“I’ll guide you to the lair.” Rik’s voice echoed through the walls of the tower, while I was currently devouring piles of weird-tasting bread on a wooden tray as if my life depended on it. Which was probably the case. My regeneration act had cost me every bit of fat I had in my body.

I was still in the bed of pillows, and I wasn’t actively participating in the conversation happening next door.

I had woken up, things apparently over, with my sister, a bit worryingly, absent. She wasn’t far, as I had quickly realized when seeing the note scribbled with black ink. It was probably the biggest waste of parchment imaginable for a medieval world.

Am next door. Have to get used to you not there if you just trying to die. Eat the food.

As I ate, I started to listen in. Despite the thick walls and the closed door, I had no issues perceiving everything that was being said.

“Kan told me expressively to stay here.” Elle responded.

“My ida is misjudging the situation. If we keep you here, the villagers will stop listening to him, and we need them to listen to him.” Rik explained. “Furthermore, with our news levels and skills, we should be able to hold on for a few nights. The remaining scent of the drake fire and the [Ground Drake]’s body should have made a lot of the monsters reconsider attacking the village…we hope.”

“…I’m not sure I want to help your village anymore.” My sister admitted matter-of-factly.

There was a short silence. “I’d understand. I’m honestly disgusted myself. I didn’t think…In any case, I don’t think you’ll need to. It’ll be safer for us, for sure but… I’ll bring you to the lair whenever you’re ready. I’ll come back to the river in three days. If you’re not there, I’ll understand.”

“What if you’re not there?”

“…Well, then you should not worry about us again.”

“You’re a good ma…sapiens, Rik Nut. Is that really your surname? Nut?”

“That’s the first solid food I ate, yes.” He sighed.

Elle laughed wholeheartedly. “So that’s how it works. I prefer our traditions; I would have hated to be known as Elle Ice Cream.”

“I don’t know what that is…” There was humour in his voice. “Will you leave the village?” The [Wood Elf] then asked more seriously.

“Let me see if Nielle is awake and ask her.”

“Of course.”

I heard footsteps, then the door opened.

Gaëlle saw me awake and stepped forward to put her hand over my forehead. “No fever, I was afraid you were going to catch death or something.”

Her hand was slightly trembling, as if a junkie in a need of a fix.

“You don’t need to hurt yourself because I tried to save you.” I commented.

“I do what I want, and I want to fuck. Can’t do that with my sis around.” She answered defensively.

“…Hello. Thanks for the food and…carrying me back. So, monsters didn’t invade the village?” I completely ignored her weak attempt at explaining why she had forced herself to leave.

“Hi. No problem and no. They’ll be fine. We’re going back to the station to make you eat something decent with lots of sugar. A big fat burger. Rik brought us the grey capes again, and you’ve got some of my spare clothing over there. You feel good enough to walk?”

“…not going to tell me about Kan not wanting to let us leave because he considers it too dangerous?”

She grimaced. “You heard, huh? No, I wasn’t. If we stay, we’ll have a mob come in and burn us like fifteen century witches. If they don’t want our help, I won’t force them to have it.”

I closed my eyes. Then nodded. “Yeah, you’re right.”

“Thank fuck for that.” Gaëlle sounded relieved. “I was really hoping you wouldn’t be in ‘saviour’ mode here.”

“I want to. But that’s just me being self-centred. Can’t help people who don’t want help.” I started to dress. The bra was misery.

“Not even angry at them?” She asked as she gave me a hand with it.

“No. You never know how you’ll react in a shitty situation. I fucking pushed all my friends away, almost managed to push you away.”

“Hah! You tried, but you were very far away from succeeding.” Gaëlle retorted.

I smiled.

“Don’t say anything and keep yourselves hidden.” Rik told us as he opened the back exit to the tower.

“I really hoped last time would be… well, the last time you asked us to do that.” Gaëlle sighed.

“Yeah, me too, Elle.” He smiled at her.

We did two steps outside before being hailed.

“Rik, you and the twins going somewhere?”

The three of us turned around, looking at the person waiting, back laying on the tower wall.

