Chapter 3: Journey

"Luke... was it?" The girl asked gently as she knelt beside the redhead that was still asleep among the flowers in which she herself had awoken only moments ago. She brushed some of his hair out of his face. It was long and was a gorgeous shade of red tinted with an almost golden hue. The gold lining of his jacket almost glowed against the white cloth in the moonlight. The short sleeves and open belly probably didn't keep him very warm though. Not that he seemed to mind at the moment.

He was sound asleep. At least, she hoped he was asleep. Better asleep than unconscious. Not that she couldn't handle either case, but unconscious required healing and healing required energy. Energy she'd rather not have to expend at the moment, especially since she had no idea where they had been blown to, and just how far from any feasible respite they may be. Regardless, he would have to get up soon.

"Luke?" She repeated, louder this time. This time she got a response, though not the one she was looking for. Rather than wake up, he simply rolled over, away from her. She sighed in frustration. Well, at least she knew she had his name right.

"Luke!" She said loudly, this time in a very chafed manner.

"It's not even light out, go away!" The muffled whine came through as the slumbering teen shifted his weight and repositioned his arms in an attempt to get comfortable. Great. He probably thought she was his mother or something.

"Luke! Wake up!"

"Whatever you have to do, you can do yourself. I am not switching again," he grumbled as he brought his hands up to cover his ears. Just as she was about to give in and go grab some water from the river she could hear flowing nearby, he rolled back towards her, and his eyes slowly cracked open.

He looked at her sleepily for a moment, where he was and what had happened slowly working its way through the sleepy haze in his mind. His eyes opened wide and he sat up panicked but stopped, bringing a hand to his now-spinning head, but never taking an eye off of her. Interesting... perhaps he wasn't as completely incompetent as she had previously thought.

Luke watched her suspiciously as he waited for his head to stop spinning in circles. When she made no move, he relaxed a bit and instead took the opportunity to actually look at her. Now that she wasn't a blur in the courtyard, he could see that she wore a brown uniform with a yellow lining, the likes of which he had never seen, though he was hardly in any position to know the first thing about uniforms. The only ones he could recognize were those of the White Knights and the Kimlascan Guard from the palace.

Her tan hair fell gently down her back, and rivalled his own in length. Her bangs were swept to the right and covered one of her blue eyes. The moonlight was reflected off the knives strapped to her legs, and she still held onto her staff. There was something about her that seemed strangely...familiar, but Luke couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Luke also found himself under her intense scrutiny. She eyed him up and down a couple times before crossing her arms across her chest as if displeased with what she saw.

Well Luke wasn't displeased with what he saw. She was rather...well endowed. He knew much better than to comment on this fact though. He had learned quite painfully, from a certain livid young princess, that a woman's chest, or lack thereof, was not a suitable topic for conversation.

"Are you alright?" She finally asked, her hand gently reaching towards the head he realized he was still holding. Her voice was a lot softer than Luke expected it to be, but it still had a touch of coldness to it.

"Yeah I'm fine," Luke replied, moving away from her searching hand, "But where the hell are we? And how the hell did we get here?"

"I don't know where we are. As for how we got here, it would seem that hyperresonance occurred between us."

"A...what?"

"A hyperresonance. An isofon induced resonance. I didn't realize you were a Seventh Fonist too. That was careless of me."

"And that means...what exactly? Look, I don't have any clue what you're going on about but I'm no fonist. Now just who are you?"

"My name is Tear." She scowled. Of course; she was stuck with an idiot. "Now if you don't mind, can we save the questions until later? I'd rather not spend any more time than necessary here; it can be dangerous in the wilderness, especially at night."

"So where do you suggest we go? We have no idea where we even are."

"Look behind you."

Luke got up and walked through the flowers to the cliff's edge. As far as his eyes could see was water. It was nothing like the port in Baticul where the water was murky and dirty. The water was crystal clear and the moonlight glittered off the gentle waves. Luke stood in awe of the scene before him, the potential threat behind him completely forgotten.

Tear watched him and noted how easily he had dropped his guard. So he was still an amateur after all. Gauging his skill level was proving difficult; he hid his inaptitude well. Someone had trained him, though the speed with which he seemed to forget it all made her wonder if he even realized what he'd been taught. Still, he was almost kind of cute standing there smiling at the scenery. She shook the thought out of her head. He was trained by Van; there was no saying what his intentions might be. She wasn't going to repeat his amateur mistake.

