Hey everyone! Here's this week's installment of Blind Power! Thanks for sticking with me through all this time, I'm glad that you guys find the effort to read my stories! Per usual, feel free to follow and favorite if you enjoy the piece! If there are any suggestions or questions that you have, don't hesitate to leave a review! Thanks and I'll see you guys next week!

"Ugh, can we stop for a minute? My feet are killing me!" Mavis plopped down on the side of the road.

I looked back at her. "Mavis, if you could see my eyes, they're rolling right now. Come on, we haven't even gone that far."

She crossed her arms, pouting. "Well, some of us didn't spend three years roaming all of Earth Land! Face it, we're just not as used to this as you are!"

My old master had a point. Even though she wasn't complaining, I knew that Mira was in need of a break too. She had slowed down her pace, and was shaking her feet every few steps. I knew what that meant. She was exhausted.

"Fine," I said. "We can stop for a few minutes. Clear?"

Mavis stood at attention and saluted me cutely. "Crystal clear sir!" She then proceeded to plop down on the ground and hold her bare feet up in the air. I smiled inwardly as I watched her. She had become a lot less of a mentor to me recently and more of a sibling. I guess that's because I was like a child when I first came to the island, with no memory or recollection of who I was or what the world had in store for me. Even when I had been on Tenrou for years, I still was naive to the world outside of my safe little bubble. I was but a boy when I had left then.

But now, I was older. Weathered. I had seen things and done things that corrupted that innate goodness that was instilled in me when Mavis was training me. I probably had to have her as a tutor because of my innocence, because at that point, I hadn't done much to really defile my existence. Nowadays though, I seemed to have a darkness about me. Even though I had resolved to be a better person than I was, I can't fully wash the blood stains off of my hands that The Renegade had put there. That darkness made me more mature, and more keen to see someone like Mavis, who is so inherently innocent despite all the evil, and want to protect them. I guess I really was like an older brother to her in that sense.

I sat down next to Mira, who had taken off her hiking boots and was massaging her feet. I got a cracker out of my bag and fed it to Rin, who was perched on my shoulder.

"Blisters?" I asked casually to my partner.

She smiled at my comment. "Yeah, but I'll be fine. Just a little sore is all."

"Let me see, I bet I can help."

"Oh no it's okay. I'm fine, honest."

I gritted my teeth. Why were females always like this? I try to offer my help, try to be friendly, and then they're too nice to accept it. It was frustrating. Every single time.

Screw it. She needed my help, and by Talus she was going to get it.

I reached over and grabbed her leg by the ankle, hoisted it onto my lap, and peeled the sock off of her now raw feet.

"Aiyum, what are you doing?!" she blurted out, blushing. "I don't think this is really necessa-"

She winced in pain as I poked one of her blisters. Her pale, petite feet were covered with multiple large sores. "They're only gonna get worse if we don't do anything about them now," I responded, reaching into my bag for my medical kit. "I've seen this stuff a lot before, I know what I'm doing. Aha!" I had found my first aid kit in my bag! Perfect. I popped it open, and from it I took a tiny pin that could be used for sewing stitches.

Mira's eyes widened as she saw my tool. "Wh-what are you planning on using that for?!" she asked nervously.

I looked over to her and cracked an evil grin. "You're about to find out."

X...X...X

It was dark now. We had been hiking for a while, but after I had treated her feet, Mira seemed to be pushing through. The sun had set about thirty minutes ago, and the stars were starting to show their true potency.

Mavis had been complaining for the duration of the day, but had fallen asleep a couple hours ago. I held her, slung on top of my back. I didn't mind carrying her, though. She was light enough as it was, like a childlike angel. It was as if she had hollow bones or something. I knew she wasn't completely mortal, but I didn't know how that affected her physical form. I adjusted her on my shoulders, hiking her further up so she wouldn't fall off. She stirred slightly, but she was a pretty heavy sleeper. Drool dripped down from her tiny mouth and onto my battered brown overcoat. I smiled as we made our way along.

"We're almost to the town that our job is in," I said to Mira, who was walking alongside me, matching my stride. "We can stop there for the night."

"Good," she replied. "I'm ready to get into a nice warm bath and a cozy bed." She stretched her arms up into the sky.

I looked up, gazing upon the heavens, speckled in their celestial beauty. I stared upwards, thinking of my father, and how he was up above us all, watching over me. I hope that I was doing right by him. I know that he and I had our differences, but that didn't make him any less of my father. He took me in when I was a child, when I had no one else to turn to. He taught me magic and made me among the strongest wizards to ever live. I was the only mage to ever be trained by a literal god, and although it may not have been my decision, I looked back on it as a fortunate one. I never would have remet Mira, or even had contact with Mavis if it weren't for Him. And for that I was thankful.

