Linea awoke cuddled into a bundle with Nora under her blanket. She couldn’t remember how they ended up here and when she got changed from her ruined dress into her nightgown. Nora had probably helped with that.

The happenings of the last morning came back to her, however. A huge mess of emotions washed over her, which brought her to tears again. The assassination wasn’t even the worst part to her. Her helplessness and Sarah’s disappointment were far more depressing.

She reached out to Sarah in her mind but was met with silence. Sarah only signaled that she was still there, but she didn’t want to speak with Linea at the moment. This caused Linea to sob again. It was the first time she realized how much she had started to depend on Sarah’s strong character.

Her sobbing woke up Nora, who subconsciously caressed Linea’s head. For a few minutes the girls just lay there, and Nora soothed Linea in silence.

“She is mad at me,” Linea whispered after a while.

“Yeah, I noticed,” Nora replied.

“I was just frozen. I couldn’t do anything. She is right, I’m a failure. How can I even attempt to stop a dark mage? I…” Linea babbled but Nora flicked a finger against her forehead.

“That’s enough,” Nora said and smiled at her. “I understand you’re shocked by what happened, but you need to realize that you’re not alone in this. You were never supposed to fight all this on your own.”

“But Sarah isn’t even talking to me,” Linea countered, and tears gathered in her eyes again.

“I wasn’t talking about Sarah. I was talking about me. And Aruna. And Captain Evira with her men.”

Linea pressed her head against Nora’s body and tried to suppress her sobbing.

“Where do I go from here? I always had a plan and knew what I would do next. I wanted to become a Void Huntress. Then I wanted to become a priestess. Now I want to stop a dark mage,” she explained. “But I realized that I have no idea how I should do that.”

“We’ll hatch a plan on the way, don’t worry,” Nora said. “And I’m sure that Sarah will help as well. She may be cross with you but I don’t think it will last. I think she will calm down and then she will probably train you until you spit blood or something.”

“I’d rather not spit blood…”

Nora chuckled.

“I somehow expected you to be angrier with me,” Linea noted. “After last night, I thought you wouldn’t want to be my friend anymore…”

 “I’m sorry about that,” Nora said and flushed. “I was stupid and jealous. You and Sarah are close by necessity and I assumed you wouldn’t need me anymore.”

“I hear a ‘but’ there,” Linea probed.

“But last night - as stupid as that might sound - showed me that Sarah can’t give you everything you need. You need a friend that just is on your side at all times. And I will be that friend.”

Linea’s eyes watered again. She snuggled even more against her best friend.

They lay silently in Linea’s bed for a few more minutes and Linea just savored her closeness to Nora.

‘Calmed down yet?’ Sarah’s voice suddenly ripped her from her peace.

‘I guess…’ Linea answered unsure how to deal with Sarah, who somehow still sounded angry.

‘Good, because we need to talk. Not now but as soon as possible. Get up, get something to eat and then bring us to Captain Evira. I need to assess your combat readiness before we even think about going to Taldira. I won’t let you get us killed because you think I’ll somehow fix the problem for you.’

Linea noticed the rebuke in Sarah’s order, but didn’t dare to correct her. An angry Sarah was terribly scary. Sarah noted her caution, however.

‘I’m sorry, if my anger is making you uncomfortable,’ she said and tried to reign in her own emotions. ‘But try to understand my situation. I recently died after I made a stupid mistake in underestimating my enemy. When I was in limbo between the mortal realms and wherever I was supposed to go after death, I got stuck I couldn’t reach the afterlife and couldn’t go back. I don’t want that to happen to us again, and I have no clue if we can be brought back from that again.’

‘I didn’t know that…’

‘Of course not,’ Sarah said. ‘I don’t like talking about my failures and shortcomings. But we have to talk about stuff like that, because you can learn from me, which will keep us both alive. And that is my main concern right now.’

Linea understood how difficult that whole situation must have been for Sarah. From what she knew, Sarah had lived a life of constant battle and war. Just being an observer had to be hard on her.

