The warm glow of sunrise smothered the earth, slowly stirring the strange group of companions awake. The previous evening was hectic, to say the least, with Luca hurriedly treating all three of his patients after the whole ordeal.

Bao's wounds were more superficial than anything, with slight bruises and scrapes from the bandit he was fighting. Naifen was not exactly wounded, just completely exhausted after casting such an intense spell and running to their location. Alorna's state was the most serious, with a jarring wound slashed across her back alongside numerous other cuts. Luca spent the most time with her, cleaning and wrapping the injuries whilst giving her herbal treatments to recover from blood loss.

In order to avoid the stench of blood and corpses, they had collectively moved camp to an area more hidden by the forest before resting for the night. On the way, they found a dark horse tied up to a tree, which they assumed to be Naifen's considering the way the creature kept approaching the unconscious redhead. Naifen was unconscious the whole time, but the pair were not heartless enough to just leave their saviour or their steed abandoned in the darkness, hence Bao carried him on his back to their relocated campsite whilst Alorna pulled on the horse's reins.

Whilst everyone fell into a deep slumber, weary from their contributions to the battle, Luca was strangely awake. Although held carefully in Alorna's arms, her cuddle keeping him warm and comfortable despite the outdoor environment, his eyes were wide open, quivering slightly.

The bandit attack had taken its toll on the little child's mind, reminding him once again that he must not relax yet. He was a little wary of the fact that people from the castle may be after them, but as the days passed he grew more lax, slowly beginning to believe that there was nothing to worry about. This was especially so after they visited that bustling town in the morning, with people generously donating to them and cutting them deals on their purchases.

He forgot the kind of place the world was, having been holed up in his underground chamber for so long. Fortunately, that bandit attack opened his eyes again, having almost lost his life. He was afraid, terrified even, at how fragile their lives were. Although he knew it was to protect him, watching Alorna mercilessly cut down half of them in just a few seconds gave him a significant shock. But what he was more afraid of, was watching that sword slash down on her back as she rushed over to save him.

Perhaps he should've been more afraid of the magic beast about to tear him to pieces, but it was so sudden and brief that it didn't really stick with him, since not a moment later did Bao revert back to normal. When Orna hugged him tightly to soothe his nerves, and he raised his arms up to hold onto her back, all he could feel was the warm stickiness of blood. He was shocked still at the gross sensation, before swiftly getting to work treating her and their companions.

He needed to get stronger. He refused to force Alorna into such desperate situations if he could help it.

Silently making a new vow, he drifted slowly to sleep, finally at peace in his mother's arms.

As usual, Alorna was the first to awaken from her brief slumber. Her back throbbed as she slowly brought herself to a sitting position, gazing at her surroundings in a slight daze. Gently rubbing the sore spots on her body, she looked over at Luca and Bao sleeping peacefully with a smile.

Due to yesterdays incident, their initial trio didn't get a chance to eat dinner. They merely stuffed themselves with a few dried rations before heading to bed, since the skewered rabbit meat had long been contaminated with blood, alongside how fatigued they were from both travelling and battling.

As Alorna thought about the gnawing hunger in her stomach, her gaze chanced upon a red-haired figure, alongside a sleeping dark horse, not too far away from the group.

Naifen Reculus, an old friend of hers from her time at the palace. He was an apprentice of one of the royal mages, having a natural affinity for fire magic. Although they had talked quite often back then, it was mainly him driving the conversation. She never divulged much information about herself, hiding most of her past as well as the situation with Luca, but she was fortunately a good listener. It was a wonder how he managed to find them here.

As if on cue, his bright green eyes slowly blinked open when he noticed Alorna looking at him. He smiled at her before sitting up and stretching, refreshed from sleeping away all his physical and magical exhaustion.

"How are you feeling?" Alorna asked kindly in a quiet voice, not wanting to wake up any of the others.

"Pretty good, still a bit sore though. How about yourself? That sword slash didn't look light." He frowned as he recalled what happened yesterday before he lost consciousness.

"I'm fine, my son treated me after you fainted." She stated calmly in a reassuring manner.

"Wait, your son?! Well, I kind of guessed he was related to you with those eyes and how much you worried for him... But I had no idea you had children! You don't look much older than me at all! Also, are you trying to tell me that such a young child treated your wounds?!" He exclaimed in utter shock, unintentionally stirring the others awake.

Alorna frowned slightly at his loud voice before Naifen quickly apologized for his actions. Although it was nice having a talkative friend at times, he was often a bit too emotionally driven for her to keep up with. She could understand part of his reaction, but did he need to be so loud about it? She had always been a calm and steady person, hence she had always been baffled by such behaviour from others.

"Alorna?" A sleepy voice called out as Luca waddled over to her. He reached out for her warm embrace again since it was the most comfortable for him to rest in. He had no idea he was basically treating her like a travelling heat pack!

Alorna laughed softly at his bedhead and childish behaviour, as she let him sit on her lap before turning her attention back to the red-haired youth watching them.

"Wow, I guess what you said must be true huh..." Naifen mumbled to himself as if suddenly coming to a realization.

