The sun wasn’t up as I stared in the mirror. Daric’s comment still weighed on my mind. I guess I can admit to myself that some people could see me as attractive. My silver fur covered me from head to toe and felt extra full since it was the ice season. The claws on my hands and feet were still just as sharp as ever as I admired them. I grew up to be very tall and my ever-so-useful tail was almost as long as my legs. My arms and legs are the same lengths because my arms are longer than a human’s. My hips widened out, making it reasonable for me to carry twins if I ever get pregnant. Their width also made running on all fours much easier. My hourglass figure continues up, and my breasts are a little on the small side for my frame, but they are more than enough for me.

I smiled in the mirror, the same smile that I always used to scare off annoying people who wouldn’t leave me alone. My hair, which was the same texture and thickness as my fur, fell just past my shoulders and naturally wanted to flow behind me. All my silver fur and hair brought out my big, beautiful blue eyes. I have heard more than my fair share of compliments about my eyes.

I concluded my vanity session with a proper grooming of all my fur. Once I brushed everything to my satisfaction, I put on some clothes and started packing some things for my first mission as a knight. I paused as I saw the toy unicorn on my bookcase of memorabilia. Only two other objects sat on the shelves with the unicorn. The rolled-up paper that said Mom, Nora Stormleaf, would adopt me, Lucia Silverbreeze. And my latest addition was a small quartz shaped into an arm. Evalana gave it to me at her wedding to say thanks for saving her life.

She wants me to remember that I should never give up, so long as she doesn’t give up either. But it also reminds me of my most painful memories. Even though none of it was my fault, I still can’t come to terms with it.

While I was packing, I heard Mom walking up to my door. “You can come in,” I said the moment she stopped.

Mom walked into the room, stretching her arms. “You’re really up early.” She stifled a yawn. “Do you need some help to know what to pack?”

I shrugged. “Sure, I have just packed some clothes. What other stuff do I need?”

“Honey, you are going to need much more than that. Here, we need to get you a proper travel pack.” She signaled for me to follow her.

After she fished out her old travel pack, we packed it to the brim with far more than I thought I would need. Somehow, everything had a purpose. That made me feel uncomfortable. Have I really been that spoiled and taken that much for granted? We headed for the north gate together to wait for Daric’s group. Mom made sure I wore my blue magic cloak, the one no matter how dirty or damaged it would get, would always repair and clean itself with a tiny injection of magic.

The sun began to peek over the horizon when the group slowly meandered their way to meet us. There was an additional person with them that was not at the meeting yesterday.

Anna? “What are you doing here?” I called out.

“You said you were going to meet us here. So here we...” Daric’s eyes darted around.

I growled. “Not you, idiot.” I pointed to Anna. “You. What are you doing here?”

“Still a morning person, aren’t you?” Anna yawned. “How are you so awake right now? I’m here as their conjuration specialist. And since I have done a lot of looking into blood anchors lately, someone thought I should come with these interesting people.” She gave Daric a sidelong glance before looking back at me.

“You two know each other? I guess that saves us on introductions,” Penny said as she stepped next to Anna. “So, how do you two know each other?”

“We lived in the same orphanage for a time,” Anna said as she reached towards my waist to pull me in for a hug. For old-time’s sake, I let her have a hug.

She grew up, but she still looks quite cute because she was so much shorter than me. Anna’s body was perfectly proportioned with gentle curves for her bust and hips. Somehow, her wavy chestnut hair was tied up so that it puffed out and covered her slightly pointy ears. Why does she want to hide that she’s a half-elf? Her blue eyes were always a nice gem to see and brought back memories of us going shopping together. All the horrible memories of being surrounded by people shouting and reeking of sweat and other unpleasant odors.

Her clothes were brightly colored and her shoes even looked new. I guess some things never change. She will always love shopping for new stuff.

“You were both orphans?” Dinar poked her head out from around Mark. “Who did you bring with you? She’s pretty.”

“That would be my mom. She wanted to see me off for my first mission,” I said as I pointed to the woman in question.

Anna stared at Mom with eyes wide open and mouth slightly ajar. “Everyone, Eleanah, and the others could hardly believe that Nora had adopted you. We never got the entire story.” Her voice was soft as she spoke.

“It isn’t an interesting story,” I said with a slight shrug.

“You know, you could just tell people the story rather than hide it,” Mom said with a look of disapproval on her face.

“Wow, your mom is hot,” Daric said as he looked at my mother from head to toe.

I grabbed Daric by his gambeson and pulled him close to give him an up-close look at my sharp teeth. “You say anything like that again, and I will castrate you on the spot. Is that clear?” Daric swallowed hard as he nodded slowly. “Good.” I shoved him backwards.

