Joan parried Qakog’s rapier away with the flat of her own blade, making it veer off and away from her. He was fast. Deadly fast. She couldn’t help being a tiny bit annoyed at just how fast he was.

She mentally gave a small thank you to her little spider lich friend, though. Because that thing had been even faster. Her amplification of her body was allowing her to easily keep up with his movements and parry them aside with ease, only to step past him a moment later.

What annoyed Joan, however, was that this was his default speed. He was this fast and strong naturally, she had to expend her magic in order to keep up. She hated that about demons, they just never fought fair. He was already stronger and faster than most human adults could ever hope to be and once he grew up fully he was going to be a terror. She just hoped she could keep up.

On the other hand, when she parried his next strike and then stepped in, kicking her left foot out and catching his ankle, knocking his feet out from under him and making him face plant on the ground with a rough, pained grunt, she felt a strong feeling of satisfaction. To ensure he didn’t get up too quickly she then kicked down, driving him into the ground. “I-I yield,” Qakog said with a groan.

Joan barely suppressed the urge to snicker. “You sure? We can go again if you like.”

“My future bride is truly a sight to behold,” Qakog said with a low groan.

“Joan, don’t bully him,” Bauteut said with a roll of her eyes. “It’s not a good look for you.”

“Fiiiiine,” Joan said before holding out her hand to him. “It was fun, though. You’ve gotten better.” Oh, he was going to be a total monster when he was older, she wasn’t looking forward to that. But she was going to enjoy this while it lasted.

“Joan?” Qakog asked, staring up at her. “What’s wrong?”

“What? Nothing,” Joan said quickly. Before she could look away he took her hand. She quickly pulled him to his feet, trying to brush it off.

“But you looked so sad,” Qakog said, staring down at her. “Please, tell me what’s wrong.”

“Nothing,” Joan said quickly before looking to Bauteut, giving her a pleading look.

Bauteut gave a sigh before getting to her feet. “She’s just overthinking things, it’s what Joan does. Trust me. If we got panicked every time she looked sad or worried, we’d all break down in a week.”

“If I am not an adequate warrior, please tell me,” Qakog said.

“It’s not you, it’s me,” Joan said before rolling her eyes. “You’re fine. You’re going to become amazing one day. I just won’t.”

Qakog just stared at her before turning towards Bauteut. “I don’t understand.”

“She’s got self confidence issues,” Bauteut said.

“She’s already amazing, though,” Qakog said. “She’s one of the greatest warriors I know.”

“She focuses only on what she can’t do against things she might have to deal with in the future,” Bauteut said.

“I’m right here, you know,” Joan said, her cheeks burning red. “I’m not going to be amazing, though. I--”

“You know, you always talk about how you’re going to not be amazing when you grow up,” Bauteut said. “You’re already pretty amazing by everyone else’s standards. Maybe you will be.”

“I’ve seen the things we’ll be going against,” Joan said. “The Chosen already far outstrip me.”

“So?” Qakog asked. “You already far outstrip most. You’re only going to become more impressive.”

Joan rolled her eyes. It was easy for them to say that, they didn’t know what was coming. No matter how powerful or fast she became there was no way she could hold out against gods or the greatest monsters the world could ever know. She doubted she could even hold out long against an obsidian troll now. Though she could probably hurt it now. She hoped.

“Just because you won’t be able to defeat things that nobody in the world aside from the Chosen can even hurt doesn’t mean you’re going to be weak,” Bauteut said with a roll of her eyes. “You really need to try and be a bit more reasonable with your expectations.”

Joan just gave a shrug. “I’m sorry, I don’t really know what to tell you.”

Qakog and Bauteut shared a look and Joan felt a rise of annoyance in her. Those two weren’t that close, they barely knew each other. How could they already be sharing looks? Dealing with her wasn’t that much of a driving force, was it?

“Are you three planning to stay here all week?” Zorn asked, making Joan jump. When did he get here? “I’ll admit the grounds here are pretty nice, but there is a whole city to explore.”

“We’re waiting for Searle,” Joan said. “I’m going to show them all the sights together.”

