Book Two - Chapter Two

“If nudity is your concern, you may emerge now,” Lusya said as she fastened her cloak to top off her outfit.

She had had her cloak and clothes repaired following her battle with Captain Kadel but had yet to buy any more. The damage had not been severe enough to warrant a replacement, and she had not yet found an opportunity to have clothes tailored. That was fine. The repairs were all but unnoticeable, so her two outfits would serve well for a while yet. While she valued her father’s instructions on caring for her appearance, such concerns did need to be balanced with practicality.

The dress Ariya had been wearing at the time had likewise been repaired. She was wearing it at the moment, in fact. The damage was difficult to see if one was not looking for it.

Lusya grabbed her comb and started brushing her hair as the man came out of his hiding spot. True to his word, he had stayed there the entire time she and Ariya had been bathing, and, either he was very good at hiding it, or he had not peeked out since assuming the position.

Now that she wasn’t assessing him as a potential threat, she took in more information on him. He looked to be around her age, perhaps a year or two younger or older, and was rather good-looking. His hair was on the longer side for a man, though not enough to appear feminine, and he was clean-shaven. As she had thought, his clothes were nice. His black cloak, in particular, seemed to be made of a finer material than most, perhaps silk. Though it was a bit dirty, it looked soft and all but shone in the midday sun. His vest was of similar quality, while the rest of his clothes, while fine, were less obviously expensive.

“Right. Sorry again about earlier,” he said.

She cocked her head and blinked. “As I said, it does not bother me. There is no need for you to continue apologizing to me.”

How many times did this need to be reiterated? It was more annoying than the original offense.

“And I forgive you, so you don’t need to say sorry to me either,” Ariya said, before tossing a handful of nuts into her mouth. She had protested of hunger, so Lusya had given them to her as a snack.

“Okay,” the man said, scratching his head again. A nervous habit, perhaps. “Just feels right, I guess. Your reactions aren’t exactly normal.”

“Do you have much experience with reactions in these situations?” Lusya asked. It didn’t matter much to her, but she was curious. If, as he claimed, he was not a lecher, there was little reason for him to have the context for such a definitive statement.

He laughed and shook his head. “No, poor phrasing. I guess I should say I assume your reactions aren’t normal.”

She nodded in acceptance of that explanation. Her understanding was also that most mortals would have been more upset about his observations, well-intentioned or otherwise, judging by stories she had heard, fiction and otherwise. She, however, did not care, and Ariya was quite forgiving. That was to be expected of the purest mortal Lusya knew of. It was rather the point, in fact. Still, Ariya’s mood swings did sometimes catch Lusya by surprise.

Lusya finished her combing and stowed the instrument in her pack. No doubt some part of her hair would end up sticking up or looking disheveled. It was the nature of working without a mirror, then wearing a hood and sitting and lying on the ground. Still, she had done what she could. She turned to the young man, waiting for him to say something more. It had been he who had wanted to speak, after all. She assumed he would be the one to drive the conversation, seeing as she had nothing to say to him.

Seconds stretched by, however, with him staring back at her in near silence. He shifted his weight awkwardly and began to glance about the area. Ariya sat on the ground nearby, the crunching of her nuts and the bubbling of the stream providing the only sounds. She looked from Lusya, to the man, and back again.

Lusya chose to remain standing, and he did the same. The man was not a threat and did not seem hostile, but she did not want to lower her guard regardless. Why he did not sit, she was not sure. Some form of courtesy, perhaps.

Finally, the young man chuckled, once again scratching his head. “I guess I’ll go first, then.” He cleared his throat, grinned, and stood tall—he looked to be about a full foot taller than Lusya—with his arms crossed in front of him. “My name is Ander Lindun, nice to meet you.”

He looked at her, then at Ariya, his smile growing, as if expecting some kind of amusing reaction. Lusya gave none, and Ariya just cocked her head and continued munching on her nuts.

“You have had enough for now,” Lusya said. “We must conserve those.”

Ariya sighed and got up to put them away in Lusya’s pack. “Yes, Lusya.”

Ander’s smile shrank but did not disappear. He laughed and his posture relaxed. “I guess my family isn’t a big deal out here, huh? Or at least, not where you two are from. I kind of figured, but I was hoping I was wrong.”

“At the very least, I know nothing of it,” Lusya said.

“Me neither,” Ariya said as she returned to her seat.

The name Lindun did sound familiar, but that was as far as Lusya’s knowledge went on the subject. She assumed it was a noble family, but her knowledge of those was largely limited to what had been relevant during the war. Even within that scope, names had not always been important, so there were many she had never bothered to memorize.