‘I will try to learn from you,’ she said. ‘But please don’t be mad at me anymore.’

‘I’m not mad at you,’ Sarah said. Her anger dissipated and was replaced with guilt. ‘I don’t want you to feel bad about this. You may have screwed up, but I was able to prevent the worst. But we must train more than before. I was just shocked about how little you are prepared. After your explanations that you have trained to be a Void Huntress, I expected you to be able to deal with situations like that.’

‘Hey, I have trained a lot!’ Linea defended herself. ‘I’m skilled with my sword, I learned a lot of battle tactics against Torra and dark mages, and I was taught how to invoke my mana in theory. I don't know any spells yet, because I wasn’t allowed to learn it at the Academy, but that can’t be too hard.’

‘But all those skills are for naught, if you get killed because you are frozen in fear.’

Linea went silent because she couldn't answer that. Sarah was right.

‘But how can I overcome that fear?’ she asked hoping Sarah had a plan for that.

‘Well, you took the first step already,’ Sarah explained. ‘You faced death. The next time someone tries to kill you, the feeling won’t be as overwhelming or unfamiliar. We can’t do much about it, because that’s something that comes from experience. What we can train however is your ability to stay calm in the face of danger. That’s what I’ll teach you.’

----------------------------------------

After a quick talk with Captain Evira about the attack, Linea and her entourage were getting ready to leave Alandis in order to travel to their next destination. Enidara was a city roughly 120 kilometers to the west along the Luna’aguna from where they would follow a distributary river northbound until they reached Taldira.

Evira had considered canceling their mission in the face of recent events, but Linea had vehemently denied that notion. To ease the Captain’s mind however, she had proposed for additional weapons training. Evira wasn't convinced, but the queen had made it clear that Linea was the commander of this group. And so, she had reluctantly agreed.

Linea had just mounted her mare when a group of armored knights approached them. Lady Saliara, who wore a dress armor like Linea, led them. Besides this, Fenandir joined them as well. He looked stunning in his silvery mithril armor and on his black stallion. Linea noted how Nora and Minara blushed at his sight, and she suspected that he was pleasing to the eyes. But to her he only radiated prowess and confidence, which were traits not to be dismissed. In contrast to the last evening, he didn’t seem to be as flirtatious. A fact that Linea liked very much.

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“Lady Saliara,” Linea greeted the baroness.

“Your Grace,” Lady Saliara responded and lowered her head as a bow. “If you would allow me and my guards to accompany you towards Evidis. As the attacker of last night has not been found yet, I see it as imperative to escort you.”

Linea pondered about the offer for a second. That the attacker was able to escape without even being identified hinted at the possibility he would go for another attempt. Additional guards would be helpful. She threw a questioning look to Evira, who nodded.

“Very well,” Linea answered. “I’m thankful for your support.”

“Of course, My Lady. It is my honor and my duty.”

Linea eyes wandered back to Fenandir.

“I guess you’re suggesting a similar idea regarding yourself,” she stated with a small smile.

“Naturally, My Lady,” Fenandir replied. “Even though, I don’t want to insinuate that Captain Evira isn't properly equipped to handle the situation. I just want to make sure that my mission will not be hindered by the death of its main protagonist.”

Linea threw a glance at her guard’s captain, who gripped her sword’s hilt tightly.

‘Those two won’t become friends,’ Sarah noted with a chuckle.

“Your assistance would be appreciated but wasn’t your plan to analyze the situation before I arrive?”

“Plans change all the time. Depending on the situation one must be able to adapt. It doesn’t help me much when I analyze the situation beforehand just for you to not even arriving. It’s a trade-off, but as I said, I would rather make sure you arrive in Taldira in one piece.”

“How can I say no to such a devoted helper,” Linea answered and rolled her eyes. Fenandir chuckled and winked at her.

