For the first time in his life, Marco Flores was leaving Sunheight.
Sunheight was a massive city that offered everything one needed for a decent life. Farmers from the nearby villages brought fresh crops to the market daily, the port brought in fish and exotic goods, and there were countless artisans who could provide tools for any line of work. There was no reason for any sensible person to ever leave Sunheight.
But Heroes, by definition, were not a sensible lot. And as one who hoped to be a Hero, Marco was all too willing to pass through the city gates, go around the Cliffs of Hardt, and follow the path north towards the Gramt Empire.
That was until about half a day of ceaseless walking under the scorching summer sun.
"I still don't see why we can't have horses," he said in between deep, labored breaths.
"Father did say we have to do this trial on our own," Reina replied.
"I heard. But still, not even horses? It's a three days' journey to Gramt on foot!"
Indeed. Yet for the journey and battle ahead, they were only allowed to take one bag and one weapon each. Marco went with a longsword, the weapon he was most familiar with. As for armor, he opted for a chainmail shirt, armored boots, gauntlets, and a metal helmet that he quickly removed because it smelled like sweat inside.
"Is this a second-hand helmet? Aren't Heroes supposed to get shiny new equipment specially made for them?" he asked as he shoved the helmet in his bag.
"You're not a Hero," Reina replied curtly.
She had been like this all day. She walked ahead of Marco at all times, barely acknowledging any of his comments or questions. That didn't surprise him. They hadn't exactly become the best of friends in their short time together. What did surprise him was how easily she took to the journey. Dressed casually in tan pants and light leather armor, her golden hair tied back in so many braids, she kept on with a brisk pace the whole way. She carried her faithful knife on her belt, and packed a light bag with only the most essential items and rations.
For a girl who had lived the royal life, she seemed rather at home in the wilderness.
Girl? Woman? How old was Reina exactly? Marco realized he didn't know much of anything about his companion. That troubled him, considering he had just proclaimed the previous day that he would lay down his life for her.
"Can we rest here for a bit?" he asked as he came to a stop. His years spent in the dim library room didn't do his endurance any favors. He felt he would collapse if he tried to take another step.
The whole area around them was dusty flatlands, so everywhere was safe to rest. Reina whirled around, probably to reprimand him. But when she saw how much sweat was dripping down his face, she simply nodded.
Marco immediately plopped down and slurped some water from the small jug on his belt. After he gained back some of his breath, he asked, "How old are you?"
"What?" Reina was neatly munching on a cracker when the question suddenly came at her.
"It's just, if we're going to be fighting for our lives together, we should get to know more about one another. Build up trust."
"If you really want to gain my trust, you could tell me the recipe for the Shaping Potion."
Marco sighed. He really did want to build a stronger bond with Reina, perhaps even be actual friends. But the Shaping Potion was the one thing that guaranteed her continued support of his Hero life. Without it, what reason did she have to keep him around?
With her efforts only earning her a sigh, Reina said, "I am nineteen. You?"
"Twenty."
"Riveting," she replied flatly. "Are we best friends now?"
"Nevermind," Marco replied with a bitter tone.
They rested there for some time more without exchanging a single word.
****
By the time the sun came down, the two had set up camp near a rock formation that was the only point of interest on the vast flatlands. Since the king didn't allow them to carry money on the trial, they couldn't afford to stay at an inn even if there was one. Reina smartly brought a tool that allowed her to easily start a fire.
"For someone who has lived in a palace her whole life, you sure are adept at travel," Marco remarked.
"I didn't spend my whole life in the palace," she replied as she stoked the flame.
"Oh?" Marco said, exaggerating his interest. "Did your father take you traveling a lot when you were younger?"
There was a brief silence before Reina answered. It was just long enough for Marco to notice a hint of sadness in her eyes. "No. My father and I didn't have much time together."
"Right, right. I suppose the king is a very busy man."
"Exactly," she said. "Well, I feel quite tired. Will you be alright to take the first watch while I sleep?"
"Yeah, sure."
With that, Reina layed down and turned her back to Marco. It wasn't long before she drifted off on her makeshift pillow that was really just her bag. Marco watched her for a bit before he realized he was being creepy, and looked up at the stars instead. They were pretty as they dotted the black sky, but they also got old quickly because they were the same stars he saw back in Sunheight. So he looked at the fire as it crackled along, illuminating their tiny, rocky campsite. The fire looked just like a fire. And it was that earth-shattering revelation that ended Marco's first day of heroic adventure.
****
The next day, he was awoken by Reina poking him with a stick. "What? You weren't waking up!" was her answer to Marco's incredulousness.
They ate a silent breakfast and continued on their way.
The second day's journey began with more flatlands and soon gave way to grass. There was even a river that allowed them to fill their jugs and wash up. By following the river, they eventually saw the outline of a forest. The forest with a beast they still knew nothing about.
"Gramt Forest is up ahead," Reina said. "Once we reach the edge, we should set up camp again."
"Perhaps we should discuss our strategy for dealing with the beast," Marco replied. "I was always taught to assess what you're bringing into the battle first. You're carrying the same knife you had when I first met you. Are you skilled with the knife?"
Reina shrugged. "I can take care of myself. But shouldn't you be the one doing the fighting? Speaking of which, how are your skills with that sword?"