He wore no family crest or other identifiers, but she saw little reason for him to lie and plenty for him not to advertise his status. Every noble house had rivals and enemies, after all. Even after moving out of his own country, any signifier of nobility could turn into a target mark for bandits or the like. His clothing would draw attention alone, but that was no reason to draw more.

“I guess I can’t blame you,” he said with a shrug. “We’re a pretty middling family from Nordhem. The kind of size everyone there knows and nobody else does, if you know what I mean.”

She did, more or less. There were plenty of families like that, and it did not surprise her that she did not know of this one. Nordhem was one of the most northeastern nations on the continent, while the war had centered around the southwest and central south.

Of course, there were a few families she was at least familiar with outside that region—the entirety of Ysuge, and even some aid from elsewhere, had been involved in some manner—but mostly ones with national level political power or great military backing or prowess. There had never been any need for her to know every minor house that had contributed a few soldiers or given a small donation to the war effort. Even many of the noble families who had members among the Paladins or the Sacred Knights’ leadership were unknown to her, as the larger house often had little to do with the Knight’s activities or influence.

Ander looked at each of them in turn, as if expecting some kind of response, his smile fading as none came. Lusya had nothing more to say, and so remained silent. Ariya turned a similar expectant look on Lusya, then seemed content not to say anything either.

He coughed into his fist and another smile, more nervous than before, reclaimed his face. There was something else different about the expression, but she could not place what it was. “And you two are?”

Ah, he was waiting for an introduction. Social interaction would be much simpler if people just said what they wanted.

“Lusya.” She saw no need to volunteer more than that.

Ariya jumped to her feet and threw her hands into the air. “And I’m Ariya!”

He nodded. “Lusya and Ariya, huh?” He paused and glanced at both of them. When neither of them went on, he continued, “Can I ask where you’re from?”

“I’m from Ovda,” Ariya said.

“The southeast, then,” he said with a nod. Many people could not have found their own homes on a map, but a nobleman knowing geography was to be expected.

Lusya had hoped to get by without answering, but he turned to her as soon as Ariya was done answering.

“I come from the central south,” she said.

There were a few reltus-majority nations that would have qualified as in the central south, Narua chief among them. And, of course, relti and half-relti could be found around the continent to varying degrees. So, the answer played well into the assumption of most mortals that she was a reltus. It did not seem problematic. She did not, however, want to get more specific, and was uncertain how to handle the situation if he pressed for details. Answering Miudo, her father’s short-lived empire, would not have been appropriate. Graca, the kingdom that had become home to the capital of Miudo, would have raised too many questions, with the disarray it was no doubt in, more so than the rest of the region.

She supposed that, in the strictest sense, she could not be sure any those answers were true. Her birth and the first seven years of her life may well have transpired elsewhere. However, she did not remember where she had lived with her mother. She could make a reasonable inference based on her own name, but she could not be certain. Lusya considered herself from the central south, and she did think most would agree.

His eyes widened. “Wow. Things must be rough around there right now, huh?”

“I would not know,” she replied. “I have not been there in some time.”

Ander nodded in apparent acceptance, before scowling and cocking his head. He pursed his lips and pressed a finger to them. “Lusya doesn’t sound like a name from Narua or anything. Or any reltus name for that matter.”

“My mother was human, though I do not remember her well,” she said. There was no harm in offering that information. For her purposes, people thinking her a half-reltus was little different from thinking her a pure-blooded reltus. “I am told she named me.”

Ander blinked, then laughed and scratched his head. “Sorry, did I say that out loud? That was rude of me. I’m sorry if I touched on something sensitive there.”

“No apologies are necessary,” she said. She had little issue discussing her mother that much. Still, this was stretching on a bit long. She had never been one for pointless small talk. “You said you had specific matters you wanted to discuss?”

“It’s mainly one, really,” he said. “The others kind of go along with it.” He paused, staring into her eyes for some reason known only to him, and took a deep breath. “I was wondering if you two might want to travel with me. There’s strength in numbers and the road can get lonely.”

Ariya grinned. “That sounds great! Right, Lusya?”

Lusya cocked her head slightly and glanced at the child. Ariya promptly dropped her gaze and fell silent. She seemed to have developed something of a sense for Lusya’s intentions. It was convenient at times like this, so Lusya had not made any effort to change it.

“My strength is sufficient to keep us safe,” Lusya said. “And as there are two of us, solitude is not a concern.”

