Chapter 9 – Voices

Naga breathed a sigh as she trudged down the road, the sun only having risen above the horizon a mere hour prior. The cool breeze bit into the sorceress's exposed flesh, but years of traveling through multiple climates in skimpy clothing had built up a considerable tolerance for the weather. Her nose picked up the faint scent of freshly cut wood from the north, hinting that there was likely active woodcutting going on in the area, and where there was woodcutting, there was likely a town. The silence and lack of stimulation allowed for the sorceress to begin an internal dialogue with herself.

Why did you run? She asked herself simply. She'd been afraid, yet hadn't even slowed to ask herself why.

She knows everything now. Who I am, where I'm from. My family is in danger again! Her paranoid side replied, recalling that she had been the target for her mother's killer, and her mother would have lived had a mistake of identity not transpired.

Don't be ridiculous. Lucia's not an assassin. Her rational voice countered. She's your friend.

Maybe she's trying to get close to me so she can get to my family. The fearful voice tried once more.

She didn't even know who you were until last night! Now you're just making excuses. Her rational voice replied. Her conscious mind tried to keep busy, watching a small rabbit dart into some bushes at her approach. Somewhere in the distance, she could make out the faint roar of a waterfall, and briefly considered stopping to bathe before deciding it was still too cold.

Why are you so afraid of letting people in? The voice continued. You are Naga the Serpent, you are beautiful, talented, and powerful. Fat lot of good that does in fighting off lonliness.

I am also Gracia Ul Naga Saillune, and now she knows it! How can she respect me if she thinks I've been living a lie this whole time? She countered, recalling that Lucia was the only one she'd ever told about her past and her identity. Even Lina had been kept from that knowledge, mostly because the two women never talked about their past much, and Lina had never particularly cared to discuss Naga anyway.

I bet she loves you. The voice said, causing the sorceress to stop in her tracks. Her cape gently drifted around her calves, softly tickling the flesh there as the cool morning breeze caused the fabric to dance lazily. She contemplated the gravity of her own thoughts for a moment before slowly resuming her leisurely pace.

She doesn't even know me. Naga replied slowly to the inner voice. She'd only known Lucia for a week or so until last night, and had a very hard time believing in the fairy-tale of love at first sight.

Do you really think she needs to learn every single aspect of your personality before making that decision? How much have you let your carefree, arrogant guise slip since you met her? The voice replied.

It's a lot harder to act high and mighty towards someone that so cheerfully accepts it. The sorceress conceded. I'm so used to people being intimidated by me that it's strange to deal with someone who so readily accepts me.

Exactly. She accepts you no matter who you are, Naga or Gracia. The voice said, causing Naga to bite her lip as she realized it was right. Lucia hadn't shied away, hadn't changed in the slightest when Naga had revealed her identity. She was willing to bet that the girl wouldn't have even been mad about not telling her who she'd been.

Lina would have killed me for taking a share of the treasure if she'd known I was royalty. Naga admitted.

How do you think Lucia's going to feel when she realizes you're gone? The voice asked, and Naga realized that Lucia was probably already awake by now. She'll probably be heartbroken because you abandoned her like that.

Naga doubted to herself that Lucia would be that focused on her own feelings, but then the realization of what she'd done hit her like a Dragon Slave.

I did to her what Lina used to do to me!! She shouted at herself, once more coming to a stop in the road. She had lost count of the number of times Lina had left her in the middle of the night to go off by herself. Lina's motives had been different, though. The younger sorceress had been motivated by greed and not wanting to share a portion of her next haul.

Yes, but were your motives any less selfish? You did it to save yourself from potential heartbreak down the line. The increasingly annoying, and equally increasingly correct, voice nagged at her once more. Remember how you felt when Lina had left you?

Yeah, I was angry! She kept trying to get one step ahead of me! She…Naga started to try and rationalize with her rational side, finding that much more difficult than one might expect. That wasn't right, the truth was she'd felt abandoned and discarded. She was always the one that had to track Lina down again to join up with her. It had always been her initiative in seeking Lina out. Lina never came to her for help, never came to her for partnership, it was always the other way around. She wondered if Lucia felt the same way she often did.

"She didn't deserve that." Naga said aloud, once more picking up her pace. She looked over her shoulder, back towards the town, and wondered if she could make it back before Lucia left. Then she wondered what it was she'd tell her when she got there. No, that's a lie, she wouldn't have to explain. Lucia would just nod, giggle, and accept whatever she said, even if it made no sense. She would understand exactly why Naga had run, and wouldn't hold it against her. She silently wondered what it would be like to be so openly forgiving.

"Lookie here, boys. Pretty little thing like this just walking right into our hands." A gruff voice called out, causing Naga to look up and realize she had half-a-dozen bandits surrounding her. She'd been so lost in thought that she hadn't even noticed them until now.

"Sorry, boys, but I'm really in no mood to play, so if you could just scamper along and consider yourselves lucky I let you, it would save you a lot of trouble." She said, placing her hands on her hips and locking her confident gaze on the lead bandit. Several of the men surrounding her laughed before the lead took a step forward.

"Guess we're just not that lucky, is we?" he stated, laughing once again. Naga's smirk disappeared. She really wasn't in the mood, and this was going to get ugly.

