“Rules for what?” Mark asked.

I pursed my lips. “As you probably have noticed, I have a bit of a temper. I can keep it under control under most circumstances, but I have rules to keep things civil.” I held up a hand and extended a finger. “One, I’m a person. Not an animal, a monster, or anything less. You treat me like a person, and I will not look for ways to beat you within an inch of your life.” I lifted a second finger. “That leads to my second rule. I will give you one warning, then I will hurt you, and if you keep going, I will kill you.”

“Why are you so violent?” Dinar held her arms close to her chest and quivered as she spoke.

I glared at the little elf. “Because, when it comes to conflict, I have a strong predisposition to fight. No matter how minor the conflict.”

“Are you sure you can kill us? We could be more skilled than you.” Daric said as he puffed his chest out. Go on, test me. I will wipe the floor with you. “We also outnumber you.”

Aenwyn placed a hand on my chest as she walked in between me and Daric. “Let me dispel that illusion. She can and will have no problem beating all of you up at once. Lucia is our single most capable fighter.” She turned to glare at me. “Although sometimes it goes to her head.”

I shrugged my shoulders. “So what if I have a problem knowing when to stop? Some people see that as a positive trait.”

“Anything in excess is dangerous.” Silver’s eye twitched. There is probably an interesting story about that one.

“The last rule is that if you hear me say ‘waterfalls,’ leave me alone. That’s non-negotiable.“ I reached for the door. “I will meet you at the north gate tomorrow morning at sunrise.”

“I’m the hero and I’m getting my very own fellowship,” Daric whispered as he glanced at the ceiling. That’s it. I need to settle this now.

I opened the door. “Everyone, out.” I watched everyone, including Aenwyn, jump. They looked around at each other and then back at me. “I said out!” Why is nobody moving?

“Come, let’s leave her alone in this room,” Aenwyn said as she ushered Silver towards the door. “It’s better for everyone that we just let her get it out of her system.”

I watched each person as they walked past me. As soon as Daric walked by, I grabbed him. “Not you.” With minimal effort, I shoved him towards the chairs. The small procession of people ceased as soon as I touched Daric.

Penny stepped towards me. “What are you planning?”

“I want to talk to him alone.” I bared my fangs. “Now out!”

Mark and Aenwyn stood between me and Daric. “Whatever you need to talk to him about, you can do it with us present,” Mark said as he spread his legs shoulder-width apart and turned slightly. Not a bad stance, but pointless.

“I warned you, don’t provoke me. And you are doing that with your stance.” I turned away from him and pushed Golditress and Penny out of the room towards Silver and Dinar. “I promise, I don’t want to hurt him or kill him.” Yet.

“He will just tell us what you talked to him about after you leave anyway. He and I have no secrets.” Mark never moved an inch. Thanks for letting me know.

“That’s nice that you have a friendship like that. I have a friend like that, too.” I pointed towards the door. “Out! I will not repeat myself again.”

“Waterfalls. You need to calm down.” Aenwyn placed her hands on my shoulders.

“What do you want from me?” Daric stood still with his hands at his sides.

“Who sent you here? Who told you to go after these blood anchors?” I might as well confirm it. But I can’t let them know. I’m afraid of what this idiot will say if he knows that I’m a reincarnator.

“My teacher, Midas Bloodless.“ Daric tilted his head as he responded. “Why did you need to ask that in secret?”

I growled as I silently stormed out of the room. Everyone created an opening for me to walk through. I hated that my footsteps didn’t make any sound when I stomped them. It was so much less satisfying.

“What was with her reaction?” Penny’s voice trailed behind me.

“I don’t know,” Aenwyn whispered.

Of course, that conniving, controlling, lying old fool had to be involved. I don’t care that Mom loved him enough to want to marry him. But after meeting him at the tournament, I made sure Mom kept him away from me. But he said he was teaching his replacement as the reincarnator to defend the world from the demon king. But all this tells me is that Daric is the one The Voice sent after me.

