Sierra on that day gave away the knighthood that was forced on her, instead, taking her sword and vowing to protect the group that she was now traveling with

Both her and Fae started walking back to the inn when the former felt well enough

"This is a new beginning for me" Sierra said, Fae smiled gently at those words as she was looking at her ever-so-relieved friend walk beside her while her arms embraced that one gift she could never separate from

"I'm happy you made the choice that you wanted to" Fae told her, her words prompting Sierra to grin widely

"I'm glad you think of it that way" She answered the now eyebrow-raised Fae

"You seem surprised about what I think of it" Fae said while the other could merely chuckle, slowly turning her head to drift her gaze away from her friend

"I don't know, I feel like I got angry too quickly or something" She responded

"Believe me" Fae retorted, getting back Sierra's attention as she locked her eyes with her emerald ones

"I would get much angrier if I were in your shoes" She told her

"For you to have been okay with it for so long, that just speaks volumes about your patience" Fae continued as she gave her friend a small smile

"Thanks!" Sierra exclaimed while the other gave her a slow, smiling nod

After that brief conversation, the duo went on to talk more about the city itself and how it came to become the capital, Fae understood that it was mainly because it was Sofia's birthplace and that was one of the many reasons why it became the capital of the newfound kingdom of Flora, although just a newborn, the kingdom has been undergoing big policy changes mainly concerning how much power and influence nobility could have, although on the outside Fae was much attentive to Sierra on the, inside however, she kept contemplating whether she should speak about Archard or not since her friend seem to be close to the now deceased knight

Both finally arrived at the inn that Yulia and Avalynn should have reserved rooms in, opening its doors Fae could find it awfully resemblin Ulfgan's inn back in Freesia, only this inn had slightly more clientele

The duo walked up to the lonely Yulia sitting by the counter with a drink in her hand

"Hey, where are the other two?" Fae got her friend's attention as both her and Sierra sat down next to the now smiling Yulia

"Avalynn went on a walk while Thaddeus should be upstairs" She replied to her, Fae presumed he told them that he could speak now

"But nevermind that, how did it go?" She then asked with a slightly arched eyebrow

"As best as it could go honestly" Fae shrugged

"I should be fine until she needs me again" Those words prompted Yulia to smile warmly

"I'm glad for you" She said

"Anyway, you should get your stuff up in our room, our number is 7" Fae gave Yulia a small smile

"You're right, thanks" She replied to Yulia as she got up to leave the latter with Sierra who then went on to tell the ex guild master about how she's indefinitely joining the group on their travels

Fae climbed the stairs and walked down the hallway until she reached the aformentioned room, a simple door with a simple carving of a number 7, she knocked twice before entering

Finding Thaddeus seated on the cold floor as he was rumagging inside Yulia's backpack

"What are you doing?" She asked, bringing the knight to turn his head behind him

"Oh, it's you" He replied in surprise

"I'm just checking what provisions we have" He told her, his voice was different from the first time he spoke to the queen, it was more human and less evil, with each word spoken, a little bit of his soul merged with the metal that was now his body

"Don't worry young girl, I've already asked permission haha" His chuckle was weirdly enough very warm for something with the appearance of a cursed and possessed armor of chaos

"Read my mind" Fae said with a tiny smile as she crossed her arms

"I know that you lasses are close to each other, it is a nice sight to see" He told Fae as he was still crouched, his green energy eyes looking up at her

"To be able to be around the youth of generations after me is already a blessing, but to be able to see them caring for each other is marvelous by itself" He spoke with such sincerity that it couldn't but bring Fae to a soft chuckle hidden behind the back of her hand

"You're in quite good mood" She replied, giving him a hearty chuckle

"Today is a happy day, let us pray that the next days will be the same" His honest tone gave the warmly smiling Fae quite the remembrance, and in a way, quite the homesickness

"And how are you getting used to that body of iron?" Fae asked him with a gesture of her hand

"Well the best part has to be the lack of back pain" He said with a loud and equally as warm laughter

"It is nice being so flexible and strong, but I do miss my human body" Thaddeus said

"Though I presume I should thank the four for allowing me to live a little more" He then added

"However, I should thank you more young girl" He gestured at Fae who could explain the expression his green eyes made only to be a smile

"For my soul would not be able to exist without the energy you are giving to me, so you have my sincerest gratitude" He rested his hand on his metal chest as he spoke

"Don't worry about that" She smiled

"Having somebody of your caliber with us is nothing but a positive" She added with an equally as warm of a tone