Not that solitude had ever much bothered her anyway. She had spent months alone before picking up Ariya. At the end of that period, Lusya would have felt no pull for companionship had her mission not required it.

The company of others did not inherently bother her either. She was ambivalent to it in most cases. Given the sensitive nature of her quest, however, she preferred to avoid it as much as possible. There had been times in the past when she had needed others, and she was sure there would be such times again. Until then, however, additional companions seemed unnecessary at best and potentially harmful at worst.

“That might be true, but you can never be too safe, right?” he said. He smiled at Ariya. “Besides, no matter how much you like someone, a little variety is nice. Right, Ariya?”

Ariya looked up at Lusya and gave a hesitant nod.

“If your pace does not match ours, we may be slowed,” Lusya said.

Ander chuckled. “I wouldn’t worry about that. I have a carriage with plenty of room for all of us. We can travel faster and walk less.”

Ariya seemed to have recovered her nerve, staring at Lusya with wide, hopeful eyes and hint of a smile.

“I am unsure I can provide for the three of us, even if you also have funds,” Lusya said.

It was clear he had value to provide, but that was not the issue. He was not necessary, and so his value would have had to be astronomical to overcome the potential risks of having him around.

“Believe me, that’s not a problem,” Ander said, almost smug in his cheer. “My paranoid father sent me with more than enough money for ten people to make the trip.” His hand lowered to a coin purse at his hip, and he produced a small handful of gold coins. One of those could have fed a family for several months, assuming one had them exchanged to silver or copper or bought supplies in bulk from a prosperous merchant. “I’m happy to share. No need to pay me back or anything either.”

“See, Lusya?” Ariya said. “This could be really good! And I want to talk with him more about Nordhem and stuff. Please?”

Lusya glanced at her, then returned her attention to Ander. “I assume you are capable of defending yourself. My focus will be on protecting Ariya in the event of danger.”

“Of course I am,” he said. “You don’t have to worry about me. Not to brag, but I’m pretty strong myself.”

“Very well,” Lusya said with a nod. “However, there is still the most important deciding factor. Where are you headed, and why?”

He grinned. “I’m glad you asked! You’re standing…sitting in the presence of a future Sacred Knight. You see, I’m going to the academy at the Grand Stronghold in Seris.”

That was as good a reason not to travel with him as any. Sacred Knights and demons were enemies. Even if he wasn’t a Knight yet, he was trying to become one. The last Sacred Knight she had spent any significant time with had almost killed her and taken Ariya. Though they had seen a few Knights in town or on the road, they hadn’t had any more encounters like that since. As Lusya had thought, nothing at the scene had identified her or led the Knights toward her. She was in no rush to risk changing that.

Even Ariya’s smile turned into a frown in an instant. Lusya was tempted to halt the conversation and leave immediately. Though she knew that would look suspicious in its own right, one human’s suspicion did not seem a great inconvenience. Only curiosity stopped her.

“Why Seris?” she asked. “There is a Grand Stronghold in Riksky, much closer to your home.”

Seris was in Talsia, in the northwest of the continent. It was literally across the continent from Nordhem. Riksky, by contrast, was in a neighboring northwestern country. Even if there were some circumstance preventing him from going there, there were plenty of other Grand Strongholds that were closer than Seris, and each had an academy.

Ander seemed to notice Ariya’s sudden change in demeanor, staring at her. He blinked and took a moment to respond to Lusya.

He laughed, again scratching at his head in that odd manner. “My teacher up to now is from Bulice and studied in Seris. He’s kind of a purist and said he wouldn’t write me a recommendation of admittance unless I went to Seris too.”

That was a fair enough explanation. There were likely people like that for every academy. For every educational institution, for that matter. It must have been worse for the Sacred Knight academy in Seris, though. The Grand Stronghold there was the original Grand Stronghold, dating back to the founding days of the Knights of Telresen’s Light. There must have been many who, against all reason, declared it the best by virtue of being the first. And Bulice bordered Talsia, so Seris’s academy was a natural choice for someone from there.

While she was not familiar with all the inner workings of the Sacred Knights’ academies, she understood they were all somewhat independent, including in admissions. That made Ander’s mentor’s threat quite enforceable.

Ander’s route seemed a bit circuitous if he was this far south, but there could have been myriad reasons for that. Travel was not always so simple as going in a straight line. Lusya’s intended route was also far from the most direct one to her destination.

Regardless, she was not going to travel with a Sacred Knight, in training or otherwise, if she could help it. Before she could voice her refusal, however, Ariya spoke up again.

