7. Clever Girl
The second time we met, I left her stunned.
"Anna," The name felt out of place, wrong to my own ears, and yet correct by how the merchant's eyes swung up to meet mine. Words reverberating in my throat, forming the letters and sounds to a name that I felt as if I should've been able to voice.
With her eyes wide at the sight of us standing outside of her tent, closed off from the rest of the world to bear the brunt of the storm. Mostly the same as she appeared before, adding a light brown coat to her getup with us being further up north west than the last time we met. She looked to be doing better from what little I could tell at a glance at what remained of her wares from my place at the doorway. I didn't expect to see her again so soon, and while I didn't care much when it comes to fate, this wouldn't be something I'd turn my nose up at.
A funny feeling settled beside my breast.
"Uuhhhh. . ." She trailed off, blatantly staring at the mess that had turned up on her preverbal doorstep. Flickering between the children napping in my arms she offered a hand out to me as she spoke, "Come inside, pass them over to me. By the Goddess you look terrible."
I just huffed at her, letting the red head take the girls from my arms.
Probably would've joined the kids as Anna laid them to bed, and at my own discretion peeled away the drenched robes clinging to my aching frame. More of a cot or hammock really, a weird little corner of her shop that was further away from the soft pattering of rain outside. The sight settled me somewhat.
My assumption that this Anna being more of a help than a hindrance was probably something I should've put more thought into. That being said, I'm using what little meta knowledge that I do have access to to my own advantage. I'd emptied the last of my healing on making sure that my last stunt didn't kill me, the last portion of my last vulnerary had barely been enough. And I wasn't so inclined to test my luck twice with trained killers at my heels.
Piece of advice, don't rip out axe lodged in your body, you tend to bleed out fast.
"Sothis," Anna chided, coming up beside me, glancing at the arrows that littered my back that I hadn't been able to attend to. She clicked her tongue once she returned with a leather bag in her grip, "I'll see what I can do, just keep still for me. This is going to hurt."
"I'm fine," I snorted out a reply, a tinge of pain making me punch drunk even this late in the day. I swear to high heaven that I don't have a thing for pain, part of me had hoped that moving around would keep my wounds somewhat numb to the pain. These were grunts of relief, not moans, don't get it twisted. Even though I could see someone realistically coming to the conclusion that I was an adrenaline junkie, "Thanks."
They wouldn't be wrong, but it's rude and personally offensive.
I don't exactly enjoy having arrows lodged into my back, but while my clothing and the laws of casual reality didn't much care about all the damage I'd sustained. I did, and that shit hurt. For the most part that is, adrenaline does help for as long as it decides to stick around for. With the stuff being as tough as the wearer, it's hard to remove a blood soaked shirt that's pinned to you without help.
Course that's where Anna comes in, hopefully, I don't want to pay an arm and a leg for basic medical care. . .
On second thought, is it too late to ask for a potion?
"Heh, you know. Normally it's the girl that brings back children to the guy," I jerked out of my thoughts to turn in her general direction, catching sight of a worried expression on her features. One that changed to that of confidence and reassurance, "You've been busy since the last time we met."
My noncommittal snort spoke volumes more than if I actually tried to speak.
I was lost for as far as knowing what exactly it was that she said, but understood what she meant. My grasp on the language was spotty at best, while the particulars continued to elude me. I hadn't had much time to study in the few weeks that I've been here.
Not like I have a duolingo handy.
"So," I bit back a yelp when she yanked out an arrow in the middle of talking to me. Certainly was one way of distracting me from what she was doing, might've worked too. If only she knew that it didn't work as when the recipient can't fully understand the words being spoken, "Fatherhood, or should I assume you've stumbled onto something that you shouldn't have?"
"How bad?"
"Bad," I replied, thick with exhaustion as I collapsed onto the desk she had as her front counter. Okay so I knew a few words, it's still bad but not much better off than being stuck between jackshit and nowhere.
My posture would probably be something that my mom would wring my neck over to do so in front of a girl, but I could care less. Nor did my hormones care much about why a pretty girl suddenly moved on to massaging my back, given that I felt a weird wetness that definitely was slicker than my sticky blood.
Fuck me it might have well had been water, my skin and nerves didn't have the bandwidth to figure it out.
It was probably to rub some fucking healing salve in there, but my dick didn't care. No life hack could be taken advantage in this awkward moment to tense a muscle and just make it go away. Now, normally I'd be like; 'Take what you can get and all that.' However on the other hand I'd rather she not realize how much I was actually enjoying this, so the only choice left was to grin and bear it. Sober me does not possess nearly as much rizz as drunk me does, sober me is capable of risk assessment.
