“Few rules, Mintmorency.”

The young power smiled, looking away from the cave’s entrance to focus on me and my words.

This entrance wasn’t as big as the one farther north. It was about the size of a small building, and was surrounded by sharp rocks and boulders. And although at the base of the mountain, the cliff that loomed over us wasn’t as steep or as large as it could be. One could ascend half the mountain easily, thanks to the gentle angle of the slope.

“First, don’t scream. No matter what happens,” I said.

Her smile died, and I felt bad as she looked hurt… as if I had just stepped on her foot.

“I was happy you know. Even though it looks dark. Even though it’s scary,” she accused me.

“I know. I’m sorry. But I have to say it. There’s a creature that sleeps inside these caves… and although it’s relatively harmless, it grows irate at loud sounds. I’ve learned a woman’s scream is something it hates the most,” I said.

“Great. That’s terrifying. Do we really have to go in there?” she asked, looking at the cave’s entrance with a new look. A look of fear.

“We do. The storm will be upon us in half a day if we don’t,” I said. We were already risking it, by not hurrying into the cavern.

“Fine. I promise. And I’m glad you told me, since I asked for the warnings… but really, Krift, it’s as if you know exactly what it takes to terrify me to my soul,” she said.

I ignored her comment and nodded. “Second, you have to let me know if you get tired. I’m saying this because there are a few sections in here that are dangerous to traverse if you’re exhausted. And you’re a little clumsy as it is, so I’ll need to know,” I said.

She frowned, but nodded.

“Lastly, I want you to wear your hat. So…” I pulled around the pack. Putting it on the ground, so I could help her find it.

“My hat? I mean… sure?” she didn’t sound too upset, but I could tell she wanted to know why.

Untying the top flap, I opened the pack and quickly found her hat. It helped there wasn’t much in the bag in the first place.

Holding it out to her, she took it and promptly placed it on her head.

“We never got any pins for it,” she said, adjusting her hair.

“I know. But there will be no wind, and you’ll not be doing anything crazy enough to make it fall off,” I said.

“True,” she agreed, and finished messing with her head.

I closed the pack back up, and returned it to my back.

“You didn’t say why I needed the hat, Krift,” she said as I adjusted the pack.

“You’ll see,” I said.

“Will I complain about a lack of warning, because of it?” she asked, glaring at me.

“No. At least you shouldn’t…” I said, and wondered if she would.

“Hmph.”

“Alright, ready? Say goodbye to the sky, and wind. It’ll be about two days before you’ll see them again,” I said.

“Oh… uh…” she said that childish phrase, but I didn’t reprimand her. It’s been a long while since she’s done so, after all.

Mint looked up to the sky, and smiled at it. The two suns floated above, lazily. But it was still early in the morning, so I couldn’t blame them. With a mental goodbye, she nodded.

“Come on then,” I said, stepping into the cavern.

It only took a few steps into the cavern, for it to become significantly darker. Both of the suns were still in the sky, but the angle of the cave’s mouth blocked most of the light they gave off.

My footfalls echoed as I walked into the cavern, and I took a few deep breaths to make sure I didn’t smell anything odd.

Sometimes creatures would enter these caves, occasionally… but it didn’t seem like there were any within it right now.

“How’d you find out that the creature doesn’t like a woman’s screams, Krift?” Mint asked, quickly coming up next to me.

She got a little too close, and our arms touched as we walked. But I made sure not to step away from her.

There was more than enough room for us to walk farther apart, but I knew the reason she had gotten close.

“It was Lena’s scream, actually. On a return trip. Another member of the group at the time had fallen, and got hurt rather badly. Her scream was in shock… at the sudden blood,” I said.

Or rather, the blood that had splattered her in the face.

“Oh… I see. What happened then?” she asked.

“Well, the creature roared in anger like it always does when it’s woken up. Then it hunted us,” I said.

“Hunted you. Did… did it find you?” she asked, and I noted the way her voice cracked. I assumed her worry was from how dark it was getting, and not the topic of the conversation.

“Yes. But, as I said, it’s not that dangerous. I dealt with it,” I said.

“I see…” she said, but I knew she didn’t. “Yet we still need to worry about it.”

“It’s small enough that I can knock it out. I’ve thought of killing it, but it keeps the caverns clear of other creatures. I’d rather always know it’s here, and how to deal with it, then something I don’t,” I said.

“Ah. That makes sense, I guess,” Mint said, her tone telling me she found such a thing interesting.

