So, when we escaped that wretched orc-hive, I was totally thrilled and happy. Our chance at survival is looking a lot brighter now! I did not realize that we weren’t out of the woods yet, literally.

“I’m so hungry…” I heard Stella whine. We’ve been walking since the sun rose. We’re currently walking in the direction that allegedly (emphasis on allegedly!) led to the nearest town. We haven’t had anything to eat. 

In unison, Stella’s and my stomach growled. I groan audibly.

“I told you guys, try these.” Ruveon offers a handful of multicolored mushrooms. I look at him in disbelief.
“Dude…” Was all I can say as Ruveon continues stuffing his face with toxic-shrooms.
“You know, I never really knew what the cooks meant when they said earthy flavors.” Ruveon said in between bites, “But hey, these shroomies taste as good as they look, and more than earthy, they have a bright flavor, save for the occasional gut wrenching bitterness.” he says happily, with an excited expression. There was weird green liquid leaking from the corner of his mouth. I suppress a gag.

Behind me is a whiny princess and next to me is a half-elf scarfing down toxic-shrooms like no tomorrow.

Oh Aeros… our chance of survival is now looking thinner than a tavern dancer’s waist.

Hey y’all… Latisha here. I’m just a country-side farmer, so I have NO IDEA how I wound up in this situation. Stella is our kingdom’s princess who was supposed to be held hostage by the demon king, but she apparently was able to escape. And Ruveon? He’s a dreamy half-elf who seems to have no problems munching on poison. Supposedly, elves are immune to poisons and the like due to their link with nature.

“There’s no other way. We have to find food.” I clench my fists. “Stella, see if you can find any berries or nuts around here.” I tell the princess. She pouts.
“I’m a princess, you know.” she complains. Oh really now? So you’re a princess when it suits you?
“In the woods, there are no statuses. We’re all trying to survive here.” I throw her words back at her. She groans in submission.
“You,” I turn to Ruveon. He eyes me innocently, blinking twice. “I don’t know… get some food or something…” I sigh with resignation.
Ruveon tilts his head sidewards, then loses focus as a rabbit appears near his foot. He gently smiles at it and he crouches next to the rabbit.

“Why, hello Mr. Rabbit.” he smiles, patting the rabbit’s head. It happily rubs itself against Ruveon and the half-elf giggles adorably. I scratch my head. There’s no way I can depend on this guy.

Just as I think that, with a quick movement of his hands, Ruveon instantly snaps the rabbit’s neck without even losing his smile. I was taken aback, eyes bulging. He gingerly holds the rabbit carcass on its ears.

“I thought you respected all life?” I squeaked.

“Well, yes I do. But then, there’s a reason why we’re at the top of the food chain. These are necessary deaths. And besides, you wanted food, yes?” he says calmly. His mild demeanor and smiling face sent a chill down my spine. But nonetheless, he got us food.

We managed to make a makeshift campfire. Stella found a few handfuls of nuts and berries, albeit she whined about how she got insects all over herself. I found a few edible mushrooms. With the kitchen knife from the orc cave, I prepped the rabbit meat for grilling --- seasoning it with some available forest herbs, then wrapping it in aromatic leaves along with the mushrooms before dumping the leaf-packaged meat into the fire. 

Soon, we were able to enjoy a feast of rabbit roast with an accompaniment of mushrooms and berries. Although, Stella looked a bit disappointed.

“Hey, now’s not the time to be picky.” I tell her as I unwrap the rabbit roast from its leafy parcel.

“I know, but…” Stella replied. Truly, though, the food looked unappetizing. I shrug as I take a bite of the grilled meat. Well, it exceeded my expectations to be honest. Stella gave it one last look, and with a sigh, she carefully placed a morsel into her mouth.

“My!” she exclaimed, her eyes widening and one hand gingerly covering her lips, “Well, this is quite delicious!” she remarked. She placed another bite into her mouth, this time a bigger cut of meat. She let out a delighted sound and her faced almost gleamed of satisfaction.

I grinned. “Well, seems like you didn’t expect the food to be enjoyable, huh?” I teased. She nodded.

“To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much.” she frankly said. This girl is way too honest, it hurts.

“But, this definitely is a delicious meal! You’re quite the talented cook!” she added with a satisfied smile. I felt embarrassed. No one’s ever praised my cooking before. 

“Thanks…” I squeaked.