The women that I'd been with had not taken well to me being so forward.
Apparently I'd been too . . . clingy, you'd think a girl would like a guy to express his affection in healthy ways. I was wrong, or maybe I picked bad partners. Tough call since I don't have much in the way of standards.
Look, I'd not expected to to react this much to simple massage done for my health, and I'm kind of freaking the fuck out okay? My only frame of reference for physical affection has been familial, and. . . it has been a long time since I've gotten a refresher.
Ugh, God I need to stop being so depressingly introspective. I can't afford to get into another slump.
Unbeknownst to the internal rambling going on inside of my brain, Anna in her infinite money making wisdom, moved her hand away from my wounded areas. And ran her fingers along the small of my back.
I bit back a genuine moan at the last possible moment, with my face probably flush scarlet at the attention given to my aching body. My ears definitely felt pretty close to steaming while I bit into my left hand hoping that the pain I'd reignited could reset me.
God I hate the fact that most people are good people sometimes. To be put simply? She misunderstood my pleasure as intense agony that she had accidentally ignited through her actions, "Are you okay?"
Fuck.
"I'm ok," I swear to god I tried my best, the bite mark I'd left on my fingers hidden as best I could. I just prayed that I didn't sound too desperate, it's just been a while and things have been very stressful. Thinking straight was not a priority, I should've focused.
"My father said that too. . .You still look pale," Anna muttered to herself after placing the back of her hand against my forehead, leaning far too close for my comfort. She seemed to come to some conclusion, apparently satisfied with what she had been able to piece together from that brief interaction. Stepping away to go grab something from the closed off area of her living quarters, "Hmm, don't worry I have just the thing! Since I know you're good for it, I'll just put this at a discount since you are in desperate need of it."
She smelled-
NO, WE ARE NOT BEING THAT CREEPY BEHAVE BRAIN.
With my thoughts simmering, lets just say I caught fucking none of what she just spouted off. Even so, a part of me recognized that it was way too fucking long to be 'Alright, that looks good. Rest up, and you'll be right as rain in the morning.' The wheeze I let out was probably a tad too hysterical than it needed to be when she returned with a silver gilded container, and an oblivious smile on her features.
This woman is going to be the death of me.
. . .
I'm not so far gone that I'd ever resort to paying for sex, (I do have a scrap of dignity left) but lord give me strength because I just might. Assuming it's anything close to what Anna could do with her hands, I- well lets just say I'd be interested in her wares.
I need to give up my love of raunchy humor, it's going to get me killed one day.
Not sure how much the money grubbing gremlin translates into reality, especially with Anna that doesn't seem to realize she has fingers blessed by God. My wallet suddenly feels so much heavier at the mere consideration.
. . . I mean, it couldn't possibly hur-
NO!
My gacha whoring days are over, never again. Fuck I need to get laid, without paying for it, Wasting money isn't as attractive as an idea compared to when I was younger, ironically enough the trend is that you tend to have to pay for your mistakes when you make them. And making money takes time, and time is the one thing that can't be bought. Generally speaking of course.
Whereas my thoughts were stuck simmering in a sinful slurry, my ego was incredibly grateful that the girl's collective attention was on the horses in front of us, and not on me. Should've opened with that, but I don't do well when left to my own devices.
There's two of em, big fuckers that a farmer and his son had brought to town with a bunch of other things they'd hauled with the intention of selling. Black with white freckles and a warm brown that harkened back to the night's sky that stood by its side. My attention remained on the people though, focused on memories from a few weeks ago that seemed so long ago, and I wondered how they were doing. . .
Legendary merchant or not, the redhead works fast. Since I'd arrived and dumped myself all over her desk, she got busy it seems. The rest of her wares disappearing into the hands of villagers willing to take them, it made me wince thinking about how much of a profit that she was likely missing out on. The reason behind her strange actions hadn't clicked until now.
Anna wants to come with us.
"Given the chance to travel with royalty, albeit disgraced royalty is a promising business opportunity that one simply does not pass up without good reason. My mother rake me over the coals from beyond the grave if she saw me pass this up," Her grin became uncertain as she turned to address me fully, and amped up her charm to eleven. Folding her arm behind her back, and pushed out her chest at me that I pointedly tried to ignore as much as possible. Her unmistakably silky tone coated the question that she posed to me once she gathered up the required courage to do so, "If you'll have me that is?"
Is it too late to turn back?
