Welcome back everyone to the next chapter! When we were last with Marta, we saw her bonding with Tenebrae and learn how to use her weapon, even to the point of developing new Artes, including ones she had yet the experience to fully use yet. With plans to procure some food until they get to the next town, Marta's training so far will be tested.
For now, let's see how Emil and the others respond to this little development.
Grass Field Outskirts [Present Day]
Emil and everyone listened to Marta explaining her nights of training as well as her bonding moment with Tenebrae. Needless to say, Tenebrae looked a little embarrassed from Marta recounting that.
"Tenebie, why are you looking away?" Colette asked Tenebrae with the nickname she gave him, wondering why he was embarrassed to begin qith.
"Probably because he let loose and had fun with Marta for once?" Genis chimed in, pretty much answering Colette's question before the Centurion could think of something.
"W-well... yes, I suppose I did have fun skipping stones with Lady Marta..." Tenebrae reluctantly admitted as he didn't want the others to know he was skipping stones despite his urgent mission to revive Ratatosk.
"There's nothing wrong with playing and having fun, Tenebrae." Emil said to Tenebrae, trying to reassure his Centurion that there is no shame in having fun.
"Although, that would explain why Marta is better at skipping stones then me though." Emil said as he recalled while at a campsite with just him, Marta, Tenebrae, Regal and Sheena, he and Marta skipped stones together one night. Needless to say, it was a wonderful night filled with laughter and fun, which brought great relief to them after dealing with the truth about Lloyd and the Vanguard.
"Well, I did warn you about how good I was." Marta said in a confident tone, with her and Emil looking fondly at each other for a brief moment. She then briefly thought about how intimate the moment that night nearly became between them, but that was a thought she kept to herself, knowing Emil felt the same way as she noticed he blushed briefly.
"Well, if I can say something, I would say I could skip a stone farther then Marta or Tenebrae." Lloyd chimed in, believing he has a good skipping arm.
"No way! If anything, I think Regal and Presea could throw the farthest out of all of us!" Genis pnce again chimed in, believing Regal and Prease could do it much better then they can.
"While I am humbled to hear that Genis, I don't know the first thing about skipping stones." Regal admitted as he never thought much about doing that.
"Not to mention there weren't much lakes to do stone skipping in Ozette to begin with." Presea added as she really never played with stones like that. This prompted Genis to hush up a little out of embarrassment.
"Well if anything, I definitely have the best stone skipping skills here!" Zelos boasted as he could probably do it without instructions to begin with.
"Yeah, yeah! You're just saying that to show off to the girls here." Sheena replied in a deadpan tone, elicited a massive "HEY!" from Zelos and a whole bunch of laughter around the campfire. Having wonderful friends like this filled Marta's life with so much energy and color that she never thought she'd experience again. She only hoped that after this Journey ends, she would still see everyone again as they make the world a better place.
But, would she be able to see Emil and Tenebrae again? When she spoke with Emil in Altimira, while the possibility of meeting again is small, the fact that they'll always be in each other's hearts is more then enough to keep her own heart fulfilled. In regards to Tenebrae, that's a bit tough. Granted, there's a chance that she may see him again, but how often though? Marta decided that she would ask him about this later.
"On that note, I must say I am impressed you managed to develop some Artes in such a short amount of time." Raine stated, causing Marta to fidget from the praise.
"Well, it was only because I had a good mentor." Marta said in regards to Tenebrae. Like how Emil considered Richter his mentor, Marta felt like Tenebrae was her mentor. In a way, another thing for them to bond and connect over.
"It was my honor to train you, Lady Marta." Tenebrae said with a degree of pride that Marta learned so much back then and kept her skills sharp in the present.
"I must thank you for training her Tenebrae." Emil said with gratitude toward the Centurion.
"As I said, it was an honor, Lord Emil." Tenebrae once again expressing his pride of Marta's progress.
"Oh, by the way Marta? You said you were going to help Nova procure food the next day?" Emil asked Marta, hoping to get the story back on track.