In the meantime, Lady Thudila had arrived as well followed by Lady Talura. While the countess was wearing a dark-violet dress with lace on her shoulders, the Lady Knight was dressed in her armor.

“I’m sorry, Your Grace,” Lady Thudila said as her greeting. “We were unable to apprehend the assassin.”

“I thank you for trying nonetheless,” Linea answered.

Lady Thudila made a curtsy.

“To redeem myself, I would like to ask you, to take my military advisor Lady Talura with you. She is not much of a guard, but she is versed in military tactics and an excellent warrior.”

Linea examined the bulky woman, who bowed her head as much as her armor allowed her.

“Is it your wish as well to follow me on my quest to slay the dark mage?”

“It is, My Lady,” Lady Talura answered. “As I see it, your little campaign could use someone with my experience and the countess doesn’t have much use for me at the moment. I want to join your retinue for as long as you need me.”

“That’s very gracious of you, but you should be aware that my finances don’t allow me to pay you right now,” Linea explained.

“As long as food and housing are cared for, I can finance myself.”

“In that case, welcome to the party,” Linea said with a smile. Her little group had nearly doubled in a matter of minutes.

“Let’s not waste any more time,” Evira announced. “We’re behind schedule already and I want to reach Evidis before the night.”

----------------------------------------

It wasn’t long after they had departed from Alandis when Evira noted something.

“We’re followed again,” she said, which sparked curious looks from their newest additions. Evira quickly explained about their little stalker.

“So, you are telling us that someone is following the princess and you only mention that now after she was nearly killed?” Fenandir asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Sir Fenandir, please keep your opinion to yourself,” Linea said in defense of Evira. “I would like to deal with this bug, but unfortunately we’re late already for our travel to Evidis. We can deal with him or her tomorrow.”

‘Really?’ Sarah asked surprised and the face of everyone around her, told Linea that Sarah wasn’t the only one with that question.

‘Not really,’ Linea answered. ‘Whoever is following me, won’t suddenly stop doing so. When we make our next stop, you and I will slip away and catch that stalker ourselves.’

‘Are you sure about that?’ Sarah asked doubtful. ‘Your success rate in such things is not all that promising.’

‘That’s what I have you for,’ Linea said. ‘I won’t be able to sleep, if I don’t catch him. I’m sure that the one following us is the same man that attacked me.’

‘Well, if you say so. But I demand to take control for that. I won’t risk us because you want to take that risk.

‘Deal!’

----------------------------------------

Around midnight Evira decided to stop for half an hour. Everyone was able to relieve themselves and get a little break from riding. Even Linea, who rode Minu regularly, noted how fast she felt sore now. She would avoid riding for some time after arriving in Taldira.

But for now, her focus was on their stalker. She took the opportunity when everyone gave her the privacy to do what even princesses do alone. It took Linea and Sarah no time at all to switch this time.

‘How are you going to catch him?’ Linea asked eagerly.

‘First, I need to find him, which is the harder part,’ Sarah said and then did something. They suddenly sensed everything in a large radius around them. Linea was able to process only a fraction of what she perceived.

‘Don’t try it,’ Sarah warned. ‘You’ll get only a headache. It took me years to master this.’

‘What- What are you doing?’ Linea asked and tried to ignore all the new sensations streaming into her.

‘That’s a telekinetic field,’ Sarah explained, while she searched for their stalker. ‘It’s like a layer of Psy-Energy that I put over everything in a kilometer range. I can stretch it even farther, but it gets inaccurate fast. With the field I can sense literally everything around… Found him!’

‘Already?’ Linea asked surprised. ‘Good, what now?’

‘Now this!’

Sarah pulled a knife out of Linea’s bag. Linea had no chance to understand what was happening next. They stood beneath a tree in a depression in one moment, and in the next moment they vanished. Linea still saw their surroundings, but they were…

‘Invisible!’ Linea exclaimed.

‘Kind of,’ Sarah said with a chuckle. ‘That’s my shadow walk. We’re inside of the shadows now. A technique, which is rather effective at night, when the shadow is prevalent. Let’s go hunting!’