“Holding up well?” I asked her as we started to round a bend. In a few moments we’d be stepping into rather deep darkness.

“Honestly, no. This might be far worse than I thought,” she said.

“It’ll get better,” I said.

“Easy for you to say… Could we make a torch?” she asked.

“We could. But it won’t be needed,” I said.

“Won’t be needed? Krift there’s absolute darkness in front of us,” she complained, as we headed deeper.

I frowned, since it didn’t look that dark to me. Dark, yes, but not absolute.

“Once it becomes too dark for you to see where you step, grab my arm,” I said.

She did so.

Glancing at her, I noticed she was looking straight ahead… with worried eyes.

“Is it that dark to you already?” I asked, surprised. She was no riftborn, but she was still a power… she should be able to still see a little bit.

“No. But pretend it is for me, please,” she said with a glance at me.

Shaking my head, I wondered how someone got so scared of the dark.

Hadn’t she been a poor farmer? She would have been too poor to have any magical light sources, and maybe even too poor for candles. At least she should not have been wealthy enough to utilize them too often…

She should be used to the dark… simply out of necessity.

“So uh… how many times have you taken Lena through the Rift?” she then asked.

Although a strange question, at the current moment, I knew it was probably just a distraction.

“Eight times. Or sixteen, if you count return trips,” I said.

“Oh? Oh… wow. That’s a lot,” Mint said.

“It is. Though… Lena hasn’t really asked, lately,” I said.

Although glad for it, I was also a little disappointed in the reason.

“Because of her scars?” Mint asked.

I frowned, but knew Mintmorency wasn’t able to see it. The dark was now getting bad.

“Yes. How’d you know that?” I asked.

“I assumed. Experiencing something like that would have scared me too,” she said.

Mint got a little closer, and squeezed my arm as she wrapped both arms around it. “It’s too dark for me, now,” she said flatly.

“Just bear with it for a moment,” I said.

“A moment? You said we’d be two days in here. Please don’t tell me it’s going to be this bad that long…” she groaned.

I smiled at her worried face, and was somewhat glad she couldn’t see me.

She looked worried. Her eyes were half closed, squinting, and her eyebrows kept growing closer.

“This a bad time to let you know that swimming in the dark is one of my favorite hobbies?” I asked her.

Her eyes closed completely, as a twisted smile peaked through her worry. “What?” she asked with a small laugh.

The sight of her confusion, and her adorable smile as she tried to comprehend it, almost made me trip on a large rock.

“I’m serious. I’m not sure what is it, but swimming in pure darkness is fun.”

“You’re insane,” she said, but had a huge smile on her face.

“Possibly. I also get this insane urge to climb a mountain when I see one. I’m not sure why, since there’s never anything at the top… but I do enjoy the climb,” I said.

For a few steps Mintmorency soaked up my words, then her arms wrapped a little tighter around my own.

“The dark. Great heights… anything else that you like that I hate?” she asked.

“I’m sure we can figure a few more things out,” I said, and saw the first one finally arrive.

Mint’s eyes were open, and she was looking ahead… but must not be able to make it out yet.

Should I warn her?

I decided not to, as we continued to walk deeper into the cave system.

It was still a few minutes away… and was angled upward. Hanging off the ceiling. So she might not see it for a moment still…

“I like to listen to stories. Since we’re talking about hobbies,” she said, continuing the conversation.

“Stories?”

She nodded, and I wondered if she knew I could see her. “Stories. Or fables? The older folks told them to children, and others. I’ve not really been able to listen to any, ever since the plague came… since everyone’s become so… sad. But listening to a storyteller is one of my favorite things to do,” she said.

“Hm… How about telling stories yourself?” I asked, and noticed a few more appear in front of us.

“Myself? I guess I could… I know them… but I don’t know if I’d like that. I like hearing new stories, and also…” Mint’s voice trailed a little, and with a glance I knew she had finally seen one.

“See it?” I asked her.

Her eyes narrowed, as if angry. “What is it? It’s glowing.”

“The reason we don’t need a torch,” I said, as we drew closer.

With each step, Mint’s grip on my arm increased. But not in fear, or anger.

“What… what is it?” she asked, once one came into full view.

“A mushroom,” I said, and wondered how it wasn’t obvious.

“A mushroom…? Krift, it has legs!” she said, pointing at the thing.

“Why can’t it have legs?” I asked. I was enjoying the expression she was making.

She glanced at me, and her look of odd annoyance turned into happy amusement. “Oh shut it… Is it alive? It kind of looks like a spider,” she said.

