Scene Six: Unspoken
...Of Act One: Enter Ryoku
In the eyes of Ryoku Dragontalen, we are in
The Lamenting Lion Inn, in the world of Harohto.
It is late night
On November 6th, 2017.
"You lot look drenched! Travelers from outside the city, I presume?"
Will nodded, pushing drenched hair from his face as he addressed the polite young innkeeper. "From Bytold. We spent nights in the Old Forest on our way, so this will be a treat."
Sira was eyeing the people of the inn like a guard dog, watching the trio of big men watching us at a nearby table, the girl who twirled her braid between her fingers coyly, and especially the figure who leaned near the door in a brown cloak that shrouded his face. "We should get settled quickly. Do you offer food in-room?"
The innkeeper nodded. "Of course. Will you be taking one room, or multiple? Meal included, they go twelve gold apiece."
Will grimaced, glancing into his satchel uneasily. "That is a steep price," he muttered under his breath. I couldn't speak with experience, but I knew it was twice the price of the Fallen Unicorn in Bytold. He looked questioningly at Sira. "Two rooms?"
She scowled at him. "Why waste money? Just one suits me, so long as there's room and a damned shower." With a lasting glare at the cloaked stranger near the wall, she added, "Makes it easier to keep an eye out for each other."
"Alright, I'll see to it," the innkeeper replied with a short bow. I tried to note the gesture, since what my first friend here taught me seemed foreign in these parts. He plucked a key from the wall, spun it on his ring finger, and went upstairs to check out the room. While he was gone, Will leaned against the counter to face us.
"Seems we will wait out the rain here tonight. The clouds earlier suggested this is a brief storm. Should be gone by tomorrow, and we can go about our business."
"You call this a storm?" Sira retorted. "Go to Orden once, I dare you."
He smirked, but went on. "Tomorrow we can check out the Registry at last," he said with a look at me. "I would like to go to the hospital as soon as time allows. We can check out the smithy and wherever else. I... want to see if you can wield a different sword, since the gladius wouldn't work for you. If all goes well, we may be able to set out against the Keeper before long."
"And once our mission is complete, I'll be headed out," I said. Both Will and Sira turned to me, looking quite surprised, but I glanced away. "I have a mission I have to carry out. We'll work things out here and do what we can against the Keeper. For your squad." I met Will's glance. "But then I must go. I have things I have to do."
The door opened behind us, letting a freezing breeze into the room that made all three of us shudder as a young couple entered, tucking away a drenched umbrella as they came in. The wind blew astray the hood of the cloaked man near the door, which he hurriedly fixed. Still, I caught a glimpse of stark-white hair. Could it be...?
Unconsciously, I took a step toward the figure. He turned his head, and I saw violet eyes that regarded me levelly. It was him. When he realized I saw him, he wrapped his cloak around himself and ducked out the door before it could shut, disappearing into the storm outside.
"What the...?" I murmured to myself, stunned.
"What was that about?" Will asked me. "Did you know him?"
"I traveled with him," I told him quietly. "Kioru was his name. He's the one who helped me reach Bytold. He gave me the bag, my knife. He met me right when I appeared in the woods, like he was waiting for me."
"Stay the hell away from him."
I turned in shock. Sira stood on my other side, but she had an oddly wary look in her eyes. She even looked a little pale. "Why? He helped me—"
"Room's all checked out," the innkeeper's voice made me jump. He tossed the key to Will, who caught it as easily as he did back in the Fallen Unicorn. "First one on the right up the stairs. I can have dinner brought up to you in about a half hour. Enjoy your stay, lady and gents."
"Absolutely," Will assured him with a polite grin, and led the way up the stairs.
We passed a fogged window at the top, where I briefly paused to stare out into the storm outside. Rain raced down the panes of glass in rivulets. It was now pitch-black outside, with only the odd sheltered lantern and lightning to offer any solace to the darkness. Rainwater poured from the rooftops in sheets to the cobblestone street below.
I saw a brown-cloaked figure darting down the road beside the inn where we stayed. He stopped in the middle of the road, raising his hooded head to the sky. I could see the white tinge of his hair from here. A clap of thunder slapped across the sky like the very world fell victim to it, and the resounding flash left me blinking away spots. As quickly as the flash abated, Kioru was gone without a trace.
