《The Bored God Decides to Meddle》 Chapter 1: For I am Melody ¡°Hmm I¡¯m so bored¡­.. I¡¯m dying here. All these planets are so boring¡­ Even the gruesome bits aren¡¯t good enough for me. Seen em so much, none of them are unique anymore. Maybe I¡¯ll go meddle with one of em¡± *Clap* ¡°Ok let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Melody where are you going?¡± ¡°ummmm,? I sing this song for me, and only me transport me some where entertaining! ?¡± ¡°WAIT Melo----¡± ¡°Sorry Ergo, but I don¡¯t need another celestial getting in the way of my fun. Anyways I wonder where my song sent me. I didn¡¯t specify anywhere. I just mentioned somewhere entertaining.¡± Just then the scent of open wounds, and fresh blood intruded my nostrils. Wait nostrils? What race am I? I carful looked down. Hmm it seems I am a young female human. One of the more undeveloped races. But they do have a lot of pointless conflict. Maybe that¡¯s what causing this detestable smell. Let¡¯s find out! I carefully used my legs to climb up a grassy hill. Stumbling with each step I finally made it. Geez legs are annoying, why can¡¯t I just float. Wait¡­ I CAN ¡°?With these feeble legs that cannot walk anymore I demand the winds of this planet to provide some comfort?¡± With that my body became weightless as I began to float a couple inches off the ground. OOOO a Bunch of soldiers are going at it! ¡°Take this you Cardigo scum! HHHHEEEEAAAAAUH!¡± A soldier screamed as he sliced another with his giant claymore. Wow that man¡¯s quite skilled. He¡¯s taken out 5 all by himself. Wow even with a skilled swordsman like himself his side seems to be losing. ¡°This is the end Merian trash¡± A soldier ambushed the giant claymore man. Hehe But his reactions are too good for you. Giant claymore man pivoted out of the way, and tore the ambushing soldier in half. OOO I wonder how the soldier feels! To feel so confident to just die like that! HA! ¡°Merlin Watch out¡± Another soldier said positioning himself in the way of a pinpoint arrow, slicing the arrow in half. *Chuckle* ¡°I woulda avoided it¡± said the claymore man. ¡°I¡¯m sure you would, but I wanted to test my skill *Smirk*¡± Well aren¡¯t they the lovely bunch. I¡¯m surprised they can still talk like that when there probably going to die. It¡¯s only a matter of time before the army overwhelms them. Burrrr *Shiver* Ugg I¡¯m cold. Geez these human bodies are weak. I¡¯m not used to wearing cloths, I wonder if they¡¯ll be comfortable. Right now I¡¯m what they call naked. Plops fist in hand. I know I¡¯ll just wear what those soldiers are wearing. ¡°? Bless me the magnificent with armor the will protect me from the weaker forms of weapons! ?¡± A short glow surrounded me for a second. Then shiny silver plate armor bore itself onto me. Ugg its kinda snug. But I guess this is good enough. I¡¯m not cold anymore. Ok where are we. OoO they are surrounded. The final two. They seem exhausted. They did A good job, the claymore guy took about around 70, while the other one took about around 50. Well I wonder how there goona skewer these two. Unless the miraculous comeback commences. I can¡¯t wait! ¡°So Merlin the unkillable, you certainly did put up a good fight. But atlas you were outmanned. A pompous leather wearing soldier said with his bow aimed straight at him. Claymore guy Merlin inched closer to his friend soldier, and whispered something to him. My excellent celestial ears could probably pick it up but for some reason the sound deafened there. Well anyways the friend soldier¡¯s face was in shock, but the giant oath Merlin gave him a stern face. With that, the arrow slicer nodded. And in an instant. He jumped up into the air. An arrow was shot by the soldier with the bow. Merlin swung his sword in a huge circle slicing the arrow, and forcing all of the surrounding troops to take a quick back step. As if I sang a time song, the soldier friend in the air perfectly pushed off of Merlin¡¯s sword, and leapt over the surrounding enemy soldiers. With that he bolted extremely fast to my left. The recoil of the swing left Merlin a little dazed. His giant claymore left a ring in the ground around him. Flustered, the arrow soldier fired two shots into Merlin¡¯s knees, and biceps.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°Ho- How dare you. We will find your so called pupil and kill her! Half of you go after Ceriena.¡± Whaaat that soldier was female? Wow. Fooled me. ¡°You won¡¯t catch her *cough*¡± Blood spewed out of his mouth. ¡°Shes a fast runner, even with armor. You should know that. *cough*. You never could beat her in a race.¡± ¡°Damn you Merlin!¡± Angry bow soldier said holding a knife to his neck. ¡°I once thought of you as a brilliant unbeatable soldier. But now I see you are most foolish to fight in this open plain where my army has the advantage.¡± ¡°Hehe foolish you say *cough* With my death Cardigo will fall. I really *cough* thought you were smarter than that, or were you so filled with vengeance that you forgot the southern pass right now?¡± ¡°Southern pass----!¡± ¡°King Carmin! You basterd¡± UGGGH. Bow guy delivered a swift knee kick to Merlin¡¯s stomach. ¡°I hope you think your death was worth it.¡± With a quick slice of the neck Merlin dropped to the floor. ¡­ Poor Merlin. ¡°Men Withdrawal to the citadel. I¡¯m going to finish the job here.¡± With that, the remaining soldiers started marching back to my right. And Merlin¡¯s murderer took off on horseback to my left. Wow I can¡¯t see this as any different from any of the other war scenes I¡¯ve seen, but being here is¡­ entertaining. Well let¡¯s take a closer look I floated down towards the gory bloodied field. ¡­ Poor Merlin. *Cough* What! He¡¯s still alive. Hohoho interesting. I walked closer to him, to see him ripping off fake skin around his neck, revealing a cut leather strap. *Cough* ¡°Why did you come back?¡± Although he survived the fatal neck slice, the arrows were still lodged in his body. OOO I guess we would look similar since I basically modeled my armor after hers. ¡°Sorry Mr I¡¯m not Cerina¡± With a puzzled face he struggled to lift his head. ¡°My mistake. I¡¯m just surprised anyone from Merian was still alive. This was a suicide mission.¡± I stopped floating and sat next to him. ¡°Hey Merlin do you think you¡¯re going to die here?¡± ¡°Not at all Cerina should come back. I believe in her¡± ¡°Can she really take on that many men in her exhausted state?¡± ¡°I believe so, but it would be better if you would help her, I don¡¯t know what you were doing during all this chaos, but I¡¯d say you were really lucky to make it out.¡± ¡°Help her hmmm. Is there something you¡¯re offering me?¡± With this Merlin Looked at me with a confused look. ¡°As your commander I ---¡± ¡°Let¡¯s get this straight, I¡¯m not one of your soldiers. I¡¯m simply a watcher that is currently wearing your kingdoms armor.¡± I said while poking one of the arrows. ¡°ARRG, then what are you doing here then!¡± ¡°Simply enjoying the moment!¡± I said flashing a big smile, even though my helmet shielded it. ¡°Whatever just leave then?¡± Merlin said resting his head on the grassy plain. *Clank Clank* ¡°Wow she¡¯s come back fast.¡± ¡°what?¡± O I forgot human ears are far weaker than mine, well anyways he should start hearing her soon enough. Around 5 minutes past before Cerina came rushing back. ¡°Merlin I have returned. Who are you?¡± ¡°give her no mind, lets just get back.¡± OoO I hear quiet footsteps. OOO its Mr.Bow guy. It seems he¡¯s going to ambush them. Let me just back away. Swoosh an arrow game darting on from just above a bend. Wait its coming towards me. This human body will probably be badly damaged. A shadow covered me in an instant. Cerina dashed in front of me taking the arrow to the left shoulder. Using the momentum of the arrow she spun left, and through her sword with her right hand. ¡°Awggg! Damn it¡± The boy soldier said as he fell to one knee. Wow her sense are good. She might be fun to toy with. *Cough* but this time it was Cerina turn, as she dropped to one knee. ¡°I will avenge my¡­¡± the Bow guy said in between huge breathes, the sword was halfway lodged in his stomach. He grabbed his bow and pulled back an arrow. He let go, but the arrow was way off. He fell down on his side. ¡­. Annnnnnd dead. ¡°Hey you¡­. I need your help. Help me lift¡­ Help me SAVE MERLIN!¡± Cerina cried out as she snapped the arrow inside her shoulder off. ¡°I think I¡¯ll just watch this hopeless situation unfold hehe!¡± ¡°Whats *huff* wrong with you? Your part of the Merian army, and with that armor you¡¯re the same rank as me. You should know who Merlin *huff* is!¡± ¡°Sooooorryyyy. I¡¯m really just an observer. Let¡¯s just say I found this armor. And I really don¡¯t help anyone, the only person I help is myself.¡± I chuckled. ¡°Butttt seeing as you did me the convenience of keeping this body intact, Ill give you a little gift.¡± ¡°? I sing to restore this big oath of a man, and this foolish young lady. Restore them for I am Melody ?¡± With That a bright green light swirled around them. And just like that¡­.. ¡°Huh I feel refreshed! My body¡­. Amazing!¡± ¡°What is this sorcery?¡± Merlin said getting up and stretching his arms and legs. ¡°Well if that¡¯s the end of this battle I¡¯ll be taking my leave. Its suddenly got boring. ¡°Wait!¡± Merlin said grasping my hand. Eww gross. ¡°With your type of abilities we can wipe out Cartigo¡¯s main stronghold! We managed to stay one step ahead of them now, but I don¡¯t know if we can maintain the advantage.¡± Merlin spoke. ¡°Look I have already done you a favor. Go home now. And stop touching me.¡± I said trying to push his hand off of me. But he had a strong rip on my hand. Why you! ¡°? I sing this song to break theee¡­?¡± ¡°Cerina! Cover her mouth¡± With lightning speed Cerina was an inch away from my face. And in the next second her hand was blocking my song. These Jerks! I should have let them die! ¡°Please I beg you, but if you don¡¯t I leave you no other choice.