“NO! No Aunty Fenny, you can’t leave me!”

Fena sighed as she tried to gently extract her arms from Rosie’s surprisingly strong embrace. Madam Isabelle as well as Rosie’s mother Mona watched on with sympathetic eyes, but made no move to help. 

“I-I’m sorry Rosie…” said Fena in a half-hearted attempt to comfort the girl.

“No! Promise you’ll come back. You have to! You always do!” she screamed. 

“I can’t do that Rosie…” Fena gave in and knelt down to Rosie’s level. She wasn’t getting out of this without sharing some of the truth. “Listen… I have something I have to do. Something… something that I can’t avoid anymore.” Fena ignored the Crow’s derisive snort as she spoke.

The girl sniffled as fat teardrops squeezed their way out of her eyes. “But-but you can come back, right? Why are you saying you won’t come back?!”

“I don’t know if I can Rosie,” Fena could feel her own eyes start to prickle as the reality of her piecemeal plan weighed down on her. “I don’t think I’ll be able to. I don’t want you to wait for me like you usually do…”

She bent forward and awkwardly returned Rosie’s hug. 

“It’s okay… you’ll meet plenty of people more fun and exciting than me…”

“NO!” The girl suddenly pushed Fena away, her tears still damp on Fena’s vest. “You’re stupid! Noone will be better. I hate you. I hate you!” Overwhelmed by her disappointment Rosie turned and ran out to the back garden, leaving behind a stunned Fena. 

“Good job,” said the Crow sarcastically. 

Mona sighed. “Forgive her Fena. She’s just upset. I should have prepared her for this day…”

Isabelle shook her head. “It’s not anyone's fault. Truth be told, I didn’t expect you would leave us so suddenly… we will miss you, my dear.”

Fena stood up and looked towards the garden. “I’m sorry for causing such a fuss. I didn’t expect Rosie would be so upset over this.” She turned back to the women. “But thank you for letting me stay here these past few years. I wouldn’t have managed nearly as well without how welcoming you’ve been.”

Isabelle stepped forward and gave her a hug. “You’re always welcome back. And though this may be selfish of me, but on behalf of everyone here I sincerely hope you do come back.”

Fena wiped her eyes as they prickled further, but managed to keep her composure. “If-if it’s any help, I’d like you to keep my travel chest. It’s too bulky to take with me on a horse, and you could fetch a high price if you auction it off. It may help with the lack of customers.”

Mona smiled in response. “Thank you Fena. But unless things get really desperate, we’ll keep it to give you a reason to come back. Stay safe for us.” She stepped forward and gave a hug as well.

With that, Fena picked up the large sack that carried all her belongings and waved goodbye. 

“Say farewell to the others for me! And may the Gods be with you all in the future!”

“To you as well!”

Though the Black Kitten could hardly be called a home, Fena had grown more attached to the people that lived there than she realized. Her heart turned bitter as she walked away. Seeing her unhappiness the Crow sighed from where it sat in its usual spot.

“You know this is for the best.”

“Is it really…?”

“Yep. They don't need us there, even if they enjoy the company. And Rosie will forget us anyways; you know how quickly her mind jumps to a different thing.”

“Yeah… I suppose you’re right. But what if-”

“What if she doesn’t? Didn’t she scream ‘I hate you’ when she left? She doesn’t care for us as much as you might have thought. Look, it's for the best she forgets about us. That way she won’t stay sad, and she’ll meet plenty of better people.”

Fena sighed. Despite the Crow’s wisdom, she couldn’t shake the feeling of disappointment in her heart. Nonetheless, like she always did, she bore through it and marched to the Guildhouse. 

------------------

For the next week she threw herself into training with Antony and the others, learning each other’s strengths and weaknesses. But no matter what she did, she could not please Avairy with her swordsmanship. The elf began dragging Fena out of her room at the crack of dawn every morning to train, regardless of her victim’s complaints. Despite a slight improvement over the week, it was clear that it was still nowhere near what Avairy was hoping for. 