“Still, though.” Ruveon says as he popped another (now grilled) toxic shroom into his mouth, “I don’t like that we smell like oaf excrement.” he says, sniffing the air. He’s right though. I never noticed it before, but we do smell awful. Well, aside from the pungent smell of sweat (that I’m used to, by the way), there is the musty lingering orcish scent, and yes, it does smell awful!

“While I was foraging for food, I did come upon a river,” Stella chimed in as she gingerly wiped her mouth, “Thanks for the food.” she added.

After cleaning up (and properly burying the rabbit bones, bless its soul) Stella led us into a small clearing where a shallow river runs. I surveyed the surroundings.

“This seems private enough.” I mutter. I was about to give the go signal to my companions when I realized they had already removed their clothes and are skipping towards the river together, humming a happy tune!

“Hold on a damn minute!” I scream, grabbing both of them by the arm.

“What?” Stella turns to me.

“What do you mean what?!” I retorted, flustered. I turned to Ruveon, “And you! What were you thinking, getting in with a girl?!” 

“What? We wanted to bathe together, that’s all, right?” Ruveon said matter-of-factly.

“Right!” Stella replied. “You should not waste any more time. Come join us.” Stella invited me.

“J-join you--?!” I was extremely flustered. I could feel my cheeks turning beet red. I stared at the two naked beautiful people in front of me with innocent expressions on their faces. I realized, these two aren’t like other people. Their minds aren’t exactly wired properly. Apparently, elves would bathe together, while Stella’s maids would join her and bathe her back at the palace. To them, bathing together is a perfectly normal activity.

“Ugh, no, go on ahead.” I turn my back and wave at them. I surrender. “I’ll keep watch.” I tell them. I sigh as I move over to a nearby tree. I lean against the tree and I release another sigh. I could hear them splashing happily in the water. They seem to be enjoying themselves, at least.

“This is my first time bathing in a river.” Stella happily announced. “You really should join us, miss Latisha! The waves engulf me and the water feels cool!”
“Yeah, no thanks. We need a lookout. Enjoy yourselves.” I reply.

I continued to hear happy giggling and water splashing.

“Woah… your arms are firm, mr. Ruveon!” I heard Stella exclaim. “And you have surprisingly wide shoulders!”
“And you have beautiful curvature yourself, miss Stella! I might say, you’re stunning!” Ruveon replied. 
“I’ve always wanted to wash someone’s back!” Stella exclaimed. Oh gosh, what are they doing now? 

For a while, there was silence... and then I hear loud splashing.

“Oh wow… it’s so… big…!” Stella exclaimed. Oh dear. Oh dear! In a panic I ran towards the river.

“HOLD UP EVERYBODY!” I announced as I appear near the river.

Well… it was  certainly big, the salmon that Ruveon caught, that is.

“Look, look! Miss Latisha! Mr. Ruveon managed to catch this salmon swimming by!” Stella excitedly said. I sigh. For a second I forgot that these two didn’t have common sense. 

“Well, hurry up now, the two of you. I need to take a dip too.” I tell them as I walked back to my spot. I should really remember not to take anything they do or say seriously. I banged my head against the tree for my silly assumption, causing a few leaves to fall and even a fruit to fall on my head. 

Guaaahh… that hurt… I crouch down and rub the crown of my head.

Wait. Is that buzzing sounds I hear? Oh Aeros, please no…

I look up. I was right. THERE WAS A WASP NEST ON THE TREE. AND THE WASPS ARE COMING AFTER ME! 

“Make way, make way!!!!” I scream to both Ruveon and Stella as I sprint at full speed towards the river. They were putting on their clothes when I clothesline the two of them back into the water! We stayed a good few seconds under the water, letting the swarm of wasps pass by. I sigh as we resurfaced. Great! Now our only set of clothes are soaking wet. I sneeze as the wind chills me.

“If you were THAT excited to get in, you really should’ve joined us.” Stella smiled at me, her hair dripping wet.

“Anyway, you take your time.” Ruveon says with a calming smile, “We’ll uhh… just sit here and watch over you.” And the two of them did sit by the river bank, intently watching me! Gosh. I felt overly conscious. And to begin with, it’s not even right to be stared at while taking a bath!

“Can you guys… I don’t know… maybe start foraging for more food?” I tell them. I needed an excuse to send them away because if it’s them, then surely they won’t understand why I wanted a bit of privacy. I savor the moment, submerged, calm. I get to think about home. I wonder if Bartha made it back home. Mother and father are probably worried sick right now.

