“Well, I guess this it,” Azure said, turning to face Lusya as she stopped at the fork in the road before them. It was right about where the Elzen Valley ended. The mountains could even be seen diminishing to nothing to the west. “This is where we part ways, isn’t it?”

Lusya nodded. “It is. You are going north, while we must go west.” Strictly speaking, they could have found a ship in the north, but her reasons for wanting to minimize travel by sea remained. “Thank you again for paying for my clothes.”

After the damage they had suffered it had, once again, been easier to replace Lusya’s clothes than repair them. Since Lusya had needed an entire new outfit rather than just a shirt, this had set them back a bit over a week. That was inconvenient, but there hadn’t been much to be done about it. At least Azure had covered the cost in full.

Azure had also helped tend to Lusya’s wounds. Most hadn’t needed more than some basic dressing, but the stab wound on her leg had needed to be stitched. Fortunately, everything had healed in the past week, so she would be ready next time she needed to fight. She hoped that would not be any time soon, but she doubted this journey would be resolved without at least one more incident. She did not believe in fate, but a peaceful journey did not seem to be in the cards. At the very least, she could hope that there would be no more battles of that level until after Father was revived.

“Oh, it was no trouble at all,” Azure said. “They might not have gotten damaged if not for me.”

“It is possible,” Lusya replied. It was a distinct possibility she would have come across Falin either way, if he was going to be in the valley, but it was true that their encounter would not have happened as it had without Azure’s presence. Then again, all things considered, Lusya might have been dead in that case.

The consequences of killing a Paladin still loomed over her, although there was no way for it to be traced back to her, unless Azure reported her responsibility. Which she said she would not. Still, his death was sure to trigger some kind of response, which might well find its way to Lusya regardless. For now, though, there was no point in worrying over that nebulous future, and so Lusya elected not to.

“Do you really have to go, Azure?” Ariya asked. Lusya had been concerned for her after all she had seen during the fight, but she seemed fine in every way that mattered. Ariya had been a little pale right after the fight, but that had cleared up soon enough.

Azure smiled. “Believe me, I would love to have you two around a little longer, but I have something I need to do, and so do you two.”

Ariya pouted but nodded. “Okay, I understand.”

“It really was fun being with you two” Azure said. “Although, I could do with a little less excitement next time I travel.”

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Lusya nodded. “Indeed.”

Azure held up two fingers pinched together. “Just a little bit less. Everything before that guy showed up was great.”

“I would not say everything,” Lusya said. She had forgiven Azure for them, but Lusya was not going to forget the low points of their time together. “But traveling with you was enjoyable. I am glad I was able to see some things I otherwise would not have.”

“And I’m glad I got to see them with you,” Azure said with a broad smile.

“I’m glad I saw them with both of you,” Ariya said. “You’re almost as cool as Lusya.”

Azure chuckled. “Thank you.” There was a brief silence, where all she did was stare at Lusya with a sad smile. Then, Azure turned and pointed down the road heading north. “Well then, I’ll be heading this way.”

Lusya nodded. “Farewell.”

Azure nodded back and turned away. She took a few steps down the road, then came to an abrupt stop, her grip suddenly tight on her spear. Lusya cocked her head and blinked twice. She opened her mouth to ask Azure what she was doing but never got the chance to speak.

Azure whirled, throwing aside her spear and threw herself at Lusya. Azure’s arms wrapped around Lusya’s back and pulled her into a tight embrace. One hand held her, while the other gently stroked her hair. It was slight, but Azure was trembling.

“I’ve missed you all this time, so much, Lusya,” she said in a hoarse, choked voice. “I’m glad I got to keep my promise.”

Lusya’s eyes widened. “Mo…ther?”

How had she not seen it? Had she not wanted to?

That was exactly it. She had known for a while now. It had not escaped her notice how Azure resembled her. Lusya was no expert on social dynamic, but, by the end, it had become clear that Azure’s affection for her and familiarity with her childhood was also unusual for a mere family friend. Most of all, all this talk of her childhood had done plenty to jog Lusya’s memory. More than enough for her to remember her mother’s face. A face she had buried as a child, convinced after a year or two that that promise had been broken.

And that was why now, she had refused to acknowledge her own knowledge. She had put that realization behind as many walls as she could muster so she could pretend, even to herself, that it had not occurred. They were not enough now. All those walls had crumbled in an instant.

Mother pulled away just as suddenly as the embrace had begun. Wiping her eyes on her sleeve, she turned away, grabbed the spear she had discarded, and walked off down the road at a brisk pace.

Ariya let out a pensive hum. “Your arms…were you gonna hug her back?”

Lusya blinked and looked down. Her arms were indeed half raised as if they had been about to return the embrace. She didn’t remember doing that or even thinking about it, however.

“Of course not,” she said as she lowered her arms, offering a hand to Ariya. “Such expressions of affection are beyond me.”

Ariya grabbed the hand, frowning. After a moment, she gasped and broke into a grin. “Oh, are you embarrassed?”

Luysa chose not to dignify that with a response. She did not get embarrassed. She turned and started leading Ariya down the westward road.

“Bye, you two!” Mother called. “Let’s do this again some time!”

Lusya turned to see Mother waving her free hand broadly through the air. Even from this distance, it was obvious her expression was a radiant smile. Lusya offered a more subdued wave in response and turned away to continue walking.

Ariya gasped. “Are you smiling?”

“I do not smile,” Lusya replied.

Ariya pouted. “But you are right now!”

“Silence, child.”