4?

It had only been two days since Sami had left home to travel south to the frontline at Loma, but already her provisions had nearly run out. She had never packed for herself or traveled alone before, so she didn’t bring enough nonperishable foods and she didn’t properly ration what she did bring.

If worse came to worst, she’d have to hunt for her own food. Killing a beast would be no problem at all, but cutting it open, butchering it, separating the edible parts from the viscera… she nearly gagged just thinking about it. But, she couldn’t allow herself to be squeamish anymore, not if she was about to join a battlefield, for Goddess’s sake.

If only she had thought to learn how to identify edible plants. She regretted this lack of foresight deeply now.

* * *

On the third day, she hadn’t made any progress at all. So much time wasted trying to deal with messy innards, how to light a fire, and realizing that the queasy feeling in her stomach was not just her squeamishness, but that the wild berries she had eaten earlier were not the harmless sort she had mistaken them for.

She had been so full of determination when she left home, but she felt none of that now. She was just a former Lady alone in the wilderness, missing the softness of the pile of plush pillows and thick comforters that was her bed back home.

The thought of giving up and returning home was interrupted by memories of her father on his deathbed, and her tears started to flow.

After getting it out of her system, she wiped her eyes and sat up from her sleeping mat on the uneven ground, looking up at the stars.

Far from the lamplight of the city, the formation of stars dubbed by astronomers as the Spiral Strip was brighter than ever. It only looked like a gently curved line across the sky, but according to their observations it was actually a shape like a corkscrew, spiraling around their world.

Of course, Sami was only reciting half-remembered information from her classes at the royal academy, which she had mostly slept through. She shifted her focus to one small area of the Strip in particular.

She watched it for a while, unsure of whether there was a cloud obscuring her view… How strange, had that gap been there before she left Spira City...?

She must have been remembering wrong. Regardless, the starry sky was something to take her mind off of things. Seeing sights she had never seen before, with none of the people she knew around to see them with her… It was certainly lonely, but it might be the kind of separation from her usual reality that she needed right now.

She would learn how to survive. She would stay alive, so that she could save the lives of others. Right now, she wanted nothing more from her life than this.

* * *

Naturally, Fiona had not gotten over Natalie’s death. She probably never would. But right now, even through the haze of grief, Fiona knew that her sister wouldn’t have wanted her to give up. They had both understood that Natalie wouldn’t always be there to protect her, but if only the time for separation hadn’t come so soon, and so suddenly…

Fiona turned to look at her traveling companion, for what felt like might have been the first time in the few days they had been traveling together—she had otherwise been too preoccupied with her grieving to do so.

Jackson was a young man, probably about her own age, with short pale blue hair and the kind of clothing with loose folds that one would expect from one who lived in the Heite Mesas. He might have been considered handsome, in a gentle sort of way, but Fiona had never really felt any attraction towards men.

At his waist was a rather ominous looking scabbard. It was made of leather, but it had been stained a blotchy, black color. She knew from the few times she had seen him draw the sword that its single-edged, narrow, and slightly curved blade occasionally flickered with a black sheen.

Fiona hoped she hadn’t gotten involved with someone dangerous, but at least he seemed friendly enough.

Though kind and considerate, he wasn’t much for words, but that suited Fiona and her current mood just fine. Besides, he hadn’t made a fuss about her ears and treated her like a normal person, that much was appreciated.

Currently, he had told her, they were traveling towards Spira City. It was something of a cruel coincidence that she was once again making her way towards the same destination as she would have been with Natalie. Only now, she didn’t know what she would do when they got there.

It’s not like she would be able to complete her sister’s delivery, that package was long gone. The thought of trying to somehow make a living in a strange city all alone made her shudder, but returning to Prola wasn’t an option either. Maybe she would ask Jackson if she could continue traveling with him, to wherever he was headed next…

* * *

Eventually, they came to a crossroads situated in the middle of a wide open field, with only one small strand of trees just beside the split in the path. One of the roads led south, and the other led west towards Spira City.

The odd pair decided to stop for a break in the bundle of trees, and it soon became apparent that they weren’t the only one to make this choice. Sitting on a tree stump, expensive-looking cape drawn tightly around her to ward off the mild chill of the breeze over the plains, was a woman with long blue hair.

She looked to be of noble birth, though the roughness of her appearance now implied that she had certainly seen better days. She was poring over an almost comically large map scroll, checking and double checking her surroundings as if struggling to figure out her location. She couldn’t have looked more hopelessly lost if she tried.

Fiona felt a strange, almost nostalgic, connection with the woman almost immediately. Maybe it was deja vu, or maybe she had just been taken in by her beauty… but despite the gloom that had been hanging over Fiona, she felt the urge to talk with this person.

Sami looked up from her map, noticing their approach. She was wary at first, but recognized that they showed malicious intent towards her. “You lost?” Fiona asked her.