We hadn’t spotted her at all until she talked, but then again, that wasn’t hard to believe.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

“Vi! I’m happy you’re safe.” I told the tall elf.

“Me too.” She gave me a quick wink. “I’m sorry to say Rik Nut, but those things aren’t going to cut it. People are waiting for any reason to blame these two and leaving will be a sure way to give them exactly that.”

“It’ll be too late, the…” The [Wood Elf] began.

Her look went cold and distant. “You don’t get it. There is nothing more terrifying than people who don’t understand why something bad is happening to them. They know the disguise; you won’t be three streets out before you get surrounded.”

Rik grimaced. “Well, I’ll force my way out then.”

Vi’s eyebrow rose. “You’d put your back on your friends to save two strangers?”

“The only ones I’m recognizing right now are those two strangers.” Rik responded, almost spewing the words out.

“Ha, you’re a decent sapiens, Rik Nut. But you are naive. By doing this, you’ll be destabilizing your father’s position, and that pretty much means you’ll sacrifice the whole village for those two.”

Vi’s pragmatic analysis shook Rik, whose whole body suddenly expressed doubt.

“I…what should we do then? Force them to fight for us until we suddenly decide they should be killed?”

Vi shook her head. “Where are you going?”

“Sorry to say, but it is none of your business.” I responded.

“It’s very much my business, to the contrary. Now, it may not seem like it, but I’m pretty much in the exact same position you two are in.” She gave me a sad smile. “Once you two are gone, who do you think the next stranger to hang is?”

“What do you want?” Gaëlle cut to the chase.

“I want to help you leave Canvas. But let me come with you. I’ll teach you how to use [Move] or [Cascade] to navigate to the Upperseas.”

Me and Gaëlle looked at each other. “Vi, we’re going back to our world. You…we can’t bring you there.”

“Can’t or won’t?” She asked astutely.

My expression gave the answer away.

“Wait, what? What does that mean?” Rik saw it as well.

“You can’t use the doors…without our permission.” Elle provided.

“Ha.” Vi exclaimed. “Well, I’m not asking to live there forever. I just want to stay a week until Hope passes over us…”

“No way.” I shook my head.

But Gaëlle stayed silent.

“Elle? We talked about this.”

“So?” She finally answered. “We can’t let her live in the lair for a week. She’ll attract monsters, our shoddy makeshift door won’t stop them. And we can’t let her get killed by those assholes.”

“She can get rid of the monsters! And well, let’s just bring her to the lair, give her food and…”

“Like a pet? White boy saves the day as long as the cattle stays in its doghouse?”

“I’m not sure I understand what’s going on, but I’d rather be treated as a sapiens, thank you.” Vi added.

My sister wasn’t looking at her.

“Nielle… Sure, we can’t bring technology to this world. But she fucking saved our lives, and if there is one thing I got from her, it’s that she’s a goody two-shoes. Now, you’re the people person, do you think I’m wrong?”

I shook my head, grimacing.

“Well then, if we don’t trust someone like her, who are we ever going to trust, really? We’re going to be the two solitary keepers of the Quiescent. Forever? I came here to have fun, and fuck if that’s working. You know what would be fun?” Her stare told me everything I needed to know.

“No…” I sighed.

“What if we brought an elf in LA for a week. Show her the fun stuff. Wouldn’t that be epic?”

Vi gave a puzzled look at my sister. “That’s not exactly what…”

“Oh, shut up. If we want to, we can leave right now, and nobody would be able to follow us. But I think you’re a sweet gal, and I think you can be trusted with the most dangerous thing in existence.”

Vi was clearly losing her footing in the conversation. Rik already only expressed utter bewilderment.

“…I’m not sure I should be…” The tall elf tried.

But she was only now discovering what happened when my sister had gotten something through her mind.

“Exactly! You’re perfect! Don’t tell me you don’t want to discover a new world?”

“But…what about training for…”

Gaëlle waved her hands dramatically. “Please. Create a platform of frozen water, put it over the water and use [Move] to keep it steady.”

“…That is one way.”

