Content Warning: Blood.

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The walk took around half an hour, going even further away from the castle walls. We talked about what had happened back at the market while we moved, Fate showing concern and Carver being way too excited about the punch he threw. The directions soon led us to a small orchard full of fruits I had never seen before. They were round, and around the size of an apple, and their colors ranged from purple to a deep, dark blue.

"Hey, what are these things?" Carver picked up one of the purple fruits from a tree.

"Scorch berries!" Fate picked up a blue scorch berry and bit into it. "They're called that because of how spicy they are before they're ripe. The purple ones are ripe, those are usually just zesty or sweet."

"Huh, cool. I'm taking some home."

"Grab a few of the blue ones, I love-" A loud sound of something hitting against stone interrupted her, coming from somewhere deeper in the orchard.

"Heads up, both of you." I started moving towards the source of the sound, my blade readied. "Don't let your guard down just yet."

No one talked as we moved, and I made sure to walk as quietly as possible. The place was now completely silent other than our quiet footsteps, the rustling of leaves in the wind and the chirping of birds. I breathed slowly in order to stay calm, not wanting to panic in the case of another thief or attacker. The sound happened again, and we managed to follow it to the small opening of a cave hidden behind a few trees.

"Should we go in?" Carver whispered, nervously looking from side to side.

"That's what we came here for, right?" I responded, entering the cave without hesitation.

The cave was cramped, and there were sounds of water all around us. Any noise we made was amplified tenfold due to echoing, meaning we'd have to take it slow if we wanted to retain some level of surprise. I was careful with where I stepped, and made sure not to make too many sharp movements.

The walls were lined with small, bright teal mushrooms, some of them growing out of the ground, ten times the size. Hanging from the ceiling were small stalactites, forcing me to crouch ever so slightly while making my way through. I heard voices coming from somewhere deeper within the caves, but could not make out what they were saying.

Finally, we arrived at a large, open room. There were three more corridors from there, two lined with more glowing mushrooms and one shrouded in darkness in between them. I looked back at my companions and looked around the room before entering. It seemed empty. 

"Which way, do you think?" Carver whispered, barely loud enough for me to hear. "And do try to remember our path through these caves, we don't want to get lost in here."

"The dark path sure stands out... Maybe-" I heard laughter from the distance. Thankfully not that laugh, but still not comforting. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Fate was guarding the way we came, with a bottle of mysterious, bubbling red liquid.

"I think it's coming from the path to our right. Come on, follow me and stay quiet."

We moved into the well lit path to the right, and the voices became clearer. I could hear a woman's voice not too far away from us. I get close to the end of the corridor and peek around the opening. The room was a small office, with dusty shelves and a desk that clearly hadn't seen use in some time. There was a figure in black robes, cowering against the back wall. In front of them, blocking my view of the stranger's face, is a tall woman with huge horns, towering over the fearful robed individual. I turned around and signaled the others to stay quiet. Both of them nodded.

The woman wore a revealing red dress, in contrast to her light purple skin and her black hair, which stopped just above her shoulders. All along her back were faintly glowing pink marks in strange patterns, and her crimson high heels were adorned with clear crystals.

"I-I'm sorry, miss! We won't fail next time, I swear!" The man in robes spoke in a rough, trembling voice.

"Mistress." The woman replied, creeping closer to him. "What does she see in you lot, I wonder? You can't even get the simple things right. Tell your boss if she wants to keep working with me, her offerings ought to improve significantly."

"Y-yes, mistress. I'm sorry mistress." After a few seconds of silence, he added. "Is our current d-deal still-"

"Not now, dear. Before we get to specifics, let's greet our guests."

"Guests...?"

Before I could turn around and shout for the others to run, the woman was already in front of me. With speed I had never seen before, she grabbed me by the throat and lifted me in the air. I gasped for air and swung at her with my knife, which she effortlessly caught with her free hand. Her face was beautiful, and yet her deep, jet black eyes filled my heart with sorrow if I looked at them for a little too long.

"Let her go!" Carver shouted, throwing himself against the demoness.

"Oh, please." She said, almost disappointed. Part of her dress suddenly shifted and turned into a blood-red spike, striking Carver in the leg and lifting him in the air. "Pace yourself, fawn. Rushing into the lion's den is bound to get you hurt." She looked at Fate, who was still holding that bottle in her hand.

"Fuck!" He screamed out in pain, trying to break free. "Let her go, god damn it! I'll kick your ass!"

"F-Fate!" The words struggled to leave my lips and I was starting to feel light-headed. "Run!"

"No! I'm not leaving you behind!"

"Interesting." My demonic attacker spoke with delight, barely able to contain her excitement. "The deer and the sheep are new to me, but you... I know you, don't I, kitty? A hunter among prey, protecting them with her sharp claws. That look, that heart, that... scent." She smiled from ear to ear, widening her eyes and tightening her grasp on my neck and arm.

A glass bottle suddenly hits her horn, sizzling on contact with it and her hair. She seems completely unfazed even as Fate rushes at her, smashing another bottle of the same liquid against her waist. As she focuses completely on me, Carver slowly starts to pull himself from the spike.

