I felt bad that we had to leave Max behind for the trip, but all the girls had given him goodbye head scratches and I’d promised him I’d buy him a treat. Although, how I planned on doing that with my rather empty pockets I wasn’t sure.

The ride to the fair was relatively uneventful at first. The carriage, I learned, was Ella’s… although how she afforded such an extravagance was not explained to me. I didn’t think it came from a bookseller's salary, that was for sure.

Frannie was excited at the outset, peeking out the window a lot. This was rather short-lived as her face began to turn pale, then a shade of green and she bolted to the side, heaving and being sick while Ella held her hair. After she was done she curled up and passed out, her head in Ella’s lap.

The elf stroked her hair, smiling. I saw the same sisterly affection and care in her eyes that Ella had for her own little one. It was rather endearing and I didn’t interrupt the moment. I saw the green-haired maiden yawn and her eyelids flutter and soon the elf was asleep alongside her new catgirl friend.

That left me and Leyanna. The redhead was not talking to me at the moment. Leyanna had a book in her hands and was reading it intently. Her bangs fell down over her eyes, shielding her expression as she turned page after page. I smiled, there was a measure of peace here on this journey. Ella napping. Leyanna reading. I folded my hands behind my head, sat back, and sighed

Leyanna slammed the book shut and threw it down onto the ground, shattering the peace of the moment. “Really! Him!?” she said angrily, folding her arms.

She looked at me startled, as if she’d forgotten I was there. “Oh…” she muttered, picking up the book and tucking it under her arm. “I was just… nervermind!”

She’s flustered!

“What were you reading there?” I asked.

“None of your business!” she said. “I thought you’d fallen asleep like the others.”

“Never was much of a napper,” I replied.

“Could have fooled me after last night,” she rebuked.

That wasn’t a nap. I was out cold!

“Look I said I was sorry, alright?” I felt anger rising within me. This was getting to be a bit much.

“Are you though? Are you really George?” Leyanna said, her tone getting serious. “Because you mean something to me, and to Frannie, and even Ella although she is just getting to know you. Be careful… with Ella especially. Don’t break her heart, okay? She doesn’t need that.”

I nodded slowly, surprised but also touched. I spent some time chewing on her words, really digesting them. I was no longer angry. I understood that Leyanna’s frustration with me was because she cared. Not just about me, but about the others too

But she has to understand me too.

“I told you a bit about who I was before I came here,” I said finally.  “I wasn’t the kind of person who relied on others, or let them rely on me. But I’m learning, about all this. Having friends. Being close to people. It's…. new. But I’m trying. I’ll be better, I promise. Just be patient with me.”

Leyanna reached over and took my hand in hers for a moment before letting it drop. Her touch was warm.

“Thank you, George. I know. I can be… tough too. But,” she grinned. “You like that a little bit don’t you farmboy?”

I laughed. “A bit, yes.”

An uncomfortable silence filled the carriage for a time. There were some questions I needed to ask Leyanna. I took a deep breath and began. “What happened last night, how did you find me?”

Leyanna looked at the floor. “Some guild members brought you in, we’d been waiting all night. It was late. You were bloody and passed out. We cleaned your wounds and stripped your clothes. We put you in bed, Frannie and I. In the morning I called Ella over, I was worried you would not wake up. Thank gosh you did.”

I saw tears in her eyes, she sniffed, wiping them away. “Don’t… look.”

I got up from my seat and joined her on the other bench. I reached my arms out and she clung to me as I held her. Leyanna didn’t look up, merely burying her wet face in my arms.

“I’ve lost a lot of people George, I can’t do it again.”

I rubbed her back up and down with my hands as I held her close. “I’m not going anywhere. I promise.”

But even as I spoke those words I felt a pit forming in my stomach. Could I truly promise that?

***

Leyanna bounced back quickly and we began chatting in earnest. I told her a bit about my job as a lawyer and she filled me in on what she did as a stablemaster. We talked about nonsense. The weather, our favorite foods. It was a pleasant way to pass the time.

When the topic turned to Ella, Leyanna was cagey, mostly saying it wasn’t her place to divulge the secrets of her best friend.  She did explain that Ella had a family but they weren't close. She hinted very strongly this family was well off (hence the carriage). I wondered what Ella had done or why she and her sister lived alone when her family was present but I didn’t pry any further.

I just had one more question left for Leyanna. But it was one I desperately needed to know.

“So what’s that book about?” I asked slyly.

Leyanna’s mouth opened but she couldn’t seem to form a response. She turned a shade of crimson the same as her dress and reached for the book she’d laid down beside her. I was faster, grabbing it from the seat. She tried to tackle me and get it back but she wasn’t fast or strong enough. I dodged her and opened the front page.

“Her Farmhand Lover - A Passionate Tale,” I read the title out loud. “Oh wow…”

She finally managed to snatch it back. Her hair was frazzled and her face was furious. We had made such a racket that I heard a meow from Frannie and a yawn from Ella as they woke up.

“What happened to you two?” the elf asked sleepily.

“Oh not much. It’s quite a ‘tale’...” I teased.

Leyanna’s eyes shot daggers at me. Before I could follow up, the carriage came to a halt, and the driver called from the front:

“We are here! You have arrived at Vale!”

***

Vale was quite a bit larger than Halfmoon Hills. Its roads were wider and its alleyways bustled with activity. Leyanna and Ella took a little longer than Frannie and I to warm up to the place. There was a rivalry between the two towns. But as we ventured deeper into the warren of sidestreets and the smells and sounds of the fair wafted over us, the two of them joined Frannie and me in our wide-eyed excitement of the place.