"We should be going. The river should take us out to the sea there, from which we should be able to find a road." Tear took the first few steps down towards the valley, but didn't hear a second set following in her wake. She glanced behind her, noting that Luke had turned to face her, but had no intention of following her. "Well, are you coming?"

"Are you going to tell me why you broke into our manor, or tried to kill Master Van, or anything?"

"Look, can we can talk later? Right now, I want to get out of here before any monsters show up."

"So how do I know that you aren't planning something? I'm not going anywhere unless you do some explaining."

Lovely. He was stubborn too. "I'm sorry I can't explain that right now, and even if I did, I doubt you'd understand; but I assure you I have no intention of harming you."

"Then what are you going to do?"

"I'll return you to your home in Baticul, since it's my fault you ended up here. Will you trust me?"

Luke took a moment and considered her request. She seemed sincere, and he wasn't going to get far on his own. He just wanted to go home. "Yeah…I'll trust you," he finally said, advancing towards her.

"Then let's get out of here before any monsters show u-"

The rustle of the bushes was the only warning either of them got as the boar charged them. Tear easily sidestepped its charge, but Luke wasn't nearly as quick on his feet. The boar caught his leg and sent him crashing face-first into the ground.

Great. Just great. Tear wasted no time beginning to focus, before the boar had a chance to recover. She eyed Luke lying on the ground, disappointed. She had hoped that the presence of a somewhat decent swordsman would make this trip a bit easier for her, but he was a total novice. Certainly not someone she could count on. She would have to heal him after she took care of this, but for now, she'd leave him crippled where he was. There were more pressing concerns.

Breaking free from her train of thought, Tear noticed the sudden absence of her foe. She began to look around her, not daring to move for fear of further breaking her concentration. Fonic artes were tricky at best, and hers in particular even more so. The last thing she needed was to loose one beyond her control, but unless she could spot her target again, her hit wouldn't land. She carefully watched, thoroughly searching the grass and bushes for any sign of movement, knowing better than to hope that their foe had simply wandered off; but in the scarce light offered by the moon, her search was fruitless. Then came a noise, and the sound of movement: it had gotten around behind her, and it was charging again.

She immediately halted her arte, dispersing the fonons she had gathered, but in the aftermath of her spell, she was unable to get out of the boar's oncoming charge.

The sound of an unsheathing sword, and then a cry into the night as the boar defied its fate, succumbing to death all the same.

Luke's hand trembled but he willed it to stop and quickly took control of his growing anxiety. There was so much blood. It wasn't as if he didn't expect it after killing the thing, but he didn't expect there to be so much. He was no stranger to seeing blood, usually his own, and if he got lucky sometimes it was Asch's, but it was seldom more than a cut or a scratch that didn't heal within day or so. He bent down, his leg still protesting the unwanted movement, and wiped his sword on the grass before replacing it in his sheathe.

What a strange one he was turning out to be. Tear watched him wipe his sword off and stand back up. He had caught her completely by surprise; he was nothing like the sheltered noble she expected him to be. There was no doubt Luke was an amateur, the soft tremble and unease he showed in the face of battle confirmed that much, but the way he hid his ineptitude was quite unlike anything she had ever seen. He had returned to battle and made it look like he was just fine, only the way he stood, with all his weight on his right leg, betrayed his injury. It wasn't something he picked up from Van. Of that much she was sure.

Damn his leg hurt. Stupid boar, he should have been paying more attention. Asch would have laughed at him for that pathetic display. He was glad that at least he had managed to finish it off, though his leg certainly didn't agree. Then again, he had finished more battles, with a lot more injuries than that before. Stupid Asch, never went easy on him. Half the injuries he has incurred in his life he could attribute to his older sibling. But in the end, he had never sustained any permanent damage, and all that training did manage to save him, so he supposed he couldn't really hold it against Asch.

"Are you alright?" Tear asked, not really waiting for the predicted 'no I'm fine' before kneeling down to take a closer look at his leg. She gently touched it and Luke bit back a yelp from the sudden pain that shot up his leg. Slowly that pain diffused, and soon it was almost gone altogether; replaced by a rather gentle warmth coming from a familiar diffuse flow.

"You're a healer?" Luke asked, surprise lining his voice.

"Well yes. I told you I'm a Seventh Fonist, it shouldn't come as such a shock that I know some healing artes." Luke racked his brain trying to remember what it meant to be a Seventh Fonist. He could recollect being told about it, but nothing in particular came to mind. "Why do you sound so surprised?"

