《A Vampire's Journey in a Fantasy World》


 Chapter 1 - Rose

    Burning agony wakes me from my slumber as my blood begins to circulate for the first time. The pain intensifies with every move I make, but I move as much as I can to speed up the process. Still, it feels like an eternity before my effort pays off and the pain dissipates.


    My relief doesn¡¯t last long though, because now that I can focus on my other senses I pick up a sweet smell in the air which causes my blood to ignite again. Opening my eyes, everything is cloudy, but I can vaguely make out someone coming my way. Stopping in front of me, theycrouch down and speak, ¡°Hello, little one.¡±


    ¡°He-hello¡± I say, struggling through my thirst.


    The woman laughs, ¡°I¡¯m surprised you can speak at all like that.¡± She wraps her arms around me and picks me up, ¡°Try not to bite me, kay?¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± I answer. Being this close, it¡¯s really difficult to hold myself back, so I can hardly focus on anything else as she carries me around.


    ¡°No, no, no,¡± she says, stopping periodically, until finally, ¡°Aha, we¡¯ve got a winner!¡± Looking down, I see a man lying on the floor in a pool of blood. ¡°Alright, little one,¡± the woman puts me down. ¡°Dig in,¡± she says, pinning his head to the side with her foot.


    My instincts guide me as I press my fangs against his neck, and with a little pressure, delicious liquid flows into my mouth. I drink greedily at first, but once my blood calms I slow down and savor my first meal.


    After I¡¯ve had my fill I lick the wound so that it¡¯ll heal, causing the woman to giggle and take me by the hand, ¡°Well aren¡¯t you merciful.¡± She kicks him, but he remains unconscious, ¡°It¡¯s not gonna do him any good, but I guess it¡¯s the thought that counts.¡± She says, conjuring a ball of black fire and tossing it on the floor.


    She repeats the process a couple times and then, in the blink of an eye we¡¯re standing outside. ¡°Woah,¡± I say as I realize what happened. She must be quite powerful if she can teleport so easily, which means I¡¯m really lucky to have her as my guardian.


    Wondering what species she is, I look up at her. The first thing that I see are her alluring pink eyes, followed by her perfectly sculpted face, and then the two horns atop her head. Before I can come to a conclusion, she lets go of my hand saying, ¡°Well, this is where we part ways, little vampire.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re leaving me here?¡± I ask nervously.


    ¡°My job was to deal with the summoners, I only helped you out on a whim.¡± She pats me on the head, ¡°You should be glad, you¡¯ll be the only real vampireon this world.¡±


    ¡°But-¡± she disappears in a puff of black smoke before I can finish, leaving me alone in the street.


    So much for being lucky, I probably won¡¯t survive the rest of the day at this rate. My inherent knowledge mainly pertains to the demon realm, so I hardly know anything when it comes to survival among humans. I guess I¡¯ll just have to try my best to blend in and hope I can find a way to feed myself...


    My thoughts are interrupted by a womans voice from behind me, ¡°You ought to be ashamed of yourself!¡± I turn around, and the angry old lady points her walking stick at me, ¡°Where are your clothes, girl? Did your parents not teach you any decency?¡±


    Demons don¡¯t really have parents, but Idecide not to tell her that. ¡°I¡¯ve never had any clothes, and they didn¡¯t teach me anything.¡± I reply honestly, which seems to make her even more angry.


    ¡°And a smart mouth, too. Had you been one of my girls I would¡¯ve tanned your hide for that.¡± She lowers her cane, ¡°Where do you live, child? I¡¯ll be having a word with your parents.¡±


    Where do I live? I shrug, just as the curtains in the house behind me burst into flames.


    The old lady takes one look at the fire and freezes, but after a few seconds she snaps out of it and yells, ¡°Fire! There¡¯s a fire!¡± She walks in my direction, ¡°I bet you¡¯re responsible for this, you little heathen!¡±


    I make a break for it as she reaches out to grab me, and make my way down the street- passing a group of people who stare at me on my way by. Just as I¡¯m about to round the corner, I hear the old lady yelling, ¡°Stop that brat! She¡¯s the arsonist responsible for this!¡±


    Running as fast as my legs will take me, I search for a good hiding place, and soon one presents itself. It¡¯s an old house with boards over the windows, and a hole in the bottom of the front door just large enough for me to fit through.


    I make a beeline for the house, but I don¡¯t even make it halfway there before someone grabs me from behind. If it weren¡¯t for my plan to blend in I would¡¯ve tried to bite them, but I suppress the urge and don¡¯t struggle.


    ¡°Quite the runner, aren¡¯t ya?¡± A deep- yet womanly- voice asks me.


    I have no clue what a human would say in this situation, so I just stay silent as she turns me around crouches down to my level. ¡°Did you start the fire?¡± She asks, her brown eyes boring into my own.


    ¡°No.¡± I reply, matching her gaze.


    We stare for a few seconds, then a man comes up behind her and holds out a jacket with a grunt.


    ¡°Thanks, Mike.¡± The woman says, taking it and wrapping it around my shoulders. ¡°Arson or not, we can¡¯t have you running around without any clothes,¡± she says while fastening the buttons.


    Once she¡¯s done she stands back up and looks me down. The jacket is so big on me that it goes down to my knees, which seems to satisfy her. ¡°Now that that¡¯s taken care of, mind telling me your name, child?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have one.¡± I answer.


    She frowns at that, ¡°Your parents never gave you a name?¡±


    I shake my head, ¡°I don¡¯t have any parents either.¡±


    The man behind her sighs, ¡°Well, that explains the lack of clothes.¡±


    The stout woman pats me on the head, ¡°You¡¯ve had it rough, huh.¡±


    I haven¡¯t really, at least not yet, but it¡¯s better not to say that. ¡°Alright,¡± the man says, ¡°Let¡¯s go see if they need any help with the fire. We can deal with her when we¡¯re done.¡±


    The woman nods and takes me by the hand, ¡°Come on, Rose.¡±


    ¡°Rose?¡± I ask, wondering if she''s talkingabout me.


    ¡°It suits you.¡± The man says to me with a smile, ¡°Your eyes are beautiful like red roses.¡±


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    ¡°Really?¡± I ask, ¡°I¡¯ve never seen them before.¡±


    ¡°There are some growing on the other side of town, I¡¯ll bring you to see them when this is all over.¡± The woman says.


    ¡°I meant my eyes.¡± I say, causing the man to snicker, ¡°But I¡¯d like that.¡±


    We walk back to the house-which is now a raging inferno- and a man in blue robes rushes up to us. ¡°Martha, Mike, I''m glad youre here.We need your help containing this thing.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± The woman- Martha- asks, ¡°You¡¯ve got at least five water mages here.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s something unnatural about this fire, it won¡¯t go out no matter how much water we throw it at. It takes everything we¡¯ve got just to stop it from spreading.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Mike says, ¡°Let¡¯s try another way then.¡± He grins at Martha, ¡°That is, if you¡¯re feeling up to it?¡±


    ¡°Always.¡± Martha grins back, then crouches in front of me again. ¡°Rose, be a good girl and wait here, okay?¡±


    I nod, it¡¯s not like I¡¯ve got anywhere else to go, and blending in has been fareasier than I had imagined.


    Martha pats me on the back, then she and Mike walk up to the fire and nod to each other before placing their hands on the ground. Thirty seconds pass with nothing happening, but then I notice rumbling under my feet. The tremors grow more violent as the dirt around the house begins to rise up, forming a bowl around it which the water mages begin pumping full of water.


    It climbs higher and higher until the entire house is obscured within, and the mages keep adding water until it starts to spill from the top. The two earth mages give each other a high five once the job is done, then they walk back to us with pride in their steps. ¡°And that¡¯s that.¡±Mike says to Lawson.The water mage doesn¡¯t reply, becausehe and I are too busy watching the flaming waterthat''s overflowing down the side of the bowl. ¡°What is it?¡± He asks, to which thewe just point.


    The earth mages turn around and Martha curses, ¡°Oh shit.¡±


    ¡°Chaos magic!¡± Mike says, looking to Lawson, ¡°Hurry, summon the Magus!¡±


    ¡°R-right!¡± The water mage stutters, reaching into his robe pocket to pull out a clay tablet which he then snaps in half and tosses on the ground.


    Seconds later, the air above the tablet seems to tear open as a solid black portal forms, and then a voice shouts out of it. ¡°Seriously!? This is the second time today!¡± She grumbles something I can¡¯t make out, then yells again, ¡°This better be important!¡±


    A redheaded girl steps out of the portal in a bathrobe, and immediately looks me over with and grins, ¡°Well, what do we have here?¡±


    Does she know? My heart sinks and I contemplate running for it, but her attention shifts to the water mage who has begun shouting.


    ¡°Miss Magus!¡± He points to the bowl- whichis more of a volcano at this point. ¡°Chaos magic!¡±


    The Magus looks at me one more time, then floats a few feet into the air before stopping to mumble something about flashing people and landing back on the ground. She walks up to the pool of flames and studies it for a few seconds before digging around in her bathrobe pockets.


    ¡°Here goes nothin,¡± she says, pulling out some sand and sprinkling it onto the water. Then, the place whereit made contact turns turns into sand- which begins to consume the rest of the fire-water like some sort of unholy corruption. I watch in awe as the sand eats its way through all of the flaming water on the ground, and then travels halfway up the bowl before deciding to just eat that too.


    Burning water sprays through the holes it creates for a few seconds, but it¡¯s quickly turned into a simple sand-spout as the sand eats deeper and deeper. Soon, even the smoke rising from the top sputters out, and all that remains is a giant sand bowl- which collapses into a harmless pile after another snap of her fingers.


    ¡°There we go.¡± The Magus nods in satisfaction, ¡°When you¡¯ve got a naughty spell running amok, just kill it with sand.¡± She pauses in contemplation, ¡°Actually, that applies to just about anything that¡¯s running amok- isn¡¯t sand just great?¡±


    The display was equal parts entertaining and terrifying, but I know for sure that I do not want to be on her bad side. Almost as soon as I think that, the Magus turns towards me, as if she read my mind.


    I¡¯m shaking in my non-existent boots as she approaches, but it¡¯s too late to flee at this point. ¡°Now then,¡± She says, staring down at me. ¡°Who would this be?¡±


    She¡¯s met with silence from me, but Martha comes to my rescue, ¡°Her name is Rose, Magus.¡±


    ¡°Well then, Rose, I assume you have something to do with this,¡± She gestures to the sand. ¡°Chaos magic.¡±


    ¡°We believe she-¡± Martha starts before the Magus raises her hand to cut her off.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t asking you.¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± What do I say? Telling a lie seems even more risky than telling the truth to someone like this, but I don¡¯t want to give up on blending in just yet¡­ Maybe I can tell the truth in a way that doesn¡¯t give me away? It¡¯s worth a shot, I guess.¡°It wasn¡¯t me.¡± I say, to which she snorts.


    ¡°That much is obvious, a whelp like you would hardly be able to cast normal flames- let alone something like this. No, you didn¡¯t do this, but I bet you know who did.¡±


    ¡°I do.¡± I say with a little hesitation, ¡°I saw her do it.¡± Selling out one powerful person to save myself from another doesn¡¯t seem like the greatest idea, but it¡¯s all I¡¯ve got.