"Yes, that's right. After getting a good night's sleep, we rode along the trail for a bit until we got to the forest where some fresh fruit and vegetables grew. Nova normally goes in with his son, Alduin, to teach him and show him the ropes while keeping the monsters at bay, but this time, they had me and Tenebrae helping out this time, but something unexpected happened while we were out there..." Marta explained as she recounted the moment her training was tested against the monsters while gathering the food they needed.
Forest [Seven Days after meeting Nova]
After setting up camp, Nova and Aduin headed into the forest along with Marta and Tenebrae while Sarah and May stayed behind to watch the Caravan. While Nova enjoyed studying the monsters, since they are a type of animal in his opinion, he knew that there are times where he had to defend himself and his family from the monsters, even if he had to kill them. He also needed to teach his children how to defend themselves so they can take care of themselves when they've grown up, especially once his and Sarah's times have come. Fortunately, they're not out hunting and considering Marta also has a weapon to protect them and herself, Nova and Aduin felt a sense of comfort, yet are curious that a sixteen year old girl is carrying a weapon on hand to begin with.
With Marta, Nova and Aduin each carrying two bags on hand, they began to search the forest for fruits and vegetables to last them for a few more days. Marta was able to procure oranges and bananas until her first bag was full. Nova made sure to find potatoes and onions while Aduin was able to find blueberries and raspberries as well. They made great progress so far with them now only needing to fill up their second bag before returning back to the Caravan.
*Slash* *Slash*
Were the only sounds heard in the forest as Marta sliced some of the foliage with her Spinner while Nova used a regular machete with Tenebrae and Aduin close behind. They found a particular clearing where they would find some apples and asparagus.
"Whew! It's a bit warm out here." Marta said while wiping her head with her sleeve as it was quite warm out in the forest. Even Nova and Aduin agreed as they stopped and took a breather.
"It's only natural, it's around this time when the weather gets warmer then normal. It is quite fortunate that the strange and unusual weather we heard about hasn't affected this place." Nova noted as while he and his family were traveling, they noticed the weather has caused troubles for animals and humans alike in places, which included dried up lake beds.
"Yeah, I hope the strange weather will stop soon." Aduin said while he drank some of the water from his canteen, truly hoping that everything will return to normal. Marta could only look at him with awe as little kids always have a strong sense of optimism. What he and the others don't know right now, is that there is a way to restore the weather, giving Marta all the more reason to awaken Ratatosk so children like Aduin and May will not have to worry about this weather trouble. She only hoped she can help them with issues involving the Vanguard and the Tethe'allan Nobles, assuming they were having problems with them to begin with.
"I'm sure everything will be okay in time, Aduin." Marta told the young boy with a reassuring smile and a gentle pat on his head, with Aduin returning the gesture with a smile of his own.
"Well, shall start picking some fruits and veggies?" Marta said with a cheerful smile and a wink as she and the others began picking the apples and asparagus. While Tenebrae knew he can help by flying to grab so,e of the fruit, he decided to not reveal that ability in front of Nova and his family. However, he did help hold on to some of the bags with his tail while keeping watch. Soon enough, the three managed to fill up their bags and are ready to go.
"Good job everyone, with this we should be fine for the next few days until we arrive in Triet." Nova congratulated everyone while mentioning the town they'll be going too. Marta has been to Triet in the past with her Brute once, recalling the place as a really hot desert with a beautiful oasis. While she wished that she could visit it again with father, Marta knew that worrying about it now won't help her. As soon as she began to head out...
*Rustle* *Rustle*
Marta stopped for a moment as she heard a strange sound from the bushes, with the girl looking back for a moment. This didn't escape Aduin's notice.
"Marta, what's the matter?" Aduin asked as Nova turned around to notice Marta on edge slightly.
"I... think I heard something in the bushes." Marta replied, trying to remain calm. While monsters are in the forest, there could be a chance that it may be more bandits or even the Vanguard. Although, chances of running into the Vanguard here seem slim considering they have no reason to be in this forest.
"What do you think Nova?" Marta asked the zoologist for his opinion on the matter.
