Chapter 21: A Hero Returns

In the morning we finally took one of the caravans to Selene's hometown. Unfortunately it did not take us all the way to Urd's Embrace, but it was close enough that we only had an hour's walk from the stop.

Selene had refused to wear her armor on the trip but had decided to don it for the last leg of the journey. After the events of the night I had been able to convince her not to hide her scars away and there was no denying that between the armor and the scars she looked formidable, like she'd just won a war.

Which she had, technically. She'd simply ended it before it had even begun by slaying the Dark Lord before he could assemble an army worth worrying about.

As we entered the village Alisha and I trailed respectfully behind Selene, though Alisha got a kick out of using her air magic to make Selene's cape billow out dramatically as she strode through the streets.

Most people already stared when a Chosen One walked past but in this case the effect was much more pronounced. Everyone in Urd's Embrace knew Selene. If they didn't know her personally they at least knew that their village had sent a Chosen One to deal with the Dark Lord. And now there was a scarred woman in a Chosen One's armor confidently walking the streets.

The result was that there wasn't a person in the village that didn't gawk as we walked past. Criers started running through the streets and informing people of her return, but Selene did not seem to notice. She just led us unerringly through the village, all the way to her parents' farm at the other end of the village. The only indication she gave that she was holding her own private victory parade and that she wasn't just bee-lining home was that she was walking a circuitous path and I only noticed that because we passed a couple of wells and fountains twice. Then, at the very edge of the village, Selene abruptly turned left to a small farmer's lot consisting of a cot, a chicken coop, and a small barn.

The criers had beaten us here and so of course the owners were standing outside. A bear of a man with short-cropped hair and a full beard, both black with streaks of gray emerging, stared as Selene approached. As he stared I could see where Selene got her blue-gray eyes and her height from. On his arm was a petite blond woman who shared Selene's facial features and golden hair. I didn't need anyone to tell me that these were Selene's parents. She stopped in front of them and for the first time since entering the village Selene seemed unsure of herself.

The pair hesitated for a second before catching their daughter in a crushing hug.

“Selene, you're safe”, her mother said and I heard a sob in it.

“I knew you were up to the challenge”, her father told her.

They held each other for a while before her father asked: “Who are your... friends?”

Selene nodded and introduced us: “I told you I'd go to the capital to find someone to help me fight. And that's them, my companions Felix and Alisha. If not for them I'd not be here.” I noticed she hadn't described us as mercenaries.

Her father came up to me and held out his hand to shake while her mother caught Alisha in a hug. “In that case, thank you for keeping my daughter safe.”

I really didn't want his thanks for that. If I'd kept his daughter safe she wouldn't be jumping at shadows now. If I'd kept her safe her limbs wouldn't be covered in scars now. But I was a coward and didn't want him to know that so I shook his hand.

Selene's parents, Hank and Marianne, ended up inviting us inside and we sat at their dinner table and started asking about our adventure. Selene was hesitant to tell them anything relating to the Dark Lord but other than that she excitedly told them about her journey, with Alisha and me chiming in occasionally.

“So you fought cultists?”, Hank asked me. I nodded. “What god?”

“The Black Goat”, I told him.

“Same as that cultist way back when”, Selene added. “And they also had a real Outsider with them.”

Hank's eyes went wide. “And you beat them all?”

“Yes”, she said.

He nodded approvingly. “Good riddance”, he said and took a swig from his mug.

“I'll drink to that”, I told him and did.

Just then there was a knock at the door and Marianne opened it to reveal a crier. Thankfully this was a village, not the capital, so the criers were from common stock, same as most of the inhabitants. The criers in the capital, by stark contrast, were all young nobles, placed into the position to learn how to speak down to commoners and arrogant tossers to a one, but the ones here were an alright bunch.

“Hank Herder?”, the crier asked. In response Hank raised his mug. “Ah. We have been informed that your daughter managed to slay the Dark Lord she was chosen to fight. Is that true?”

Selene nodded and said: “Yes, that is true.”

In the capital some of the criers would have been upset that someone they hadn't addressed had replied to them. To be fair, Chosen Ones were given special honors but even then a crier from the capital would have been at least a little annoyed by the perceived lack of etiquette but again, this guy was much more laid back and he smiled: “Congratulations and my deepest gratitude. The mayor has ordered a great victory celebration for tomorrow and you and your family are of course the guests of honor, so it would be wonderful if you were coming.”

