In the end, Valka agreed to my proposal and we made a new promise to each other, as equals. Deep down she knew her quest to fulfill her grandiose promise would end in failure but desperation can push people further than I ever imagined.

After calming ourselves a little we did try our luck with the squirrel-smith to get rid of that unsightly collar but it turned out to be a futile trip. The man vanished, along with everything in his shop. He most likely took the chance to escape this place as chaos consumed the city and I can’t fault him whatsoever.

This left us with no other reason to stay in the crumbling crime nest that is Salermo but since we were exhausted departing right away had to wait. We’re young, we need lots of sleep, and it never came easier than last night.

“They are so cute in their sleep.” A whisper wakes me up from my slumber. “Look at those peaceful faces. Should we bring breakfast?”

I’m not alarmed, I met the owner of the voice last night, even if just briefly. A couple, Aaron and Fleur, tasked by Helena with keeping their eyes on us and accompanying us back to Granhall.

The woman is an elf, just like Dad, except her build is closer to that of Valka, like a sturdy wardrobe, while Aaron is as basic of a human as one could find anywhere on the street. The two thought their cute little relationship was a secret but one would’ve had to be blind not to notice the glances they threw at each other.

“Are you thinking about having children already?” Fleur asks aghast albeit quietly. “And no, they can get breakfast on their own. We’re here to make sure they get back safe and not to act as servants.”

I would appreciate you two both shutting the fuck up and getting us breakfast. We finally have some free time and nothing else to do, let us sleep.

That all just plays out in my head because I’m too lazy to open either my eyes or mouth to convey the message. If I pretend I’m asleep they might go away.

“It’s adorable, the way they sleep curled up. Like puppies.” Whispers Aaron, again.

What is up with that weirdo, watching young girls in their sleep? Yuck. If I didn’t know any better he would be designated as a major creep.

“Yeah, but why not use separate beds?” Comes a question that catches even me by surprise.

I crack one eye open and see nothing but a white curtain. Hair. A cascade of what can only be Valka’s mane covers my face. Now that I’m conscious about it my nose begins to itch and I have to blow my cover of sleep to scratch it.

“Heh, poor acting skills.” Chuckles Fleur, leaning against the wall next to the door.

“You knew she was awake?” Aaron asks and sits down on a stool near my bed.

“It was obvious.” The woman says, like it's as simple as breathing. “Her breathing.” Okay, I take it back.

The bed I was snoozing on is pushed against the wall in a corner of the room and straight across is another empty one. So two beds and one of them is empty. I peek behind me, where the white hair originated from to see Valka sleeping sprawled out.

Whatever, I still don’t feel like going out. Every pair of eyes that fell on me yesterday felt like the person knew what I did, what a despicable murderer I am, and I doubt any of that will change today. Hating myself should be the norm for the upcoming days.

I’m about to lean back down and just accept things as they are when my stomach objects.

What do you mean?! I stuffed myself to death last night. Hang the traitor.

“See? She’ll get breakfast when she needs breakfast.” Fleur is in full swing practicing mother talk. “However the faster you eat, the faster we’ll be on our way home. We already sorted out everything else.”

That does the job. I groan like a granny twenty times my age and sit back up again. My mouth is parched and I need to pee, but more importantly.

I smack Valka on the shoulder. “Why the heck are you in my bed?” I shout as she’s startled awake. “You have an entire bed for yourself. We’re no longer in that tiny room because we needed to save money.”

She blinks a few times as her brain warms up for the task at hand. Then fury descends. She pounces on me with fingers primed to tickle and so begins the torture.

“Your bed my ass. I’m closer to the wall, do you think I flew over you to sleep here?” She growls and shows no mercy.

I fight back the best I can and resort to biting. “You just crawled over-”

“Enough!” Aaron raises his voice which startles us a little. She was so kind and mellow last night, maybe he’s the short-tempered type. “Do you not remember who picked which bed?” A question we should’ve asked ourselves from the start. Except…

We both shake our heads. It was late when we went to sleep and food coma is a vile adversary so we just… slept.

“Whatever.” The man sighs while Fleur is trying her best to hold back her laughter. “Just get dressed so we can get going and buy you some normal clothes.”

“What’s wrong with our clothes?” Val asks a question I myself would like to know the answer to.

“Besides the blood, dirt, tears, and the fact that they’re the wrong size?” Fleur picks up my jacket I simply discarded on a chair. “C’mon, clothes aren't going to change the world, the women who wear them will.”

Aaron sighs and shakes his head like we’re a lost cause. “I give up. Just… go eat so we can get going.” His voice sounds tired already despite the early morning.

