Artesia looked up as Bishop Hayes entered the quiet study she had secluded herself in. The bishop approached her with trepidation, looking troubled, and she tilted her head.

“The contamination clear of the cave will be delayed,” he said, and Artesia blinked. “Mally Mack just reported back that there was a woman there that was intentionally poisoning the cave structure, so---”

“Wait, what?” Artesia asked in confusion, because there hadn’t been anything like that in the novel. Was it because Artesia of the original timeline was refusing to clear out the contamination?

“Yes. There was a powerful mage there, so we’ve requested Imperial knights to investigate the disturbance,” he said, and Artesia stared at him blankly.

“Mally Mack went?” she asked. “Is he okay?”

“Mally is fine, but barely managed to escape with his life,” the bishop said, and Artesia came to her feet from the couch where she had been enjoying her tea.

“I’ll go check on him,” she said and made her way towards the door, and the bishop cleared his throat.

“He’s already left, Your Holiness,” he said, and she paused.

“Then, I’ll go to the guild,” she said, and turned for the door. “Please call for a carriage to be prepared.”

“That’s not… appropriate, Your Holiness,” Bishop Hayes said, and she frowned at him.

“How is that not appropriate?”

“Mally is a commoner, and not your friend,” he said firmly, and she stared at him. “You need to be aware of your station.”

“My station as the Saint,” she said thinly, “is to be a friend to all.”

“Even so, Mally is a commoner, an adventurer. I understand you feel attached to him after he saved your life, but he’s not appropriate for you to be friends with,” the bishop said stubbornly, and Artesia pursed her lips.

“Are you ordering me to stay here?” she asked simply, and the bishop paused.

“At least go in disguise, Your Holiness. I can arrange for a dress to be delivered,” he said, and Artesia inhaled slowly. So, he knew she wasn’t going to give up on this. “And take Lisa.”

“I will, thank you,” she said, and the bishop inclined his head.

“Then, I’ll be back,” he said, and turned for the door. “With your dress.”

With that, he was gone, and she slumped down at the sofa and put her head in her hands, her hair falling down in a sheaf around her arms. What was going on? Was this really happening right now? There was no mention of a terrorist in the novel. Had she butterflied again? She had scarcely been here a year. Seriously, what was going on?

There was a knock on the door, and she looked up.

“Come in,” she called, and the door creaked open to reveal Lisa.

“Your Holiness,” she said and dropped into a curtsy. “I am here to tell you it’s time for dinner and bed.”

“I’m not going to the bed. I’m going to the guildhall,” Artesia said as she came to her feet, and Lisa paused. “And you’re coming with.”

“Your Holiness…?”

“Bishop Hayes will be back momentarily with a disguise for me,” Artesia said. “We can eat dinner at the guildhall.”

“Why are we going to the guildhall?” Lisa asked, and Artesia swept past her.

“Mally was nearly killed today, and I want to check them to make sure they’re not hiding an injury,” Artesia said, and Lisa blinked.

“Mally can go to any priest for that,” Lisa said, and Artesia ignored her as she made her way to the steps that led to her tower where her bedroom was. “Your Holiness, you do not need to be expending precious holy power on simple healing spells.”

“I want to see Mally,” Artesia said stubbornly. “And I’m not going to be limited by the trappings of the Saint to do that.”

“Your Holiness, please,” Lisa said, and Artesia ignored her again. “You cannot be cavorting with adventurers. They’re rough people.”

“The light of the Goddess shines on all,” Artesia parroted, because she was fed up with this. “And if I choose to shine that light on the guildhall, I will.”

“Your Holiness, you are being selfish,” Lisa snapped, and Artesia glanced at her. A long, uncomfortable silence unfolded, and Artesia pursed her lips. The two of them were standing in the hall, alone, with the light of the lamps flickering down on them, and Artesia said nothing for a long, long moment.

“I was taken from my home,” she said, because she was taken from her home. “I was pushed into a role I never wanted. I am a fifteen year old girl, and if I want friends, I should be allowed those friends. I don’t intend to give up my entire life in the name of the church. I’m not that devout. I will not slack in my duties, but who I am friends with changes nothing.”

Lisa stared at her, frustrated, and Artesia turned on her heel, lifted her robes, and started the climb to her bedchamber.

She was sick of this. She had been gang pressed into a life of servitude and devotion, and she didn’t…

She didn’t want it.

….

