The sun wasn’t very bright in Doggenbandr, not even in Summer. Days usually passed with a cold breeze and constant rain, which made working especially bothersome. A long time ago, almost ten or eleven years before she had fallen unconscious in the heat of battle for the millionth time, Gabrielle the Heartless was once a child. A thin, hungry, small child, living in the countryside and struggling to survive on odd jobs and scavenging food.

Luckily though, she was not alone.

“A little more to the left, Gabi!”

Baraqiel was smiling back then, leaning on the doorframe of their tiny mud hut as Gabrielle worked the puny field around them. She wasn’t the best at it, honestly. She swung the hoe down with all of her might as if trying to destroy a fearsome foe with it, slamming it down on the ground and then pulling slowly. But at least she was able to keep straight lines with Bari’s help, who watched attentively and carefully pointed out when she was losing her focus.

To the young kid, assisting their friend was the one thing they could do, and of course this made them feel useless and frustrated, but to the girl this help was simply invaluable. She often felt lost without them, for the world was a confusing and sometimes scary place, and Bari always seemed to know what to do and say.

“I think that’s enough, let’s take a break.” The kid said, but Gabrielle refused to stop. “Gabi…”

“If I work this quicker we can try and get our own field of potatoes before the winter’s here.” The girl said while she plowed.

“What good will that do you if you are sick and tired by then? Pace yourself.” Baraqiel frowned.

“I will be fine.”

“You don’t know that.” The kid pouted.

“I had a dream today.” The girl suddenly said.

“...Oh yeah?” Knowing that these shifts in topic usually had a good reason, Bari acquiesced. “What about?”

“You were no longer there. I was alone. Everything was terrible.” The girl kept working. “I didn’t know what to do… And it felt like it was my fault. All of it, all was my fault. So I want to make sure everything is fine here. I want to work hard, so you don’t leave.”

“Oh Gabi… I ain’t leaving you alone.” They tried to reassure her. “We made a covenant, remember? We promised.”

“We did.”

Baraqiel slowly walked over to Gabrielle, helping themselves with a long wooden cane.

“Angels always keep their word, alright?” They smiled.

“Angels always keep their word.” She repeated, nodding. “...But if I find myself alone… what should I do?”

“You do your best.” The ‘angel’ said, nodding slowly. “You do the noble thing. To yourself, and to others.”

Even back when she was small, Gabrielle wasn’t a very expressive child. She kept herself subdued, always quiet to not bother others… but here, she actually allowed herself to smile. Just a little bit.

“I will do my best…” She whispered.

“I know you will.” Bari said, walking back to the shade of the mud hut to watch from there. “Tell me more about your dream.”

Gabi tapped her chin softly, trying to think while leaning on her hoe for support. What else had happened in that dream? Images were hazy, dark and confusing. She remembered the smell of blood and burnt hair, the distant pain of biting and stabbing, and she could swear she was screaming too.

“I could be wrong but, I think the World was ending.” She mentioned off hand, as if it was nothing really that important. “I was running. I was afraid and sad, very sad.”

“What about Esperanza? Was she with you?” The kid asked, knowingly.

“I don’t know.” The little girl sighed, not really questioning the anachronism of that inquiry. “She wasn’t there either…” Suddenly, more clarity came to her mind, and her expression darkened. “I think I left her behind.”

“Why would you do that?”

The girl fell silent.

“Alright, it’s fine. You don’t have to talk about it.” Sighing softly, Baraqiel smiled and stretched a little bit. “...How about we go check the forest? Maybe we can find some new mushrooms…”

“Oh! Yes.” Gabrielle’s calm returned, and she nodded quickly. “Mister Morgan taught me some interesting facts. With some luck, we can find some snow fungus!”

Leaving the hoe behind, Gabi walked over to Bari and offered her back to carry them, walking towards the forest as she began to explain the mysteries and intricacies of the local fungi population.

