I am so sorry for making you wait almost a whole month for this chapter! Honestly, I blame school starting again and general life nonsense for getting in the way, but hey.

I have some good news though! ! !

The next chapter is the Chapter. Not the end obviously, I mean we're just getting started, but its gonna be good and longer than this one!

But in more personal news, because who else am I gonna tell besides strangers on the Internet, I've come to the conclusion I'm one hundred percent in love with my best friend. Which is a weird kinda awesome, you know?

You drag out your stay in Majula, but it isn't more than a few days before you and Lucatiel are both anxious to get back to work. You sort through your inventory one last time while Lucatiel waits, picking at the edges of her gloves. She does that. You find it sort of endearing, although the blacksmith in charge of repairing said gloves does not.

"Ready?" You ask her, flexing your pyromancy hand. You'll have to switch back to your usual weapon once you reach the iron keep, but for now it's your strongest offense.

Lucatiel gracefully gets to her feet, answering cooly, "I am."

You had both agreed to travel together down the next Lord path, although neither of you are sure how long it will last, if at all. She could disappear as soon as you take a few steps outside of Majula for all you know.

You flash her a smile, "Awesome."

"I do not see how being prepared for our journey is worthy of awe." She hums.

You roll your eyes, "It's... Like 'great' or something. Not necessarily worthy of awe." She's joking you know, but you feel the need to explain anyway. It always makes her smile.

Although you can't see that smile with her mask on.

"Your dialect never fails to perplex me." She remarks, leading the way through Majula. You already told her which direction you're headed and that you've visited the place before. She mentioned that it would've been quicker for you to simply warp there, but accepted that you wanted to stay with her.

"All the more reason to stick around." You say with a grin. "You gotta translate my lingo for everyone else."

Laughing, she shakes her head. "I thought monarchs are to be excellent at social interactions. How will you make treaties with your 'lingo'?"

Lucatiel using the word lingo is enough to send you into a peal of laughter. "I'll thoroughly confuse them and they'll just sign whatever I require to get away. Easy peasey." You respond when you calm down.

She pauses, tilting her head as she considers this. "That... May actually work."

"Awesome."

"You've said that twice now." She remarks.

The two of you continue bickering about your potential political plans, much to the confusion of Licia. The cleric doesn't question it though, and you simply wave rather than actively put an end to your conversation with Lucatiel to greet her.

Unfortunately you're forced to quiet down when you get into the actual copse, switching from socializing to trying not to get murdered. Lucatiel seems extremely anxious when you stop to chat with the Hexer, and even you will admit he's a little off. It might be worth getting the necessary int/faith to get that extra ring of life protection though... Hmm...

The two of you come across the previously lit bonfire but do not rest, figuring it'd be a waste of time. There's another nearby too, you assure Lucatiel.

She leads the way to the broken colosseum, but her body language is stiff and jerkier than usual. Or maybe you've already become accustomed the safety of Majula. You suddenly wish you'd stayed for just a while longer, maybe even gotten up the nerve to ask her out or something. You're certain there's some gorgeous picnic spots nearby.

It figures you're brave enough to take on hollows and god knows what else but can't manage to ask Lucatiel out.

Horrible. You scoff, your hand curling into a fist. You follow Lucatiel with a frown, warning her before jumping into the pit, "There's a jumpscare behind the door."

"What is a-" There's a clang, and you glance back to see her with her shield up. Both the Knight and clubbed hollow seem startled by her reaction time.

You turn away with a short laugh. The hollows are easy enough to dodge, and the thief is too busy trying to notch an arrow to evade the fireball you throw at it.

"(Y/N)!" Lucatiel hisses, her voice echoing throughout the room. "Some warning!"

"I apologize." You try not to laugh, you really do.

"You are a wretched liar." She joins you in the lower area, helping you kill the rest of the hollows.

You flash her a smile, "I'll have to work on that."

She sighs. "No, no. I like you the way you are."

"Oh," Is all you can manage. "Lucatiel..."

You wish you could see the wicked smirk she's no doubt sporting. "Have I rendered you speechless?"

Goodness gracious. You act like you're not blushing and instead move to climb the later up to the roof. She's laughing as she follows you.

You cannot believe you're head over heels for this girl.

She's right though. You really do have to work on your lying.

