It was already dark as the carriage was moving slowly, not so far away from the city.
Layla leaned out from inside through the window, looking at the gates that were the entrance leading to the capital, not so far away from them.
"Is that..." Layla smiled widely. "The Capital!" She yelled in excitement.
Orion grabbed her by the hips, pulling her back inside. "Don't lean out the window or you'll fall!" He groaned, pushing her onto the seat softly.
Alaric flipped a page of his book, not paying attention to anything around. Lancelot was asleep.
She crossed her arms, frowning. "You won't let me have at least a bit of fun, aren't you?" She pouted, pressing her shoe against his.
"Ouch! Stop that!" Orion kicked her shoe softly.
"No way in hell, hehe~! Unless-" Layla paused dramatically, poking his forehead a couple of times. "You lend me some f-r-e-e-d-o-m, idiot!" She winked.
"You are too careless! There is no world where I'd let you roam around without supervision!" Orion said firmly. There was no way that he's gonna change his mind.
Layla shook her head in denial. "But it's a big city! It's the capital! It's- uhh... what was it?" She rubbed her ear, trying to remember the name. "Alisford!" She huffed.
"-Especially in the capital, Layla." He added.
Layla hugged herself, wiggling around in frustration. "Unfair! Unfair! Stupid! Idiot!" She murmured under her nose.
Elaine played with a strand of her hair, smiling softly. "Layla-" She offered her hand to her. "Would you like to take a job from me?"
Layla's eyes widened and immediately shifted in Elaine's direction. "Huh?!" She was instantly excited.
Orion smirked, knowing what Elaine was trying to do. "She has already taken a job, Elaine. From what I remember, and I can assure you that I remember, in the guild rulebook, there is a rule- An Adventurer can't take two jobs at the same time."
Elaine's smile widened. "I knew you'd say it, but I have some awful news for you, Orion~" She chuckled mischievously. "Electra accepted the two-way escort job, but the three of you are not forming an official party, therefore, it's safe to say that Layla is free and can accept my offer without abusing the rules."
She then tugged Alaric's sleeve. "Can you give me some money, Father?"
Alaric flipped the page of his book, not even bothering to look at her. "Yeah, sure, the luggage is in the drawer." He muttered.
Layla stared at her in excitement, almost jumping out of her seat as Elaine got up and opened the drawer, taking out the luggage.
"You've planned it all along, didn't you?" Orion scowled.
Elaine shrugged her shoulders, taking a pouch of coins out of the bags and boxes. "Mhm," She nodded. "You know, Orion. You can be smarter, you can be stronger, but I have money." She smiled softly, tossing a small pouch to Layla, which she caught instantly.
"Damn nobles..." Orion said to himself quietly as Elaine packed the luggage back into the drawers.
Layla opened the pouch, taking a look inside through the small hole, her eyes widening in both excitement and uncertainty. Her heart beat faster, and a warm sensation ran throughout her insides as she thought about what she could buy with this much money. "Woah... a-are you sure? That's a lot of money..." She tried to play it off like she didn't want it, but her eyes sold her.
"Four silver and thirteen bronze. It's not much, but that's all I can give you for being my guardian for the time we'll be spending in the capital." Elaine sat down next to Layla, putting her hand into hers. "Deal?" She asked softly.
"Uhh... but that means I will be with you all the time?" Layla asked quietly, gripping the money.
Elaine nodded. "That's right. You will be by my side all the time, and do you know where we will be sleeping?" She smirked playfully, poking Layla's nose softly.
"Where?! Where?!" Layla asked, her excitement growing as Elaine was edging her.
Elaine cupped Layla's cheeks, looking straight into her big black eyes. "In the Royal Castle!" She said loudly, almost jumping in excitement.
"Really?!" Layla couldn't believe it, her heart beat becoming even faster, her cheeks burning slightly, but she hesitated a little as she saw how upset Orion was.
Orion just couldn't listen to any of this anymore. He stood up and opened the door, jumping onto the roof and hopping off next to Electra, frowning.
"Layla is out." He said, clearly annoyed.
Electra raised a brow. "Whadya mean, hatchling?" She asked, confused.
"She accepted a job from Elaine, and she will be by her side for the entire time in the capital..." He rolled his eyes. "That greedy girl... ehh... I can't with her anymore."
Electra smirked. "Let the kid have some fun, you're acting like some old geezer trying to protect his daughter from the world-" She paused, gripping the fabric of her skirt.
"Is something wrong?" Orion asked, worrying about her sudden pause.
She shook her head. "Yep. You know what~?" She looked at him smugly.
"Yeah? What is that new idea of yours?" He smirked back at her.
"Since Layla will be gone, let's drink all the goddamn night and finally have some fun!" She gave him a thumbs-up.
Orion finally realized that he's been constantly looking after Layla and that Electra is right. He needs to take a break. "You're right! I will finally catch a break!" He grabbed her wrist, pulling his and hers hands into the air.
Layla was on the roof, listening to them, and she thought that they were happy because she would be gone, rather than because they would finally stop traveling for some time. She clenched her fists, crying quietly as she hopped off to the door, opening it.
Elaine smiled softly as she saw her, curious about why she was crying. "Why are you crying, Layla? Did something bad happen?" She stood up, taking Layla's hands into hers.
Layla's teeth gritted as she wiped her eyes. "I have changed my mind-"
"-I'm taking the job." She said firmly, a hint of hate in her voice and eyes.
"Oh!" Elaine nodded in surprise. "I'm glad!" She chuckled.
