Chapter Two

Two gravestones sit on a hill within the torch-lit boundary. Under both stones lay worms and dirt. Only those who die fighting are buried. The rest are burned to ash.

I sat alone as the sunset, saying goodbye to the only marker that my parents ever lived: no grandparents, no uncles, no aunts, just me.

Childbirth was hard on mom; shortly after, taking sick and died, and a hunting accident took my dad a few years after. I don’t remember them, but it should hurt to leave them, to leave the village. I should have been crying or something, but I just felt disappointed. Disappointed in myself for not caring more, that despite this being the only home I know, that these are the people I grew up with, that helped raise me for almost 16 years, that I felt apathetic having to leave them behind.

I was lying down between the headstones, feeling the grass move around me and the chill of the night set in, looking up at the slowly darkening sky. If Alexander didn't come to the village, would I ever have realized that I don't care about the village as much as I thought? Or if this was always going to happen.

"Anna!" A voice shouts from down the hill. Sitting up, I saw Daniel running up the hill. Coming to a stop a few paces away, he spoke, “I knew you would be up here.”

He was panting lightly, a thin layer of sweat on his face, his hair slightly matted down. It was the most disheveled I had seen him in a long while. “You searched the whole village, didn't you?”

“Well, yeah, there’s a lot of places to be alone down there,” He responded.

“Of which I use none,” I deadpanned.

A sly smile slowly appeared on his face. “Today was a weird day. Maybe you wanted to switch things up and be alone with three other people in a barn somewhere.” That made me smile a little bit, though it didn’t last.

“Daniel, what do you think I should do?” I ask.

He turned to look over the village, sitting down as he pondered the question. “Well, I don’t know. I mean, if you don’t want to leave, killing Alexander is always an option.” " But I feel that you aren’t as against leaving as the others think. I have had it for a while now.”

How could he know that? I didn’t even know that until a few hours ago. The surprise must have been clear from my silence as he continued to speak. “I’m not the smartest person in the village, Anna. I would be the first to admit that. But Anna, you’re my best friend, and my eyes and ears do work. I look out for you. Can you honestly tell when you last had a meaningful conversation with someone who’s not me?”

I opened my mouth to speak before slowly realizing that I couldn’t remember.

Daniel looked over his shoulder at me. “ I love as much as a friend can. You’re like a sister to me, but if I can call the fire hot for a moment. I would need to be daft and blind not to notice how antisocial you are.” He smiles, “And I can only be one or the other, so you have to pick one and stick with it.”

I chuckled at that, “You’re daft then. You’re far too observant to be blind.”

“Careful, Elder Margaret might hear that. I swear the old woman can hear a pin drop.”

A quiet settled in after that, intermittently broken by a light giggle, but that soon calmed, and we were left with a warm silence. We sat there, enjoying the peace as the sun slowly dipped beyond the horizon.

It wasn’t meant to last. I would be leaving the village tomorrow, and despite how much Elder Richard protests against Alexander, there isn’t much anyone can do to stop it. The light smile I gained slipped away with that thought in the forefront of my mind. Glazing over at Daniel, he was facing out toward the sunset. He was still wearing that worn gambeson he used in the morning for sparing. He has a light but unbelievably sincere smile, his black hair tied up in a ponytail, the traces of bruises forming on his cheek as the training finally catches up with him. At that moment, I realized something. There is one thing keeping me here. A realization made too late.

“Daniel, can I ask you something?”

Tilting his head in my direction, not looking away from the sun. ”I believe you just did.”

“Would you mind if-” I stop, taking a deep breath and then releasing a long exhale before nervously continuing, “Do you mind if I called you brother?” Why are my hands so sweaty?

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He goes still. I can’t believe I messed this up, the only thing I had to do was not open my mouth, and everything would have stayed the same. That would have been fine, I didn’t have a family before, and I didn’t need one now-.

He hugs me. And before long, two crying figures walk down the hill and make their way into the village.

---

Midday came sooner than I would have liked. I didn’t have much to pack, and I took care of the few goodbyes I wanted to make yesterday. So now I wait for Alexander to finish his conversation with Elder Richard, who was pleading one last time to let me stay.

