The more things change, the more they stay the same. That was Casper's first thought as he rose to the smell of fresh food being cooked over an open fire.

Emerging from his tent, he can’t help but smile at the sight of Elisayra stealing a cut of meat from Annabelle's plate while she and Alex bicker back and forth about nothing in particular. Nephinae serves Engee a plate as she laughs along with Laihal at something Peter said to Zestra.

Once again they are traveling through the woods, eating together, laughing together. The only difference is that Casper didn’t have to hide who he is anymore.

Elisayra is the first to spot him waking up, and shouts his name to everyone, denying him the chance to emerge unseen.

“Morning sleepy head.” Alex winks.

“Did you steal my meat?!” Annabelle quickly whips around to Elisayra after looking at her slightly emptier plate

“Alex being up before you? This should be written down in the history books.” Engee teases.

“Yea yea.” Casper shakes his head and joins the woman around the fire. “I need a lot of sleep after using so much of the mark.”

“You know, there are other ways to take care of that problem?” Engee offers with an entirely innocent expression.

Casper rolls his eyes and lets the laughter and giggles of the other fill him up along with each bite of food.

Honestly, he had always expected the worst when it came to them finding out the truth. He thought they would be terrified of him, hate him, disown him, try and kill him even. It’s not as though he was too far off either, but the speed in which they came to accept him was shocking.

Then again, they had spent all of this time with him, knowing him only as Casper, the son of a dead town leader, not as a marked. They saw firsthand the kind of man he was and learned of the mark later.

Regardless of their reasons or passive apprehensions, he was glad to have them, glad to share these moments, glad that things could carry on more or less normally, and glad he didn’t have to hide anymore.

There was one minor change however, a change that had come about not because of the mark, but because of other reasons.

The sidelong glances he got from the women, the hunger in their eyes, the temptation. The way they interacted with each other too was more intimate. He knew they had all agreed to see where this road led them but he had to admit he was shocked it led to something so perverse so quickly.

Casper had expected things to take the slower road, especially given their respective histories, but really all this time of living in silent tension seemed to get them all worked up even more.

None of them had acted on these now open feelings, not in any significant way, but dammit if he couldn’t feel the palpable tension that lingered with every glance, ever passing touch, every flirtatious comment or teasing remark.

There was also still the notion that Engee may be bearing his child, and he would have to explain that to the others... it would be easier now that the secrets were out and everyone was on the same page, but still, it might be complicated when it came time to break that news.

“What's on your mind?” Annabelle asks Casper as she finishes up her plate of food, handing the empty dish back to Nephinae who cleans it with an incantation.

“Just what to do next. I know the general scope but not the specifics.”

“Killing a king is a tall order, especially the king of Getha.” She nods sagely.

“I'm sure with my power I would be able to take care of it all rather quickly, but then there is the line of succession to worry about among other things. Sure I want to rip the kingdom apart but I also don’t want every foreign nation coming to the borders to rape and pillage what's left.”

“Are you planning on ridding the world of all of its rulers? sounds ...chaotic” Alex cuts in with a musing tone.

“I could always install you as the new ruler.” Casper offers.

“Excuse you, Elisayra and I wanted to play castle.” Annabelle teases

“True true.” Casper taps a finger to his chin.

“Casper... If this is something you are serious about doing then we shouldn’t joke about it I think. Forgive me if I am out of line here but a plan of this magnitude needs some serious discussion.”

Despite their making amends and clearing the air, Alex still is visibly a little uncertain about how much power she has in this relationship. It bothers Casper, but the only way to sand down the remaining rough spots would be over time.

Casper nods his head and allows his smile to drop to a more serious expression. “You are correct Alex, forgive me. We should plan something then. We can make good time to the capital city, even more so if I scout ahead of all of you. It will be only a week or so, and when we arrive we should have a firm idea about what follows our arrival.”

At this, the other women, along with Peter and Zestra turn their attention to Casper. The laughter gives way to the sounds of the crackling fire and wind as they wait for his next words.

“This kingdom needs to go, all of it. I want it all burned so that something better can be built from the ground up. Built by the people, ruled by the people, and secured by the people. I have not lived in the heart of this kingdom long, but in my brief time around its people I am confident in saying that the rules of this kingdom have allowed monsters to prosper while the good are crushed under their boots.”

Looking around, Casper watches as their heads nod along to his words, their eyes growing hazy as memories of their own experiences surface.

“Each of you has your own area of expertise, some element of this you understand more than me, I would like to hear each of your concerns regarding my desires so that we can address them one by one.” Casper looks to Alex first, who nods her head in appreciation.