He didn't wait for a reply and took off, getting ready to confirm that Selene had indeed completed her quest.

**

We kept talking a little while longer with Hank and Marianne and eventually they did learn that Alisha and I were mercenaries. Hank became a bit apprehensive at that.

“Is that why you came along?”, he asked. “Because she still owes you money?”

I snorted. “Not at all”, I told him. “Selene paid us right after she slew the Dark Lord.”

He relaxed at that.

“I didn't bring them here because I owed them money”, Selene said. “I brought them here because they're my friends.”

He blinked, then regarded us. “Alright”, he said, then turned to his daughter. “Did you need to use the money we gave you?”

She nodded. “I used that for their advance payment. Speaking of...”, she said and then reached into her bag of holding. She pulled out a large chunk of the coin she'd made on her journey but I noticed that she kept a bit of it as well as all the items she hadn't yet managed to sell off for herself. When she was done she pushed the pile of coins over to her parents and said: “This is for you.”

His father blinked at the mountain of mun in front of him. It was likely more than he'd ever seen in his life. “Baby girl, you really don't need to give us your money. Sure it would help a whole lot but this is yours to keep.”

She grinned and told them: “That was nowhere near all I got from the trip. That's just what I want you to have for the farm.”

Her parents stared. “And you've already paid your mercenaries?”, Hank asked.

She nodded.

We were quiet for a while until Hank asked: “Where will you be staying?”

I looked at Selene, then at Hank, and shrugged. “We saw an inn on the way here. We'll be staying there.”

“Will you be staying for the celebration tomorrow?”, he asked.

“We wouldn't miss it for the world”, Alisha replied.

I thought I saw Selene relax a bit at that. Then she spoke up: “Let me come with you to the inn. I'm sure they'll let you stay for free if I ask them to.”

I nodded my thanks.

**

“I would have liked for you to stay with us, but we don't really have a guest room and I didn't want to put you up in the barn”, Selene told us as we were walking the streets.

“Nothing to worry about”, I told her and Alisha chimed in:

“Feel free to sneak into our room at night, though.”

Selene blushed and replied: “I think I'll need to catch my parents up on things tonight, but maybe tomorrow...” she trailed off, the question clearly audible even if she didn't ask it.

“Of course we'll stay here tomorrow night as well”, I told her and she finally relaxed all the way. “We won't just run off on you.”

“Thank you”, she replied. “It means a lot.”

I didn't dare to go for any public displays of affection with her while in her own village. After all we weren't actually lovers and if she decided not to come with us I didn't want any man here to reject her because of me. But Alisha had no such worries and simply hugged Selene to her. “Take the time you need. We'll be waiting for you”, she told the blonde.

As we turned the corner we reached the inn I'd spotted before.

The innkeeper was thoroughly excited to be housing the Chosen One's comrades and let us stay free of charge and even decided to send three portions of food over to Selene and her parents as thanks for her deeds, which I was quite pleased with. Selene's parents weren't particularly rich and it wouldn't do for the Hero to eat worse than her companions.

Dinner was good and all, pork chops with green bean casserole, but not having Selene along left a sour aftertaste. Alisha seemed to feel the same considering the lack of enthusiasm as she poked around in her (excellent) green beans.

Once we got to our room, I decided to ask about it: “You miss her already, don't you?”

She pulled her sandals off and set them down next to the bed, then she looked up at me. “Yeah. You, too?”

“Yeah”, I admitted.

“Do you think we'll see her again?”, she asked.

“I'm not sure”, I said. “I hope so, but on the other hand I couldn't fault her for staying.”

“What do you mean?”

“What happened to her was beyond the pale”, I explained. “It's not the worst thing I've ever seen and certainly not the worst thing I've ever heard about, but... I wouldn't be surprised if she never ventured out of this village again, for fear of something like that happening again.”

“She did seem out of it”, Alisha agreed, “but...”

I nodded. “But when we freed her, her first instinct was to fight back, yes. Some people deal with fear by facing it head on. She's not broken, even if she may think she is.”

“So it could go either way?”, she asked.