"Ahah" His nervous chuckle brought Fae to raise an eyebrow

"Although I have no idea what a caliber is I'm sure you mean it in good-will" His words prompted Fae to have a hearty laughter

After that Fae had to leave her backpack in that room before heading out, her legs felt a little bit too stiff and she wanted to see the capital by her self

With only the weight of her cloak around her shoulders, Fae left her friends at the inn while she went on to walk within the streets of Rose, it was a nice change of scenery from the wilds

Although for Fae, Rose didn't feel much different from Freesia, she could tell however that it was much more prosperous than the latter from both its sheer size and population count, without even mentioning the royal palace and the presence of so many noble families, though Fae didn't give much care to that as she didn't see nobles in much of a good light after all that has happened

She let in a good and deep breath to only let it out just as quickly, just where was Avalynn she thought to herself, she desperetly wanting to discuss with her about how they were going to be making their way up to the gods, the mental image of a ladder to the heavens gave Fae an exhausted chuckle

A hand sliding down her back gave Fae quite the jolt as she immediately turned around with quite the angry expression to meet the contrast of her expression

"Hi!" Avalynn exclaimed with a grin

"You're looking mighty lonely, mind some company?" She added on while her sly smile was only made wider

Fae on the other hand couldn't but sigh

"I was looking for you anyways" She told her

"Oh?" Her devil friend was slightly surprised

"And what could you ever want from me" She then gasped in faked shock as she covered her breasts with her arms

"Are you after my body? how perverted!" Avalynn beating around the bush didn't please Fae much, and she depicted it by the lack of any possible emotional reaction

"So you are?!" Avalynn looked sincere for a split second as she aws taken aback before Fae slammed a closed fist ontop of her head

"Ow, okay okay, I'm sorry hehe" She held her head with both hands as she chuckled

"Can we get to talking over our next stop then?" Fae said with a stern look and arms crossed just as sternly

"Okie dokie girl" Avalynn then gestured towards the exit of Rose with a sizable smirk plastered on her face

"Let's talk about it then"

As such, the duo left the city for a walk in the nearby woods, it was a fairly peaceful walk for both the duo as the only sounds around them was the howling wind and the birds chirping on wood branches, and at the middle the scream of an irate woman

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"What do you mean you don't know how?!" She yelled at Avalynn who nervously chuckled as she put her hands up and towards Fae

"W-well, it's not that I don't know, it's just..." A silent split of a second passed as the devil looked away before she looked back at Fae and shrugged

"Yeah you're right I really don't"

Fae slowly unsheathed her blade

"Wait wait! before you do anything outragous!" Avalynn pleaded as she put her hand on top of Fae's own one that was curled around the handle of her sword

"The only thing outragous is that you lied to me" Fae said calmly, to the contrast of the aura she was giving off to the nervously laughing Avalynn

"Hey I may not know but I know who knows!" Avalynn said with a confident smile as she looked at the ever so close Fae right into her brown eyes

The same Fae who sighed before removing her hand from her sword

"I'm all ears" She told her friend

"Okay, so" Avalynn took a step back as she then explained

"Basically, I know who knows how to get to divinity, and that'll be the Elvish Dryad, she has to know" Fae this time, wasn't very convinced and she showed it by crossing her arms

"And why do you think she knows?" She asked

"It's because she's the one who helped the four gods ascend in the first place" That piece of information brought Fae to part her lips slightly for a split second, rubbing her chin in thought as she looked away

"I'm guessing we have to go north then?" Avalynn smirked at those words

"Yes" She told Fae

"North and through the ancient tree curtain, it'll be quite the sightseeing" She then said with a smile

"And who's this Dryad exactly?" Fae asked with a tilted head while her hand was still on her chin

"Well, you could say she's like a goddess for the elves" Avalynn explained

"She was originally a nymph that helped the elves back in the demon war, the elves wanted to stay neutral back then but they only ended up being in war with both humans and demons" Avalynn shrugged

"What's a nymph?" She inquired further, pushing Avalynn to look up while her index finger was on her lips

"Ah" She muttered

"You could say that she's a magickal creature born out of condensation of mana" Fae scratched her head as that really didn't explain much for the earthling

"They look like women and usually don't stray away from the forests they guard" Neither did that

"Why would they be guarding forests?" Fae asked confusedly

"Not even I know, they just do" Avalynn replied

"Maybe you can add that to your questions to the four gods once we're up there" She added on with a smirk and narrowed eyes

"Yeah right" Fae looked aside then as at least now they know where to go, and most importantly, who to ask

"Uhm" Avalynn's sound attracted Fae's attention yet again, though this time she raised an eyebrow at the expression her devilish friend had on her face