My composure would definitely shatter if I looked Anna in the face given past events, so I made sure that didn't happen. Call me a coward, I don't care. My spine is still tingling from earlier.
"It is ok," A sore throat echoed sounds to words that felt even rougher to my own ears, but ones that the Anna by my side seemed to recognize if her face brightening up was any clue. Part of me wondered if I had butchered that last syllable, trying to get the correct meaning across more than anything else. My left hand absentmindedly patted the more recluse of the twins on the head to reassure her, she cringed at the attention but didn't seem to be as skittish as before. Not quite leaning in, but not moving away either with a clear intention for keeping a white knuckled grip on my cloak. Loosening her grasp at my reassurances.
Better than nothing I supposed, in both aspects. Baby steps.
I have no fucking idea of what exactly I was agreeing to, but I've been over my head every second that I've been here. So nothing new there, I just hoped that I hadn't just sold my soul to an Anna, that would be annoying. Taking the reins from the farmhand, and in the same moment dumbing a sack of gold into his unprepared hands.
The kid managed to just about keep it from spilling all over the floor to his old man's chagrin. He was trying, and slipped him a coin of my own for his effort. Squeezing his shoulder as he passed me, trying to offer the positive reinforcement that I imagined would have benefited me at his age.
"Ok girls," Anna seemed to brighten up at the prospect of teaching, grabbing the startled yet calmer of the twins and placing her onto the saddle of such a beast of burden. "Who would be the little lady in front of me that wants to learn how to ride a horse today?"
Something in my gut told me that things were going to be fine.
The depressed part of me reminded me that it wouldn't last.
. . .
Fuck. . . I've been saying that a lot now haven't I?
I hope that I don't have to lean on my meds, I can't really get a refill out here. Ugh, I miss modern society.
Mostly I miss having to deal with less mosquitos, I can live without air conditioning. AC is just a bonus really.
We traveled like that for a while, four of us. It's nice, and the kids finally had someone they could actually talk to. Between the times that was spent actually traveling that is, talking and riding wasn't something that the kids seemed to be comfortable with. Not that I have much of a frame of reference besides Netflix shows set in medieval europe or Game of Thrones.
That was probably for the best.
Climate isn't terrible here, my companions are white and thus are faring much worse off than I. Sucks to be them, but I like the sun. I'm weird like that, though I do prefer a bit of wind with my sun.
What?
I mean it rained a whole bunch too, the world insistent on not letting me forget what I'd done to get here. Even so the water cycle has the final say on things. The sky eventually called it quits, for a while at least and gave us enough time to actually make use of a campfire.
Between the twins, the one with curly white hair made sure to keep within reach of me or Anna when we arrived at a settlement. Feeling much more at home when it was just the four of us, "Did your father tell you what the plan was?"
Anna was currently napping on top of me, too out of sorts to force the kids into sleeping tonight. Not quite cuddling, but close enough that it would've made little difference to someone catching sight of us passing by. Going to sleep soon after we set up camp for the night, weaker than she had first been when I met her.
While I could tell them off, and just send them to bed. I had other priorities and I didn't mind it too much, they were kids stuck far from home in a shitty situation.
"No- I'm not entirely sure," The more regal of the two twin sisters responded, seeming to weigh the weight of what was going to say. Shifting her posture to one that could give her sibling her full attention, "I presume that we are to seek sanctuary in Fargeus, though I doubt that'll be something we'll achieve."
I didn't expect the only other adult that had gotten exposed to the least amount of rain combined to get the worst cold of the bunch. Even less to have her curled up in my lap after muttering something about me being 'warm', it confused me.
The princess shrugged, pointedly staring down at the pile of blankets that covered her sitting form.
"My best guess is that he's a foreign conscript," The girl continued, only stopping to chip away at the stew in her hands. "One that joined to earn his citizenship through service, rather than one from the commons. It is not underheard of."
I should've been embarrassed, but I was more confused than anything else.
Took me awhile but I figured it out, with the long answer being essentially the same as the shorter one. Just longer.
I'd been using magic to keep myself warm, a benefit that had been extended to others.
"There is good news in that," The calmer of the two elaborated, her normally lofty, and expressionless visage softened as she pursed her lips. Growing tired as the night went on, "In that sense, he can't be bought in the same manner akin to others. My father has- or rather had employed such a mercenary company that he would entrust with tasks that required a certain level of responsibility he felt others could not guarantee."
It was odd, how what the body's relationship with magical energy was when I wasn't acting on it. Still, useful information, just odd was all.
The older girl trailed off, "I initially thought him to be the same, but his insignia doesn't match those of Albinea. Not to mention that the last I heard of them, they had all disappeared in Hrym. . ."