“That wasn’t very nice.” Mom placed her hands on her hips. “It sounded like he was complimenting me. Besides, you said that you were going to try to make friends with them.”

“I will still try, but I make no promises about this guy,” I said as I pointed to Daric.

“What do you want?” Mom held out her hand.

My eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. “Seriously?” Mom nodded. “I want a bed made entirely out of ice that will never melt. With icy curtains and a mattress that will repair itself if I scratch it with my claws.“ I blurted out.

Everyone stared at me with various ranges of confusion. “Deal.“ Mom said without hesitating. “Now I want to hear you promise.”

Is she really going to do it? I took a deep breath. “I promise to get along with everyone here.”

Mom shook her head. “Not good enough. You need to promise me that you'll bring them all back safely, and you'll do everything in your power to be friendly.”

I winced at the word ‘friendly.’ “I promise I will bring them all back here safe and sound. Also, I will be as friendly as I can to them.“ Mom's face didn’t move. “Even to Daric.” This time, her face lit up with a smile. You win this time, Mom.

“What is so important about you making this promise?” Mark asked.

I turned and growled at Mark. “Because I keep my promises.”

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“All of them?” Daric squeaked.

“Yes.” As much as I can. I drooped my head and took a deep breath. This is going to be a long ice season. “Now, do you have everything with you?” They all nodded. “Good, let’s go. The sooner I get this done, the sooner I get to go fishing and enjoy a new bed.”

“About that bed.” Dinar shuffled up next to me. “Why do you want one made out of ice?”

“Because I like the cold,” I said as I stormed off. “I should be off fishing, but now I have to keep all of you safe.” Why do I have the worst luck?

“You don’t need to keep me safe. I'm the hero.“ Daric puffed out his chest as he pointed to it with his thumb. “I will...”

“Again with the hero thing. What makes you a hero?” I turned on the immature human.

“Because I have two aptitudes and I was told I was going to save the world from the demon king.” Daric’s chest grew with each word.

“That makes you a bit more capable than the average person, but that doesn’t make you a hero. And you need to defeat the demon king first. The Voice never guaranteed success.” I froze as soon as I realized what I had just said.

“How do you know about The Voice?” Daric relaxed his posture as he narrowed his eyes at me.

I lifted my tail and pounced Daric. Mom gave me a warning look. I dragged Daric into a wall and pinned him against it.

“I know you are reincarnated. You don’t need to explain it to me,” I whispered. “Now keep quiet.”

Daric held his breath for a moment. “Why? You didn’t answer the question.”

I stomped my foot and bared my fangs. “Fine, I met The Voice too. Happy?” Ikept by volume low, but the growl in my voice made my mood unmistakable.

Daric’s voice quivered. “Then does that mean…”

“Yes, I'm reincarnated too.” I interrupted the man. “You were sent here because of the mistake it made.”

“What mistake was that?” Daric asked as he tilted his head to the side.

I growled. “Don’t worry about it! And if you tell anyone, I’ll hurt you.” I turned around and marched away from the group. “Let’s go already. And keep up.”

“Is there anything else different about her that I need to know about?” Anna whispered.

“Just don’t make her job any more difficult than it already is. I have a feeling that this mission will change her more than the events of the tournament did.” She wanted me to hear that. I love you too, Mom. “I’m worried about what Midas has planned.”

I turned to Penny. “By the way, how long do you think this was going to take?”

Penny crossed her arms and stared at the ground. “It might take the entire season. It mostly depends on how quickly we can find the blood anchor,” she said hesitantly before turning to Anna. “How long do you need to study it once we get there?”

Anna shrugged as she moved to catch up with us. “Shouldn’t be longer than two or three days. I’ve been told to try a few things to lift the anchor. There are a few things I want to try myself.”

Eventually, I brought everyone to the edge of the forest that I had claimed as my territory. Daric looked at the trees with admiration in his eyes. “How do you claim a territory?” he asked without looking at me.

“Are you going to ask stupid questions during this entire trip? Come on, this isn’t the time to gawk. They are trees. We’re going to see a lot of them for the next week.“ I grabbed Daric’s cloth armor and pulled him along. There is no avoiding the conversation to come, is there? “After we stop for the night, we can talk. Until then, I need you all to be as quiet as possible. I'm not the only predator in these woods.”

Everyone followed behind me. I could hear each of their footsteps as they stepped on the frosted ground, a patch of dead leaves, or a twig. Calm down, it isn’t their fault; they don’t know how noisy they are. Just because I can walk around without making noises doesn’t mean everyone can.