Just as I’m wallowing in my thoughts, I hear a scream coming from behind the bushes! I quickly get out of the river and meet up with the two just as a pudgy man came running into us. He bumped into me and we tumble backwards into the river. This man was wearing fine clothes and he had jewelry and accessories on him. He had mid length hair and a thick mustache.

“Oi! Even if ye’ run, we’re gonna get our goods ye’ hear?” I hear a gruff voice call from the bushes.
“P-please! You have to help me!” the man whined. 
“What’s the matter, sir?” Stella asked.
“B-bandits! We were ambushed!!!!” he replied, shaking me back and forth.

I froze up. Bandits? But those are dangerous! 

“We have to--- uhm… we have to hide!” I quickly get up.
“But you don’t understand! Even if we hide, they will find us and they will kill us!” the pudgy man wailed. He wasn’t listening to reason.
“Someone’s near.” Ruveon says, listening intently.

Shite.

Before we could do anything else, a crossbow bolt grazes through the air and it misses us by a hair’s breadth. A large man with a bulging physique comes into view, sporting a wide, amused grin.

“Well, well… looks like we got more people here.” he snickers in a gruff voice. “The boss’ll be happy if we manage to snag y’all. We could sell ye’ for a high price.” he says, walking forward slowly. Shite, I need to think! We just escaped the orcs, and I’m not about to be captured again.

“T-that’s right! You can take them! Take my goods, but please, not me!” the pudgy man bargained. This guy! I can’t believe him.

“This half-elf will fetch a high price… oh, and this lassie ain’t bad either.” the bandit says, looking at Ruveon and Stella, both of which are slowly stepping back as the bandit is stepping forward. I quickly scan the area. I was frantic! I wanted to scream, I wanted to beg, but at this point there’s nothing that can do… and it dawned on me too --- he was only interested in the pudgy man’s goods and my two companions… which means I’m useless to him… Oh gods… I felt a pit open in my stomach…

“Please, please, just spare me! I’ll give you everything!” the plump man begged.

“Oh, no can do. Once we get what we want from ye’ we can’t ‘ave any witnesses.” the bandit then turns to me and points his crossbow at me, “And that includes you, missy.” I could feel the color draining from my face. I could feel my body wanting to give in, but no! There was no way that I would just roll over and give up, not after coming this far. Screw those bandits! I frantically looked around… 

It was then that my eyes landed above the bandit’s head… he was standing beneath the tree where the wasp nest was! I grabbed a stone and hid it in the palm of my hands. I got up, my knees wobbling.

“W-wait…” I tell him. The bandit looked at me curiously.
“If yer’ gonn’ beg for yer life, then forget it.” the bandit tells me.
“No, but see, look at her closely.” I point to Stella. Stella looks at me aghast. I gave her a nod. I needed her to trust me. She looked confused. “Don’t you recognize her?” I ask. The bandit squints his eyes and scratches his chin.

“Well, ye gods!” he exclaims, his grin widening. “Well, if it isn’t little miss missing princess, eh?” he says. Good. He’s completely focused on Stella. I slowly make my way closer… and luckily, it seems like Stella got the memo.

“N-no… you must’ve mistaken me for someone else…” Stella replied, as her eyes follow my movements, then darts back to the bandit.

“No, no, there’s no mistakin’ it! The Gehettian palace jewel --- it’s you!” he chuckles, licking his lips. It sends a chill down my spine, the way the bandit is looking at Stella with slimy eyes. “Well, being the jewel isn’t an exaggeration. Yer quite the beauty, yeah?” he adds.

“And you’re quite the horrid sight.” Ruveon scoffs. The bandit laughs.

“Oh, don’t think for a second I’ve forgotten about ye’, elf. A half-elf like you will net a high price, specially among the noblewomen… yes… that’s all ye’ mongrels are ever good for.” the bandit says. I don’t know if it was just me, but for a moment, Ruveon’s usual calm demeanor was replaced with a serious and almost grim expression, but before I could confirm he had his idiotic expression back.

“I have no idea what that means…” Ruveon replied. I took the chance! The bandit was occupied --- I quickly threw the rock at the wasp nest.

And it missed spectacularly.

The bandit quickly focused back on me.