¡± Merlin¡¯s grip tightened. And pressed a sword to my stomach. ARE YOU THREATNING ME!!! HOW DARE YOU! AFTER I GAVE YOU MY SUPREME KINDESS! I tightened my glare to connect with Cerlina¡¯s deep blue eyes. I pushed my stomach into the sword. ¡°What are you doing¡± Merlin said as he pulled the sword away ¡°Are you insane! Cerina!¡± Cerina nodded and delivered a strong punch to my abdomen. Ouch these bodies really are weak. What my consciousness is fading. You undeveloped human species¡­ Chapter 2: My incredible Intellect has won again! I awoke in a lavish beautiful room. My mouth was wrapped with cloth. And my left hand was bound to the bed, and a cloth lay tied to my mouth. My other was held tight by a young woman with short curly hair. ¡°I apologize from the bottom of my heart! I didn¡¯t want to treat you so harshly after what you¡¯ve done for me, and Merlin.¡± I glared with intent to kill. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I cannot let you go, Merlin is a little rough, and he¡¯ll take any advantage he can get his hands on¡± She loosened her grip. The moment that happened I broke free and reached towards the cloth. But in an instant her hand grabbed me again. ¡°Sorry again, can¡¯t let you go quite yet. Please try to understand I mean you no harm. You said before you like watching entertaining stuff right? I don¡¯t know what kind of enjoyment you get at watching¡­. that. But I can try something.¡± With this she tied my free hand to the bed, and took out 3 balls. ¡°How bout this¡± she said while juggling them. Her face was becoming distorted as she tried to focus on the balls. Booooooring. Reading my eyes she added another ball and started spinning around. Still boooooring. ¡°All right how bout this! My super-secret technique!¡± She said as she added 10 more balls. Once she got a rhythm, she started tossing them high in the air, she grabbed a nearby plate, and a little knife and sliced each of the balls as they fell on the plate. Juices started to flow from the balls. ¡°How was that? Here have some. Wait you can¡¯t.¡± Shes said seeing that I was my mouth was clothed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about that. Maybe a little much right? Really though you have an amazing ability. I don¡¯t really know what it is but when you sang all of my wounds vanished.¡± UGG I wish I never left home now¡­ This is torture. And with that so incredible speed she removed the cloth for an instant to shove a slice of the red ball into my mouth. AHHH what is this! ¡°How¡¯s that! Apple their fresh from the garden outside?¡± What is this some kinda earthern food! That is so disgussstin-- *Chew Chew* Maybe its ok. But How dare you shove something into my mouth. My glare softened for a bit, but then intensified.Stolen novel; please report. ¡°You¡¯re so pretty, I wonder how a young girl like yourself got onto the battlefield? Hey I don¡¯t want to have you bound like this. I¡¯d rather have some crackers and tea? Wouldn¡¯t you want that?¡± She exclaimed as she pointed to a canister, with more food? I think. I swallowed the apple slice. Hmm It wouldn¡¯t hurt to try it right? And Cerina means no Harm, its that Merlin! When he comes I¡¯ll give it to him. I nodded. She untied my mouth and hands. I felt my wrists. Ouchie, they felt a little sore. She brought a tea cup with a green liquid and some white squares. Try a cracker she said as she picked up one and brought it closer to my mouth. I nibbled on it. It was a little salty but it tasted great, I scarfed down more of them. I picked the cup up and stared at it. ¡°Drink it, I promise you it¡¯s just tea. Its goes good with the crackers.¡± I sipped a little, then the whole cup. She was right. After that I whipped some liquid off my mouth. I starred at her blue eyes. Her checks were covered in tiny freckles. She had a small build but anyone could see, well any human could sense her power. ¡°Let me formally introduce myself. I am Cerina Herlintin, the 5th general of the Merian Army. The person from before is Merlin Unkled, he is the 1st general. He¡¯s a real oldie, but he taught me everything I know. If you would be so kind would you tell me your name?¡± I stared at her for a few moments. Hmm what¡¯s the harm, she brought me delicious food. ¡°I am Melody¡± I said out the side of my mouth. ¡°Melody, what a beautiful name it really suits you. She took the tray off of me and placed it on a nearby table. ¡°Cerina your nice right. Let me go¡± I said flashing her a smile. ¡°I would love too, but even I can¡¯t ignore the military advantage you might possess. I don¡¯t know the extent of your abilities, but you fully healed 2 heavy injured people. That¡¯s amazin! I don¡¯t know what you would have done to Merlin back there. You seemed pretty angry.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like being touched, simple as that.¡± ¡°I see, sorry for touching you before.¡± She apologized. I shrugged ¡°Well what do you want me to do now¡± ¡°Well Merlin isn¡¯t back yet, but he¡¯ll be here soon. So for now I suppose we could just keep talkin. If you don¡¯t mind me asking could you sing again?¡± So much for talking ehh. ¡°Don¡¯t worry I won¡¯t force you, if you don¡¯t want to that¡¯s fine.¡± Your goona let me sing, and you don¡¯t even know what I¡¯m going to do. You really are foolish¡­. And dumb. ¡°? La cold steel, metal that binds, [sings faster] constrict yourself around the stupid Cerina! ?¡± ¡°Wut?!¡± Metal appeared around Cerina¡¯s arms and legs. She fell to the floor. How stupid can you be, with your reflexes and speed it would have been easy to stop me. Now wallow in your own stupidity. ¡°Wow Amazin! The metal came from nowhere! What else can you do!¡± Wut¡­ Are you truly an idiot? Ugg I thought I¡¯d get some enjoyment out of this. ¡°Well enjoy that then¡± With that little adventure over I teleported back to the stars. ¡°Where¡¯d you go?¡± ¡°Ahh, O Ergo you scared me ¡° Chapter 3: Ergo You Meanie! ¡°Well enjoy that then¡± With that little adventure over I teleported back to the stars. ¡°Where¡¯d you go?¡± ¡°Ahh, O Ergo you scared me ¡° doesn¡¯t matter. Come here and Sing your song section 9 is getting to ¡­ rambunctious. Reset it.¡± Ergo demanded as he whisked me to another room. ¡°With pleasure¡± I said as I sang my song to reset section 9. ¡°Thanks Melody, now to get on with your punishment for leaving abruptly.¡± Punishment! Welp time to run away again! ? I sing this-Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. ¡°Not this time Melody¡± Ergo rushed over to plug my mouth ¡°Also Melody what underdeveloped species have you transformed into.¡± ¡°MHMHMHMN¡± I said ¡°Right, let me bind you¡± Ergo pushed a small gemstone into me. AWGG the binding gem! My singing will now be useless! Well I had my fun for today anyways. Ergo¡¯s flow let up on my mouth. ¡°I am a hu-man I think. They¡¯re quite fun to watch.¡± ¡°Are they now?¡± Ergo said while flipping through some older documents. ¡°Ah, here we go. Humans. Not one of the most tactical species, but their intellect is above average. Reset 9 times. They have advanced quite far many times, they seemed to have a couple disjointed planets. Melody you visited this planet correct?¡± Ergo pointed to a spot on the large galactic map. I nodded unknowing of the punishment I would receive. ¡°I Hope you enjoyed your time there, because to discipline you for running off, I¡¯ll have you enjoy some more time there.¡± Ergo¡¯s voice giggled evilly. I swiveled my view towards him. ¡°You can¡¯t!!! I¡¯ll get soooooo booorreeeedddd, on one planet! And they are one of the under developed species. There fun¡­ Once in a while¡± I trailed off. Ergo condensed his ether form, to be a nice radiant blue ball. ¡°Ha, that¡¯s what your worried about, I¡¯ll pick you up in a human life time.¡± And with that my mind snapped to a familiar scent of blood. Chapter 4: Off to find something fun! Eh? This field again? OO the scavengers seem to be having a great feast. ?La la la, I sing to go back home? ¡­., The binding gem is still active huh? I guess I¡¯ll just wait out my time on this field and sleep. ¡°Hey look papa someone¡¯s still alive!¡± A little boy with a French cap stammered. The older gentlemen looked up from the bodies he was digging through. ¡°O it is. Hello miss, are you a merchant as well?¡± ¡°ehh no, I¡¯m just a passerby, I guess¡± I sat up from the windy plain. ¡°O do you need a ride to Cervana? Me and my boy are seeing what we can scavenge here and heading back.¡± The older man said while pointing to his wagon. ¡°Sure, why not, not like there¡¯s much to do here anyways¡± I nodded. ¡°Let me just pick up a few things here and will be on our way.¡± -----On the way back---- The little lad¡¯s glare was intense ¡­. ¡­ ¡°My name is Ponta. WHAT¡¯S YOURS!¡± Geez.. loud much. ¡°I am Melody, nice to meetcha.¡± I struggled out in a lethargic tone.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°Me-lo-dy¡­ Hay father have we found a wife for big bro?¡± ¡°Ponta! What are you saying to the young lass?¡± ¡°What!!! You always said that the reason why Big bro isn¡¯t married is because, there isn¡¯t a lady beautiful enough. But look!¡± The boy named Ponta shoved his finger towards my face. I pushed aside the rude finger obstructing my view, and laid down on the wagon¡¯s bench. ¡°Too loud¡± I said resting my head on the bench. ¡°Ponta, let the lass sleep. Why don¡¯t you organize the goods?¡± I awoke to the crackling of a small flame. ¡°Oh, is the young miss awake? I¡¯m just preparing dinner. I am Gorfon by the way, a small merchant in Cervana, I¡¯ve heard of the battle in the valley between Merian and Cardigo, and thought there would be loot to be had.¡± The Opportunist much. The opportunist helped me down from the wagon. Not that I needed help, and gestured to a spot by the fire. He then gave me a plate of weird meats with a white grain surrounding it. ¡°Melo! You don¡¯t like curry?¡± Melo? I spun my head to the right to see Ponta devouring his food. I took the spoon and carefully lifted it to my mouth. A mixture of heat and spice overwhelmed my mouth. HOT. Awwww Seeing my clear distress Gorfon handed me a mug filled with water. I gulped everything down, letting some of it run the side of my mouth. ¡°Awww¡­ Why is it so hoooot.