Part of me wanted to sleep, of course, but that would leave us far too vulnerable for me to be comfortable with.
"Uh, he could be from somewhere else . . . like Brigid right?" The far more timid girl offered, a
hint of desire laced in her words. The desire for what, I wasn't entirely sure of. "I'd heard from Father that many foreigners hadn't been assimilating to the Empire."
Magic helps with that oddly enough, makes it so that you feel so much more. If it weren't for the fact that I had it, it was the only real reason that I could afford to relax. I can't quite call it comparable to radar, it's kind of hard to ignore the sensation of someone breathing against your face. One might even compare it to how a snake might see the world through heat, little droplets leaving ripples in the same sense sound does.
A vast oversimplification, but accurate I think.
"Maybe," The princess offered me a sad smile, about ready to call it a night as she released a drawn-out yawn. "He does sport the right complexion for it, yet I can't determine his exact homeland. That theory would at least account for that eagle insignia of his if nothing else."
Honesty, it's hard to know what to expect, hard to figure out if what I'd managed to accomplish was normal. Such is the pain that comes with nothing to reference my experiences against. Hard to know if I was good at magic or rather the manner in which I came to learn it simply offers me a unique perspective that others can't take advantage of.
It was perplexing.
"Do you think everything will be okay," The younger sister asked, nervously shuffling around in her sleeping bag. "Princess Edelgard?"
Regardless, it wasn't an advantage that I was going to pass up this late in the game.
"No, but I do think that things can get better. And Bernadetta," The older girl's voice, once firm against the world had softened for a moment. A hint of vulnerability crossed her features as she drifted off to dreamland, relaxing far more than she had previously at the reply she received back. "Please call me Edelgard."
"Ah, okay! I'll try my best to remember!"
. . .
The man's skull sizzled and popped, the structure of his very being bent under my might before buckling under the pressure. A truly wonderful treat to greet the others with in the morning, the melting corpse kept away from younger eyes. Anna gave me a concerned look, her eyes searching for an explanation.
Answers that I unfortunately was ill-equipped to offer her.
The creepy horror movie fuckers wouldn't give me the time to feel guilty, and if they did it would only last long enough to take a knife to my jugular.
So no, I don't regret it, none of it in fact. Because to have a bleeding heart would kill me, and I needed to focus if I was to last more than 5 seconds in this hell.
"Forget the main road," Anna suggested, taking off the main road as she pressed on through the thicket. The skittish one that'd chosen to ride alongside me held a death grip on my coat. "There's an older path into Count Rowe's territory, I uh, well I used it to dodge border taxation."
We'd packed up quickly, not like there was much to pack up to begin with. Tying what little we could afford to the sides of our steeds, ones that were joined by unknown riders many feet behind us. The sound of flapping wings shot down my spine before I could catch sight of what was creating the noise. The cavaliers probably intended to chase us toward a trap they'd set up, they should've known better.
A spare bolt of lightning or two where more than enough to send spasms down the limbs of their mounts, taking care of their riders in the same strike.
Mercy was a luxury, an indulgence.
While you could control your own actions, the mind behind what guides the actions of others is of no concern. How does that saying go again, 'You can take a horse to water, but you can't make it drink?'
God I could use a smoke, not nicotine, I'm suicidal. Weed, mary jane, marajewauna, the smoke, that wack shit, pot, the thing that makes annoying people even more annoying. Could've made good use of it right about now.
People say you can't get addicted to that shit, they'd be half right. The chemical can't do anything, but I. . .
Let's just say I've gotten used to using certain things to avoid others, and the less I ruminate on that the better in my opinion. Dead thoughts tend to reek if you let them stick around long enough to rot. Probably should've stopped the first time that I thought the tv was going to eat me, ahh, fun times. Certainly better than this.
A marauder proved me right, taking a step back and tossing his axe into the naked flank of my steed.
'What a rude motherfucker, an uncouth punk-ass bitch coming straight from the dark ages.'
Clicking my tongue I grabbed the younger girl riding with me, pulling her close as we fell to the floor. The internal swearing I'd done helped me hold onto the sudden surge in magical power that had seeped into my very bones. My rage uncovering a new strength I'd not been able to guarantee in all of my strikes before now.
Something fiendish.
I probably should taken out a tome before I blowtorched the man's head clean from his shoulders. Brushing the dirt off of me as I lifted the crying girl into my arms, her leg had twisted far beyond what was advisable.