“My biggest concern at the moment is the line of succession, as we all know the kingdom's governing hierarchy is deeply embedded into the people's minds. Killing the king and the king alone will only give rise to the next in line, and the next after that, down the line to counts and lords and rich nobles who married a third cousin a generation ago. I don’t think it would behoove us to start murdering children or pregnant women either.”

“I agree, I do not want to indiscriminately kill an entire bloodline... the goal is the destruction of the kingdom's ideals... what is your proposal then?”

“The only way I can foresee the people of the kingdom changing their mindset surrounding this would be if you were to act as an occupying nation. Consider that in wartime, if an enemy takes over lands and claims them as their own, the law of the land changes obviously. You might not be a king, but it might benefit you to call yourself one after killing the sitting ruler, present yourself as an enemy nation, and turn the law of the land into something new.”

Casper scowls slightly, he had no intention nor desire to become a king, even just in name.”

“Alex is right,” Annabelle sighs, leaning back on her arms to look up at the sky. “People will fall back on what they know, in the absence of power the vacuum will fill. I have seen it play out enough times in my bandit groups. A leader dies and a new one fills the place. If you let the people fend for themselves they will just rally behind power once again. If you want to start from zero, then the best way would be to take over the kingdom, strip everyone of rank and title, and enforce the new law of the land, being that everyone is equal.”

Putting it that way, Casper could see it a bit easier, but still, the title of a king was not something he wanted to worry about.

Then again, between his personal feelings and desired results, it would be fine to bear the burden of that title if it meant he could create the world he wanted to see.

“I understand, I think we should move forward with the assumption that we will be acting as an occupying nation, as much as I don’t want to, calling myself king will give the best results so that's what we can do.”

“I have a concern.” Elisayra raises her hand.

“Yes?”

“Even if you take over, and call yourself a king, there is still a lot of prejudice around slaves, half races, lesser races, and so on. I don’t think you can change peoples minds just by forcing them to be obey your new laws...”

Laihal nods along in agreement. “I couldn’t have said it better myself.”

“That's a good point. That unfortunately won't be able to change in a day, or even a year. It might take generations before we can cut away at those ideas, but I think I have an idea that would accelerate the process slightly.”

Casper watches as their minds work to figure out his magical solution.

“The dislike of the “lesser” races or half races stemmed from two primary ideas, one is the dogma pushed by the kingdom and taught in their schools and passed down. Dogma is perpetuated by the laws of the land. If we free the slaves they will still be treated as slaves. However, the treatment of a person can help define their position. If we free the slaves, but also provide them with ample opportunity to provide and help themselves and their communities and grow, it will force the others to see how useful they are. To be seen as useful and necessary might not make them be liked, but it can help get the ball rolling.”

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Casper looks out beyond the camp, towards the east. His superior senses had been picking up on activity far away for a while, and now seemed the best opportunity to reveal that.

“Furthermore, the kingdom has been waging war against the splintered factions for years now. The people of this kingdom see them as an enemy, but what if we could put a stop to that?”

“How would we achieve such a feat?” Nephinae asks curiously, her own attention trying to follow Casper's deeper into the woods.

“We are very close to the front. It's been a few days so I wouldn’t be surprised if word has reached that the Duke is dead and his city destroyed. The “enemy” must have caught wind of this, because a group of forward scouts has been stalking through the woods to the east for a while now. What if I were to speak to the “enemy.” this shattered faction of freedom fighters? What if I told them of my plans, and got them to parlay with the kingdom's forces. If we can broker a peace deal between these two armies, put an end to the fighting, we can portray the “lesser” races as kind, wise, tactful and willing to compromise.”

“Broker a peace deal? Casper, I mean you no offense at all but could you really do something like that on your own?” Alex asks.

“Not at all, that is why I would need all of your help. If this is a plan we can move forward with, I would ask the rest of you to deal with the kingdom's forces. You are all capable, you all represent me. If I kill the king and only the king, then rise to power with the rest of you, your faces will be known by the kingdom's military. It might aid us, give us credit, among some other boons I'm sure.”

“It's rather devious... but I think something like that might work well.” Alex agrees.

“Is the time it will take be worth it?” Annabelle sits forward once again, her mind deadly focused on the possibility of seeing this mission through.

“There is no one in the kingdom who can stop me, and the only thing I have to lose is you all. We have nothing but time. That being the case we should try and quell as much chaos as possible. If we go out and kill the king, who is to say this military doesn’t try and foolishly retake the capital? I would prefer not to kill a bunch of farmers and boys who are doing what they think is right. If we do it this way, we stand a chance at having a relatively peaceful coup.

A pang of guilt radiates from Casper's chest then. The plan he was concocting sounded very similar to what Rathiel had wanted, a plan that probably would have gone better had the man not turned on him.