Moving through the shadows was a weird experience for Linea. They were not walking because they were not even corporeal. Instead they were floating with a constant speed. Shortly after they approached a person tending to a horse. The person was shorter than Linea’s attacker and definitely female.

‘Are you sure, this is our stalker?’ Linea asked.

‘She is the only one around here, she is armed and rests at the same time as we do. Too much coincidences. Can I take her down?’

‘Don’t hurt her, if it is not necessary. I want to know, who she is and why she follows us.’

Sarah nodded mentally and moved closer. Only after she stood directly behind the stalker, she dropped out of the shadows and immediately pressed the knife against the woman’s throat.

“Don’t move, or I’ll gut you like a little, squeaking pig,” Sarah whispered in her ear. “Drop everything and turn around slowly.”

The woman tensed in fear but reacted quickly. She tried to ram her elbow in Sarah’s gut, but Sarah reacted with a telekinetic counter push. She kicked the woman into the back of her knees what brought her down. With a bit of telekinetic force, Sarah hindered her from standing up again.

“Last chance, missy,” Sarah said, while she took an arm of her victim and pressed it on her back. The woman stopped struggling after a few moments.

“Good, now let’s see, who we have here.”

Sarah pulled back the cape that obstructed the view on the stalker’s face.

“Senia?” Sarah asked in confusion, and Linea thought the same. Sarah let go of the other princess and took a few steps backwards. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Linea?” Senia asked as confused as Sarah. “How did you… where…”

‘Can I take over?’ Linea asked.

Sarah just shrugged mentally and gave the control back.

“Follow me,” Linea ordered her sister. She was curious about her sister’s sudden appearance, but she still feared that the killer was nearby. Senia seemed to be too confused about her sister’s ability to catch her to resist Linea’s order. Together they trudged back to the group which was already in uproar after Linea’s disappearance.

“Linea!” Evira exclaimed when she saw her arriving. “Where were you? We… were…”

She gradually stopped talking as she realized that Linea wasn’t alone. The rest of the group gathered as well curious about the newcomer.

“Princess Senia?” Evira asked wide-eyed. “What are you doing here?”

Senia didn’t answer but instead looked to the side.

“Two princesses outside of Luna’sindranar,” Aruna noted with a raised brow and the hint of a smile on her face. “The queen is going to have a field day with that.”

“The queen?” Evira asked and grew violet fast. “I’m having a field day right now! What are you thinking? Does the queen know of this?”

Evira was berating Senia directly without even mentioning that Linea was the one catching Senia.

“How dare you to talk to me like that?” Senia said and looked as furious as Evira.

“I dare it, because the Royal Guard protects the royal family. Where is your guard? Please don’t tell me, you were traveling alone. Where did you sleep?”

Senia avoided Evira’s eyes now.

“In Luna’s name! What were you thinking?” Evira looked like she couldn’t decide whether to explode in fury or to be grateful that Senia was unharmed.

“What are we going to do with her?”, Nora asked trying to steer the discussion to more pressing problems. “Should we send her back?”

Senia threw a dark gaze towards Nora, but Linea boxed her shoulder.

“Don’t you dare being angry at Nora,” Linea scolded Senia. “Her question is legitimate. Do we have the means to send her back?”

The question was directed to Evira, who already seemed to ponder about it.

“No, we have not. Our mission is to escort Your Grace to Taldira. I can’t detail enough guards to send her back,” Evira explained.

“In that case, the decision is simple. We take her with us and you send for reinforcements, which can escort her back to Luna’sindranar.”

“Well, it seems as if we didn’t have an alternative. But I don't like to have two potential heirs near a dark mage at the same time.”

“I don’t like to have her here either, but we don't have much of an alternative,” Linea said and looked at Senia with a frown.

“Don’t I get anything to say about it?” Senia asked angry.

“No!” Linea and Evira answered simultaneously.