My first thought was that it was truly a lively camp.

I knew it from the manga, but seeing it in person was a different story altogether. The tents were disposed in the whole expanse of terrain of the valley, surrounded by the thick forest on all sides. It was at a vantage point where everything was visible for miles ahead. Plenty of lights shone in the form of bonfires, with people around cooking, drinking or laughing.

It was such an amenable sight one would not think these people were mercenaries preparing for a raid. Or, well, only a few people were preparing, by the look of some of the more drunken men laying on the ground sound asleep.

I admit though, I liked it more than I thought I would. Which considering I was expecting to hate it every bit as I hated de la Rosa’s castle, was an awful lot.

It reminded me of Mio’s family vacations on the mountain, camping and sleeping under the stars, all together.

What a nice memory!

“You’re smiling Elaine” Lucas said, bewildered.

“You like it! You like it!” Noah chanted while jumping up and down around me. He was smiling too, though to be completely fair, he was always smiling. When he stopped jumping, he stood in front of me, one hand on his hip and the other extended with a thumb up. “Knew you were the kind that liked adventure!”

“How much adventure can you get in a band of mercenaries? And stop getting so close to her!” Lucas pushed him slightly while positioning himself protectively next to me; which, for the first time in days, I didn’t feel it was necessary.

Noah simply laughed at Lucas’ act of protectiveness. “Don’t be so on guard! We can all be friends here!”

“I doubt it.”

“You’re the one who wanted to hire them” I told Lucas while frowning. He blushed slightly.

“Hiring mercenaries and becoming friends with them are two very different things.”

“True, but we’re not going to be just hired goons for much longer” Noah confirmed while looking at me. “Soon enough, you’ll be a comrade!”

“Stop with the blabber Noah, the girl hasn’t even said yes yet” August grabbed Noah from the back of his shirt and dragged him away from us. “Here, we’re getting close to the commander’s tent. Behave kids.”

It was not necessary for him to tell us. Plenty of the men we passed greeted the group excitedly, more so when they saw the cargo they brought with them, but there were many more that looked at Lucas and me curiously, and a little warily. It would be a lie to say it wasn’t a little intimidating.

The commander’s tent was in the middle of the camp, larger than the others and with supplies boxes all around being organized by another group of younger men. There were no guards outside, and August barely announced his presence before raising the flap and urging us to enter.

The interior was just like what one would expect from the commander of a mercenary band. A table, chairs, two cots and other boxes lying around. Very military. A gas lamp was on the table, and a tall and burly blond man was leaning on it, examining a map. He didn’t even raise his eyes when he heard us enter.

“Noah, what did I tell you about bringing strays to the camp?” he said in a deep voice, still not looking up.

Noah huffed in annoyance. “This time August agreed with me! Right, August? Tell him you said yes!”

“I think you will find these children worth your time Gale” August responded not bothering to correct or deny Noah’s words. Gale lifted an eyebrow, his attention caught, and raised his head to look at us.

Ah.

I know him.

Commander of the Black Lions. Father figure of Noah. And father of Noah’s childhood friend and not so secret crush, Isabella. Gale of Tesea.

He was a strong man with an impressive aura, but unlike other people I met with the same air of power around them, this one didn’t scare me. Even if he was built like a mountain and his face was fixed in a perpetual scowl, there was something… fatherly about him. Safe.

It was a breath of fresh air.

He looked from Lucas to me, from me to Lucas, his eyes narrowing in thought. Finally, he looked up at August, asking for answers with his eyes.

August spoke immediately now that he had permission. “The boy says he is viscount de la Rosa’s second son, and wants to hire us to rescue his brother from his father. The girl has the gift of clairvoyance.”

This visibly surprised Gale, who raised his eyebrows and looked at us wonderingly. However, before anyone could say anything else, a soft, bell-like voice sounded from one of the cots.

“Clairvoyance?! Let me see!”

Covers flew from the cot, and a girl jumped from it, barefoot and wearing nothing else but a long linen shirt hanging down to her knees. Unabashed of her appearance, she ran towards me, halting just a few steps away.

At least she got more sense of personal space than Noah.

I looked up since she was way taller than me. Her golden hair fell on waves around her face and past her shoulders, messy from just getting up, and her big, big eyes of an indescribable green, cool and peaceful as the shade of a willow tree in the hot summer glittered with fascination. She was slender, and something about her evoked memories of childhood fairytales, of wood nymphs, pixies and magic.

She was a fairy of the forest. She caught my breath.

Now, I had no interest in women but damn, I could look at her all day long…

She was even lovelier than in the manga.

As if she caught the meaning behind my stare, she smiled, a breathtaking thing that I could say took Lucas by surprise too, unmoving as he was next to me.

“Something tells me you know who I am” she said slowly, her voice soft, low-pitched and rich. And I really should stop staring so much but who can blame me?! Can she adopt me as her younger sister? Would it be too shameless to ask?!

“Isabella… is it?” I answered uncertainly. My voice sounded like the croak of a frog in comparison to hers. How unfair.

Her smile widened “Yes! Dad! She does have the gift! Can we keep her? I like her!”

How eerily similar words.

“She not only knew who we were without us telling her anything, but she even knew the commission we got from the Duke of Sellan” August added, patting my head. “Seems like the real deal to me.”

