Focusing on her again, I nodded. “I appreciate your restraint. I'm Frederick, and you are?”

Her smile finally lost its teasing note and eased into something more neutral. “Clover. It's very nice to meet you, Darling.”

The nickname rolled off her tongue like a cat's purr, squeezing something in my chest. I looked away and swallowed. “What brings you out into the storm?”

She shot me a knowing look at my clear subject shift but mercifully went with it without complaint, her stare losing the intense edge from before. “I'm searching for a rare herb that only grows in caves. Its healing power is unprecedented, but I should have known it wouldn't be in as shallow a cave as this.” She sighed, a frown replacing her smile as she stared out into the downpour. “I couldn't just sit by and do nothing, though––not while so many are suffering.”

I slid to sit against the wall across from her, my pack between my knees, and considered Clover. Thanks to the overall panic of our first meeting, I hadn't noticed just how run-down she looked. Dark bags shadowed the skin under her eyes, and a cloud of exhaustion lingered around her, potent to the point I could almost feel it in the air between us. Even her shoulders curled inward as if she carried a weight no one could possibly understand.

I'd set out with a quest to do, and logic insisted that I shouldn't get distracted from it. Not even for pretty women who looked like they needed a helping hand. But the longer I took her in, the less I cared about what was ‘logical’.

I wasn't going to face off with the Mad King or his dragon anytime soon. I'd only just started leveling my stats, and I still didn't have a weapon that could withstand the power I'd used in Dawncrest. Was there really any harm in helping people on my way?

If Beatrice had been in Clover’s place, exhausted and almost hopeless, I would want someone to help her.

That proved to be the final nudge I needed. Straightening, I spoke, cutting through the stifling silence. “Do you know of any deeper caves nearby the herb could be found?”

She jerked, as if she'd forgotten I was there at all, before recovering quickly with a nod. “There's only one that I know of, but it has four levels, not including the boss fight on the bottom floor. Five in total, and while I know some attack magic, it’s not my specialty.” She eyed me with something new––a cautious hope. “Why do you ask?”

I'd seen that same expression on dozens of others over the years. People who were used to life beating them down to the point that any kind offer, no matter how well-intended, was treated with suspicion. I didn't know what had cause her to be that cautious, but she'd soon find out that, as my siblings loved to point out, I couldn't help but offer assistance when I could.

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Keeping eye contact, I answered with a shrug. “Because if you're looking this desperately for a healing herb, that means someone is sick and probably doesn't have much time. I wouldn't want you to go into a dungeon and get hurt when I could have helped prevent it.”

Then I rubbed the back of my head and grimaced. “Though I'm only level two, to be fully honest. I'm more than happy to help, but we'll need to hunt quite a bit of provisions first and take each floor slowly.”

Her stare intensified until I could practically feel it cutting through me like a spear. I held still, waiting patiently for her to decide whether to take my offer or not. Time seemed to drag forever, until finally, she nodded. This time, the smile that curled her lips was small, and unlike the others, it was genuine.

Cautious hope grew behind her eyes as she offered her hand with a nod. “Then I believe we're in agreement. As for your level, it won't be a problem since I'm only one higher than you. Also, there are creatures in the caves that provide food, just so you're aware, but it never hurts to be prepared.”

I shook her hand, but before I could speak, her grip tightened to nearly painful levels, and she dragged me closer until our noses hovered inches apart. Her stare turned intense again, and something dangerous flashed in her tone, lethal as a knife coated in poison.

“Let's get one thing clear, though. I'm not anyone's pocket healer. I'll use my magic when and how I please. If you try to order me around, I will leave you to suffer with whatever injuries you gain. Got it?”

I swallowed around my suddenly dry throat and nodded. “Of course.”

Did people demand she heal them a lot? The thought was ludicrous, but it must be the case if she felt the need to make a point of saying that up front. Shaking the thought aside, I focused back on her.

There was a hard glint to her eyes now and, without a doubt, she wasn't bluffing. I had no intention of trying to tell her what to do with her magic and if that look was any indication, that was a good thing for my health.

She stared hard for another minute, her hold on loosening in the slightest as she weighed something. Whatever she had been searching for, she must have found it though.

After a painfully long minute of silence, she let me go and leaned back against the wall, her friendly demeanor firmly in place again as she smiled. “Good. We'll get along famously then! After the storm passes, we'll gather whatever supplies you deem necessary and set out for the cave the next day.”

I didn't mention the sudden personality shift, instead choosing to hum my agreement and stare out at the rain. I'd never had a woman be so forward before, other than Beatrice, and Clover was a different kind of forward.

She had stared with open appreciation, flirted like we'd known one another for years, and then threatened me, before jumping right back to the friendly demeanor without missing a beat. All within an hour, too!

… What did it say about me that I liked it?

Heat built along my nose and I grimaced, rubbing it absentmindedly. Something told me this journey of mine just got quite a bit more interesting…