As a member of the royal guard, this woman had a standing that was higher than most regional nobles, like Aunt Miranda, so my attacking her like that may cause problems.
I was scared about what would happen but seeing my distress Erik placed a hand on my shoulder.
He said, "She insulted a spirit, their contractor, a survivor of the orc attack and the nephew of the nobles they are staying with for the night."
"Even if spirits aren't as respected here as they are in the elven kingdom and with spirit summoners being so rare, the king wouldn't stand for insulting them. If he heard about this she would have been punished later if not now, possibly even executed."
I nodded. My worry lowering but not subsiding.
(they didn't question the act of violence as they understood I needed a way to vent my anger and spirits can be considered higher beings by many, especially elves and half-elves like Erik)
We quickly positioned her on a chair so she had a better place to rest and recover.
"Why is she here?" I asked while stretching my back after getting her in a comfortable position. With all that armour she was very heavy.
"We don't know yet. The carriage she arrived in got here half an hour ago while you were still out. She had a royal decree to use our mansion for the night and they will head out tomorrow." Erik explained after sitting down a pouring himself a glass of water from a pitcher on the table.
"We have no idea about why they are here." Miranda jumped in "but we have to comply because of the royal decree. Thankfully we know they aren't bandits who killed the actual guards and put on the armour. I met 2 of the guards years ago and could recognize them, including her." she pointed to Sophia.
I nodded
"That's odd. The royal guards are the personal bodyguards of the royal family, aren't they? Doesn't that mean one of the royal family is nearby" I said
(yes this family knows I am smarter than I should be at my age. They find it easier to just not question it.)
Terra's face perked up and I could tell what went through her head 'Could a prince be with them!' all young girls dream about marrying a prince so it was not surprising.
Miranda shook her head "We would have been informed if that was the case. Sometimes the Royal Guards will be sent out on personal matters from the king but it's rare. Though we should wait until Sophia wakes up before we start making assumptions"
We all nodded and I sat down on a chair with Volt lying down next to me.
I saw Miranda look at him but didn't say anything.
Erik spoke up first "Terra told us about Volt and how you are a Spirit Summoner. Is that correct?"
I nodded and said "If you want to talk to him you can. He can understand you, I will translate for him."
Miranda looked at me then Volt and nodded.
"Thank you for guiding us to Jack, You saved his life. If there is anything I can offer as thanks please let me know," she said
Volt started to speak to me and hearing his response shocked me a bit
Are you sure that is all you want? It's a little cliche don't you think?^ I asked him through our telepathic link.
^Yes. I do not need anything else.^ he responded
^Ok.^
I turned to my aunt "He says it wasn't a problem and that he doesn't need much but if you are offering, he asked that so long as I live here he would like fish to be prepared for him to eat."
She looked confused "Is that all he really wants?" realizing she made a slight mistake she turned to Volt and addressed him directly. "Sorry is that all you want."
Volt nodded his head.
Miranda looked confused but complied "We will need to talk about that later when we don't have..." she glanced at the still unconscious Sophia. "non-family members present."
We both nodded.
We continued to talk a bit about me and Volt. I gave them the fake story I told Terra earlier, just a bit more detailed.
They did ask about Brakos but I lied saying I didn't know him.
After a while, I noticed Terra looking at Volt with curiosity and I smirked to myself.
She loved animals, especially fluffy ones. Even if Volt wasn't an actual animal, that didn't stop him from looking like one.
When Terra noticed me looking at her she shrunk away slightly but quickly built up the courage and asked. "Is it alright if I pet you, Volt?"
Everyone was surprised by her question aside from Volt who looked content and nodded.
Terra's face lit up and she walked over and started petting Volt on the head and scratching behind his ears. I could tell he liked it.
"He's so soft!" she said excitedly.
Both her parents had surprised expressions but seeing neither me nor Volt react they relaxed seeing that nothing bad was going to happen and even smiled seeing their daughter petting a tiger like it was a pet dog.
While she pet volt I turned towards Miranda and Erik.
"What did you want to talk to me about?" I asked
Both of them turned to each other and then to the unconscious Sophia.
"If she isn't moving right now it means she won't wake up for a while," I said reassuring them it was fine to talk.
They both nodded hearing my explanation.
Terra hearing this sat down in a chair next to me but still reached over and petted Volt who seemed to enjoy it a lot.
Erik breathed out and spoke first.
"We know that despite your calm personality right now you are not doing well. We've known you for this long, it's not hard," he said
"With everything that happened, we want to know if you are alright with staying here with us until you come of age. We know you don't like being a noble, at no point will we force those kinds of things on you, we just want a place for you to grow up as if you were... well..." he said trailing off not willing to bring up the attack right now.
I looked at him, let out a sigh and said "You're right I am not doing great right now but finding ways to distract myself is helping. As for your offer, I am ok with it. I have no problems with staying here so long as I am not dragged into any political affairs or fancy parties."
He let out a sigh of relief as he wasn't sure I would accept.
Miranda then spoke up "We have already prepared a room for you when we finish up here we will bring you over. If you need anything just let us know."
I nodded
"Now as for... Thornbranch, Erik will be going with some of the Guards while I will stay here. While he is there, he will be handling matters and collecting the remains to bring them to any remaining families and look for any more survivors. Alex and Draven will be brought back here and buried as well."
"Before we go do you know where any important things would be, some hiding places survivors might be hiding in or anything from your home you want us to collect."
I let out a deep sigh and spoke "I do have some ideas but I want to return to Thornbranch with you."
Everyone other than Volt looked at me with surprise.
"Y-you want to return to Thornbranch?!" Miranda asked
I nodded "Yes. It will be easier if I guide everyone and I have some things I need to check on. Plus I want to say goodbye to everyone before they are put to rest." I said not telling them about me creating a list of the dead.
Miranda and Erik looked at each other but relented and said. "Ok you can come but if you don't feel well let us know, ok."
I nodded
Terra moved over and gently hugged me like an older sister and said "I will go to. I can keep an eye on Jack if a problem arises."
I rolled my eyes but didn't say anything, I knew my mental state wasn't great so having her there might be a good idea.
Both her parents didn't argue as that was a good idea as we have been close for years.
"We will leave tomorrow around 10 AM and should arrive in 3 days. Pack up some things and be ready by then ok" Miranda said.
We both nodded and Terra released me from her hug but didn't move away and remained sitting next to me.
We talked for a few more minutes when Terra asked "Is she ok? She hasn't woken up yet" while pointing at the unconscious Sophia.
I looked over at Sophia and noticed that she still hadn't even moved.
^Did you break her?^ I spoke to Volt through our connection
^No... she should have woken up by now, or at the least moved... unless... her mind was weaker than normal. Try waking her up, if not then we worry.^
I got up and walked over to Sophia noticing that she hadn't moved an inch and tried slapping her face to wake her up
"Hey wake up!" I said, "We aren't going to wait forever for you!"
she didn't move
^Try pouring water on her face.^ Volt said
I picked up the pitcher of water, noticed it was cold and poured it on her head
her eyes bulged open and she screamed "AAAHHH! COLD!"