“Pretty much. She is stronger than she thinks she is and I think she realized that the best way to help her family is to keep adventuring. Did you see her parents' faces when she gave them like half of what she made on our adventure?”

Alisha grinned. “I did, that was so cute.” Then she sobered. “Though it really puts into perspective how bad the lower classes have it.”

A question came to my mind: “Do elves have a lower class?”

“Kind of? As I told you, we aren't born into professions so there's no lower class the way there is for you, but certain families do have more prestige than others.”

“And your family has a lot?”

She nodded. “For now”, she replied.

“What do you mean 'for now'?”

She shrugged. “Our value system changed in the last few generations thanks to our decline. Now the best way to gain prestige is to be fruitful. If I have many children with a human lover and some of those children decide to be with elves of my tribe, that would do much for my parents' standing.”

“That's why you think your father would demand children from us? Both to save your race and to protect his standing?”, I asked.

She nodded.

“Well, if you'll have me for that long I'd be willing to help your family, then”, I said.

“So you'd make that sacrifice for my family, huh?”

Her tone seemed annoyed, so I probed: “Tell me Alisha, do you like the idea of me getting you pregnant?”

She blushed. “That's not fair”, she told me, then added quietly: “All elves fantasize about that.”

I smiled. “I'll keep that in mind.”

**

We had decided to hold off on making love until the next day when Selene would join us, so we were well rested by morning and got up just in time for the festivities to start.

While escorting Selene I hadn't had the opportunity to properly take in Urd's Embrace but now I had all the time in the world to do so while we walked the streets.

The village was significantly larger than any we had come across during our journey. It still paled in comparison to the ten major cities and the capital but it was large enough that not everybody knew everybody else, which I found quite refreshing. Back in my home town everybody knew everybody and so gossip was a major part of life. Then again, a village big enough to have some anonymity also made it much easier for cultists to set up shop.

The village itself was clearly built with purpose as the roads connected in a clean grid pattern that was only occasionally broken. In the village center, four by four blocks, the streets were made from cobblestones but beyond that the cobblestones gave way to packed dirt roads. The buildings were solid stone in the center but incorporated more and more wood as you got further out of the village until you reached the outer limits where houses like that of Selene's family only had a stone foundation and the upper floor and the barn next to the house were made entirely from wood.

It was clear that the rich people lived in the center, which also held the rather large church dedicated to the goddess Freya and the local count's mansion. Similarly, it was quite telling that the village center was the only part of the village that was decorated for the festivities to come, with garlands strung between buildings, depictions of the goddess Freya on display everywhere, and people erecting large tables in the village square for the feast to come.

The irony that the signs of the festivities weren't even visible from the house of the one being celebrated was not lost on me.

Well, that wasn't quite true. A band of street performers was entertaining the people and they made a very deliberate effort to spread out farther than the official celebration. It was clear they weren't too impressed with the class divide and were trying to make the festivities more about the commoners than about the nobles. But the band of street performers wasn't big enough to spread out too far and so even most of them weren't visible from Selene's home. She would probably be able to see the guy walking around on stilts from her bedside window, though.

We explored the village for a while, Alisha seeming rather excited about the quaint little celebration, until we finally found Selene. The outfit she wore was clearly meant to be celebratory but given that I'd only ever seen her in tunics, pants and armor what she was wearing just looked wrong on her.

Someone had crammed her into a blue and silver dress and placed a flower crown into her hair and she had a sash with Freya's insignia over one shoulder. She looked as uncomfortable as the outfit made me feel just looking at it. She was also flanked on either side by women. The woman on her left was clearly in some official position in service to the count and the woman on her right was clearly the village priestess.

When Selene spotted us she extricated herself from her minders and rushed to us to catch Alisha and me in a hug. Then she spun us all around and presented us to the two women who'd been escorting her. “These two are Felix and Alisha, my two comrades who helped me slay the Dark Lord.”

I noticed that she was hiding behind us ever-so-slightly, putting us between her and her minders. The message was as clear as if she'd said it aloud: “Leave me alone, I'd rather be with them.”

The two women took it with varying amounts of grace. The village official gave us a once-over, smiled, nodded, and walked off, her work done. The priestess scowled, clearly seeing people who did not worship the same goddess as her and thinking Freya's Chosen One shouldn't associate with them. But when Selene made no move to extricate herself from our linked arms the priestess, too, walked away.