“Spider mushrooms? Sure, if that’s what you want to call them,” I said, and wondered if there was already a spider called that. Or maybe a mushroom?

Mint stepped forward, but didn’t release me. She pulled me along as we went closer to the glowing mushroom.

It glowed a familiar azure blue, and was as large as Mint’s head. It hung sideways on the wall, near the ceiling, with half a dozen short but thin legs that looked almost as if they were suctioned to the rock and not clinging to it instead.

The legs did give it a spider look, but that was where the similarities ended. The rest of it looked just like a normal mushroom.

“Huh, it really is just a mushroom,” Mint said, studying it.

“Want me to grab it?” I asked, stepping forward.

“What? No. Last thing you grabbed died in my hands…” she said, holding me back.

I frowned at that, and wondered if she meant the fish I had caught last night or that flower in the boat.

“Still… it is pretty. Does it have spots? It’s hard to make out,” she asked, looking closer.

“Somewhat. The smaller ones have more clearly visible ones,” I said.

“Smaller? So there’s more?” she asked, looking around.

So she couldn’t see the three others nearby? Maybe it was because of how dark it was. Light sources played tricks on the eyes, in such darkness.

“Let’s go,” I said, pulling her back onto the path.

She stumbled a little, since she tried to stare at the mushroom as I walked us both away from it.

“Why do they glow?” she asked, watching it fade into the darkness.

“Maybe they’re scared of the dark, like you,” I said.

She finally looked away from the thing, but only to glare at me.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Before she could say anything, she noticed the next mushrooms. One of them was on the ground, directly in front of us.

As we approached them, I began to notice more and more. I knew soon the whole cave would be covered in them. To an annoying degree.

“How neat…” she said softly as we drew closer to the mushrooms.

The one on the ground wasn’t very big, but there was a large one hanging off the ceiling.

“They do have spots. Looks like they’re just… darker blues,” she said, studying the smaller one in front of us.

We came to a stop in front of the smaller mushroom, and I let her bend down to get a closer look.

None of them were moving, but I knew it was simply because they didn’t move quickly.

It took them days to move a few feet.

“Can I touch it? Or will it… bite me or something?” she asked, looking up at me.

“Go ahead.”

Although she bent down further, and released my arm… she kept hold of me with her right hand. As if she was afraid I’d leave her behind.

With her left hand, she poked the mushroom on the top. It wiggled a little, which made her giggle. “It jiggled,” she said happily.

I shook my head at her childish reaction, and wondered how long it’s been since someone acted like her here in the Rift.

“Women normally don’t like them,” I said, thinking about the few who had refused to go near them. Lena had been one of those.

“Well, they are a little scary… since they’re glowing. But… I don’t see any teeth, or stingers? Plus they’re pretty. I might think differently, if they were moving around though. If they scurried past quickly, I’d probably not like them much,” she said honestly.

“They’re just mushrooms,” I said.

“Are they tasty?” she asked.

“No. And I don’t mean that I don’t like them, but you would. I mean they’re completely inedible,” I said.

“Oh… are they poisonous?” she asked.

“No… Well, here. Let me show you why,” I said, and with my right foot, I reached out and stomped on it.

Mint shot to her feet, shocked, but said nothing as she stared at the splatter of glowing gunk that had spurted from the crushed thing.

“See? The thing’s are more liquid than not. And it’s nasty,” I said, scraping my boot on the ground. A stream of glowing gunk was left behind.

“You… you stepped on it,” she said, still shocked.

Staring at her, I realized very quickly what was wrong.

“It’s… it’s a mushroom, Mint. Not an animal,” I said quickly, worried she misunderstood.

She frowned, and looked at me. For a small moment I felt horrible… she looked as if I had stepped on her pet.

“Still… Really Krift, you could have just explained it to me, instead of doing that,” she said, and I heard her disappointment clearly.

Yes. I could have.

“Come on,” I said, tugging her back to walking.

She obeyed, but I felt her sad glare as she did.

Getting that upset over a mushroom…

Stepping away from the three… or rather, two, mushrooms, Mint returned to holding my arm. The darkness had returned.

“Not so upset then, are you?” I asked her, as she squeezed my arm.

“I am. You’re not a cruel man, Krift, so I hadn’t expected that,” she said.

“You can’t be serious,” I said.

“Well… only partly. Would you have done that if it was a creature? Say, a bird?” she asked.

“Probably not. I would have if it was dangerous, though,” I said.