I left The Maidens’ headquarters and sprinted through the streets towards home. The world moved in slow motion as I dashed past everyone and out the gate. I continued running to the home I shared with my mom. I saw our little farmhouse, which we bought from one of the farmers just outside the city right after she adopted me. The farmers still owned the land around it and farm it, but they just needed to build another house. I, of course, had to help. Mom made sure of it. It was a simple little cottage, made of wood that we treated with some kind of coating liquid that smelled awful. Mom said that it would make the house require less maintenance.

I walked in, and by the smell of cooked meat, I knew Mom was in the kitchen. “I’m home.”

“So, how did it go?” Nora walked around the corner with a plate of food in her hands. Steam rolled off the potatoes, parsnips, and fish steak. I took another big whiff. That is fish, more specifically, carp.

“Are you trying to make it up to me because the fishing trip is canceled?” I crossed my arms after closing the door.

Stolen novel; please report.

“A bit.” Her smile left me feeling calmer like it has done so many times in the past. “I even left you three fish uncooked and six more salted so you can take them with you when you leave. Do you want to tell me all the details?”

I stepped behind her and followed her to the small dinner table we shared. She already had my fish on a plate ready for me to eat.

“Things have been too quiet for too long,” I said as I sat down. “A group of six, likely misguided, knights are investigating the blood anchors. My orders are to guard them, guide them through the forest, and keep them fed.” I picked the fish up and stared into its lifeless eyes for a moment. “Oh, and they are being led by the other reincarnator.”

Mom placed her plate on the table but didn’t sit down. “Are you certain?”

“He said he was Midas Bloodless’s student. So, yeah.“ I slid a claw down the spine of the fish. “He’s an idiot. The first thing he said to me was, ‘Will you marry me?’ Who does that?” I fileted the fish with a few more swipes of my claws.

Mom sat down gingerly, her mouth open wide. “You didn’t do anything, did you?” She shook her head. “No, of course not. You’re here.“ Thanks for the vote of confidence, Mom. I watched my mother’s eyes grow suddenly. “You didn’t say yes, did you?” I glared at my mother. She released a long, slow exhale. “Good, I don’t think I’m ready to give away my little girl.”

I arched an eyebrow. “Little girl? You do know that I’m taller than you, right?”

Mom half-closed her eyes and chuckled. “I know, but I still can see the little girl who was brought to the steps of the orphanage covered in an unreasonable amount of mud.” Aw, that’s adorable. There was a look in her eye like she was thinking about something but she didn’t say anything, instead, she started eating some of her vegetables.“How long are you expecting to be gone?”

I shrugged my shoulders as I swallowed a chunk of fish. “I didn’t ask. They were starting to make me agitated, so I left. Hopefully, I will be back before the end of the season. I want to have my fishing vacation before the water season starts.”

Mom enjoyed her potatoes for a moment. She never knew how to cook before. It looks like she learned a lot from Melody after she turned the orphanage over to her.

Then the corners of her mouth curled downward. “This might be too soon for you. Isn’t there someone else that they can take?“

I giggled. “Apparently, I ruined that chance on my own. None of the other hunters and trappers will step foot in my territory. It’s what I wanted, but now it’s come back to bite me.“ I flattened my ears. “But I agree with you and Captain Aenwyn, I might not be ready for this. I still haven’t gotten good at dealing with other people. A point reinforced by today’s events.”

Mom placed her fork on her plate and released a long exhale through her nose. “Socializing is like any skill. If you don’t practice it, you'll never learn it. You come up with every excuse to avoid dealing with people and spend more time in the woods alone than anything else.” There was a sorrowful frown on her face. “I’ve not been very good about helping you with that either. Maybe I’ve been spoiling you too much.”

I’m not that spoiled, am I? I finished eating my fish. “You don’t see the stares people have given me my entire life. Sure, I can handle them from time to time, but eventually, they get to me.” I curled my tail around my waist. “Maybe I'm just being childish again, but I have never felt more alone now than ever before. Evalana hasn’t been able to visit me ever since she married Mr. Prissy Pants. Zenny has been extra busy bandaging the people I hurt during my training sessions. I can’t look her in the eye anymore.” Tears welled up in my eyes.

