Chapter 25: Their Capital.
The last of the masked demons were killed or captured and the Temple was cleared of their bodies. From the fifty workers and priests, only thirty remained alive. While twenty had died, to me it was surprising that was all. It happened not long before I woke up. I had been in a trance like sleep for over a day and the others decided to head to town guided by a few priests running errands. Luckily for me Taylor chose to stay. The demons that attacked the Temple were called the Lord's fanatics. A crazed group that held the demon supremacy teachings of the Demon Lord to a zealous degree going so far as fighting against the Goddess. The Temple had been their target long before Daryl ever came.
It began quietly and quickly as the fanatics created a barrier around the Temple, blocking out sound and calls for help. Then they charged in droves, murdering everyone in sight. The Temple workers however had their own set of skills especially in healing magic and managed to hide themselves, run or play dead. Taylor guarded the sanctuary doors as the fanatics tried to me. As she slew the last one, she was stabbed by a lucky blow and fell. I woke up not long after and the rest I already knew.
It was now the morning of the next day. With all that happened and how tired I was, I still hadn't spoken much about what happened. Lady Tillia stood in front of us, behind her was Daryl. They had somehow lived, managing to escape as the light from my magic distracted the demons. Daryl's legs had been cured by Marley while I was sleeping, had they not been he would never have stood a fighting chance. A fact Marley took a bit too much pride in.
"Thank you once more for saving our Temple," Lady Tillia bowed deeply. "If it weren't for you, a fate worse than death could have waited for us."
"We're glad to be of service," Ronalt replied with his usual seriousness. "However, I am concerned. With this attack, will you really stay here? Your lives are still in danger. More of the Lord's fanatics will surely come."
She smiled, "If we leave it would be the same as abandoning not only our faith but the people who believe and trust in us. Of course we'll hire an appropriate guard and be more vigilant."
Lara scowled, something rare for her, "These people… are they really the Demon Lord's servants? He's worse than I thought."
"His teachings are different to ours and he shares no love for humans but he is not one to attack the Goddess. There are always some who take things too far."
"But what about Daryl?" Lara looked behind her to where the man visibly grieved.
"This- if I hadn't come here…," he shook his head distraught.
"Daryl I have told you and will tell you once again, this is not your fault to blame," Lady Tillia faced him firmly.
"So you say, but I still do not belong here," he walked past her and towards us. "It's time I left."
"Do you not like it here?" Lady Tillia asked upset.
"Of course I do. It's been the most peaceful my life has ever felt but if me being here means being a danger to you, I can't do that."
Her expression became strained, "I- I do not want to part with you."
"Neither do I want to part with you," he smiled with a crushing sadness.
Ronalt coughed interjecting himself into the tender moment, "Daryl if I may be of assistance. Many passed yesterday, what is one more." He reached for the horn on his and with a tight twist and a flash of light removed it. "Take it and live here as a new man."
"What?" he was visibly disturbed as he stared at the horn that shouldn't so easily be removed. "It can't be, you're human?"
"Keep it a secret," Ronalt forced the horn into his hand. "I'm sure our Master Wizard can assist you in a new face."
Ardent nodded while smirking, "Certainly I could."
"It is a shame, I do like his current face," Lady Tillia commented. "Perhaps however a smaller nose and a beard may suit him."
"Would take but a moment," Ardent stretched his hand over Daryl's head and before he could even react, although subtle, his features morphed, his hair turned to a dark green, and a beard grew an inch from his skin. Ardent leaned back tiredly, "A permanent change does take quite a bit of effort."
"You-," Daryl was gobsmacked. Slowly he finished off his new look with Ronalt's horn. He certainly looked like a demon to me. "Thank you." He bowed.
Lady Tillia looked towards us, "You have done more than I could have asked. Ronalt, you know what it means for one of the horned tribe to have one horn such as yours do you not?"
He answered bluntly, "They are treated as outcasts, I know. It is a mark you'll have to bear."
Daryl nodded firmly, "And I will wear it with pride. So long as I can stay here with Lady Tillia, I can't ask for more." He took her hand lovingly.
"Then if that is all," Ronalt bowed politely as did we behind him, "we shall be off."
Lady Tillia curtsied in return, "I wish you the best and once more, thank you. Let the Goddess guide your journey."
"So she has and will," with those words Ronalt turned away and led us outside and into the carriage. Everything was ready and as I sat on the driver's seat a strange feeling spread through my chest. I had learnt a lot from coming to the Temple but at the same time I didn't know quite how to treat it. All I could do was face it slowly and hope for the best. I urged Pina onwards and we joined the road to the Demon's Capital. Another notch in our journey completed and finally calling towards the hopeful end.
*
After an hour on the road, Lara dropped onto the seat next to me from the carriage's hatch. She was oddly silent. I hadn't talked to her about what the Goddess had said. To be honest I wasn't sure how it would go. So we just sat next to each other saying nothing. Pina continued to pull the carriage as we moved through what seemed like an endless sea of trees. Occasionally we passed another carriage or the rare outpost but aside from that it was quiet.