“Now, the thing you all forget about is that we don’t need anyone but each other.” Gaëlle pointed at me and her. “And this village almost took my sister. I’m pissed. So, you want our help? Ask for it, but you’ll get what we offer, nothing else. None of this, ‘I can give you this’, or ‘you need me for that’. We owe you, Vi, and Nielle likes you. Come see our world for a week. Maybe you’ll reconsider saving yours.” Elle’s smile was almost evil now.

The two very different elves were looking at her with very similar looks.

“I…I suppose I need to ask for your help, then.” Vi started.

“Want to come with, Rik?” Elle added.

The man politely refused. “No, I need to help my ida here.”

“I got it, I got it. Best time next time, am I right?”

“Of course. You are quite the woman, Elle.” Rik nodded, a bit scared.

“Thank you, you are quite the woman as well.” She immediately countered with her favourite feminist comeback.

“What?”

But she didn’t respond to the utter confused [Wood Elf]. To their credit, it took everyone some time to understand that the only good way to respond to Gaëlle when she was like that, was to do what I was doing.

Not saying anything.

“So, are we going or what? By the way Vi, how are you helping us get out of the village? [Shadow]?”

“I…No…[Shadow] during the day is completely ineffective. I have my level one-hundred skill for cases like this. But first, I have to be sure, you’ll bring me with you to your home? You’ll keep me safe? You won’t kill me afterwards to keep your secrets?”

Elle scoffed, offended. “Who do you think we are?”

“…I’m not sure anymore.” The elf answered.

I finally decided to intervene. “We’re not going to do anything to you Vi. You…you are our friend.”

She looked at me. “But you don’t agree with your sister on this.”

I grimaced. “I do believe this is a huge risk, you lack the knowledge, even we lack the knowledge, to the hazards and responsibility we are putting on your back. But if it is the only ethical alternative…I will not object with my twin’s decision.” I tried to explain as clearly as possible.

“So, you do like me?” The tall elf gave me a mocking grin.

My brows furrowed. “I told you. I consider you my friend. Or at the very least someone that could become my friend.”

She gave me a wink. “And I wasn’t sure I heard you right.”

I felt warmth over my cheeks.

Vi gave a full smile then. “Rik, do you accept guiding me as well?”

The [Wood Elf] tried to pull himself together, still looking at Elle with newfound light in his eyes. “If the Templier twins agree, I do not object.”

“Perfect. Now Nielle, Elle, I’m going to make you invisible, even to yourselves. It’s a bit disorienting, I’ve been told, so try to hold on to me or Rik. I’ll be the only one able to see you. You ready?”

“You’re going to make us invisible? Shit, how cool is that. Why not use it yesterday?” Gaëlle asked.

The tall elf sighed. “I did. I’ll tell you what I was doing if you want to, but let’s get moving. We are getting looks.”

As she said that, I noticed that some of the villagers on the empty market plaza were getting curious about us. I didn’t like their expressions.

“Let’s go inside.” Rik told us.

We went back in the tower, and under the torches’ light, Vi asked me and my sister to hold hands, then she chanted: “[Invisible]Them. Two.”

My sister vanished. She was still there as I was holding her hand still, but that was the only thing that proved her presence. It felt discomforting, as if she had become like Lila’s ghost.

“Don’t get separated or the skill will break.” Vi told us.

“Whoa, trippy.” I heard the empty space in the corridor on my right say out loud with Elle’s voice. “Nielle, still there?”

“You can touch me, right?” I asked the empty space. I wasn’t seeing my nose anymore, which had to be the weirdest feeling ever.

“Yup yup.”

“Ok, hold on to my arm.” Rik gave away his elbow, looking as spooked as I was feeling. “And keep close.”

“Don’t bump into anyone.” Vi added.

I had no idea if my sister was holding the [Wood Elf] or not, but apparently, we were walking out.

I better understood why Vi told us that the effects could make you trip. Our brain was so used to making us not see the parts of our bodies that were always in our vision, that now that it didn’t need to but still tried to, it was giving us the equivalent of message errors in the form of dizziness.

Still, completely invisible, we were led out the village towards the cliff.