I woke to the taste of iron in my mouth and the sluggish weight of my limbs, refusing to obey me. The world swayed, bobbing up and down, my vision flickering between the blurred trees and the dark smear of the river stretching behind my back. I didn''t remember washing up on the bank at all. Maybe I was doing it out of reflex... What I could recall was the cold currents carrying me forward, throwing me around. As I began to regain more of my mind, the sound of the distant hooting of owls came to me. Hopefully, it was really the sound of an owl and not that of wolves... When I tried breathing in, instead, it prompted me to cough and throw up a good amount of water before I managed to draw in some air. My fingers twitched, I wanted to fall back to sleep, but I couldn''t. It would be tantamount to suicide.


    Then came the pain. The bolt still jutted in my body, reminding me of the close call and keeping my consciousness at bay. Well... for now. Every breath burned my lungs as if they were filled with shards of glass. This was probably bad. I wasn''t even feeling cold, which further worried me because this wasn''t a pleasant swim.


    "Got to... move..." I grunted, groaningly compelling my mind to obey.


    With great effort, I forced myself up, one trembling hand gripping the damp soil beneath me, sinking into the mud. Then, ignoring the jolting pain in my torso, I kept pushing, standing up in the end. I looked around, and my sword was lost in the river''s depths... Damn it. It was new, I wanted to keep––


    "Ah."


    It seemed like some luck was on my side because I had spotted it close to the shore. I don''t know how or why, but I didn''t ask. I simply grabbed it and began walking. We had our plan. With a grunt of effort, I staggered forward, each step a battle against the weakness trying to pull me down. It didn''t help that the forest around me seemed to close in within the darkness, the trees towering around me like giants.


    "South..." I muttered, pulling out one small compass the size of a pocketwatch and following Lira''s directions. She did tell me that all roads were conveyed into one big one, as there was only one pass through the southern border. No matter where I was going, as long as I was going South, I would have to end up at the Sleepy Squirrel Inn.


    So, without thinking, I just kept walking, following the compass. If he could reach the tavern—if Lira was still waiting for me—then it would all be worth it. After what felt like a long time, I managed to stumble onto a road-like path wide enough to be used by horse carriages. That was a good sign...


    Still, being dark, there was nobody traveling alongside it. By now, I didn''t care; my body and mind were moving on autopilot, a bolt still lodged into my shoulder. Hours bled away into pain and exhaustion, but no matter how much my senses cried to rest, I did not stop. Not until I saw the slanted roof of a roadside inn in the distance. Was this it? I didn''t know, but the moment my body saw it, it simply took at the ultimate goal of mine. I don''t even know if I noticed its name or if there was light in its windows.


    By then, I didn''t even care if Lira was there. I just wanted to lay down and rest—for a long time.


    ...


    ....


    ......


    Lira was nervously staying at the Inn, hoping that all would go as planned. However rickety that planning was. She felt helpless because she knew it had too many points that could lead to failure. Still... she hadn''t got any better idea.


    "Maybe I should have waited closer to him..." She thought Auriel might not even find his way to her. The thought made her squeazy and fidgety, which was quickly noticed by the kind old pair running the Sleepy Squirrel.


    Of course, they asked what the matter was because a young maiden, arriving alone and looking so flustered, was already alarming enough. She couldn''t tell them much, just by virtue, so she made up half-lies. She told them that her parents abandoned them and that she was separated from her only relative, her brother. She told them that they had spoken about how if that ever happened, they would meet here... but...


    The door to the Inn suddenly pushed open, and Lira spotted him before he could call out, her eyes widening in horror as she rushed to him.


    "Auriel!"


    Her hands were on him before he could protest. They were warm and shaking, trying to steady him as his knees finally buckled, collapsing onto her. The bolt, which was quickly noticeable in his shoulder, shifted, and he let out a sharp, choked gasp.


    "That is lodged in deep!" The old man, twice the size of Auriel, hurried over, throwing his towel over his shoulders, which he used to wipe the mugs, and quickly took Auriel from Lira. His touch was firm but gentle so as not to hurt Auriel more, being careful not to worsen the unseen wounds, which were, for now, maybe unseen.


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    "Gods," Lira cursed, her voice tight with worry. "You''re burning up! What the hell happened?!"


    Auriel tried to answer, but the words caught in his throat, which was too dry and cracked to answer. Being held and feeling himself safe, the world tilted violently, black creeping in at the edges of his sight, finally blacking out.


    "Inside," another voice said—a bit more high-pitched. She was the innkeeper''s wife, awoken by the noise, and noticed the scene the moment she appeared from their private adobe. "Get him to one of the rooms, now!"


    The next few hours were lost in a haze for Lira as she followed them, white as the snow from worry. She could only watch as the innkeeper''s hands pulled at Auriel''s armor, revealing the injury, luckily the only injury he suffered. Lira couldn''t hear what the two were talking about, her mind drawing sudden blanks, only registering their voices as muttered gibberish, spoken in urgency. Which was not good. Then, she watched as they broke off the bolt and then, carefully opening the wound up, removed the arrowhead lodged into Auriel''s body.