Will ushered me over as he was already unlocking our room. I followed him, looking at my new friends and wondering if they, too, might run from me in time, flinching at my name and braving storms to avoid speaking to me.
The room was much nicer than what we had in Bytold, which somewhat made up for the steep price. Still, I wasn't sure fitting three people in here was a comfortable idea. Three small rooms made up the interior. The main room was finished with hardwood, where a large, wood-framed bed with a plush-looking mattress sat with its back to the wall. Bookshelves lined the walls, save for the entries to the second room and the bathroom, as well as one part taken up by a fine maple wardrobe for our things. From what I could see, the second room looked to have only a folding bed with a window overlooking the city outside.
Will stretched his arms wearily. "I know not for the two of you, but exhaustion bears down on me. We should prepare for rest. Once our food arrives, that should be the end of my day."
I didn't quite relent, and turned to Sira as Will started unlacing his boots. "What do you have against Kioru, Sira? He helped me when I first got here. So did you, so I'd say you're both good people."
She turned away, glaring out the distant window. "He's from Orden, too. Did he ever tell you that?"
A flash of lightning illuminated the second room, casting brief light on us. A chill crawled down my spine as I recalled my dream in the woods, but I shook it off. "No, but you're from Orden too. I don't see how the home automatically makes you a person of evil nature. Or should I learn differently by you?"
She was quiet for a moment, kneeling to unlace her own boots. I realized I was baiting her to snap at me. Why was I so uneasy?
"Just trust me," she finally muttered. "He was in bad company last time I saw him. Anyway, are you going to soak the whole place or take off your wet stuff? I, for one, would prefer our inn room remains dryer than outside."
I decided to listen, but I wasn't going to let that point fade altogether. I had an easier time with my boots, kicking them off by the door, and I joined the others in putting my weapons and bag in the wardrobe. Will rifled through his bag quickly, and then ducked away into the bathroom. He returned in a dry undershirt and beige pants. Without his tunic and armor, I usually forgot that Will was quite well muscled. He had a faded scar across his shoulder that almost looked like a wide streak of lightning, but far more jagged.
With a lack of dry clothes, I borrowed an extra shirt and pants from Will to change into. Sira changed into black sweatpants and a baggy shirt, which still did nothing to hide the appealing curvature of her figure. While we waited for our dinner to arrive, we crowded together on the couch in the second room. The scent of rain still filled the room, but I was close enough to my two friends that I felt comfort in their increasingly familiar scents. Will always carried an earthy smell to him that reminded me of the forest, and Sira had a sweet fragrance that made me imagine flowers stained with blood.
"So, you plan to leave Harohto after we finish up with the Keeper?" Will asked.
I nodded. "I'm not all too sure where I have to go yet, but I can tell it isn't Harohto."
"What is your goal?" he asked in turn. His abruptness surprised me. He'd asked before in the Old Forest, but now there was a different fire to him. It was a question that, more or less, he wanted a real answer to. At my reaction, he chuckled lightly. "Come now, friend. Surely you do not still doubt me after all we have been through. Perhaps you are not quick to trust, but we have been through a great trial together. If anything, I feel a little more worthy to know your truths."
"What's there to be scared of?" Sira demanded. "If we didn't want you around, there was literally a whole forest to ditch your sorry ass in. You think you could outrun us in that twisted old wood? Or survived a fall off that plateau? Sorry, kid. You lived because we wanted you to."
I wasn't sure whether to take comfort in that, but her look was anything but angry. "Do you even know how to cross worlds yet?" Will asked gently. "Leaving Harohto involves that. If you wish to leave, you would do well to learn how, or find somebody who does."
I glanced down. "My goal is... complicated." I found it difficult to speak for a moment. Why was I so nervous to explain my reasoning to these two? They were not the first I had to explain my motives to. If I told the whole story, it'd be far easier. "I'm looking for someone. Finding this person... is going to help me find somebody else. Somebody who I've almost given up looking for in my own world, and something tells me I can find out more here. That is... if the person I'm looking for was telling the truth."
