A/N WELL. This took bloody long enough to get out there didn't it... Are Americans allowed to use bloody as an adjective? I hope so. Fun to say. REGARDLESS. Hope you enjoy the chapter, and hopefully the next chapter won't take SIX MONTHS FOR ME TO COMPLETE. I don't know how people put up with me.

Bellena pulled back her hand as she opened her eyes. She discovered that she had been teleported to a small room. The room itself was mostly derelict and in ill repair, seeming to creak without Bellena moving so much as a finger. Roots grew up from the ground, overtaking the cracked stone pillars holding up the ceiling, which also appeared to be unstable. Looking around, she saw some sort of altar, though she could not tell what it could be for. Looking back to her front, she came to notice a large door, though this too looked rather run down. Hopefully it wasn't blocked shut from the other side. Slowly walking up to the door, she came to notice the faint sound of chatter from beyond the door. This caused her to pause momentarily. Recalling her previous life, she remembered a mission with her company, where they heard distant chatter. Although she and a companion showed concern, their commanding officer ensured them that it was merely townsfolk traveling. It turned out to be a band of thieves attacking her company, wounding five men and killing two. What if this was something similar?

Bellena drew her sword and clutched it firmly as she slowly made her way to the door. Reaching out her free hand, she pushed on it, only to be met with firm resistance. This door would require both hands to be opened. Taking a deep breath, she planted her sword hand on the door and began pushing. The door creaked and groaned in protest as Bellena let out a soft grunt of effort. As the door made one final groan of protest, Bellena shoved open the door and quickly rose her sword, pulling her shield off her back and extending it defensively in front of her. Stepping outside, she scanned the area around her, looking for the source of the noise. As she moved forward, she lowered her shield slightly, taking in the scenery of the Lothric.

All around her were enormous towers, with flags displaying the symbol of Lothric atop them. The skyline was bathed in the golden glow of the sun, illuminating the castle. However, beyond the towers loomed dark, menacing black clouds. A storm perhaps? Lowering her shield entirely, Bellena walked towards the ledge of the wall, still peering towards the sky. Now that she had a closer look, she noticed that the clouds seemed to be moving towards the sun, as if to block it out. Was this a result of the dying age? If so, she would have limited time to accomplish her mission.

"Hello up there!" A young voice suddenly called out. Jumping back slightly and raising her shield, Bellena held her sword in front of her as she looked down, towards the source of the noise. Below a small ledge, there rested another bonfire, this time, already lit. Around the fire, however, was the source. Settled along the edge of the bonfire, what looked like two slim, young women, with one holding a bowl and spoon while the other looked up towards Bellena. The first, with the bowl, had long, wavy red hair that reached her lower neck, wore a sorcerer's robe, and fittingly enough, seemed to have a sorcerer's staff resting on the ground beside her. The other, had shorter red hair that covered one of her eyes, and appeared to be wearing some kind of northern armor. The bonfire itself had what looked like a pot above the sword imbued in it.

"Oh, sorry! Didn't mean to scare you!" Said the one with short hair again. Bellena lowered her shield and walked closer to the edge.

"You two... Are you Unkindled?" Bellena asked.

"That we are." Replied the one with the short hair. Looking up from her bowl, the woman with long hair smiled at Bellena.

"I see the embers on your armor. Care to join us?" She asked. Bellena looked between the two women, unsure of whether she could trust them. Based on what she had read, Undead, which seemed similar to Unkindled, could hollow at any time, turning on even the closest of allies. But, then again, she wasn't hollowing, and despite the darksign, it didn't appear that Unkindled shared many qualities with the Undead. Was it possible they could be trusted? Bellena recalled what the fire keeper had told her, her mission was to deliver the Lords of Cinder to their thrones. She couldn't hope to do this alone, could she? She had to at least attempt to make some allies.

"I... Suppose I could..." She said slowly, sheathing her sword.

"Excellent! We have an extra bowl anyway, come on down." Replied the one with the shorter hair. Placing her shield on her back, Bellena made her way down the stairs as the two women moved slightly, so as to make room for her. Upon closer inspection, Bellena noticed a set of shields resting beside the fire, one a small leather shield, the other a larger, round wooden shield. Atop them were what appeared to be a heavy battle axe and a mail breaker. If she were to guess, these were their weapons. Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, the one with the shorter hair reached into a pack beside their weapons and pulled out a third bowl, extending it to Bellena shortly after.

"Not expecting to eat with your helmet on, are you?" She asked. Pausing for a moment, Bellena reached up to head, and felt the cold steel of her armor there. Sighing, she placed both hands around the helmet and lifted, feeling a fresh hit of cold air as her skin became exposed to the elements.

"Ah, you haven't hollowed either I see." Said the woman with the longer hair as Bellena sat down. With one hand, Bellena laid her helmet beside her, and accepted the bowl with the other. As she brought the bowl closer to her, she noticed that they seemed relatively new, almost as though they had been packed. Had these women expected to make some kind of journey like this?