It’s noon.

Valka and I untangle ourselves and climb out of bed. There’s no need to change or any other morning procedures, we’re low maintenance. We make our way out of the room and down to the tavern area to devour a whole family’s worth of food in one sitting. Praise be to whoever cooks.

***

A small bell signals our entry into the shop after a short walk from last night’s lodging. There’s still tension on the streets and the usual liveliness of the place is nowhere to be seen after last night’s events. People died, large parts of Solermo got demolished and many people fled the violence leaving everything in shambles.

“Ah, dear customers welcome…” An elderly voice, soon followed by the grandpa-like owner himself who quickly backtracks after catching a glimpse of us four. Suspense is clear on his face but the widening eyes tell me there’s something else at play here. “Fiends!”

Ah, there it is. While I do appreciate the acknowledgement it's not the type I’m too fond of or would like to keep in the future. I don’t want to be the woman of the people but this is almost as bad.

“Khm.” Aaron makes sure to make their presence known. “We’d like some clothes for the ladies.” He cuts right to the chase.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

“But- but… fiends.” The old man’s vocabulary seems to have gone on a pilgrimage.

“We’ll make sure they behave.” Fleur taps the emblem of the Fist on her chest. “And we are to take them away once they’re properly dressed.”

Not the most sound reasoning but I won't complain as long as it works.

“What do you two want?” Fleur turns to us before receiving a reply.

I like that she’s asking for our input instead of picking whatever is within arm’s reach.

“It’s on the Fist?” I ask with a sly grin, just to make sure.

“Damn right it is.” She mirrors my expression.

My bag might contain more money than an average person can earn in a decade but it’s not exactly money money. I don’t want to pay with diamonds for a few skirts.

I generally like skirts but would never wear one for traveling. Also, it's still pretty cold and might even snow in the afternoon. I learned my lesson with sandals so proper boots for me. Pair that with a shirt and jacket and I’m good to go.

I quickly list off my demands while Valka just listens and seems confused.

“What about you?” I ask her and she just shrugs.

“I mean, a shirt and pants, maybe some new boots.” She lifts her food to show her current pair desperately clinging on for their lives. “Actually do you have them short-sleeved, or no sleeves at all? Same for the pants because I’d just ruin-”

“Nope.” I stop her right then and there. “Nope nope nope, it’s winter, it’s snowing outside every other day, and you won’t walk around in as little clothing as a prostitute even if it means buying a new set after each and every fight."

I’d have to be deaf not to hear the two adults giggling behind my back.

“But it’s not even that cold and what’s wrong with not covering my arms and legs? isn’t that what dresses are all about?”

She does have a point but it’s not the same. I can’t really explain why but she’d look stupid among people walking around, shivering in massive fur coats.

“Listen, we’ve been through this before the last time we bought clothes.” I sigh, tired of going through this argument. “Can we try them on?” I ask the shop owner who only timidly nods from his cover behind the counter.

***

I gave Valka a quick rundown about the social norms, again, when it comes to clothing and something called modesty. Her view on garments is a bit different than that of a normal person. A lot different.

As long as it covers everything important, lets you move easily, and isn't too cold than the less the better… She always argued that the fabric would only get ruined in a fight and that modesty can’t kill things.

Now, she isn’t a total outlier with her style. I saw many members of the Fist, representing both genders, wear clothes that are thin like a second skin, and or leave far too little to the imagination. They don’t mind the nonexistent defensive value and feel comfortable in it, not bothered by eyes glued to their body.

Sadly I don’t care about Valka’s preference. I am not walking around with an exhibitionist, not now and not in the future.

First I forced a spring dress onto her, even though it’s winter, which she hated with all her being. So I brought a few more with different styles and colors just to make sure… of something. Although a little less grumpy, she ruled out skirts all the same and accepted only pants. Frilly blouses almost got torn apart and anything too loose was a firm no.

In the end, we settled on an outfit similar to mine. Shirt, jacket, and pants. Although she was still miffed with my interference when it came to her getup.

I had my fun and came to a grim conclusion. With a good figure, everything looks good on a woman. Curse you Valka and cure my slow growth.

That left us only with the journey itself. No words of farewell from the commander or even Helena, both of them likely too occupied with rooting out the corruption while not stepping on any political toes. These are the worst types of jobs where rearranging a map can’t entirely solve things.

Traveling on foot would make us waste around a month just to walk the distance to the Valerian border. Time wasted on traveling is still time wasted in my eyes.