Sira stared at me. "Okay, weirdo. Now tell it again, but not vague as all hell."
"It does sound complex," Will agreed. "You have been looking for somebody for a long time?" To my relief, he didn't seem to recount what we talked about before. I didn't feel like talking about love in front of Sira, and this had nothing to do with it.
"Okay," I started, and took a deep breath. Telling a story to these two might require more patience than I had. "I'm looking for the person who taught me how to come here. A spirit, presumably, who appeared before me in my own world. He asked me for my help – to save him from something. He didn't quite elaborate, promising I would find out more when I got here."
"Was it Kioru?" Sira asked sharply. "Cause that bastard doesn't need saving."
"N-No, it wasn't him," I told her. "I half-expected him to be here when I arrived, but there was Kioru instead. While I was hoping to find information about my charge, I didn't ask Kioru. I couldn't be certain that he was on my side."
"Understandable," Will said, and Sira nodded furtively. "So you seek to save somebody from... somewhere in the spirit realm. You surely understand just how many realms are out there, right? Seeking one person in them is farfetched, even for you. You seem like a good, kind person who would have done exactly for Sira and I what we have done for you, but..."
"But I have to," I insisted. Something about the tone of my voice made focus on me. "There is some kind of connection between us. It has to be how he found me. And if that connection exists, if I didn't imagine it... then maybe he can help me find my sister."
I began to speak mostly to myself, and Sira and Will both regarded me sharply. "Your sister?" Will asked. "So by connection, you mean perhaps a blood relation."
"Is your sister a...?" Even Sira couldn't finish the question.
"To be honest, I don't know," I said quietly. Speaking the words aloud made them somewhat more real, and I felt the double-edge of the words against my tongue. "Last time I heard from her, she was, but I can't contact her. I've tried really hard."
"You're separated from her," Sira realized aloud.
"We are both foster children," I explained. "Our mother and her entire side of the family died in a horrid fire five years ago. My father isn't in the picture. Her father, my stepfather, died in a tragic accident a year later. After that, nobody would take the two of us in. Not our stepmother. Not my father. Nobody on my stepfather's side. We were considered cursed children. After all, who goes through that kind of suffering all at once?"
Sira put a hand on my arm, which almost shocked me out of the darkness I was crawling into. "You're not cursed," she insisted. "I mean, it's pretty shitty luck to have met me, but you did meet Will."
I almost laughed. Not quite. "I have a godfather. Even he can't do anything because, apparently, my blood father is still alive according to government law. Also, he's not a guardian to my sister. Half-sister, if you didn't figure that out." I took a deep breath. "So we both went into the system. I guess we were treated differently. I didn't put up much of a fight. Being a few years older than my sister might've done it, but I think I was just tired. I reacted differently, and so I found a new home easily.
"But Roxanne, she wasn't the same after our mother's death," I went on. "She was listed as a more difficult foster child. Level three, they call it. Complicated kids who act out. They're problematic, and need certain foster parents to take them in. It meant we were separated, and I was left with no way to contact her. Even my social worker can't connect us. Not until she settles down."
My comrades kept silent. I wasn't sure if they could hear the emotion in my voice, the tears written behind my words. "And so I need to find him," I said softly. "The only person left in the world with a connection to me, who might have a connection to her."
"What is his name?" Will asked. He sat on high alert, reminding me of some kind of mastiff with the way his shoulders curled defensively. It almost looked like he would run off at the mention of the name, returning only with the boy caught in his teeth, dropping him at my lap. If only it were that easy.
I drew a breath. I hadn't spoken the name aloud to anyone yet, even my friends involved in the same world. "Chris Olestine."
Sira turned away quickly. I wasn't sure if it was related to the name or not, but she didn't meet my glance. "Okay," Will said, "and do you have any clues to go on? Anything about... his looks? Heritage? Those hailing from a certain word tend to clump in characteristics, even spirits."
"Ordenites have odd colorings to their hair," Sira muttered, still not looking at me. With a stray hand, she parted her hair behind her ear, and I could see a black undertone to her hair. "Even spirits."
"You met many of my squad," Will said. "You might be able to notice kindred qualities to us, even though none of us are related."