“Thank the gods that's over”, she muttered. “Thank you for coming.”

“We promised, didn't we?”, I asked.

“You did. And you both look great.” For once, I knew that someone complimenting my appearance was being honest. Not only because I knew Selene wouldn't lie to me like that but also because the looks Alisha had been giving me had let me know that my outfit looked good on me.

I wore a long-sleeved black tunic with silver piping and silver buttons along the front. It was stitched in such a way that it looked as though it was a button down shirt but in truth the cloth was seamless and the buttons were ornamental. It was a style that was pretty popular among nobles and upper class commoners in the capital at the time though I'd actually sewn it myself, same as the pants which were just as clean black.

My hair was bound together at the back of my head. I usually kept it a few inches long with a rat tail in the back but it had grown out so long it was almost a ponytail. I desperately needed to visit a barber once we made it back to the capital.

Alisha, meanwhile, wore a sheer white dress with green piping and a green ribbon around her waist. It was loose enough to hide all her curves but the material was thin enough that one still caught intriguing glances if she shifted just so. If she were to get wet everything would be visible.

“I would say you look great as well but you mostly just look uncomfortable”, I told Selene.

She looked down at herself and sighed. “Yeah, I am. That stupid priestess wouldn't let me wear my armor, can you believe that? 'It does not befit a Chosen One of the goddess Freya to wear anything but a dress' she said. Even though the armor was literally given to me by Freya, who wears armor herself.” She huffed.

“Just bear with it. You're the reason for the celebration but you aren't actually what they're celebrating”, I told her.

“That's a bleak way of looking at it”, Alisha commented.

“He's not wrong”, Selene said. “They don't really care who killed the Dark Lord or what happened along the way, they're just celebrating that he's dead.”

“Don't let that stop you from accepting all the gifts they'll be handing you as thanks, though”, I said.

“Will there even be any?”, Selene asked.

“Absolutely”, I said.

“Now how about we go see a bit more of this celebration?”, Alisha asked. “I want to see those street performers.”

So we did.

**

An hour later Selene was once again snatched away from us and seated center stage at the largest of the feast tables. Her protests that her comrades should be seated next to her fell on deaf ears so we sat down a table away, together with her parents who were likewise not allowed at the same table as the Hero. Selene could see us and we could see her but there was no way we would be talking to each other so the only thing left to do was to enjoy the food and pretend we weren't obviously out of place in this small town celebration.

The highlight of the day was when Selene was asked to give a speech as the Hero who had liberated the region. She looked nervous and glanced our way, seeking eye contact, and only when she knew we were there did she stand up.

“He-hello, everyone. I am so glad we could all be here to celebrate together a---” a cheer went up, interrupting her, “and I am glad that I was able to slay the Dark Lord before any of you could get hurt”, another cheer, even louder this time, “but I really couldn't have done it without---”, and then the count himself interrupted her and started to give a speech of his own, talking about prosperity and the grace of the gods. Selene kept standing a few seconds more, looking awkward and blushing, before sitting back down again.

**

After the feast we were free to walk around the village, watching the performers and perusing stalls that a couple of merchants had set up to take advantage of the festive atmosphere. After being showered with gifts that almost made her bag of holding overflow Selene finally managed to leave her seat and was walking around with Alisha. I'd been with them for a while but I split up from them when I noticed the white something watching me again.

I'd only been seeing it in the forest before so naturally I'd assumed it was something like a forest spirit but not only was it inside the village, it was also closer than ever now, peeking at me from alleys.

I decided I'd had enough of not knowing what it was so I hatched a plan. Whenever I turned a corner it followed me and watched me from around the corner I'd just passed so I picked out a nice back alley and snuck around. I turned a corner and sure enough, I felt it right around where I'd just come from. Then I turned around the next corner and immediately reversed course to bump into whatever was following me.

I didn't feel any kind of impact but there was still a yelp that clearly came from a young woman. When I looked up I finally saw what the white something was. A woman. A woman with long black hair and a long white dress down almost to her ankles. What was even more shocking was that I'd seen the woman once before, in a vision, locked up in a dungeon. She looked up at me, I looked at her, our eyes met and I asked, shock in my voice:

“Syr?”