    ¡°Do tell.¡± she says, out of patience.


    ¡°It was a woman with pink eyes.¡± The Magus gestures for me to continue. ¡°And she was beautiful¡­? I mean, I didn¡¯t see too much of her because she teleported away.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± the Magus says, ¡°That brings me to my next question. How did you run into this arsonist in the first place?¡±


    It¡¯s really hard to stretch the truth for this one, ¡°I ran into her- actually, she ran into me while I was¡­ searching for food.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s an orphan.¡± Martha adds.


    ¡°That changes everything,¡± the sand mage says with an evil smile, shooting me a wink.


    Martha looks confused, ¡°How so?¡±


    ¡°Because I¡¯m going to adopt her.¡±


    That catches me completely off guard. She can¡¯t be serious, can she? I mean, even if she is, there¡¯s no way I¡¯d be able to feed in her presence, and that¡¯s assuming she doesn¡¯t know what I am.


    ¡°That¡¯s great!¡± Mike says, then he and Martha start clapping, ¡°Congratulations, Rose!¡±


    That Magus adds to their clapping, but keeps up her evil smile. ¡°Well let''s get going then, daughter. We¡¯ve got much to discuss.¡± She says, grabbing me by the hand and summoning a portal in front of us.


    I REALLY don¡¯t want to go with her, so I try to think of a reason to stay, and I remember the conversation I had with Martha earlier. ¡°Wait!¡± I say, ¡°Martha¡¯s gonna take me to see the roses!¡±


    Martha shoots me down, ¡°That¡¯s alright, I¡¯m sure the Magus will bring you to see them later.¡±


    With that, the Magusdrags me into the portal, not even giving time for goodbyes.


    The first thing I noticeon the other side is the bright sunlight shining me in the face, followed by the hot sand under my feet.Shielding my eyes with my free hand, I look around and see that we¡¯re on a beach.


    ¡°Come on then.¡± The Magus says, giving my arm a tug, ¡°The house is this way.¡±


    I keep my gaze locked on my feet as I follow behind her, not wanting to risk eye contact, and the few minutes it actually takes to get to her house feel like an eternity because my mind is in overdrive.


    She leads me through the front door and sits me down on a comfortable sofa before plopping down right next to me. ¡°Are you hungry?¡± she asks, and I shake my head. ¡°Ah, my bad. I meant thirsty.¡±


    Suddenly I smell an overpowering sweet scent, except it¡¯s far too strong to for my tastes and I start shakingwith terror as I turn to see the Magus¡¯ bleeding finger. After staring at it for a couple seconds Ilook away and squeeze out a question, ¡°A-are you going to kill me?¡±


    ¡°Actually,¡± she says, ¡°I was serious about adopting you, I just have to make sure of some things first.¡±


    ¡°Likewhat?¡± I ask, sure I¡¯m going to regret it.


    ¡°You see, I¡¯ve dealt with vampires before, and not one has been able to resist my blood.¡±


    ¡°Really? It smells far too sweet for my liking.¡±


    She snickers ¡°Thanks for confirming that for me, I was beginning to wonder whether or not you were a vampire after all.¡±


    I reach up and cover my mouth and she giggles, ¡°You¡¯ve already been busted, silly.¡±


    I lower my hand, feeling like a fool. ¡°What gave me away? I mean, before you brought me here.¡±


    ¡°I had a feeling you weren¡¯t human the moment I noticed your eyes, but with you being out in the sunlight, the last thing I expected was for you to be was a vampire- at least, until I saw your fangs. Thing is, my house is warded against vampires, yet you came in without any problems- which sent me back to square one until you gave yourself away.¡±


    My cheeks heat up as she continues, ¡°So, my theory is that instead of being turned, you were born naturally but with only a single vampire parent. That would explain your resistance to sunlight, and why my wards didn¡¯t react to you. Oh, and why you didn¡¯t go for my throat the second you smelled my blood.¡±


    ¡°People can be turned into vampires?¡± I ask.


    ¡°They can, and while it wouldn¡¯t work on me, all it takes for a regular person is a single bite.¡±


    ¡°Well, nobody I¡¯ve bitten has turned into a vampire.¡± Though I¡¯ve only bitten one person, and they¡¯re probably dead. Still, I don¡¯t think I can turn anyone into a vampire.


    ¡°Actually, that¡¯s one of the things I need to make sure of.¡± She holds her arm out to me, ¡°I want you to bite me, and afterwards I need you to tell me everything you know about that arsonist.¡±


    That¡¯s the last thing I want, her blood is so strong that I¡¯m sure it will make me sick. ¡°But I¡¯m not thirsty.¡±


    ¡°Too bad, you¡¯ll have to drink at least a little, that way I can tell if you¡¯re contagious or not. I can¡¯t risk you causing an outbreak, after all.¡±


    Back to trembling again, I ask, ¡°And if I am contagious?¡±


    ¡°Then I kill you.¡± She states flatly. ¡°And if you don¡¯t drink, I¡¯ll assume you¡¯re contagious and kill you anyways.¡±


    I¡¯m so terrified that I can¡¯t hold back the tears escaping my eyes, but she ignores my distress andpushes her wristagainst my lips ¡°Don¡¯t worry, if things go wrong I¡¯ll make sure it¡¯s quick and painless.¡±


    Resigning myself, I open my mouth and bite down as gently as I can- which probablyends up hurting more because of how slow I¡¯m going. Her blood flows into my mouth and my heart skips a few beats. It¡¯s so unimaginably delicious that I can¡¯t stop myself from taking more, and... Suddenly I¡¯ve got a tingling sensation in my belly and I feel all warm and fuzzy.


    I release my bite, and the Magus says something, but I can¡¯t tell what because the feeling in my stomach is getting worse. The tingling turns into prickling, which turns into burning, and finally numbness. And then, the numbness travels up my esophagus and out ofmy mouth.


    I only realize what¡¯s happening after I¡¯ve evacuated the contents of my stomach and I¡¯m lying on the floor- too weak to move. Someone is shaking me, but I can¡¯t even open my eyes to see who- though it¡¯s probably the Magus. Is this how I die? I wonder as my consciousness fades away.

 Chapter 1.5 - Blue Blood and a Traveler

    I¡¯ve never felt so comfortable before. I¡¯m wrapped from head to toe in what must be the softest and fluffiest- ouch. Okay, let¡¯s ignore that sudden sharp pain in my stomach and get back to this nice- ¡°Owww.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re finally awake.¡± The Magus says from beside me, ¡°You really had me worried, how are you feeling?¡±


    I guess I passed her test, then. ¡°Thirsty,¡± I reply as I sit up, and I notice the jacket I was wearing has been replaced with a frilly white nightgown.


    ¡°That¡¯s good. I mean, I¡¯d be worried if you weren¡¯t after what happened. I¡¯m sorry about that by the way, I¡¯ll see what I can do about your thirst.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, just¡­ please don¡¯t make me do it again.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t,¡± she says, taking me by the hand. ¡°Listen, Rose, I have a confession to make. Due to the severity of the situation, I¡­ had to look into your memories while you were asleep.¡±


    My heart stops, She did WHAT? I didn¡¯t know something like that was even possible! Did she get into my Demonic knowledge? ¡°What did you see?¡± I ask, hoping that she didn¡¯t.


    ¡°I saw everything that you¡¯ve seen, from when you woke up in that house, all the way until you passed out here- but what bothers me is what I didn¡¯t see.¡± Her voice wavers, ¡°My spell was supposed to show me twelve hours worth of memories, but...¡± she stares into my eyes.


    ¡°I have no memories from before today.¡± Because I didn¡¯t even exist.


    She pulls me into a hug, and surprisingly I have no urge to bite her despite being so thirsty. ¡°Oh Rose¡­ I¡¯m so sorry.¡± She squeezes me tighter, ¡°If you¡¯d like, I can try to figure out where you were summoned from, but I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t do anything about your memories...¡±


    So she doesn¡¯t know after all, I sigh in relief. Had she learned about the demon realm, we¡¯d both be in for a world of hurt. ¡°That¡¯s okay, I have a feeling that wherever I came from wasn¡¯t a nice place, so it¡¯s probably best that I don¡¯t remember anyways.¡± Even if I wanted to go back- which I don¡¯t- I wouldn¡¯t want to rely on anyone else to do so.


    We sit in silence for a little while, until she seems to recall something and lets go of me. ¡°I¡¯ll go and find you something to drink, can¡¯t have you starving to death on me.¡± She heads for the door and stops on her way out, ¡°Oh, and Rose, don¡¯t be afraid to come to me if you ever want to talk about¡­ anything.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°Sit tight, I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± She says, before finally heading out.


    Now that I¡¯m alone, it finally sinks in that she wasn¡¯t joking about adopting me. I mean, in the demon realm vampires are expected to fend for themselves, so it feels really strange having someone want to take care of me. Not that I¡¯m complaining, I just don¡¯t understand why a human would decide to adopt a vampire- especially one they just met.


    My stomach sends me another reminder, and I double over in pain. It¡¯s been getting worse ever since I woke up, and at this point it¡¯s bad enough that it would knock me off my feet if I were standing.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    Losing my second meal- and probably the first, too- has really taken its toll on me. I just hope the Magus returns before things get too bad, otherwise I may lose control and attack her- and while I don¡¯t think she would hurt me, if I were to ingest any more of her blood in my current state it would kill me for sure.


    Trying to distract myself from the pain, I look around the room. The Magus¡¯ clothes are strewn all across the floor- including the bathrobe she had on earlier, and there are also a few piles of sand here and there, so this must be her bedroom. Other than that it¡¯s just a plain bedroom and there isn¡¯t much to see, so I plop down on my back and stare at the ceiling while waiting.


    It¡¯s hard to tell how much time passes, because by the time she returns I¡¯ve long since stopped thinking clearly, and it amazes me how much I trust her already. I smell the blood long before she enters the room, and it pulls me from my stupor. ¡°I¡¯m back, Rose.¡± She says, placing a tray with four cups of blood on the bed. ¡°I don¡¯t know if it makes a difference, but I tried to get you a variety.¡±


    Why is one of them blue? I mean, I guess it doesn¡¯t matter as long as it¡¯s blood... She takes one of the cups of normal-looking blood and holds it up to my mouth, and after an investigative sniff, it checks out so I let her feed it to me. It¡¯s alright, but after what happened earlier I feel my taste in blood may be a bit skewed.


    ¡°How was it?¡± She asks, placing the cup back on the tray.


    ¡°It was good, thank you.¡± I reply as my shaking calms.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear that.¡± She picks up the blue one and holds it up to me, ¡°What do you think about this?¡±


    ¡°It smells a bit strange, but also delicious.¡±


    She looks excited, ¡°Try it.¡±


    I look at her suspiciously, ¡°I would¡¯ve expected you to be repulsed by me drinking blood.¡±


    ¡°Why¡¯s that? I mean, it¡¯s not that big of a step from eating meat, and some humans even drink pigs blood.¡±


    ¡°Point taken,¡± I take a sip of the blue blood, and surprisingly it¡¯s quite good, so I finish the glass. If I had to gauge it, I¡¯d say it¡¯s the second best I¡¯ve had so far.


