Not much to say except Arthur is in this chapter!

"And then, Alfred, the great knight, the hero of Antecia slays the evil dragon!" A five year old Alfred says as his tiny arms swing around a make shift sword made out of a twig, barely able to see because of the bucket over his head that works as his helmet.

Matthew, who is seven, laughs softly, as he quietly roars, pretending to be the dragon to his little brother's knight. He falls over, acting as if the small boy had slain him and he's dead now.

Alfred grins widely and rejoices, prancing around, he gos over to his mother and father who've been watching the whole thing.

"Mommy, daddy, did you see?! Did you see I defeated the dragon all on my own!?" He asks excitedly as his mother picks him up. Matthew runs over behind them, a small smile on his face as their father ruffles his eldest son's hair.

"Yes we did~ You're going to be a brave knight when you grow up, just like your grandfather!" Their mother says smiling fondly at her children.

"You will too, right Matthew?" Their father asks, picking up Matthew, who shakes I head.

"I want to be a farmer, just like you, Father," Matthew says in his soft voice, he's never been the adventurous type, like his younger brother.

Their parents just laugh at this as they put the boys down. Alfred frantically turns to his brother.

"No, you have to be a knight, like me, that way we can fight and be heroes together!" Alfred says, grabbing his brother's hands. Matthew smiles.

"Ok, we'll do it together," Matthew says. Alfred grins happily and holds on to his brother's hands tighter.

"Promise?"

"I promise."

When I wake up, I'm on the ground, wrapped in the blankets my mother packed for me, the satchel under my head like a pillow. I look over and see a small fire going with Ludwig on the other side of it, Gilda tied to a tree grazing on grass. I start coughing again as I sit up. Ludwig looks over to me, now aware that I'm awake.

"Are you alright?" He asks. I nod.

"Just a bit sick is all," I say awkwardly as I sit on the blankets I was wrapped in and inching closer to the fire.

"I know," Is all he says, turning his attention back to the fire. He grabs a pouch that lay next to him and tossed it to me. I pick it up and look at him confused.

"Its water. Drink some," He says. I open the pouch and drink it, I hadn't realized I was so thirsty. I had to force myself not to drink it all. The cool water sooths my throat and eases my coughing. I wipe my mouth.

"Thanks," I say, closing the pouch and giving it back to Ludwig. "How long was I out?"

"Almost a day. We should reach one of the boarder cities of Varlera in a day and a half. Do you think you can make it? You still have a fever," I look over to Ludwig shocked. I've never heard him say that much ever before.

"I should be fine," I say, but I'm lying and we both no it. The truth is I feel weaker and sicker than I've ever felt ever. I can barely keep myself conscious right now. I feel like death.

It's silent between us for a while. I grab some food out of the satchel. A bit of bread and an apple. Hopefully I'll be able to keep it down. I hand some food to Ludwig, who seems eager to accept it. He probably hasn't eaten in awhile.

"Why Varlera?" Ludwig asks after a moment. I look up and swallow a bite of bread I took.

"The moment they find out we're human we'll be escorted by their soliders right back the the Antecian boarder." He says, voicing what he must've been worrying about the moment we left on Gilda.

I pull out the pendant from under my shirt and hold it out to him. He gets up and moves closer so he can see it.

"This is a pendant from Varlera. This is the symbol of a mage family…. My mage family," I say, my thumb tracing over the pendant. "This was my grandmother's. My mother told me she was a dormant mage… She must've left Varlera at some point and married my grandfather," I explain wearily. "My mother said that as long as I had this and went by the surname Jones, no one would suspect anything," Ludwig nods.

"Sounds good," He says. "So I'll go by Jones as well… I'll say I'm your cousin or brother."

"Sounds like a plan, Ludwig Jones," I say with a short, hollow laugh. Ludwig doesn't say anything or respond, He goes back to his original spot by the fire and its quiet once more. I finish eating and lie back down, trying to keep my food down.

"Why were Haeritari attacking us?" I ask, looking over at Ludwig wide eyed and worried.

"I don't know… They must want more territory maybe… more power. Or maybe they just wanted to kill," Ludwig explains. He sounds so bitter, like there's a story or history he has with these Haeritari. I want to ask, but I know I won't get an answer.

"We should get a few more hour of sleep. We'll leave early in the morning."

