Shite. Shite. Shite. Renault ducked around a corner, poking his head out as he watched the guards run past. Of course those idiot soldiers and gone to the guard after he humiliated them. He’d expected them to try to jump him though, not go whining to the guards. He hadn’t even hurt them. Why were they so upset?

He needed to get out of the city. Quickly. His thoughts tuned to the red-head from a few hours ago. She’d asked him to accompany her, that she’d needed a companion and she clearly wanted company, even if she hadn’t said that herself. Traveling the road alone was dangerous, even for someone as amazing as he was.

The wench was absolutely tiny. She’d be a snack for the first denizen that came across her. What kind of man would he be if he allowed that to happen? It would be a classic case of a damsel in distress and he’d be her knight in shining armor.

He’d have to get past the guards that were looking for him en mass first. That wouldn’t be too difficult. He would just need to keep to the back alleys to avoid them. The real issue would be actually finding where she went. She hadn’t said where she was headed.

He could really go to each gate and hope he’d find her there. She wouldn’t be leaving until morning, the gates of the city were closed at night, and surely she wouldn’t be crazy enough to try to sneak over the walls just to leave a few hours early. At least, he hoped she wouldn’t be.

He paused and darted into an alcove as another regiment of guards strolled past, their eyes sharp as they looked around. Renault didn’t move a muscle as they walked by and then slipped back onto the path.

It was going to be a long night.

Eventually, the guards gave up looking for him, or seemed to anyway. He hadn’t seen any in close to an hour. He made his way towards the roads that held most of the inns and taverns. If he stayed there then there was a good chance he’d catch the tiny red head as she left wherever she was staying.

He leaned against one of the walls and pulled the large, woven straw hat over his face to hide his features.

Kenshin materialized at his side. His Spirit didn’t say anything, the oni mask covering his lower face prevent Renault from seeing what he was thinking, not that he needed that to know what Kenshin thought; he could feel that just fine, and it was bemusement at Renault’s expense.

“What’s so funny?” Renault asked.

“Nothing at all. You are going through a lot of hoops to convince yourself to help that girl. Just admit that you are intrigued and wish to help her.” Kenshin glanced at him.

“That’s not the case. I just want to make sure she doesn’t get herself killed. Why would I be intrigued? What makes you think she’s so special?” Renault shook his head.

“You’ve never cared about that before, so I doubt it’s that. You think that someone as small as she is, that has a fire Spirit, and is willing to take on orcs, is intriguing.” Kenshin placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. “There have been rumors floating around of orc encampments being burnt to the ground and everyone inside massacred. You want to find out if it’s her or not.”

“Aye, and so what?” Renault rolled his eyes.

“Just wanted you to admit it.” Kenshin faded from sight.

Renault shook his head and stared up at the sky. The sun was starting to peak over the walls. Red flashed in the corner of his eye. He turned and smiled when he saw the small wench stepping out of an inn, a pack much too large for her nestled onto her back. She headed for the southern gate of the city.

He slipped into a small crowd of people that were headed i the same direction. It was a bit difficult to make sure she didn’t veer off in another direction. There were a few people that were taller than he was in the crowd and the bastards kept stepping in front of him.

They reached the gate and he disentangled himself from the crown and made his way towards her. “Oi, wench!”

She didn’t stop, just kept walking. He gave a frustrated sigh and picked up his pace. “Wench! With the red hair!”

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This time, she did stop. She turned, her brows furrowed as she looked for him. He stopped a few feet from her. “Let’s get out of here.”

She blinked and tilted her head to the side, confusing marring her features. She crinkled her nose when she was confused, it was kind of cute. He banished that thought immediately. He didn’t have the time for ‘cute’.

“I’m sorry? I was under the impression that you weren’t coming with me because I couldn’t pay you?” She asked.

“Aye, I changed my mind.” While the guards had stopped actively searching for him, that didn’t mean he wouldn’t get arrested if they saw him.