¡± ¡°Ha ha, I guess you really are from somewhere far. Its classic Cervanian spice.¡± I listened, while stealing Ponta¡¯s mug of water. ¡°Hhehe¡± Ponta chuckled ¡°Whats so funny! Enraged I scrambled his short brown hair. ?I sing this song to let the torments of hell ravage thy mouth!? As I sang I delivered a devastating point at Ponta. ¡°Haha, your funny¡± Ponta held his stomach. ¡°My what a beautiful voice you have¡± The opportunist said with money signs glowing in his eyes. Curse you Ergo, when is the gem goona fade! ¡°So Melody where are you from?¡± Gorfin asked as he handed me some crackers. I didn¡¯t need to eat, but that¡¯d cause more trouble than I would want to deal with. So I ate the crackers. Bland. ¡°I¡¯m from¡­ Who knows¡± I said snuggling close to the fire. I like this warmth. ¡°A mystery I see. I won¡¯t pry, but around here you best be warned. There¡¯s a huge war going on between Merian and Cardigo. The place where were going, Cervana. Is currently occupied by Cardigo. It¡¯s a small port city known for its trading, its where the merchant¡¯s guild lies.¡± I half listened before heading to sleep again. Everything is booooriing. Maybe something will be interesting there¡­ Chapter 5: Merchants Guild Is boring! Good Thing I found a Fool! As we approached the supposed City, the vivid azure water bed shinned a beautiful bright white. Too Bright. I closed my eyes and receded to the other side of the wagon. Ponta was still napping on the bench and Gorfon was steering the horses. ¡°Greetings, Nice day isn¡¯t it¡± Gorfon greeted the security outside. We proceeded into the city without much difficulty, and ended up at a small corner house. This place looks dinky. ¡°WE¡¯REEEE HOOOOME!!¡± Ponta yelled as he held up his arms and ran around the house. ¡°My, who is this dear, have you found a marriage candidate.¡± ¡°Yup, Shes goona marry big bro!¡± Ponta voiced echoed throughout the house. ¡°My then, I would have prepared something a little more special for lunch¡± Gorfon:¡­. Your silent now. Eh scavenger. Was this your goal. Well whatever I¡¯m goona walk around town. ¡°Where are you going Melody?¡± Gorfon said while grabbing my wrist. I yanked my hand free. ¡°Thanks for the ride, but I think I wanna see this merchant¡¯s guild¡± ¡°Wait Me-¡° I stomped out of the dinky house, and marched forward. Not that I knew where anything was but I need something to stimulate me. So I wondered around the sandstone paths till I was in front of a grandiose building, with a pointed top. I proceeded inside, where a bunch of merchants were selling fabulous wares. Well fabulous in the sense that it was crowded. I purveyed the venue, not seeing anything interesting persay.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°Hey miss, you look cute, why don¡¯t you try on some of our cloths. There all imported from Geravant.¡± A local merchant with skirt and a bright red jacket exclaimed. Her sleeves were rolled up, and had a slight yellow tint to them. ¡°Come on¡± she pulled me into the clothing booth. As if I was watching a slideshow I saw multiple outfits be presented. Seeing my bored expression, ¡°How bout this one¡±. ¡°sorry not interested¡± I said as I started to march out. Not that I had any of this world¡¯s currency on me. ¡°Come on don¡¯t be like that, this outfit would look really cute on you.¡± She held a light chestnut skirt, with a dark apple inner shirt coupled with the same blaze red jacket with yellow tinted cuffs. ¡°No-Mo-ney¡± I said syllable after syllable. Crestfallen, She looked down in acceptance. ¡°NOPE! I can¡¯t accept it, A cute girl needs to have cute cloths¡± Miss ecstatic said as she forcible changed me. ¡°Ahh¡± Were humans always this sensitive! ¡°No Mo-ney¡± I shrieked. As she continued to undress my plain clothing I received from Cerina. ¡°FREEEEEEE!¡± she continued to dress me. ¡°All done. Now you look extremely cute¡± Why do I feel more exhausted than the person who did all the work? Uggg ¡°I¡¯ll be leaving now¡±, I left with, a big smile sending me off. I am bored. This place may be big, but it¡¯s a lot of the same old. I walked to a stream of water spouting from a central ring, a fountain they call it. I sat on the benches for a while testing the binding gem. ?I sing for the sake of finding something fun to do. Anything Is fine, just a little? Nothing¡­ ?I sing to find the one that I will have the most fun with? Nothing¡­ ?I SING TO BRING ERGO HERE? Nothing¡­ Damn it! *clap* , *clap*. Huh. Before I realized it I amassed quite a crowd. ¡°Hello young miss, you have quite the voice. Would you like to sing at inn nearby, we¡¯d offer you quite a bit of pay?¡± An old grandpa tilted his back straight then bowed. His get up was fancy to say the least. Tight black suit with. huh bright pink pants. Fashion sense is weird here¡­. But what the heck it could be entertaining. ¡°Melody!!!!¡± A rounder figure yelled in the distance. Gorfon? ¡°Heh, eh, Melody you took off so suddenly, won¡¯t you come back? Our Miranda has yet to meet you, and my eldest son Freyor would love to meet you.¡± Gofron scratched his head a little. None of these options sounding interesting. Maybe I¡¯ll just¡­ ¡°Make way Merian prisoners coming through¡± A large armored man wielding a giant axe yelled as he escorted a wagon full of prisoners. The wagon held around 20 prisoners, all their faces were devoid of expression. Except for 1. Oh, its Tea and crackers girl. AKA foolish girl. ¡°Hey Don¡¯t you dare look up keep your head down, and follow¡± The hulking axe guy said smashing Cerina¡¯s face to the ground. Hmm I think I might have found some fun. I dashed away from the spotlight, and stealthily followed the group of sadness. Chapter 6: I found another fool! I arrived at a lavish estate with a huge fence sealing off the property. I should be able to sneak right in. These are undeveloped species after all. But without my singing I am no better than a weak sack of meat. Hmmmm. I have an Idea! -----5 Minutes later---- ¡°Yes, and what did you say again¡± 1 of the 2 axe men guarding the gate said ¡°I said, I am a Merian soldier. Arrest me!!¡± I felt like this was the fastest way. This way they will take me right to her. ¡°What did you say!¡± ¡°I said ! I AM A MER-¡° ¡°Hold it their missy¡± A crusty hand came over my mouth. Yuck! ¡°This girl¡¯s a little sick, I¡¯ll be taking her home now¡± Gorfon snuck up on me. ¡°MHMH¡± I waved my arms frantically as Gorfon dragged my heels backwards. ¡°MHHHHMHM¡± We rounded a corner. ¡°What are you doing dear! Are you trying to get arrested!¡± I nodded me head. ¡°Yes¡±. Puzzled, Gorfon grabbed my shoulders and pulled me out and in. ¡°Aww! What are you doing!¡± ¡°Shaking the nonsense out of you! What reason could you have to get arrested?¡± ¡°To have fun. Someone is inside that I wanna meet.¡± ¡°A friend? You have Merian friends? Are you Merian¡± ¡°I am not, I just want to have fun! And you are preventing me right now! I¡¯m going. GoodBye!¡± I yelled. I twisted my heel and took one large stride before my wrist was grabbed and pulled back. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I can¡¯t watch a pure beautiful girl such as yourself get arrested on purpose. If you need to meet someone inside, we could arrange a visitor¡¯s session. I have that kind of pull. But first won¡¯t you rest at our home.¡± Me. Pure? Ha but beautiful? That¡¯s just natural. ¡°Miranda is cooking something really delicious. Ponta¡¯s favorite actually, It¡¯s a fried halibut glazed with sweet honey, and mashed potatoes. It isn¡¯t spicy.¡± Gorfon eyes were begging as if he found a really good deal. I haven¡¯t fully explored the full extent of human taste yet, If the curry wasn¡¯t hot it might have been good. And Gorfon seemed to know a sure way to get in.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Alright, but this food better be top notch.¡± I brought my chin up ¡°Hmph¡±. We reached the dinky house. ¡°Mel nee, You¡¯ve returned!¡± A little ball of energy came running towards me. ¡°Umph¡±. Ponta¡¯s head collided with my stomach ¡°Hello again.¡± ¡°Big Bro, your wife is home!¡± Wife? ¡°Huh Wife? I told you I¡¯m not interested in lo-¡±an older boy no older than 25 human years spoke agitated. He had black bangs that curved towards his right. He was wearing brown work pants, and a dirtied white work shirt, with brown straps, holstering some ¡­ daggers? His eyes were locked on me. Was my human transformation off? It shouldn¡¯t be? ¡°Hey Gorfon? Somethin wrong with this one¡± ¡°Hey Frey, say something¡± ¡°Ehem, I am Freyor Himbleed, upcoming great mage¡± *Clonk* ¡°Excuse my boy, he is the next head of the Himbleed Merchants¡± A robbed woman with shiny blue hair spoke. ¡°Forgive me for not introducing myself the first time I am Miranda Himbleed, the mother of this soon to be king of merchants.¡± The robbed women wrapped her arms around her son. King of merchants? ¡°I am not. I will be a great mage, I will be a-¡± ¡°Great Merchant¡± Miranda finished his sentence. *Sniff* *Sniff* This human sense, smell. Something is very pleasing. Seeing my nose twitch, ¡°Oh, my dear we have dinner set up. Please join us.¡± I sat on around a wooden rectangular table, with a variety of tasty smells emanating from it. I was served a healthy portion of everything Gorfon mentioned before. The fish was a tangy sweet while the potatoes¡¯ starch cut it, in a blend of creaminess. My face pulled up and my checks were bulging, trying to stuff as much food as possible. My eyes shut. The only sense I could, I wanted to focus on was taste. It was delicious. ¡°Can I have seconds?!¡± Me and Ponta raised our plates. We instantly locked eyes. Miranda smiled, and gave me a whole serving before Ponta. *Chiiiiiiiiiiii* Ponta¡¯s glare was intense. ¡°Don¡¯t stare so intently Ponta¡± Miranda gave Ponta seconds as well. ¡°Anyways Melody why did you want to enter the Marnor estate? You know the one where you claimed to be Merian.