    ¡°I knew it.¡± Her eyes light up, ¡°That was Aquafiend blood. It¡¯s one of the weaker monsters found in the area, and it¡¯s also not even remotely humanoid- which adds yet another thing that separates you from regular vampires.¡±


    ¡°You mean they can¡¯t drink monster blood?¡±


    ¡°More than that, they can only drink the blood of humans.¡±


    I¡¯m starting to see what that woman meant about me being the only real vampire on this world.


    ¡°This is a big deal.¡± The Magus assures, ¡°If you can drink monster blood, I don¡¯t have to call in any more favors to feed you- I can just use money.¡±


    ¡°Call in favors?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± She says, grabbing another glass for me, but I shake my head.


    ¡°I¡¯m full. Actually, I think I¡¯ve had a little too much.¡±


    ¡°Already? But you¡¯ve only drank¡­¡± She looks between me and the tray, ¡°Nevermind, I guess it makes sense with as small as you are. How long do you think it¡¯ll be until you¡¯ll want more?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, I haven¡¯t held on to any of the meals that I can remember for long enough to be thirsty again¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, right. Well, just tell me when the time comes and we can go from there.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± I yawn, ¡°Thank you so much, Miss Magus.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d prefer you called me mother. Or, if you would like, Sera is fine too.¡±


    ¡°Mother¡­¡± Such an alien word to me, and she looks far too youthful for the title- though I¡¯m sure she¡¯s older than she looks. ¡°Can I ask you a question?¡±


    She beams at me, ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°Why¡­ What made you decide to adopt me?¡±


    Her smile drops a bit- but not completely, and she sits down next to me on the bed. ¡°I could go on and on about how you reminded me of someone I used to know, or how you were the cutest thing I¡¯d ever seen, but honestly I didn¡¯t put that much thought behind it- I just saw a chance and I took it.¡±


    ¡°Even though I¡¯m a vampire and you¡¯re a human?¡±


    ¡°Species didn¡¯t really play a part in my decision, but even if it did, you aren¡¯t a vampire- at least not by this worlds standards.¡±


    I feel a little offended at that, It¡¯s more like they aren¡¯t real vampires¡­ ¡°Then what am I?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re just you, silly.¡± She pats me on the head, ¡°But those from other worlds are generally called Travelers- or Otherworlders, but I¡¯d go with the former if anyone asks.¡±


    ¡°A Traveler...¡± I guess it¡¯s better than being called an alien or something. I close my eyes, there¡¯s just so much to take in, and now that my stomach has stopped bothering me I¡¯m losing the battle to stay awake.


    A kiss on the forehead causes me to peel my eyes open a bit, just as the Magus- Sera- is getting out of bed. ¡°Goodnight, Rose.¡± She says, taking the tray from the foot of the bed.


    ¡°Goodnight.¡± I reply, and sleep takes me soon after.

 Chapter 2 - Betrayal and Theft

    When I wake up the next day it¡¯s to the sound of the door opening, and I sit up just in time to see the Magus coming into the room carrying some clothes. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re awake.¡± She says, placing everything on the foot of the bed, ¡°Sleep well?¡±


    ¡°Mm-hmm,¡± I reply, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.


    ¡°Good, we¡¯ve got a busy day ahead of us.¡± She takes my hand, ¡°This is going to tingle a bit, but please bear with it.¡±


    Just as she says, a tingling sensation shoots through my hand and into the rest of my body for a second, and then she lets go. ¡°What did you do?¡± I ask, feeling a little strange.


    ¡°I cast purify to clean you off, we don¡¯t have time for you to take a bath.¡±


    She cleaned my entire body that fast? Magic sure is convenient...


    ¡°Can you dress yourself?¡± The Magus asks, holding up a red and black dress.


    I nod, How hard can it be?


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave you to it then,¡± she places it on the bed and heads for the door, ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting in the room at the end of the hall, come find me when you¡¯re done. Oh, and if you need to use the restroom it¡¯s the room right beside this one.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± I reply, and she departs.


    After a few minutes of struggling, I manage to get everything on and make my way down the hall to find her- only to hear a mans voice. ¡°-by to see me if things go well.¡±


    ¡°We will.¡± The Magus answers as I walk inside and see her speaking to a mirror. ¡°Talk to you later, Renji.¡± She adds, upon noticing me.


    ¡°Goodbye Sera, and good luck.¡± The voice says, just before the mirror goes dark.


    Sera turns to me, ¡°I have something I need to ask you before we go through with this- do you really want to be adopted by me?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± So I do get a choice in the matter¡­ I mean, all of this was kinda forced on me since the beginning. Still, I¡¯ve already accepted it at this point. ¡°I do.¡±


    She looks ecstatic, ¡°That makes me so happy.¡± She pulls me into her embrace, ¡°I promise to do my best to take care of you from now on.¡±


    I¡¯ve long since given up on understanding how she can be so affectionate despite only knowing me for a day, but to be honest it feels rather nice to have someone who cares. ¡°Thank you.¡± I whisper, and she squeezes me even tighter before letting go.


    ¡°We can celebrate later, but right now we¡¯ve gotta hurry,¡± She says, rummaging through a satchel. ¡°Is there anything you need before we go?¡±


    ¡°I guess not, I mean I¡¯m not thirsty or anything.¡±


    The Magus puts the satchel down and summons a portal, ¡°Let¡¯s get going then.¡± She says, leading me into it.


    We come out of the portal next to a large circular table with a bunch of old humans seated around it, and a regal man with a crown on his head addresses Sera. ¡°Magus Whiteheart, you are late.¡±


    ¡°Your Majesty.¡± She bows, ¡°Please forgive me, I have no excuse for my tardiness.¡±


    That seems to placate him, ¡°See that it doesn¡¯t happen again.¡± He moves his gaze to me, and I nearly faint due to my nervousness.


    Sera didn¡¯t have to tell me where we were going, but she could¡¯ve at least warned me that we would be meeting with royalty!


    ¡°So this is the traveler you rescued from that demon.¡± Nobody bothers to correct him, and he waves me over, ¡°Come here, child.¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    My blood goes cold as I realize what he¡¯s asking of me, and despite trying to adhere to his request, I can¡¯t move an inch.


    Luckily, an armored man speaks up before it becomes a problem, ¡°Your Majesty, is that wise? We don¡¯t know what it¡¯s capable of.¡±


    ¡°Her name is Rose,¡± Sera snaps, causing the man to flinch- though he quickly regains his composure.


    ¡°Your concern has been noted Sir Geisel, but I trust Magus Whitehearts judgement.¡± He looks back to me, ¡°Do not make me say it again.¡±


    A slight push from Sera sends me moving forward, and I somehow manage to maintain my momentum until I¡¯m standing next to the King. He scans me from head to toe with appraising eyes before speaking, ¡°I¡¯m told you have amnesia.¡±


    I barely manage a nod, which he returns before continuing, ¡°How unfortunate, I would¡¯ve liked to know what your world was like.¡± He rubs his beard, looking to the Magus, ¡°I suppose you didn¡¯t bring this child here just to meet me?¡±


    Sera Kneels before answering, ¡°I have a request, Your Majesty.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡±


    ¡°I wish to adopt Rose into the Whiteheart family as my daughter.¡±


    Please say yes, please say yes, please say yes.


    ¡°I see.¡± The King says, and I clench my fists in anticipation, ¡°As this is the first time you¡¯ve made a request in all your years of service, I would like to accept- however...¡± He gestures for Sir Geisel to come over, ¡°I will not allow you to sully the Whiteheart family name with some stray you found on the streets- otherworlder or not.¡±


    His declaration causes my legs lose their strength and I collapse to the floor with my ears ringing. It¡¯s all over, just like that? I hear Sera''s voice, but I can¡¯t tell what she¡¯s saying due to being in shock, and then someone lifts me up, and I fight through my tears to see it¡¯s the man from before- Sir Geisel.


    He¡¯s saying something to me, though I ignore it as I look towards Sera for help- but she just watches it happen and shakes her head at me. But, she promised! ¡°You promised!¡± I yell with sorrow, ¡°You-mmph!¡± The man covers my mouth, and I very nearly bite his hand- but I stop myself.


    I can tell that if I were to attack him he wouldn¡¯t hesitate to kill me, so I just cry in silence and stare at Sera as he carries me off. She doesn¡¯t budge from her kneeling position the entire time, and the last thing I see as I¡¯m carried out of the room is her distraught expression.


    I continue to cry as I¡¯m carried through the halls of the castle and out a door in the back, then Sir Geisel tosses me to the ground as if I¡¯m trash before leaving without a word. After everything that happened, after everything she promised¡­ She just abandoned me without a second thought because of a single sentence from the King. I¡¯m sure she¡¯s powerful enough that she could¡¯ve saved me, so WHY? Why didn¡¯t she help me?


    By the time I finally collect my wits quite a bit of time has passed, and I¡¯m feeling quite thirsty- which makes me remember when Sera said I should tell her the next time I need blood, and I nearly break down again- but I don¡¯t. I can¡¯t blame everything on her, I should¡¯ve known better than to trust a human in the first place.


    Pulling myself upright, the first thing I see is a Rose bush at the side of the road- except the roses are blue. How ironic, I think, shakily getting to my feet.I¡¯ll have to find something to drink soon, but how? I mean, I don¡¯t think I¡¯m strong enough to take any from a human, and there aren¡¯t any other creatures that I can feed on nearby.


    Sera¡­ did say something about being able to buy monster blood, but I have no money- and even if I did, I don¡¯t know the value of human currency. I guess my only option is to steal then, be it from a sleeping human, or from somewhere that sells it. Since I don¡¯t think any humans will be asleep during the day, I¡¯ll go for the latter option for now, and if I have no luck by night time I¡¯ll switch.


    Goal in mind, I make my way down the road until it meets up with a larger one with lots of humans on it, all while relying on my sense of smell to search for blood. For the most part the humans pay me no mind- though one or two do stop to stare at me, and soon the road leads to a massive marketplace where I smell lots of blood.


    Unfortunately, as I get closer to my first target and the smell gets stronger I can tell that the blood isn¡¯t adequate to sustain me, so I move past the butchers stall and continue my search. The same happens at the next five places I check, and I nearly give up until I notice the faint yet familiar scent of aquafiend blood.


    Following the trail, my nose leads me away from the market and to a large building with a sign posted out front reading ¡®Adventurers Guild,¡¯ and a lot of strong looking humans going in and out. After a little hesitation, I decide to at least take a look, despite the low chance of me being able to steal anything.


    The inside of the building has a restaurant section on one side, and a bunch of reception desks on the other. In the middle of the room, there¡¯s a board with a bunch of papers posted, and bold words at the top reading: Please do not remove requests from the board, simply tell the receptionist the request''s number instead.


    I walk past the board after reading that part, and follow the scent to the counter where it continues deeper into the building. ¡°Can I help you, young lady?¡± A male receptionist asks, to which I just shake my head.


    ¡°Not unless you can tell me where you keep the aquafiend blood,¡± I say, not expecting what comes next.


    ¡°Ah, you wouldn¡¯t happen to be Beth¡¯s new apprentice would you?¡±


    Wait, there¡¯s no way I¡¯m this lucky¡­ ¡°I am.¡±


    ¡°Wait right here,¡± He says, heading through a door in the back. As it turns out, luck is on my side because he returns a few seconds later with a bottle of aquafiend blood and places it on the counter in front of me. ¡°That¡¯ll be six silver.¡± He says, as I devise a plan.