“Right, come on.” He started to walk past her.

He glanced behind him to see that she was only just now starting to follow him.

“Stop!”

Renault’s step faltered when he didn’t recognize the voice. He turned, searching for the voice and his stomach dropped. That was a Steel Warden. Time to go. Now.

The wench had stopped as well and had even turned towards the massive man headed for them. He didn’t have time for this shite. He stalked back to her and grabbed her arm.

He barely had time to let her go before he was being swarmed with flaming butterflies.

He didn’t panic. That yell and the flailing of his arms was just to make others who may possibly see this and be attacked by butterflies feel about about their own panic.

“Fuck! Oi! Call them off! Fuck! My hair!” His words, too, were just to make others feel better about themselves.

The Warden ran up to them, the heavy clanking of metal barely cutting through the thumping and roaring in his ears. A solid slap sounded and the butterflies disappeared.

He wasn’t sure when his sword had gotten in his hand, he didn’t recall unsheathing it. He carefully put it back and turned a glare on the red-headed wench. Going with her was a bad idea. What had he been thinking? She didn’t have any kind of control of her Spirit, did she?

“The fuck was that for?” He demanded. He could smell his hair burning and there were small burns scattered across his arms and hands.

“I’m sorry for hitting you. I couldn’t think of anything else to do, are you okay Miss Mina?” The Warden asked.

They knew each other? Didn’t matter. He was still a Warden.

There was something about all of the Steel Wardens. All of them was absolutely huge, not a single one under six foot five, and just as broad. They all were ridiculously polite, and he didn’t think he’d ever seen one that wasn’t in full plate armor.

He had his suspicions, but it was so damned unlikely that he didn’t often entertain the thought. He had far more pressing things to worry about, like the bitch that just tried to burn him alive with fucking butterflies.

“I’m…I’m fine.” The wench shook her head and then looked towards Renault. “I’m sorry, Renault. I…I don’t like being touched.”

“You don’t like being touched? That’s your excuse for trying to turn me bald?” Hell no, he wasn’t going to admit that he could have easily died from that if the big man hadn’t snapped her out of whatever that was.

Shite. His hat! He pulled it off of his head and examined it closely. It had a few scorch marks, but was otherwise none the worse for wear.

The wench’s entire body tense and she glared at him. “I said I was sorry! The fuck else do you want?”

“A fucking explanation to start off would be good,” he snarled.

“Perhaps we should talk this ou–” The Warden was cut off by the wench.

“I told you. I don’t like being touched. I don’t owe you anymore explanation that that,” she shot back.

Renault scoffed and turned his back on her. “Do that shite again and I’ll fucking leave you high and dry.”

He glanced over his shoulder at the Warden standing at her shoulder, a traveling pack slung across his shoulder thant Renault hadn’t noticed. “Besides, seems like the damned Warden wants to go with you, so don’t think you need me anymore.”

“Would you stop pushing people away? How are you supposed to make friends like this?”

He ignored Kenshin’s words in his head. He didn’t have time to deal with his Spirit’s zen bullshit right now.

“It would be safer if I went with you,” the Warden said.

“Aye, see, so you don’t need me anymore.”

She looked between the two of them, and he could see the thoughts going through her head. She was trying to figure out if two were better than one. She wouldn’t need to pay the fucking Warden, not if he was offering to go with her.

“Wouldn’t it be safer if we all traveled together?” she asked.

Renault arched his brow and crossed his arms over his chest. There was a chance the big guy wouldn’t always be able to protect her, and well, if that happened, he’d be there to swoop in and save the day. The bragging rights he’d get from that, that he’d saved someone a Warden hadn’t been able to would be absolutely amazing. He also definitely wasn’t considering this because hew as still intrigued by the tiny slip of a woman. Not at all.

Fuck it.

“Aye, fine. Any thrones you get I’m taking a cut of as payment.”

She nodded. “I’m fine with that considering it’s what I offered to begin with.”