"Big and dopey," Sira muttered, "tall as a fucking tree, and about as smart."
She startled a laugh out of me, and Will glared at her. "No, I don't think he looked much like either of you."
"Then again, you did say he was a prisoner somewhere," Will recalled. "He could be in an alien world. If we had some roots to go off of, perhaps we could still find which world he came from and start there."
I shook my head sadly, not fully listening to Will's words. "There's a lot I don't know," I said softly. "I don't know where to begin. Chris taught me how to get to the spirit realm. Kioru got me to Bytold. Will, you got me out of that stupid bar, then through the old forest. Sira, you too. Now, I need to figure things out for myself. I need a plan of action, to figure out where to go. After we deal with the Keeper, I have to press on. If I can—"
"There's a damned lot of I in that statement," Sira muttered. "You think we're just gonna fuck off after we get your help, don't you?"
She turned to me, and I looked into her fiery eyes, lit by a startling amount of emotion. "What do you mean? Will has his squad, and you..." I trailed off. Had Sira mentioned what she was going to do?
Sira didn't relent. "I remember thinking you might be smarter than you looked when we first met. You had that dopey look on your face, having slept forever after you nearly drowned. Well, it looks like I was wrong. You're pretty dumb, Ryoku Dragontalen."
"Perhaps you are being a little presumptuous, Sira?" Will asked gently. "We know very little ourselves. We both stumbled upon this idea in the most inopportune ways. Myself, from stepping in on a one-sided bar brawl. For you, simply being in the right place at the right time." He looked at me, and a wistful smile lapsed across his face. "Truth be told, it seems very little like a coincidence."
I frowned. "What are you talking about?"
"It could be simple coincidence, but I have my doubts," Will went on. "Meeting you, that is, in the ways that we did. Finding you as you stumbled your first steps into our realm, seeking something that could be far more important than it seems. For me, it was as simple as stepping in to save you, but finding that our lives might be intertwined in a less apparent way. Choosing to guide you through the woods was hardly even an option for me – it was a necessity. You see, I needed to see where this journey would take you. What sort of passion drove you to coming this far, even if it had been on your own."
He gave Sira a sheepish smile. "I sound foolish. I have never been quite so good at placing my thoughts into words."
"Yeah, you sound like you're about to propose," Sira muttered wryly, but she was hiding a smile with her fingertips. "Maybe it makes a little more sense coming from me. I mean, how the hell would I end up here, of all places? Running from Orden, this is damned far, and pretty coincidental, or whatever. I zeroed in on one of the highest-paying missions on that stupid bounty board with no clue what I was gonna do after. Make some cash, then what? Keep running?" She scoffed. "No, I landed right where I needed to, at just the right time. I never really was a believer in fate or whatever, but..."
"Okay, you guys both sound really weird," I murmured. "What are you trying to say? That you ran into me for a reason?"
"Nothing creepy, like where your mind is going," Sira snapped. "To help you. And, in the same breath, to help us. To fix this annoying feeling of unrest I've carried for a long time."
"This could resolve a great deal of issues," Will agreed. "You see, Ryoku, the spirit realm is a great, vast, and ever-changing place. Were you to leave and come back in a year, it might be very different. I spoke to you already about worlds that die, but some can change, too. Many worlds with unstable origins can accelerate time at rapid rates."
"Orden is one," Sira told me. "Orden runs on a different sort of season than the rest of the spirit realm. So I could leave and come back, and it could accelerate ten, fifty, a thousand years. Not much seems to keep it in place."
I frowned. "That sounds insane. How does that make any sense?"
"You walk in the realm of the dead while you still draw breath," Will said flatly. "You wield a staff capable of summoning fire. You fended off an ancient beast in the woods. Yet, you might tell us still about impossibilities?"
I cleared my throat. "Good point."
"It just works the same as any law," Sira added with a shrug. "Like Harohto gets four seasons, Vortiger gets two. Summer and winter. They change, very rapidly. You'll probably see one day if you're really unlucky."
"I am very unlucky," I pointed out. "But you guys are getting to something. What is it?"