Artesia stared up at the guildhall. She had never gone inside a guildhall before, but she was a little afraid now that she was here. What if the people were cruel? Told her she didn’t belong here? Were rough and tumble and terrifying? She thought of Mally, covered in blood and killing with a cool detachment, and tried to imagine a whole building full of that. She wasn’t sure she liked that.

Even so, Mally was her friend. They were different. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but something about them reminded her of home. And she was not going to lose them to societal differences.

Taking a deep breath in, Lisa hovering at her heels, she pushed open the doors and stepped inside.

It was cozy, she realized in shock. Warm browns and greens, with banners strung up on the second floor loft, benches and tables stretching out before her, made of a warm brown wood that was polished and cleaned. There were old scars in the table from people stabbing their knives into them, and she looked around.

A motley association of people. There were men with tattoos that moved, women in racy clothing, all bearing all manners of weapons and magic staves. No one paid her and Lisa any mind, and she took in the chatter of the room, the way everyone was talking at once, yelling at each other across the room, eating stew that smelled absolutely divine. There were flagons of beer or ale everywhere, and she was suddenly reminded of going to the bar after work with coworkers, on the rare chance she was actually invited. It had a similar atmosphere. It smelled like food and beer in here, and she caught tears stinging at her eyes at the reminder.

There were no spicy dishes, no rice cakes and beef, but she…

Her eyes landed on Mally. They were seated at the far end of the room, on their own, with a massive luna wolf with its ribs sticking out eating out of a bowl at their feet as they ate alone. They were hunched over the bowl of stew, and she made her way towards them in silence.

“Mally,” she said as she approached them, and they looked up and blinked at her in shock.

“Your Holiness?” they asked in shock, and she winced.

“Please, call me Art when I’m dressed like this,” Artesia said, and Mally stared at her with wide eyes.

“What… What are you doing here?” Mally asked, and Artesia slid into the stool next to them as Lisa looked around, wringing her hands and fretting.

“I came to see you. I heard you nearly died today,” Artesia said, and Mally blinked as the luna wolf finished eating the bowl of raw meat and licked its chops. “Who’s this?”

“Ah… This is Tuna. She’s a girl,” Mally replied, and Artesia let her hand drift down to let Tuna sniff. The luna wolf licked her fingers, and Artesia reached down even further to scratch her under the chin. Tuna’s tail thumped on the floor, and Artesia smiled at her.

“Well, she’s lovely.”

“Thank you. Couldn’t get rid of her, so I just started feeding her,” Mally replied, and Artesia turned to them.

“What happened?” she demanded to know, and Mally paused.

“I… There was a woman in the cave when I went to clean out the bunnies. She was using the cave walls to do equations,” they explained, and Artesia blinked. “I was able to decipher them, and it seems as though she was amplifying mana to the point it contaminated.”

“Oh,” Artesia said quietly. “And she tried to kill you?”

“She tried to kill Tuna,” Mally corrected. “Not me. I don’t think. I managed to get away, but it was… dangerous.”

“And is Rat okay?” Artesia asked, and Mally nodded.

“Rat is fine,” they replied. “He rode hard, but he’s fine. I’m going to give him a bath tomorrow. He’s sweaty.”

“Oh, good. So, you’re alright? Not hiding any injuries?” Artesia asked, and Mally shook their head no.

“No, no injuries,” they replied, and Artesia nodded a few times.

“Well, I’m glad,” she said firmly, and the two of them fell into an awkward silence. “Why are you eating alone?”

“Oh, I… don’t make friends easily,” Mally said quietly, and Artesia blinked. That seemed off to her. Mally was very sweet. A little over concerned with status and their place in the world, but they were very sweet.

“Oh,” Artesia said, and looked around the guildhall. “It seems like everyone is good friends here. It can be hard to break into that.”

“Yeah,” Mally muttered, and a bowl clattered in front of Artesia. She jumped, blinking, and the chef behind the counter grunted at her.

“On the house,” he said, and a spoon splashed into the stew.

“Oh… Are you sure?” she asked, and he grunted again.

“Just glad someone’s checking on Mally,” he said and turned aside to disappear into the back. Artesia stared at the bowl of stew before she picked up the spoon and took a bite of meat. Oh… It was flavorful and sweet and savory. She blinked in shock. It reminded her of American or French cooking. That, at least, was familiar enough, and she dug into the bowl as Lisa wrung her hands again, looking around at the rough and tumble crowd with clear anxiety on her face.

Artesia didn’t care, though. She was eating a meal with Mally.