"Well, you owe me twenty souls Ruth." The short haired one said as she filled up her own bowl. Bellena squinted slightly and looked between the two women as the long haired one rolled her eyes and gave a light chuckle.

"Ruth?" She asked. The one that had been called Ruth looked up and nodded as she brought her spoon to her mouth. Now that she had a closer look, she noticed that Ruth seemed to have two differently colored irises. Her left eye seemed to be a dull green, as where the right eye was more of a modest blue color. She knew there was a name for this kind of condition, but for the life of her, she couldn't recall the name of it. Looking over to the other woman, she noticed her eyes seemed irregular as well, though rather than two separately colored eyes, they were both a vibrantly colored purple, in addition to a tattoo of a golden sword on her left cheek.

"Oh! I'm sorry, we haven't even introduced ourselves yet." The short haired one said. Setting her bowl aside a moment, then placed her hand on her knee.

"My name's Naomi Elnos, I was a warrior of the great north before I died in battle. Needless to say, I've been brought back as one of the Unkindled." She said with a smile. Bellena nodded as she took her sword and set it beside her.

"A pleasure to meet you. I am Lady Starvos of an unknown land. My fellows called me Bellena in life." She said with a calm tone. Naomi chuckled lightly and retook her bowl.

"A knight then. Well, nice to meet you m'lady. You mind if I just call you Bellena?" She said before bringing her spoon to her lips.

"Always casual with you Naomi." Ruth said with a chuckle. Bellna nodded to Naomi before she looked back over to Ruth. The young woman had a smile on her face, and looked back at Bellena.

"Ruth Bastieth is my full name. And, I actually remember where I'm from. Vinheim, though, I guess my robe makes that kind of obvious." She said. Bellena allowed herself a small smile at that. Finally looking to the pot that held the soup, she grabbed the ladle and scooped up some of the dish. It appeared to be no more than a broth with a few pieces of meat and vegetables in it. Still, better than nothing at all.

"Neither of you seem that old." She stated as she filled her bowl.

"Well, that's because we're not. I was only 19 when I died, Ruth was just 22." Naomi said. This saddened Bellena slightly. For the both of them to die so young, at least she'd had the luxury of being in her thirties before she had passed. She was also survived by her husband and son, if these two were truly as young as they said, they may be been the last of their line. The poor women... Trying to take her mind off the matter, she moved onto her next question.

"I take it you two ran into each other after becoming Unkindled?"

"Wrong, actually. We knew each other in life." Naomi said. Bellena paused momentarily, and looked over to the warrior. Why was a scholar of Vinheim familiar with a northern warrior? Sitting back a little bit, she stirred the soup with her spoon as she looked over to Ruth, who seemed to be enjoying another spoonful of her soup. Swallowing her soup, Ruth looked up to Bellena and gave a soft sigh of appreciation.

"I was sent on an assignment to Naomi's village, and she was appointed as my bodyguard. As I studied, days turned to weeks, and weeks turned to months, and we became friends." She said. Naomi let out a yell of agreement as she spoke next.

"Best friends, as a matter of fact. I managed to outdrink her every time I invited her to a pub." She boasted with a smile on her face.

"You grew up with that stuff, it was hardly fair!" Ruth said playfully. Naomi simply laughed this off and took another swig of her soup. Bellena allowed herself a small smile once again as she observed the friends laughing with one another.

"So I take it you are aiding one another in your journey?" She asked. Finally bringing the spoon to her mouth, Bellena noted that soup seemed muted, with only the slightest bits of flavor from the soup. Most likely, this was another side effect of the darksign.

"You would be right in that assumption. With my skills in battle, and her spells, we should be able to take the Lords of Cinder." Naomi said. Ruth grunted in agreement.

"Hopefully at least. I'm just worried that some of the later threats we face will give Naomi more trouble than we can handle. I have no doubts about her strength, but the Lords of Cinder have their titles for a reason." She said. Looking back down to her soup, Bellena pondered her options now. These women seemed trustworthy, and appeared to be interested in cooperation anyway. If she didn't attempt to team up with these women, she likely wouldn't be able to find a better group. With a small sigh, she looked to Ruth.

"I can join you in your quest, I am also in search of the Lords of Cinder." She said. Ruth looked up to her for a moment, then over to Naomi. Bellena looked back over to Naomi, watching as she spun the spoon in her fingers, seeming to ponder Bellena's words. After a short few moments, Naomi nodded and looked over to Bellena.

"Yeah, sure, a knight would definitely help out with some of the tougher guys." She said. Looking back over to Ruth, Bellena noticed she seemed to be smiling.

"Well, that's one thing I won't have to worry about anymore. Glad to have you as part of our team Lady Starvos."