“Do you have everything?” mom asked for what felt like the millionth time. Doing my very best to be patient and not yell at her, I took a deep breath before nodding.

“I got clothes and some food and money that should last us enough for the whole trip.”

“And the salves and bandages in case you get injured?”

“I got those” Lucas said, smiling reassuringly at mom. “Don’t worry Diane; I’ll be sure to keep Elaine safe.”

Ugh, this again… just because my father said something about leaving me in his care he has been repeating that phrase over and over for the past day. I don’t need your protection. The way we are now the two of us are equally vulnerable. As if his sparks are going to save anyone.

“Don’t forget to protect yourself too” mother said, looking from him to me with arms crossed and pursed lips. She wasn’t happy about this development. It was pretty apparent even without her saying anything remotely condemning.

After dad spoke to her, the next day she looked pretty bummed. She refused to meet my eyes and instead went about collecting different things she thought we would need for our trip. These things ranged from vital items like clothes and food, to medicines, bandages, and the most surprising being knifes and even a slingshot she gave to Lucas. To protect ourselves, she said.

Well, it shouldn’t surprise me she gave a pair of children weapons. Childhood has quite a different meaning in this world and era than in modern Japan, but part of me was kind of stunned, regardless. I suppose since she couldn’t do anything to prevent us from going, she was trying to equip us as much as she could so she could have at least a bit of peace of mind while we were gone. That Lucas had magic helped. If only she knew how underdeveloped it was, though…

There was still a tense air about us, too, not because I didn’t try to apologize, since I did, and a lot, but because she refused to hear me out and just found something new to do every time I got close enough to her. It was irritating but well, it was mom. She probably felt guilty like dad but didn’t want to confront me yet. I was pretty hurtful too, so that contributed to the whole mess.

“After all, maybe just knifes aren’t enough. Dear, do you still have that shotgun we used to keep for hunting?”

“Really, stop already! I don’t even think I’m strong enough for a shotgun!”

Does she want us to kill somebody?! Well, with our technology a shotgun might not be enough to kill, but it could still cause some heavy damage… that could eventually lead to death… nope, nope, don’t even think about it!

“Don’t be silly, Elaine. You’re not going to use it. Lucas will” the mentioned boy blinked in surprise while I just rolled my eyes, but mom ignored that and instead turned to dad. “So, do you have it?”

“Yes, I do, but the whole thing is rusted, so I don’t think it still works. At worst, it might explode on your face if you try to shoot with it.”

“Why do you even keep that thing, then?”

“It works for intimidation.”

Mom clicked her tongue and shook her head, but said nothing more. I decided that, from then on, I would completely ignore her until the carriage we asked for arrived. I didn’t want to hear anymore of her ridiculous ideas.

The wait was long and frustrating. The day before, dad and Lucas had gone to town at dusk and asked if somebody was going in the direction of the White Forest, which was where the necromancer currently resided, so we could take a hike and go with them. They were lucky, and we got a carriage with a travelling merchant who had stopped to spend the night at the town’s sole inn. He accepted to take us to the nearest big town with a stage station in exchange of a few coins. However, it was already half an hour later than when he said he would come and I was growing impatient and anxious from the wait. Of course, mom’s constant questions and reminders and strange new ideas didn’t help.

Neither did Thomas’ sad face.

“Don’t go Elaine…” he whispered against my skirt, holding it tightly in his two small fists. My heart was breaking. Don’t do this to me, sweetheart…

“I will be back before you know it. Don’t worry Thomas” I said while patting his head, but he just buried his face further. Oh no, my heart… “What if I bring you a souvenir? What do you want? Sweets? Clothes?”

“I want Elaine.”

“…”

Aaaaaand it’s broken. Who needed a heart anyway.

“Hey Thomas, don’t be sad” Lucas said then, kneeling to be on eye level with the little boy. He softly lifted his face from my skirt, though he didn’t do it completely, looking at Lucas with only one eye. “Everything’s going to be fine. I promise I will protect Elaine, so she can come back safely.”

…

No commentary. Really, at this point I’m just going to give up. Let him have his moment, since he’s enjoying it so much.

As I was very casually turning my head away to see if our carriage was finally coming, the aforementioned artifact actually appeared. Two horses made their way slowly over to us, with the same merchant from yesterday holding the reins.

“Sorry for coming late. We had a few problems in town.”

“Don’t worry about it. Thanks for coming” dad spoke with the man as mother helped me and Lucas with our insignificant luggage. I gave another hug to Thomas, who sniffed with tears in his eyes, and proceeded to board the carriage. To my slight surprise, there were two other people already inside, pressed against the crates filled with merchandise.

“Hello, new travel companions” a man with an amazing beard greeted us. I gave him a nod and sat down, with Lucas doing the same soon after. When the carriage started to move, the two of us pushed our heads outside and waved to my parents and Thomas. Slowly, they disappeared from sight, as well as our house.

 

Travel soon became boring after a few minutes. I leaned on Lucas and closed my eyes while asking him to keep an eye open in case something happened. Although it was impossible for me to sleep, I was pretty tired from being unable to rest the night before, so I needed a moment to relax, and since there was nothing better to do, I chose that moment to do so.

Time passed by and around two hours later we arrived at the town with the stage station. It was much bigger than the one close to home, with plenty of other carriages as well as people on horses going from one place to another, along with pedestrians making way for them. The merchant left us at the station before going on his way, and after a small exchange with the coachman, we boarded the carriage.