Elder Richard was an imposing figure, ninety-five years old, almost seven feet tall, shoulders wider than men a quarter his years, and built like a fortress; he was the toughest person in the village. He fought in the war against the Trow and spent his entire adult life fighting Beasts in the wild as a hunter. To see him almost beg on his knees was frightening to see in the way that seeing a dragon kneel before a man would be.

“Please, Adept Lantos, the trip to the San’hallon is too dangerous as is. To go to the capital will kill you and her both. Please let her stay here where it’s safe, at least till the Beasts calm down. Please.”

Alexander wasn’t persuaded and responded, “First, despite all, you said about these Beasts, I am yet to see one even though they’re supposedly more active as of late. Secondly, old man, I have fought Beasts in the Heartland before. I can not imagine that the Beasts here are much tougher than them. And thirdly, if you ask me again, I will separate your head from your shoulders. Now step back and shut up. I have entertained your stupid pleas for far too long. Unlike you, I have places to be.” Turning around quickly, he walked toward me, grabbing me by the wrist, forcibly turning me toward Elder Richard, and forcing my arm to move in a stilted wave. “There, now all your goodbyes are said, let's go.” Letting go of my arm, he ushered me out of the village.

Walking toward the touch boundary, I look back to see Richard holding back tears as he tries to watch me leave stoically. A crowd of villagers behind him slowly waved their farewell. Then a commotion starts in the group as someone pushes through the crowd. Finally, their voice shouts out, pushing through and running toward Alexander and me.

“Wait!”

Furious, Alexander whips around and screams, “What is it now!”

Running up the path carrying a stuffed backpack, an arms-length dagger at his hip, and a quarterstaff in his hands comes Daniel, a broad grin on his face, not even out of breath after running through a crowd of people.

“I’m coming with you, sister.”

I almost cried.

---

Three hours later, I still don’t know what Daniel was thinking, but I can’t say I’m unhappy about it. The one person I cared about in the village decided to come with me to the capital.

Leading the way was Alexan- sorry, Lantos, he corrected me about an hour ago. He was now wearing similar clothes as yesterday but with a leather glove with metal tipping his fingers on his left hand and a small velvet-lined rectangular box on his right hip. Daniel and I walked behind him. Daniel was wearing what looked to be his grandfather's leather chest piece and that same worn gambeson from yesterday underneath.

"Despite how much I like knowing you're here for me, you know this is a dumb idea, right?" I question Daniel quietly. Apparently, Lantos is still upset about earlier.

Looking over at me, he responds just as quietly, “My dad always said to die for your friends and live for your family.” What does that have to do with what I said, “We’re family now. I’m gonna make sure you live long enough for a family meal with our family and me.” Our family, I consider Daniel to be family. The rest of his family, though, I’ll have to consider that sometime.

“Still stupid idea.”

“Well, you told me to be daft, so it’s your fault in a way,” he says jokingly. We continued to make small talk for the next few hours.

Lantos set a fast pace. It wasn’t difficult to keep up with him initially, but it was an unusual pace for Daniel and me to follow. The first couple of hours were fine, but I was just about ready to collapse when hours five and six came about.

It was about an hour till sunset before we finally stopped for a break alongside the overgrown path. As we rested, Lantos sat down and took out a map studying it in-between gulps of water.

My legs burned, forcing myself to remain standing. If I sat down, I don't know if I would be willing to stand back up after.

Daniel, of course, was fine and-

"What's that?" Daniel says, suddenly pointing off into the distance.

Looking in that direction, I saw the Outlands' grasslands are known for a couple of small animals here and there but nothing to be concerned about. Lantos was also looking in that direction with a look of concentration on his face as he stared at the horizon. Suddenly, he stands and starts to hurriedly repack his things, taking glances back at the horizon, speaking while doing so, “ There should be a forest to the northeast about four miles from here. If we hurry, we can make it before sundown.”

Without putting up a fuss, I got ready to move. Ignoring how much my legs protested at the thought. Daniel, having not unpacked anything, stood still, watching that horizon.

Finishing up, I take one last look to see if I can catch a glimpse of what they saw. Squinting, I search the landscape with more scrutiny than before. Then I see a hunched figure in the distance, faintly outlined by the sky of the horizon. My throat went dry. There’s not an animal so large in the Outlands, not one that travels alone at least, that can be seen from such a distance. That can only mean one thing.

On the horizon is a Beast, and we were out in the open.