¡± ¡°I swallowed the last bit of my second helping¡± There¡¯s someone fun I saw enter their¡± ¡°Melody¡­ The only people that entered there today are prisoners of war. They will most likely be put to slave labor soon¡± Gorfon started chasing his fish bits with his fork. ¡°Alright then I¡¯m goona be a slave too!¡± This term slave, is it fun? ¡°You can¡¯t be serious! Melody being a slave is the worst thing! And you¡¯re a girl too.¡± Freyor slammed the table. Ponta shrunk to half his size and hid behind his hands. The outburst hung an akward silence in the air. Silence. Is it that bad? ¡°Alright, why don¡¯t we turn in for the night? Melody you must be exhausted after today. We have a spare bedroom next to Frey¡¯s.¡± Miranda chimed in. ¡°Sleep Ha, That¡¯s so boring! It¡¯s what underdeveo--*Yawn*¡± What was that! ¡°You must be tired dear, Frey show her to the guest room¡± Frey gave a why me face, but was instantly struck down by a terrifying glare from his mother. ¡°So this is our guest bedroom.¡± Frey said holding his shoulder. ¡°Mother left a fresh change of clothes for you as well, you can leave you current cloths in this basket here, we¡¯ll wash them for you.¡± Frey avoided eye contact. ¡°Is something wrong?¡± I inched closer to see. His head turned even more away. He backed up slightly. He appears to be flustered! Another meddlesome target. Hehe. Time to have fun! Chapter 7: Only Fools Get Caught! I inched closer to Frey again. He stepped back. I got closer again. He stepped back. ¡°What are you doing¡± Frey said, avoiding eye contact. ¡°Noooooooothing¡± I pounced forward. I ending up with my waist over his stomach. His back was now pressed to the ground. His face was beat red. I tilted my face inwards, trying to get any kinda reaction outta him. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Frey said; he hid his face behind his hands. ¡°Hey stop blocking your face! Lemme See!¡± I gripped both of his hand. ¡°Come on open up!¡± I tried to pull his arms apart. He sat up and shoved me off! Awwwwww! I plopped on the ground a couple feet away ¡°Hahahahe¡± ¡°That was fun! Let me see more of that!¡± I got up but instantly got shoved in the guest room. ¡°Get some sleep! We can visit the prisoners tomorrow! Don¡¯t you want to see your friend?¡± Sleep eh? It¡¯s a process underdeveloped species do. A waste of time. *Yawn*. Well maybe it won¡¯t be all bad. This underdeveloped body yearns for it. I slipped under the covers of the bed that laid near a window. This is how it works right? Wow this world only has one moon. It¡­ Looks¡­ nice. --Next Day--- *Stretch* Ahh. Sleep. That felt goooooooooood. ¡°Mel nee!¡± Ponta came bursting through the small wooden door. ¡°Breakfast is ready! Come on!¡± He raced out of the room. I stumbled a little walking out of bed. Whoa these weak legs aren¡¯t working properly. Angered I stomped on the floor panels. Aw that seemed to get them to work. O my cloths I was wearing before seemed to be washed. *sniff* *sniff* they smell¡­ pleasant. ¡°Good Morning Melody, I¡¯ve cooked some plain pancakes with sausage and a few bacon strips¡± Miranda tied a bandana to her head as she placed slim meats on the table. *sniff* Awgg this taste thing you humans have. It¡¯s really something. After I demolished two portions. Gorfon pushed in his chair. ¡°I¡¯ve arranged a meeting for you with the prisoners that were taken in today. Normally this wouldn¡¯t be aloud. But thank Frey for making it happen.¡± ¡°Father I didn¡¯t do any-t¡± ¡°Frey, be a dear and escort Melody to the Marnor estate¡± Miranda started clearing the table.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Alright¡± Frey looked down. ---- In the Marnor estate ---- ¡°So you are Himbleed¡¯s offspring, you¡¯ve grown.¡± A young man sat down in his chair sipping his tea. The estate looked just as lavish on the inside as it did peeking in from the outside. Me and Frey say around a small circular table. Across from us was the young master of the estate. ¡°Yes I am Freyor Himbleed. I¡¯ve come in the request to see your prisoners¡± Frey fiddled with his thumbs, and looked around frantically. ¡°Yes, yes. As the previous bloodline of Cervana I can grant you that much, but who is this gorgeous woman you¡¯ve brought along.¡± ¡°This is-¡± ¡°I am Melody, I would like to see a female, that looks like me.¡± I pointed to my face. Since I molded this body after hers, it would only be natural I would look similar. The young man flourished his golden hair. ¡°What a beauty, allow me to introduce myself first, I am Sajade Marnor, my father is the master of this household as well as the rightful king of Cervana.¡± Frey twitched a little. Sajade open his mouthed again ¡°I haven¡¯t looked at any of the prisoners yet, but I was just about to look, your welcome to join me.¡± I eagerly nodded. Sajade led me and Frey down to the basement where lines of cells were located. I saw around 30 people in a muddy brown attire. The gloom was thick, and the faces were emotionless. These were people whose souls broke a long time ago. ¡°These are our current prisoners who are being staged for slavery. The prisoners we got yesterday are in the pit, further in. Do you see any you like; I don¡¯t mind giving a beauty such as yourself a discount.¡± I scanned for my foolish knight, but she was nowhere to be seen. I looked around again to make sure. ¡°I do not see her.¡± I stated. ¡°let us look a little deeper, shall we.¡± ¡°Mr.Himbleed¡¯s son can wait outside, this doesn¡¯t concern you right?¡± ¡°Melody shouldn¡¯t go¡± Frey chocked out with a piercing eyes. His stance was as stiff as a statue. Menacing. ¡°why not¡± I stomped in while Sajade closed the huge metal door behind us. Dark. A small flicker occurred. ¡°Watch your step.¡± In front of us was another cell, But the prisoners looked rough. They looked ready to kill. As I scanned the room I locked eyes with another. Her eyes went wide. ¡°Oh you really do share a resemblance.¡± Sajade stared at those fierce eyes. ¡°Ce-ri-na?¡± I uttered, trying to recall her name. Her eyes darted back to me, and displayed a sign of concern. She didn¡¯t speak. Silence. Her eyes traced back to Sajade. And that deadly glare returned. ¡°I quite like her. Rafeal take her to Nikkiala for maid training. I want her. Melody. You would like to spend more time with her right?¡± ¡°Of course! It was no fun right now. I know the foolish person is in there!¡± ¡°Great!¡± Sajade clapped his hands. ¡°Why don¡¯t you become my maid as well, you¡¯ll be able to spend a ton of time with your sister.¡± Sajade smiled. ¡°Maid? That sounds like responsibilities¡­ I don¡¯t wanna. She isn¡¯t that worth it.¡± I said shrugging my shoulders. ¡°Even for you sister? You¡¯re quite heartless Melody. But I¡¯m afraid you have no right to refuse. Any Merian here has rights equal to dirt.¡± ¡°My Sister?¡± I tilted my head to the side and stroked my head. Sajade gave a sharp glance over my shoulder. Is that a signal? Suddenly a jolt shook my body, and I felt pain? The pain erupted on the back of my head. What! Not again. Losing consciousness. AWW ! You underdeveloped underdeveloped¡­. SPEICES. ¡°Who thinks I would be able to obtain beautiful twin slaves.¡± Sajade chuckled to himself leaving the room. ----General Third person. Melody is unconcious now----- ¡°I can¡¯t believe you would be so foolish leading a Merian to her own doom Freyor.¡± Freyor stood frozen, unable to move. ¡°Oh, Sorry about that. Nikkiala you can stop now.¡± A hooded figured emerged from the shadows. A purple glow faded from her. ¡°Sajay!!!! Call me Nikki please!!!¡± the figure pulled down her hood. Hearts were brimming in her eyes. ¡°Merian what are you talking about?¡± ¡°Melody. It¡¯s quite obvious she descends from there. Why would she want to meet a prisoner, especially a Merian prisoner? Also her twin is here, that¡¯s all the evidence I need to know that she descends from there. They are carbon copies of each other. No can deny that they are related.¡± Sajade stuck his finger at Freyor. ¡°For someone claiming to be so smart, you certainly were carless in figuring this out.¡± ¡°How will you ever prove the reason behind your Uncles death like this? Unless you have finally come to realize it was your father that killed him! ¡± Sajade crossed his arms with a smug look. ¡°Isn¡¯t that the reason you wanted to become a great mage? Mr.Forensics Mage?¡± Sajade grinned. Chapter 8: Human pain is annoying ¡°Wake up you two!¡± A booming voice roared. *zzzZzzZapppp!* an electrical pulse raced through my feeble body. Awgg, who dares!! *ZZzzzZAP!* ¡°I am Nikkiala, Master Sajade¡¯s personal maid.¡± The young red hair maid swirled around and gestured to a portrait of him. I looked to my right to see a worn out Cerina. Her eyes seemed dead. Completely different from the last time. What is the time difference between the last time I was here in this world? ¡°Now listen you will undergo some serious maid training to appease your new master. But first allow me to make you more willing.¡± Nikkiala started chanting a small incantation. ¡°With this you¡¯ll fall for master! You¡¯ll be completely obedient.¡± *clink* Cerina struggled with the chains binding her. I looked at the metal links. Oh I¡¯m chained too. But ha! There¡¯s no way Cerina can break those. No human can break metal. Well not in this planet anyways. ¡°Struggle all you like! It¡¯s the last you will before your love of our dear prince consumes your mind!¡± Cerina¡¯s struggles intensified. ¡°Awwwwwwwhh¡± Cerina screamed. Nikkiala finished her spell. With cherry brown hair similar to mine, Cerina fell forward. ¡°Now it¡¯s the sisters turn!¡± Nikkiala faced me with a huge grin. ¡°Just try it! As if an underdeveloped species magic will have any effect on me!¡± I smirked back. ¡°So arrogant! And confident! I like that. Makes me want to break you the manual way!¡± Nikkiala stopped her incantation and approached me. She extended her right hand out and rubbed the side of my cheek. ¡°Every time you disobey me, or do something rude to master, I will apply a little zap. You¡¯ve felt it before right? zzzZap.¡± She whispered in my ear. Pain is a dumb emotion you humans share. ¡°As if I will submit to human pain!¡± I glared. ¡°zzzzzZAp.