They exchanged glances. "There was... a rather large change in the spirit realm, about two months ago." Will sucked in a deep breath, and I half-expected him to start singing or something, but he carried on in the same voice. "These worlds I have explained to you. They... have not quite existed in the same form this entire time."
"What do you mean?" I questioned. I touched the couch material gingerly.
"You see, something dire must have happened about two months ago," Will explained. "Sometime in September, something caused the spirit realm to rewrite its core structure. It was once split into realms of a sort, but not quite as myriad as they are now. It was simpler things. Worlds deigned to the elements. The Astral Plains, known as a central ground for spirits."
I started paying attention. Things had gotten weird for me in September, too.
"Things like Chaos and Peace," Sira elaborated. "Uh, your world might call those heaven and hell."
I raised a brow. "Those actually exist?"
"They did," Will explained, "up until a few months ago. Every spirit-born that used to be alive prior to that seems to be... gone. Erased. Now, only us spirits remember what used to be, and not quite... all of us. Or all that there is to remember, even. Matters took quite a serious dive."
Sira made an irritated noise. "You're tellin' me," she muttered. "All these thousands of realms popped up. Orden. Harohto. Syaoto. Thousands, literally thousands, of others. Spirits were split up among them, and..." She struggled to find the words, appearing thoroughly frustrated about it. "It's like something tried to make us fit. Gave us lives in these new worlds. It's fucking weird. Like, as much as I remember being alive, I also remember being a soldier of Orden for a long time. Since we need magic to cross the worlds now, too, I couldn't even leave."
Will shrugged. "Same here," he agreed. "I remember a full life in Syaoto. My father. The army. Everyone in it. I do recall being alive in your world.
"The point being," Will went on, turning his attention to me again. "Is that we do not remember our lives before."
"Only that the worlds changed," Sira scowled. "We remember it, but not why."
"Or how." Will sighed deeply. "Our memories appear to be deeply affected by whatever transpired here in September. Many Defenders do not seem to recall it, either, or else they are keeping quiet. Coming to a world that had changed quite massively, I do understand keeping quiet."
"Did you experience anything?" Sira asked me. "Anything at all?"
I frowned. "I'm not sure." I didn't feel right trying to explain my sudden change of heart between my ex, Anna, and a girl I dated when I was younger. I might tell Will later, but my feelings about Sira felt too complex to explain anything of the sort to her right now. But...
"I did meet Chris Olestine in late September."
Sira snapped her fingers. "That makes fucking sense," she agreed readily. "He must have something to do with it! And in association, you..." She looked me dead in the eyes, and there was that fiery passion in them again. "You must have something to do with it. You have to. I can tell."
"Possible answers," Will agreed, looking at me as well. "Our quests may intertwine, Ryoku Dragontalen." There was a knock at the door, which made all three of us turn sharply. Will smiled sheepishly. "Right. Food."
We got up to get the door, where a team of four chefs awaited with platters of food. There was a roast beef with stuffing, corn on the cob, mashed potatoes, a bowl of seasoned fettuccine alfredo, and a full Caesar salad garnished with parmesan. Thanking the chefs profusely, we returned to our couch, where Will pulled out a table from the bedside to put our food. The chefs provided cutlery and paper plates, so we loaded ours up for our first proper meal in days – honestly, my first in my time in the spirit realm.
We kept the conversation lighter while we ate, simply talking about the quality of food, the storm, our travels through the forest, and light gossip about the town. The consumption of food started to make me sleepy.
However, when we all ate our fill, the food was pushed aside. I found Sira and Will facing me once more. I gulped. They'd been waiting until the food was done.
"Ryoku," Will started. "I doubt very much that our meeting was by chance."
"I outright deny that it was," Sira agreed. "Coming to Harohto to run away from Orden? I had to be delusional."
"We do have other things to achieve," Will reasoned. "I must find my squad. Even if they are spirit-born and may have little to do with this ominous, ultimate truth, they are my family."
Sira shuddered. "And I just have to run from Orden."
I regarded them both sleepily. "I have to find Chris and my sister. That's my priority."
"What if they were linked?" Will asked me. "Even the matter of your world and its lifespan. What if the longevity of your world was linked to what happened here in September?"