"What?" With crossed arms, Fae spoke her mind quite simply

"It's just that I was wondering if you're angry at me for not being completely transparent with you" She spoke with a surprisingly meek tone that made Fae narrow her eyes

"Why would you care about that?" She asked her, prompting her to put quite the angry look

"Hey you are making me sound like quite the heartless devil!" She said with her hands down and curled into fists

"Where exactly am I wrong?" Fae said with crossed arms, prompting Avalynn to have a frown that surprised Fae

"I'm serious you know?" She told her while sitting down under one of the many trees that surrounded the duo

"In millions of years, you are the second person to ever care about me in the slightest" The devil said as her purple eyes were locked to look up at Fae who was taken aback by her sudden honest tone, more so than it was very much so in contrast to her usual speech manner

"Even if you only need me to talk with the gods, it still makes me very happy to be with you" Her eve so gentle tone and soft gaze made sure to prove the said words' meaning

Fae on the other hand sat down next to Avalynn with quite an exhausted sigh, the tree's shade protecting the two women from the burning sunlight

"You don't seem to believe me" Avalynn spoke up to her friend with a tilted head and concerned eyes

"I do, you're just hard to love" Fae answered, looking forward and away from the devil with the pursed lips

"Though I guess you're harder to hate" She then added while turning her head to gaze at her friend that shaped her frown into a beaming grin

"I will not argue with that hehe" Avalynn chuckled while Fae gave her a slow, yet smiling shook of her head

The latter then went on to look away in the distance as the wind swayed the foliage back and forth, bunnies and equally as small animals cowering away from the human and the devil while birds chirped above the two's heads, it wasn't the kind of moments that Fae was used to back in her world, but it was ever so peaceful

"I've been meaning to ask you, Fae" She softly muttered, attracting her friend's attention once again

"You hardly ever have any joy on your face, why is that?" It was a question that Fae didn't receive often, Avalynn smiled as she looked at Fae however

"Well, apart from now of course" She then added, because at that moment Fae without knowing it herself, had a glowing smile

Fae narrowed her eyes to give her devilish partner a stern look before her shoulders were raised in a shrug that depicted he answer

"That can't be right, something must've happened" Avalynn slightly furrowed her eyebrows

"You definitely seemed happier before" She continued, raising one of her furrowed eyebrows in curiosity

"What do you mean by that?" Fae asked as the way her friend spoke aroused Fae's own curiosity about the matter

"Like for example when you fought against the goblins back in Freesia" The Devil said with a raised finger

"You just had a happier face around your friends" She explained a matter that Fae understood, she knew what Avalynn was trying to shed light at

"How do you even know that?" Fae inquired with a furrowed gaze and crossed arms, prompting her devilish friend to giggle behind the back of her hand

"Because I was there, you just couldn't see me" She told the narrow-eyed Fae

"So, will you not tell me why?" She asked while getting closer to her human friend

"Why should I?" Fae answered quite simply and quite clearly

"So you can feel better of course" Avalynn explained with slightly furrowed eyebrows

"Maybe telling me of what happened will relieve some of your burden" She told her as her own face formed a gentle smile

"Or at least make you feel some semblance of solace"

Fae looked deeply into the purple eyes of the devil, but as much as she hated it, she couldn't feel any malice coming out of her friend, with a long exhale, Fae spoke up of the events that occurred in the past week

"The desire for wealth and power is certainly corrupting" Avalynn said

"Or perhaps was it that he didn't see peasants as humans any longer, only a resource for nobles and royalty" She added, questioning her own thinking

"I honestly don't care" Fae replied, taking a deep inhale of the cigarette between her fingers as she then pushed the smoke into her lungs

"People like him don't deserve to live" She added on as with each word took a little bit of smoke out through her lips

"An understandable answer" But her expression seemed as if she had more questions that stayed unanswered

"Although, you did say you did it to hurt the people that hurt you" Avalynn attracted Fae's brown gaze into her purple eyes

"I don't think you were a victim of his cruelty, were you?" She asked with a slight tilt of her head

"No, but to people like him, doing the same thing" Fae explained with a raised hand

"You know how I'm not from this world, right?" She asked Avalynn

"Yes, I am aware of that" She gave Fae a slow nod before the latter carried on

"When I was a child, I was kidnapped and almost became a statistic of organ theft" Fae said as she then grabbed the collar of her white shirt to gently pull it down

"That's how I got this scar" Avalynn got even closer to Fae as she looked at the scar that went down from her collar bone, the duo stayed like that for a silent second before Avalynn went back while Fae let go of her shirt