“Yes, in more ways than one,” Sami sighed.

Hesitating a little, slightly fearful of acting over-friendly to a stranger, Fiona gingerly sat down on the stump next to Sami and looked over at her scroll. Jackson had picked a different place to sit among the few trees, at a comfortable distance.

Having never traveled far from Prola, Fiona wasn’t very familiar with maps. But, at the very least, she was good at picking out landmarks thanks to her time exploring the woods and foothills of her home. She studied the lines carefully, trying to pick out the names of the few places she recognized.

“I think we’re here,” Fiona said after a while, pointing to a likely spot on the map.

She had gauged the location based on the paths, mountains, and rivers she and Jackson had passed on the way there, and narrowed it down to an intersection of paths somewhere between Heite Mesas and Spira City.

“Oh. Ohh! That certainly makes much more sense,” the noblewoman replied, “I had been looking at entirely the wrong area. It’s a good thing you showed up, because I was about to start heading in completely the wrong direction.”

If times were better, Fiona might have smiled, happy to have helped. She couldn’t help but notice a similar sentiment displayed on the other woman’s face. For a rich girl, she seemed rather open and approachable, but there was clearly something that weighed heavily on her mind. Fiona wondered if it was anything like her own emotional baggage.

Despite her usual trepidation when it came to speaking with strangers, Fiona did so anyway, “My name is Fiona, by the way. It is, um, a pleasure to meet you, ma’am.”

Sami waved her hand, “No need for the formalities. I was a noble once, but not anymore. The name’s Sami Locke.”

Now, Fiona didn’t have much in the way of worldly knowledge, but the name “Locke” was one she recognized. Wasn’t that the name of the royal family in Spira City?

Suddenly realizing she was in the presence of royalty, ex-noble or otherwise, Fiona had to take a moment to regain her composure. But, the desire to understand this connection she had felt was stronger than her anxiety.

Feeling a similar, but not quite as pronounced, feeling of natural familiarity with this cat-eared stranger, Sami started to open up a little, “I’m traveling to the south, to the Loma border. There are… reasons that I can’t return home, so I’m hoping to join the fight there to defend my family and home from a distance.”

Fiona hadn’t heard of the conflict at the border, but she recognized the seriousness of the situation. She finally smiled, although it was a sad one, “I have reasons that I can’t go home too, but I don’t have a destination in mind. I lost my reason to go anywhere in particular.”

The two women studied each other’s faces. Maybe Sami was getting caught up in that surrealness that came from being isolated from everything she had ever known… but she felt like telling this stranger even more. She just… seemed like she would understand. Everything.

Besides, it was easier to be honest with a stranger. They would never see each other again, so there was no need to worry about being judged for their thoughts and words. What was the harm?

“I… I lost someone, back home. Or rather, it’s possible I’m to blame, for not being able to save them.”

“In that case, we’re almost the same,” Fiona was still smiling, but the sadness in her expression was even more evident than before.

Her ears drooped like an injured animal, and Sami’s feelings of empathy flared up at the sight. She was really cute, Sami suddenly noticed, it wasn’t right for her to have to be hurting like this. She… kind of wanted to pat this adorable creature on the head.

The thought that this might all be some kind of elaborate highway robbery plot to make her drop her guard briefly flitted across her mind, but she squashed it immediately.

Fiona noticed that Sami had gone quiet, and that her face had flushed a light pink. She also noticed that one of the woman’s hands had let go of the map scroll, and that it twitched and lifted up a little before settling down again. What was that all about?

* * *

After such an emotionally charged connection, it was really and truly a shame that they would have to part ways now. After all, they were heading in completely different directions… or were they?

Jackson had been watching Sami and Fiona’s exchange, or rather, only occasionally glancing in their direction so as not to… disturb their privacy? He had a vague feeling it was something like that.

Regardless, he could tell that his temporary companion had forged a fast friendship with this woman, and had done a little thinking while they spoke.

Originally, he had planned to seek directions in Spira City, with the aim of traveling to Crysta. His reasoning had simply been that someone in a city of mages would probably know what to do about his curse, but there was no guarantee of that.

However, judging by where he had found the cursed blade to begin with, it was just as likely that there were people who could recognize it to the south. After all, it was very similar to the weapons from Loma, carried by the occasional bandits he had fought.

In fact, Loma was a nation known almost just as much for its magic as Crysta, so… if he went with Sami—who had a proper map mind you, something he lacked—the going would be much smoother.

Jackson interrupted the two of them just as they were about to say their goodbyes. “Fiona, I’ve had a change of plans,” he said, clearing his throat, “I had only been heading to Spira for directions. I might just as well find what I’m looking for if we travel with Sami. Any objections with us joining you, miss?”

For just a brief moment, the faces of the two girls lit up; as much of a show of happiness as they could make, given their emotional states otherwise. “No, no objections there,” Sami said, turning her face away into the collar of her cape to hide her expression.