I hesitated. "But the world has been dying since I was young."
"Who knows if the change was immediate?" Sira asked. "Maybe it was a long time coming. Maybe something dozens of years ago triggered something and we don't even know it."
"That sounds like you're reaching," I pointed out.
Sira threw up her hands. "Maybe I am," she complained, "but there is a reason. And I think the three of us can figure it out."
I felt like I was a mile behind the conversation. "You mean, you guys want to help me? To save Chris, and find my sister?"
Will and Sira exchanged glances. "Is he stupid, or are we not explaining this properly?" Sira asked him dryly.
He shrugged. "How easy is it to explain something we do not fully understand?"
They shared an odd look between them. "What are you...?"
Without a word, Will and Sira got to their feet. I stood as well, hesitant, and they both retreated to the main room. I stood there awkwardly, wondering if I'd just said something wrong. Sira returned with her naked broadsword, and Will with his wood-handled lance. As I was wondering what I'd possibly done to turn these two against me, they dropped to one knee in front of me, weapons crossed over their upraised knees.
"Ryoku Dragontalen," Will began, taking a deep breath. "I no longer have reason to be in Harohto. Above all, it may be that my reason for being here was you. I must check with my squad, and we will deal with the Keeper, but this is the immediate future. Beyond that, I long to see my homeland of Syaoto again. My brave and noble homeland could offer you the truths you seek if we went abreast of one another. I can protect you. I know my way around medicine and herbology. Wherever our path may lead, I can guide you."
"Ryoku Dragontalen," Sira started without a breath's pause after Will. "I'm more than done with Harohto, too, once we get our money's worth of this place. You're still weak, and you could use a badass like me to look out for you. Really, there's nobody better for the role than me – forget about Will for a second. Together, we can unravel this shit-storm and figure out the truth. We can save Chris Olestine. We can find your sister. Whatever's going on in this world, we can solve it. I don't really care where we go, just as long as I avoid my home."
I stared at them both in stunned silence. They kept their eyes downward, staring at their weapons. "This is where you say something," Sira stage-whispered, keeping her eyes down.
"Uh," I started, pursing my lips. "Um. Well, this could be... a really dangerous road." I started to draw strength from my own voice. My whole life, especially with the loss of my family, that had been the source of my strength. "I feel like a great truth awaits me. Maybe it's the same one you guys are looking for, but it might not be. I don't know what to tell you. I don't know fully where to go, or what I'm supposed to do. I'll need to get stronger. I'll need experience, supplies, and gold. And..." I hesitated over the last thought, the one that had been on the tip of my tongue since the dream I had in the forest. "What if I have to go to Orden?"
Sira paled at the prospect, and I feared that whatever she was proposing, I was about to lose her. It was a hardly developed idea, and more of a gut feeling that clutched me like a dark hand. The shadowy figure in my dream, the dark emperor of Orden... what more did I have to go on?
Just as I feared she would up and leave, Sira lifted her chin and met my gaze head-on. "Then I'll go with you," she replied firmly. "I don't care. If it's with you, then I'll feel safe. I'll go wherever you go. I just... I sense that I can't just sit out on this. No matter what."
"I agree," Will cut in, his voice terse. If there was a playful smirk on his lips from Sira's words, then he hid it well. "So I, William Jesse Ramun, median-rank soldier of Syaoto..."
"...And I, Sira Midati Jessura, ex-knight of Orden..."
Their words came with an odd clairvoyance, an understanding between them that they must have rehearsed. Sira appeared both more emotional and more serious than I had ever seen her, and Will's professionalism was with the same heart he used when talking about his home.
In unison they concluded, bowing their heads over their weapons until their brows almost touched the floor.
"We pledge our services to you, Ryoku Dragontalen, the Defender, as your official Guardians!"
Somehow, in spite of the little I had learned about my role in these realms, I failed to see this coming. Will had briefly explained the role of a Guardian before, back in the Fallen Unicorn Inn. They were chosen spirits who served as guides and protectors to a Defender as they sought to complete their task and aid the people of the spirit realm. Seeing as I was a Defender – almost officially, as of tomorrow – that person seemed to be me. I clearly recalled the things Will said about Defenders, both who they were and how they should be. People expected better of them, but they hardly received it.
