Chapter 6

Not So Safe

Zephys and I hadn't spoken another word since his outburst. He seemed calm now, but my heart was still pounding wildly. Zephys had always been a naturally cold person; however, I had never seen him explode like that before. I searched for the correct words that could mend the tear that was generated from out fight but nothing came to my mind.

Staring at the back of his head, I pondered what was going on inside his mind. The black cape he had given me still draped on my shoulders, but I had taken off the hood.

"We will be arriving at the City of Kadri soon." Zephys's voice took me by surprise, causing me to jump. "It is just beyond this last hill… we should buy supplies to last us in the woods for a few days."

The woods? I thought to myself, what happened to staying in inns?

"We have to avoid cities as much as possible," he said, as if reading my mind. "We need to avoid places where people may have seen the… posters."

I nodded and changed the subject to avoid any tensions. "How do you know the land so well, Zephys?"

"It was part of my training." He squinted his eyes as if looking at something far away. As I traced his sight line, I noticed three men walking towards us. Suddenly, he stepped in front of me. "Stay behind me."

As the three men neared, I frightfully realized they were, without a doubt, bandits. They smiled once they were closed to us.

"Look here, Dirk," one said, flashing a smile with missing teeth. "What a lovely couple."

"What a lovely girl…" another cooed, staring straight at me. His eyes flashed to Zephys quickly, and he said, "I'll be taking her off your hands…"

I felt Zephys's arm reach around me and watched the other pulled out his katana.

"The things I would do with her…" the first one said, licking his lips.

Zephys stiffened and the hand holding me back clenched into a fist.

"Let's get this pretty boy out of the way first," the last one growled.

The three of them all rushed at Zephys at once. Moving swiftly, he sidestepped one bandit and ducked into the shins of another, tripping him. Finally, his sword met with the blade of the third man. Zephys's eyes fixed on him and he delivered a powerful kick into the man's crotch. The bandit fell back, writhing in pain, and Zephys spun around to face his next opponent. A bandit came running back towards him, but Zephys easily deflected his sword and whipped a slice along his chest, causing the bandit to stumble backwards and fall to the ground. The final bandit stood still, and then looked at his two comrades on the ground. With a gulp, he turned and ran off.

Zephys twirled his katana in his hand and reached it into the air over the bandit that he had kicked to the ground.

"No… Please!" the bandit cried.

I looked away when I heard the bandit plead for his life. A shiver ripped through my body when I heard the disturbing sound of a sword driving through a chest bone. I remained still, holding myself with my arms. I could hear Zephys's footsteps approaching and he placed his hand around my waist, briskly leading me away from the bodies.

We walked in silence for a while, but then I said, "You're an incredible swordsman."

"I was trained by the greatest teacher out there," he said softly, and then added, "Lord Kayif has contributed much to my knowledge as well."

We reached the top of the hill and the City of Kadri sprawled out in front of us. The view was stunning, and the wind whipped my dress against my legs and blew Zephys's cape into the air. I held out my arms to feel the breeze, a comforting feeling of lightness surrounding my body.

When I turned to Zephys, he was staring at me with a look I couldn't read. He immediately looked away after our eyes met.

"L-Let's find a general store," he said with just the slightest stutter, beginning the walk down the hill.

I followed after him, trying not to slip on the rocky slope. "Thank you for protecting me back th— woah!" My foot stepped on a loose rock that moved under my weight, and I felt myself starting to fall, the previous feeling of lightness now replaced by an obvious weight pulling my body down.

A strong hand gripped my wrist and pulled me back up. When I recovered, my heart was pounding from the rush of fear, and Zephys was looking at me sternly and frowning.

"Thanks…" I feigned a smile. "Again."

Sighing, Zephys wrapped his arm around my back and lifted up my legs with the other. "This seems to be the safest way of traveling with you."

My face turned red and I tried to come up with excuses. "I-If you didn't walk so fast, I would have more time to worry about other things."

As I babbled, the black haired man carrying me seemed to relax slightly, his countenance softening ever so slightly. He began moving down the hill slowly as he said, "Things like staying on your feet?"

I giggled and noticed a grin twitch at the side of his mouth. I put my hand over my mouth and exclaimed, "Oh! You just smiled!"

"What?" Zephys's eyes narrowed, and the moment was gone before I could blink.

"You just smiled! I saw it!" I smiled at him. "I don't think I've ever seen you smile."

Zephys looked back at the path ahead and exhaled. "You're strange, Luna."