"I presume that the scar was all they did to you" Fae was told, nodding slowly to those words said by Avalynn

"Yeah, fortunately for me I was saved right when they tried to open me" She then looked down at her chest and gave away a weary chuckle

"Lucky enough not to die but unlucky enough to leave a scar" She muttered

"It's better than death, isn't it?" Avalynn's sudden soft tone prompted Fae to raise her chin to look at her friend with an equally as gentle smile

"You're right, I won't argue with that at all"

The two friends stayed seated under the shadow of the ancient tree, soothed by the gentle breeze flowing past them and the singing of the birds on the branches above, it wasn't anything miraculous but being here felt like heaven for both Fae and the Devil

"Tell me Ava" Fae spoke words that broke the silence the two were engulfed in, Avalynn with raised eyebrows and a smirk looked at her own friend

"Shortening my name now are we?" She told her with a tone as mischievous as the person

"Do you like music?" Fae didn't really reply to her teasing, she did however, offer one side of her earphones connected to her phone

"Music?" Avalynn tilted her head to the side with pouted lips and a curious gaze

"I never really asked myself that" She answered Fae, who went on to soften her smile and narrow her eyes

"You can find out now then, take this" Fae handed her devilish friend one of the two earphones that to the devil herself, was a strange mysterious artifact

"You put it in your ear, like this" Fae showed her with slow motion as the latter copied that action, snugly putting it in her ear without other questions that her curiosity desperately wanted to voice out

Fae on the other side, looked down at her phone as she swiped down

"Sometimes when I start thinking too much" She said, swiping further on

"I like to just rest my head on my room's open window and just close my eyes to let the music drift my mind away" She then pressed on the screen once

"Far from my worries" And as she spoke those words Avalynn heard a sound coming from the earphone that gently faded in, startling her a little

The sound slowly melted into many deep voices humming in harmony, Fae looked at her friend by her side and was very pleased to see the surprised expression she had, looking away in the distance in deep thought at the piece of music she was submitted to

That deep humming was suddenly replaced by a woman's voice doing the same notes, but this time it was much gentler and soothing, almost like she was replying to the previous voices with her angelic notes, accompanied shortly by the melody of a flute that carried that woman's voice and made it ever so mellow

Fae closed her eyes and let the back of her head rest against the tree behind her, her smile unwavering thanks to the soothing and healing tune in her ear

As the angel's humming replied the first deep voices, so did they respond to that angel with their synchronized dark melody, it felt as if the two sides were having a conversation that was melted in music through the flute and cello

But when would one think that the deep and the high opposed each other, suddenly both joined together to voice out the notes of the instruments that played, forming a marriage that could only be described as musical euphoria that repeated itself for a couple of more minutes that left Avalynn completely speechless, for her emotions brew inside of her and snatched the usual cunning words before they were even formed

She just sat there, mesmerized by the melody in her left ear and the noises of the forest in her right, she was seated there with narrowed eyes and a smile that could melt even the hardest of rocks

Eventually, the music faded away, leaving the stunned Avalynn to only realize just how hypnotized she has gotten from the orchestral piece that she had just listened to

"That was..." She couldn't really explain what she felt as she removed the earphone to then look at it resting on the palm of her hand

"Quite the experience" One that made her curiosity stray away from asking about either the phone or the piece she put inside of her ear, as for now, she was too taken with what she had just listened to

"And about your question" She then added, closing her hand and leaving the earphone inside her fist

"I think-" As she looked at Fae however, her words were cut short while her eyes slightly widened, for Fae didn't only have her eyes closed, but the gentle snoring emanating from her was clear to say that she was sleeping, and with the smile on her face, pretty comfortably too, a sight that prompted a warm snicker out of the devil, who then went on to look at the peacefully sleeping human

For the few time that she had traveled with said human, Avalynn felt most at peace, if not happy, two feelings that she wasn't very used to throughout her long and tiring existing, the thought of having somebody by her side in even the habits of each day brought her much joy, and for Fae to know everything about her nature yet still give her some semblance of trust made Avalynn smile from ear to ear, whether that trust was because Fae needed the devil, or because it was out of genuine care, it didn't really matter to her, she only wanted a friend, and Fae and her group gave her that and more

Speaking of which though, Avalynn was quite fond of Fae's sleeping face that harbored such a peaceful smile, it was exactly the kind of face that she wanted her friend to make more, a happy face

Putting her back against the tree and looking off in the distance, Avalynn thought that if Fae could only make such a face in her sleep, then she'd stay here with her for as long as she wanted, protecting her from anything that could ever want to take that precious smile away