All that talk about how the journey is just as important as the goal sounds like a scam to me. It's all about the goal. You start doing something to finish it. You don't eat because the texture of the fork is nice and you like lifting it. So… walking. Yeah, we don't do that.

Turns out merchant caravans are more than happy to let renowned, elite mercenaries tag along even with two deadweights, Aka Valka and me. Which is stupid since we could kill like half the merchants here with no problem along with every noncombatant. Not that I feel like fighting any time soon. Especially not people…

That conversation went along the lines of, ‘Can we ride along?’ ‘Sure.’ And just like that the travel time got halved and we could spend our time more productively than putting one foot in front of the other. Like teaching Valka some more basic math and stuff, or in our escorts’ case eating each other's mouth constantly.

Of course, I know they are kissing and it's gross. It's like letting someone spit in your mouth while enjoying it.

“Say Val, can I ask you one thing?” I side-track our arithmetic lesson to let the brains take a breather.

“You just did.” My friend replies without looking away from my scribbles in the dirt, sitting cross-legged beside me.

We're currently stopped while lunch is being made so there's plenty of dirt to write in. A few times a day the massive bulky bison with additional pairs of legs pulling the caravan we’ve decided to accompany need a quick rest, understandably so. The carts are truly massive and packed with things I didn’t bother to check. We can stretch our legs in the back and some acceptable meals are provided and that’s all that matters.

“Okay smart-ass, then two more questions.” I declare instead of asking just to avoid further nitpicking before surprising her with a lightning math question. “ Six times seven?”

Always be prepared, math can ly in ambush around every corner.

After a second or two of contemplation, the answer is decided upon. “Forty-two”

A quick headcount of my own confirms the number and so I ask my real question. “Excellent. Lastly… I know I kind of forced you to come along and acted all selfish and didn’t respect your-” I keep on listing how shitty of a person I am.

“Yeah, yeah, I know, I got used to… you being you.” She says, with an amused look. “You’re still walking on thin ice because of that but I won’t bite your head off. You did what you deemed best for my sake.” She awkwardly scratches the back of her head. “So just get to the point.”

Okay, this isn’t exactly fair. I was selfish but in the end, it was a deal, a mutual agreement, a win-win. And I was drunk, sort of. I know it’s a bad excuse for my behavior but… yeah.

I sigh, breathing all the discomfort and hesitation out. “Despite the fact that I dragged you along, despite having no plan whatsoever about how you’ll get strong enough to free your people… I want your input on our future.” I turn to her to show my sincerity. “I’ve been chased and robbed of many things because of my Blessing and the same likely awaits you as well. I’ll be sure to grow strong enough to earn my freedom from the eyes seeing me as merely a tool.” This included the Fist and also those ordering the shadows hunting me. “But a goal alone is not enough.”

She has a strong desire in mind and the resolve to walk the path. The problem is that the journey is not only ragged but also covered in mist, changing constantly and lined with people constantly trying to kick our legs out. Winging it won’t be enough.

I’ll be there for her and hold her hand to make sure she doesn’t get lost, that’s the least I can do. But I know for a fact that being by her side forever is a delusional idea and my parents have prepared me for the same. It’s better to tackle issues like this sooner rather than later.

A few seconds pass and I’m thankful for the pause. It means Val is thinking, like, properly instead of relying on her headstrong approach like most of the time.

And when she finally glances up I see an excited glimmer in her eyes. “It’s not that complicated in my eyes.” She nods with a satisfied smile. “You know this world, the land of humans better than me. For now, I’ll be satisfied with following you and making sure you don’t kill yourself by doing something stupid.” It’s like I’m listening to Dad. “And we took on a city just fine, I don’t think we’re doing that badly.”

And that’s where she’s wrong.

“You mean a town, barely larger than a village filled with self-proclaimed crimelords and people who only ever fought each other with sticks or struggled against stray dogs for a meal?” I make sure to deliver the message. “Just think about every city you passed through after stepping off the ship. Was this one noteworthy?” It’s a rhetorical question because Solermo was a small backwater shithole of a town at best.

“So we won’t take over a city in about a year?” She asks, now a lot less confident than before and rightfully so.

“Not even close.” I chuckle. “Okay, maybe a small one. But we’re doing well and just you wait until I introduce you to the gang.”

Because there’s no way I’m giving up on going to the Academy for a few relaxing years after the past few months. I deserve a long vacation. Now that I think about it, the entrance requirement to the greatest school in Valeria is only level 60…

“I think we’re doing pretty damn well.” I repeat before both of our heads snap in the same direction.

The meal is ready.