"Hmmm, if it's a monster we should leave nice and slow so we don't get into a fight." Nova suggested as he would rather avoid fighting a monster, especially if it's not hostile. Aduin stayed close to his father while Marta slowly turned away, but as soon as she did so...
*ROAR* *SQUEAK* *MOAN*
Came sounds as three monsters came out from the bushes and attacked the three, causing the three humans and Tenebrae to scatter. Marta quickly recognized the three monsters in an instant.
'Those are Alice's monsters! What are they doing out here!?' Marta thought to herself as she looked over the three monsters that Alice somehow tamed. The rabbit like monster is called Porthos, the lion like monster is called Athos and the balloon like creature is called Aramis. All three of these monsters are named after the three musketeers once Alice tamed them. To this day, no one in the Vanguard, not even Richter, knows how Alice was able to tame these three monsters to the point they obey her so faithfully. According to a rumor Marta heard, taming these monsters is apparently the reason Alice can use magic, but whether that's true or not remains to be seen.
Nova on the other hand looked confused more than frightened, considering the sight he's seeing.
"What's the meaning of this!? Why are three different monsters traveling together in a pack!?" Nova exclaimed as this didn't add up to him. Marta can't blame him for thinking that way as these three are a very unlikely group of misfits.
"Nova! You and Aduin get back to the Caravan! Tenebrae and I will hold these guys off!" Marta yelled to the two as she got out her spinner and readied herself to deal with Alice's monsters.
"No! I can't let you or Tenebrae fight by yourselves!" Nova objected to the idea of letting a kid and her Centurion fight alone, but as he yelled out to her, Porthos was suddenly over him and slashed his leg. Despite his small paws, he was stronger than he looked.
"ARGH!" Nova cried as he felled to the ground as the cut on his leg was deep and made it hard to walk.
"FATHER!" Aduin cried as he rushed to his father's side with Porthos snarling at them while Athos and Aramis kept thier distance as they think Porthos can easily deal with them before dealing with the target they were sent to find.
*SQEEEEEEAK* Porthos cried as he lunged at the father and son with the intent to kill.
"CRESCENT DANCE!" Marta yelled as she got in front of the rabbit monster and used her first Strike Arte against the monster, sending the small monster flying, slamming into a nearby tree as a result. Porthos received a nick on his stomach from the first slash and got a painful cut over on his right arm from the second slash, with the little monster passing out as soon as he fell to the ground.
Needless to say, both Nova and Aduin were amazed by the strength Marta showed just now. It made them wonder why she didn't do this with the Bandits six days ago. Athos and Aramis were also shocked by how their little buddy got knocked out so badly, let alone by the girl their master sent them to track down. With that, they bared their fangs at the young girl, ready to avenge their comrades defeat.
"Please! You need to head back! Aduin, help your father up and get going! Hurry!" Marta cried to them as Aduin nodded and helped his father up as they slowly walked back to the Caravan. Nova didn't want to leave Marta behind considering one of the monsters there was a canine type, who are known for ripping travelers apart with ease, but he knew he would only get in the way and he didn't want to risk Aduin's safety, so he had no choice but to leave with Aduin and let Marta fight the monsters.
Fortunately, Athos and Aramis weren't interested in them anymore as they were more focused on their true pray. As they stared the girl down, Marta turned to find that Nova and Aduin are now far away now, much to her relief.
"Tenebrae! Are you okay!?" Marta called out to the Centurion as he hovered close to her.
"I am unharmed, but more importantly, and to reiterate what Nova said, what is the meaning of this!? Why are there three monsters from different species gathered together like this!?" Tenebrae expressed his confusion for a moment as these type of creatures from different elements normally don't travel together, let alone show concern like this toward a monster smaller than them.
"They're Alice's monsters! I don't know how, but she somehow tamed them! The one I knocked out is Porthos and the other two are Athos and Aramis. Alice must have sent them to track me down!" Marta explained to Tenebrae while also guessing why they are in this forest to begin with. Marta was concerned that the sadistic Captain was close by at first, but considering she wasn't giving commands to the three with no sign of her, it would appear the creatures are by themselves, relying on what Alice told them to do.