There was more to it. Looking at Will, I remembered how he led me down the path after our short rest at the rock, forgetting his friends to keep me safe. The moment in the tavern where he leapt in to save the day, hardly hesitating in order to protect me. The determined look in his eyes as he tried to protect me from the Keeper. The focused hunch in his shoulders as he worked his Moonwelt solution for my injuries. Every laugh, every smile, every private joke and the glint in his sapphire eyes through almost every moment as he guided me here through the Old Forest.
Sira. I remembered her eyes when I first looked at her. How she led me across the bridge, my hand in hers, and how she leapt into the raging river to save me. The feeling of her arm around my shoulder as she led me on. The fire in her eyes when she stood up for me, losing her shield in the process. The emotion just now in her eyes as she said she'd go anywhere with me – even the place that terrified her the most. There was a lot of emotion between us that made precious little sense for having met so recently, but I wondered if I could do this without her now.
The last thing I considered was my goals. To save Chris Olestine, to discover the roots that bound us and connected us to my sister. To fill the strange gaps in my memory and solve the mystery of the spirit realm. Along the way, I needed to learn the ways of this world and how to defend myself – I could hardly call myself a Defender without it. I needed to become self-reliant and strong somehow. For that, my two newfound friends would be invaluable.
"I accept your vows," I replied quietly. "As your Defender, I will do everything in my power to protect you."
Sira leered up at me. "Idiot," she muttered, but a smile danced across her lips. "We're the ones protecting you. Just let us do what we have to."
Will grinned as well. "If we are to journey together, I suggest making due course for my home, Syaoto. If your idea is correct about Orden, then Syaoto may be able to help. King Lionel is wise and bold in equal measure. If he cannot tell us with surety about the location of your charge, then he will help us with supplies and the means to find him."
After all Will said about his kingdom, I almost shared his longing to visit the place. "Okay," I agreed. "We'll make course for Syaoto after we're done here."
"One more thing," Sira said. "World travel isn't simple. In my case, I had to find a relic capable of world-crossing magic to cart just one person here. You could learn how to cast magic, but learning how to get exactly where you want to go, with passengers, is harder than you'd think."
"She is right," Will agreed. "If you learn magic, your best shot would be a random travel spell. Beginners learn it quite quickly, but, as the name implies, it does not always lead you exactly where you want to go. Our path to Syaoto may not be so linear, unless you wished to spend a very long time studying magic."
That didn't appeal to me at all. "No, we don't have time for any of that," I murmured. "Maybe we can find somebody capable of crossing worlds. If not, I'll learn the random spell, though I can't guarantee I can actually pull it off. As backwards as it sounds, heading to random worlds might be smarter than going directly there."
I thought they'd protest, but both nodded. "You need to get stronger," Sira agreed. "Syaoto would coddle the life out of you. No, you need random travel, so we can cross worlds, gain some intel, and work on getting you stronger. It might not be easy, but it'll be faster – and way more exciting – than learning how to cart your ass straight to Point B."
I smirked at her. "Done. I guess we'll figure that out as we go, then." Although I didn't voice it, I wasn't sure how much time I had to find Chris Olestine, let alone my sister.
Will smiled wearily. "If all is decided, then we should retire for the night. It has been a doggedly long day for us, and tomorrow may yet be as long."
I nodded my agreement. "Yeah, let's sleep." As Sira rose to put away her sword, I realized Will had set his things up in this room – on the one-person couch. Sira had set hers by the bed. Unconsciously, I'd set my own things down in the main room. "Uh, where am I sleeping?"
The cordial smile Will gave me was all I needed to see. "How could we make a Defender sleep on the couch?" he asked teasingly. "You will share the bed with Sira. She has the closest-range weapon so she may watch over you as you sleep. I am here, of course, to watch the window. Should anyone attempt to clamber through and make an attempt on your life, then I shall put them down swiftly. And, should somebody bust through the front door, then Sira and her giant sword would make quick work of them."