    He looked... weak. What if she loses him? What would she do? Lira couldn''t help herself; she couldn''t stop thinking about it. She was... useless. Wasn''t she... Watching the two hurry around him, visibly proficient in handling such injuries, she suddenly realized she had to step up. Had to learn. She had to earn her place at Auriel''s side; otherwise... there may be no sides to stand on. And she would be abandoned...


    "No..." She muttered to herself.


    She won''t be discarded because she would make herself valuable and not a hindrance. First, starting from that point, she would learn how to take care of injuries and how to take care of him.


    ...


    ....


    ......


    When I woke up again, I was in a bed, a familiar warmth pressing against him instead of cold. No, it wasn''t someone else—it was sunlight. At first, I thought I woke from a nightmare, but no. This wasn''t my old apartment. This was a different type of room. Well, at least I live. It seems...


    "Ugh..." I flinched as I began moving, checking out myself. I was still injured, alright, and this kind of pain was reminding me of the fact that I wasn''t dead yet.


    Looking down, tight and precise bandages were wrapped around my torso, and the sharp edge of the pain I felt had slowly dulled to a distant ache. Something was in those bandages that was making it bearable. I could tell because the room smelled of herbs—I don''t know what kind of medicine—mixed with the faint tang of burnt firewood. Licking my lips, I realized that it and my throat were dry, my body impossibly heavy, but... not cold. Nor burning up. Which was a good sign. A superb sign.


    "Success..." I muttered, eliciting a soft moan and muttering from my right, making me turn my head towards the sound.


    Lira was sitting beside the bed, her arms crossed, dark circles beneath her closed eyes. Her hair was tied back in a loose braid, a few strands escaping to frame her face. She stirred as I made more noises, and then, her eyes slowly opened, and she looked as though she hadn''t slept in days.


    "You''re an idiot. A reckless idiot..."


    "No arguments there..." I let out a weak, breathy chuckle. "You sound relieved, though."


    "I am. But I''m also furious. But not with you..."


    "Then...?" I asked, surprised, but she ignored my question.


    "What matters is that you are safe!" she leaned forward, her voice dropping to a whisper. She climbed onto my bed, checked my temperature, and gently stroked my head. It felt nice—really nice. For a moment, I closed my eyes, enjoying the feeling, before opening them again and hearing her question. "What happened in the end?"


    "Chaos," I murmured, my voice barely above a rasp. "The plan worked. Kinda. They never saw it coming. I mean, both sides. When the moment came, I slipped away in the fighting." I swallowed, my throat as dry as sandpaper. Before I could say more, she helped me sit up and gently held up a bottle, assisting me all the way to take a few sips. "I don''t know who made it out in the and. And I don''t care." I continued, "With how they got me, they will think I''m dead. We are free to leave."


    "Hopefully..." She studied me for a long moment, her gaze still worried, searching my face for reassurance that I was indeed feeling fine. "You will need rest... From all the money you gave me, I barely spent any."


    Oh yeah... Money. It wasn''t much anyway, but I did take a risk, sending her out with everything I had gathered in the few months since coming here. It seems my gamble paid out. She didn''t run away and kept waiting for me... keeping my stuff safe. By now, I was sure... She I can trust.


    "We will now," I muttered, flinching. "I don''t remember much, but we will need to pay for the two who helped us—for fixing me up."


    "Um... we do..." She smiled and continued stroking my head. Then, a comfortable silence stretched between us. Then suddenly, Lira sighed, her shoulders slumping as if the weight of the world had settled on them from nowhere. "So… what now?"


    I had no answer just yet. Instead, I stared at the ceiling. I had no actual plans yet. I barely knew the world at all, but that didn''t mean I couldn''t have any.


    "First... Recovery." I said half-jokingly, "Then, travel. Preferably to a different country."


    "That may not be easy," she muttered, but then again, we will get there when we get there—no use in worrying ahead of time.


    "If we want to survive," I said slowly, each word chosen before I spoke them, "we can''t keep running."


    "No, we can''t." Lira agreed as she raised an eyebrow, her lips quirking in a faint, curious smile. "What are you suggesting?"


    "We start our group."


    "Huh?" She blinked her eyes, then laughed, shaking her head. The sound was soft, almost disbelieving. "We? And from what? We are poor, and I have no skills, Auriel... Nobody would take you seriously with me around. I''m just a baker..."


    "So what?" I fidgeted, pushing myself to sit straight while I also managed a smirk despite the pain. "It''s better than being someone else''s pawn. What do you say? You and me, starting our fresh? Sounds fun."


    I wasn''t lying to her. It did sound fun, and, for some reason, I was feeling myself more and more motivated. Yeah, that will do nicely—my own little enterprise with my rules.