"I guess I didn't think someone like you would turn out to be a healer."

"What do you mean by 'someone like me'?"

"Well, you snuck into my home and tried to kill Master Van, so I just didn't exactly picture you as a healer."

"Ugh, I can't believe you! Don't you know anything? Or do you even think for that matter? You're a Seventh Fonist just like I am; it shouldn't be that much of a surprise."

"I told you before. I'm not a fonist! I have no idea what you're going on about!"

Tear eyed him suspiciously. He was a Seventh Fonist, whether he knew it or not. Otherwise, there was no way that a hyperresonance could have occurred between them. He obviously didn't know anything. It might explain why him manor was so heavily guarded, but pushing the issue any further now would be a waste of both their time.

The journey down the valley was tedious, but after his first unexpected encounter, Luke somehow managed to rise to the occasion and they didn't have any particular difficulty. For the most part they walked in silence, minus the odd complaints from Luke. But through his whining she did manage to learn a bit about him. He was a year older than she was, he hated getting his coat dirty, his favourite food was chicken (and he was hungry), he didn't like getting his coat wet, he liked the flowers by the river, and he hated how the mud clung to his coat. He did seem particularly avid about the condition of his coat. Were all nobles so...conceited? It must be nice, not to have a care in the world outside of one's clothing.

"Hey!" Luke called, hopping onto a fallen tree to cross the river.

The man who has been drawing water from the river looked up, surprised at the sound of another voice in such a remote place. "You!" The man cried, a shaky finger pointed straight at Luke. "D-Don't tell me you're with the Dark Wings!"

Startled by the man's response, Luke nearly fell into the river just managing to maintain his balance long enough to crash onto the opposite riverbank. "Owww. Don't startle me like that! Jeez. And who the hell are the Dark Wings?"

Tear gracefully stepped off the log beside Luke and the man backed off even further. "Th-They're bandits! Two men and a woman! But wait...there are only two of you."

"My apologies for my companion's behaviour. We were travelling to the capital but got lost and wound up here."

"To the capital? That's where I'm heading as well. I'm a coachman, a wheel on my coach was acting up and we lost our water, so I stopped here to get some more."

"Would it be possible to get a ride from you then?" Tear inquired, anxious for any opportunity to shorten what was already looking to become a long journey.

"Sure but...uh..." Tear noticed the coachman eyeing Luke warily. "What's your friend's problem?" Luke had positioned himself, sitting cross-legged with his arms folded across his chest. He had put on a slight pout and was glaring at the coachman.

"I am not some stupid bandit," Luke mumbled causing Tear to roll her eyes in frustration.

"Oh grow up!" Tear kicked him in the shin. Luke yelped and scrambled to his feet, before launching into a tirade of complaints that Tear simply blocked out. This was going to be a really long journey.

She wasn't listening. No surprise there, but Luke felt better once he had gotten it all out. Life was easier that way. Get it out, put it behind you, and life goes on.

"A coach huh? And he said he's heading to the capital?" Luke asked Tear, not really expecting more than the exasperated sigh that he got. "So are we catching a ride or what?"

"Wow. Slow down," the coachman intervened, "We still haven't discussed payment. To the capital will cost you 12 000 gald each. You have enough on you?"

"That's expensive." Tear sighed disappointedly.

"Well, I can take care of that once we get there." Luke tossed in casually. It didn't seem like all that much money, and it was worth it if it could get him home.

"No good, I'm going to need payment in advance."

Tear sighed and stood silently hesitating before reaching inside her uniform and pulling out a jewelled pendant. The violet gem glistened in the pale light of the impending sunrise. "Take this." She managed with a painful finality.

"Wow. This is quite the gem you have!"

"You're not kidding," Luke said looking over the coachman's shoulder at the treasure Tear had just turned over. Even his mother had few jewels in her collection that compared to this. Sure she had all kinds of expensive baubles and trinkets, but they weren't nearly as pretty as this was. "You're sure you're giving this up? It looks awfully valuable."

"You want to walk?" She snapped, her voice suddenly becoming cold and harsh.

"No," Luke responded quickly.

"Then let's be off," The coachmen said as he escorted the two to his coach and they departed as the sun broke the horizon.

When Luke opened his eyes again, the sun was already high in the sky. The open fields went on as far as the eye could see, the seamless horizon broken only by the odd standing of trees. Luke allowed himself to quietly observe the passing landscape before showing any sign of being awake. The outside world really was an amazing place. There was something about it that all the books Asch had shoved under his nose just couldn't portray.