"Don't be ridiculous," I growled, dragging Will down to my level by the collar of his shirt. "Nobody's hunting me! You're just trying to—"
"Is there a problem?"
I halted, turning slowly to face Sira. Her hands were on her hips, a pillow tucked under one arm, and a sly grin on her face. "You wouldn't make a girl sleep on the couch, would you?"
"What? No!" I exclaimed, and shot Will a dark glare. "Will, why don't you...?"
Will tutted under his breath. "Your hesitation would not have to do with your previous scandals, would it? Perhaps out of chastity for the innkeeper in Bytold?"
Sira took a step closer. "What did you just say to him?"
I blanched. "N-Nothing, just..." I reserved a very dark look for Will, who choked. He quickly made it out to look like he was merely choking on a fistful of corn he'd snatched up, but I doubted Sira was fooled. I straightened. "Very well. Let's get off to bed."
"Good," Sira muttered. "I didn't want to give up that comfy-ass bed for your sake." She grabbed my hand and pulled me from the room. "Don't worry, kiddo. Nothing's gonna happen. I'll keep an eye open all night."
She shut the door to Will's room behind her, and I wasn't sure I liked the idea of any of this. Sira managed to be equal parts sexy and horrifying in a combination I might never be ready for. That, and Will swindled me into this, I knew it.
"Right side is mine," she announced as she moved to the respective side. I timidly moved to the other side. I contemplated sleeping without a shirt, but didn't quite feel safe enough, so I slipped under the covers. When I glanced back, Sira had shamelessly removed her shirt and pants, and was stretching luxuriously by the bed. I tried not to stare, and I knew she'd kill me if she turned around at that moment, but her well-cut figure drew my gaze. Her fitness was anything but unattractive, and her lack of clothing only served to embolden her features in a way I might never witness again as long as I lived.
As I watched her, I noticed the long, snake-like scar that ran from the nape of her neck to below the hem of her underclothes at the small of her back. It didn't look like an old scar, either. The high-necked shirt she wore before concealed it perfectly. It couldn't be a coincidence. My first thought was of her fear of Orden and the emperor. Had they done this to her?
"What are you staring at?"
I practically jumped out of my skin when Sira snapped at me. I wondered whether she had a third eye hidden somewhere on her back until I noticed the mirror wedged among the books on the shelf, where her crimson eyes beset into a glare.
"Haven't you seen a girl before, kid?"
I didn't know how to respond, so I retreated under the blankets where I might avoid the intimidating girl's wrath. I wasn't sure what scared me more about her: how easily she could kill me, or how easily I found myself falling for her.
My avoidance tactic didn't seem to work as she pounced on me above the covers. I let out a surprised noise of anguish and managed to wriggle my head free of the blankets, where I came face-to-face with her. Her expression wasn't murderous, really. Her delicate brows were furrowed, but she had a playful smirk written all over her face. Her sickly-sweet scent invaded my senses quickly.
"Gotcha," she murmured, and pinched me under the blanket. I nearly cried out, but caught myself as I remembered Will in the next room. "Next time you wanna check me out, why don't you check for mirrors first?"
I hesitated, staring into her mesmerizing, fire-like eyes. "Sira, that scar..."
Every bit of playfulness evaporated from her face. "Oh. That." She rolled off me in a fluid motion, settling in on her own side of the bed. "And here I thought you were lookin' at my ass."
I didn't want to admit that I, in fact, had spent a good minute looking at the details of her body as she'd moved. The fluidity of her movements, the way her muscles stretched as she bent over and, most certainly, her backside. I wanted to press her about the scar, too, but I could already tell that was a sensitive topic. We'd breached so many of those today, I wasn't sure if she could handle another.
"Get some sleep, kid," she murmured sleepily. "Like Willy-boy said, could be a long-ass day for us." She added a sleepy chuckle. "And not like it's the last chance you'll ever get to check me out, either, if that's what you want."
I felt myself blushing furiously. She fell asleep quickly, so I didn't have to worry about her reaction to that. After a time, I got to my feet and checked out the bookshelves. There was a vast medley of books, anything from Harohtian history to beginning magical theory. I plucked out a few and sat awake for a long time, reading well into the night.
...End of Act One.