Marina leaned over Blackjack, placing her hand lightly upon her chest, but couldn’t be certain if it was rising or falling. She placed her ear beside the High Elf’s mouth and listened, relieved to hear a very faint breathing. The young Mercian sat up and leaned back, exhaling a deep breath.

“She’s still alive,” she said. “That’s good. I was worried that she wouldn’t make it. That’s very good…so, what do we do?”

“Nothing,” said Friedrich, lying upon the stone and watching the vast blue nothingness that was the sky above Mercia.

“We aren’t going to just leave her here, are we?”

“No, of course not,” he said. “Elf or not, she saved you from a similar fate. We owe it to her to at least make sure she’s really alright.”

“I should have listened to you,” said Marina, sitting down beside him, relinquishing her staff which clunked down on the rooftop. “I thought those people might be in trouble and…well, I’m sorry. You were right about everything.”

“I can’t blame you for wanting to help others, but it can be dangerous out here and were very lucky there was someone here to help us. I don’t think I would have been able to stop you eating that bread in time. I should have slapped it out of your hand the second Ysolda passed it to you.”

“I don’t think Ysolda was her real name,” said Marina, placing her chin upon her knees.

“That’s not really the point, is it?”

“No, I suppose not. In any case, I think I would have taken it badly if you had hit the bread out of my hands. Sometimes I dig my heels in when I think I’m making the right choice. I want to be helpful, I really do. Maybe that’s why I’ve clung to you so much since we first met…that need to help you. I feel like I’m meant to be here and we’re meant to travel together…I can’t explain it.”

“As much as you can drive me crazy,” Friedrich said, prompting a dry laugh from Marina, “I’m glad you are here. It can be lonely when you’re by yourself. The only problem is that you need to be extra vigilant because you’re responsible for someone other than yourself. Let’s be honest now, alright? We both know that you have no experience and found me completely by accident.”

“Yes.”

“And that’s fine, but I don’t appreciate the deception. We don’t need to know everything about each other, Jorren knows I have my secrets, but if there’s something that puts either of us at risk then it’s only right that we share it."

Marina nodded and stayed silent as she watched Blackjack. The high elf rolled onto her side, shivering. Friedrich stood up, took off his cloak and placed it over the archer.

“Why do you want a boat?” asked Marina. “You said I’ve never really asked much about you, and that’s something I would like to know.”

“Honestly?” said Friedrich, sitting back down. “If I can get a boat, I can go on the hunt for more kupons and become rich beyond my wildest dreams.”

“Unless you end up crashing and marooned.”

“Let’s presume that doesn’t happen.”

“You just want to be rich for the sake of being rich?”

“There’s more to it than just that, but…”

Marina was smiling. “It’s fine if you don’t want to tell me everything. I haven’t told you everything and we can still trust each other. We’ve proven that so far, haven’t we?

“We have.”

“Then long may our wild journey continue!” she yelled, raising her fist into the air.

“You’ve really been having a good time going on these adventures even though we nearly die at least once a week?”

“Yep.”

“You’re crazier than I thought,” chuckled Friedrich.

He sat silently for a minute thinking about his true goal; thinking about his father. He wished for nothing more than to see him again, but he knew that he still had so far to go. Where his father was, was not somewhere easy to reach, but he would find a way. The boat was his first step towards that goal, and arming himself to the teeth was the second.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Marina looked over at Blackjack, who continued to sleep. “What do we do when she wakes up?”

Friedrich shrugged. “Make sure she’s alright and then go on our merry way. As much as I would love to stick around, we’ve still got to find a way to Kai’roh.”

“Maybe she has a boat?”

“She doesn’t look like she has much at all. She looks as poor as we do.”

“But her armour is much nicer than yours,” said Marina, prodding Friedrich’s leather cuirass that he wore over his tunic.

“I don’t wear this for fashion,” he said, batting her hand away.

“Do you think she covered herself because she didn’t want anybody to know she was an Alaurian?” asked Marina, walking over to Blackjack and looking at her now-uncovered face.

“I would say it’s more likely she doesn’t want specific people to know who she is. The worst that most elves in Mercia would get is a funny look unless they’re given a more egregious reason for suspicion. Haughty as the Alauri are, they’re at least civilised…unlike orcs.”

“Ugh,” muttered Blackjack faintly.

“She said something!” squealed Marina.

“Was it because I said orcs?” asked Friedrich, rushing over to see if Blackjack was waking up.