    ¡°Okay,¡± I reply, sticking one hand into my pocket as if searching for the money, while reaching for the blood with the other. The second my hand makes contact, I snatch the bottle and make a run for it- which apparently the man wasn¡¯t expecting because he doesn¡¯t make a sound until I¡¯m nearly outside.


    ¡°Stop! Thief!¡± He yells as I exit the building and take a sharp turn, and then run until I get to the side of the building before turning again- only to be lifted into the air from behind.


    Damn it, not this again! I curse, until I realize that the lifting isn¡¯t stopping, and I¡¯m being taken higher and higher into the sky.


    ¡°Quite the little thief, aren¡¯t we?¡± A familiar voice asks, and I crane my neck to see her face.


    ¡°Sera?¡± I ask with disbelief. Of all the people to capture me¡­ it had to be her?


    ¡°Good thing you¡¯ve got yourself something to drink, I left all of my belongings back at the house, and we¡¯ve got a long trip ahead of us.¡±


    Wait, ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I made you a promise, didn¡¯t I?¡±

 Chapter 3 - You Messed With The Wrong Kitten, Mister Demon.

    ¡°I made you a promise, didn¡¯t I?¡± Her words repeat in my mind as the city below grows distant, and then the scenery changes completely as we go through a portal- coming out above a small coastal town.


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry Rose.¡± Sera says, summoning another portal in front of us. ¡°I wanted nothing more than to come your aid sooner, but I had to sell my act completely in order to make our escape possible.¡±


    Then, there was a reason she didn¡¯t help me after all? My heart fills with hope, ¡°So¡­ You¡¯re not going to abandon me?¡±


    ¡°I would never do such a thing.¡± She assures, and my eyes start to tear up again.


    And here I thought I was done crying...or trusting humans, for that matter.


    ¡°To be honest, I was worried sick about you.¡± She gestures to my spoils, smiling playfully. ¡°Looks like I had nothing to worry about though- even if you did get caught.¡±


    It takes a moment for her words to sink in, but once they do my mood lightens up a bit, ¡°This time doesn¡¯t count.¡±


    Sera pulls some sand from her pocket and tosses it into the portal, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯m not sure last time counts either.¡±


    Now that I think about it, I guess she¡¯s right. I mean, last time I didn¡¯t even commit the crime to begin with. Sera snaps her fingers, and the portal starts to flicker. ¡°What are you doing?¡± I ask, before it disappears completely.


    ¡°Buying us some time.¡± She says, pointing towards the ground. Following her gesture, I see a large purple monolith. ¡°Without that lodestone, nobody will be teleporting in or out of here for a while.¡±


    Just like last time, I watch as sand devours the structure in seconds, and then the Magus snaps her fingers causing it to collapse into a pile. ¡°I¡¯m going to miss this.¡± She mumbles, before flying us away from the town and over the ocean.


    ¡°Miss what?¡± I ask, but she glosses over my question.


    ¡°Oh, I almost forgot,¡± She reaches into her pocket and withdraws two rings. ¡°I figured we¡¯d need these, so I swiped them before I left.¡±


    Sera slips one onto my middle finger, and it gives off a similar feeling to when she used magic on me earlier. ¡°What do they do?¡± I ask as the ring shrinks down to fit me.


    ¡°They¡¯re normally worn by people of similar age for obvious reasons, but in our case it works out better this way.¡± She says, putting the other on her own middle finger.


    The ring immediately resonates with mine, and then her appearance starts to change. Her red hair turns blonde, her green eyes become red, and then her facial structure changes until it¡¯s as if I¡¯m looking at an older version of myself.


    ¡°You¡¯re,¡± A vampire? ¡°Like me now?¡± Surely such a thing can¡¯t be achieved just by wearing some ring...


    ¡°Just my appearance,¡± She pokes one of her fangs, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be able to use these, but it should be enough to convince people that you and I are the same species.¡±


    Convince people we¡¯re the same species? ¡°Why would you want to do that?¡±


    ¡°Is it so strange for a mother and her daughter to look alike?¡± She asks comically, before turning more serious, ¡°There are several reasons, but most importantly it¡¯s to hide my race. Actually, it may not be good enough because we look pretty close to being human, but I didn¡¯t have time to prepare anything better.¡±


    I don¡¯t understand¡­ ¡°Why would you want to hide the fact that you¡¯re a human? I mean, this is a predominantly human world, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Sera looks at me as if I¡¯ve just told a bad joke before realization strikes her and she shakes her head. ¡°Actually, humans are considered to be the weakest race of sentient creatures in the world.¡±Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    That¡¯s yet another thing that doesn¡¯t match up with what I know. I guess I really shouldn¡¯t rely on my inherent knowledge too much. I mean, I don¡¯t even know any other races aside from humans and demons- except maybe the vampires of this world. ¡°What other ra-¡±


    My words are cut short as Sera cries out and squeezes me tightly. ¡°Aghh!¡±


    Suddenly the wind pressure- which I didn¡¯t even realize she was suppressing- hits us, and I nearly lose my grip on my bottle. Looking up, I see that her eyes are closed and her face is twisted in pain.


    ¡°Sera!¡± I shout over the whistling wind, ¡°Sera! What¡¯s wrong?¡± I keep yelling to no avail as we get closer and closer to the ocean below, until mere seconds before we hit the water her eyes snap open and our descent comes to a halt.


    ¡°Damn it,¡± She says weakly as we start flying again- though far slower than before. ¡°I thought I¡¯d have more time.¡±


    ¡°Time for what?¡± I ask, but she doesn¡¯t respond. ¡°Sera?¡± I tap her on the shoulder, and she looks down at me. ¡°Are you alright?¡± I try again.


    ¡°Rose¡­¡± Her voice is strained, ¡°Would you still stay with me if I were a null?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± I reply without hesitation. ¡°What¡¯s a null, though?¡±


    ¡°Good girl.¡± She smiles, and her eyes lose focus. ¡°Drink your blood and hang on tight.¡±


    I do as she says, and when I¡¯m done with it I drop the bottle into the sea. She hefts me up until I¡¯m looking over her shoulder, and I wrap my arms around her neck. ¡°Here we go.¡± She says, and our speed picks up again- though she¡¯s no longer shielding us from the wind. It¡¯s so cold that I can hardly bear it, but I know that if Sera could do something about it she would¡¯ve already, so I close my eyes and rest my chin on her shoulder.


    This continues for what seems like hours, and by the time we finally slow back down my entire body is either numb from the cold or sore from holding on for so long.Turning around I see land justahead of us. ¡°We made it.¡± Sera points out, sounding exhausted.


    We start to descend- slowly this time- until Sera¡¯s feet hit the ground and then she lowers me down to my feet as well. Unfortunately my legs are numb so I nearly faceplant in the sand before catching myself with my hands, then I hear a thud and I look over to see Sera lying next to me.


    ¡°Sera?¡± I ask, crawling up to her on my hands and knees. She¡¯s still breathing, but she¡¯s not responding so I give her a light shake, ¡°Mother?¡± I say, hoping she¡¯ll open her eyes and give me her usual jovial smile- but it doesn¡¯t work.


    What do I do? She¡¯s not waking up, and I don¡¯t know the first thing when it comes to figuring out what¡¯s wrong with her. I do the only thing I can think of which is to lay my head on her chest and listen to her heartbeat. It¡¯s steady- if not a little weak- which I take as good sign. Hopefully she¡¯s just tired¡­


    I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll be hungry when she wakes up, so I guess I¡¯ll look for something for her to eat. What do humans like to eat though? Thinking about it, I saw some of them eating fruit and burnt meat at the market earlier, and Sera did mention that they drink the blood of pigs...


    Giving the beach a good scan, I see a large variety of vegetation, but there aren¡¯t any animals as far as I can tell. I guess I¡¯ll just gather as many different things as I can and hope that she¡¯ll like at least one of them.


    With my plan made, I head over to my first target- a bush with white berries and pointy purple leaves. After taking a closer look I find that it¡¯s covered in some sort of oil which looks toxic, so I decide not to take any.


    The next thing I check is a fuzzy green fruit, which at least doesn¡¯t look like it¡¯ll poison me if I touch it, so I take an armful and turn to go back to Sera- only to see a group of heavily armed people with their weapons drawn approaching her.


    No! My heart sinks, and I drop my fruit- causing one of them to notice me and point in my direction. I can¡¯t let them hurt Sera! My vision turns red and I run to her as fast as my small body can take me- which is just fast enough because I arrive right before they do.


    Standing above Sera defensively I glare at them as they approach, and now that I¡¯ve got a better view of them I can see that their group consists of three different species- none of which are human. They stop a few meters in front of me, and a man with grey skin and two stubs that may have once been horns on his forehead steps forward.


    ¡°Whatsa paira humans doin dis far from home?¡± He asks, and I feel a little insulted.


    ¡°I¡¯m not a human.¡± I snap, eliciting a smirk from him.


    ¡°Sure, just like I be not a Demon.¡± He says sarcastically, ¡°What be you, then?¡±


    He¡¯s not a demon though- at least not a type that I recognize, but that¡¯s beside the point. ¡°I¡¯m a Va¡­ a Traveler.¡±


    The man laughs, but I notice none of his companions join in, and then he starts walking towards me. ¡°Well, Travela, we be taking you and your¡­¡± He looks down at Sera and shrugs, ¡°Sista into custody.¡±


    There¡¯s no way I can win against all three of them,but I can¡¯t just let them capture us¡­ It seems like no matter what I do this situation isn¡¯t going to go my way. ¡°Stay back!¡± I shout, but he keeps walking, so I resort to my primal instincts and threaten him with a hiss- showing my fangs.


    ¡°Ya bout as threatenin as a kitten, girlie.¡± He says with a smirk, reaching out to grab me.


    ¡°Uh, Daryl. I think she''s telling the truth.¡±The woman behind him warns, but it¡¯s too late- I wasn¡¯t bluffing. I rush forward asshe distracts him and bite his arm as quicky as I can- piercing the skin like butter before letting go and backing off.


    ¡°Ahh! Ya lil Devil!¡± He yells as he takes a swing at me, but I¡¯ve already retreated back to Sera¡¯s side. ¡°I¡¯ma¡­¡± He stumbles, then falls to his knees. ¡°Tha Hells?¡± He asks in confusion before passing out.


    That¡¯s one down, two to go. I look at the rest of his group, but one of them is missing and the otheris laughing hysterically.


    ¡°Hahaha, I tried to warn you!¡± The brown furred cat-person says, ¡°Humansrarely have redeyes, and they certainly don''t hiss!¡±


    Shekeeps laughing while I try to locate the missing man- the one that looks like a tall human with pointy ears- and then something cold presses against my throat, followed by an even colder voice from behind me. ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡±


    I freeze, despite my mental anguish. Damn it! I didn¡¯t notice him at all until he had me.


