I suddenly woke to the sound of a door slamming. Sitting up, I looked to see Fer, walking across the room to where the bathtub stood. She had removed her torn up tunic and was covered in bandages and blood.

I immediately ran towards her, grabbing her arm and said, “What happened to you? Are you okay?”

She smiled softly and patted my head. “Don’t worry, little human. The blood is not mine.”

“But you’re covered in bandages.” I said letting go of her arm.

“Yes, but that’s to cover an old wound.” She turned her back to me and removed the bandages.

I gasped. On her back were two straight long scars cut in a downwards direction. They started from her shoulder blades and ended just before her pants. Both scars were a dark blue, almost a black colour. They were pulsing and looked like they were releasing magic. “Wh… what happened? H… how?”

Turning her head to the side to look at me she replied, “You don’t become the greatest by sitting around. Sometimes it means paying a heavy price for that greatness. Power always has a price.”

Seeing that I was not convinced, she smiled again. “Don’t worry. Scars mean you’ve lived life. It means that life has challenged you and you’ve won. Sometimes it hurts and feels like hell, that the pain will never go away, but one thing you can always count on is that time heals. You learn to be okay again and pick yourself up.”

I suddenly had a feeling that she was not just talking about the scars on her back. She was talking like someone who had experienced pain, lots of pain. Both physical and emotional pain. It felt like she was trying to give me advice.

We stood there for minute in silence before she smirked, “Now will you get out or turn around. I need to wash up. Unless you’re trying to tell me something. In which case I’m not interested.”

I blinked at her before blushing as the words processed. Rushing to the door, I said “Sorry, I’ll leave.”

“Fine, but make sure to stay within the fence.”

I stepped outside and closed the door behind me. The air outside had a chill in it so I wrapped my arms around my body trying to keep warm.

Looking up at the sky, I smiled. It was a long time since I’ve seen the moon shining this brightly. I always wondered if the sky would be the same in other realms.

Now, I was going to find out. I was going to travel with Fer and live through her adventures. It was a dream come true. Listening to her stories and living in them too. 

Something screamed in the distance and I returned to reality. This place may be the home of Fer, but it was still dangerous for me. There were monsters roaming around. It reminded me that wherever I was going with Fer, it was going to be dangerous. I was going to have to learn to protect myself. I couldn’t be a burden, not again.

Shaking the fear away, I decided to ask Fer if was willing to teach me as I travelled with her. I walked back inside the cottage, to find that Fer was finishing up getting dressed. Her hands moved quickly as she braided her raven hair, letting it fall over her shoulder when she completed the braid. The pointed tips of her ears were poking out from under her hair. It was the first time I’d ever seen them.

There was no denying it, Fer was the most beautiful person I’d ever seen. She was dressed in a white off-shoulder blouse and a pair of black tights. Her boots were clean again.

She reminded me of the Pirate Queen I once met. Beautiful, dangerous, and ready for an adventure. Looking up, Fer smirked, saying “How long have you been there staring at me.”

I blushed as she said the words. Turning my head away, I murmured, “Only a few seconds.”   

“Well, since you’re not tired, I guess we can start moving.”

“But it’s still evening. Won’t it be dangerous to travel now.”

“It’s fine. It’s only two hours away from dawn.”

I looked outside to see that she was right. The night was already starting to fade away. Time seemed to moved faster than normal here. “Okay, but I would like to ask you something before we leave.”

“What is it?” she asked grabbing her hunting bag from the table. She quickly moved across the room to grab my bag on the floor.

“Can you teach me to fight.”

She threw my bag to me. “Sure, but first let me see if you can keep up with me. If you can then, teaching you with be worth my time.”

I slung the bag over my shoulder and nodded. It did only seem fair. It would be a waste of her time if I suddenly stopped after a few days. We headed outside and began walking westwards, the rising sun hitting our backs with light.