¡± She arched her index finger forward. Awwggg! ¡°That¡¯s quite the face your making! Is it painful? Hehe your pained face looks cute too. Makes me want to hurt you more. Zap Zap Zap!¡± I hate this! I can¡¯t trash(1) this body because I can¡¯t reassemble a new body due to the binding gem! ¡°What do you want right now¡± I glared. ¡°Ohh ho ho. Obedient now? Well let me teach you how to prepare master¡¯s favorite cup of tea.¡± --A grueling tea training season later--- ¡°Come on. Don¡¯t look so fiercely. Here have some of the tea you made.¡± Nikkiala handed me a cup. ¡°It¡¯s quite good, but I¡¯m still very angry. Get these cloths off, they shock me!¡± I struggled to tear them off. ¡°But whyyy¡­¡± Nikkiala sipped more tea. ¡°You look cute in that maid uniform. I might be falling you.¡± Nikkiala brushed the side of my face again. ¡°Kidding. Master is the only one for me, but I don¡¯t mind having someone on the side.¡± She pulled back her hands and relaxed in her chair.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°What now?¡± I grumbled. I rested my face on the table. ¡°It is quite late, and I don¡¯t want you to get to far ahead your sis. It takes around a full night¡¯s worth of rest for my magic to take effect.¡± Nikkiala stood up and walked towards the exit. ¡°I¡¯ll pick you guys up tomorrow. Phu phu.¡± She chuckled as she shut the door. I instantly raced towards the door. *Zap* Awww! I retracted my feeble hand. A mental image of my maid overseer appeared in my mind. ¡°Ohh did you think about leaving. Ahh ha ha¡± Mental Nikkiala failingly concealed her laugh. ---Next Morning---- ¡°Wake up my lovelys.¡± Nikkiala voice shook the room. *zap* My body shot upright. ¡°Glad your awake Melody. Cerina your master awaits you.¡± Cerina¡¯s body propped up and gracefully stood next to Nikkalia. ¡°aww tahhh bahhh¡± Cerina¡¯s eyes were bubbly with hearts enclosed in them. Puzzled at the gibberish that Cerina spouted, Nikkiala inspected the awe stricken maiden in front of her. ¡°Melody, she can talk right?¡± ¡°Why should I answer!¡± I growled refueling my anger. *zap* ¡°Aww!¡± ¡°Geez do I need to up the voltage? Phu phu¡± ¡°She has talked to me before; I don¡¯t know what¡¯s wrong¡± I crossed my arms. ¡°That¡¯s odd. I¡¯m going to have to thoroughly inspect her. There must be something preventing her from speaking.¡± ¡°Awwhh babbuy gya¡± Cerina spoke again. ¡°Melody prepare some tea to bring master¡±. Nikkiala commanded. She then faced her palms towards the defenseless Cerina. ¡°Now let¡¯s see what¡¯s wrong with you¡± Nikkiala¡¯s purple glow started to surround her. ¡°Inspection! Huh? Mute! Why is a mute spell on her!¡± Nikkiala¡¯s eyes darted in my direction. She eyed me up. ¡°I don¡¯t know anything, I¡¯m clueless.¡± I started brewing the tea. ¡°I¡¯m goona try to undue it¡± Nikkiala furrowed her brows and held both hands in front of her. ¡°Aww!¡± Nikkiala fell on her butt. ¡°Dammit! Master can¡¯t use a non-talkative maid. I can¡¯t break through because the one who applied mute is stronger! Ghahhhh¡± Nikkiala angrily stomped. ¡°Tea¡¯s ready¡± I said indifferently. ¡°Awwwg! Hopefully master can figure this out... I¡¯m a Useless Maid! How can I advance to his heart with this!¡± Nikkiala scrambled her head. We proceeded down the hall to Sajade¡¯s personal room. ¡°Aww Melody, you look quite cute in that black and white attire¡± Sajade threw comments my direction. Cerina¡¯s eyes were love stricken when she saw Sajade. ¡°Awb dahh masher¡± Cerina gargled. ¡°Master I am terribly sorry but there appears to be a mute spell on this one¡± Nikkiala kneeled in apology. ¡°Oh is that so, did she cast it on herself when she was captured. Clever I guess. She couldn¡¯t speak even if we tortured her. I wonder what she knows? I shall undue it, surely I my magical might is strong enough.¡± Sajade channeled his magic, but even his magic was too weak to break the seal over Cerina¡¯s lips. ¡°Impossible. Master!¡± Nikkiala cried. ¡°It seems I haven¡¯t studied enough. No matter I will get the strongest mage in Cervana to do it. He owes me one.¡± Sajade¡¯s lips cracked into a sick smile. ---Half an hour later---- ¡°Melody you¡¯ve already mastered tea brewing, I might make you a permanent resident here.¡± *Knock* ¡°Master Sajade the Ex mage is here¡± Sajade signaled to bring him in, and sat legs crossed. ¡°Hello Sajade¡± A older man said in a respectful tone. Gorfon! ¡°I need you to undue a magical mute spell on this one here.¡± Sajade gestured towards Cerina who was still hopelessly staring at him. ¡°I can¡¯t¡­ I vowed never to use magic anymore. Especially after¡­¡± Gorfon looked down at his feet. Unable to lift his head. ¡°Yea we all know you killed your father with dangerous magic, but you owe it to the Marnor¡¯s for cleaning everything up. Isn¡¯t that right?¡± Sajade pressed at the heart of Gorfon¡¯s thoughts. Gorfon: ¡°¡­. I am¡­¡± He started to tear up. ¡°alright I¡¯ll¡­¡± ¡°Objection!¡± A bluish aura surrounded the room in an instant. In the doorway was a determined man with the eyes of a predator. Freyor was standing at the entrance with his arm fully extended and his finger aimed at Sajade. Within the next moment, a wild axe was flung at Frey. *Clank* As if a protective barrier was on Frey, the axe bounced off. The carried momentum of the axe bounced the guard back to the wall. ¡°What magic?!¡± Sajade stared amazed. Freyor smirked. ¡°All these years I was waiting for an opportunity to expose your crimes against my family, I¡¯ve created a new type of magic, that will ruin you. It is Objection!¡± Frey crossed his arms. ¡°It creates a field that prevents physical violence. The only way to lift this field is to logically dismantle my argument.¡± Frey stood sideways and pointed at Sajade. His eyes drifted towards me, but immediately darted back to Sajade. His face was a little flushed. ¡°Hehe¡± Sajade giggled. ¡°And what argument are you proposing¡± Sajade got up from his seat and stared coldly at Frey. ¡°That it was you who murdered Grandpa Maxif. I am accusing you of murdering Maxif Himbleed!¡± ¡°Frey, that is impossible. It was me who let lose that violent torrent of flame.¡± Gorfon turned to Frey. Frey shook his head. ¡°It was only made to appear that way. It is true you burned Maxif, but he was already dead before your magic even touched him.¡± ¡°What!¡± Gorfon stood up flabbergasted. ¡°And I have all I need to prove it.¡± Chapter 9: I Was A Tool! --- Direct continuation from last time----- ¡°Do you now? I¡¯ll play your game. But what new clues could you have found. You haven¡¯t been on the premise since that dreadful day. You never even saw where it took place.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a lie, or do you not remember yesterday? You welcomed me with open arms¡± Frey smirked. Frey actually looks pretty cool here. Not that I know what¡¯s going on. But it¡¯s a little interesting. Sajade furrowed his brows. ¡°Fine. But even so it would be impossible to know where the event happened, since it happened so long ago. You also did not see the whole estate.¡± Sajade gave a complacent smile. ¡°You are right I DIDN¡¯T know. At least not until you told me¡± Frey pulled down his chin to his chest and gave a cocky look at Sajade. Ha he looks ridiculous! ¡°When did I-¡± ¡°When you restricted entry to one place. You remember don¡¯t you? You let Melody enter, but not me I wonder why?¡± Frey viciously pointed at Sajade who seemed to be getting a little frustrated. ¡°That¡¯s- That¡¯s only because I was only apprehending Merian scum¡± Sajade stuttered. That is sound. I do look like Cerina after all. Frey shook his head. ¡°You could have easily arrested her in that room with me in. You clearly bound me before it. But why didn¡¯t you allow me inside? I think there is something you did not want me to see.¡± All eyes locked onto Sajade. Ahh! That makes sense. Why didn¡¯t Sajade allow him to come into that other slave room with me? ¡°That proves nothing! So what if you found the location or his death. It doesn¡¯t point anything to me, you weren¡¯t aloud to get any clues since you were never in there.¡± Sajade took a confident step forward.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Your right I have no clues, but a certain someone¡¯s account might shed some bring some new clues¡± Sajade panicked a little. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that¡­ that girl was in on it with you.¡± Sajade panicked in my direction. Ehhh! Me! What did I do?! I¡¯m an observer, and the occasional trickster, but not the main cast! Frey smirked again. ¡°Don¡¯t worry Melody only helped me confirm the location of the scene.¡± WHAT! I was a tool! I Melody a fifth dimensional Supreme! If my songs weren¡¯t bound now I would give you your requiem! Frey stole a glance at my angry face, but instantly turned away. ¡°Ehem ¡­ I¡¯ve planted my plan the day before. But it might be better to show you.¡± Frey started to mumble something. A green glow surrounded him, and with the flick of his wrist he pointed at Cerina. Cerina collapsed¡­ onto me! Awwggg. Get offff. Heavvyyyy! ¡°Huh? My head¡­¡± Cerina slowly raised her head. ¡°Hello there Merian soldier. I know this might be confusing for you but please while you were imprisoned here list what you saw in your place of confinement.¡± Frey spoke unable to make eye contact with Cerina. Those eyes that were filled with love faded. They snapped to a deadly glare. I pushed her to a sitting position. ¡°Hey Cerina just follow what that overdressed mans¡¯ saying¡± My mouth was next to her ear, and my hand shielded the view from everyone. Cerina pulled her sensitive ear away. A little life returned to those beautiful hazel eyes. ¡°I can speak!¡± Cerina quickly scanned and locked eyes with Sajade. She leaped in an instant but was thrown back by Frey¡¯s magic. ¡°What! What kinda magic is that?¡± Cerina¡¯s cherry maple hair was slightly disheveled. Sajade smugly nodded, and waved his hands through the air. ¡°It isn¡¯t my doing my lovely maid, It¡¯s your sis¡¯ over confident friend.