About half an hour later, Electra was singing a song as the carriage was about to reach the gates of the capital.
All the lights coming from the capital were almost blinding, even tho they hadn't entered the city yet, they knew that it was alive, even at night.
She stopped singing, wondering how she could brighten Orion's mood. She nudged his shoulder playfully. "It's big, isn't it, hatchling?"
"Ugh... It's fine... I was never drawn to the big cities." He groaned, lying his cheek on his hand.
She sighed in defeat, shaking her head. "You know what?" She grabbed his ear, pulling on it.
"Hey! Stop that!" Orion grabbed her arm, gripping it so she would let go, but she didn't; instead, she pulled it even harder. "Ouch!"
"Under that armor, you still have those filthy old rags! You should buy new clothes, especially now that we are going to the capital, don't you think?" She smirked, her voice sounded mean, almost cold.
"I don't have money to buy clothes! If I did, I would've done it a long time ago!" He yelled out of annoyance caused by the ear-pulling.
She frowned in surprise, thinking that he had already lost everything. "Didn't you get money from the guild?"
Orion smiled awkwardly, his eyes flicking everywhere as he tried to avoid eye contact. "I don't have it anymore, hehe..."
"You... you fucking idiot!" She hit his head, a furious look on her face as she gritted her teeth. "What the hell do you mean that you don't have it anymore, huh?! Do I need to teach you how to use your money, you bastard?!" She grabbed his shoulders, gripping them tightly.
"I hid it in Layla's luggage." He rolled his eyes. "Didn't spend a coin from the reward." He added.
A look of confusion crept onto Electra's face. She was lost, not getting why he did it. "Why?" She grimaced.
"I felt undeserving of such a reward. I did nothing. Layla was the one who risked her life for my sake, so she deserved all of it." He said softly, looking down at his shoes with a faint smile on his face.
Electra smacked his head again, but this time it was softer. She wrapped her arm around his neck, looking down at the horses. "You can't do things like that." She said softly, pausing for a moment. "This world is cruel, you can't be kind, you can't be thankful, you need to fight for yourself." She sighed deeply. "We could say that your life is the priority."
Orion shook his head. "That's not how Almyra taught us to live." Almyra's face flashed before his eyes, making him experience a sudden burst of happiness.
Electra raised her eyebrows in surprise, smirking widely. "Almyra? Who's that~?" She nudged him with her elbow playfully.
"Almyra was the nun who raised me, Layla, and the others. I really, really love her, tho she used to exaggerate and overreact to everything. She was the kindest soul ever." He nodded to himself. "No, she was an angel living among humans."
Electra couldn't help but chuckle loudly, surprising Orion. He frowned, his smile replaced by an annoyed look. "Anything funny?"
"Nope!" She shook her head, softly pushing him to the side. "It's just that I've never seen you talk with so much love about another person..." Her smirk widened. "Excluding Layla, of course.
He clicked his tongue, looking away. "Whatever, you old hag."
"Oh~?" She traced her finger along the fabric of her skirt suggestively, pushing him with her shoulder. "You'd be surprised at what this old hag can do, hatchling~"
"Kill yourself."
After some time, the carriage stopped, already in the capital after all the check-ups and formalities.
Layla stepped out of the carriage first, looking around, wide-eyed out of excitement and amazement.
She was ready to run away just to catch a brief glimpse of the city.
It was already very late, but children were still running around. The stores were open. The Order of Knights was everywhere, patrolling and watching over everything.
"This is amazing!" She yelled in happiness, her heart pounding like crazy.
Elaine stood in the carriage, looking down at Layla. "Layla, come back here! We are going straight to the castle!" She paused for a moment, realizing that Layla should say goodbye to Orion and Electra. "Say goodbye to your friends and come back here, okay?"
Electra hopped off the driver's box, walking up to Layla. An old butler replaces her.
A portal appeared next to Layla, her luggage falling out of it.
Layla smiled, hugging Electra tightly before she could even say anything. "Bye-bye, Ellie! I will miss you! But I will probably have a lot of stories to tell you when I come back! I love you!"
Electra was stunned, but this time she hugged her back without any hesitation at all. "I-... I never thought I'd say it to anyone... but... I love you, too, Layla." She said, a faint smile on her face as her cold heart pounded loudly.
Orion stared at the two of them, not wanting to shatter the heartwarming moment that was happening between them. "Electra... you... In the end... are capable of being human... aren't you?" He couldn't help but smile.
Layla's expression hardened as she saw Orion. She broke the hug and walked up to him, a cold look in her eyes. "You wanted me gone so much, you could've asked for it earlier. I hate you." She said calmly, her voice filled with hatred, as she turned around and grabbed her luggage.
His eyes widened in surprise. "Huh?" He reached his hand out to her. "Hey, Layla! Wait!"
Electra didn't do anything. She didn't stop Layla, she didn't stop Orion, she just watched.
Layla walked into the carriage without saying anything else.
Alaric opened the small window, looking at Electea. "We'll meet up here in two weeks. At the same time. Understood?" He said firmly.
Electra nodded. "Yes, sir."
And here he was, Orion, just standing here, gripping his sleeves in confusion and anger. "Did Layla... did she just... abandon me? No... no... she would've never... u must've done something..." He teared up as the carriage started moving.
He turned around, looking at it for the last time. "Have fun, Layla!" He yelled, making sure that she heard him.
Layla just looked down at the carriage's floor, burying her face in her hands, already regretting what she had done.