"Tamed them? I doubt that highly considering how she behaves. There must be something else to it..." Tenebrae replied as Athos began to charge the two with them dodging out of the way, only slashing a nearby tree. Aramis then proceeded to charge Marta himself, but once again the girl leaped out of the way with Aramis bouncing off the tree and flew off into another before landing out of the clearing in a daze.
'Aramis might be balloon shaped, but I didn't expect him to bounce around like a rubber ball like that! He seems to be dazed for the moment, so that means Athos is the only legitimate threat right now.' Marta thought to herself as she noticed Tenebrae float close to the lion monster. He appeared to be trying to reason with the monster, but after a moment has passed, Athos growled at Tenebrae and tried to slash at him. Fortunately, Tenebrae ran (okay, flew) out of the way.
"What did you say to him?" Marta asked with a bemused look as she wondered what Tenebrae said to Athos. While she's impressed that he can talk with monsters, she thought it would be best to ask him about that later.
"I tried asking him to stand down and to leave Alice, but he said he has no intention of betraying Alice. He also said that he's here to drag you back to Alice, dead or alive." Tenebrae told Marta what he said and heard. Marta felt a bit upset that Alice is STILL trying to kill her after what nearly happened a week ago. Does Brute even know what Alice is even doing? What would happen to her if he knew she was trying to kill his daughter?
'Ugh! As much as I don't like Alice, I don't even want to imagine what he'd do to her!' Marta thought as she shook a morbid image out of her head. Right now, the important thing now is dealing with the ferocious monster who looks like he wants to turn Marta into lunch. With a fierce roar, Athos charged with Marta barely dodging before slashing Athos' right hind leg, which only angered him as he knocked Marta into a tree with his front leg.
"AHH!" Marta cried in pain as she slammed into the trunk with her falling to one knee and her vision slightly blurry.
"Lady Marta!" Tenebrae cried out to his friend, while internally cursing his inability to help fight. As Marta stood up and Athos regained himself, the young girl looked down at herself and noticed no slashes on herself, which relieved her.
'Good, he only hit me with the back of his paw. If he slashed me, I would be bleeding to death by now or worse...' Marta thought to herself after examining herself while noticing Tenebrae floating by. She recalled during one night of training, she asked Tenebrae why he can't fight, with the Centurion revealing that they rely on monster servants to fight, the best that they can do is push enemies to the ground or distract them.
*ROAR* Athos let out as he started attacking more aggressively with Marta doing her best to dodge while slashing at his hind leg again, however Athos turned and proceeded to slash Marta with his claws this time, however.
"NOT THIS TIME!" Marta shouted as she leapt over him, much to the lion monster's confusion and then...
"Crescent Dance!" Marta shouted, using the same Strike Arte on his left front leg, causing the monster to roar in pain as Marta backflipped away and began to cast a spell on herself.
"Steel!" Marta shouted as she increased her dexterity and began unleashing a series of slashes and kicks on Athos, forcing the monster away for the moment. But at that moment...
*MOAAAANNNN* Aramis came back and started to charge at Marta, to which both her and Tenebrae failed to notice as the balloon monster bumped into her this time.
'Ugh! I completely forgot about Aramis!' Marta cursed to herself as she thought Aramis was out of the fight earlier. Athos took advantage of the situation and lunged at Marta with the intent to disembowel her, fortunately the monster staggered and only grazed Marta's left shoulder instead. Despite the stinging sensation from the slash, Marta regained her footing and delivered the strongest kick she could into Athos' stomach, knocking him onto his back. While he tried to get back up, Marta grabbed her right leg as she realized that she kicked a 400 lbs. monster off balance.
'M-my leg! It... it doesn't hurt as much?' Marta thought to herself in surprise. Yes, kicking a full grown monster would hurt her leg, but it didn't hurt so badly. She than realized that all of that practice with the repeated kicking motions must have strengthened her legs to an extent. Then again, she was able to send Porthos flying into a tree with Crescent Dance, meaning she must have built some upper arm strength too. Weird, considering she didn't up build up any visible muscles, but it was good all the same.