"Oh yes, I remember you. Last time we fought you were a beautiful elven lady. Elegant, strong and skillful. But it appears you've lost your charm since then..." She looked at the back of my hands, laughing in surprise as she did. Her teeth suddenly became sharp fangs. "And your mark!? Now that's a surprise! Oh darling... We are going to have so. Much. Fu-"

I heard Fate shout and something pop, and in the next moment the entire corridor was filled with bright, glistening blue powder. I fell to the ground, completely disoriented and still unable to breathe due to the powder in the air. Someone grabbed me by the arm and pulled me away, taking me out of the affected area. Finally able to see again, I saw both my allies leave the cloud, Carver being the one to pull me out.

Without another word we ran back to the entrance as fast as we could. I didn't look back as we dashed through the orchard, only stopping once the cave entry was out of our sight. We sat down on the grass and caught our breaths.

"Holy shit." The pain in my neck started to set in. "Thanks. Both of you. That was too close."

"Who the hell was that?" Carver was applying pressure to the wound on his leg. "I could barely run away from that thing, no idea how I caught up with the both of you."

"Here." Fate handed both of us a potion similar to the one I drank after my fight with Robin.

"Thanks." I downed the entire thing in one go. "What happened back there? With that... powder cloud?"

"Glowshrooms." The alchemist casually replied. "They explode in spores when punctured. It's mostly harmless, but prolonged exposure can damage eyesight significantly. It was all I could think of. She didn't even flinch at the acid I threw at her."

"We should probably warn someone in the castle, right?" Carver said after finishing his potion. "There's clearly something deeper going on here, did you hear what she said to that guy?"

"I'll talk to Robin once we're back, she can relay it to the queen if it's significant enough. That was bad. I need more training, she could have killed me in a split second if she wanted to."

"You need some rest, is what you need!" Fate took a scorch berry out of her backpack and bit it. "You're not going to do any training until after you've had a good recovery."

"I'm fine, really. It was just the neck, it'll get better in no time!"

"She's right, you know." The newcomer agreed. "You shouldn't overdo it."

"I'll be fine." I got up and stretched my arms. "We should head back already, if they decide to follow us, things could get ugly."

We walked back to the castle together. Fate and Carver were talking on the way, but my mind was lost in thought. That demoness had recognized me. If I still had any doubts as to my identity as the past royal knight, they would have dissipated then and there. A thousand questions were going through my head. How had I lost my mark? How had I returned regardless? Why was I in a completely different world for so long? I had to ask Robin, Heather or even the queen more about myself.

I almost didn't notice we had arrived, just then realizing it was already late afternoon. I looked back at my allies, and they seemed to be getting along well.

"Yeah, it was a total disaster!" Carver said through his laughter. "But she somehow held onto that fish. Right, Nay?"

"Huh?"

"I was telling Fate about that time I taught you how to fish."

"Oh!" I remembered the incident and shuddered. "Oh. Yeah, the water was freezing."

"I'd love to go fishing with the both of you sometime!" Fate was excited about the idea. "I've never really thought about trying it."

"For sure! I'd love to teach you... And see if Nay gives us a repeat of that time." He chuckled.

"Maybe some day when we're not being attacked demons or thieves. That would be very fun."

---

We made our way to the castle and entered the doors. There were still more people than usual inside, but nowhere near as many as before. I went to the training room and knocked on the door. After a few seconds, Robin answered.

"Hey. You're lucky, I'm about to call it a day. What do you want?" She gave Carver a distrusting glance for a moment.

"We have to talk."

I explained the situation to her, adding that I wanted to talk to Heather and the queen. She furrowed her brow and her rabbit ears twitched slightly.

"I'll talk to them about it and see if they have the time for you. If you want to train more afterwards, I'll be available."

"Sure thing, Robin."

"Nay!" Fate protested. "You have to rest, remember?!"

"I still have energy for training. If anything happens, the infirmary is right next door. It's alright."

Robin left to speak to the queen, returning not long after. She gestured for us to follow her, turned around and quickly walked back. We followed her down the halls until finally we arrived at the throne room. She opened the doors and we went in.

"My lady! Here they are."

"Thank you, dear." The queen got up from her throne and started walking towards us. "Naomi, Fate, Carver. I wished to speak with you all. Please, come closer."

"Your majesty." I replied, approaching her as she had requested. "Has Robin apprised you of the situation?"

"So formal, Naomi." She chuckled. "Indeed she has, and I have asked Heather to join us as soon as possible. I also wanted to have a few words with your friends."

"Uh, h-hello!" Carver did not know how to conduct himself in front of royalty. "Nice to meet you... majesty."

"I am impressed at the courage the two of you showed today. Naomi is training for battle, but the two of you did not need to accompany her."

"Pretty reckless, if you ask me." Robin muttered.

"Regardless, I was already in the process of picking fighters to accompany you in your missions, Naomi. I was struggling to find the right people, but with the right training I think the two of them would be perfect! If you two accepted the offer, of course."

The room went silent for a few seconds. We exchanged looks before finally snapping out of the shock.

"What!?" I asked out of shock.

"What!!?" Robin shouted out of frustration.

"What??" Fate confusedly inquired.

"Awesome!" Carver loudly exclaimed.

The thought of going out in similar missions, exploring the world while adventuring alongside my friends made me lose my breath. Something within me awoke at that moment, and a strong sense of purpose flowed over me. I yearned for training, to recapture the great strength I apparently had before. I felt like was finally creating my own path in life, as if everything I had done before was simply in wait of this one moment in time. I felt like myself.

For the first time in my life, I knew exactly who I was.