There was a young couple, as well as a family of four already inside. They smiled at us while we waited for the carriage to start moving. Lucas took out a deck of cards I had no idea he had brought with him and we played under the stares of the two children of the family.

When we finally departed, I let out a sigh of relief. I had never used a stagecoach before, despite hearing about them, since never before had I left my community. I was nervous as I didn’t know what to expect, but that was the reason I was glad to have Lucas with me, even though I probably knew more about the world than him. Everything was easier when you had company, after all.

The trek was peaceful, for the most part. From time to time, the carriage would make stops in the wild for the passengers to go to the bathroom or smoke. At noon, we stopped to have lunch before continuing. Other than the coachman, another man who looked like a guard was sitting next to him, a gun at his side. He would sometimes look over his shoulder at us before returning to his conversation with the driver, but I could see he was always on guard, glaring at the sides of the road with narrowed eyes.

In the next town a few more passengers boarded, all always in pairs or more. By the time we arrived at the inn where we were going to pass the night, the carriage had a total of twelve passengers, me and Lucas included, though three of them left in another coach the next morning.

It was when we reached the third town, after lunch, that the monotony was broken.

He was covered from head to toe with dark clothing, which in itself was already ominous enough. His cloak was black and the hood pulled over his face. He spoke with the coachman and passed him a small pouch that I assumed was the payment for the transportation, and climbed the carriage to sit at the rear, away from the rest of us. You could feel the air in the coach shifting as everyone looked at the new passenger with suspicion.

I pulled closer to Lucas, even though the stranger had not done anything to tip me off. But it was just instinct. After all, you can’t just expect people not to be wary of a person that covers their face. You can’t trust a person that doesn’t want their identity to be known.

Or maybe I was just being paranoid. After everything I lived, I wasn’t going to apologize for it.

Unfortunately, it seemed the man realized my wariness, despite everyone else behaving the same way as me. He slightly lifted his face in my direction, and, just under the hood where it didn’t cover his face, I could see his mouth curving in a small smile.

Goddammit.

“Do you want to play cards?”

I turned to Lucas, who had taken out the deck from yesterday and was looking at me expectantly. I frowned, but he moved his chin a little to indicate me to just follow along. Huh. Did he actually notice the man looking at me and was trying to take his attention off me? As expected of Lucas, he’s very observant.

With a nod, Lucas started dealing the cards. The children from yesterday, being already curious, approached us and asked if they could play with us, and soon enough, we had a circle of at least six people all playing cards. The cloaked stranger, luckily, stopped looking at me and instead leaned against the wall of the coach, apparently deciding to sleep once I didn’t seem interesting enough.

In the next town, a pair left. We didn’t stay long there, soon going back to the road. When night had fallen, we stopped by an inn just like yesterday. By then, I had pretty much forgotten about the shady stranger.

After a light dinner, a few of the passengers asked me about the violin I was carrying.

“It was my grandfather’s. He taught me how to play it” I explained. It wasn’t a full lie. Old Man Jean was pretty much the community’s grandfather, and Mio’s grandfather taught her, so I was saying the truth. Kinda.

The other passengers got excited, and asked me to play a song. I obliged since I didn’t see the problem, and soon one song turn to two and then to ten. A good hour passed before everybody decided it was time to go to bed. I was in a very good mood and quickly fell asleep that night after playing one magic-infused song for the demon.

But then, during lunch the next day, and just when Lucas had left for the call of nature, the stranger spoke to me.

“It’s rare to see two young children travelling alone. I can’t help but wonder the reason for that…”

I looked at him with a frown, before glancing down. Why was he talking to me?

“And you also know how to play the violin. You’re pretty talented for someone so young. Did you really learn from your grandfather?”

“…Yes, he taught me everything I know” well, not everything. The conservatory Mio studied at did that, but her grandfather did give her the basics.

The stranger chuckled, leaning an arm on top of his drawn knee, while the other leg was extended. His behavior was pretty relaxed, but he had still not taken off his hood, so the overall effect was kinda perturbing.

“You don’t need to be so wary of me. I know I might look like this, but I’m a pretty nice fellow.”

I looked ahead, taking a bite of cheese. The man didn’t relent.

“If I take my hood off will you stop being so wary? Hey, tell me your name. Hey, hey~”

What the hell?! Is he a pedophile?! Why is he behaving like that?!

“I’m not interested in children, so don’t call me a pedophile. That’s distasteful and very rude.”

“Excuse me?” I couldn’t help but shot back in a monotone. When I looked back at him he was smiling away. “I don’t remember calling you a pedophile.”

“You didn’t have to. It’s written all over your face.”

“Well, you’ll have to forgive me, but where I come from; an older man who takes an interest in a young girl is usually called a pedophile. Can you stop talking to me now? You’re being a creep!”

Lucas, come back already! No, actually, I should just get up and leave. This is no joke anymore. This guy’s really shady!

“Alright, alright, I get it” the man said, his voice almost laughing. In that moment, just as I was standing, he took off his hood and gave me a big smile. I couldn’t help but freeze in place. “You see? I’m just a normal person. And I apologize, it’s very rude to ask for your name without giving mine first. Leith Castilla, at your service.”

At my what?! I know exactly who you are! Blond hair and unnatural red eyes. He’s the one the King sent to retrieve Mathias in the manga when he ran away with Noah and company.

This psychopath!