"Ask me anything, I’ll try my best to fulfill it," Meyara answered the Chief’s words so easily. "Just promise me you’ll help me convince my mother. I really have to go."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am." The girl sounded totally convinced, but the way she gulped as Warren stared straight at her revealed her true feelings. “Uh, I mean … I have to prepare a lot of things for sure. It's one of the many reasons why I'm here."

Warren's gaze softened at that. His rough hand reached out to gently pat the girl's head. A gesture that didn't happen so often, and Meyara's heart ached for it.

If Meyara had lost her father to the plague, Warren had lost his entire family long before that to another incurable disease carried by wild animals. This incident had always been a reminder to Meyara that having extraordinary magical abilities did not guarantee that all problems could be solved easily. Even a great mage like Warren could not do anything when death overtook his family.

Because of this incident, it was very rare to find animals roaming the Deterville area. Residents were also prohibited from looking for livestock outside the village. The animals they used to take care of were forced to survive alone out there with other unknown creatures.

Remembering that made Meyara shift uncomfortably in her seat, her fingers turning cold so she had to rub her palms together to keep it warm. It did not go unnoticed by the Chief who sighed fondly at that moment.

"I will talk to your mom, but I can't promise she will give you the response you want." The man stood up, groaning slightly as he felt his muscles grow stiff from sitting so long. "You're the only family she has. She must be afraid of losing you.”

"I promise I'll come back in one piece." Meyara only whispered her answer. Slightly doubted whether she could fulfill her words or not. Her lower lip was red after she bit it nervously.

“I'm sure you will. Especially if Adriel goes with you.”

“Yes, he will …,” the girl's eyes widened cutely, “what? How did you know that he wants to accompany me?”

Warren chuckled. "I didn't know, at least not until he went here, dramatically asked me to change your mind, or at least make you understand why he has to be with you all the way to the kingdom."

"He did?"

“He ranted on, he said you were being so stubborn and clueless about how dangerous this journey will be. He's afraid you'll leave without him.” The wise man went into the house for a few minutes and came back carrying an iron box that was the same size as his midsection. “I didn't catch everything he said because he spoke so fast. But I can assure you that he has studied very hard to become the man you need, Meyara. You really raised him to be the best student you ever had."

"I only have one student in my life," Meyara grumbled softly.

"Exactly. Now you just need to remember why you accepted him in the first place. Not for the reasons you told others, but the reasons you’ve been keeping deep in your heart."

Warren always knew what to say. Meyara couldn’t help but admire the Chief for that. Deterville was extremely lucky to have a leader like him. Everyone had heard that far away from them, there were several villages whose inhabitants had to suffer just because of having a cruel leader.

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Meyara was a little excited to realize that maybe along the way, she could learn more about other villages.

Little by little she re-cultivated the dream that had almost slipped from her hands. She still could restore her magic spirit and equip herself with many other abilities that could make her the greatest mage in the entire kingdom.

The smile on her lips was hard to stop, so she just smiled wildly as she replied. "Okay, I understand. I will let Adriel accompany me. He can help me with my luggage anyway.”

"Yeah. He’ll do everything you ask in a heartbeat. It's really hard to find someone like him these days.” Warren nodded his head while taking out a few items from the iron box after he placed his terrifying kite elsewhere.

The girl's eyes automatically scanned the things she had just seen in her life. She knew that she wasn't allowed to do that, as Warren might just be sorting through his possessions, but her curiosity got the better of her. Before she knew it, she was standing beside Warren. Staring closely at the aged-looking parchment in the man's hand.

"What's that?"

"As you may already know, there's no way an ordinary citizen could enter the palace, let alone empty-handed." The man opened the parchment, flashing it a glance at Meyara. The girl squinted at the paper that looked so fragile. It was as if one touch would make the paper crumble to dust.

However, even though she had lost the ability to cast magic, Meyara's eyes were still sharp enough to catch the magic glow that covered the paper. It was like someone put a spell on it to keep it intact and durable after all these years.

"You'd be surprised how much of the world's greatest secrets can fit on a single sheet of paper." Warren spoke in such a proud tone, he almost sounded like someone bragging about his best stuff. “I could not give you any details, but I used to go outside of Deterville, exploring almost every area of this kingdom. Even I was once given the chance to meet the Queen but—”

"Alright, I always knew how great you are," Meyara cutted in, "but please, this is not the time to be bragging."

"I'm not bragging, little girl. I'm just trying to make you believe that everything I'm about to give you will be useful for your journey."

Meyara didn't get to say that she always trusted Warren because the Chief pushed the parchment he was holding into her hand first.

"You need to read all of this to know what to do out there," he said, adding another sheet of parchment to the girl’s hands.

"And these sweets may look very tempting but don't eat them. You’ll know what they do when the time comes," he added several clear bags filled with a few balls that looked like candies.

“This mirror may be frosted and slightly cracked but it’ll come in handy. Sorry, this is all I have." At this point Meyara couldn't even see what Warren was putting in her hands. The items kept piling up until they blocked her view.

“These things may tickle your ears, but you’ll be grateful to have these with you ….”

“Wait! Wait! Let me get my bag first.” Meyara tried to store the items on the ground safely, but she lost her balance and fell to the ground with a thump. The girl groaned in pain, and was about to kick everything out of anger when Warren took some blank paper and a quill pen. “There are more? I don't have a carriage to bring all this!”

“Just some letters. You won't even feel its weight,” the man replied nonchalantly.

After finishing his writing, Warren raised his hand while chanting a very familiar spell in Meyara's ear. The girl's cheeks blushed realizing that she couldn't even remember or practice the basic magic lessons she learned as a child. If Warren realized he made Meyara feel humiliated, he never mentioned it.

In an instant, the items that had been scattered on the ground, neatly piled up at one point. Warren had moved the wind to clean it without touching it. Such an arrogant act in Meyara's eyes, because the energy released by Warren would be the same if the man cleared everything up by handling it directly. Maybe Warren was just trying to make Meyara more eager to regain her magical abilities by making her riled up.

“I've written my own message to you. It contains my own knowledge of how the world works.” Warren said as he handed over two large slightly shiny old bags. Meyara's eyes lit up, realizing that the bag was made of rare and expensive animal skin. “You need to understand every word written in the message so that you have a better chance of survival. Remember, you promised to come back alive. Don't let you come back just as sad news."

If Meyara said that Warren's words didn't make her body shiver, she really was lying.

***