He hated that he had to kill him, but between the lives of his loved ones and the life of a man he respected, he had to choose his loved ones. It was horrible, that a moment of fear and weakness brought about their division. They could have done a lot of incredible work together, but alas it was too late for that.

Casper was not so thick-skilled as to dismiss Rathiel's ideas, burning down the entire kingdom was his goal but that didn’t mean he was going to kill everyone in the process. A controlled burn was just as acceptable.

“You mentioned that forward scouts are in the woods?” Laihal asks, joining Nephinae in trying to sense them.

“Right, they are still miles out, it would be a few days of a detour to reach them, but I think that is our best bet.”

“What is your plan for getting them to cooperate?” Elisayra adds.

“They would never, I look like a normal human, they would never trust me... Which is why I have a different plan in mind.”

“Well, don’t keep us waiting.” Alex chuckles.

“I will let them capture me. Myself and Elisayra can take one of the horses and head off in that direction. With torn-up, clothes and skipping a bath or two, it would be very believable to anyone that we are running from the destruction of the city. The enemy forces would likely capture us for information. If they are smart they will take us back to their camp for further questioning, especially with Elisayra. I can claim she is my daughter or something, sympathy for half-races and half-race sympathizers and all that. Once in their base of operations I will secure an audience with someone in charge.”

“You make it sound easy... the general of an army would never sit down to talk with a prisoner,” Alex notes, and Annabelle silently nods her agreement.

“True, but I'm not just any old prisoner, am I? Once I'm in their cells I can reveal I'm marked. The other races view the marked as special, not as monsters. I am practically a walking divine super weapon to them. Surely someone high up would be interested then.”

“Very true... I can attest that if you were to reveal you are marked to an elf, they would almost certainly wish to share you with their leadership.” Nephinae confirms.

“Worst case scenario, I simply walk to the leadership. It isn’t as though anyone can stop me.” Casper shrugs and smiles at the understanding nods.

“As for the rest of you, traveling with Engee will protect you from most everything, though I trust the rest of you can handle your own. It would be best if Peter doesn’t join you, however. I get the impression the leadership would want to talk to him because the rest of you are all women... I want the leadership to know you are women, and in control.”

“What would you have me do then?” Peter asks, finally making his voice heard.

“I would like for you and Zestra to continue onward towards the Capital, do some forward scouting if you could. Keep an eye on what's going on and have a report ready for our arrival, take a few thousand coins as well to secure yourself food and lodging and whatever else you need.”

Peter nods his understanding.

“When should we put this plan in motion?” Annabelle asks.

“Let's spend the rest of the day together, I don't want to split up so soon, but we can leave to go our separate ways in the morning.”

Noises of understanding rise from the others.

“Until then, let's enjoy ourselves.” Casper smiles and stretches, eager to get off the serious planning topic and into the more lighthearted conversation he was used to.

Everyone else was equally eager it seemed. The moment Casper finished stretching the tension in the air dropped. Smiles returned to faces and the passive drone of a dozen conversations filled the space between them all.

It felt good to be so relaxed, to be surrounded by friends, surrounded by nature. Maybe once all of this was done he would make good on his desire to start his own town, far away from everything.

The night carries on, and the girls carry on with it. Despite the early tensions, they are all much closer now. Even Annabelle, who he worried would have the hardest time coming to terms with the makeup of their little group.

Nephinae takes up a seat beside Casper then, joining him as he watches them all talk.

“You don’t care to join the others?”

Casper stifles a chuckle and shakes his head. “I am fine just watching them all have a good time.”

“They would want you to enjoy yourself as well, you know.”

“I know, and I am having a good time.” Casper turns to look Nephinae in the eyes.

Her mask of professionalism has dropped, as it has been doing more and more frequently, but she was still a hard woman to read. Her eyes revealed nothing, only the faint trace of a smile gave the impression she wasn’t upset but nothing more beyond that.

“The kiss I stole from you on the ship, did it bother you?”

The sudden shift in topic gives Casper pause for a moment, a moment Nephinae almost takes and runs with.

“No, It didn’t bother me. It was very sweet.” He quickly admits, trying to prevent a misunderstanding.

“I was unsure if it was the right decision...”

“Are you still unsure about it? Is that why you asked?”

“Partially.”

“I hope you didn’t do it because it's what you thought I wanted...” Casper's concern quickly grows, the building fear that things weren’t as simple as he hoped, a fear quickly squashed by Nephinae’s gentle smile.

“I did it because it is what I wanted to do, because... I... well, my feelings are hard to describe, unfortunately.”

“We all agreed to see where this path led us, didn’t we? You don’t have to describe anything to me.” Casper chuckles, trying to disarm the growing tension between them, though it didn’t seem to work very well.