"I saw you kissing Taylor yesterday," her words were sudden and caught me by surprise. Out of all the things she could say, I really wasn't expecting that one. "Are you two… do you two like each other?"
I sighed internally hiding my internal strife, "Taylor confessed to me and we're giving it a shot… I think. I do like her, and she's important to me but I don't know if it's more than that."
"That already sounds pretty heavy," Lara moped and held her legs to her body.
A memory of a time like this seeped into my brain. It was me as Jane. In our final year of high school together, a girl had taken an interest in me and we started to date. It only lasted a few weeks but during that time Lara had become distant from me. In the end the girl broke up with me because she couldn't stand my close relation to Lara and accused me of being a cheat. The me now understood fully just how I felt about Lara. To me she was my best friend and like a sister. That's how Jane felt, that's how I felt now and that's how Lara saw Jane as a friend and brother. We practically were. Although she couldn't understand why, she was probably feeling a concerned anxiety. If a sister of mine started to date someone, I'd feel the same. Even if I knew them, I wouldn't be able to rest easy.
I sighed out loud this time, "Lara I talked with the Goddess."
"You did?" she caught on to the new topic thankfully quickly.
"Yep, she's kind of mischievous and not in a great way." Just remembering her last words to me filled me with frustration.
"What did she say?" Lara asked anxiously.
"Hmmm," I had to think about what to say. Even in this world filled with magic what happened was far stretched. In fact if Lara hadn't come here, I wouldn't have believed any of it. "Well… do you remember the day you were summoned here?"
"Yeah," she nodded. "I appeared in the throne room and the Queen and a bunch of people where there. It was just like those novels I used to read."
"No, before that."
She had to think, "I-I was with Jane walking in the park near our house. There was a sudden storm and then a circuit of light. Before I knew it Jane was gone and I was in the throne room."
"About that… I-Jane may have done something a bit stupid afterwards."
"What do you mean 'stupid'?"
"He followed you."
In a flash she stood up, "Where!? Do you know where!? We need to find him."
"Calm down a second and let me finish," I waited for her to sit back down. "See he didn't follow you like how you were summoned here. He couldn't. Instead he made a deal with the Goddess. In trade for his existence, he would be reborn here."
"Is that why I've been forgetting about him?" Lara paused, "But I'm remembering now! You know him as well! That means he's still here somewhere."
The next part was difficult for me to say. For one part it was awkward, for another I really didn't know how she'd react. "About that," I faced her with a soft smile, "it turns out I'm Jane."
"What?" her expression froze to disbelief.
"Oh come on, it makes sense doesn't it? The Goddess confirmed it. Though I'm only getting bits and pieces of the old me still," I tapped my head.
"Jane!" the next moment her arms were wrapped around me, squeezing me tightly. The carriage swerved and Pina complained as I was pushed. I let go of the reins and instead gently held Lara. "I-I was so scared. So much happened. They taught me how to fight, to use magic! I couldn't just say no to them…." She was crying into my chest.
"It must have been hard," I brushed her hair and held her. More memories of times like this flashed through my mind. From our younger years when she was afraid of the dark, when she failed that test in school, when our dog passed away…, memories that didn't quite feel like mine but were.
"I always wanted to see you again," Lara's grip on me tightened. "You're actually here right? This isn't a joke right?" Her upturned eyes looked into mine.
"I'm really here, but please call me Rain. Honestly I prefer how I look now," I sighed. "I'm starting to remember how much of a cry baby you could be. So much for being a Hero."
She leaned away and glared at me, "Hey I've been through a lot! This is only the second time I've cried since coming here so cut me some slack. It's just… I can't believe this is happening."
"To be honest I can't either." Seriously who came up with this twist of fate? It was hurting my brain. "Are you okay now?"
She took a breath and wiped her eyes, returning to her normal sitting posture as I took Pina's reins again, "I'm fine."
"Good," I frowned. "I'll say this now. I don't remember everything so don't expect too much from me."
Lara laughed, "That's just like you. Even as Jane you were a realist, though I preferred how you looked before. When we were kids do you remember dressing up together? People used to think we were sisters."
A pit opened in my stomach filled with a self-loathing and regret. The memory came back to me, and worse still it had continued long after we were kids and even to our later years.
"I-I don't want to think about it," my lips curled in distaste.
"I'm a bit conflicted though," Lara sighed.
"Why?"
"Because you're here and we're about to face the Demon Lord. It's going to be incredibly dangerous. I already didn't want anyone to die, but from here on even more so, please be careful."
"I could say the same to you," I patted her head. "Don't worry I'll be fine." Seriously though no matter what happened to me I wouldn't die… at least permanently.
"And about Taylor," Lara looked straight ahead. I froze up. I forgot we had been talking about that earlier. "She's a good person. A little rough around the edges and a bit of a pervert but I like her. I-I hope she treats you well."
"Thanks," I smiled. "It means a lot to hear that from you."
"It means a lot for me to be able to say it," she smiled back. It was a bright smile that splintered in my mind, bringing back sights of her I never knew I had but there was also something else in there I hadn't seen before. In the end, I couldn't figure out what and we continued forward. A piece of the puzzle solved and my life a little more complicated.