It was always like this, when she dreamed…

—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Outside the realm of dreams, Lucrece took several minutes to actually recover from the shock. Then, in a mechanical motion, she took Gabrielle on her arms and stood up. It was a little strange to see the redhead like this, bare chested and unconscious. She did not have time to feel flustered from the surprising sight, so she swallowed her blush and decided to keep moving, trying to look at the unconscious girl as little as possible.

As the Lancer walked, she started to feel doubts creeping up and mounting in her head, climbing one over the other as she was trying to discern what in the Hells was she supposed to do.

“Alright, so. Let’s state what I know.” She mumbled to herself. “I am carrying a murderer in my arms. Who’s also a witch. The rumors were true, apparently? She’s also dying right now.”

She could probably leave this infamous villain behind and the world would probably thank her. Or, maybe, deliver her to the Black Cloaks and get a good reward for her issues. It’s not like she hadn’t betrayed people in the past anyways! After all, as long as it pays, she’d do almost anything.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Life is a game, and one has to play to win at all times.

And yet, something about this woman reminded Lucrece of old times. Good, old times, before everything had become so complicated. The Lancer had quite the prodigious memory, for better or for worse at times, and she could perfectly recall the look in the eyes of her younger brother. Confused, a little scared, but determined to see things through. Just like Gabrielle.

Would have Claude ended up a monster like this woman if he was still alive?

The blonde shook her head rapidly. No, none of that. She was remembering again! She would end up attracting another horde like that.

“It’s not like she’ll survive from this… I don’t know why I’m even bothering…” The woman thought to herself, looking down at the redhead bleeding on her arms.

Or, well, no longer bleeding.

Lucrece watched, in shock, how the girl’s wounds closed as if cauterized by invisible flames, leaving more scars on her brown skin.The Lancer almost dropped her, but instead decided to look away with a huff.

“Alright, scratch the ‘dying’ part. What in the Hells is this girl!?”

Sighing dejectedly, the woman decided that her priority should be returning to safety, and then she could question herself about what to do next.

Walking through the forests in a straight line was her best choice. She may not have a working compass, and maybe she couldn’t trust her eye in this fog, but she knew for a fact that if she walked in a straight line from that abandoned town, she would be able to exit the Fog right outside the city of Forsia.

It should take them a day, maybe two considering she had to carry this girl around.

Just walking straight, no detours were allowed.

It worked before, so why wouldn’t it work now?

Time passed in complete silence, no animals in sight as it was usual, no other travelers in their way, which was honestly ideal. The problem, however, was the light: it was dimming more and more, and when nightfall arrived, Lucrece knew they’d need to stop for a moment and eat.

That’s when she realized they abandoned all their newly acquired provisions at the town. She didn’t think this through at all! She even lost her pipe! And she had just stol–

“Acquired it!” She corrected herself, letting out a sigh. This was getting frustrating.

And to make matters worse, just as she was walking her straight line through the world, she found herself in front of a tall, steep and rocky mountain.

“...Putain.” She mumbled. “Who put this mountain here?!”

Having to turn around was risky, she could easily lose her line and end up who knows where! Not to mention that she was still carrying a rather heavy girl! Now that no one could see her, she pouted and grumbled, throwing a little tantrum before resigning to her fate. The good side of this? Mountains like these usually had caves on their sides. A little walk around it confirmed the Lancer’s suspicions:

A wide cavern! Not too deep, perfect for shelter at least for a night. Lucrece had learned with enough sleepless nights that the wretches that live in the Fog don’t rest, or stop. They constantly move, sometimes in repetitive patterns and sometimes with a clear target in mind. They seemed to go between Hunting Mode and Repetitive Mode, depending on the time of the day and the state of the target’s emotions.

So if there wasn’t a wretch waiting inside the cave, there was little chance they would return to it.

Unless they were actively hunting her.

“I guess we’re flipping that coin…”

Lucrece walked into the cavern, setting Gabrielle down against one of the walls, and sitting beside her with a deep sigh. What a mess, she thought, and I’m still not even a bit closer to knowing what to do with this Witch…

The Lancer knew this was a terrible move in the grand scheme of things, but this damn Witch reminded her too much of Claude to just abandon her. She even found herself covering Gabi with her cape, worrying over her getting sick! And as she did, her eye landed on the girl’s left arm.