“I don’t know what game yer’ playing but I tell you missy, that was a huge mistake you just did.” he aimed his crossbow at me. My heart almost stopped and I froze… I was in front of a crossbow… with a just a slight nudge of his finger on the trigger --- everything will be over.

Ahhh… ma, pa… I’m sorry… I could hear pounding in my ears.

“Guaaaahhhh!” the bandit roared suddenly. Stella had took the chance while his focus was on me and threw sand at his face! I felt my composure coming back and the adrenaline pumping! I quickly grabbed a nearby fallen branch and threw it at the wasp nest! It fell directly on the bandit --- his head inserting into the nest! He screamed in agony and ran around aimlessly before falling into the river, thrashing!

“Come on, let’s go!” I tell Ruveon and Stella as I grab their hands. I still couldn’t shake the image of Ruveon’s melancholic expression off my mind.

“W-wait!!!” the pudgy man calls after us, “Don’t leave me!” Tch. People like him annoy me. But I really can’t blame him. He’s only doing everything he can to survive.

“Then, run!” I tell him.

We dashed through the forest in soaked clothes. The pudgy man, in his exhausted state, gave directions.

“Our cart--- *pant* that was *chokes* ambushed ---- there!” he spattered.

True enough, we came upon what seems to be a cart filled with wares.

There were unconscious bandits on the forest floor, and four people circled the cart. They each wielded a weapon and donned mismatched armors. They must be mercenaries.

“Are you okay?!” The mercenary (I assume) leader asked the pudgy man.

“Yes, I’m fine! But dang it! I’m paying you people to protect me and my goods!” the pudgy man complained. Stella, Ruveon, and I sat down on the floor, gasping for air.

“If it weren’t for these people, I’d be a goner by now!” he says. Apparently the guy’s a merchant. I saw the mercenaries look at us with disdain. Oh dear.

“Well, forgive us for not anticipating an ambush.” the leader replied.

“Save it! Make sure that we get to town in one piece!” the merchant scoffed. I really don’t like this guy. He then turned to us. “I suppose this is where we part ways. I don’t know how I’ll be able to thank you for taking out the bandit leader.” he tells us.

Wait, so that bandit was their group’s leader? Dang.

“Well ---!” Stella interjects, “You COULD allow us to tag along until New Heinsvil, which is where I assume you’re headed?” she says. The merchant nods.

New Heinsvil is a town in the outskirts of the kingdom. It’s the kingdom’s trading hub where all kinds of people pass through. But if New Heinsvil is where we’re headed, then we’re a long ways away from home. It felt kind of sad.

“You…” the merchant says, then looks at Stella intently. She steps back.

“Yes?” she replied. The merchant must’ve recognized her.

“Hmph. Are you really THE missing princess?” the merchant asked intently.

Stella giggled, “I get that a lot! I’m honored to be mistaken for the princess, but alas, we simply look alike.” she lied. She gave me a wink. Why did she lie? These people would have helped her get back home!

We got on the cart with the merchant and his mercenary bodyguards. The atmosphere was awkward. I could tell that the mercenaries weren’t happy to have us along, considering what happened back with the bandit business. But, a part of me is somehow glad that we’re in the company of other people, not savage beasts like orcs.

Ruveon was already asleep, his head bobbing back and forth. Stella on the other hand was looking at the moving scenery with an amused expression. I moved next to her.

“Why’d you lie back there?” I whispered.

She turned to me and gave me a smile. “I just felt like it.” she replied.

By dusk, we reached the town gates. The cart entered with little inspection. Before we parted ways, the merchant gave us a new set of clothes, and gave Ruveon a hood.

“Here, wear this. Here in this town, there are a lot of opportunists and scummy people.” he told us, “Myself included. I’m making an exception ‘cause you people helped me in some way --- and I am a man who knows gratitude.” he explained. “Keep that hood on. You’re a half-elf. Do not attract attention.”

There it was again, the grim expression on Ruveon’s face. But it was quickly replaced with his calm and happy-go-lucky smile. 

“Thank you!” he replied ‘happily’ as he wore the hood. The merchant and his bodyguards left us at the town square.

Finally… Finally! We were in town! I was ecstatic! We’re back in civilization! There were other people! I knew that we were just one cart ride away from home!

“I’m tired.” Stella says, tugging on my sleeve.
“Same.” Ruveon chimed, poking me on the arm.

I sigh.

“Fine, let’s look for an inn.” I reply. Just a little longer… ma, pa… I’ll be home soon!