“Seriously?! You need to be faster than that! How the hell did you land amongst the top ten in the Guild anyway?!” she shouted as yet another swing fell short. 

“I’m doing my best,” panted Fena. “Do you realize how big this Zweihander is?”

“If that’s your best you should be long dead already!” snapped back the short elf. “Focus!”

“Yeah! Do better!” encouraged the Crow from where it peacefully lazed atop a fence post. 

Fena sighed and reluctantly raised the greatsword once again. “You’re wasting your time. I’ve gotten by just fine at this level anyways.”

Avairy twirled her twin scimitars with a snort. “I’ll believe it when I see it. Either you bribed Montegrie the unbribable, or you’re not taking this seriously. There’s no way I’ll believe you’re actually this shit to have gotten this far in the guild. Again!”

What is the point of this anyways?

Avairy leapt forward at Fena with a shout, swinging the scimitars horizontally. Fena blocked them with the zweihander, and using its weight knocked them towards the ground. 

It’s not like anything I do will kill me anyways...

The elf danced back as the greatsword swung up towards her face, clumsily slow compared to her movements. 

“Come on Fena!” shouted the Crow excitedly. “Hit harder! Get hit harder!”

Fena jumped forward, raising her sword for a half-hearted downward slash but Avairy twirled under the blade and swung out a leg, knocking the startled girl to her back. 

The elf plunged her two swords into the dirt on either side of Fena’s neck and gave her a disgusted look. 

“Fucking hell, you’re like a wet noodle. You’re really starting to piss me off with this shit; how do you expect me to work with you if you won’t even swing your sword properly?!”

“I don’t think her attitude’s the problem; I’d say she needs to work on her footwork more,” said an easy going voice. 

Fena and Avairy looked over to see a tall, young man with black hair and sparkling violet eyes standing at the edge of the Guild’s training ground. He looked to be nearing his twenties and wore stylish black chain mail that also looked quite practical. An impressive looking longsword swung from his waist, and though not as big as the Zweihander, it nonetheless exuded a dramatic presence. 

Next to him stood a small woman who looked only a couple years younger. She had lush blond hair and wide, innocent green eyes, but the most shocking thing about her were the white and silver trimmed clothes she wore. Her tunic exposed the top of her breasts with a plunging neckline, but it also cut off just above a short skirt that miraculously failed to flash anyone as she moved. The large flowing overcoat utterly failed to cover her exposed midriff and creamy white thighs, except from the back. To tie it all off, she also wore white knee high socks and high heels. Fena’s gaze lingered on her as she wondered how the woman was able to walk on the rough terrain so easily. 

“Who the fuck are you?” spat the foul mouthed elf as she reached down to pull Fena to her feet. 

“Your commanding officer,” answered the man with a thin smile. 

Looking past his pleased expression, Fena could see Guildmaster Gendric approaching with a brilliant smile. Following him was Lady Montegrie, who looked like she had just swallowed a rotten lemon. 

Seeing Avairy’s confused look, Montegrie stepped forward. “The King has just informed me, that in the interest of fairness between Guilds, he has decided to add two adventurers to Her Majesty’s personal escort. This… hero has been assigned as your captain.” She spoke through gritted teeth.

“Now, now, Monty, we’re all working together here,” responded Gendric with a grin. “These two are the best my Guild has to offer, and as such will be in command of the Princess’s personal bodyguards. They are S and A+ ranked you know; I’m sure they’d be happy to share their stats.”

“They don’t need to see your made up fantasy numbers, Gendric,” snapped back Montegrie. “Let’s just get the introductions over with.”

“Certainly!” The man in black stepped forward, ignoring Montegrie’s tone. “It’s very good to meet you ladies; my name is Derick Rosewell and I will be the commanding officer. I’m rank S at our guild, and I’m sure we’ll get along quite well.” His violet eyes seemed to twinkle with intrigue as he turned to the irritated elf. “You must be Miss Avairy. You seem quite skilled, especially for an elf; I must confess I was somewhat surprised.”