“No…” muttered the elf, “but you are right. They are uncivilised.”

“Blackjack? I’m very glad you’re still alive,” said Marina, being careful not to lay her hands on the injured elf.

Blackjack forced herself to sit up, pulled back her hood and revealed a long shock of straight blonde hair, finer than strands of gold, even lighter than her skin. Seeing her face in full, ill as she was, she was supremely beautiful. The Alauri were considered among the fairest people across the entirety of Eradrel, yet Blackjack was beautiful even by her people’s own high standards.

“How do you feel?” asked Friedrich.

“Terrible,” she said bluntly, “but I will live thanks to you.”

“It’s my fault,” said Marina quietly. “I should have heeded your warning and stayed away from anyone on the road. Friedrich tried to stop me, but I wouldn’t listen. If it hadn’t been for me, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt. I’m sorry.”

“I accept your apology,” said Blackjack, “but it is obvious to me how naïve you are, Mercian. What is your name?”

“Marina.”

“Marina, if you want to survive, you need to learn how to sense danger. The boy clearly is wiser to the world than you are, so you should follow his lead more closely.”

“Yes, you’re right.”

“Are you hungry?” asked Friedrich.

Blackjack raised an eyebrow. “Am I hungry?”

“Yes. I don’t mean for poisoned bread, I assure you.”

“I do not have the stomach to eat, fox boy. The gravest danger has passed, yet I still do not feel myself.”

“Nonsense!” called Friedrich, waving a hand through the air in dismissal. “If you’re sick and injured, you need meat to mend yourself. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

With that, he wandered back down the stairs and out of sight, leaving Marina and Blackjack together atop the watchtower. Marina looked around awkwardly as Blackjack stared at her with her piercing green eyes.

“Why are you fidgeting?” the elf asked the human.

“You make me uncomfortable,” said Marina, more bluntly than she had intended. “I don’t know why that is.”

“I cannot say that I am all that fond of your kind either, Mercian. We Alauri are—”

“No, that’s not what I meant.,” interjected Marina apologetically. “You’re so…capable. And composed. I feel like you could snap me like a twig if you wanted to even though you’re not that much bigger than me.”

“Not in my current state, nor do I have any desire to do that whether I am at my strongest or not.”

Marina laughed. “That pleases me to hear…can I ask you something?”

Blackjack continued to stare directly at Marina, whose eyes flickered between direct contact, the staircase and the sky above. “You can ask me whatever you please, but as to whether or not I will answer is entirely dependent on what it is that you ask.”

“Is Blackjack your real name?”

“No.”

“Then why did the demon call you Blackjack?”

“It is what I am called in demon hunting circles. They do not know my true name, for knowing my true name means they know my greatest vulnerability. To be known as Blackjack assures that I am safer.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Nor do I expect you to.”

“But you’re a demon hunter?”

“Was that not clear?”

“I was…mostly sure?”

“Was that another question?”

“No…”

Marina trailed off, more uncomfortable than ever. Blackjack sat in silence, cautious about moving too much even though her wound was starting to repair itself. Whatever concoction was in those vials of hers, it was acting quickly. Marina stood up and walked around the rooftop, trying to see if she could see Friedrich hunting somewhere close by. She hoped he would return with wild boar rather than pheasant, but she would take anything other than their rations right now.

At last, the young man returned. Over his shoulder, he carried a wild boar and Marina hopped excitedly upon seeing it. It would take a while to cook it properly, but it looked fat and tasty. Blackjack on the other hand turned up her nose.

“You don’t eat pork?” Friedrich asked, dropping the boar by the edge of the tower and pulling out his carving knife.

“I eat pork, but that one looks mangled,” said the Alaurian.

“That was my doing,” replied Friedrich with a chuckle. “I like to make sure it’s good and dead before hauling it back. One time I thought I had killed a pheasant, but it ran away the second I tried to cook it.”

“A single arrow would be much more effective.”

“I don’t have a bow, just a sword and a shield.”

“Do you know how to shoot one?”

“I haven’t tried to in a while, but I was a decent shot last time I did.”

“If you are to be a hunter, it is an essential skill that you should not avoid.”

“Oh, I’m not a hunter,” said Friedrich. “At least not the kind that you’re thinking of."

Blackjack cocked her head to the side. “What sort of hunter are you, fox boy?”

“We’re treasure hunters,” said Friedrich with a sly grin.

“The Lightning Foxes!” said Marina excitedly.

Blackjack raised an eyebrow in confusion.