“All of this is so incredibly new to me... between my feelings for you, for Alex, I must admit Casper I have no idea what I am doing and it worries me greatly. My biggest fear is that I will make a fool of myself, or worse ruin these feelings.”

Without giving the elf time to think, Casper places a hand on the back of her head and pulls their foreheads together.

Nephinae gasps, almost pulls away but regains her composure and leans into the movement.

Casper lets their foreheads rest together for a moment, feeling the warmth of her closeness.

“I don’t know what the hell I'm doing either... This is just as strange for me as it is for you I imagine...”

“How do you keep your composure?”

“I don’t, I'll just hide it all really well.”

“That is equal parts reassuring and frightening.”

“It’s the truth though. I don’t know what's going on or how to deal with any of it. The prospect of burning a nation down feels far more achievable than navigating this road with all of you.”

“I feel very much the same...”

“Good to know I’m not the odd one out here.”

“So what do we do?”

“We... do what feels right.” Casper leans in and presses his lips to Nephinae’s.

The full elf woman graciously accepts him, allowing their lips to interlock.

She melts in his arms, her body going half limp as her mouth works, her tongue tests, and her eyes clench tight, lost in the moment.

Casper breathes her in, allowing his hands to work through her hair to massage her scalp and feel the pressure of her body against his.

It's a sweet, tender thing, free of lust or the heat of the mark. It is a quiet moment, witnessed only by the trees and the few stars that manage to peek through the canopy.

Casper pulls away and smiles as he watches Nephinae's face light up a familiar reddish-pink color, all the way to the tips of her pointed ears.

“Casper, is it really okay to have these feelings? For you? For Alex?”

“It is.”

“Do you really mean that” Nephinae’s hand grazed Casper's, delicate, testing. Casper takes the moment to grab them himself, clasping her fingers around his own.

“Nephinae, it is absolutely okay. I promise you.” He searches her expression, an expression that finally reveals a little more.

Uncertainty, anxiety, nervous anticipation, curiosity, all floating to the surface.

“I will be going again soon... use that time to feel things out with her. I assure you it is all okay with me. Hell, if you decide you want her and only her, by all means.

“I couldn’t abandon you...”

“You wouldn’t be abandoning me.” Casper chuckles but stops himself as Nephinae puffs out her cheeks in mild frustration.

“I know I do not show it and rarely speak of it. I have been silently infatuated with you for some time, but unable to do anything about it. My sudden showing of affection may seem forced or strange to you but I promise the way I have felt about you has been persistent, growing, and heavy on my soul for a while now... this is not sudden to me. I... do not think I could handle myself if we were to continue being close but no longer share this closeness”

Nephinae leans in and initiates the next kiss, this one filled with far more passion. She is hungry, hungry to be close, to feel this part of Casper, to become lost in the emotions their lips bring.

It’s Casper's turn to be lost, as her hands dance across his back, tangle in his hair, caress his neck.

He could stay like this forever, but she breaks away as soon as he feels his mind begins to drift.

“Do you understand?”

“I do...” Casper confirms, smiling, licking her sip from his lower lips.

“I am grateful.” Nephinae stands, allowing her hands to linger on Casper for a moment before breaking their closeness. “Please understand though... I do not think I will be comfortable providing much more than a kiss... you see I-”

“Nephinae, It’s totally alright. We can go at your pace.”

A trace of relief washes over her then, and her smile widens. “Thank you.”

“No need to thank me.” Casper quickly dismissed. “Now, go back to the others.”

“I will do just that.”

“And Nephinae, if you ever need that reassurance, or confirmation about my own feelings, it’s perfectly fine to ask.”

“Truly?”

“Of course.”

“Then... Do you think you could tell me? Exactly how you feel about me?” Nephinae blushes more. She brings her arms behind her and tries to stop the faint swaying of her body.

“I think you are beautiful, kind, intelligent, and elegance incarnate, I really look forward to being able to grow closer to you.”

Nephinae’s smile widens, and her swaying can no longer be contained, however she quickly walks away to hide her moment of girlish delight at his words.

Casper wished he could offer more, but the truth was he barely knew her. Nephinae may have been observing him for a time, but he had only rare moments to speak with her. The moments they did she he enjoyed, and her council was always invaluable.

He looked forward to seeing where this road led him, and how it would all connect in the end.

Casper supposed he could always try and look to the future, but man did it give him a headache. He would save future sight for Engee...

For now he knew one thing, that he didn’t have to hide from the people he loved, and even if that was all this ever was, he would be happy.

If the only thing at the end of the road was friendship, he would be content.

Though given how Alex was eyeing him from the other side of the camp, her own face blushing, as well as the sway of Laihal's hips, the child in Engee’s womb, Annabelle's teasing expression and Elisayra’s pursing lips, he didn’t need to use his ability to tell things would be heating up in the future.