    ¡°Is my friend¡¯s life in danger?¡± He asks.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± I answer, which doesn¡¯t seem to satisfy him so I continue, ¡°I¡¯ve never bitten someone like him before, but he should just be asleep.¡± He still doesn¡¯t remove the knife from my throat, so I plead, ¡°Please don¡¯t kill me.¡±


    I sigh in relief as the knife is removed from my throat- only to have a foul smelling cloth shoved into my face. As I struggle to breathe I hear the cat-woman speak again, ¡°Come on Thorn, is that really necessary?¡±


    His reply is the last thing I hear before my consciousness is consumed by darkness, ¡°It¡¯s payback for Daryl.¡±

 Chapter 4 - Its a long story

    *** POV ¡®The Cat-person¡¯ ***


    ¡°It¡¯s payback for Daryl.¡± Thorn says as the girl collapses into a heap next to her mother.


    Why am I always paired with inconsiderate idiots? ¡°Great, now we¡¯ve got three unconscious people to deal with.¡± I say, taking the girls wrist. ¡°And if this girl is actually a traveler, you may have just killed her with that.¡±


    Dealing with Travelers is always a nightmare. You never know how they¡¯ll react to drugs, let alone narcotics. That¡¯s not even taking into account the fact that you¡¯re not supposed to use something like that on kids in the first place.


    The child has a pulse, and as far as I can tell she isn¡¯t having a bad reaction, so I move on to the mother while Thorn heads over to Daryl. She¡¯s got bags under her eyes, her breathing is laboured, and she¡¯s sleeping like a rock despite what went on a minute ago.


    If I had to guess I¡¯d say she¡¯s suffering from mana exhaustion, which would explain why she was asleep when we got here. It also supports Daryl¡¯s claims that they flew here, and if that¡¯s true then we¡¯ve just hit the jackpot.


    They¡¯d fetch a good price just for being Travelers, but if you add on the fact that one of them is a mage- and the other may be in the future- their price skyrockets. We just have to hurry up with the enslavement ritual before they wake up. ¡°Thorn, get me a collar from Daryl¡¯s pack- actually, make that two.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    What¡¯s taking him so long? Normally he¡¯d at least argue with me by now. Looking over, I see him standing stock still with his back to me, and upon further inspection I notice there¡¯s someone else on the other side of him with their arms wrapped around his back.


    ¡°Thorn?¡± I ask as the other person lets go and he drops to the ground like a sack of potatoes.


    With him no longer in between us the woman''s alluring pink eyes meet my own, and my mind is pulled into the flowery abyss as she smiles at me. ¡°Here kitty kitty.¡± She taunts, beckoning me over. Normally I¡¯d find such a remark to be insulting, but instead my heart throbs at the sound of her voice and I want nothing more than to do as she says.


    Step by step I make my way closer to my mistress, until I¡¯m only an arms length away. She reaches her hand out to me, and I wait in anticipation as it gets closer and closer. Then, her hand disappears in a blur and my heart stops... Actually, that¡¯s incorrect.


    Wha!? I break free of my trance as she holds my still beating heart out to me. ¡°My¡­¡± She tosses it into the air, and to my relief I actually manage to catch it- only to realize that it doesn¡¯t actually matter.


    ¡°Good luck with that.¡± She says, rubbing her bloody hands on my shirt before heading towards Daryl.


    Well, fuck. My heart falls from my hands as my vision narrows, and then I follow it to the ground.


    *** POV Rose ***


    ¡°Ugh.¡± Someone groans from beside me, waking me up just enough to be aware of the smell of blood in the air. ¡°Rose?¡± She says, giving me a gentle shake.


    ¡°Hmm?¡± I ask, fumbling around as I try and fail to sit up. I feel really strange, and my body doesn¡¯t want to listen to me.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± The four Sera¡¯s standing over me ask as they start morphing into one.


    ¡°I think so¡­¡± I answer, feeling closer to normal. It feels like I¡¯m forgetting something important. Let¡¯s see, the last thing I remember before going to sleep is¡­ Trying to find Sera something to eat, and¡­!


    ¡°Sera, you¡¯re okay!¡± I stagger to my feet and wrap my arms around her. ¡°I was so worried you would never wake up, and then¡­ The bad people came.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m okay, sweetie.¡± She says, stroking my hair, ¡°What bad people?¡±


    ¡°They attacked us while you were asleep, and¡­¡± And what? It gets a little fuzzy after that. ¡°They said they were going to ¡®take us into custody¡¯, and then they put me to sleep.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s quite alarming, Rose.¡± She looks around, ¡°We¡¯re still here though, so where did they go?¡±


    It almost seems like she doesn¡¯t believe me. ¡°I think they went this way,¡± I take her by the hand and head towards the scent of blood. Unless I slept for an entire day, not much time has passed. It¡¯s only just turning dark out, and we flew a good part of the day before they showed up- which means it hasn''t been too long, especially if that man''s wound is still bleeding.


    A mere ten steps later, we stop next to a bloody heart lying in the sand.Something must¡¯ve attacked those people, but if so then why were Sera and I left alone? We were asleep only feet away from where it happened¡­ "What could''ve done something like this?"


    "I don''t think it''sa what, but a who." Is her reply, "We shouldn''t stick around to find out either way." Sera wastes no time in picking me up, and then she flies us a short distance before landing again. She must still be pretty tired, because we onlyflew for about a minutebut she seems completely exhausted. ¡°How¡¯s your night vision?¡± She asks, a little winded.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    Now that I think about it, I¡¯ve never actually been outside at night, but going by my knowledge- which I should probably stop doing- it¡¯s, ¡°A little better than during the day, but if it gets too dark I can¡¯t see color.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s convenient.¡± She says, blinking a few times in quick succession. Her eyes start to shine, and then glow faintly by the time she stops. ¡°My magic is going a lot faster than I thought, I can hardly even do this much now.¡±


    Wait, ¡°Your magic is going away?¡±


    ¡°It is. At this rate, I suspect I¡¯ll be a null by the end of the night.¡±


    ¡°How? Why?¡±And is it my fault?


    ¡°It''s a long story.¡± She says, but I¡¯m not having it.


    ¡°We''ve got plenty of time right now¡­ Besides, you know just about everything about me from my memories, but I know very little about you.¡±


    Sera sighs, ¡°Alright, but let¡¯s walk and talk, this is going to take a while.¡±


    We do just that, following the dirt road inland while she tries to explain what happened in a way that I can understand it.


    From what I can gather, her story goes as follows: When she was a kid (she said my age) her parents had her magic aptitude tested at the church, where she was found to be a once in a generation prodigy- with a high affinity for earth magic, and medium affinities for air and life.


    According to her that''s a big deal, becausemost humans don¡¯t have magic at all, and those that do will usually have a single low affinity and nothing else. In fact, just having a single medium affinity was enough to earn someone a title of nobility(whatever that is).


    So when seven year old Sera¡¯s parents heard the news, she expected them to be happy for her, but she couldn¡¯t have been more wrong. You see, there was this thing called a ¡®law¡¯ which made her have to leave her family behind and move in with one of higher ¡®status¡¯.


    She wasn¡¯t even allowed to go home with them to get her things, because the church took custody of her on the spot before forcibly escorting her parents out. Over the next few months she stayed at the church and they taught her a bunch of useless stuff- she didn¡¯t go into much detail, but it sounded very boring.


    Then, when they decided she was finally ready they sent her off to be with her new family. She was treated well enough there, and she slowly grewaccustomed totheir lifestyle over the next year, but she still thought about her parents every day.


    On the day of her eighth birthday,her new ¡®family¡¯ took her to meet her ¡®aunt and uncle¡¯ at the castle, where she was made to recite a bunch of big words that she didn¡¯t understand to them. It turns out that those words were a lot more important than she had realized though.


    Basically,they tricked her intoa magical oath, and from then on she was unable to defy the will of her family- especially the King and Queen- in fear of the repercussions. They made her do all sorts of horrible things, such as fight in wars or even assassinate people.


    She spentmany years in their servicewhile trying to find a way to get out of her oath, and eventually she figured out a way out that wouldn''t cost her life, but her magic instead. But, before she could enact her plan the last of the Kings enemies had been defeated.


    To her surprise, they actually started treating her like a person again after all of the fighting was done, so she decided to hold off on her plan in hopes that she would be set free instead of having to lose her magic, but things didn''t go according to plan.


    Things did get a little better, and she was even allowed to have her own home, but they never actually set her free. Instead, they used her as a sort of magical problem solver that could be called at will by anyone with high enough authority in the capital- which is actually how she met me.


    I alreadyknew what came after that,but she did tell me that the real reason the King denied her request to adopt me was because he had planned to marry her off to one of his sons in the future. Of course, she pretended to go along with his wishes until an opportunity presented itself, and then she escaped with me.


    ¡°And so, broken oath- broken magic.¡± Sera finishes, ¡°Before you get any ideas, none of this is your fault. I would rather die than marry the spawn of that man, so giving up my magic for my- Our- future is a small price to pay.¡±


    Over the course of her storytelling, the dirt road we had been following met up with a larger onewhich emits a dim green glow. It''s not bright enough torender my nightvision unnecessary, but it would prevent people from getting lost if they didn''t have nightvision or another source of light.


    We don¡¯t say much for the next hour or so as I let her story sink in, and if there¡¯s one thing I take away from the whole thing(Aside from what I learned about Sera) it¡¯s that humans can be far worse than I could have imagined. No Demon would do what was done to Sera to one of our own kind.


    ¡°Let¡¯s stop here for a little while.¡± Sera says as we come across a small pond next to the road. ¡°Help me collect some firewood, would you? We¡¯ve gotta get ready for dinner.¡±


    I give her a look of confusion, ¡°Dinner?¡± We don¡¯t have anything to eat/drink though.


    She winks at me, ¡°Just wait and see.¡±


    Might as well help her then. I think, and then we start piling up all of the sticks and other flammable material we find until our pile is up to my knees, and then Sera holds a finger up to me before pulling out two identical black daggers that I didn¡¯t even know she had.


    Where was she even keeping those things? She couldn''t have hidden them with magic, and she¡¯s wearing shorts and a T-shirt for crying out loud...


    ¡°Here goes.¡± She says, and then a huge creature leaps from the bushes right at us. Its appearance is close to the animal I know of as a rabbit, except it''s the size of a horse and its got razor sharp teeth and antlers.


    ¡°Ahh!¡± I yell as I realize it¡¯s coming at me rather than us, and it''s hopping so fast that I can hardly keep track of its movements.


    Sera desn''t share my fear as she runs right at the monster, and then throws one of her daggers which sticks right intoits nose. Theinjury doesn''t slow the beast down at allas the two close their distance, but just as it''s about to impaleherit suddenly stumbles as I hear a crackling sound.The dagger must have been enchanted.


    Sera takes advantage of its momentary stupor and dodges its antlersbefore stabbing it in the eyes with her other dagger. Then she stabs it again, and again, and before I know it she''s got the otherdaggerout of itsnose and she''s stabbing with that one too.


    All in all, it takes about ten seconds for the thing to stop moving, and by the time it does Seralooks more terrifying than it ever did because she''s completely covered in its blood.


    That was horrifying to watch¡­ Which is saying something coming from a vampire. I actually feel a littlesympathetic towards the rabbit monster after watching it die like that. I guess Sera can handle herself even without her magic, huh. Then again, I guess that makes sense since she''s been fighting for a long time.