Alorna smiled and nodded before introducing the two. "Luca, this is my friend Naifen from the palace. He's an apprentice fire mage, and also the one who saved you. Naifen this is my son, Luca. He's training to become a doctor in the future. Since I was working all day in the palace, he stayed with my brother on the outskirts of the capital." She spoke without any signs of faltering, looking at Naifen calmly in the eye. In the few days they had been travelling, she had long come up with a plausible backstory for their past. She had to fool as many people as she could to minimize the dangers for her and Luca, even if it was a friend of hers.

"Thank you for saving me Naifen." Luca bowed his head after Alorna had finished, sincerely showing his gratitude for the life he still had.

"Truly, thank you for saving his life. I wouldn't know what to do if I lost him." Orna added solemnly, her arms tightening around her little child.

"W-Wah, no need to be so formal, we're friends aren't we?" Naifen stuttered as he listened to their earnest and serious words, kind of uncomforted by the sudden show of gratitude. He chuckled as he writhed in embarrassment, scratching the back of his head with a nervous smile.

"O-On a separate note, where are you guys heading?" He inquired abruptly hoping to quickly change the topic.

"We're looking to move to Iselnor."

"Oh, how come? Although Alstice has fallen, the Quvarian Empire won't treat the citizens that badly." He asked, feeling kind of nosy after not seeing his friend for a while. His words rung true though, Quvari wasn't the type to rule with an iron fist nor exploit the people. To avoid unrest or rebellion, things will largely remain the same under Quvari's leadership, at least until their situation stabilizes. Alstice's rule was tyrannical, therefore it made more sense to welcome and enjoy Quvari's intervention, rather than move elsewhere.

"I can't live in the same place as the people that murdered my fellow maids and servants. Not to mention they trampled my hometown to the ground, so there's nothing left for us here." Alorna replied with a faint trace of melancholy tinged in her words. Although most of what she said was half-true, she did care for some of her fellow workers that had toiled with her for years.

Elise was the one who taught her everything she knew about being a maid, from cleaning arrangements to the proper way to bow and act as a mere servant. She always warned her to keep her head down when in the face of her superiors and keep a low profile, or if they saw even a trace of rebellion in her eyes, she'd be beheaded right then and there. Alorna couldn't have asked for a better teacher.

Nana was a little sweetheart, always sincere and optimistic. Although a little clumsy with her work often causing trouble for the other maids and servants, she was a joy to be around. Alorna missed the taste of her chocolate chip cookies, which she'd bake almost every holiday to celebrate everyone's hard work.

Old Auben was the head gardener, a wise and amicable fellow who always enjoyed a good chat. It was amazing how he used both his nature and water magic to revitalize plants on the brink of death. Alorna couldn't remember the countless amount of conversations she had with him, often sitting on a bench to rest whilst being calmed by the soft snipping sounds in the garden.

She would never see any of them again in this lifetime. That fact made her heart ache as she recalled their smiling, peaceful faces. She wanted to hope that they were alive, but the vivid sounds of slaughter that resounded in the palace that night rung painfully in her ears.

"I'm sorry..." A quiet voice filled with sympathy brought her out of her nostalgic thoughts. She gazed at her friend with a small smile. At least he was alive. She coaxed herself, vaguely remembering that he had been training with his mentor outside of the capital at that time.

"It's fine. What about you? Where are you headed?" She asked curiously, hoping to dispell the mournful mood hanging in the air. Alorna finally realized Luca was tightly holding onto her clothes, having sensed her true feelings. She pat his head gently as they continued their conversation.

"Well, actually, I'm not too sure. My master left me after discovering that Alstice had fallen, so I'm probably just going to try and find my sister." Naifen commented idly, still thinking his options through.

"Have you found any clues on her whereabouts?" Alorna responded, not shaken by the royal mage's abrupt flee. She recalled Naifen frequently talking to her about his little sister and how he had been searching for her for years, so his plan wasn't too surprising to hear.

"Not yet." He sighed in frustration.

"Well, if you want to, you can travel with us for a bit?" She offered suddenly, not forgetting the debt of gratitude they owed him. It wouldn't really do them any harm to have him with them on their journey: it'd actually be a lot safer. If any news on his sister pops up he can easily just leave them and pursue the matter. Considering he had no leads, it didn't seem like a bad idea to stay and travel with a friend.

"Sure, I don't see why not." He approved the idea with a grin, after having weighed up the matter in his mind.

Suddenly the loud rustling of leaves caught the trio's attention. Just as Alorna unsheathed a dagger, the familiar sight of Bao popped up out of the underbrush, with two dead hares dangling from his jaws.

Shocked by the sight, the trio suddenly burst into laughter at the scene. The tense atmosphere quickly dissipated and became warm and friendly once more.

Luca played with and pat their proud Crystal Bear, clearly basking in his praises, whilst Alorna prepared a scrumptious brunch with Naifen. It was a harmonious scene as they finally got to satiate their ravenous hunger from the previous evening, chatting idly as they ate.

Soon enough they were ready to start travelling again, with Alorna and Luca on Bao whilst Naifen rode his black steed. The lively and dense forest quickly submerged them in a sea of green, as the ever-growing group continued on their journey to Iselnor once more.