The bandits realized soon enough just how "not that lucky" they were.

Xxxxxxxx

Lucia sighed as she stepped into the street, the packed dirt scuffing under her heel as she turned and headed towards the north gate. She ran a tongue over her teeth, the taste of the sausage and eggs she'd had for breakfast still faint in her mouth even after her morning rinse, though the warm early-morning sun was an inviting contrast to the crisp breeze. Naga had been gone when she woke up, not that she could blame her. The sorceress had revealed a lot the previous night, and Lucia highly suspected that the confident, powerful facade that the woman carried was intended to mask something deeper, though she hadn't realized it was something quite so traumatic. Still, bits and pieces of the woman's true personality had repeatedly shone through the outer shell, and at brief times Naga had even been willing to drop the act completely in private. Lucia was not a stranger to people using false fronts to escape past pains, though she herself had been forced to adjust her entire outlook on life thanks to her 'anger issues'. It had been a positive change, though, and it had allowed her to appreciate life a lot more.

She's pretty tough. Wherever she goes, I'm sure she can handle herself. Lucia thought to herself. She had to admit that she'd miss the company, and she only wondered to herself if Naga would miss the company as well. She had made it clear that she'd enjoyed having a friend on at least some level, but wondered just how deep that feeling went.

As Lucia passed through the north gate, she noticed a pair of footprints in the dusty surface of the packed road. Given the low traffic in this region, and the fact that the town rarely saw any travelers, she had a pretty good idea of who they belonged to. A slight smile came to the swordswoman's face as she looked down the road.

"You're not getting away from me that easily, White Serpent." The girl mused thoughtfully as she started down the road.

Xxxxxxxx

Half an hour later, Naga had continued her journey northward, the scent of smoke in the air further supporting her suspicion that there was a town in that direction. She grinned as she looked at the leather pouch she'd collected off of the bandits that had been foolish enough not to heed her warning. Thanks for paying for lunch, boys. The sorceress thought to herself with a smirk. As the smell of cooked food started to drift down with the smoke, the sorceress' pace increased.

"Bigger than I'd thought." Naga said aloud as she walked through the main gates of Willowgate only twenty minutes later. The town stretched as far as she could see, at least a mile or two in length and probably almost as wide. Unlike Lonebury, the town of Willowgate was quite large, with well-maintained cobblestone roads and closely-situated brick buildings. Like most towns of this size, the road through the center constituted main street, with the center of town dedicated to merchant stalls and shops. Of course, where there were shops, there were restaurants, and at the moment, the buzz of people going about their daily lives and children playing were mere background to the more insistant thought that echoed through Naga's mind.

Food!

Naga shoved the door to the first restaurant she got to open and stepped inside, placing her hands on her hips as she surveyed the room. Only a few patrons occupied the place given that it was the slow period between breakfast and lunch, not quite being noon yet. Naga cracked her knuckles and looked for the nearest waitress.

"I recommend the daily special, myself. Top quality." A very familiar voice said from the sorceress' right. She gulped audibly and turned to see a woman in black leather armor sitting at a nearby table, her feet kicked up on its surface as she leaned back, lowering the menu she'd been using to hide her face. She was doing her best to hide the fact that she was more than a little angry with the sorceress for leaving without even so much as a 'goodbye'. No, Naga deserved to squirm a little, and Lucia was pretty sure she'd earned the right to act a little smug.

"L-Lucia!?" Naga stammered, completely shocked to see the swordswoman. Lucia had a casual smile on her face, but instead of the usual cheerful smile she wore, this one had a slightly more 'cat-that-caught-the-canary' look to it. It reminded her of herself. "B-but how? How did-"

"Shortcut." Lucia replied, then held up a piece of curled parchment. "I have a map, remember?"

Naga blushed sheepishly. "Look, Lucia. I-" Naga began, though the blonde cut her off.

"It's okay. I understand why you left. It wasn't unexpected, you know." Lucia replied. That was somewhat of a lie, though Lucia already figured out that the sorceress was very uncomfortable around people when she wasn't intimidating them. As she spoke, Naga walked over and sat down across from Lucia.

"Let me speak first." Lucia began. "I know you're out of your element here. I know you've spent a good portion of your life pushing people away. That much is clear by how you act around strangers."

Naga simply watched Lucia as the girl spoke. She couldn't deny what Lucia was saying so far, so the blonde continued. "I'm sorry about last night. If we're moving too fast, that's as much my fault as it is yours." The swordswoman said. "But I don't want to lose your friendship. That's very important to me."

The sorceress felt herself blush, and after glancing around to make sure nobody else could overhear them, she leaned slightly closer to Lucia and spoke. "I'm sorry I left. I'm not good at this. I'm not good at…expressing my emotions. I've been suppressing them for so long." Naga explained. Every word felt forced, yet at the same time she felt a great weight lifting off of her shoulders at the chance to say things she'd only dreamed of until now.

Lucia reached out and took Naga's hand, squeezing it gently. "I'll be here for you, then. I don't want you to do anything you're not comfortable with. If you want to leave, just say so. You don't need to sneak out." She said, smiling.

Naga nodded and smiled back for once. A true smile rather than a smirk. "Deal." She said, then waved down a passing waitress. "Now, what do you say we get ourselves something to eat?"