Liliana was woken the next day by a face full of fox kisses. Groaning and rubbing her eyes she looked around the campsite. It was well past morning, the sun shone freely onto them. Liliana groaned as she sat up, gently pushing aside Polaris as she did. Her head wasn’t pounding as badly this morning, and her leg felt like it had healed during her sleep. Health regeneration was truly a miracle, if unstopped by a debuff like bleeding, infected, poisoned, or such it could take care of anything.

A check of her Mana showed it was full and her debuff had expired, meaning she’d slept over the 9 hours that had been left. Confusion filled her that she hadn’t been woken up for a watch by Polaris or Emyr. Remembering Emyr was like a shot of caffeine in her system. Her mind shook off the cobwebs clinging to it. Fear was the first emotion she felt. Fear that Emyr would leave and tell her father about what had happened. That he’d tell the Duchess of how she’d behaved and she’d find herself dragged back to the manor by a squad of Guards like a criminal. Fear that her freedom would be permanently stripped from her and she’d become nothing more than a living doll trapped in a gilded cage until her stepmother finally killed her.

The second emotion she felt was anger. Anger that Emyr could elicit such emotions in her. Anger at the thought that he’d run back to the manor and tell the Duke and Duchess and sentence her to a slow death. Anger that despite all she’d been through, the thought of the Duke and Duchess could still fill her with more fear than she’d felt facing down the wolves.

Looking around the campsite Liliana felt the fear and anger surge higher when she couldn’t find Emyr. The fire was banked, only a few weak embers were left alive. The pile of pelts and Mana cores was still there, unmoved from the night before. Her pack and weapons were left where they had rested. Yet the noble boy was nowhere to be seen.

“Did he leave?” Liliana whispered, voice filled with horror. Polaris yipped and twisted in a circle before freezing and pointing to a patch of shadows to her left. Relief slammed into her so hard she nearly fell over from it. A small laugh erupted from her lips and she shook her head. So he was back to stalking her from the shadows then.

“You gonna come out?” Liliana called, looking at the shadows Polaris had pointed to. Several moments passed with no response and Liliana sighed, shrugging her shoulders.

“Fine, just stay out of my way,” Liliana called out as she grabbed her pack and pulled out bread and fruit for breakfast. She needed to address her stat point allocation, then take stock of what she had left after that fight.

She looked over her stats for several minutes. Her biggest issue the day before had been her lack of Mana. She had run out too often. If she’d had more she would’ve been able to damage the Wolves far more before she ever had to fight them head-on. She may have even been able to kill more of them. Her magic was her best long-range advantage at the moment. She had performed so poorly with Archery that Silas had sworn to never let her near a bow ever again. So magic was the only way she could keep anything too far above her level away from her.

She dropped 8 points into Wisdom and 2 into Intelligence. The remaining 4 points she placed in Charisma. She would be facing the Cheshire beast soon and if yesterday had taught her anything it was she couldn’t fight it. Nothing she did to her stats today would have any effect physically on something so far beyond her level. Her only hope was that her Charisma would be high enough to let her form a Bond with the creature.

Double-checking her allocation Liliana nodded and finalized it.

Status Sheet

Name

Liliana Rosengarde

Age

14

Level

39

Class

Dancer

Race

Human

Rank

8

Health

650

H-Regen

+6.5/1.1sec

Mana

700

M-Regen

+6.5/1.1sec

Stamina

900

S-Regen

+9/1.1sec

Magic Power

730

Magic Control

740

Experience: 17,440/160,000

Vitality

66

Endurance

90

Strength

70

Dexterity

78 (85)

Wisdom

70

Intelligence

65

Speed

112 (124)

Charisma

95

Unallocated Stat Points: 0

Looking over her depleted items Liliana frowned. She wasn’t going to turn back, not after she’d nearly died for this. But she’d need to be careful going forward. She’d only have her [Regeneration] to recover her Health and nothing to recover Mana other than her natural regen rate. Liliana carefully packed up her items, rolling up her sleeping roll and placing it on top under her tent. Standing Liliana tested her leg, when it held her weight with no pain she smiled. She grabbed her naginata and checked that her daggers were still in place.That part finished Liliana dismissed the screen and grabbed her pack. She pulled out everything in it, counting out what she had left. She winced when she finished. She had another one meal of venison left, five more loaves of bread, six blocks of cheese, and six apples. Two filled water skins and three empty ones. Her map and compass were intact, thankfully. She had nine pain tinctures left and five wound poultices. She was completely out of Mana and Health tinctures. She’d used all of them the day before.

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All of her items set Liliana looked to the next issue, the items from the wolves. Liliana set to putting the pelts and cores in her spacial bag. She barely managed to fit the pelts in there with the rest of her items, and she wouldn’t be adding anything extra to it during this trip unless she was willing to get rid of something else. Liliana shot a suspicious group of shadows a glare. She knew Emyr had to have a spatial item on him, he could’ve taken some of the pelts while she was asleep to make it easier on her. But of course, she couldn’t expect a noble to do such a thing.