Marco looked at the longsword hanging at his waist. Truthfully, he wasn't very skilled with the sword. He wasn't very skilled with any weapon. Back at the Academy, while Leo and the others had long developed techniques with their preferred weapons, Marco was still trying them all out. But he wasn't about to tell Reina that.
"I'd say it's the weapon I'm most skilled with," he said.
"That means nothing to me," Reina replied flatly. "You went to the Dyon Academy, correct? So you must be on par with others from the Academy. How are your skills compared to say...Leo Baldew's?"
"You want to know how my swordsmanship compares to the guy people call the Sword Of Dawn?"
"I want to know you can do something!" she exclaimed. "I am placing my life in your hands and yet you seem to have no combat abilities."
"I saved your life," he shot back.
"By taking advantage of your surroundings," Reina said as she rubbed her temples. "Clever, yes. But you can't always rely on being clever in a fight."
"It's gotten me this far," Marco said as he quickened his steps, walking several paces in front of Reina. It was meant to be his way of ending the conversation.
It didn't work.
"I want to go farther than this," Reina said as she matched his pace. "Weren't you the one who said that we should get to know each other better?"
"I was talking about personality. Likes, dislikes. Our childhoods," he replied.
"How does any of that help us fight together?"
Marco threw his arms up. "By creating trust!"
"Trust means I know you can use that sword. It doesn't mean we have to share gossip like young ladies at court," Reina said.
"I can't imagine you sharing gossip," he replied.
"No, because gossip is something people use against you," she said.
"So you just live your life without friends?"
"My own brother sent us on this very journey hoping we die. Imagine what friends would do if I had them."
Since he had no way to respond to that, Marco simply stopped talking until they reached the edge of the forest. Reina didn't try to remedy that.
Just as with breakfast, they ate dinner silently. That night, Reina took first watch. But Marco's mind was racing too much to allow for rest, not to mention the hard forest floor did nothing to ease his aching and tired body. Reina was simply impossible. When she voiced her belief in him to the king, he thought it was sincere. That they could be partners. Now she spoke only of his combat usefulness and denied all attempts at friendship. Did she really only view him as a tool? A hired sword that could make a good potion? In that way she seemed like her siblings. Cordial as long as you were useful, but all too willing to disregard you if your usefulness ceased. Were all the royals like this? Were Heroes just glorified mercenaries to them?
These thoughts eventually made way for sleep, but it seemed like only minutes passed before Reina was poking him with a stick again. He watched camp and she slept until the sun came up. Then he gave her a taste of her own medicine with the same stick, and they headed into the forest. Somehow, someway, they were going to kill a beast.
****
There was a definitive dirt road that cut through Gramt Forest. If one followed it long enough, they would reach the border between The Kingdom of Irelios and the Gramt Empire. On that border was an outpost manned by Irelian soldiers. It was these soldiers that reported the beast attacks and requested Heroes in the first place, so the attacks definitely happened on the Irelian side of the road.
The very road Marco and Reina were walking on at that very moment.
The beast could attack at any moment, and yet they still had no plan. Every rustle of leaves, every snap of branches, even the calls of distant birds made Marco jump slightly. His eyes were constantly darting around, looking through the trees for any sign of movement.
After about the fifth time he was startled by a squirrel climbing a tree, he finally turned to Reina.
"I'm terrible with a sword."
She also seemed to be on edge as she snapped to meet his gaze. "Is that supposed to comfort me?"
"No, but I am great at running away," Marco replied.
"This just keeps getting better."
"What I mean to say is," Marco began. "During combat training, I was always the best at dodging. Even Leo had trouble hitting me. I actually defeated him once by avoiding him."
Reina raised her eyebrows at this.
Marco continued. "We did a combat exercise in how to fight when surrounded. The instructor had pairs of us stand back to back and fend off attacks from the entire rest of the class. It was me and Davis, a guy who wielded a rapier. Davis was amazing at parrying, but not the strongest attacker. So we stood back to back, Davis with his rapier and me with a longsword like this one. The others taunted us as they came, expecting an easy win. But Davis didn't let a single attack through. It wasn't long before they gave up on him and came only for me. What they didn't expect was that I was the scrawny son of a dock worker. The other dock workers' kids were bigger and stronger and bullied me all the time. Squirming and dodging to avoid getting hit was an art I perfected years ago. With Davis and his perfect parries at my back, I couldn't be touched. One by one, everyone eventually just gave up. Everyone except for Leo, that is. Mr. Perfect would never allow himself to surrender. Unfortunately for him, even Leo Baldew gets worn down. For probably the only time in his life, Leo left a huge opening after trying to attack Davis. I saw it, went for it, and managed to disarm him. Everyone was stunned. And, well, that's the one time I got the advantage over Leo."
"That is...very you," Reina said with a nod that seemed to be half impressed and half mocking.
"It will also be how we defeat the beast," Marco replied.
"How?" Reina asked. Then immediately her eyes locked onto his with a look of recognition. "No."
"It'll work."
"Marco this isn't a training exercise."
"Do you have a better idea?"
She didn't. So it was that Marco and Reina stood back-to-back as they walked along the forest road, Marco looking forwards and Reina behind.
They stumbled along like this for an uncomfortably long amount of time. Reina was just about to call and end to the shenanigans when a sound came from the trees.
Click.
"Was that...?" she asked.
Click. Click.
It was indeed.
The beast had come for them.