Asch.

Luke felt a pang of homesickness as his thoughts drifted to his older sibling. What were they up to right now? Guy was probably running around frantically like he used to when Luke was younger and liked to hide on him. Asch somehow always managed to find him, regardless of how well he hid himself. Luke allowed himself a grin. Asch was probably at home, barking orders at the frantic Guy no doubt.

Luke didn't think he would ever miss his mundane life at the manor, but now that it was gone, he wanted it all back. He wanted to get up late and have Asch yell at him for being lazy. He wanted Guy to sit and rant to him about Asch's latest temper tantrum. Hell, he even missed Natalia's non-stop prodding and scolding, even if it was over nothing. He would never understand women. Speaking of women….

"You're finally awake," Tear said as he turned over and sat up wiping the last of the sleep out of his eyes. The coldness in her voice and the harsh short sentences she had been using since they left the valley had vanished as if they had never existed at all. Just great, she was as bipolar as Natalia. That was exactly what he wanted to deal with. There was only one thing he knew about handling women: stay on their good side. It was safer there.

"It's about 2 more hours ride to the capital. Once we get past Rotelro Bridge here it should be a bit of a smoother ride." The coachman called back from his place at the reins.

Luke couldn't resist sticking his head out the window. Looking ahead he saw a huge river cutting across the landscape and just up the road was a huge stone bridge that stretched out across it. Luke watched it approach in awe, equally enjoying the feeling of the cool wind on his face. They hit a bump as the coach's wheels moved onto the cobblestone from the dirt road on which they had been travelling, which succeeded in smashing Luke's head against the top of the window frame. The stifled laughter from inside the coach didn't help his pride much either.

Luke sat back down in his seat, or rather, slouched down in his seat and crossed his arms, refusing to look at Tear who was still stifling a giggle here and there. A huge crack echoed across the open water puyting an end to both Luke's pouting and Tear's snickering.

"What was that?" Luke was amazed at how quickly Tear became serious, despite her unsuccessful efforts to control her giggling only moments earlier.

"I-I don't know," The coachmen replied as he attempted to calm his startled herd. The steady sound of rocks hitting the water, and a second large crack got the coach moving again, this time at full speed. No sooner had they moved, than the bridge began to give way, crumbling under the weight of the coach. On the very last stretch, a stray rock crippled the wheel on the left side sending the coach and its passengers crashing onto the riverbank.

"Owwwww." Luke stood up, his entire body protesting the movement.

"Are you two alright?" The coachman inquired.

"Yes. We're both alright." Tear replied. "But…" Tear eyed the bridge that was now nothing more than a few stones on each side of the riverbank.

"It's strange. Emperor Peony keeps Rotelro Bridge well maintained. Why would it just give out like that?"

"Wait a second." Tear cut in alarmed, "Emperor Peony? You mean we're in Malkuth?"

"Whoa! Wait a sec! You said we were headed to Baticul!" Luke jumped in.

"No. We were on our way to Grand Chokmah, capital of Malkuth." The coachman replied confused. "If you wanted to go to Baticul – that's the other way, but with the bridge out, you'll have to head through Kaitzur or Akzerieuth instead."

"Ugh." Tear sighed, crossing her arms trying to think of something. Nothing in particular came to her. It was such a foolish mistake to make.

"Look, why don't you come with me to Engeve at least. It's not far off from here. You can at least get some food and re-supply there." The coachman carefully untied the two remaining beasts that had gotten tangled in the wreckage of the coach, and so unable to flee into the wilderness with their comrades. "Here," he handed the reins to Tear, "you two can ride that one, and I'll ride this girl here."

"We're riding on those?" Luke looked at the creature suspiciously. It was planning to toss him the second he got on its back. He just knew it.

Tear sent a look over to the coachman, who picked Luke right up and dropped him on the creature's back. Tear swiftly pulled herself up as well and grabbed the reins. She sighed. If this kept up, it would be a painfully long journey, if she still had her sanity by the end of it.

Despite Engeve's small population, the small farming town was almost as lively as Baticul. Children were running about, chasing after their flocks, playing in the midday sun. The small, quaint houses lined the streets behind the stands where foods to suit anyone's taste could be found. Among the houses, crops of corn among other vegetables grew. Orchards of fruits and fields upon fields of grains lined the outskirts of the village.

"There you guys are," The coachman said as he helped Tear down of their mount, leaving gravity to assist Luke in his far from graceful descent.

