For the next few weeks… “Holy mother of all the gods,” I speak under my breath as Severin and I make our way back to the pit house, trembling in the cold as the light of the full moon guides our way through the dark forest. A gust of wind blows by. “It is freezing!” “A-at least we were able to bring the next batch of goods to that village,” the green-haired man replies, putting down the crate he is carrying to pull the sides of his cloak over his chest in an attempt to warm himself. “Do you think that village will be able to find it, unlike the last one we disseminated these goods to?” Another strong gust of wind suddenly blows by, making me stop in my tracks. Ugh… I am starting to dislike the cold now, too. “W-we literally put the sacks in the middle of the village for everybody to find,” I reply, suppressing a shiver. “No need to fret, for I know that these p-people will get those goods— just like the others have. They will have enough to get through Winterfylleth, and so will t
“Bah, I am an idiot…” I tell myself, remembering the events that transpired yestermorn. By any means, I did not expect the brunette to pull off something like that during our spar, hence, despite my confusion, I let my emotions get the better of me. We have a goal to accomplish, Maia! D-do not give me any more reasons to fall deeper in love with you! “Not only did I ruin what could already have been an acceptable relationship, but I also made things more baffling between us,” I mumble to myself, watching my feet sink into the damp dirt as I walk behind Maia through the dark forest. I start grumbling. “Why is my life full of problems?” Although she had not really said anything about what had happened during our night raid, I know this has to be affecting her in some way. Who, in heavens, would not feel utterly uneasy towards the person who simply admitted their feelings to them out of nowhere? I look over to the brunette, who is now way ahead of me and marching all the way back to t
Continuation. Even while running, I cannot shake off the rising anger I feel in my chest. “Reclaim what is rightfully his? Those goods were never his to begin with, that assheaded noble! He is fooling nobody!” As what I have witnessed keeps repeating itself in my head, that familiar feeling in my hands returns. Though there is a hint of panic because my father’s life could be in danger, I have to stop dead in my tracks when my anger boils into rage, and my palms begin to feel hotter than usual. I tremble. I do not think I’ve felt this angry since the night Sapphire was slain. “That bloody BASTARD!” I shout, exuding my feelings and the ever-growing fire I feel inside me. My hands and arms are set aflame, except 'tis not red nor orange in color, like when I normally conjure fire at will… They are blue, and comparing it to the heat I naturally feel when I uqse fire spells, this one feels hotter. Despite my confusion and my emotions, I turn my hands and arms over and over, watching
Going on a raid alone is still unsettling for me in spite of being completely capable of doing it. But leaving for a scouting mission is making me feel more anxious than a raid! I will not be stealing anything in person, so why do I feel like my heart is about to burst out of my chest?! “I don’t think I have felt this scared before,” I mumble to myself, my voice shaky as I near the cobblestone footpath that leads to my father’s manor. “You are just scouting, you shall just be scouting… Gathering information. I will be gathering information!” I take a deep breath. “You will be in— well not in, but near— the blasted manor, and you are out of the place before you even know about it! You can do this, me!” With newfound energy, I quicken my pace and stop short just before I step out and onto the path. Crouching behind some bushes, I observe two guards in front of the gatehouse’s portcullis having a conversation in the dimness. I’m too far away to hear them, so I sneak by beyond the tre
Ingenuity is the one thing I thought Eadmond Davidson would at least have, as the commencing Lord of Augborough… because he seemed like he had the potential to be different from his predecessors. But never would I have thought that he would be just as cruel, merciless, and insensitive as his coxcomb father Edgar. The brunette and I were able to follow my sister’s murderer and his wee army of men to one of the villages we had continually stolen from in the past— and the very one that we had not yet given a share of stolen goods from the manor since we decided to begin observing the nobles’ next moves. This was supposed to be the next place we would give the stolen food stocks to. “‘Tis a good thing I got to you in time,” Maia whispers as we hide beyond the density of the forest’s edge, observing the men in armor announce their arrival and the reason why they arrived in the first place. “We would never have known where my father's right-hand man will start this ‘hunt’. He does not see
“Now is not the time to be indulging in horseplay, old man,” I state as I continue following an excited Daw down deeper into the caverns of the hideout. The path seems to only be accessible through the training grounds, though I must admit that I have never noticed its entrance the entire time I have been in this organization. “I could have been using this time to improve my aim instead of... whatever this is you are doing. Where are you taking me?” “Today is an important day, Clemence,” he replies, raising the oil lamp he is holding to light our way through yet another maze of tunnels. There are torches hung about on the walls, some of which are already lit. “I am about to show you an Unkindness tradition that goes back.” A tradition? “So, is that why nobody was lounging about in the common and dining area? There is this celebration going on?” “Hm, something similar to that.” “It makes sense. Well, t’was odd for me because that place is usually bustling with the young ones and th
“And that is another one,” I mutter to myself, cautiously pouring the hot concoction into yet another vial. This batch filled fewer bottles compared to the first batch I made. “That makes… eight, nine, ten… eleven, all in all. Hm, will this be enough, though?” “Severin, we are making those for emergency escapes,” Maia says, interrupting my chain of thought. “Not dazing the entire borough. That is more than enough, o’ magical man-witch.” I look up and scrunch my nose at her teasing, putting down the pot to seal the bottle in my hand with its cork. “Firstly, I have told you countless times now: I am a conjuror, not a witch! There is a difference.” “I wonder where you learned that term from.” “Secondly, you can never be too prepared for anything and everything. How is the map of the manor going, dagger-lady?” She ignores my attempt at teasing her back and instead scribbles something down, eyes flicking from one part of the hand-drawn map to another. Well, that was embarrassing… “Ma
Never have I ever imagined that I would be this beaten and battered after the organization’s so-called “annual tradition” … I thought I was going to die in The Pit. As I drag myself to my rightful tent in another part of the resting area, which is right next to this small fissure up on the scraggy wall in one of the cavern chambers, exhaustion practically washes over me like the water from a waterfall flowing over my head. I need to get out of these damned clothes… Squeezing the remaining water out of my hair and the ends of my garments, I make it to my leather-lined tent, strip myself down of my water-drenched clothes, and wring some more liquid out of it. I take off my shoes as well and set them aside. “Cold… cold… 'tis so damn cold,” I grumble, shuddering as I peek out of the tent’s flaps before throwing my drenched, lacerated clothing off to the side of the cavern. I can feel myself shivering down to my bones. “I can practically freeze my bosoms off…” I light the remaining cand