Ludwig lies down, and I just now notice that he's been sitting on the tarp, using it as a makeshift bed, giving me all the blankets.

Part of me feels bad that he has to take care of me. Another part is grateful that Ludwig is here with me. Protecting me for reasons I don't know or understand why.

"Goodnight Ludwig," I murmur. I don't expect a reply from him and I don't get one.

The next time I wake up I'm back on Gilda, lying against Ludwig's chest as we gallop through the forest. It's bright and sunny, it must be the afternoon. I feel so woozy and nauseous. I feel like I'm going to die. My eyes can't focus on anything, it's all fuzzy. I feel so warm, so hot and sweaty and ungodly warm. All the sounds around me are dull and muted.

I want to curl up and die.

I… I think I'm going to…

"We need to stop," I say suddenly, I can feel Ludwig's eyes on me as he looks down. I feel Gilda slow to a stop and Ludwig gets off, helping me down as I keel over, the food I ate last night coming up and out of me, and afterwards I continue to dry heave, a little bit of bile and spit coming out.

I feel empty and dry but I can't stop coughing and heaving. I feel Ludwig's large hand rubbing my back as the other one holds out the water pouch. After several more heaves and hacks, I fall back onto my behind and pant a bit, trying to catch my breath. My eyes are watery and I feel tears coming out. I wipe the saliva and vomit from my mouth and take the water that Ludwig offered.

I took a swig, swishing it around before spitting it out. When the horrid taste is somewhat out of my mouth, I take a few more careful sips.

"Are you good to travel?" Ludwig asks carefully. I nod and hand the pouch back over to him.

"Yeah.. I should be good," I mutter as I stand up on weak and trembling legs. I feel Ludwig's hands grab me carefully and hoist me up to sit on Gilda before getting back on himself.

"Only a day more and we'll reach Varlera," Ludwig says. "If we don't stop it will be less than that."

I nod and moan. I can feel Ludwig looking at me with worried eyes.

"I think we should try to get there as fast as possible," He murmurs as he kicks Gilda into a fast gallop. He doesn't think I'll make it. I try to fall asleep again, but I can't.

My head won't stop pounding, all sounds are blending together and I can't see anything. Its all blurry and out of focus. I feel like a can't breath… I feel delirious. I don't know what's happening to me. I've never felt like this.

Maybe it's the shock of losing my home and my family. Maybe I'm still freaked out about almost being killed by that Haeritari warrior. Whatever it is, I think it's freaking Ludwig out. I know it has him worried and it takes a lot to freak out and worry someone like Ludwig.

I think about Matthew. Why didn't he write any letters like he promised? I think about my parents. Why did Father not say anything to me before leaving to possibly be killed by a Haeritari? Why did Mother send me off on my own in my ill state? Why wouldn't she want to come with me to make sure I didn't die?

Why am I so weak and pathetic? Maybe I deserve to die.

I don't know how much time has passed, it feel like it could've been hours, long agonizing hours or just a few short minutes.

All I know is that it's dark, but whether that's because of my eyes or the sun I do not know.

I hear so many sounds all jumbled together. Gilda's hooves, birds cooing, the wind whistling and Ludwig grunting occasionally. But soon other sounds join it.

People's voices… I think one of them is Ludwig's.

There are hands touching me, taking off my clothes, they're doing something to my body. I feel tingling sensations all over, like some soothing force is moving through me like flowing streams of water or a soft wind.

It feels like there's silky fingers are going through my body, my soul and picking each little virus of what's making me sick and removing it.

I feel my mind becoming clearer, things are becoming more distinct and it's easier to hear things. I don't feel so hot and sweaty, I feel a calm cool wash settling over my body.

Before I can fully regain clarity, I begin to feel tired. I feel my eyes grow heavy and I'm just so sleepy.

Everything is so peaceful and dark.

"Where did they find them?"

"Arthur said he found them wandering on a horse on the outskirts of town. The big one looked so sleep deprived but he refused to leave his cousin's side."

"God that poor boy was so sick… He's lucky Arthur found them in time to bring him here. He was practically at death's door."

"I've never seen anyone so sick before, it felt like he had never been treated before."

"Maybe they were hermits or wanderers."

"They must be, that pendant he was wearing was from the southern territories."

I moan as I listen to the voices, slowly opening my eyes. I feel… Amazing. I've never felt so healthy and strong and pure before. It's like every little piece of black illness that ever infected me was wiped clear from my body.