I opened my mouth to retort, but closed it quickly. He was carrying me, after all. I should be courteous. I nuzzled my face in against his shoulder and then looked up at him. He stared straight at the road ahead until his eyes looked down briefly.

"Why are you staring at me?" He asked, looking back at the path

"Oh," I looked down, my face getting warm. "I was just thinking."

"Thinking about what?"

"I…" I wasn't sure myself. "I'm grateful for your kindness."

"I'm just following orders," Zephys replied immediately and almost robotically.

"I know," I continued to smile up at him, expecting that response. "I still appreciate it."

Zephys's face relaxed again. His expression wasn't as stern as it had been since our fight. "We'll get a tent in town. With the money you have, we should be able to afford sleeping mats for both of us and some materials you need for cooking."

I nodded and, soon, felt the terrain level out. We had reached the bottom of the hill. Zephys placed me on the ground and I walked next to him into the city. I flipped up the hood of the cape again, looking carefully for any more wanted posters. I tried to reach back into my mind and think of a reason for them, but all that came was blank memories.

Zephys led us into a large store triple the size of some other buildings. Inside, products stacked in piles and lined the walls. I couldn't help but be amazed by the amount of stuff that was there.

"You can look around while I buy what we need." Zephys looked at me. He seemed amused by my amazement, one corner of his lips twisting upwards by a miniscule amount.

"Okay!" I flashed him a smile and walked along the wall, gazing at the expanse of merchandise. There was almost anything one could think of there, from food to furniture to games. I found myself attracted to the aisle filled with hairpins. Silver and gold pins glistened on the shelves and I was so happy just to be looking at them.

Zephys would probably find all this stupid, I thought to myself as I picked up a hairpin and examined it closer. Small green jewels complimented the gold color.

"Excuse me?"

I heard a voice behind me. When I turned around, an old woman was staring at me.

"Um," I blinked, not recognizing this woman. "Hi."

"My, my," she smiled sweetly at me. "You are quite beautiful."

"Oh, um, thanks." In an attempt to be polite, I directed my gaze on something behind the elderly woman and tried to walk away without suspicion.

"Would you like to buy some of my flowers?" The woman gripped my wrist with a gloved hand, not allowing me to leave.

"I, uh, no." I forced an uncomfortable smile. "No, thank you. I don't have any money with me."

"Is that so…?" the woman sighed, and then pulled out a beautiful bouquet of flowers, which were light and dark shades of purple. "Since you are so pretty, I will give them to you for free."

I held a hand to my cheek. "They're so beautiful…" As I reached out to take them from her grasp, another large hand pulled my arm back. Surprised by the force, I whipped around to see Zephys behind me.

"Luna," he whispered. "Let's go."

"But—"

"Let's go." He said forcefully and led me out of the store.

I looked back at the old woman and she had a furious look on her face. "You've made her angry," I said sternly. "She was being so kind to me. It's nice every once in a while."

"Do you know her?" Zephys questioned me once we had stepped back onto the street. He held a bag of supplies over his shoulder.

"I… no… I didn't…"

"Those were a rare kind of flower I've only ever read about…"

"Really!" I looked back at the store. "How kind of her to give them to me…"

"They're called Nightbanes," he muttered while quickening his pace. "And they're deathly poisonous."

My mouth fell open. "What?!" I couldn't believe what he was saying.

"Even skin contact can result in a fast, but excruciating, death…" His eyes were moving about the town wildly, presumably searching for an escape route. "She was trying to kill you." Before I could respond, he pointed off to the array of trees. "This way. Hurry." We ran out and into the woods next to the city.

My heart was beating rapidly. I was struggling to accept what had just taken place as true. Why are all these people trying to kill me? I thought desperately, why can't I remember anything?! My eyes watered as we trekked through the woods, and I tried to blink them away. Unfortunately, my vision blurred from the tears, making it difficult to see where I was going, and a root caught my foot.

Next thing I knew, I was tumbling to the ground, slamming myself hard against the various surroundings; my forehead scraped against the bark of the tree as I fell, pain shot through my wrist, and I felt a warm liquid fall into my eyes. When I wiped my brow, there was blood on my hand. Instantly, I felt dizzy.

"Z… Zephys…" I moaned in pain. Searing pain made even an attempt to stand unbearable, and I fell back to the dirt roughly. My head spun and my eyelids began to droop as I watched the blurry figure of Zephys slow his run.

"Luna…!"