“Hmm” Gale pondered, a hand rubbing his chin, looking me up and down. What, so, I don’t get a say in this? The commander accepts me in his troops and I can’t go back home? Why was it always like this? Why couldn’t I take a decision for myself once in my life?

However, the next thing I heard took me by surprise.

“Wait a minute! Even if getting her in our band would greatly benefit us, the most important thing is asking what she wants first! If she doesn’t want to be part of a mercenary band, which would be absolutely understandable, then we can’t make her!” Isabella said, her voice loud and commanding, her hands placed on her hips.

Noah snorted. “You just said you wanted to keep her.”

Isabella’s answer came in the form of a smack to the head. “Don’t be stupid! She’s not a dog for someone to say I want to keep her! Be a little more respectful with the ladies!”

“Ah! But you did say-auch!”

“I said shut up!” then she looked at me again, a smile on her face as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. And according to my manga memories, nothing out of the ordinary happened. This was the usual dynamic between childhood friends Noah and Isabella.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at the familiarity of the situation, even if I only lived it through the pages of a manga.

“Isabella is right. We are a free band, meaning we don’t force anyone to join if they don’t want to” Gale said to everyone in the tent, but especially to Noah, who puffed his cheeks and looked away. He looked at me and held my gaze, and I felt warmth in my chest even though his eyes were hard. Because, finally, someone was treating me like a human being with thoughts of my own and the capacity to take my own decisions.

Damn, I shouldn’t be thankful for something that should be the standard, but I did. It was nice being considered once in a while.

“Where are you from girl? You look way too thin” he observed, his voice taking on a softer tone. “It looks like you haven’t been properly fed in a long time.”

Lucas shuffled a little, uncomfortable, and I reflexively grabbed his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. I didn’t blame him for what happened to my family, and I wanted him to know that. In the end, he had been fighting for his life as much as me. And he’s always been nice to me. He had nothing to be guilty about.

“I am from Tosca, sir, a small district in the southern region of the viscounty.”

“A local then. How in the world did you end up here? And with the supposed child of the viscount?” he asked, staring at Lucas this time. Lucas pursed his lips, trying to take his hand away from mine, but I held it tighter before he could. I took the liberty to answer for him.

“It’s a long story, sir. And about Lucas… ehm, my name is Elaine, by the way, sorry for not introducing myself earlier” Gale shook his head, urging me to continue with a gesture of the hand. “Lucas is the son of the viscount. His second son. He did not lie about that.”

“Interesting. And you, boy? You say your brother is in danger right now, no?”

“Yes sir! We left the castle around two hours ago! My father, he…” he bit his lip, glancing down. “He tried to do something bad to Elaine… and to me too, so Mathias, that is, my older brother, helped us escape and went back to confront my father! I… I don’t know what’s going to happen, but what I do know is that my father will not hesitate to kill Mathias for interfering with his plans! So I ask of you! Would you help us rescue him?”

That us it’s a little… meh, I’ll go with the flow. I don’t want Mathias to die either. At least not if it’s going to make Lucas so sad.

Besides, I still need to get back at him a thousand times more before I’m satisfied. He can’t die before that.

“We’re not a charity group, boy. Just because you ask something nicely it doesn’t mean we’ll do it” Isabella answered, tilting her head with a huff. “But as you already know, we have a mission to go there and retrieve your brother anyway. The least you can do if you’re so desperate to help us is come with us.”

There was silence for a moment. Then, Noah all but shouted.

“Yes! Yes! Great idea Isa! Someone from the inside would help us soooooo much!”

“Silence” Gale commanded, and like that, everyone shut their mouths, even bubbly Noah. “It’s not a bad idea. Do you really want to help your brother, kid?”

“Yes! I’ll do it! I’ll do anything that’s necessary!” Lucas answered vehemently, letting go of my hand to ball both of his fists in front of him.

“Then it’s decided. In half an hour, we’ll part towards the viscount’s castle, just as we planned. Elaine” he turned to me. I stiffened as I was not expecting to be called directly by name.

“Y-Yes, sir?”

“We’ll discuss what you want to do after we finish the mission. If you don’t want to become a member of the Black Lion Company, we’ll gladly take you home. In the meantime, you can stay here in this tent and wait for us. It’s safe here, so you don’t have to worry about anything.”

“I… thank you sir” was all I could say. Gale nodded.

“Alright everyone! Tell the rest of the group to get ready! August, Noah, you take the boy and prepare him as well. Don’t tell him the details of the plan” he warned with narrowed eyes. “Just what we’ll need him to do. Now, dismissed!”

Everyone followed Gale’s orders quickly. Lucas gave me a last glance before I smiled at him reassuringly, and he left with the other two. Gale also left the tent soon after.

Only Isabella and I stood there. The girl was changing clothes. She invited me to sit on one of the chairs, and I did so gratefully.

While I sat there, looking at the flame of the gas lamp dancing and giving my back to Isabella to give her privacy while she dressed, I thought that, maybe, things were finally going to go in the direction I wanted for once.

But there was something that was bothering me. Not a bad premonition, as for once I actually felt like things were going to be alright. It was more like… dissatisfaction at the situation.

Ridiculous. Why would I feel unsatisfied now that everything was falling back in its rightful place?