*MOAAAANNNN* Aramis cried as it came back to knock Marta over again, however she jumped over the monster and then...
"Pick on someone your own size!" Marta yelled as she landed on top of him and kicked off of him, causing Aramis to bounce around everywhere with Marta rolling onto the ground and Tenebrae ducking to avoid him. Athos wasn't lucky as Aramis crashed into him, although it also knocked him back on his feet. Aramis finally slammed face first into the tree Porthos crashed into and limply bounced off, with the balloon like monster finally unconscious.
"LADY MARTA! LOOK OUT!" Tenebrae shouted at Marta as soon as she got up. It was too late as Athos knocked Marta into the air with his head before grabbing her leg with his teeth, slamming her into the ground and throwing her around. Marta could only shout and cry in pain as she was getting ragdolled by this monster before Athos let go of her leg, causing her to land on the ground with many cuts and scratches as Tenebrae could only watch in dismay. As she struggled to get up, she noticed Athos was trying to get up too as he spent most of his energy in a murderous rage over seeing Porthos and Aramis being taken down on top of the attacks Marta inflicted on him.
'N-no... I've come too far... just to die... here...' Marta weakly thought to herself as she struggled to get back up on her feat.
'I need to stop Daddy... I have to wake Ratatosk up to restore the world... and... I still need to thank that boy for saving my life...' Marta continued thinking to herself as pushed herself into a standing position, wobbling slightly, as she prepared to use her healing Arte, with thoughts of her parents, Tenebrae, Nova, his family and the green eyed boy flashing through her mind.
"And I won't be stopped... and killed here... by that sadist's so called "pet"!" Marta shouted as Athos turned and growled in disbelief, but noticed something off about Marta as he saw Alice use that light before.
"FIRST AID!" Marta shouted as she healed the scratches, cuts and bruises on her to the point where it no longer hurt. The injuries are still visible slightly, but the pain was gone and it left Marta refreshed. Athos could only look stunned before he charged again.
*ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRR* Athos roared in a furious rage as he began charging and slashing wildly, desperate to tear Marta to shreds. However, Marta began to dodge and evade Athos' attacks, waiting for the right moment to strike back.
Tenebrae watched in awe. A moment ago, he thought Marta was surely going to die after Athos thrashed her around like that, but then she stood up, healed herself and is now dealing with a frenzied monster.
'I don't get, why is she not attacking? Why is she just dodging Athos?' Tenebrae thought as he was wondering what Marta was doing until he noticed Athos is beginning to slow down.
'Wait! Athos is wearing himself down! Combining his rage along with the cuts he received is making him sluggish!' Tenebrae put together Marta's plan, recognizing how brilliant it is.
Athos began to slow down but still kept going, determined to please his master. Marta finally decided it was time to knock this prideful beast down. Not just for herself, but for Nova as well.
Despite knowing she doesn't have the experience yet, Marta needed to use her Chi related Strike Arte. With this, Marta sliced Athos twice and followed up with a spin-slash and finally with a burst of Chi building up in her hand...
"TEMPEST SWALLOW!" Marta shouted as she slammed her chi infused palm into the beast, sending Athos flying into the very same tree Porthos and Aramis crashed into, this time splattering the tree and knocking it over backwards. Athos then landed next to Porthos and Aramis, but despite struggling to get up, after letting out a weak roar, he finally passed out. In that moment, Marta took some deep breathes in after using all she had in that attack, but she did it. She actually stood her ground against three monsters and actually won.
'I... I did it! I actually did it!' Marta thought to herself as she stood tall with pride, all before falling to her knees and began to catch her breath. Tenebrae, now relieved that Marta's out of danger, walked over to her.
"Lady Marta... you did great. More importantly, I am relieved that you're alive." Tenebrae said with pride and joy, with Marta smiling back. However, she then noticed how sad a state the three monsters she defeated, especially since Porthos and Athos are bleeding from her attacks.