"And you? Aiyum? Hellooo, are you listening?" Mira waved her hand in front of my face, which was kind of silly considering I did have a blindfold on.

I shook my head, recollecting my thoughts. "What? Yeah. Sorry Mira, I was just thinking about something."

She laughed softly. "I always wonder what goes on in that head of yours."

"Me too," I said a little too bitterly.

We walked in silence for a few minutes, when I heard Mira say, "Look! I see a village up ahead! Is that it?"

"Should be," I added. "Let's try and get to an inn real quick and get some rest, we've got a huge day tomorrow." She nodded in agreement.

We walked into town, our boots clodding atop the cobblestone roads. Lanterns were lit on the streets, casting out a yellowish orange light across the boulevards. We went from street to street, looking for an inn that we could hole up in for the night. After about fifteen minutes, we saw a large, oaken building that was two stories high. The sign out front read: Moondance Inn: Wizards Welcome!

"This looks as good as any other place," I said to my partner.

Too tired to respond, she just grunted in agreement, heading in the heavy door. As we walked into the lodge, warmth encapsulated us. The outside air had been cool once the sun had went down, and we were grateful for the blazing fire in the corner. There were three large brown leather chairs that surrounded the hearth, one of which was occupied by a woman that looked like was in her late fifties, with white hair and a simple navy blue dress on. She looked over to us but said nothing. Despite a passing gaze, I gave her no thought. We approached the check-in counter, where a man who looked about the same age as the woman in the corner was working, writing down numbers on a yellowed piece of paper.

As he looked up, I felt like I knew him. He had relatively short, silver hair, with a beard that was much whiter in color. His skin was tan, as if he tended a field every day in the baking sun, instead of working an inn. Despite being further along in years, he looked like he was pretty muscular, his shirt covering large shoulders and peaking biceps. His hands were large and had veins peaking out of them; if I hadn't seen him working behind a counter I would have thought that he was a farm hand or made a living doing manual labor. But the most striking feature about him was his eye color. I felt like they pierced me as they looked up into my face, their color akin to light shining upon finely cut steel.

"We need a room," I said, laying down a few thousand jewels. I still had Mavis asleep on my back, one of the wings from her hair poking me in the face. I blew it to get it out of my sight.

He took the money, replacing it with a key. "Wizards I see. You're here for the job no doubt." He stood up, taking our payment and placing it in a box on top of a dresser behind the counter. "Just a word of warning, most wizards who have attempted this job have died. Those who didn't never completed it."

"We're not most wizards." I replied. "Thanks for the key." I turned and headed back up the stairs to the room that I had paid for. Mira followed in my footsteps.

"We're sharing a room?" She asked nervously. "Isn't that a little strange?"

Not stopping, I said back to her, "You wanna pay for a second room? I'm running on chump change as it is. Don't worry, it's not like we're sharing a bed or anything."

"I guess not," she responded quietly as I unlocked our door. We walked into a small room with two twin sized beds and a bedside table in between. There was a small light that I turned on, casting a small luminance throughout the room. "Where's Mavis going to sleep?" Mira asked.

I set my little sister down on the closest bed, pulling the covers over her. She stirred but didn't wake, pressing her face happily into the pillow. I patted her head. "She sleeps with me. It's been that way for years. We're siblings after all."

Her eyes widened, but by this point she was used to being surprised by me. I took off my overcoat, throwing it in the corner along with my boots. Hopping on the bed, I laid above the cover and rested my head on my arm, staring at the ceiling. I heard Mira rummaging around in her pack, taking out a few things. She went into the small bathroom that was attached to the room, turning off the bedroom light as she left. I heard water running, light coming from a crack underneath the door. She must have been taking a bath.

I shook off the thought, scolding myself of thinking of a girl bathing. I continued to stare at the ceiling in the dark, letting my mind wander. I kept thinking of the innkeeper. There was something about him, the way he talked, the way he held himself, that felt extremely… familiar. Although I had never met the man before, something inside made me think that I had known him my whole life. I kept thinking about him for a good half hour, keeping myself awake until Mira got out of the bathroom in her nightgown. I heard her lay down on her bed, pulling the blankets over herself. Once she got settled, I spoke.

"Hey Mira?"

"Yeah?" She replied softly.

"Did you notice anything weird about that couple that was downstairs earlier?" I asked.

"Well yeah,"

"What was it?"

She propped herself up on her bed, looking over at me. I saw her silhouette in the dark. "Aiyum, they looked exactly like you," she said.