"Where are you headed from here?" Tear casually inquired.

"I'm going to head on to the capital. I have family up that way. Best of luck to the both of you."

"Thank you very much," Tear replied as the coachman took the reins of the second mount and departed from their company.

"Okay then, with Rotelro Bridge out, we either have to pass through Akzerieuth or take the road to Kaitzur. Either way, we should stock up on food while we're here." Tear said thinking out loud, trying to plan out their route, and how far they'd have to go before the next chance to stock up on food. "What other kinds of things do you like to eat Luke?"

No answer.

"Luke?" Tear turned around to where she had last seen Luke on the ground after falling off their mount and, much to her dismay, but not really to her surprise, he wasn't there. Tear set off, in a quickly deteriorating mood, to find him, feeling more and more like a babysitter. She could only hope he had enough sense to stay in the village. He was going to get an earful when she found him.

Finding him, however, was proving to be more difficult than she had initially thought, in spite of the fact that his red hair should stick out like a lake in the desert. She had gone down every street in Engeve. She had explored waterwheels, through crops, among the orchards, and even among the animals grazing in the fields, but no Luke.

"Hey," Tear heard a voice coming from behind her. She turned around to see a young girl. The girl's jet black curls were a stark contrast to her pink uniform. Purple lines on the front drew out the symbol of the Oracle knights, proving her to be far more than just any child. Tear looked her in the eye to show that the girl had her attention. The girl continued. "Have you seen a boy wandering around? Little dull, kinda out of it?"

Tear fought back a chuckle. "I'm looking for one of those myself. Let me know if you happen across one."

"Boy troubles, huh? I swear, you have to put them on leash nowadays! Well, good luck finding your boyfriend," the girl offered before continuing off in the opposite direction leaving a rather insulted Tear in the middle of the road. She had far better taste than that.

It took Tear another 20 minutes of combing Engeve before finally spotting a flash of red behind the inn. Luke was standing on a fence peering over a small rickety wall. Why of all places? "Luke!" Tear yelled and was rewarded when a rather startled young noble fell head-first over the wall and crashed into the make-shift shed.

"What are you doing?" The infuriated inn-keeper snarled as he dragged Luke out of his storage room by the collar.

"I just wanted to know what was inside. Let go!" Luke yelled, his demands carried out as the inn keeper forcibly tossed him on the floor at the entrance. "Ouch! Easy!" Luke stood up and brushed the dirt off his coat, all the while glaring at the inn keeper.

"I don't go easy with thieves!" The antagonized innkeeper shouted, drawing the attention of several of the village's inhabitants.

"I'm not some petty thief." Luke rebutted. "I'm-"

"Luke!" Tear yelled in his ear, sending him a good ten feet in the air.

"You know him?" The Inn keeper demanded.

"He's currently travelling with me," Tear supplied as Luke caught his breath. Normally, she'd just have let him get chewed out, but she felt a little guilty, seeing as it was her fault he fell in. So she'd help him out. This time. "It is his first time here so he's been a bit overwhelmed by the sights, and got out of hand. Will you accept our apologies?"

"Well, you didn't take anything, so I let you off this time, but don't you dare let me catch you snooping around in my storehouse again!"

"Don't worry. I won't." Luke replied dourly. "Nothing worth looking at in there anyways…" He mumbled once he was out of an earshot.

"What do you think you're doing?" Luke cringed at Tear's reprimanding, expected as it may have been.

"I thought I saw something, so I went to see what it was…" Luke mumbled, knowing it wouldn't do a thing to prevent the lecture he was about to get.

"First of all, you can't just go climbing people's fences! Second of all, don't just go carelessly flinging your name around! Do you have any idea who your father is?" His father? How did his father get dragged into this? Tear's voice reduced to a hiss as she continued her lecture. "Your father is one of Malkuth's greatest enemies. There are a lot of people around here who've probably had family killed by your father." Oh. That's how.

"But wait a second…I thought Kimlasca and Malkuth had a peace treaty…" Luke could have sworn that's what Asch and Master Van had said. There was peace between the two countries wasn't there? So why was anyone, much less his father, doing any kind of killing? He hated how a complete stranger seemed to know more about his own family than he did. It left a bad taste in his mouth. The pointed look he was getting from her at the moment wasn't improving his disposition much either.

"Look, let's just-" but Tear hadn't even finished her thought before Luke began frantically searching through his pockets. "What is it?" Tear inquired.