"Do not worry about them, their injuries aren't lethal and they won't die of blood loss. Besides, once Alice arrives, she'll take care of them with her healing Artes." Tenebrae reassured Marta before she could ask him what to do with them and nodded in agreement. If there was one good thing Marta call say about Alice, is that she always took care of the three monsters with her and would not let them die. With that, Marta casted another First Aid on herself until all her injuries fully healed. She then proceeded to pick up the bags she, Nova and Aduin dropped before the fight started. Miraculously, none of the bags or it's contents got crushed during the fight despite Athos' rampage.
"Lady Marta... are you seriously still getting those?" Tenebrae asked in disbelief as he thought that the bags of vegetation was less important at the moment.
"We worked hard to get these, besides... they still need to eat." Marta replied to the Centurion, not even including herself in that moment. Tenebrae felt touched that Marta would risk her life to protect a family she just met a week ago.
"Then... allow me to carry some of those bags for you..." Tenebrae said as he picked up three of the bags while Marta picked up three more. As soon as they began to head back, the young girl looked at the Centurion.
"Tenebrae... thank you... for training me... and helping me..." Marta said with sincere gratitude. While she wished Tenebrae could help in the fight, she understood his limitations of being a Centurion and was still grateful for his instructions.
"You are welcome Lady Marta..." Tenebrae said as they slowly returned to the others, leaving the three unconscious monsters behind.
Caravan
About 10 minutes passed before Marta and Tenebrae reached the Caravan, only to hearing... crying? As Marta went to the site, she saw Nova putting his face in his hands in frustration with his leg in a makeshift splint as Aduin cried in his mother's arms with May crying with him as well.
"It's all my fault... if only I didn't let that monster hurt me, I could have gotten Marta away from there too..." Nova said in remorse.
"It wasn't your fault dear. You did what you could. We just need to hope Marta is okay." Sarah said, trying to both reassure her husband and calm her children, keeping hope that Marta will return safely.
"But she's been gone for nearly 15 minutes! She could be dead, eaten by those monsters all because I let my guard down!" Nova yelled as he was angry with himself for letting this happened, while regretting his tone with his wife.
"I'm... I'm sorry... I..." Nova apologized as he never wanted to yell at his family.
"I know you didn't mean it dear..." Sarah replied, knowing her husband well enough that he wouldn't act like this normally.
Marta was confused... did Nova and the kids think she was killed? Well, she couldn't blame them for thinking that. While Marta could have fled the battle, she knew the monsters would have followed her anyway, so knocking them out was the best option she had at that moment. Putting the bags down nearby, she walked up to Nova from behind and put a comforting hand on his shoulder, causing Nova to take his hands off his face in surprise.
"Nova... you don't need to feel bad. I stayed behind so you can escape. The safety of you and your family was all that mattered..." Marta said softly as Nova and the others turned to see her alive and well.
"Marta! You're alive!" Nova cried as Marta kneeled down to give him a comforting hug with Aduin and May rushing over to hug the young girl while Sarah looked on with tears in her eyes. She then saw Tenebrae walk up with the bags of fruits and vegetables. The woman was touched that after all that, she still retrieved the stuff they needed despite risking her life to protect her husband and son.
After explaining what happened with the monsters, Marta suggested to Nova to move the Caravan to a different spot in case they recovered, but kept any info about Alice hidden for the time being. With the fruits and vegetables stored on the Caravan and with everything packed up, Marta and the others left the forest to find a safer spot.
Caravan [Night]
After finding a new spot and once they set up camp at around 6:10 PM, Marta felt she needed to heal Nova, on top of possibly explaining how she knows about Alice's monsters. Looking at her hands for a moment, she looked at Tenebrae with a stern expression. After seeing what Marta intended to do, he nodded slowly, understanding her decision. She then walked over to the campfire to speak with Nova.
"Excuse me, Nova?" Marta asked the zoologist as he sat down with the rest of his family.
"What is it, Marta?" Nova asked the young girl as he adjusted his leg as it was still aching from Porthos' attack.