    ¡°Hope you like Wolper,¡± She says, wiping her daggers off on its fur. Then she gives me a blood coated smile, ¡°Go ahead and dig in, I¡¯ve got to make a fire.¡±


    ¡°Uhh¡­¡± Its blood does smell rather appetizing, but¡­


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± She asks, and I can¡¯t help but feel bad for being picky after she over a free meal.


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ covered in fur.¡±The thought ofbiting something furry and getting some in my mouth is just... yuck.


    ¡°Pfft,¡± Sera giggles, before holdinga dagger out to me by the blade, ¡°Here, use this.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never even held one of those before.¡±I''d probably end up impaling myself, or getting shocked by the enchantment.


    She ignores my excuse and slips the thing into my palm, and I nervously close my fingers around its hilt. ¡°Come on, I¡¯ll teach you.¡±


    I¡¯ll leave out what happens next, but I will say that Wolper blood tastes even better than Aquafiend.


    After our meal, we go for a swim in the pond and do our best to wash the blood out of our clothes before drying them next to the fire. We don¡¯t stay the night here though, because according to Sera the Wolper corpse will draw in even moremonsters so it won¡¯t be safe.


    Instead, we walk for another half an hour until we find a broken down wagon at the side of the road, and since my stamina is running out we decide to stop for the night. It¡¯s not asgood as our spot next to the fire, but it¡¯s a lot better than Sera¡¯s suggested alternative of sleeping in a tree with her- especially since whoever left the wagon here also left some empty sacksinside which Sera uses to make me a pallet.


    ¡°Goodnight Rose.¡± She says from her perch above me as I make myself comfortable in the wagon.


    ¡°Goodnight.¡± I answer, closingmy eyes to sleepunder her watch.

 Chapter 5 - Free stuff!

    I wake up the next morning without any signs of my prior exhaustion, and my feet aren¡¯t even sore from walking barefoot anymore. Actually, I feel better than ever before, which I attribute to the quality of the meal I had last night.


    I should really thank Sera. Not only is she probably the sole reason I¡¯m alive at this point, she¡¯s even made it possible for me to drink blood from things that are much stronger than I am- which in turn allows me to grow stronger as well.


    ¡°Thank you, Sera.¡± I say, as the two of us are walking away from our resting place.


    ¡°Hmm? Whatever for?¡±


    ¡°Everything.¡±


    She smiles and shakes her head, ¡°I should be the one thanking you instead. If you hadn¡¯t come along, I would¡¯ve been stuck slaving away for a few more years. Not only that, but you¡¯ve given me what I wanted most in the world.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡± I hadn¡¯t thought of things that way, and also, ¡°What did I give you?¡±


    ¡°What indeed.¡± She says, before patting me on the head.


    Once again I have no clue what she means, and I doubt her answer would change if I asked again. I guess this is the newest addition to the list of things that Sera says or does which I don¡¯t understand.


    ¡°Why are we following this road anyway?¡± I ask, changing the topic.


    ¡°Because it should lead to civilization, and there are some things I need to pick up for our journey.¡± She looks me over, ¡°I really regret not getting you any shoes before we left, and you¡¯ll need clothes which are suited for travel- that dress won¡¯t last much longer at this rate.¡±


    She¡¯s right, I can hardly even tell what color it¡¯s supposed to be because it¡¯s so dirty. Still, I can¡¯t help but worry about meeting other people again after what happened on the beach.


    As if on queue, I hear the faint sound of hooves hitting pavement from behind us, and Sera quickly pulls me to the side of the road. Looking to the source of the sound, I see two people on horseback with their sights set on us.


    ¡°Well what do we have here?¡± The first man asks with a cooked grin as they come to a stop in front of us.


    Sera moves in between them and me as the other one answers, ¡°Looks like a couple city girls got lost to me.¡±


    ¡°Well, we ought to help them out then.¡± The first man states sarcastically, and I realize Sera¡¯s already holding her daggers behind her back. ¡°It¡¯ll be easier for them to get home without their heavy pockets weighing them down.¡±


    Peeking around her, I get a good look at them. They¡¯ve both got their shortswords unsheathed, and just like the man from the beach they¡¯re of the so called ¡®Demon¡¯ race- though they¡¯ve both still got their horns.


    ¡°Oh, thank you!¡± Sera says, and the evil smile on her face sends shivers down my spine. Pointing at them, she continues, ¡°Look Rose, these nice men have decided to donate all of their belongings to us!¡± Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    The two freeze at her words, and time slows to a crawl as they glare at us, but her smile doesn¡¯t waver. And then they suddenly bust out laughing, ¡°¡°Bahaha-¡±¡± Thud Thud! The second their attention wavers, Sera throws her daggers and each one makes contact hilt-first right between both of their eyes- which roll back into their heads.


    Yep, I should¡¯ve seen that one coming, I think as they drop their weapons before falling from their horses. It¡¯s surprising that she chose not to kill them though.


    After making sure they¡¯re both unconscious, Sera moves her attention to the horses. ¡°Shh, shh.¡± She says in an attempt to appease the spooked animals. ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡±


    Her attempt is only partly successful, because just as she manages to take one of the horses reins the other one bolts into the woods as if its life depends on it. She looks angry, but other than clicking her tongue she doesn¡¯t say anything lest she scare the remaining horse even more.


    I can¡¯t say I blame the thing for running. Sera takes first second and third place for the most terrifying people I¡¯ve ever met- with the King being at forth- so I probably would¡¯ve done the same thing in its shoes. I think as she ties the horse to a tree.


    ¡°Go grab some sacks for me, would you?¡± She asks, so I make my way back to the wagon as she starts rummaging through its saddle bag. ¡°Oh, how convenient. They- We¡¯ve got some rope.¡±


    By the time I¡¯ve returned, the two have already been hogtied and had their pockets emptied into a pile on the ground. ¡°Thank you.¡± She says as I place the sacks on the ground next to her, then she slides one over each of their heads before making some air holes.


    They actually look pretty funny with their horns poking through the sacks, so I have to stifle a giggle as I ask, ¡°What are you going to do with them?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m feeling generous since they brought us some horses, so I¡¯ve decided not to kill them outright- which is probably more than they deserve.¡± She says, stuffing all ofher loot into a sack. ¡°They¡¯ll probably die if we leave them like this depending on their luck, but I don¡¯t really care either way.¡±


    Looking down at the pair, I find it hard to sympathise with them. It¡¯s their fault that they¡¯re in this situation in the first place, they shouldn¡¯t have tried to rob us.


    ¡°Have you ever ridden a horse?¡± Sera asks, walking over to it.


    ¡°No.¡± I answer as she unties it.


    ¡°Me neither, but how hard can it be if these idiots are able to do it?¡±


    That doesn¡¯t sound promising. I think, and she puts one foot on the stirrup and then pulls herself up onto the horses back.


    ¡°Woah, woah.¡± She says as the thing starts walking on its own. The animal ignores her and doesn¡¯t stop. ¡°Woah now.¡± She tries again, and then it actually stops.


    ¡°See? I told y-¡± The horse bucks, nearly flinging Sera off, and then it bolts in the same direction as the other one- right into the woods- with her still on top of it.


    ¡°Stop!¡± She in full panic mode, which the horse apparently takes as a challenge because it speeds up even more. ¡°I said stoooooooop!¡±


    I¡¯m on the verge of laughing at her misfortune, but my worry overrides the urge so I end up just standing there dumbfounded as the horse brings her deeper into the woods until I lose sight of them- though I can still hear her screaming.


    Should I go after her or should I stay here? I wonder, I guess I¡¯ll stay, that way she¡¯ll be able to find me when she regains control of it. It¡¯s not like I could catch up to the horse anyway.


    Five minutes pass, and then ten with no sign of Sera until finally I hear something moving in the woods. ¡°Sera?¡± I ask, but rather than her I¡¯m greeted by the sight of the horse she was riding as it triumphantly struts up onto road and then enters the forest on the other side.


    That¡¯s not a good sign¡­ I really hope she¡¯s okay. I think, and then I finally hear her.


    ¡°Fuck horses!¡± She yells, and a few seconds later she emerges from the forest looking like she was run over by¡­ well, a horse. ¡°Pardon my language, Rose. I didn¡¯t realise I was close enough for you to hear me yet.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, but are you okay?¡± I feel like I have to ask her that too often¡­


    ¡°I¡¯ll live, but it looks like we¡¯ll be walking after all.¡± She says, picking up the sack containing the mens things and then walking down the road. ¡°Let¡¯s get going before I change my mind about killing these two.¡±


    ¡°Uh, Sera.¡± I say, and she turns around.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the wrong way.¡±


    ¡°Ah.¡± She walks past me, so I follow her.


    ¡°Do me a favor, Rose?¡± She asks.


    I know exactly what she¡¯s going to ask, because I would do the same. ¡°I won¡¯t tell anyone.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    The two of us walk down the road for a while, but as the tension runs thin it becomes harder and harder to hold in our laughter until we finally crack. It starts with a giggle from me, but it quickly intensifies as Sera joins in until both of us are laughing so hard we can hardly even walk.

 Chapter 6 - Gold, Magic and Celebrations

    We continue down the road for several more hours- occasionally pausing to do more laughing- until a small town encircled by a wooden wall comes into view.


    ¡°Thank the gods.¡± Sera says as we approach the gate, ¡°I was not looking forward to sleeping in a tree again.¡±


    A pair of armed guards with red serpents on their breastplates watch us as we draw near, until we¡¯re standing right in front of them. ¡°Halt.¡± The closer of the two says, and we comply. ¡°What business do you have in Haragal?¡± She asks.


    ¡°Just passing through.¡± Sera replies. ¡°Figured we¡¯d to get a bath, a hot meal, and a bed for the night.¡±


    The other guard snorts, ¡°They definitely need a good wash, that¡¯s for sure.¡±


    ¡°Shut it,¡± The woman snaps at him before turning back to us, ¡°The toll is ten copper per adult, five if you¡¯ve got a guild card.¡±


    Sera withdraws one of the bandits coin pouches from her sack and fishes some coins out, ¡°No guild card.¡± She says, handing the money over.


    The guard moves aside after accepting the payment, ¡°Welcome to Haragal.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Sera says, and we walk through the gate.


    Once we¡¯re inside, the town seems much smaller than it did before, and the only impressive thing about it is just how unimpressive it is. All of the houses and buildings are composed of wood or stone, and for the most part they¡¯re just a single storey- though there are some exceptions.


    The streets are also quite bare in comparison to the human city, and the people I do see are of many different species. Most of which I¡¯ve seen before, such as Humans, Demons, those pointy eared people which Sera says are Elves, and even some more cat people which she calls the Kyatt.


    There are at least two more races as far as I can tell, but before I can ask about them we arrive at out first stop. It¡¯s a shop painted red and yellow with a bunch of shiny things on display in the window. It also has a sign out front that reads ¡®Lil Jimmy¡¯s Jewelery¡¯, which I feel is misleading because the person running the store is an Elven man who by no means can be considered little.


    ¡°Welcome!¡± He says from behind the counter with a smile, which he loses once he sees how filthy we are. ¡°Can I help you?¡±


    ¡°Do you buy gold?¡± Sera asks.


    He crosses his arms, ¡°We do.¡±


    Sera reaches into her sack and withdraws a gold necklace, followed by two rings and a bracelet with a red gemstone embedded in it. ¡°Interested in any of these?¡±


    ¡°Where did you get all of this?¡± He asks, picking up the necklace.