The giggle that slipped out during my brief mania definitely warranted some concern. Something a professional might've had something to pipe in about. An opinion that very much would not have been welcome.
It is probably not the best way of dealing with your issues, but it's not like I can talk to someone. Not that I would, I guess prying teeth would be an apt comparison.
"Good girl," Those were definitely whimpers that the girl was desperately trying to pull back, and as valiant a display as it was. It would break her if she pushed herself too hard, "There is nothing wrong with being afraid, just focus on me and nothing else."
She would need to learn to pick her battles.
An opportunistic sniper thought that being distracted was the best time to send a volley my way. I returned with a dozen shards of glassy ice whilst he was in the midst of knocking another arrow. Rewarded with a brief scream that split the blue sky for my efforts, wasting no time running for my life as soon as I scored the kill.
Wind would've been better, but ice got me the kill. This was a numbers game, and I was on a timer to even the odds as fast as possible before problems start piling up.
The ease at which I could take life worried me sometimes, then I remembered that I was literally being hunted. Made me grateful for whatever skill ceiling I'd managed to finally and inadvertently crack, with my magic leveraging much more force.
It wouldn't be enough, my blood boiled at the admission but luck would be in short supply I wagered. This day just reeked, my gut was stuck in knots as I stumbled downhill the same way that Anna had trot.
Magic had made it easier to do more, the vulneraries I pulled from my pack mocked me in idle thoughts. I had to find Anna or the time that I'd be able to buy would be worthless. No different on most occasions I suppose.
I was glad to be probably equipped for once, it pays to have an Anna on your side I suppose.
While some part of me was satisfied with the damage that I had done so far. The hate boiling under the surface, a scowl that I felt inscribed upon my face. I could try to hide it as best I could, but even so, I needed a bit of rage as the catalyst to make my spells burn that much brighter.
Words don't exist for this, not really, magic is . . . hard to explain. Something that random bandits don't seem to appreciate.
The intense frost gathering in the hand that held my ice tome flared outward, lodging a dozen pencil-length rods of avarice into the face and chest of a thief. He'd been hiding, waiting for the moment that I would have to drop a few feet down to reach the same level that Anna was.
Even without my enhanced senses, there aren't many places that you can hide to launch an attack. But choosing the other side of a tree trunk is probably the laziest attempt someone could make. There's a difference between cover and concealment.
My body matched my racing heartbeat, shaking my entire frame from the magical expenditure that I'd put it through. Sweat cloaked my back, tugging on my clothes to cling to every part it could. Desperately sucking in every last breath to recover from the exertion that I'd put myself through to cover a mile in under 10 minutes.
I am not a young man anymore, oh god I'm making myself sound so much older than I really am. Rather not start sounding like my brother.
Ugh.
"Are you alright," Anna called out to me, a concerned look written all over her features. Let her words trail off with an implication that even I could decern, "When I didn't see you right me behind me. . ."
We were in the thickest area of a forest, with so many twists and turns that moving so quickly with all of us would be unsafe. The less said about the flyers that would inevitably catch up to us, the better. I trusted Anna to handle herself with a blade, the silver thing coated with a thin layer of crimson. Having seen her dance around the occasional clueless bandit who'd quickly learn better than to stay and pick a fight with her. The sight was oddly reassuring more than any words could be.
These were anything but ordinary, nor were they just bandits.
"Get on," While the first part was for the girl in my arms, the later half I directed toward Anna herself. Her reluctance, sensible as her ability to measure all possible avenues was a waste of time. "You go now, or we all die."
I slapped the rear of her horse to get it moving, Anna flashing me an incredulous look before taking back control of the reins.
"I'll be back," Ironically enough, the first half of her nearly distraught demands were probably the closest I'd gotten to understanding what someone here meant. "You need to get on the damn horse, don't be a stubborn dastard, we still have time!"
"Pay me."
I think she might've just stabbed there and then, she would've been justified to do so. Sense won out in the end, though I could tell that it pained her to admit that sort of loss. Swearing to come back for me or something along those lines.
I had five vulneraries and a bundle of tricks, a couple of flyers should be more than merely manageable. Time to face the music I suppose. Fewer flyers were my preference, but I think they'd prefer me to be dead more so.
Actually, if they are so intent on my death as I wager them to be. Not that I have much left to lose at this point, and I doubt that getting back home will happen anytime soon if at all.
There is a lot of foliage, and I do have fire.
They say habits are built upon, I want to try and improve one that I already have. With some luck updates for this story will happen weekly and not bi-weeky.
As always check me out on questionable quests if you wish to watch my dumbassery up close.
