The carriage rolled along uneven roads, rattling between bumps and brief stretches of smooth ground. Inside, Stephen was squeezed between two women, the jolts tossing them shoulder to shoulder.
Even if he didn't want to show it. He was incredibly nervous. Every look they gave him, every time one opened their mouth to ask him a question.
He could only imagine them saying.
"So you think running to another city would make you a free man? Oh, Third prince of Eldoria?"
He gulped, just as the carriage shook once more.
"Are we almost there yet?" One of them said, looking out to the front, to the driver of the carriage who pulled on the reins.
"Not yet!" He replied.
"I'm suffocating in here." She said, pulling the innards of her robes out to let air in. Then she looked at the both of them. "I guess we should start our introductions."
"Huh?" Stephen looked at her, eyes wide.
"I wanted to wait till we reached the site, but it's fine. Lets do it now." She said, then pointed to herself. "My name is Paisley. I'm a member of the secondary Mage Knight squad. You can call me Pax!"
"Oh." Stephen replied, calming himself down.
Then Paisley pointed across the carriage, to her three other subordinates.
"That there looking out the window all gloomy is Sully. The leader of our group," She pointed, then turned her finger. "And the one working on her bow head is, Marjorie. You can call her Marge."
"Don't do that." She remarked, still working on her bow head.
Stephen nodded in understanding, though half of this information wasn't registering.
"And last but not least, the one snoring in front of me—" Paisley nudged the girl's boot with hers. "—is Daya."
"Nice to meet you!" Daya awoke, hand to her head in a salute gesture.
"Now what are your names?" Paisley asked.
And while Stephen choked on his words, Tello spoke quickly.
"Tello." He said.
"Stephen..." Stephen muttered, his glance locking on Tello for a second.
"I see, so. Why did you even become medical practitioners? I always thought that was a job old people do." Paisley asked, the carriage bumping to the side as she did.
"I have someone I want to save." Tello answered before Stephen could, almost as if he knew he was nervous, or he wanted to get one step closer to helping Gila. "She was inflicted with a curse."
"Oooooo." Paisley cooed, coming closer. "What's your relationship with this girl! Is she your friend, girlfriend... your wife?!"
"They shared a dinner and that was about it, now he acts like he loves her more than life itself." Stephen murmured, not knowing everyone had heard.
"Huh?" Paisley glanced to her sides repeatedly. "Drama!?"
"Ah yes, because in order to love someone you need a three minimum dinner requirement." Tello tapped his head. "My bad! I forgot all about that cosmic rule written deep in your ass!"
Stephen didn't want to engage in this, not here, not at all.
But it ticked him off a little, and he burst forward.
"All I'm saying is that I can understand why you're acting this way." Stephen said with a scoff, "but still, c'mon. You're making it seem like this was your wife to be or something."
Tello's eyes snapped up, locking onto his for the first time since they'd arrived at the barn.
"Have you ever loved anyone before, Stephen?" he asked quietly.
Stephen frowned. "What does that change?"
"Then, there's no point in explaining this to you," Tello muttered.
"Huh? Then tell me this, what's her favorite color?" Stephen pressed. "The woman you're spending all your time and energy on is a few questions away from being a total stranger to you!"
"So that's all you see her as? A stranger?" Tello asked.
"What else would you have me see her as!?"
Tello shook his head slowly, then turned away. Staring at the window.
"So that's why you wanted to let her die, that's why you could barely give a damn in the barn."
His voice cracked a little.
"I thought I knew who you were, but maybe I was just convincing myself otherwise."
He paused.
"You're a horrible person, Stephen."
The carriage lurched to a stop, and the mage knights fell silent, eyes shifting between the two.
"Alright, enough," Marjorie muttered, sliding her bow into its sling. "You've clearly got unresolved issues, but you'll have to keep them bottled up until the mission's over."
"No, they shouldn't!" Paisley shouted, slamming her palm against the seat. "This is drama! They should act it out!"
"No, they shouldn't," Sully deadpanned, pushing the door open and stepping down first.
"You're such a bore, Sully!" Paisley called, hopping out after her, followed by Marjorie and Daya.
The four women started down a narrow concrete path leading toward an abandoned looking building, only to stop halfway, realizing their bags were still sitting in the carriage. Along with the two "medics."
"Hey!" Paisley called out. "You might be our medics, but until we actually get hurt, you're our bag carriers... so, umm, hustle!"
Tello began shuffling out, carrying the bag closest to him, but Stephen stayed back.
He wanted to open his mouth, wanted to apologize. Yet the words hung in his throat. Not because he couldn't apologize, but because he didn't know what words to use.