She nodded, but said nothing more.

I let her go quiet as we approached the next mushroom. She said nothing about it as we passed it.

As we walked in silence, more and more mushrooms began to show up. And as we passed each one, Mint seemed to grow less upset.

“How many are there?” she asked, staring at a cluster of them hanging on the wall.

“About to be many more. There are thousands upon thousands in here,” I said.

“Oh?” she perked up a little at that, and I wondered if it meant she’d forgive me.

“Willing to forgive me for stepping on one, knowing there’s many more?” I asked her.

“I’ll think about it,” she said plainly.

That was probably a no.

I wanted to argue with her, to defend myself… but decided against it.

What kind of man would I be to get so defensive? Especially since it was probably not just because I had stepped on it, but had done so while she was crouched down and staring at it so happily.

It wasn’t just what I had done, but the how and when.

Sighing softly, I watched our little world slowly become lit up and crowded.

“There really are a lot of them…” she mumbled, staring at each one we passed.

Most were bundled up. Clinging to one another as much as the wall and ceiling they held onto.

Every so often we had to walk around one, or step over a smaller one, but they clung to the walls and ceiling more than not.

While we delved deeper and deeper, I continued to think of a way to get her to forgive me.

It was such a stupid little thing… but she had genuinely been upset over it.

And it was driving me crazy.

Could I get her to forgive me with a story? She had said she liked those…

Which would explain why she got so interested when I explained things to her.

Though maybe it would be better if I… truly understood why she had gotten upset. As to not ever do it again.

“What is this stone, Krift?” she asked suddenly.

I paused for a moment, wondering what she meant. But she was simply looking at the ground we were walking upon.

The area was illuminated well. Thanks to the mushrooms. Well enough that I knew even she should be able to make most of the surroundings out quite clearly.

“The black rock? I don’t know. There’s similar rock in the Lands of Power, I think. It’s actually a little brittle, if you took a pickaxe to it the stuff would shatter and splinter violently enough to hurt you,” I said.

“Huh… I’ve never seen anything like it,” she said.

“Some make jewelry out of it,” I said.

“It is pretty,” she agreed.

She intently studied the glistening stone as we walked. Keeping an eye on our path, I wondered how she found the stone more interesting than the hundreds of glowing mushrooms.

Though, I suppose they were just mushrooms.

But then why had she gotten so upset over me squishing one?

The conundrum continued to trouble me for some time as we walked, all the while Mint happily studied the caverns around us.

We were nearing the main network of caves. One that was large, and… easy to get lost in.

I’ve found the carcasses of those who had done so. Sometimes in pairs.

It was odd to find such bodies. Especially when they showed no signs of injury. No wounds from the creature which called this cave system home. Nor any broken bones from falling on the jagged rocks.

Humans and powers alike have died in here. From hunger, and thirst.

Yet why would I sometimes find them in pairs?

“Krift?”

Glancing to the one holding my arm, I quickly looked around to make sure everything was fine.

“Yeah?” I asked, once I was sure all was fine.

“What were you thinking about?” she asked.

Although I frowned at her question, I knew better than to ask why she had asked it. I had been a little lost in thought.

“Several things,” I said honestly.

Mintmorency said nothing, and I didn’t need to glance at her to know why.

With a sigh, I nodded. “You. I was thinking about why you were angry at me earlier. When I squished the mushroom. And how to not make you upset like that again, in the future.”

“Oh?”

“And also about this cave. I was wondering why I sometimes find multiple bodies, unmolested. And not just one at a time,” I added.

“Uh… wait huh?” Mint made that stupid sound again, but I ignored it while I stepped over a large mushroom.

“It’s very easy to get lost in here. These caves are massive. And layered. I’ve found entrances at the top of the mountain, and they go almost too deep. I’ve not risked going that far down, but I know they go to an insane depth. So getting… lost is understandable. But I don’t understand why on multiple occasions I’ve found two or more bodies. If you weren’t injured to the point of death, why would you stay in the same location? Why not try to escape, even if alone?” I revealed my thoughts.

For several steps, Mint said nothing… then she squeezed my arm. “Were the… those bodies, were they always a man and a woman?” she asked.

“No. Two were that I can remember. But several were all men.” I said.

“I see,” she said softly.

“You don’t need to worry about it. I was just occupying my mind,” I said, worried she was going to get even more terrified of these caves.

“Is that how you normally do it?” she asked.

“Do what?”

“You plant trees, because you can’t help yourself. You desire to climb mountains when you see them, and now this,” she said.