The first chance we got we stopped to get something to eat. The stall was serving fried dough covered in chocolate. It was delicious and Fran’s ears wiggled so hard under her hat I feared it would go flying off. We all ate delicately as we could and I was shocked that we didn't get any chocolate on our clothes. Thankfully Ella produced a few kerchiefs and we wiped our hands down.

Next, we tried our hand at some fair games.

The first one was mine to win or lose. It was “Feats of Strength”. Leyanna and Ella both cheered me on. Frannie didn’t seem quite sure what was happening but she seemed to enjoy the flashing lights on the machine. I lifted the tin hammer and brought it down as hard as I could on the metal plate. The lights that indicated how hard my swing was went up about halfway to the top of the meter. A display said “Average”. I frowned, that didn’t seem right.

“No prize. Better luck next time!” the gruff dwarf who ran the game said, ushering us along. I didn’t argue, although I was certain the thing must have been rigged. Me? Average?

Leyanna was next up to bat. The game she chose was a puzzle where she had to slide blocks to create a certain pattern under a time limit. To my and Ella’s surprise, she won handily and was awarded a prize, a small colored box akin to a Rubix cube. Frannie was so enamored with this prize that Leyanna let her have it, although the catgirl was so rough with it we feared she might tear it apart before she found the solution.

Ella, to the surprise of all of us, won at archery, earning herself a large stuffed pink bear. She hit three bullseyes in a row. Her usual shy demeanor was replaced with the calm and confidence of an aristocrat the second a bow was in her hands. Both Leyanna and I were in awe.

Frannie was excited too, she pawed at the weapons rack and let out a meow before we managed to get her to stop. We had no choice but to let her try, telling the vendor that our friend was simply an overly excited girl from the deep countryside. Which was kind of true.

Frannie was hopeless with the bow, even with Leyanna steadying her and Ella guiding her hands. She missed the target completely on the first try. On the second she managed to hit the edge of it. On the third and final attempt she narrowly missed the vendor who swore a blue streak up and down at us.

We quickly took Ella’s prize and left, apologizing profusely and laughing as we did so. We were enjoying ourselves in the chaos of the fair. We continued to walk through the streets on a high, giggling and joking, showing our prizes to each other and arguing loudly about what games to try or what food to eat next.

I wasn’t paying attention where I was walking and bumped into a passerby who gave me a rather strong shove. I took a step back and looked up to see none other than the rude elf from Halfmoon Hills. Elrick. The one Leyanna had warned me about. The one who had looked down on me on my first day in the city.

He stood, eyeing me up and down, flanked by two robed and hooded goons nearly twice his height. Both of our parties had come to a stop. A silent standstill. Tension was strong in the air. Leyanna glared, Frannie scowled and Ella said and did nothing at all. She was still as a stone statue.

Elrick ignored all three of us and stared at Ella, who was looking at her feet.

Right, hadn’t Leyanna said Elrick was after her? That he had a crush on her or something, that first night at the bar?

“My lady,” Elrick said, bowing at the waist. “I am delighted to find you here, you look beautiful this evening!”

“I.. uh… thank you, my lord,” Ella said and did a curtsy.

What? Why is she being polite to this asshole?

My fingers curled into fists. I felt Leyanna’s hand on my arm, steadying and attempting to calm me. I looked at her and she shook her head. Warning me not to do anything rash.

“It is, however, unfortunate I find you in such… company,” Elrick drawled, finally sweeping his gaze over Frannie, myself, and Leyanna before returning to Ella. “Surely a highborn such as yourself should have a better retinue. I could help you find some suitable replacements if you wish my lady.”

Ella merely bowed and stayed silent. She did not rise to meet his gaze. I saw a flush on her cheeks. I could tell she was uncomfortable.

While she might be able to bear his words with grace and quiet dignity, I could not. His insults were too direct, too personal, and done simultaneously right in front of me while not even acknowledging me. It was a whole different level of rudeness.

“Oh?” I asked, stepping towards him and out of Leyanna’s grasp. “Should we be strutting around like we own the place with two hooded thugs on either shoulder? Is that the kind of people you think Ella needs in her life? How about you let her decide that for herself?”

That got his attention.

Elrick turned to me, raising an eyebrow. “Oh yes, you. Farmer.” He looked me up and down. “I see you attempted to… dress up. How adorable. These two, if you must know, are my bodyguards. Here to protect me. Ella should have the same, we are both worth a lot more than you could even comprehend.”

“She has me,” I growled, drawing my wooden sword. “I’m bodyguard enough”

Ella gasped and Leyanna hissed “Put that damn thing away”

“Listen to your peasant girlfriend, your wooden blade wouldn’t last long against real steel…” Elrick thumbed his own blade a few inches out of its scabbard, pushing aside his long black satin overcoat to show it to me.

I took a step closer to him, matching his burning gaze. “Why don’t we find out?” I asked.

“Here? In the streets?” Elrick guffawed. “You truly have no manners at all, do you? No, if you want to challenge me, however, there is a dueling pavilion. Meet me there this evening at 9 pm. He turned to Ella, taking her hand and kissing it gently.

After letting it go he snapped his fingers and walked off with his bodyguards.

Ella ran her fingertips over her other hand where his lips had touched as if trying to rub away the stain of his affection. She bit her lip and looked away from me, hiding her face.

*SLAP*

Leyanna had whacked me right across the face. “What did you JUST promise me?”

“Ow, that freaking hurts! I know… I promised that I’d be careful,” I mumbled rubbing my face.

“And what did you just do?” Leyanna asked angrily, her hands on her hips.

I shook my head. “This is different and you know that! This asshole has been bothering Ella since I first met you two.  Don’t you see that? Why are you both okay with this?”

“Because, you idiot. Elrick is her fiance!"