"Dammit! I must have dropped it when I fell!" Luke exclaimed wasting no time in spinning around and heading straight for the inn. Tear bit back her frustration and followed. This was going to be an excruciatingly long journey.

The crowd in front of the inn kept Luke from getting very far, and the squabbling voices drowned out his protests.

"There he is!" the crowd silenced and all eyes fell on Luke. "He's the one I caught raiding the storehouse earlier!" Two men had Luke pinned before he could utter a word of protest.

"Now, now. What is all the fuss about?" A calm voice subdued the crowd and the man from which it had come approached the boy in question. The man's red eyes offset his shoulder length auburn hair, giving him a creepy air about him. You knew just by looking, no one crossed this man, well, none who lived to tell of it.

Tear made her way through the crowd to where the man was eyeing Luke. His blue uniform spoke of the Malkuth military, the person adorning them, of a higher ranking officer. Someone of his composure and demeanour was no mere foot soldier. He pushed up his glasses with a forefinger before asking Luke his name.

"I'm Luke," Luke replied calmly, despite his air of defiance. Apparently even he knew when not to cause excessive trouble.

"Luke, why is it you are here?"

"He's here because he stole the food from the storehouse!" Concurring cries from the crowd confirmed what the first person had said.

"I'm not some thief! I told you I fell in earlier I didn't take a thing!"

"I was asking our young friend here."

"I caught you red-handed on your first attempt!" the inn keeper shouted completely ignoring the man's statement. "Now all the food from our storehouse is missing!"

"I bet he's a member of the Dark wings!"

"My my, such a lively bunch," the man shrugged.

"He's not a member of the Dark Wings." Everyone turned to look at Tear.

"I can confirm that," the man supplied. "Rotelro Bridge collapsed, and the bandits in question were recently spotted near Chessedonia. There isn't any way for them to have moved that quickly."

"That still doesn't explain why he was caught in the storehouse earlier!"

"Well?" The man passed the attention to Luke.

"I saw something moving, so I went to see what it was." Luke reluctantly mumbled not looking anyone in the eye.

"Was it this colour?" A young voice piped up. The boy from whom it came made his way through the crowd to Luke, holding what looked like a bunch of fur in between his fingers. His green hair stood out against his pale complexion that almost matched his white robes. The boy passed the fur to Luke who examined it for a moment before passing it back to him.

"Yeah, that looks about right," Luke replied.

"I found this in the storehouse. It's fur from a sacred cheagle. I'll bet that's what took your food." The boy stated, passing the fur to the inn keeper. The inn keeper looked at the fur for a moment, and then nodded his head towards Luke's captors, who immediately let him go. The boy was right.

The crowd dispersed, leaving only Luke, Tear, the man, the boy and the inn keeper standing in front of the inn.

"I'm sorry about this," the inn keeper finally said.

"It's okay," Luke answered insincerely, still rubbing his aching wrists. "I guess I did kind of ask for it."

"Why did you come back here anyways?"

"Oh! I dropped something when I fell; I just wanted to get it back."

"Sorry kid, the storehouse is completely empty. Whatever you dropped, those cheagles hauled off with the rest of the food."

Luke clenched his fist and scowled. He couldn't believe he actually lost it. Worse yet – it was stolen! Some stupid cheagle had taken it. Well, whatever the hell a cheagle was, it had another thing coming if it thought he was going to let them keep their grubby hands on it. Oh, or the food, they probably couldn't have that either.

"Is the food here really that valuable?" He finally inquired.

"Yeah. Food here is our only source of income. Without it, we can't sustain ourselves. But don't you worry. We'll find some way to stop those cheagles."

"Thank you both for your assistance," Tear said to the man and the boy who were still standing nearby with a slight bow.

"Certainly. We've met Luke over there, but you are?"

"I'm Tear. We're travelling together, but we got on the wrong coach and ended up here. May I ask who you are?"

"I'm Colonel Jade Curtiss, 3rd division Malkuth imperial forces. If you don't mind, however, we must be off. Come now Ion, we leave early tomorrow. You know Anise will be upset if you don't get your rest."

"Alright then," Ion replied. "It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance!" He said cheerfully before allowing himself to be shuffled off.

"Thanks!" Luke called after them waving, a huge smile on his face.

Tear watched him waving, the sun setting behind him, making his hair glow golden as it was tossed around by his exaggerated gesture; his emerald eyes alight with the exuberance in his carefree smile.

Tear couldn't help but smile.

Maybe this journey wouldn't be so long after all.