“I did also say I was wondering how to get you to forgive me,” I said.

“No. You said you were trying to figure out how to not make me upset again in the future. You didn’t ask for an apology, yet,” she said quickly.

“I didn’t?”

“No, you didn’t,” she laughed as she spoke.

“Well… I am sorry.”

“And?”

“And I’d like to earn your forgiveness, if I can,” I said.

“Hm. I forgave you already. But I’m still glad you asked for it,” she said.

I shrugged, and wasn’t sure why I felt so relieved.

“What did you do, by the way? With the bodies you found in here?” she asked.

“Nothing. The Rift will absorb them. Creatures will eat them. And they have, you’ll not find any trace of them now,” I said.

“You don’t bury those you find?” she asked.

“No. The creatures that eat corpses would just dig them up, no matter how deeply I buried them. So there’s no point.”

“Hm… how often do you… find, dead people?” she asked softly.

“More often than I’d like. Humans and powers alike,” I said.

“I see.”

Not too far from us, the next cavern came into view. The mushrooms grew visibly denser, especially on the ceiling. Even Mint should be able to see it, from this distance.

“You probably can’t tell, with it being so bright now, but you are also glowing a little,” I said to her.

Mintmorency wanted to stop walking, but I dragged her along. There was no point in stopping over this.

“What do you mean?” she asked, glaring at me as if I had just stepped on her foot.

“Your horns,” I said, reaching up to pat her hat. I felt one of the small pointed horns through the thick leather.

“My horns are glowing?” she asked, reaching up to take off her hat.

“Yes. Similarly to the mushrooms. Here in a few hours we’ll stop and rest and I’ll let you dig out the mirror to see them,” I said.

“Can I do it now?” she asked, excited.

“No. I want to get as deep as possible before the storm reaches us,” I said.

“Oh? Oh… wait, are we still in danger?” She asked, picking up the pace. She left her hat on, in the excitement.

“No. Not at all. The only things in here are these mushrooms, us, and the creature I spoke of earlier. I don’t smell it around us, and it’s normally far below, sleeping soundly. But occasionally some creatures do run into these caves to escape the storm. So we need to get a little deeper, to avoid those,” I explained.

“I see. That’s why you keep picking up our pace,” she said.

“Yes.”

Mintmorency adjusted her hat for a moment, but nodded… as if she agreed with my reasoning.

Rather she agreed with her trust in me. To keep her alive.

If she truly understood was another matter entirely.

“Are my horn’s glowing blue too?” she then asked.

“No. It’s…” I glanced to her head, and barely could make out the glow from under her hat. Her hair was ever so lightly glowing too, thanks to the horns. “Your color. A pale green,” I said.

“My color,” she repeated, with a smile on her face.

“Well, it is.”

“You said your mother’s were golden? So is that your color?” she asked.

“My horns were grey,” I said.

Mintmorency tried to pause again, but I didn’t pull her along as harshly.

“What?” she asked while looking at my head.

I nodded. “Grey. Same as my father’s.”

“Krift… you don’t have any horns,” she said. As she spoke she reached up to my head, touching the side of it above the ears where they’d be.

Before I could correct her, she felt them. The thumbnail sized horn, hidden under hair.

“What?” she asked, shocked, and I finally allowed her to bring us to a stop. She was being awkward, so I bent down a little so she could feel it clearly.

“You didn’t know, did you?” I asked, staring at her face. The blue glow made odd shadows upon it.

“They’re flat, so…” she whispered, as I nodded. I regretted doing so, since it made her fingernail scrape the broken horn. It didn’t hurt, but it was an odd feeling. It made me shiver.

“Most men break their horns, while young. It’s tradition. It’s not that we don’t have horns, they’re just seen as something only women leave intact,” I explained.

“What… why? Why break them off?” she asked. Then she unhooked her other arm from me, just so she could reach up to touch my other horn.

“Men’s grow larger than yours. Large enough to make wearing helmets or hats almost impossible. The only men with horns are usually those who belong to a religious order. Since it’s against their edict to wage war, or partake in certain labors,” I said.

For a long moment Mintmorency just stared at me, but then she finally withdrew her hand.

“Plus I’m told that it makes sleeping horribly uncomfortable,” I said, while remembering the few conversations I’ve had about it with such men who still had horns. There had been quite a few of them in the army, during the war. Since the Rift had been seen as one of their religious prophecies.

Mint smiled at me, but I noticed the sadness in her eyes.

She was sad over it.