“You sure you’re going to have time?” Zorn asked. “They’ve been gone all day, who knows how much longer they’ll be doing things?”

“It’s fine,” Joan said with a shrug. “They’ll finish everything up eventually. Then I’ll show them everything.”

“You know,” Zorn said. “It’s not really fair to make them wait like that. What if Searle never has time? Are you going to just not let them see the city?”

“Well, I… uhhhh…” Joan said before glancing to Bauteut. “He’s right, isn’t he?”

“Welllll, I didn’t want to say it,” Bauteut said sheepishly. “I wanted to wait for Searle too. But then you gave them a bunch of work while they were here.”

“I didn’t mean to!” Joan said quickly. “I just, you know, we were here and all. I figured we should do things while we were here. It’s a whole world to save!”

“I know, I know,” Bauteut said with a light chuckle. “It’s why I didn’t say anything.”

Joan sighed and shook her head. “Bauteut, you’re supposed to tell me these things. You’re the one who like, makes sure I don’t do stupid things or fail to notice the flaws in my plans.”

“What?” Bauteut asked. “Oh, no. Definitely not. That is far, far too much for one person. You’re a mess, Joan, and I’m not being responsible for un-messifying this.”

“Truly this is a team effort,” Zorn said.

Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

“Fine,” Joan said. “I’ll talk to Searle when they return. Okay? If he’s okay with it, I’ll show you all around.”

“You shouldn’t have to wait long,” Zorn said. “They washed up on shore a little bit ago, was why I came back to let you know. With a whole procession of naga and merfolk.”

Joan blinked a few times before sighing. “I guess that’s a good sign. Maybe. I hope.”

“Hopefully,” Zorn said. “I wouldn’t expect them to get here anytime soon, though. I think half the city went down to check on what was going on and, well, you know how it is.”

Joan gave a small nod. Time for the frantic Chosen notice parade. Not that she was that jealous of it or anything. Too much. Still, she supposed she’d best prepare for the triumphant return of the Chosen.

------

Joan struggled to hold back her snickers when Searle, Korgron and Myrin groggily made their way towards the manor. They were soaked to the bone and, despite the excited crowd that had been trailing behind them until they’d been dismissed, looked far from glorious or radiant.

“Sorry,” Joan said sheepishly.

“Why is the ocean haunted?” Korgron asked.

“Everything is haunted,” Joan said with a shrug. “It’s just how haunted it is that tends to vary.”

“Is that a threat or a warning?” Korgron asked.

“Yes,” Joan said.

“Was it this bad when you went?” Searle asked.

“Ehhhhh,” Joan said with a shrug. “More panicked. To be fair, you all are doing in a day what took us weeks, months and sometimes years to deal with. Soooo…”

“I’m going to go take a bath and then sleep for the next month,” Searle said.

“Just wait,” Korgron said with a sigh. “We still have the rest of the stuff on Joan’s little ‘list’.”

“Uhhhh…” Joan said nervously. “If… if it’s too much, you could put some of it off. It doesn’t all have to be done now. I just thought--”

“It’s fine,” all three of the Chosen said at once before looking at each other.

“We’re fine,” Myrin said. “Just need to wash off and then rest. Tomorrow is… oh by the stars tomorrow it happens again.”

Joan gave a sheepish grin. “I mean, at least it’s easier now that you know what is going to happen?”

Korgron just sighed and shook her head. The three lumbered inside and Joan felt, once more, the small nudgings of guilt. She glanced towards Bauteut. “Do you think I gave them too much to do while we’re here?”

“Probably,” Bauteut said. “But saving the world, right? So they can’t be too annoyed that you have to make them do all of this. It’s just…”

“I know,” Joan said with a small sigh. “I know. There’s just always more to do. Maybe if I hadn’t told them to do these things then--”

“And tried to fix them yourself?” Bauteut asked.

“Maybe,” Joan said. “I mean, some of the things on the list I could do myself, but I just thought they’d get annoyed if I tried. They always do. Maybe it was a bad idea to try and have them deal with these things now. I could have waited until everything else was dealt with. But we were here, so why not?”