Liliana double-checked her map and compass, she could see the road from the campsite which helped orientate her. With a last lingering glare at the shadows, Liliana set off, Polaris dancing at her heels. Happy and carefree, as if they hadn’t both nearly died the day before. Liliana smiled wanly at the fox’s antics, a specter of fear hadn’t left her entirely from the event. She still felt like Death was waiting around every corner, ready to take what had been stolen from him. Yet even the ghost of Death itself was a poor opponent to a fox’s happy yips and Liliana felt a brighter smile slip into place as she watched Polaris chasing butterflies.

We survived. It was barely, and mostly a result of luck and my stubbornness. But we’re still here. This doesn’t change my plans. If anything, I know now how pitifully weak I am, despite the progress I’ve made. I can barely handle myself out on my own only a few days from home. I need to become stronger. Quickly. I have to Bond that Cheshire, it’s the only option. Liliana thought, resolve strengthening in her chest as she mentally recounted the battle.

She kept some of her attention on the area around her, not wanting to be caught in a surprise attack, but the majority of her mind was devoted to going through the fight. Silas had taught her to always recount her fights, what you did right. What you learned about your opponent. And most importantly, what you did wrong.

I should’ve spaced out my Mana potions more. Given time for my Regen to help bolster it. Downing so many at once helped me get that debuff, and also meant I had less firepower than I could’ve. It was hard, to admit what you did wrong. It was even worse to replay the memories, so fresh and raw. Even knowing it was over Liliana could still feel her heartbeat quickening, her body still a victim to leftover fear.

I panicked, it clouded my thoughts through most of the fight. That Wolf got me because I wasn’t paying proper attention to my feet. I was fast enough to keep them from hurting me, but they did because of my mistake. Liliana’s gaze was drawn to her leg, where the ripped leather swung like tattered ribbons against her calf. A very visual reminder of her wound. A wound that left no other trace on her body, completely erased by her Health regeneration.

I should also learn first aid, if the wound was worse I could’ve died waiting to be able to use [Regeneration], Liliana winced at that. She hadn’t even considered first aid training, not in a world with magic. It was becoming increasingly obvious that all her problems couldn’t be solved with magic, however. She was lucky she learned that now, rather than when it could’ve been truly fatal.

Liliana spent the next few hours reviewing the fight as best she could. Giving herself points to improve, though she was sure when she told Silas of the fight he’d come up with another ten things she should’ve done differently. The only thing that interrupted her thorough introspection was when she crossed the mile marker that was closest to the Cheshire beast’s territory.

The afternoon had come and twilight was on its tail as Liliana paused at the marker, pulling out her map once more. She had drawn out where she estimated the creature's territory to be, based on the small bit of information they’d gleaned. She had added the information she’d found out about the most likely Cheshire types and their territory habits from the Bestiary, giving her a rough estimate of where the beast could be.

The only issue was that large creatures like this could have territories miles wide, far too much for her to canvas alone. Liliana’s eyes trailed to Polaris, who was currently trying to chase down a field mouse it would seem. Liliana’s lips twitched into a half-smile as she watched the fox pounce, finally catching his prey. Immediately Polaris looked up as if he had been making a show of it all just for her.

“Good job!” Liliana called out to him and the fox puffed up, grabbing his prey in his mouth and trotting around like a furry little king. Liliana chuckled as she shook her head. Looking around Liliana started to walk towards a clear area that seemed to have been used as a campsite previously, she had noticed it was more likely to find them close to the mile markers. With practiced efficiency from her training and the past few days, Liliana set up her camp.

Night had truly fallen by the time she had a fire going and food on her lap, the map out again as she looked over it. Polaris was beside her, eating his own meal of a rather fat squirrel he’d caught at some point.

“Think you can track it?” Liliana asked the fox, eyes meeting his amber ones. The fox gave her a look that could only be called affronted, as odd as it looked on his vulpine features.

“Okay, okay. I was just being careful,“ Liliana soothed but Polaris still seemed a bit insulted that she’d insinuated he couldn’t track the beast she sought. Liliana smiled as she looked back at the map. She had finally made it to the area, all that was left was to actually find the creature.

Well, and to Bond it and not die in the process. But that was an issue for tomorrow’s Liliana.

“Have you smelled it yet?” Liliana asked next and Polaris gave a quick yip, shaking his head. The motion was bizarre coming from a fox, but he’d learned it from her. It was still astounding to see the effects even a simple contract could have on a creature.

“Makes sense, we’re barely into where I’ve estimated it to be,” Liliana murmured as her finger trailed the outline she’d drawn.

“It?” A voice called out and Liliana’s eyes flicked up as Emyr appeared from the shadows, much to her irritation. She was glad he was still around, if only because it meant he wasn’t at the manor telling The Duke and Duchess about her adventure. However, she’d much prefer for him to stay in the shadows, where she didn’t have to deal with him.

Liliana didn’t answer him, instead meeting the curiosity in his eyes with a cold glare of her own. Emyr didn’t seem bothered by it as he sat down across from her, the fire between them.

“Are you looking for something?“ Emyr asked next and Liliana’s eyes narrowed as she rolled up her map and put it away. Far from his too-curious eyes.

