Acceptance

Fulcher struggled to keep his eyes open as the sun peaked over the horizon, blinding light sneaking into the carriage and casting itself across his face. He turned away from the window, once more catching the suspicious eye of Schon sitting idle on him.

“You can put the candelabra down, I’m not going to hurt you,” he tried to assure.

“Sure, like you haven't used that one before,” she mumbled, folding the candelabra in between her arms.

Fulcher frowned, unsure of the history she seemed so painfully aware of.

“What’s gotten into you anyways? You go out for a hunting trip and you come back with a dog and morals?” she questioned.

“What, I’m acting so different from the norm?” Fulcher asked, trying to gain any insight he could into why she was so hostile. Schon paused for a long moment, finally glancing away and out the window.

“When you speak to me, you look into my eyes. They do not wander. And your words are not tainted with your ridiculous insults or advances,” she said matter-of-factly. Fulcher sighed.

“I’m not that person anymore,” he muttered. She glanced back over at him, and he quickly continued. “I just, well… I had a touch with death out there, and I realized how important life is. In general,” he said.

Not an outright lie, but I’ve got to be careful, he thought to himself. One slip of the tongue could land me into deep water.

Schon did not respond, and continued to watch him carefully.

After some time riding in silence, the carriage shuddered to a stop. Fulcher peered out the window to find a small creek along the road. He opened the door and called out towards the front.

“Why’d we stop?” he asked. His answer came from the other side of the carriage as the other door suddenly opened, Vardia standing there.

“We’ve been riding for several hours, Sir. I am certain the ladies would like the chance to bathe and rest for a moment before we continue,” Vardia explained, holding up a hand to Schon. She smiled gently and took the Custodi’s hand, walking down the coach steps carefully. Stella and Arrow stirred together, yawning in unison as both looked around. Arrow wasted no time in hopping down from the carriage and trotting into the woods around where they had stopped. Vardia turned his hand towards Stella and offered a gentle smile as he guided her out of her seat.

“I’m hungry,” Stella complained. Vardia patted her head carefully with his gloved hand.

“Well, Princess, I’ll go gather some berries! Go with Schon to the brook and get some water in the meantime!” Vardia said through a wide grin. He jogged off into the underbrush without a moment of hesitation as Stella walked over to Schon. She took her hand and peered back towards where they had fled from at the diminishing night sky.

“The moon followed us,” she said, pointing.

“It did!” Schon said, pulling Stella along gently towards the water, “Now let’s get you a little morning bath.”

Fulcher relaxed inside the carriage for another moment before inspecting the interior. He had not seen any interior storage, but he figured someone like Lord Nerrel would likely have a spot to smuggle goods about. As he played around with the corners of the inside, his knee bumped the seat cushion, causing it to shift a little more than one may expect. Fulcher blinked, reaching down and peeling the cushion from the seat, revealing a small space occupied by a thin wooden box. Fulcher pulled the box out and opened it curiously, finding a banded ring with a large black onyx nestled on top.

“Huh, nice. Maybe we can sell this for food next time we hit a town,” he said to himself, slipping the ring on. The band settled tightly against his finger, almost as if it had shrunken down to fit his shape. He blinked again and tried to take the ring off, but a crackle of some dark energy released from the onyx, stinging his other hand.

“Ow! Ah no, this isn’t good. Vardia!” he called, climbing out of the stagecoach. The Custodi came jogging back into view from the woods, a bundle of berry branches in his arms.

“Something the matter, sir?” he asked, setting the branches down next to the coach steps.

“I put this ring on and it won’t come off,” Fulcher explained, showing the ring to Vardia. The Custodi peered at the object, shaking his head slightly.

“My apologies sir, it seems to be some sort of magical item. I don’t know much about those myself, I was always more of a melee fighter myself!” Vardia said. Fulcher glanced down at the ring, frowning slightly as he peered into the abyssal darkness of the onyx.

“Just my luck,” he said, “Day two out here and I’ve already got some kind of cursed thing on me.”