“That’s the same way we’re going!” she exclaimed. She turned to Lusya. “Can we please go together?”

Lusya blinked. This was one of those time’s Ariya’s turnarounds surprised her. “Are you certain you want that? Remember the last time.”

Ariya pursed her lips and let out a pensive humming sound, then gave a resolute nod. “I remember. But this is different. Ander is nice.”

“The last one seemed nice at first too,” Lusya replied. Kadel’s first impression had been abrasive, but not unkind. “We have no reason to take him at face value.”

“Uh, I’m right here,” Ander said, as if she could have forgotten.

Lusya didn’t bother to look at him. “Silence.”

“I know,” Ariya said. “But he’s different. I can just tell. And I really, really want to go with him.”

Lusya cocked her head, blinking two times. “Why?”

“Well, he seems nice and fun to talk to,” Ariya said. “Plus, we won’t have to walk. You won’t have to worry about money either. No more counting coins every night.”

There was an appeal to that. Keeping track of funds was tedious, and acquiring them was risky, though she did not “count coins every night.” And they would likely move faster with Ander’s carriage.

“Seris is in the right direction, right?” Ariya asked.

“Perhaps you should have asked before confidently asserting so,” Lusya said.

Ariya’s face scrunched up, the way it did when she was trying to decipher a statement. Lusya was not sure what dictated her ability to understand.

After a moment of what seemed to be deep contemplation, Ariya’s eyes lit up in realization, then she blushed and looked away. “Sorry.”

“It is fine,” Lusya said. “And you are correct.” She looked to Ander. “Seris is on our way. If that is your destination, we may be able to accompany you most of the way there.”

Of course, Lusya had no intention of visiting Seris itself. It was still the seat of Sacred Knights’ power, though there had been talk for the past century of moving it to the center of the continent. While she would avoid the city itself, however, she was going to pass near it.

“Great,” Ander said. “It’ll be nice to have someone other than my horses to talk to.”

Ariya cocked her head. “Do you actually talk to them?”

Ander chuckled, scratched his head, and said nothing.

“However,” Lusya said, “I do have a rather particular route in mind. If yours diverges too drastically, we may leave.”

Ander hummed in thought, then nodded. “Makes sense. Can I ask what that route is?”

“I intend to travel north from here, cut through the Elzen Valley, then travel west,” she said.

He sighed and smiled. “That’s a relief. That’s the exact way I wanted to go.” He blushed and scratched his head. “I don’t speak any reltus languages well, so I want to avoid reltus-ruled or majority kingdoms. Is that what you’re doing too? I’ve heard half-humans have it rough. Or is there some other reason you’re avoiding them?”

“Something along those lines,” Lusya replied.

In truth, she worried relti would see through her ruse. Proportionally, many more relti received training in motomancy, so there were more who could potentially sense her demonic nature. Even without that, they may have noticed something in her behavior or some hole in her deception to give her away that could not be excused by being half-human.

She supposed it was convenient that the knight-in-training had his own reasons to avoid them. Although, she did not see why he was so relieved. She could not imagine being that starved for companionship. But then, it was not unusual for her not to understand mortals. Or demons, for that matter.

Using the Elzen Valley had its own complications. While the area within was rather large, there would be virtually no way out other than going back due to the mountains. Still, it was faster than going around or over the mountains, and she doubted there would be any circumstance to render the entire valley inhospitable to her.

“So, where are you two headed, anyway?” he asked. “And why?”

“That is not for you to know,” Lusya said.

She supposed there would have been little harm in saying they were going to Midbud Isle, or even Tofka more specifically, she wanted to keep the information he knew to the minimum. If nothing else, he might have been able to point someone else in their direction, if the Knights caught wind of her.

“Oh, come on,” he said. “I told you mine.”

She nodded. “That was your decision. I have made mine.”

He sighed. “I guess that’s fair.” He clapped his hands together suddenly. “So, it sounds like that’s decided,” he said. She had heard that gesture was sometimes used to draw a close to a conversation in the north. Depending on usage, it was either a gesture of friendship or of rudeness. She did not know how to differentiate the two. “Shall we get going?”

“Were there no other ancillary matters you wished to discuss?” she asked.

He thought for a moment and shook his head. “No, I think we covered everything. Let’s go. I can lead you back to where I left my carriage when I came to investigate.”

“Hopefully no one stole anything while you were away,” Ariya said with a giggle.

Ander blinked, then his eyes widened. Lusya may never have seen someone open them that wide. “Shit.” He sprang to his feet and ran off into the woods. “Come on, let’s hurry it up!”