“Does it matter to you?“ Liliana retorted. Emyr raised an eyebrow at her question, but still, he didn’t seem upset by her tone.

It was frustrating to no end, Liliana kept expecting him to act a certain way based on her memories. Yet he seemed dedicated to subverting her expectations at every turn. He was supposed to hate her, to not care about what she did. Yet he’d followed her from the manor. He’d saved her. She knew in the game Emyr was loyal to his friends and curious. There were some things you couldn’t find in the game without playing him because he could open up new side quests with his curious nature.

Yet that image clashed violently with her memories from the original Liliana. She remembered a cold boy, who had never been curious about her. Never been interested. He had sat back and watched as Alistair tormented her, never saying a word against his friend's actions. A bystander, one of the worst types. Seeing an injustice but never doing anything about it.

This is making my head hurt. He’s like the memories, but not. He’s like the game, but not. He’s just enough the same to one or the other to cause me to have expectations and assumptions. Then different enough to throw me off. I don’t like this, Liliana glared harder at the boy, who was at fault for her current mental state. She should be focusing on getting her Bond, not mentally trying to figure out some noble brat destined to kill her.

“Well since I’m coming with you, I should at least know what we’re doing,“ Emyr answered as if it was obvious. His answer was shocking enough that Lilian lost her glare.

He…thinks that he is owed an explanation? Liliana thought, anger beginning to fill her truly at the arrogance.

“I didn’t ask you to come! You made that choice all on your own! I don’t owe you shit,” Liliana hissed, eyes flashing. Still, Emyr didn’t seem bothered by her behavior, if anything he seemed to grow more curious.

“If I hadn’t come, you’d be dead,” Emyr stated, his words like a bucket of ice to Liliana. Immediately her anger died at the reminder. She did owe him for saving her life.

“I’m after the Cheshire,“ Liliana bit out, each word tasting like ash. Like defeat. Finally, though, something she said seemed to throw Emyr off. His eyes widened, blinking in surprise.

“To kill it?” He asked, tone disbelieving. Liliana smirked, she’d gotten his tone to break. Finally threw the ‘great’ Emyr Bealstal off. It was a sweet victory, even if it was born of loss.

“No,” Liliana answered, refusing further elaboration. He didn’t need to know. In her mind, her side of the deal was over as soon as she told him what she was after.

“Then…” Emyr trailed off, his eyes considering as his gaze fell on Polaris. Understanding brightened the dark gray of his eyes and an eyebrow rose once more.

“You want to Bond it,” he said, utterly certain in his answer. Liliana grimaced, she’d hoped he wouldn’t figure it out just so she could hold it over him.

“That’s still insane, it’s two ranks ahead of you. Do you have any idea how unlikely a bond like that is?” he asked, and his tone set something off in Liliana. That assumption that she was still weak. Still the same pitiful little girl who had followed him and her brother around begging for scraps of attention.

“95,” Liliana spit the words out at him as her hands tightened into fists. Emyr paused, confused at the seemingly random word. Liliana could see him trying to figure out the riddle.

“My Charisma is 95 right now. Tell me, is that enough for you, My Lord?” Liliana’s voice was doused in poison as the words dripped from her words. Emyr was once more surprised, and Liliana reveled in the expression. Perhaps it wasn’t such a bad thing for him to have come out of hiding today. If only because it meant she got that emotionless mask of his to break.

“You have a chance then. Even so, this is reckless. You’re either insane or suicidal. Perhaps both,” Emyr seemed to recover from his shock, and if Liliana didn’t know better she’d say she detected concern in his tone. She knew better though, someone like Emyr wouldn’t be concerned about her. She was his newest puzzle to figure out, an enjoyable temporary distraction.

“Perhaps, “Liliana shrugged at his words. Suicidal wasn’t true, if nothing else she was not willing to throw this life away. As bad as it might be, it was hers. And she’d make the best of it she could. Insane was a possibility, she’d certainly gone through enough to make any normal person break.

“Do you think I’m insane?” Liliana asked Polaris with a smirk, as she turned to look at the fox she could see trace bits of frustration on Emyr’s face at her apparent disregard of his warnings. The fox looked at her for a long moment before he stood and walked to her, snuffling her face before giving it a lick and sitting back. The fox turned a look to Emyr and gave him what could be described as a vulpine smile.

“Well Polaris doesn’t think I’m insane, and I value his opinion far more than yours,“ Liliana shrugged her shoulders and stretched out. Tiredness hung heavy on her limbs and eyes and she was quite done with the conversation. She stood and moved towards her tent.

“You take first watch again,” She threw over her shoulder, not bothering to check if it was okay with him. She opened her tent and dropped her bag in, laying her naginata beside the bedroll.

“My name's Emyr,” a voice called out behind her and for a moment her movements stilled.

“I’m aware,” Liliana responded, her tone tired. She didn’t have any more energy for this.

“Then use it,” He responded. Liliana turned, tired irritation rising. He was gone though, vanished back into the shadows.

Grumbling about spoiled noble brats Liliana gave up and flopped into her bedroll.