¡± Sajade seemed to be getting his footing back. ¡°Cerina is it? I know it must be hard to trust someone especially considering the state you¡¯re in, but I need you to recall everything you saw when you were captured. Please¡­ I need this to bring that man down!¡± Frey¡¯s voice held strong as he pointed directly at Sajade again. Cerina looked a little lost and confused. I could sense that her pitiful human brain was strong at work. She turned her head towards me. ¡°Melody¡­?¡± she said in a hush voice. I nodded. ¡°It¡¯s the first time I¡¯m talking to you since I returned.¡± ¡°awwg!¡± I involuntarily yelped. A snug hug ambushed me the second I took my eyes off her. ¡°Melody I need you. I was looking for you, and when I found you I couldn¡¯t speak. And that man¡­¡± She glared over at Sajade¡­ Chapter 10: The Persons Eyes That Trust ---- Direct Continuation ------ I puzzledly stared into those desperate eyes. ¡°uhh, Yes. What do you need?¡± Of course a lower life form would need me! Wait am I going to be another tool?!! ¡°We have to go Aperian! Merlin is in danger!¡± Gorfon¡¯s eyes tilted towards Cerina. ¡°Awwg! Stop shaking me!¡± I pleaded with Cerina¡¯s forceful grip. Geez for someone who doesn¡¯t understand her own situation she sure cares for her comrades. She really is a fool. ¡°hahahe¡± I let out a small laugh. ¡°Melody what¡¯s so funny-¡± ¡°Please Cerina I need you to testify what was in that room!¡± Frey¡¯s voice snapped me to the current situation. She then looked at me. I nodded. I¡¯m on Frey¡¯s side after all right? ¡°I saw scorch marks in the corner, the wall looked weak there. There were small vents across the ceiling.¡± Cerina rubbed her chin in thought. ¡°Do you recall how many vents?¡± Frey slammed his hand against the wall behind him. ¡°Ah¡± Cerina became startled. ¡°Now that I think about it.. It was one connecting vent that outlined the edges of the room.¡± Cerina started examining the cloths on herself. Frey nodded to himself. ¡°You mentioned the wall looked weak there? Could you explain that?¡± Frey raised his hand to rub the back of his head. ¡°Well, naturally I was planning to escape. The wall looked fairly brittle¡­ I could probably break through it¡± Cerina crossed her arms. ¡°So why didn¡¯t you?¡± Frey inquired. Cerina adjusted her butt on the seat. ¡°I couldn¡¯t. I awoke in that room feeling very fatigued. I still don¡¯t have all of my strength.¡± Cerina started to stretch her arms. ¡°But what could have weakened you I wonder?¡± Frey crossed his arms. He knows the answer¡­ Hes enjoying Sajade¡¯s face distort. Pffa! I am too! ¡°That wasn¡¯t a holding chamber by any means, at least not a normal one. It¡¯s a gas chamber. In this case it was used to pacify those prisoners. It all makes sense when you take into account that they are soldiers.¡± Frey faced Sajade sideways, and directed his index finger his direction. Sajade adjusted his poster, and pointed the underside of his index finger in return. ¡°If I didn¡¯t have this mechanism in place how would I tame the most violent of slaves, especially a pupil of Merlin the Unkillable.¡± ¡°Admitting that, itself proves you are guilty. Who says you couldn¡¯t have fed a more lethal gas in there.¡± Frey crossed his arms. ¡°You have no proof!¡± Sajade slammed his fist against a small desk. Poor desk L . ¡°Then will you permit me an investigation of that chamber. I¡¯m sure I could find that so called proof. Of course you could deny me, but that will only prove your own guilt.¡± Frey trailed off in a snarky manor. ¡°¡­¡± Sajade begin to sweat again his face, furious. ¡°AWWWWWW!¡± Sajade repeatedly started slamming the desk. ¡°I think this is sufficient. As everyone can see here The Marnor family has no right to be the king of merchants. I demand he be evicted.¡± Frey demanded. With the truth being revealed his blue domain faded. Sajade¡¯s hair became disheveled. ¡°Freyor Himbleed¡­.¡± Sajade began to conjure his magical power into his hand. ¡°Everybody run go to the hero¡¯s guild¡± Frey waved his hand in a sweeping motion. ¡°No witnesses!¡± Sajade snapped his other finger. All the axe men and Nikkiala collapsed to the floor. There cloths seemed to sapping their energy. ¡°No one is getting evicted. Why you are all just accidently going to die here¡­ I¡¯ve just sapped all the magic and life energy from my subordinates, even you Gorfon will not stand a chance!¡±Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°Ma-ster¡­ whyyy¡± Nikkiala chocked out. Her stomach was to the ground, and it looked like she was using all her strength to lift her head. ¡°Why what! You all were just tools that I can dispose of at any time. It seems your magical affinity is protecting your life energy. I¡¯ll be sure to take it after I deal with these un-pleasantries.¡± Sajade smirked as he fired a giant blast towards Frey. Frey tumbled and knocked the couch, Me and Cerina were sitting on, for cover. ¡°This couch is perfect Cover!¡± I snarked sarcastically. Overhead green blasts were flown above wrecking the walls. Hmm. A couple blasts should be enough to destroy the couch. Why isn¡¯t he shooting at us. I bobbled my head up from the couch to see Gorfon redirecting his blasts. ¡°You kids! Get away! Escape now!¡± Gorfon¡¯s tremendous magical energy surrounded him. Gorfon pushed his hands forwards. ¡°Is this all the great mage of exile really has left¡± Sajade broke through Gorfon¡¯s magic and delivered a punch charged with magical energy. ¡°Gawk!¡± Gorfon¡¯s blood splashed the air. ¡°Damn it!¡± Frey screamed. ¡°All this time I was working to create this kind of magic to reveal the truth¡­ but now that I have it¡­ ¡± ¡°You realize it¡¯s useless! All that matters is power!¡± ¡°Awck!¡± Gorfon coughed another heap of blood. ¡°Get out of here! He will not get passed me!¡± The flourishes of blue and green splashed across the room. The intensity was shaking the whole room. ¡°Damn it. I can¡¯t. I can¡¯t do anything! AWGGG!¡± Frey shook his head and grasped my hand. ¡°Were not running. We¡¯re getting help!¡± I kinda wanna watch though¡­. But seeing as this place might become unstable, this body might get destroyed so I¡¯ll flee to a safer view point. ¡°Give me a second¡± Cerina was trying to remove her maid uniform. ¡°These cloths are sapping my energy; I think all my magical aura is gone. It sapping my life¡± Frey instantly turned away. But the shaking got worse as Sajade and Gorfon¡¯s magical auras clashed. ¡°These cloths, it seems there magical bound. I can¡¯t¡­¡± Cerina was struggling to stand. ¡°Melody can you help her out?¡± Frey darted his eyes into mine. Why me? You¡¯re a capable young lad! I snatched my hand away from Frey¡¯s and lugged Cerina¡¯s arm around my feeble neck. Whatever, I¡¯m ensuring future entertainment this way. I broke away from the couch and headed towards the exit. ¡°Awk¡± Gorfon¡¯s foot twisted and he stumbled to his left. A rogue blast came spiraling towards me. Ugh Is this how this pitiful body gets destroyed, will I have to wait in boredom till Ergo picks me up in my ether form? With a lightning reaction a blue and white figure blocked the green bolt from my eyes. Cerina! The shot tore through her side, leaving a fist sized hole in her lower right abdomen. ¡°AWWWWWWW!¡± Cerina tilted her head towards the heavens and screamed. She started to collapse on me. As if time was frozen. ¡°Melody I need you to go to Aperian. Please save Merlin.¡± Cerina mustered the last of her strength to push me towards the exit. What why do I have to do work! I glared at Cerina. But what met me wasn¡¯t the eyes of a superior, but the eyes of someone who had given up and passed their hopes onto someone else. Someone who¡¯s eyes were filled with no regret, but with determination and complete trust in their decision. Someone who believes in me, Melody. I instinctively reached for the fallen Cerina, but a hand jerked me back. ¡°The room¡¯s collapsing we have to go¡± Frey yelled in my ear. ¡°NO!¡± I tugged my arm against his. ¡°I won¡¯t! In this situation, her body will be destroyed! I don¡¯t want that. I don¡¯t want the first person to stare at me with those eyes to-¡± ¡°I DON¡¯T WANT TO LEAVE EITHER!¡± Frey shouted as tears fled from his eyes. I directed my gaze upwards to see Gorfon on the ground and Sajade towering above him. ¡°I¡¯m going to squeeze every last ounce of life you have left.¡± *Crack* *Crack* ¡°Is that your bones snapping?! Let me hear MORE!¡± Sajade¡¯s green aura grew dominant over Gorfon¡¯s dimming blue. Frey twisted his head towards the exit violently. ¡°The best thing we can do now is to get help¡± Frey struggled to say. Frey pulled me despite my feat dragging against the ground. ? I SING FOR THE PERSON THAT BELIEVES IN ME TO BE FINE? ?I SING FOR THE WOUNDS THAT WOULD DESTROY TO HEAL? ?I SING FOR THIS FEEBLE BODY TO BE A SUBSTITUTE FOR THE DAMAGE? ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ Nothing¡­ Nothing¡¯s happening. Nothing. Nothing. My song¡¯s that were my most precious to me. The song¡¯s I was born with. They are silent. Just as that room was almost out of sight a strained smile lifted off the ground. I broke free of Frey¡¯s grasp and sprinted back into the tumbling room. Aww I¡¯ve never exerted this much pressure on these underdeveloped legs. They hurt, is what I would have thought. But at that moment my body felt light and determined. ¡°Drag everyone out I¡¯ll do something!¡± I commanded Frey. Frey yelled back. ¡°What can you do!¡± Ha What can I do I¡¯m a celestial! Far above any of you under developed species! I can definitely do something! ¡°Just do it!¡± I barked. I positioned my body sideways, then turned my head over my shoulder, and locked eyes with the emerald eyes of Sajade. I threw my human body into Sajade who was just about to snuff out any life Gorfon had. ¡°What are you you-¡± Sajade unloaded green bolts into my abdomen, but it was too late my body picked up enough momentum to launch us both towards the far wall. I applied all of my weight to hold him down. ¡°GET OFF OF MEEE!