I wake up the next morning without any signs of my prior exhaustion, and my feet aren’t even sore from walking barefoot anymore. Actually, I feel better than ever before, which I attribute to the quality of the meal I had last night.

I should really thank Sera. Not only is she probably the sole reason I’m alive at this point, she’s even made it possible for me to drink blood from things that are much stronger than I am- which in turn allows me to grow stronger as well.

“Thank you, Sera.” I say, as the two of us are walking away from our resting place.

“Hmm? Whatever for?”

“Everything.”

She smiles and shakes her head, “I should be the one thanking you instead. If you hadn’t come along, I would’ve been stuck slaving away for a few more years. Not only that, but you’ve given me what I wanted most in the world.”

“But…” I hadn’t thought of things that way, and also, “What did I give you?”

“What indeed.” She says, before patting me on the head.

Once again I have no clue what she means, and I doubt her answer would change if I asked again. I guess this is the newest addition to the list of things that Sera says or does which I don’t understand.

“Why are we following this road anyway?” I ask, changing the topic.

“Because it should lead to civilization, and there are some things I need to pick up for our journey.” She looks me over, “I really regret not getting you any shoes before we left, and you’ll need clothes which are suited for travel- that dress won’t last much longer at this rate.”

She’s right, I can hardly even tell what color it’s supposed to be because it’s so dirty. Still, I can’t help but worry about meeting other people again after what happened on the beach.

As if on queue, I hear the faint sound of hooves hitting pavement from behind us, and Sera quickly pulls me to the side of the road. Looking to the source of the sound, I see two people on horseback with their sights set on us.

“Well what do we have here?” The first man asks with a cooked grin as they come to a stop in front of us.

Sera moves in between them and me as the other one answers, “Looks like a couple city girls got lost to me.”

“Well, we ought to help them out then.” The first man states sarcastically, and I realize Sera’s already holding her daggers behind her back. “It’ll be easier for them to get home without their heavy pockets weighing them down.”

Peeking around her, I get a good look at them. They’ve both got their shortswords unsheathed, and just like the man from the beach they’re of the so called ‘Demon’ race- though they’ve both still got their horns.

“Oh, thank you!” Sera says, and the evil smile on her face sends shivers down my spine. Pointing at them, she continues, “Look Rose, these nice men have decided to donate all of their belongings to us!”

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

The two freeze at her words, and time slows to a crawl as they glare at us, but her smile doesn’t waver. And then they suddenly bust out laughing, ““Bahaha-”” Thud Thud! The second their attention wavers, Sera throws her daggers and each one makes contact hilt-first right between both of their eyes- which roll back into their heads.

Yep, I should’ve seen that one coming, I think as they drop their weapons before falling from their horses. It’s surprising that she chose not to kill them though.

After making sure they’re both unconscious, Sera moves her attention to the horses. “Shh, shh.” She says in an attempt to appease the spooked animals. “It’s alright.”

Her attempt is only partly successful, because just as she manages to take one of the horses reins the other one bolts into the woods as if its life depends on it. She looks angry, but other than clicking her tongue she doesn’t say anything lest she scare the remaining horse even more.

I can’t say I blame the thing for running. Sera takes first second and third place for the most terrifying people I’ve ever met- with the King being at forth- so I probably would’ve done the same thing in its shoes. I think as she ties the horse to a tree.

“Go grab some sacks for me, would you?” She asks, so I make my way back to the wagon as she starts rummaging through its saddle bag. “Oh, how convenient. They- We’ve got some rope.”

By the time I’ve returned, the two have already been hogtied and had their pockets emptied into a pile on the ground. “Thank you.” She says as I place the sacks on the ground next to her, then she slides one over each of their heads before making some air holes.

They actually look pretty funny with their horns poking through the sacks, so I have to stifle a giggle as I ask, “What are you going to do with them?”

“I’m feeling generous since they brought us some horses, so I’ve decided not to kill them outright- which is probably more than they deserve.” She says, stuffing all of her loot into a sack. “They’ll probably die if we leave them like this depending on their luck, but I don’t really care either way.”

Looking down at the pair, I find it hard to sympathise with them. It’s their fault that they’re in this situation in the first place, they shouldn’t have tried to rob us.

“Have you ever ridden a horse?” Sera asks, walking over to it.

“No.” I answer as she unties it.

“Me neither, but how hard can it be if these idiots are able to do it?”

That doesn’t sound promising. I think, and she puts one foot on the stirrup and then pulls herself up onto the horses back.

“Woah, woah.” She says as the thing starts walking on its own. The animal ignores her and doesn’t stop. “Woah now.” She tries again, and then it actually stops.

“See? I told y-” The horse bucks, nearly flinging Sera off, and then it bolts in the same direction as the other one- right into the woods- with her still on top of it.

“Stop!” She in full panic mode, which the horse apparently takes as a challenge because it speeds up even more. “I said stoooooooop!”

I’m on the verge of laughing at her misfortune, but my worry overrides the urge so I end up just standing there dumbfounded as the horse brings her deeper into the woods until I lose sight of them- though I can still hear her screaming.

Should I go after her or should I stay here? I wonder, I guess I’ll stay, that way she’ll be able to find me when she regains control of it. It’s not like I could catch up to the horse anyway.

Five minutes pass, and then ten with no sign of Sera until finally I hear something moving in the woods. “Sera?” I ask, but rather than her I’m greeted by the sight of the horse she was riding as it triumphantly struts up onto road and then enters the forest on the other side.

That’s not a good sign… I really hope she’s okay. I think, and then I finally hear her.

“Fuck horses!” She yells, and a few seconds later she emerges from the forest looking like she was run over by… well, a horse. “Pardon my language, Rose. I didn’t realise I was close enough for you to hear me yet.”

“It’s fine, but are you okay?” I feel like I have to ask her that too often…

“I’ll live, but it looks like we’ll be walking after all.” She says, picking up the sack containing the mens things and then walking down the road. “Let’s get going before I change my mind about killing these two.”

“Uh, Sera.” I say, and she turns around.

“What is it?”

“That’s the wrong way.”

“Ah.” She walks past me, so I follow her.

“Do me a favor, Rose?” She asks.

I know exactly what she’s going to ask, because I would do the same. “I won’t tell anyone.”

“Thanks.”

The two of us walk down the road for a while, but as the tension runs thin it becomes harder and harder to hold in our laughter until we finally crack. It starts with a giggle from me, but it quickly intensifies as Sera joins in until both of us are laughing so hard we can hardly even walk.