    ¡°Stole it from some highwaymen.¡± She says with a smile as if it¡¯s the most natural thing in the world.


    The mans eye twitches a couple times, but then he moves his attention back to the necklace. ¡°This one¡¯s a fake.¡± He says, putting it down. He then moves on to appraising the bracelet, and after a good minute of looking at it under a lense he nods, ¡°Five gold for the bracelet.¡±


    ¡°And the rings?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re Noble signets, I couldn¡¯t buy them if I wanted to.¡±


    ¡°Ah, Seriously?¡± Sera takes one and looks at it up close, before sliding everything except the bracelet back into her sack. ¡±How about six gold for the bracelet?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you five gold and ten silver, but only because I¡¯m feeling generous. Any more than that and I won¡¯t make a profit.¡±


    Sera thinks for a second and then holds her hand out, ¡°Fine then, deal.¡±


    I¡¯m no expert on haggling, but it doesn¡¯t feel like she tried very hard¡­ I think as the man pays her.


    Once that transaction is done, Sera buys a backpack from him and then we head back outside where I ask, ¡°What are Noble signets?¡±


    ¡°We didn¡¯t have them back home, but I would assume they¡¯re used to prove that someone is a noble.¡±


    I don¡¯t really understand the concept of nobility, but if all it takes to be one is to have a ring then it must not be that big of a deal.


    Up next we go a clothing store, and once again us being dirty angers the shopkeeper, but this time the little old lady running the place actually chases us out saying that we should come back after we get cleaned up. She still ends up selling us a set of clothes each once Sera explains that we don¡¯t have anything to change into, and afterwards she directs us to the public bathhouse.


    Rather than going straight to the bathhouse, we stop at a small inn that¡¯s called ¡®The Cozy Apple¡¯ so that we can store our (Sera¡¯s) belongings.


    What kind of a name is that? I wonder as a bell chimes on our way through the front door, then there¡¯s a commotion from above us as an Elven girl with silver hair comes flying down the stairs.


    ¡°Customers?¡± She asks with hopeful eyes while brushing her hands on her apron.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, we¡¯d like a room for the night.¡± Sera answers, but I tune out their conversation in favor of studying a painting on the wall.


    It¡¯s an incredibly detailed depiction of a huge apple, partially covered up with a blanket, sitting on a rocking chair next to a lit fireplace. One the other side of the fireplace there¡¯s a window, and through that there¡¯s a snowy landscape being lit by the setting sun.


    The artist is obviously very skilled. I wonder if it was painted for the inn, or if the inn was named after the painting.


    ¡°Come on Rose.¡± Sera says, on her way back from down the hall. ¡°You¡¯ll have plenty of time to admire the painting later.¡±This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    I was so captivated that I didn¡¯t even notice that she had left in the first place... ¡°Okay.¡± I reply, dragging my attention away from it.


    The two of us leave the inn and head to the bathhouse, and then into the women''s section which is filled to the brim with people. In fact, the actual bath is so packed that we end up having to use the shower, which is just a room with a constant stream of freezing cold water raining down from the ceiling.


    Once you add the disgusting floral smells of all the different soaps and shampoos, and the sounds of screaming children, it¡¯s actually one of the least pleasant things I¡¯ve experienced so far. It takes a whole hour and to get completely clean and changed into our new clothes, and by then I¡¯ve resolved myself to ask Sera if I can learn magic just for the off chance that I won¡¯t have to go through all of that again.


    I already know that all Demons- I mean my kind- are capable of some form of magic, I just don¡¯t know how it relates to the magic of this world.


    ¡°Sera?¡± I tug on her sleeve on our way out of the bathhouse, ¡°Would you teach me how to use magic later?¡±


    She frowns at the mention of magic, but it¡¯s soon replaced with a thoughtful expression, ¡°If you¡¯d like we can get your magic aptitude tested, but I¡¯m afraid I wouldn¡¯t be able to teach you much outside of my elements.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like that.¡± I reply, before recalling what happened to her. ¡°But what about the law? Might they try to take me away?¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s only on the Human continent. The church has no power here, so magic appraisals are handled by the adventurers guild, and since we¡¯re already headed there we can get you tested today if you want.¡±


    ¡°So soon?¡± I was expecting it to take a while...


    ¡°Unless you want to wait? We¡¯re going to the guild either way, so you can decide whether you want to do it or not while we¡¯re there.¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t have to wait, I¡¯ll do it today.¡± Better to get it out of the way now instead of worrying about it for a long time.


    ¡°Alright then,¡± She says as we enter the building. ¡°Here we are.¡± Nervousness overcomes me as we head for the reception desk, but Sera stops halfway there, and my heart nearly leaps from my chest as she shouts, ¡°No!¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± I ask, to which she points at one of the requests on the board. It reads: Wolper antlers, 5 Gold per pair. No limit.


    ¡°Five gold for Wolper antlers¡­ And I just left them there.¡±


    That sucks, but from the way she acted I thought something truly bad was happening.


    ¡°Well, at least I know for the future.¡± She says- having recovered rather quickly- and then we go to the reception desk where we¡¯re greeted by a curt Human man with long unkempt hair.


    ¡°Hi. Welcome. What do you want?¡±


    ¡°You do magic appraisals here, right?¡±


    ¡°First time¡¯s free for guild members.¡± He says, ¡°Otherwise, one gold fifty silver.¡±


    Sera¡¯s jaw drops, ¡°How do we join the guild?¡±


    ¡°Two gold. Per person.¡±


    Maybe we shouldn¡¯t do it after all, she was just getting upset about losing out on five gold, so surely another two wouldn¡¯t be a good thing.


    ¡°What do you say, Rose? Wanna join the Adventurers guild with me?¡±


    Before I can answer, the man slaps his hand on the counter causing me to jump. ¡°Humans, Demons, Demi and Kyatt must be fifteen to join. Elves and Dwarves twenty.¡± He says as if reciting it from a book.


    ¡°What about Travelers?¡± Sera asks, and the man has to think about it for a second.


    ¡°Receptionists discretion.¡±


    ¡°And¡­?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t care.¡±


    I¡¯m starting to wonder if he cares about anything¡­


    ¡°Well then Rose, do you want to join?¡±


    ¡°Yes, if you don¡¯t mind spending the money on me.¡±


    ¡°Nonsense,¡± She hands the man four coins, ¡°We¡¯d both like to register, please.¡±


    He takes the money and drops it into his desk drawer, and then pulls out two sheets of paper before placing a pencil on each one and sliding them across the desk to us. ¡°Fill these out.¡±


    ¡°Can you read it?¡± Sera asks, to which I nod.


    One of the perks of being a Demon, we can use any language- written or spoken- so long as we¡¯ve heard it before. Otherwise we wouldn¡¯t be able to communicate with those who summoned us.


    The form is pretty straightforward so it should be easy to fill out, but while I may know the language, the unfortunate truth is that I¡¯ve never written anything in my life. So, just about everything that I write down is illegible, and I end up having Sera fill it out for me after all.


    The man takes our papers and shoves them into his desk once She¡¯s done, and then he gives each of us a cheap little booklet labeled ¡®Rules and regulations¡¯. ¡°Read that or regret it.¡± He says, before placing a shiny silver cube on the table in front of me. ¡°Place dominant hand on cube. Do not remove hand until directed otherwise.¡±


    I get butterflies in my stomach as I realize what the cube is for, and then I place my hand on the it. Hopefully it doesn¡¯t explode or something¡­ That would suck.


    Seconds tick away, but other than warming up a little nothing seems to happen with the cube, until a few minutes have passed and the man tells me I can release my hand. He slips a glove on and takes the cube, before looking at it through a pair of red lensed glasses.


    He then writes something down on a piece of paper before sliding it into an envelope and handing it to me. ¡°Anything else?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to buy some monster blood.¡± Sera says.


    ¡°Out of stock.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have any at all?¡±


    ¡°No. Anything else?¡±


    She sighs, ¡°I guess that¡¯s everything then.¡±


    ¡°Come get your guild cards in the morning. Next!¡±


    Sera and I move away from the desk, despite the fact there wasn¡¯t actually anyone behind us, and then we head back outside.


    ¡°Damn it, so much for getting you something for lunch.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s okay, I had a lot yesterday so I¡¯m not that thirsty.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± She asks.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± I hold my envelope out in front of me, ¡°Should I open it?¡±


    ¡°If you want, but it might be better to wait until it¡¯s just the two of us.¡±


    I decide to take her advice and wait, and the two of us go back to our room at the inn and sit on our beds while Sera does the honors.


    ¡°Ready?¡± She asks.


    ¡°Yep.¡±


    ¡°Here goes,¡± She pulls the letter from the unsealed envelope and reads it out loud, ¡°Space aspect, High affinity. No other aspects.¡±


    That¡¯s it¡­? I was really hoping to have one of Sera¡¯s aspects too, especially whichever one would let me cast purify. Then again, I guess I should be grateful that my magic was even recognized in the first place.


    ¡°Congratulations, Rose.¡± She says excitedly, ¡°Space magic, and a high affinity to boot. That¡¯s pretty good.¡±


    ¡°It is?¡± I ask. It¡¯s hard to be enthusiastic about something that I¡¯m pretty sure every member of my species has.


    ¡°It may not be great for combat due to its high mana cost, but it¡¯s still really useful. The best space mages can create their own pocket dimensions and teleport across the world in the blink of an eye. Space magic is also how Travelers get to this world, be it summoning or other means.¡±


    Now that I think about it, she never mentioned having the Space aspect herself. ¡°You were able to teleport, so does that mean you have the Space aspect too?¡±


    She shakes her head, ¡°I was using the lodestone network.¡±


    I remember now, that stone she destroyed was called a lodestone. ¡°Why doesn¡¯t everyone just use that instead of learning space magic then?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that simple. Each lodestone creates a small area which you can teleport to with other lodestones, but only three people can be keyed into the network at once. Not only that, but it takes someone at the level of a Magus just to have enough mana to operate the thing.¡±


    I can see how that could be a problem. The only Magus I know of is Sera, and she had enough mana that drinking just a little bit of her blood almost killed me. Then again, she was able to teleport several times in the same day and then she still had enough mana left over to fly us across the ocean, so she was probably a lot more powerful than the average Magus...


    ¡°Is there anything at all you can teach me about Space magic then?¡± I ask.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid not, and I¡¯m sorry but with the way things are right now I can¡¯t afford to hire you a tutor, or even buy you books on the subject.¡±


    Well, it¡¯s not like it matters too much. The main reasons why I wanted to learn magic were to defend myself and to avoid having to use the public bath again, but she said that space magic isn¡¯t good for combat, and I don¡¯t have the correct aspect for my other reason.