Mom got up and hugged me. I cried onto her shoulder as I suffered another bout with my depression. “Shh. It’s okay, don’t hold it in.“ Why am I so useless? Why do I constantly need someone else to help me calm down?

I held Mom tight, but not too tight to hurt her. “I thought that if I stayed here and didn’t go with the ambassadors, I could have friends, but I haven’t been able to make any. Now I have to leave and go with complete strangers who are led by an idiot.”

“Why don’t you try to make friends with those strangers?” Mom whispered in my ear.

“Because they think I'm a dangerous freak.” I pushed Mom away to arm’s length.

Mom frowned. “How much do you know about them, really?” I wiped my eyes as I shrugged. “How much did you tell them about yourself? My guess is you only told them your rules.” She raised her eyebrows and tilted her head forward. I turned my head to look at the ground. Why does she know me so well? “And it sounds like you don’t know them very well either. So, if you are going to have to do this, you might as well get to know them, and let them get to know you.“ She placed a finger under my chin and turned my head so that I looked at her again. “It won’t kill you, and you don’t have to tell them everything if you are uncomfortable.”

“I’ll try,” I said as I slumped my shoulders even more.

“Alright,” Mom said with a wide smile on her face. “Sometimes we need a kick to push us to do what we know we should.” She placed her hand just behind my right ear and scratched. I melted as I snuggled closer to her. They will never know about this. This is a secret for those I trust. After scratching me behind the ear for a few moments, Mom got up and returned to her food. “Feel better?”

“Yeah. I'm sorry. I let my emotions get the better of me again.“ With a sigh, I stood up. “Is there anything you need me to do before I practice my magic?”

“I’m quite attached to my emotional daughter. But to answer your question: yes. Could you cut up more firewood? It has been freezing this week.” Mom shivered to emphasize her request.

I smirked. “It isn’t that cold. But I guess I could use it to practice my magic too.”

“You only say that because you have a fur coat.” Mom gave me a playful grin.

“Jealous?” I said as I rubbed the fur on my arm.

“Yes.”

Both of us broke into full belly laughs. We ended our laughing fit by wiping the tears from our eyes.

“Alright, are you getting up early? I want to see you off,” Mom said, still short of breath.

“I told them I would meet them at the gate at sunrise.” I walked towards the back of the house. A thought bubbled to the front of my mind. “Are you going to have enough food without me hunting anything for a while?”

Mom smiled as she finished eating. “Who is the mother here?” She chuckled. “I will be fine, honey. I have plenty of money saved up and can take care of myself. Remember, I have taken care of you all these years.“ Yeah, where did that thought come from? “Besides, I will be eating salted bear for most of the season. I still can’t believe you found one hibernating and killed it.”

I bowed. “You’re welcome.” I opened the door to the back. “You know where to find me if you need me.”

There was a moment of silence as I headed out. "Prissy Pants, really?" I heard Mom chuckle just before the door closed.

I giggled as I left to cut firewood before bed. I don’t really have to do this, because she can pull apart the firewood with magic much easier and faster than I ever could. She does this because she knows I still need to practice my magic. It still feels like I take too long to form a weapon. I practiced summoning an ax mid-swing, trying to create it as fast as possible and still be functional. Even though I could tear apart the wood with my bare hands, I used this little game as an exercise. After feeling the signs of magic fatigue, I continued and prepared extra firewood. I just used my claws and pulled them apart. I wouldn’t want Mom to get a cold while I'm gone. Once I was satisfied with the amount of firewood prepared, I took a quick bath with the water Mom left me in the tub. After drying off and spending extra time brushing my fur, I laid down in my bed and stared at the ceiling.

I guess this is what they call adulting. Being a kid again was really fun. Daric better not make things difficult for me. At least my first mission will be an easy one.