"I'm—"
"What are you doing?" Sully muttered, suddenly standing right next to him. For the first time, Stephen saw the color of her eyes. A burning red hue.
"I'll be right out now... I was distracted," he said, glancing toward Tello as he stepped down from the carriage with the large pack over his shoulders.
"We have specific standards we're kept to, and specific time frames we pride ourselves in completing our missions," Sully said, her breath brushing faintly against his chin. "Is that understandable?"
Stephen could feel her mana pressing down on him. It was dense, heavy, and far more terrifying than any of the others.
"I understand," he replied quietly.
She stepped away, returning to the concrete path, the white scabbard at her waist swaying with each step.
"Scary..." he muttered under his breath as she left.
Moments later, Stephen and Tello walked down the concrete path behind them, pulling along two filled-to-the-brim backpacks and still not looking each other in the eye as they moved forward.
"Hm... this is awkward, no?" Marjorie muttered as they reached the gate that sealed off the building.
"Well, our medics aren't looking each other in the eye," Paisley noted. "It's bound to be."
Sully stepped forward first, brushing her hand along the cold steel frame. She knocked against the largest section she could find, then waited for a response. Though nothing came.
She tried again. Still nothing.
"What do we do?" Paisley asked.
Sully sighed and began walking to the side, grabbing Stephen by the arm. Much stronger than he could even resist.
"We'll find another path to the building. You keep trying this one," she said as they moved off. "Don't break in."
"Affirmative!" Paisley shouted back, as Daya followed behind Sully, leaving her, Marjorie, and Tello behind.
They stood before the towering fence and gate, staring at the decaying building beyond it. Even after trying to gently push the frame open, it didn't budge.
"This is a bit of a conundrum, isn't it?" Paisley said, planting her hands on her hips. "Well, I guess we wait for Sully. Maybe she'll find another entrance."
Marjorie dropped to the ground beside her, the white of her robes brushing through dust and grime without picking up a speck. As she sat, she drew a crossbow from her waist and began fine tuning the strings.
"I guess we should ask what that was about while we wait," Paisley said, turning her gaze to Tello.
"I'd rather not answer, if that's okay."
"Touchy subject, I see." She nodded. "That sure doesn't make this any less awkward."
"I'm sorry... I just don't want to talk about it right now."
"It's okay," Paisley said softly, nodding with her arms folded.
"Can I ask some questions instead?" Tello asked. "Sorry, if I'm overstepping."
"Go ahead!" Paisley replied with a thumbs up. "Filling the silence is exactly what we need right now. Ask me anything you want."
"What exactly do Mage Knights do?" Tello asked. "I understand they protect the city from threats and all that... but what are you doing here, on an escort mission?"
"Well, we're kind of in the process of becoming Mage Knights. Near graduates, if you would," Paisley explained, raising one finger. "Then, to answer your question. Mage Knights are the final line of defense against any threat the royal guards can't handle."
"And any of the other special forces," Marjorie added, still tweaking the limbs of her crossbow, "we're basically the most special of all the special forces, if you would."
"That too," Paisley nodded. "But since we still work under the castle, we get sent on missions like these if they involve someone important enough. So yeah, that's why we're here."
"Is it okay if I ask who the individual is?" Tello said.
"It's an important noble child or something," Paisley said casually. "He supposedly owns this whole land, forest, estate, everything but he's too sick to do anything about it."
"I heard it was a curse," Marjorie added and Tello's attention instantly piqued, though he stayed quiet. "He never shows his face to anyone, supposedly to avoid spreading it."
"Yeah... it's a sad situation," Paisley said, nodding. "We're here to guide him to the castle at the King's request."
"I see..." Tello said, scanning the dark treeline. "But I still don't understand. The estate's creepy, sure, and the forest's thick, but the city isn't far. Wouldn't the Royal Guards be enough for this?"
"That's the thing," Marjorie said as she stood, loading a bolt into her crossbow. "They wouldn't."
"What?" Tello frowned. "Wasting Mage Knights on a mere escort mission doesn't sound—"
He didn't finish.
A sudden gust of wind slammed into them, cold, sour, and... dirty.
Before he could react, Paisley had already drawn her sword, her eyes narrowing as shadows shifted between the trees.
Several figures emerged. tall, pale, and haunting. They stood nearly eight feet, with the heads of goats and skeletal bodies lit from within by a dim blue core pulsing in their chests.
"What is that!?" Tello shouted, stumbling backward and hitting the ground hard.
"The reason we were sent here to escort this noble in the first place," Marjorie said, as she leveled her weapon. A strand of purple hair falling over her eye.
"This entire forest," she murmured, pulling the trigger back, "Is home to some nasty bastards."
"Wraiths." Paisley muttered.