We walked until my stomach informed me that lunchtime was fast approaching. I heard a couple of growling stomachs behind me too. Most predominantly from Daric and Anna. “Alright, I guess we can take a break to eat,” I said as I turned to point at a fallen tree. “We can sit over there.” Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief as they hurried to the log.

“Finally,” Daric said as he placed his pack down and started going through it.

“Keep quiet,” I snapped. “There is no such thing as safe in this forest.” I watched everyone flinch.

I had cooled off and decided to check out everyone’s gear a little more closely.

Daric wore a long-sleeved black gambeson shirt and a brown heavy cloak. A bastard sword sat on his shoulder. Hero, right… Two-handed sword fighting isn’t a common fighting style. Hopefully, someone taught him how to use that thing properly and not cut himself on it.

I turned to study Silver’s attire. He wore the same brigandine armor he wore yesterday, with a black, heavy cloak. A flanged mace hung from a leather strap wrapped around his belt. He also carried a kite shield attached to his pack. Simple and effective. He should be fine, so long as nobody jumps him too quickly.

Mark looked like he took advice from Daric. All of his clothes and armor were the same, but he had a thinner and shorter sword. I think that is a rapier. I wonder if it has a cutting edge to it. And he has a parrying dagger. If we get into trouble with an animal, he might be less useful.

Anna wore bright green silk pants with a matching shirt. I think she has a few extra layers underneath, given how much her clothes poof out. But she can summon her weapons, I think, so she should be able to defend herself.

Golditress had a bow and arrows strapped to her pack. The old reliable bow. At least we have an archer. She wore gray brigandine armor with a dark green cloak.

Dinar wore more layers of dark red clothes than anyone else, and she even had a knitted cap that covered her ears too. Do all elves hate the cold?

I turned to see Penny was wearing a simple dark green gambeson and a single layer of pants. She didn’t have a cloak, but she clamped her hair at four points with steel bands. So no, not all elves have an aversion to the cold. But where are Penny and Dinar’s weapons?

I placed a hand on Dinar’s shoulder as she chewed her dried apples. “Did you not bring a weapon?” I asked as I continued to look for one.

Her smile sent a shiver down my spine. “Oh, don’t worry, I’ve got plenty.” Her quiet voice only made my instincts scream at me. I jumped back, well out of reach, and readied my claws. She stared at me, obviously confused. “What’s wrong?”

Okay, she is dangerous. Somehow, she has weapons hidden in her possession. But how? I forced myself to relax. “Nothing. If you say you have weapons, I’ll trust you.” But I'm going to keep a very close eye on you, little girl.

Penny sighed. “Before you ask, I use magic.” I looked between her and Dinar and noticed that their constant glows were slightly different. Penny glowed a bit brighter than Dinar, but nothing like Mom. Mom has desensitized me to seeing other magic users.

“Which magic?” I opened my pack and pulled out a piece of dried bear meat.

“Fire manipulation,” Penny said nonchalantly.

Fantastic, just what I needed. Do I tell her? I don’t know, that would admit to her a weakness. I should. If they are going to trust me, I should trust them too. Mom said I should try to make friends.

“Um, yeah, I don’t do fire well,” I said in between bites.

“Care to elaborate?” Penny gave me a sidelong glare.

“I run when I see fire,” I whispered.

“Sorry, I didn’t catch that.” Penny leaned in closer.

I threw my hands in the air. “I'm afraid of fire. Okay?“ I closed my eyes as I prepared for their laughter. Laughs that didn’t come. I peeped an eye open and saw that nobody had done anything. “Aren’t you going to laugh at me?”

“Why?” Daric asked.

“I'm afraid of something so childish as fire. It is embarrassing.” I turned and looked at the ground.

“There is nothing embarrassing about being afraid of something like fire. Fire is dangerous and being afraid of it is rational.” Is Daric acting like an adult? I turned to see Daric still seated. “At least it isn’t something like being afraid of clowns or anything.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Are you afraid of clowns?”

Everyone turned to see Daric’s eyes grow wide. “Nope! Not at all. I'm not afraid of clowns.”

Anna swiveled her head back and forth between Daric and me. “What are clowns?”

“My guess is, they are something from his old life. He constantly talks about things from his last life.” Mark said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

“Clowns don’t exist.” Daric pointed a finger at Mark. Yeah, totally afraid of clowns.

Everyone, including me, laughed slightly. This might not be all that bad. Maybe I'm fearing the worst for no reason. The snap of a twig behind me brought my enjoyment to an end. We’re not alone.