Fena was tempted to sneak away when she saw the million voltage glare Avairy gave the man, but his attention was already turning towards her before she could. 

“Ah, and you must be Miss Fena. It’s always good to see a woman with the determination to improve. If you have some spare time, I could offer some tips that may help.”

Turning away to ignore the now two blazing glares he was receiving, Rosewell gave Montegrie a smile. “Where do the men train? I would like to engage them in a mock duel to determine their abilities.”

“They’ll be out soon. Who’s your friend?” said Avairy, her tone surprisingly calm despite her eyes. 

“Ah yes, of course. This is Anna, Anna Maybell. She is an A+ level Summoner specialized in healing spirits. She can even recover severed limbs! You won’t even have to worry about damaging your skin on this quest.” The woman gave a neat bow, blushing eagerly at Rosewell’s praise. 

“Neat. Can she fight?”

The man blinked at Avairy’s abrupt question, but smiled. “Of course! But let us hope that won’t be necessary. If you wish to test her abilities I’m sure she is willing to show you.”

“I don’t really care that much! Do you Fena?” asked Avairy, her glare giving her a slightly wild look.

“Not really…” Fena answered back. She could sympathize with Avairy; something about Rosewell had set her teeth on edge. 

But Rosewell seemed utterly oblivious to it. Glancing at the barracks, his gaze lit up as he spotted the other mercenaries arriving. 

“Ah! And here are the men! Pleased to meet you, my name is Rosewell and I am your captain on the royal escort mission.”

Antony gave Fena a confused glance, to which she only shrugged. Devurst seemed somewhat disinterested, but Fena could only imagine what expression Oswald was making under his beloved hood. 

“Nice… to meet you…?” asked Antony hesitantly, sensing Oswald and Avairy’s stares. 

“You as well! You must be the famous beast-man Antony!” answered Rosewell in an excited tone. He hurriedly shook Antony’s hand.

“Umm, I’m actually anweiran…”

“And who might you be?” Rosewell immediately turned to Oswald, seemingly ignoring Antony. Lady Montegrie quickly stepped forward, interjecting. 

“This is Shadow. He has taken an oath of silence, and so does not speak.” She glared at Oswald, threatening him into following along. 

“Right… oath of silence…” muttered Oswald with a death glare at the adventurer. Fortunately Rosewell didn’t seem to notice, his interest now jumping to the mage. Devurst only gave a brief introduction, his attitude now back to the usual gruff, quiet person he was. 

“Excellent! Well I think we have a well rounded party here, but I’d like to test your skills in mock duels so I know how to best use you.”

He gestured towards the ground where Avairy and Fena had been dueling but moments before. “Who’d like to start?”

Avairy responded with a hungry grin. “I’ll take you on.”

Roswell seemed to hesitate for a moment as he looked at her. “Well… I don’t think that’s necessary. I already watched you duel Miss Fena, so it seems a bit pointless, don’t you think? How about you Antony?” He turned his attention back to the male anweiran, the smile back on his face. “I’ve been positively eager to spar with you ever since I heard your reputation.”

Fena felt a surge of frustration rise as the man blatantly ignored Avairy, but surprisingly the elf did nothing. 

Antony gave a confused look towards Avairy, not understanding Rosewell’s rejection. Nonetheless he gave a slight nod as Rosewell waited for his answer. “I suppose so… I have heard of you as well. You’re a master-at-arms, are you not?”

“I’m so pleased! Yes, I’m skilled with a variety of weapons but I do prefer the sword. Would that be acceptable to you? I wouldn’t want to spar with you at nothing but my full strength.”

“Y-yes?” answered Antony still confused. 

He gave Avairy another questioning glance, but she only shook her head and gestured for him to go. 

Roswell eagerly led Antony onto the field, but Avairy suddenly jerked Fena away, pulling her from the training ground. Seeing them leave, the quiet Anna Maybell followed them at a respectable distance as the Crow fluttered to catch up to Fena’s comfortable shoulder.