I feel so strong.

Not strong like I could lift those heavy bags of grain or carry a big sword and take someone in a fight; but strong like I'll never be ill again. Like I will be able to survive without my family, if that makes any sense.

The people in the room notice I'm awake now. I finally notice where I am. A strange room, its so clean and calming and I'm in the most comfortable bed I've ever laid on.

"Oh, you're awake," The two of them say in unison. They're both women. They're very maternal in their manner and pleasant to look at with soft caramel skin, that was slightly aged and honey like hair. I think they're twins.

"How are you feeling?" Asks the other. I sit up and rub my eyes, giving them a polite smile.

"Great actually… Where am I? And where's Ludwig?" I ask trying to stay calm. I hope Ludwig's ok. I hope we reached Varlera all right.

"You're in the infirmary in Parlay. Your cousin is sleeping in the other bed over there," The other woman says, gesturing to a second bed on the other side of the room with Ludwig sleeping peacefully. He must be exhausted, in the three days it took to get here, he didn't really sleep much, mostly he was looking out for me.

I owe you my life, Ludwig, I think to myself.

"What happened?" I ask. I remember them saying that someone found us, but I was still in between sleep and consciousness.

"One of the Grand Diviner's apprentices found you. You are very blessed that he was out there in the Dynell forest collecting herbs. Most mages don't go near there since its so close to the Antcian boarder," They explain it to me, but I'm rather confused. I don't know much about Varleran culture, so I have no idea who this Grand Diviner is or who their apprentices are.

"Well… tell him thank you for me… I'm very grateful," I say earnestly and smiling. The two women smile kindly at me.

"Tell him yourself, he said he wanted to speak with you and your cousin when you were both awake," One of them says. This makes me nervous, but I try to stay calm. Maybe this apprentice guy just wanted to make sure I was all right and he wasn't suspicious of anything.

"Oh, that's great," I say in a small voice as my stomach growls. I hadn't noticed I was so hungry, but that would make sense since I haven't eaten anything in three days except some bread and an apple, which I threw up anyway. One of the women smiles and mentions something about bringing me some food. The other comes closer to me near the bed.

"You should feel very honored that a Grand Diviner's apprentice is making time to see you," She says and I give her a smile.

"I know, I feel very lucky," I lie, playing along. I have to act convincing as an actual Varleran, I can't let them find out I'm Antecian. The woman smiles and laughs melodiously.

"By the way… My name is Fara and the other woman is my sister, Tara," She says, gesturing to her sister who was coming back with a tray of food that she sets on the bedside table.

"My name is Alfred," I say and I remember what my mother told me about using that surname. "Alfred Jones. And that's my cousin Ludwig Jones."

"We know, your cousin told us your names before he passed out to sleep, but it's nice to finally meet you all the same. Fara and I were the ones who healed you," Tara says, handing me a bowl of what looked like porridge. At this point though, I was so hungry I would've eaten my own bile.

Ok, maybe not that hungry. But I still devour that bowl of porridge s quick as I can. This only makes the sisters laugh. "My, you're hungry," One of them says, but I don't see which one.

"So you were the ones who healed me," I say as I finally slow my eating. "I've never experienced anything like that before… It felt like a warm, soothing light was floating through me, picking out every piece of sick inside me…" I say, still amazed by how that felt and how I felt now. "I've never felt this healthy in my life."

They both look at me surprised.

"Haven't you ever had healers cure you of illness before? It's quite common to have infirmaries, even in the smallest of villages," Fara says confused. I feel a bit flustered and try to cover up my little blunder.

"M-me and my cousin… we've been wanderers for so long… We never stay in cities or villages long enough to call anywhere home and. When we get sick, we're usually in the middle of some forest, away from any healers," I explain, rambling a bit, hoping I sounded convincing enough. I hear them both laugh again.

"I've never understood wanderers," Fara says and Tara nods in agreement.

"I know, I could never get why they couldn't stay in one place for more than a week," Tara adds. I sigh out of relief, thank god they bought it, and stuff my mouth with porridge to keep myself from saying anything else stupid.

I hear a yawn, and some shuffling and look over. Ludwig's waking up it seems.

"Good morning, Ludwig. Did you sleep well?" They ask, their voices in sync. I find it weird, but they don't seem to notice.