“Why does it bother you?” I asked her.

“I’m not sure. But it does,” she said.

“Maybe you need to see how large they get, to really understand,” I wondered.

“Possibly. Still… I hadn’t known. When those two powers had passed through our town, only the woman had horns. So I asked mother, and she had told me that men didn’t have horns. She must have meant it that way,” she said.

“Likely… Speaking of them… Did you not talk to them?” I asked.

“No. We heard of them coming ahead of time. We hid ourselves. Blended in with the crowd, when they passed through. They didn’t stay, they were heading to the capital and had simply passed through,” she said.

“I see,” I said.

Her mother had most likely let her see them, just so she could see.

“Do you remember their crest? Or did your mother know who they were?” I asked.

“No. Or rather, I think mother did know. She just… refused to say anything. She didn’t want me knowing anything about our kind, after all,” Mintmorency said.

I noticed the sad tone in her voice, and decided to let the conversation drop. She had been so happy and excited earlier…

“Well, now you know. I believe I said this before, Mint, but you’ll be seen as exotic. It’s rare for your eyes to share the color of your horns…” I stopped talking, and realized something I should have a long time ago.

Her eyes matched her horns.

The stagnant air grew a little colder… which was strange. But I knew it wasn’t because of the storm, or because something was wrong.

It was just me. Realizing I was a fool.

“Krift…?” Mintmorency’s voice calmed me, and I forced a smile.

“My horns were an ugly grey. Dirty looking. A common color amongst our kind, though,” I said, forcing her to not say anything. I also held my arm out, so she could return to holding it.

Although Mint grabbed my arm, she did so carefully… as if she was worried.

“Everything alright, Krift?” she asked, still staring at me.

“Yes. I just felt odd for a moment. Let’s go, before a mushroom crawls onto you,” I said.

Mint hurriedly looked to our feet, but her worries were unfounded. There were no mushrooms in our immediate area.

But it was enough to distract her, and get us back on our path.

Heading farther into the cave, I did my best to not let my thoughts reach my face.

She could read it, after all. And I couldn’t afford for her to know these thoughts just yet.

Only older bloodlines had the color-sets. Matching colors was not something found in the lower households. Their bloodlines were too mixed. Too muddled, by other colors.

Nowadays even the upper echelons had members with mismatched colors, or slightly off tone. Before the House Wars it had been seen as proof of infidelity. Today it was just a fact of life.

Yet…

Yet her color wasn’t obvious to me.

I didn’t know any family line with such a green. It was… too light. Too gentle. The only green I knew was the family of Intilli. And she was definitely not of their bloodline, and not just because their green color was a very deep tone… Unlike her pale one.

They also had much darker skin. And had not sent a single member of their family to the Rift. They had refused.

A decision that had ended their line, completely.

A decision that I had been tasked to enforce.

Which was why I knew she wasn’t theirs.

I had watched their manor burn. Not a soul had survived.

Our footsteps echoed a little as we entered a larger section of the cavern. The area became a tad darker, even though there were more and more mushrooms. Thanks to the distance between us and the mushrooms.

“One day…” Glancing at Mint, who was staring ahead of us, I noted the way she clung to my arm. A little tighter than usual.

“One day, you’ll not so readily hide the truth from me,” she then said.

Although her tone and words told me exactly what was on her mind, I kept my own mouth shut.

Not because I actually wanted to hide anything from her. But rather the opposite.

I wanted to tell her. That there was a chance she could belong to a powerful family.

Most would love to hear such a thing. To hear they belonged to a family which would grant her wealth. Power. Safety.

If only that was all it was…

There was nothing good about belonging to such families.

They were rife with chaos.

Although, it would make her past more believable. A father killing his children was not as strange or unbelievable, when one took into account that she might be a member of the upper class. Such cleansings happened, although rarely. It usually happened when during internal house wars, or when a family usurps the other and claims the seat of leadership in the House.

Mint glanced at me, and I could see that she had wanted me to answer her. Maybe not tell her what I had been thinking of, but rather to accept her words.

To accept and promise to try.

To try and not keep secrets from her. Even if they hurt. Even if they were bad.

Her green eyes glowed in the dark. And not just from the reflection of the blue of the mushrooms.

I didn’t like those eyes.

They were too clear. Too honest.

Too innocent, yet so full of understanding.

“One day,” I agreed.

She nodded, and looked away. Back to focusing on our path, and not me.

“One day,” I said again.

Hopefully that day never came.

Since such secrets were what kept me alive.