She remembered perfectly how it was shining brightly, lines of magic spreading all over the skin, and now all that was left were grisly dark scars, like vines on the girl’s forearm, all coming from a small mark burnt into her body.

image [https://i.ibb.co/ZzjR6chQ/Screenshot-1.png]

What did that even mean?! That wasn’t a sign from any religion or order of knights she knew of! Maybe some cultist stuff? Something from the Ancient Spirits? The forbidden faiths?

Just what in the world was this woman?

Frustrated, Lucrece got right back up and carefully walked to the forest, trying to keep the cave in view.

“Well… I can’t let either of us freeze to death here… better get a pyre going.”

She didn’t take even two steps outside of the cave when suddenly she caught movement on the corner of her eye.

“Where are you going?” Asked Gabrielle.

“MERDE!” Lucrece jumped, grabbing her halberd out of instinct. “Saints damn you, don’t sneak up on me like that, woman! How long have you been awake!?”

“I just woke up.” The girl was standing not too far, clinging to the cape that covered her.

“How are you even standing!? I am sure I heard your bones crack!” The Lancer refused to let go of her weapon.

“I got better.”

“Yes, I noticed that! How!?”

“I tend to get better quickly.” Gabi shrugged. “Are you angry?”

“No! No, urgh, I’m…” She sighed. This girl didn't seem to read faces very well. Another thing in common with Claude. “I’m scared.”

“The fog is a scary place.”

“I am scared of you, Heartless Witch!”

The redhead flinched. That name, it did things to her. It made her body tense up and stiffen, it made her head hurt, it made her thoughts swirl with a mix of anger and frustration. She hated it, she hated it with all of her heart. But also, she couldn’t really argue against it.

She was a Witch, after all. A Heartless one too, probably.

So instead of correcting Lucrece, she simply sighed. Of course this woman was afraid… why wouldn’t she be?

Lucrece wasn’t an empath or anything like that, she couldn’t simply guess Gabrielle’s feelings, especially when the girl barely emoted at all. To her, this woman was just being stoic over her accusation, maybe a little surprised, but nothing beyond that.

“You jumped down from a tower, broke your legs, then got back up? And then you returned wielding Witchcraft or something like that!?”

“...Yes.”

“I guess you did all that to save me though…” Lucrece suddenly got hit with the realization that she was being a bit of an arse.

“Yes.”

“Man…” The Lancer sighed, looking down on the floor. “...Sorry.”

“What for?” The swordswoman tilted her head.

“What do you mean what for? I was yelling at you for saving me!” The taller woman looked up at her. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine.”

“It’s really not.”

“People yell at me, it’s fine. I’m a Witch.”

Lucrece sighed again, deeper this time. That was not a nice answer and it really only made her feel worse about yelling. Was this helpless girl really the great murderer people made up to be? Well, she was clearly capable of it? But this self-deprecating attitude, It really made her wonder how she ended up becoming the Saint’s Butcher.

“Okay, listen. What I did was wrong and mean, and I am sorry for it.” The taller girl frowned, her one eye glaring again. “And it is NOT fine. Tell me that you accept my apologies or, well, if you feel bad, tell me that you don’t accept them.”

“Why?”

“Because that’s how things work!” The Lancer stomped, literally putting her foot down on that fact. “Now let’s try this again: Gabrielle, I was an arse. I’m sorry.”

“It’s f–” Gabi caught herself this time, shaking her head. “...Apology accepted.”

“Good!” Lulu grinned, hoping this would make her feel better for judging and planning to abandon this girl. It didn’t. “... Is there a way I can make you feel better?”

The swordswoman was ready to say ‘No’ and be done with it, but then, an idea came to her. Something that would be both useful, and nice. Something that reminded her of a nice dream…

“...Let’s go gather mushrooms.”