"First of all, I'm sorry for worrying you like that. I just couldn't run away with those monsters and all that." Marta said, still trying to keep things hidden, but wishing she could say something. She hated lying and keeping secrets like this. If there was one thing Marta was scared of, it's rejection. Being hated for being part of a group of extremists like the Vanguard was something she didn't wish to go through, but it may be time to come clean...
"I'm guessing you know those monsters, right?" Nova guessed correctly, causing Marta to look down in shame.
"Yes... they belong to someone that I... didn't get along with..." Marta replied, telling him what he needed to know at the moment.
"Ah, so they were tamed monsters. That makes sense. But to send them after you like this? Why would they do this to hurt you?" Nova wondered why this person would send monsters to attack Marta. The young girl kept silent, but prepared herself as she expected Nova to start grilling her for information, but instead...
"Regardless of what happened, I'm just glad your safe. Thank you for saving me and my son. Lastly, please remember, if you have anything to tell us, don't be afraid to talk to any of us. Until then, we won't push you to say anything and you'll have our trust, no matter what." Nova said with great gratitude and sincerity, with the rest of the family agreeing. This worried Tenebrae as he believed Nova was on to them, while Marta was touched that Nova still trusted her despite what happened, feeling like she wanted to cry out of gratitude. With this, she can do what she intended do in regards to Nova's injury.
"Then... promise me you won't freak out?" Marta said with a hint of sadness, with Nova, Sarah, Alduin and May wondering what she meant by that. Marta then held out her hands over Nova's leg and a bright glow came from her gloved hands.
"First Aid." Marta said softly as she began to heal Nova, with the zoologist looking at her in amazement. Sarah, Aduin and May were also amazed at the sight of the mystical green glow coming from her gloved hands. With that, Nova put his foot down and it no longer hurt.
"You can use magic?" Nova said in surprise, with Marta nodding in confirmation.
"Yes... I don't know how, but I can use magic. It's strange, considering that I'm not a half-elf." Marta admitted to Nova as she still didn't know what to make of her newfound powers.
"Even if you were a half-elf, we wouldn't think less of you. To be honest, it's rather awful that there are people who treat them so badly. Thank you for healing me." Nova replied back, once again expressing gratitude to the young girl. Marta felt truly happy deep down that this family was so accepting of a stranger like herself, yet also sad with what she had to hide from them.
Lake
A couple feet away from the Caravan, Marta sat by the lake next to Tenebrae. After the fighting from today, Tenebrae told Marta not to train tonight, saying she earned the chance to rest.
"Tenebrae... they're real good people, aren't they?" Marta asked the Centurion as Nova's supportive words still played in her head.
"Indeed, but I am worried that he's catching on to us... and yet..." Tenebrae replied, still curious about the man in question.
"Should I tell him if he decides to ask me about it?" Marta asked Tenebrae again. By now, she understands the importance of keeping secrets if it means keeping innocents from harm in addition to protecting herself, but if she had to be honest about the secret keeping, she didn't enjoy doing so.
"Only if it comes down to it, but considering his behavior, I don't think we'll have much to worry about..." Tenebrae said as he gave his thoughts on the matter.
"I hope you're right Tenebrae..." Marta solemnly said, deeply hoping they won't reject her if they found out that she was a member of the Vanguard. While it's the Vanguard's duty to help Sylvarant, they made things hard for them too ironically, with the young girl believing that Nova and his family may have had a rough run in with them too.
The two enjoyed the view a bit longer before turning in for the night. In a few days, they will be arriving in Triet, hoping to put this rough day behind them.
To Be Continued...
This might be one of my longest chapters yet in this story so far. So yeah, Marta managed to hold her own and defeat Alice's monsters and despite some possible suspicion, Nova and his family are willing to give Marta the benefit of the doubt, much to her happiness and sadness. Next time, Marta and Tenebrae will be heading to Triet.
Also, sorry for not knowing what kind of monsters Porthos, Athos and Aramis are. If anyone knows what kind of monsters they are, leaving it in your reviews will be nice.
Until next time.
Update: Grammer and spell check.