¡± Sajade¡¯s magical charged fists struck my body repeatedly. This pain stuff is really annoying! Why do humans have it? Sajades frustrated screams continued to ripple through the air as Frey dragged the unconscious Cerina, Gorfon, and Nikkiala out. I don¡¯t know how long my human body lasted, all I could hear was the collapse of the ceiling above, and the desperate threats of the man under me. All I know is that this body is no more. Chapter 11: Yes I do care about the underdeveloped! ¡°Eh? Where am I¡± ¡°It seems your human life only lasted a little less than a week¡± An image of a long man in a black suit turned his back away from me. ¡°Ergo¡­You¡¯ve put on a human form?¡± I rubbed the back of my head. Eh? Head? I looked down. I¡¯m still a human as well. ¡°It¡¯s actually quite good that your human life was extinguished so fast. It¡¯s been getting pretty busy on the other human planets. Instead of resetting it I want to see how you will handle it.¡± Ergo faced me with a small smile. He dodged my question¡­ ¡°Wait! I¡­ I don¡¯t want to go somewhere else I¡¯m going back to here¡± I pointed at the human planet I was on previously. ¡°let me see, two of the biggest nations waged war, and the Merian side lost. There are still some small skirmishes but nothing threatening about this needs any interjection.¡± Ergo was looking at the planet. ¡°You will go here. Fix it from the inside.¡± Ergo pointed to a neighboring planet. ¡°It¡¯s one that is filled with technology, and no magic. It¡¯s quite robust, but it¡¯s nuclear levels are very high. Go calm their advances Melody.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t wanna!¡± I crossed my legs. A stern glance was directed at me. ¡°Did you forget Meldoy I¡¯m am your superior, I am training you for the day that you will become a supreme. I may have let you have a little bit too much freedom in the past, but it¡¯s getting closer to the day you graduate. You need to be the best you can be. I hope your time without your Celestial Guidance (1) has helped you learn something. But who am I kidding you never learn anything! In the classroom your always asleep. I thought giving you some field experience would be ebst for you, but it seems you did nothing, but get killed.¡±The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. I stood up with my fists pointed outwards. ¡°I did do something!¡± ¡°What? Are you going to say, you saved that female knight and old merchant? Do you remember the state they were in?¡± Ergo¡¯s vicious stare terrified me. A violent flash of memories rushed in front of me. Cerina jumped in front of a magical blast that would have likely destroyed my body, and Gorfon held Sajade from obliterating us. Cerina¡¯s stomach had a fist sized hole leaking a sanguine red. Both people decided to put their lives at death¡¯s door for the sake of protecting someone who wasn¡¯t in any harm. Me. The worst scenario for me is that my human body would be destroyed and I would be forced to wander the planet in my ether form, which is on the fifth dimension. I wouldn¡¯t be able to interact with anything; I would be bored. Was that really my concern then? I was so bored sitting in this Celestial Outlook (2), that I wanted something stimulating. But the look in Cerina¡¯s hazel eyes, they withheld so much emotion; fear, despair, sadness, and trust¡­ Trust. Faith that was put in me to do something not as an order, but as a request, a plea. I never even had a proper conversation with her, and she put her trust in me, some low ranking celestial in training. You really are a fool. You put your only life on the line for a foolish celestial. ¡°¡­.¡± I couldn¡¯t respond. Silence. I turned away from Ergo. Tears wiped across the room. ¡°Tears¡­ the side effect caused by the emotion sadness for humans¡± Ergo moved closer to examine. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you they are not dead, but dying. They are being treated, but the medical treatment they are receiving will not be enough. They will all die shortly. I¡¯ll remove the binding gem restricting your Celestial Guidance, use it as you see fit.¡± Ergo snatched the red gem from inside of me. ? I sing for the sake of the people that put their lives at stake for me. Restore them!? I instinctively sung. ¡°Interesting. You care about these underdeveloped life forms?¡± "Yes I do care about the underdeveloped!" Chapter 12: I can return? *Melody looking through a viewing screen. * ¡°Father please hold on! The healers are on their way!¡± ¡°It¡¯s ok Frey. Just know that we are a family of mages not merchants. We were stripped of our mages title before you were born, when I was around your age.¡± Gorfon coughed out. ¡°Ask your¡­ your mother about the rest, and let me rest.¡± Gorfon slowly closed his eyes. ¡°Father! Don¡¯t, this magic I¡¯ve practiced! It¡¯s brought the truth right? You didn¡¯t kill your father.¡± Gorfon¡¯s hand slid down to the floor. ¡°Awwhhh!¡± Frey yelled out. ¡°eh¡± White musical notes swirled around Gorfon¡¯s body. Gorfon¡¯s eyes opened. His wounds started to close. ¡°heh I¡¯m feeling all better.¡± Cerina got up, and squatted down beside Frey and Gorfon. ¡°Kinda weird way we met but I¡¯m Cerina Herlintin pupil of Merlin of Merian.¡± Cerina extended her arm on top of her knee. Frey reluctantly shook her hand, and introduced himself, and his father. ¡°You know we aren¡¯t in a Merian controlled city, we are in a Cardigan occupied city, your enemies. You shouldn¡¯t be saying that¡± Frey hushed his voice. ¡°I don¡¯t mind. I trust you, you were with Melody.¡± Cerina got up and stretched her legs and arms.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°I don¡¯t believe it¡± Gorfon sat up extended and retracting all of his fingers said. ¡°You better! Melody is great! I didn¡¯t know the extent of her song¡¯s but this is quite amazing! I shouldn¡¯t be surprised she did heal us before.¡± Cerina trailed off. ¡°Could you tell us more about you and Melody.¡± Frey crossed his arms, and glanced off to the side failing to look at Cerina¡¯s face. ¡°Well I wouldn¡¯t I know her practically, I only met her about a two weeks ago I think.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t we talk about your family over dinner!¡± Restored Gorfon got up and snugged both of them. Gorfon released them and looked around. ¡°Where is Melody?¡± Frey brought his head to the floor. ¡°The last time I saw her she was in the collapsing Marnor Estate¡­¡± Gorfon and Frey went silent ... ¡°Well then she¡¯s somewhere around here!¡± Cerina picked herself up and started to look around. ¡°How can you be so sure?¡± Frey picked his head up. ¡°Cause I heard her.¡± Cerina used her hand as a visor while turning her head around. ¡°When It was all black, and cold I heard her voice sing. So I know she¡¯s around.¡± ¡°I heard some singing too.¡± Gorfon added. ¡°Melody!¡± Cerina cupped her hands in a horn shape and called out my name. Sorry foolish knight. I am far away from you. I¡¯m really glad my song was enough to heal you. And you too Gorfon. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be returning there for a while. ¡°Ok Ergo I¡¯m ready to go.¡± I stood up from the viewing screen. ¡°Yes, yes.¡± Ergo said staring at me intensely. ¡°Go back to that planet.¡± Ergo pointed at the viewing screen. ¡°eh.¡± ¡°To think you¡¯re learning more from an underdeveloped species then the classroom of highly developed individuals.¡± ¡°Eh!¡± ¡°You heard me, now scurry on, I¡¯ll maintain this other planet just enough for you to fix it later.¡± Ergo go smiled. ¡°Melody!!¡± Cerina yelled once more. ¡°Hi!¡± ¡°Awwwww!¡± Cerina yelped, as I touched the back of her shoulders. ¡°Melody! Where did you come from?!¡± A surprised Cerina said. ¡°You know from somewhere¡­¡± I kicked some dirt up. ¡°That¡¯s Grand!¡± Gorfon stood up fully restored. He invited me and Cerina back for dinner, he seemed very interested in me. Chapter 13: Munch Munch... This is good chicken ----- Eating dinner at Gorfon¡¯s house---- Out in front of me laid a pile of food. The swarming scents overloaded my feeble nose. My mouse began to drool. I immediately started digging in. ¡°puff. Haha. Has no one taught you manors, Melody?¡± Cerina chuckled lightly while using a human utensil with 3 prongs to pin food. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry dear, we here take it as a compliment. Eat however you wish¡± Frey and Ponta¡¯s mother refilled my plate. ¡°But to think dear you were almost dead today is very hard to believe¡­ you don¡¯t look any different than when you left this morning.¡± ¡°Aww I would have been but this cute darling saved me. She is a mage that can heal fatal wounds.¡± Gorfon said in-between gulps of beer. ¡°She can do more than that! She bound me in steel before! It took quite a bit of work to get out, but it was really cool!¡± Cerina shook excitedly. Ha why are you laughing at being tricked! ¡°What exactly can you do Melody?¡± Frey asked while finishing his plate. ¡°Well I can sing, and by my will things can happen.¡± I offered a sloppy explanation, but I wanted to eat the delicious food in front of me. ¡°So you could restore Merian and end the conflict between Merian and Cardigo?!¡± Cerina stood up with a thunderous slam on the table. ¡°Not exactly. My songs are limited. They can¡¯t do anything world breaking like that.¡± If there was my job would be all too easy! But Ergo can. And when I become a full supreme I can too. ¡°By the way Cerina do you have any amazing abilities?¡± ¡°Eh why would I?¡± Cerina flashed a puzzled face towards Gorfon. ¡°Well aren¡¯t you girls sisters? You two look very similar, almost identical.¡± Miranda held up a pocket mirror she had in her pocket. ¡°Oh wow it¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve seen my reflection. Wow! We do look identical Melody!¡± Silence fell over the table. ¡°Ha What kind of person doesn¡¯t know what they look like!¡± I pointed my dancing finger at her. ¡°W-Well! I¡¯m not ones for looks! I have many other things to focus on like training to become strong!¡± Cerina puffed. Everyone still silently looked at Cerina, who slowly became embarrassed. ¡°Anyways what¡¯s your plan now Cerina?