"Good," Ludwig says stoically, standing up. He's wearing a white linen nightshirt and I notice I'm wearing the same thing.

"Where are our clothes?" Ludwig asks, and I realize I'm not wearing any pants, a blush tingeing my cheeks I'm sure.

"We washed them, they're still drying, but don't worry," Fara gets up and goes to the wardrobe in the corner and pulls out two neatly folded piles of clothes. "We have some clothes that will fit you," She says, putting the clothes on the bed.

"We'll give you both your privacy to change and eat your breakfast," Fara explains going to the door with her sister.

"In the meantime, we'll inform Arthur that you are both awake and well now," Tara says before they finally leave the room, closing the door behind it. I look down at the clothes and run my hands over the fabric. It's so soft and fine. Much nicer than the clothes I'm used to.

Ludwig immediately turns his back to me and begins to change. I take this as a sign for him wanting privacy and do the same, quickly changing into the fine clothes.

"You done?" Ludwig asks. I nod and mumble a yes, turning around to find him wearing clothes that looked similar to mine.

"Well don't we look all fancy schamncy," I joke lightly with a smile. It's a bit tense in here and I find it awkward. Ludwig doesn't really react to me and instead goes to the tray of food to each his half of the breakfast.

I look away and grab a piece of bread and eat it slowly, trying to find something to say.

"Ludwig," I say suddenly looking at the stoic blonde. He looks over at me with a raised brow.

"Thank you, for saving my life a second time… I'm sorry I was such a burden to you," I must have been. Ludwig must've sacrificed a lot to accompany me on this little journey of mine. A journey in which I was sick and unconscious for nearly the whole time and he had to do everything for me.

"It's all right," He says and there's a big silent pause between us. "And you aren't a burden."

I don't really know if he means it or not, but it still makes me feel better.

"You should eat the rest of your food," He says, gesturing to my untouched portions. Even though we're safe, and I'm healthy and well, Ludwig still feels like he has to watch over and take care of me.

"So you met this Arthur guy that found us, right?" I ask between bites of my food. He nods.

"Yes. He's supposedly some big deal."

"What's he like? Do you think he suspects anything?" I wonder worriedly. Ludwig shrugs.

"He seems pretty young. Big eyebrows. It's hard to say if he suspects anything, I was very sleep deprived when I met him," He informs me. I nod. I hope everything works out.

Fara and Tara came back into check on us later. When they saw we had finished eating and were dressed, they smiled, saying they would bring us to this Arthur person now.

I tried to keep myself from getting to nervous, but it was hard. I knew basically nothing about this man, except that he was an apprentice of some sort, highly respected, and had big eyebrows. Not a lot to go off of.

I look up at Ludwig who's walking beside me as Fara and Tara lead us out of the room we were in and down a flight of stairs. He looks down at me briefly and gives me, what looks like, a reassuring glance..

The sisters eventually stop in front of a set of double doors, a dark mahogany color, looking very grand.

They turn around and smile at us, the doors opening on their own. It sort of freaks me out, but I try not to show it. The sisters step aside and usher Ludwig and I into the room, closing the door behind us.

The room is dark, the only source of light coming from a fireplace. I look around, it looks a bit like a library or at least there are a lot of shelves with books. There are windows, but they're all covered with drapes. By the fireplace are some cushy chairs. In one of them sits a lone figure. I assume that's this Arthur person I've been told about.

"You'd be right in that assumption," The figure says, turning his face towards Ludwig and I, revealing large eyebrows and green, green eyes. I jump slightly. Did… Did he just read my thoughts?

"Yes, I did," He says again, standing up and walking over towards us. Ludwig straightens up and steps ahead of me slightly.

"Oh hush your thoughts, you big lug, I'm not going to hurt him," Arthur says, this time to Ludwig. I look up to Ludwig and he's looking down at me. It's silently agreed between us that we'll have to be extra cautious around this man.

"Now then," Arthur announces, clapping his hands together to get our attention. "Onto introductions. My name is Arthur Kirkland, pleased to meet you," He says holding his hand out to me. As I take his hand, he grasps it firmly and eyes me, looking me up and down with this strange look in his eyes. It makes me blush as I avoid his gaze.

"Alfred Will…." I trail off and correct myself, can't believe I almost gave myself away. "William Jones. Alfred William Jones," I say, giving a smile. Arthur gives my hand a squeeze and releases it, murmuring something to himself that I couldn't hear. He now offers his hand to Ludwig, who grabs it tightly, possibly in an attempt to intimidate Arthur.