    ¡°Please promise me you won¡¯t try to learn it on your own though, it¡¯s far too dangerous.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I promise.¡±


    ¡°Good girl.¡± She says, patting me on the head. ¡°Now, we¡¯ve got a few hours of daylight left, so how do you want to celebrate?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I¡¯ve never celebrated anything before.¡±


    ¡°Well then, we¡¯re gonna have to fix that.¡±


    It turns out Sera¡¯s idea of a celebration is throwing me a feast, but since we can¡¯t get monster blood in town- and for some reason none of the people we ask want to donate- the ¡®feast¡¯ involves us heading out into the woods where she massacres several monsters before trying to feed them to me¡­


    Needless to say, our new clothes were completely ruined, but we did have a lot of fun. I also got to try two new types of blood, which were from the Green Panther (A big kitty that likes to hide in the treetops), and the Midnight Hound (A black and silver doggy with a horn in the middle of its head.)


    Sera even found another Wolper, which she somehow removed the antlers from without killing, before saying something about coming back for more later¡­ I thought the thing was fast when it was charging at us, but it turns out they¡¯re even faster when they¡¯re running away.


    By the time the two of us finally call it a night I¡¯ve had so much to drink that I can¡¯t even walk anymore, and an exhausted Sera has to carry me back to town. We¡¯re also so covered in blood that the guards hesitate to let us in, and I end up falling asleep in the middle of Sera threatening to beat one of them with an antler if they don¡¯t hurry it up.

 Chapter 7 - Identity, Undead?

    The following day Sera and I visit the accursed bathhouse first thing after checking out of the inn- which is well into the afternoon because we slept in. After getting cleaned up we head over to the Adventurers guild to collect our cards (and sell Sera¡¯s Wolper antlers), but this time the reception desk is being run by a woman with brown hair and wolf ears.


    ¡°Welcome to the Adventurers guild.¡± She says.


    ¡°You buy these, right?¡± Sera asks, placing the antlers on the desk.


    The girl sighs, but then nods. ¡°We normally don¡¯t accept request items in the reception area, but I¡¯ll go ahead and make an exception just this once. In the future you¡¯ll want to bring this sort of thing in through the back entrance.¡±


    ¡°Sorry about that.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, just make sure it doesn¡¯t happen again.¡± She takes the antlers and places them somewhere out of sight behind the desk. ¡°I¡¯ll need to see your guild card in order to complete the transaction.¡±


    ¡°Actually, that¡¯s the other reason we¡¯re here. We were told our guild cards would be ready today.¡±


    The womans ears perk up, ¡°The Travelers?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s us.¡±


    ¡°Please wait a moment, the guildmaster wants to speak with you.¡± She says, before hurrying into another room in the back.


    The woman returns a little later following behind an elderly Elven man with silver hair, and my instincts scream danger the second he comes into my line of sight. In fact, the feeling I get from him is even stronger than the one I got when I first met Sera. In short, this is someone I should treat with respect.


    ¡°So these are the so-called Travelers Andy was telling me about.¡± He says, and then he introduces himself. ¡°My name is Daro Tyras, guildmaster of this towns Adventurers guild branch. And you two are?¡±


    Several seconds pass after he finishes until Sera pats me on the back and I realize she wants me to speak for us. ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you, Mister Tyras. My name is Rose and I¡¯m a Traveler.¡± I gesture to Sera, ¡°This is my mother, her name is Sera.¡±


    His lips creep up into a smile. ¡°Such a well mannered and surprisingly honest child,¡± He says while giving the ring on my finger a brief glance. ¡°You may have withheld some things from your introduction, but I suppose everyone has their secrets.¡±


    I reflexively cover my ring with my other hand as Sera asks, ¡°What did you want to speak with us about, Guildmaster Tyras?¡±


    ¡°The person you registered with yesterday made a mistake.¡± He says, taking two small silver cards from his pocket and handing them to Sera. ¡°Travelers must have their identities verified before joining any guild, a purpose which your Adventurers guild cards may serve now that I have done so.¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± Sera says, accepting the cards.


    ¡°You are welcome.¡± The guildmaster nods to the receptionist. ¡°It was nice meeting the two of you, but I¡¯m afraid I must cut our conversation short. I have other matters which require my attention.¡±


    ¡°It was nice meeting you too, Mister Tyras, and thanks again.¡± Sera pats me on the back again as the man walks away, signalling for me to speak.


    ¡°Thank you, and goodbye Sir.¡± I say, unsure if my words are adequate.


    He stops in the doorway on his way out, ¡°Oh, and a little advice before I go- Enchantments don¡¯t last forever.¡±


    With that, he leaves us with the receptionist and Sera mumbles, ¡°I am aware.¡± Then she hands me my guild card- which I look over while the adults converse.


    It¡¯s got a detailed picture of me on the front, and in the top right corner it lists my guild rank, which is F.On the back it has a lot of the information from the form Sera filled out for me yesterday, such as my approximate height, eye color, and species- which says Traveler- followed by who approved my registration- Daro Tyras. It also has a spot for my age, but that part¡¯s blank.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    Moving my attention back to their conversation I catch the tail end of the receptionist rebuking, ¡°-a young girl to become an adventurer in the first place, but there¡¯s nothing I can do about it since the guildmaster approved¡­¡±


    ¡°We only registered for convenience sake, we won¡¯t be trying to slay Dragons or anything like that.¡± Sera assures.


    ¡°I would sure hope not.¡± The woman says, handing Sera her five gold. ¡°Is there anything else?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s everything, unless you¡¯ve gotten any monster blood in stock since yesterday?¡±


    The receptionist shakes her head, ¡°We have not.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll be on our way then,¡± Sera takes my hand and we hurry out of the guild before the receptionist decides to chew her out anymore.


    Now that we¡¯re outside I ask, ¡°Hey Sera, what¡¯s a Dragon?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re big magical lizards that like to think they¡¯re all that just because they can breathe a little fire.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± It¡¯s hard to picture what they look like just from that description, but I can tell that Sera must not like them for some reason. ¡°Do you think we¡¯ll run into any?¡±


    ¡°Probably not, but if we do then don¡¯t call her fat or ugly- actually, don¡¯t say anything to her. Just let me do all the talking.¡±


    ¡°Her?¡± I ask, but Sera brushes off my question with a shrug, and then we go to the old lady''s clothing store. Yep, she¡¯s definitely got history with a dragon, and I definitely want to meet one.


    While we¡¯re in the store she purchases a set of heavy duty travel clothes for each of us, and also a pair of shoes for me. Afterwards we go to a shop next door that sells enchanted goods and she buys a canteen that automatically replenishes itself. It only has a few uses, but she says it¡¯s still worth paying the remainder of her money for the thing because she¡¯s been having a hard time staying hydrated while traveling.


    The last place we visit before leaving town is Lil Jimmies, where Sera tries to sell the rest of the items she procured from the thieves, but the man only buys a couple things such as their swords and a metal whistle. The stuff he doesn¡¯t buy- along with whatever else Sera doesn¡¯t want to carry- she packs into her sack and then gives it to a beggar on our way to the gate on the opposite side of town.


    After a brief search (which I find odd because we weren¡¯t searched whenever we used the other gate) we¡¯re allowed through the gate and our journey continues. It dawns on me that I don¡¯t even know where we¡¯re going, and I consider asking Sera, but I decide against it- at least for the time being.


    It doesn¡¯t really matter all that much where we¡¯re going so long as things stay interesting, and I have no doubt that they will with Sera around.


    ¡°I wonder where the road will take us next.¡± She says, causing my train of thought to derail and then crash.


    You have got to be kidding me¡­ ¡°I thought you had a destination in mind?¡±


    ¡°Not really, unless you count getting as far away from the King as possible, but even that probably isn¡¯t necessary. I doubt he¡¯d know I lost my magic, so he¡¯d be too afraid to waste any more resources trying to deal with me. On the flipside, if he did know I lost my magic then we would¡¯ve already been captured by now, but that¡¯s all assuming he doesn¡¯t believe that I¡¯m dead, which in the medical sense, I actually am.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean? You don¡¯t look dead to me, and last I checked you still had a heartbeat.¡±


    ¡°Technically, someone is presumed dead not when their heart stops beating, but when their body no longer contains any mana.¡± She runs the blade of a dagger across one of her fingers, drawing a trickle of blood. ¡°What do you think?¡±


    That¡¯s absolutely rancid¡­ ¡°It smells even less appetizing than if someone mixed pigs blood with shampoo.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll assume that¡¯s pretty bad considering how much you hate the smell of shampoo.¡± She says before licking the blood from her finger, causing my stomach to lurch as I imagine the taste. ¡°I wonder if I¡¯d be considered undead then... Or maybe I¡¯m a golem? I mean I am technically man made...¡±


    ¡°Excuuuuse Meeee!¡± A girly voice shouts from behind us, interrupting Sera¡¯s monologue. Turning around, we see a group of three boys and a girl jogging towards us in the distance.


    Sera clicks her tongue, ¡°Tch¡­ Watch out Rose, that one¡¯s dangerous.¡±


    If Sera says the girl is dangerous it must be true, so I keep a close eye on her as they approach. She¡¯s equipped with a wooden staff, along with some baggy white robes which are loose everywhere except her chest area. ¡°Tch¡­¡± I hear Sera click her tongue again, and then she mumbles something about weapons of mass destruction.


    Mass destruction? That DOES sounds dangerous, so I better pay extra attention to that staff. I think, just as the group stops in front of us.


    ¡°Hi!¡± The girl says, giving us a bright smile. ¡°We were just minding our own business when suddenly we noticed you two heading into the wilderness on your own, and that¡¯s dangerous so you¡¯re going to pay us to go with you, right?¡± She asks, and I can practically feel the killing intent radiating from Sera already.


    ¡°More robbers?¡± I ask as one of the boys slaps his forehead, though the other two have yet to remove their eyes from her chest.


    He walks up next to her and flicks her between the eyes saying, ¡°What my sister meant to say was that we¡¯re Adventurers and we were wondering if you needed an escort to the next town, for a small fee of course.¡±


    ¡°Piss off.¡± Sera snaps, whichseems to deter the boy- though the same can''t be said about his sister.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid we can¡¯t do that.¡± The girl says, and one of her admirers nods in approval- giving her a boost of confidence. ¡°You two weaklings wouldn''t last-mmph!¡±


    The girlsbrotherhurriedly covers her mouthbefore she can complete her sentence, then he bows apologetically and says, ¡°Sorry for bothering you.¡± Before practically dragging his protesting sisteraway as her goons follow.


    ¡°Jessy, we¡¯re never gonna get any work if you keep interrupting my sales pitch!¡± She pouts as soon as her mouth is free, andthe other boy backs her up again.


    ¡°Yeah dude, cmon! She had that one, right Steve? ¡­¡­¡­¡­......Steve?¡±


    ¡°Sorry, what?¡± The last boy asks, having missed the entire conversation in favor of staring at the girls chest.


    Sera and I turn back around and leave the group to their own devices as they argue amongst themselves, but her mood doesn¡¯t lighten up at all until a few hours later when we stop for a break justafter nightfall.


    ¡°Check it out, Rose.¡± She says, pulling a tiny bottle from her backpack, and then using a dropper to add some to each eye. ¡°Night-vision eye drops.¡±


    ¡°Neat.¡± Icomment as her eyes start to water and turn red while her pupils dilate. ¡°Do they work?¡±


    She blinks a few times, and then rubs her tears away before looking all around. "They''re not as good as..." She stops mid sentenceand then heraggrivated expression returns ashergaze settles inthe direction of the town we left earlier.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± I ask, even though I can already make a guess.


    ¡°The Bimbo squad''s following us.¡±