You're in much better spirits as you finish off those on the roof and jump back down. And by 'better spirits' you obviously mean as love struck as a freshman. It feels like sunshine under your ribs. Even better than Estus.

The next few enemies aren't worthy of mention they're dispatched so quick, although Lucatiel laughs when the two of you end up back at the start of the colosseum. "Leading us in a circle? Should I be the navigator?"

"Wow, rude." You huff.

She falls silent as you lead the way back to the cliff area, and you can hear the hesitation in her steps. You slow down a bit to accommodate her, wondering if maybe she's afraid of heights. Now that's something the games couldn't have told you.

The games failed to mention a lot of things though, and you suppose it's to be expected. Working random facts about the NPC's into a game almost entirely made up of combat and vague quests would be rather out of place, you think.

It would've been nice to know that Lucatiel's favorite color is periwinkle and Rosabeth's is olive green though. You would've planned your outfits accordingly, had you known. You try to remember if there are any nice looking outfits that have blue in them. The Faraam set maybe? That's more of a teal though, right?

It's Lucatiel's voice that's brings you back to the present. "(Y/N)!" She calls, a bit farther back than you expected.

You should know by now not to let your thoughts consume you outside of a safe zone.

Oh. I forgot about you. You think as a hollow thief jumps out from around the corner. The bonfire is just below you, you know.

This particular hollow has killed your in game characters many a time, and you're not quite sure why you're so shocked.

The clubs are pretty painful though.

There's a split second of complete panic after it hits you and you stumble back, the ground seeming to disappear underneath you.

Fuck.

"(Y/N)!" Lucatiel yells, her voice cracking.

You try to find a handhold, you really do. The rocks practically scrap off the tips of your fingers as you scramble to find leverage. Come on, (y/n), you're gonna let a hollow shove you off a fricken cliff? You're going to die to gravity?

Yes.

Yes, I am.

You wake up in a familiar haze, weak vibrations thrumming through your newly healed bones. It takes you several seconds to remember how exactly you died this time, and when it does you're filled with a sense of grief. Lucatiel. I left Lucatiel all alone.

"Oh, no." You groan, burying your face in your hands.

"Undead." The Herald greets. Calming as her voice is, it gives you no comfort. "Where is your Knight?"

"Hopefully not reassembling herself at the base of a cliff like I did." You sigh, moving to stretch. Your sore bones protest loudly with horrible cracking noises. Dying is such a pain in the ass.

The Herald makes a humming noise, "Knight's are to protect their charges with their lives."

You tilt your head curiously, wondering why she's feeling so chatty today. She especially rarely drifts from her scripted speech. "I guess. If she were stronger than me she'd be the monarch though, right? Leader's are supposed to protect, not just rule." You say slowly, trying to put it eloquently. It's surprisingly hard to do when you're facing crushing guilt for dying on Lucatiel.

The very idea of watching her die makes you unbelievably anxious, and you'd like to think she feels the same. You can't remember if you screamed on the way down either, which would make things much worse. This is just horrible.

The Herald pauses, her visible eye scrutinizing you. "I suppose."

You flash her a bright smile. "I'll see ya later then. I've gotta go retrieve my bloodstain and all that."

She holds up a hand to stop you, asking quietly, "Which path are you taking?"

"The Old Iron King. Then I'm going for Freja." You answer.

"...I wish you the best." She says slowly, turning back to the sea.

You take that as a dismissal and kneel back down in front of the bonfire. Warping to the bonfire beneath your bloodstain is simple enough, although fading from one place to another isn't something you ever see yourself getting used to. You can practically feel yourself collapse into ash and back. The fact that there's no pain is almost worse.

You brush it off after a second, readying your dominate hand for that fucking hollow that dared murder you. Just killing it seems a little too kind, and you end up punching it off the cliff. Your pyromancy hand makes a sizzling noise when it lands on the hollow's cheek.

"Disgusting," Is all you can say as you press your hand to the bloodstain. The souls flooding back into your body feels nice, although the reminder you died in front of Lucatiel once again yanks you into an emotional ditch.

I have to apologize, don't I? You ask yourself.

Sorry for getting shoved off a cliff like a fricken noob, I was thinking of outfits I could wear that you'd find aesthetically pleasing.

Yeah... No. You suppose you're thankful you've got some time to work out how to properly apologize.