"Ludwig Jones, his… cousin," He says stiffly. Arthur smirks and releases Ludwig's hand, now gesturing to the chairs.

"Pleasure to meet you both, officially. When I found you lot in the forest, you," He looks at me, "were unconscious. And you," He turns his gaze to Ludwig, "were so deliriously tired, you could barely tell left from right," He chuckles a bit and I smile humoredly, since I don't want him to be offended. Something about Arthur seemed… off. Like he was pretending or something.

"Shall we take a seat over there by the fire, that way I can look at you both much better," He says gesturing to the chairs. Ludwig leads the way, taking a seat and I sit down in the chair next to his. Arthur goes to sit in the chair he previously sat in, across from me.

No one says anything, Arthur just sits there staring at me, while Ludwig sits there glaring at Arthur, leaving me to squirm awkwardly in my seat.

"So… look at that fire. That is a nice fire. Very big and orange and… and hot," I say with an uncomfortable laugh. I just can't take this silence. It's suffocating.

"Very astute observation, Alfred," Arthur says with a coy smile. I get the feeling that he's teasing me. And once again it's quiet. I keep waiting for Arthur to say something. I mean, he should be the one to say something, right? He's the one who wanted to meet Ludwig and me.

I look down at the floor and swing my feet slightly. They don't quite reach the floor all the way and this was a very big chair.

Then I realize… maybe Arthur just wants us to show him our appreciation for saving us.

"Oh uh, thanks for saving us and getting us help," I say, figuring that that might be all he wanted from us. Arthur smiles, but there's something weird about it.

"It was no trouble at all, poppet," He says.

Poppet? What the heck is that supposed to mean? Is it a… pet name?

"Yes, it is," Arthur says having read my mind again, with a coy smirk. I blush and look down again and I hear Ludwig sigh.

"Not to be disrespectful, sir, but could you please tell us why we're here?" Ludwig says, trying to keep from sounding agitated. At this point, Arthur's friendly demeanor drops.

"I will, when you tell me why a human is in mage territory," He says pointedly at Ludwig, any attention he was giving to me gone now.

Ludwig visibly tenses and I look between the two of them anxiously.

"You read minds. You tell me," Ludwig says threateningly. It doesn't seem to shake Arthur though.

"You're too easy to get worked up," Arthur says, and laughs a bit, his fake friendliness is now back. "Besides, I can only read surface thoughts. I can't go so deep into the psyche and read peoples' motivations or desires or see their memories unless they're actively thinking of it," He explains.

"Now then, I suppose I should tell you why I'm actually here," Arthur says, turning serious once more. Something tells me that this serious side of him is more real than his friendly one.

"I didn't find you in the Dynell forest by chance. I was sent by the Grand Diviner to find you there," He explains. "What she wants with you two, I haven't the slightest idea. All I know is that I'm supposed to bring you both back to Ciserio with me," This really can't be good if the head honcho wants to see us.

"How did you know we were human?" I ask concerned. Was it that obvious that we didn't belong? Arthur raises a brow as he turns to look at me.

"'We?'" He asks. "Her lady hadn't said anything about two humans. I was under the impression that you were a mage. I mean, I'm able to sense the magic trait in you, it may be small, weak, and inactive, but it's still there…" He trails off and brings his hand to his chin, looking at me intrigued. "Interesting."

I'm not sure I like the way Arthur is looking at me and I think Ludwig can sense this because he puts an arm in front of me protectively.

"Back off," He warns Arthur.

Arthur smirks and rolls his eyes. "As you wish," He says, his gaze never leaving me as Ludwig takes his arm away.

"Well then, I plan on leaving this afternoon. I hope you're both rested. It's a five-day journey on horseback. I have all the supplies packed and ready. Be ready to leave by 1:00 and don't be late, I prefer to be punctual," And with that Arthur stands up once more, holding his hand out to Ludwig, who takes it and gives it a shake.

"Ludwig," He says, nodding, Ludwig returns the nod. Arthur lets go and turns to me, taking my hand, but instead of shaking it like I think he's going to, he brings it to his lips.

"Poppet," He says, giving my hand a kiss before disappearing through the doors before I even have the chance to blush.

"I don't like or trust him," Ludwig says, but I can't find the words to reply.