“Lots of reasons why not which come to mind,” Bauteut said. “But lots of reason why it should be done.” She reached out and lightly pat her on the head. “It’s fine. Really. I’m sure if things get to be too much they’ll tell us. So for now, please try to focus on what you need to do and not what they need to do.”

“I don’t really need to do anything, though,” Joan said. “I gave them everything. Maybe I should--”

“Relax and show us around the city?” Bauteut said.

Joan gave a soft sigh before nodding. “I guess. But what if Searle--”

“How about you let me go talk with Searle?” Bauteut asked. “You just relax and try and enjoy yourself. Okay?”

Joan blinked a few times before her eyes narrowed. “Is that what you’re all trying to do? Get me to just relax for a few days?”

“No comment,” Bauteut said. “Just try to enjoy yourself for a few days, okay? For all of our sake?”

Joan sighed before shaking her head. “Fine. Fine. You talk to him, I’ll keep knocking sense into Qakog. It’s the most stressful thing I’ll do while here, okay?”

“Where is he, anyway?” Bauteut asked. “Wasn’t he with us?”

Joan sighed. She was willing to bet he was already practicing again. He was positively desperate to prove he could--

She blinked a few times and shook her head. Right. He really was, in some ways, just like the Hero had been. “I’ll find him and make sure he doesn’t cause an incident or something.”

------

‘Joan?’ Andreas’ voice filled Joan’s head.

Joan opened her eyes and stared up at the ceiling. Great. She had just about fallen asleep, too. ‘Yes? What’s wrong?’

‘I was talking with Korgron and she said that you have them doing some tasks while they’re there,’ Andreas said over the bond.

‘Did she use the shadow bond to tell you this?’ Joan asked.

‘No, I was just--’ Andreas said over the bond, but the way he just stopped made it pretty clear what, exactly, he was doing.

‘Were you checking up on us?’ Joan asked.

‘No, not at all,’ Andreas said.

‘Were you checking up on me?’ Joan asked.

She received nothing but silence.

‘It has been one day, how much trouble do you really think I could get into?’ Joan asked. ‘Don’t answer that. I’m fine. It’s just a few minor things.’

‘You said there wouldn’t be anything to really worry about,’ Andreas said.

‘There’s not,’ Joan said. ‘It’s all fairly minor stuff, easy for the Chosen. I mean, they already dealt with one of them on the first day.’

‘Are you sure you don’t want me and Thalgren to join you? We can cut our visits short,’ Andreas said.

‘What did Korgron, Searle and Myrin say?’ Joan asked.

‘That they have it handled,’ Andreas said. Even though his tone didn’t get across very well over the bond, Joan suspected there was a little more that he was told.

‘Uh huh. What ELSE did they say?’ Joan asked.

‘They’re a little worried about you,’ Andreas said. ‘You were fighting with Qakog.’

‘Sparring with Qakog,’ Joan said. ‘I am taking it slowly. I am leaving everything to the Chosen, not even trying to come with them. I promise. No wild adventures, no hijinks, no trouble.’

‘Last time you said that you ended up in a wild hunt,’ Andreas said.

‘Wasn’t my fault,’ Joan said. ‘But I promise, I’m behaving. Please worry a little less about me? You Chosen have enough to worry about.’

‘Fine,’ Andreas said. ‘You are taking it slowly though, right?’

‘Not pushing myself at all,’ Joan said. ‘I promise. In fact, I was just about to go to bed. So if you don’t mind?’

‘Fine,’ Andreas said.

A moment later Joan felt the bond close. Ugh. She swore the Chosen were going to drive her insane. At least now she could--

As if the universe had decided now was a good time to annoy her, she felt that strange sensation of being watched. She glared up at the roof and hoped that whoever that person was who was spying on her could see how annoyed she was. “Well? I know you’re watching. Are you going to give me some information? A name? A place? Anything? Or are you just going to hang there ominously and keep watching me? Well?”

Joan was greeted by silence for a few moments before the feeling went away. She swore, whoever that was was getting more persistent. She’d felt that presence at least three times in the last few days. She hoped that meant whoever they were they were finally getting ready to tell her something useful.