No. We need to do this. We need to find out. If you want to wait here, then you’re fine to. Searle?”

Searle sighed but she could feel him move up besides her. “At least the rain will help keep us hidden.”

“Do you think they’ll even still try it? Who’d want to do any kind of ritual in weather like this?” Bauteut asked.

“Demons,” Joan said with a shrug. To be honest, if they did decide to delay the ritual she didn’t have any other ideas. She was too tired to think as it was and she could already feel that energy from the potion was beginning to wear off. “Let’s go. Onward to kicking demon butt,” she said before standing up straight once more and walking to Searle, reaching out a hand to grab his tunic. “Just stop the wards. All you have to do. We go in, see what they’re doing, then go into the forest. All we need to do,” Joan said, though she was more telling herself than him.

“Maybe I should do this alone,” Searle said softly. “If there’s any--”

“No. I need to see,” Joan said before blinking a few times to try and clear the water out of her eyes. “Just go. Come on. We can go now, please. Before I pass out,” she said before leaning against him and sighing. She wondered if he would be upset if she threw up on him. She wasn’t even sure if he’d care.

“I’m coming,” Bauteut said before reaching out and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “Searle, just focus on keeping the wards blocked. I’ll keep lil miss fiercest warrior here from doing anything stupid.”

“I’m not little,” Joan said before shaking her head and trying to clear it. Exhaustion made every step agonizing, but one by one they began to make it through the darkness towards the camp. She couldn’t help but feel she was forgetting something, but try as she might she couldn’t remember it.

She wished she could see the wards, though, but none of her magic seemed to respond to her in the slightest anymore. Next life she told herself she was going to be a proper mage, not a magic swordsman. No, that would have probably made this entire thing even more miserable. Maybe if she just survived this, then next time she’d make it through and be okay. If only she could buy a little bit more time. Or maybe she’d wait until Hardwin returned before she did anything else stupid and reckless.

No, she doubted it. Far too often she felt she had no choice but to do the stupid and reckless thing. Otherwise everything would go bad anyway. The smart thing would just be to give up and just try to enjoy herself until the world inevitably perished or until the chosen, somehow, fixed it all themselves. By the stars she wished that was actually an option.

Suddenly she was grabbed and pulled back by Bauteut. “The wards are gone.”

“What?” Joan asked.

“All of the wards went down,” Bauteut said again.

Searle didn’t move, just holding his shield over them. “What does it mean?” he asked. “Do they know we’re here?”

“We’re still alive, so I don’t think so,” Bauteut whispered. “Come on, let’s go. Searle, can you be ready to hide us if it comes up?”

“Yes, I--” A howl tore through the air, making all three of them go entirely still. A moment later there was a scream, then more screams. Then the sound of something exploding.

“We need to go!” Joan said, pulling away from Bauteut and running towards the sounds. People were in danger, they needed help to--

She then stopped, her eyes going wide. Wait, no, they were demons. They didn’t need her help. Even if they did, they wouldn’t WANT her help. She was their enemy. After a moment she felt a hand grab her arm. “Joan, what is wrong with you?” Bauteut asked.

“There were screams,” Joan said softly.

“And what, you decide to run towards them?”

“Yes.”

Bauteut stared at her, even if the rain and darkness made it near impossible to make out the look on her face, Joan imagined it was either annoyance or disappointment. After a moment the healer sighed and let her go. “Sometimes I swear you have a death wish. Searle?”

“Right here,” he said.

“Just stay near us, please,” Bauteut said and began to gently tug Joan after them. She was too tired to object.

It wasn’t long before they could finally see the camp fully, which was lit up with small, hovering lights in the air. Joan understood WHY they were screaming now, at least. A fight had broken out between a weretroll and a demon that was nearly four times it size. While not as large as a normal troll, the weretroll was still as tall as most of the tents in the camp and, if her experience facing it in her past lives had taught her anything, far stronger than a normal troll. This was confirmed a moment later when the troll bodily picked up the demon and threw it across the camp, taking out a few of the tents and causing more screams.

Joan would have almost felt bad for them if not for the fact she suspected the weretroll had been intended to be sent into their camp. She couldn’t believe she was actually hoping the monster would win.

Unfortunately, a moment later the monster was enveloped in flames, the sound of sizzling water filling the air. By the time it ended the weretroll was little more than a dark, charred black husk. However, even now she could see the flesh was starting to repair itself. A moment later the massive demon the troll had tossed came charging back in, its body now wreathed in flames and giving it the appearance of a massive hellhound. It tore into the troll as it began to rise, claws and teeth tearing the creature apart. Within moments the deed was done and the weretroll was no more.

Though, it wasn’t without consequence. Judging by the moaning from the camp, there had been more than a few wounds and injuries from the ordeal. Possibly a few deaths. Even the demon that had attacked it collapsed now that the fight was over, its body covered in dark char.

Joan’s eyes widened when she realized that the demon hadn’t lit itself on fire in such a manner. It had been sacrificed. Yet it had still fought, despite this. Her heart started to hammer when she searched through the gathered demons. There was only one person who she knew who could control such a creature and make it fight, even through the pain of being enflamed.

Her eyes locked onto him and her entire body went still.

The Demon Lord.

MelodyAvant

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