¡± Frey questioned. ¡°I plan to go to Aperian! Cardigo recently overran the capital of Merian, me and Merlin planned to counter attack at the two border cities Cervana, and Aperian. But I was careless and was ambushed. They knew I was coming. I¡¯m worried if they knew I was, they most likely knew Merlin was as well. So I plan to go to Aperian. Merian has fallen¡­ I do not think here¡¯s any hope. But I hope I can still save my teacher, and become refuges.¡±Stolen story; please report. ¡°Of course you¡¯ll come with me¡­ right Melody? I promise to show you a lot of fun things, in return for your help.¡± Cerina put a piece of chicken on my plate. A simple bribe won¡¯t get me to do whatever you want. I¡¯ll still take it though! Not like I¡¯m goona say no though¡­ ¡°Yea, your fun to be around¡­¡± I trailed off. Cerina clapped her hands together. ¡°I think it would be a good idea if you tag along with them Frey.¡± Gorfon¡¯s steady voice came into focus. ¡°Our family has an aptitude for magic, I couldn¡¯t be more proud of my son to invent a new form of magic. I think its best if you go with them to the magic city itself to explore the depths of it.¡± ¡°What about being the king of the merchants?¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter anymore. We were originally a family of mages, we lived in Aperian. But a coup happened there. I was tasked in protecting the 2nd princess of Aperian. I succeeded in protecting her¡­¡± Gorfon stared at Miranda. ¡°But me and my father, Maxif couldn¡¯t stop the coup. The current King managed to execute the king, and managed to call it an accident. We didn¡¯t have the favor of the other nobles, nor the evidence to prove otherwise. As the only people who knew the truth, we were exiled. From there, and then we were known as the mages of exile. Me and my father were planning on going back¡­ but I thought I had killed him for all these years, so I turned my back on magic. And decided to just settle as a merchant.¡± Tears formed in Gorfon¡¯s eyes. Miranda went over and rubbed his back, while giving him a glass of water. ¡°Yes your father protected me so gallantly back then. I think it¡¯s time we told you everything. I am a former princess of Aperian, my whole family was murdered. You have royal blood coursing through you Frey. Oh and you too Ponta.¡± Miranda placed a hand on her chest and grabbed a shiny blue pendant that matched her hair color. ¡°Yay special blood¡± Ponta exclaimed. Not seeming to understand the conversation. ¡°We knew Sajade must have been communicating with Aperian¡¯s king, so me and my father infiltrated his estate to find evidence. Little did we know we played into a trap. We got separated, And I ran into a dead end. I used explosion magic to break a hole through the wall. Little did I know my father was on the other side.¡± ¡°That must have been the very weak wall I saw there.¡± Cerina added. ¡°I had thought my explosion killed him, but unknown to me the poison gas had already took his life. I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d ever touch magic again. But now I know the truth, I can move forward again. But even with it I have a family to look after.¡± Gorfon brought Ponta to his lap who was playing with some wooden sticks. ¡°So Frey, not as your father, as a royal magician of Aperian. Will you go to Aperian and expose the king for his wrong doings? I know it¡¯s not a thing for a father to say, to send their son off to somewhere so dangerous, but Miranda lost everything there. You¡¯ve developed a magic with the capabilities to bring justice on them.¡± Gorfon¡¯s eyes turned serious. ¡°I of course want to see that man pay for his crimes, but as a mother I do not want you to go. But I will leave it up to you to decide.¡± A little overwhelmed by all the sudden information Frey stood up and backed to the wall. ¡°So I really am royalty.¡± Frey stammered. ¡°Yes, you do have a birthright to Aperian if you want it.¡± Miranda nodded her head. ¡°Are you alright Frey?¡± Miranda went to comfort her son. ¡°Yes¡­ it¡¯s pretty heavy to take in all at once.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t oppose you coming along with us Frey, but it seems like you might need some time to think this over. We leave tomorrow morning. I want to arrive as soon as possible to secure my teacher¡¯s safety.¡± Cerina stood by her words. ¡°I¡¯ll come ¡­ I made this magic to find the truth. And nothing would make me happier than using this ability to fix the wrongs against the people I care about.¡± Chapter 14: My incredible Fresh new Journey... Begins! ¡°Wow Frey! This horse carriage is so big!¡± We left Cervana two days ago, and are traveling north to Aperian for two reasons. One, to see if Cerina¡¯s teacher Merlin is ok, and two to¡­ ¡°Hey Frey why are you coming?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going reclaim my family¡¯s right to the throne I guess. Still shocked that I¡¯m Aperian royalty.¡± And that. Apparently the trip was a week and a half. We¡¯d have to go through a couple of unique terrains¡­ I didn¡¯t bother to remember them. Frey has everything under control! Right now we were crossing the dead grassland. It¡¯s just like any old grassland except everything¡¯s dead! The grass was all brown, and the trees were nothing but branches pointing daggers at each other. A very spooky place indeed. The carriage itself was cleaned out of any merchandise that Gorfon was selling, only the lonely wooden interior was in our company. Cerina also packed some secret goodies! She won¡¯t tell me though. L ¡°Yea it¡¯s what my father uses when he goes to other cities. He¡¯s lending it to us, He told me he¡¯s going to focus on magic again, and train Ponta as well. Without any Merchandise it must be quite roomy in there¡± Frey turned his head backwards to see that his words were not heard. ¡°That¡¯s not fair! How did you!¡± ¡°It¡¯s ok Melody. I¡¯ve been playing this game since I was a child.¡± ¡°So what! RAWR another game!¡± I cleared the board and quickly reset the small black and white pieces. Being in a merchant town has its perks, Cerina packed some of the board games from around the world. Right now Cerina just taught me how to play Othello(1). Frey continued to look at us. Did he want to say something? Whatever! ¡°And It¡¯s my win again!¡± ¡°What! How- Awww¡± The cart rose in the air. I looked at Cerina¡¯s surprised face as we were suspended in gravity for a split second. We crashed on top of one another with a loud thud. The black and white pieces were flung everywhere. ¡°Frey what happened!¡± ¡°My bad It seems we ran over a small rock¡± Frey jumped off the carriage to investigate. The rock wasn¡¯t exactly small; it was medium I guess. It did look irregular tough. The chilly wind reminded us we were not in Cervana anymore. It was silent. Without the trotting of the horses the silences felt ominous. It didn¡¯t help that the vegetation also looked dead. ¡°Don¡¯t worry you have me here¡± ? I sing this wonderful song from the people who can¡¯t do anything without me, please fix-? A snapping sound interrupted my song, as an arrow pierced through the cold air, and into my weak shoulder. ¡°Awww! What¡± I grabbed the area around the arrow and collapsed to the ground. I¡¯m never going to get used to this pain thing! Cerina instantly sprung in front of me and drew her sword. Frey led me to inside of the carriage. It hurts, it burns! What is this! The arrow had a slightly green tip that shined to the faintest touch of light. ¡°Okay Melody I¡¯m going to break off the arrow and pull¡± Frey snapped to a decision. Unfortunately, his body didn¡¯t agree and was trembling. The moment his shaky fingers touched the arrow. ¡°AWWWWW!¡± The pain reached across my body. Frey instantly retracted his hand. Idiot did you forget who I am! ?I sing for this arrow to be removed, and this wound closed? white notes surrounded the arrow and my shoulder. The arrow rolled across the wooden floor of the carriage, and my shoulder started to feel a lot better. Ahh! That¡¯s great. Now who was it that made me endure that undesirable feeling! I peeked my head out of the carriage to see Cerina¡¯s blade dance around 5 men. The mean wore a dirty brown entire. Probably to blend in with this dreadful scenery. A green light sparkled in the distance. Is that¡­ An arrow! It whipped through the air. Its point was facing Cerina¡¯s chest. *Sling* The arrow was sliced in half. ¡°Don¡¯t worry Mr. archer I see you, I¡¯ll get to you in a sec¡± Cerina taunted. Cerina¡¯s long hazel hair fluttered as she danced between blades and arrows. Some of her hair was actually being cut off. ¡°She¡¯s good¡­ to hire such a bodyguard the loot in that carriage must be top notch, maybe even some artifacts.¡± One of the men breathed heavily. ¡°Let¡¯s all attack at once¡± All the men rushed Cerina at once. In one giant sweeping motion Cerina parried all their swords at once. ¡°what!¡± One of the men said in fleeting astonishment. Cerina positioned her body low to the ground and zipped past him. Her sword was held to her right protruding from her low posture. The brown grass was died red. Another sword was swung from behind Cerina in a downward strike. Cerina pushed of her feet and rolled forward catching herself with her feet. She then pushed off the ground and arched her back in a c shape. She flew over the head of her attacker, and delivered a clean slice to the back of his neck. Cerina¡¯s feet landed with a wave of confidence. The wave of confidence shook the very air and made the remaining men take a defensive stance. ¡°Come on guys I¡¯m sure if the rest of you come at me you might stand a chance.¡± Cerina threw her sword directly up in the air.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Almost as on instinct the remaining men dashed the unarmed knight. Cerina went to her signature low stance, and slid underneath a slash and kicked the hilt of one of the swords. ¡°What!¡± The unarmed bandit jaw was crushed by Cerina¡¯s other foot. Cerina ¡®s body was pushed up by her arms, and fully extended to deliver that upwards kick. The momentum of the kick threw the man backwards. Cerina¡¯s momentum was towards him. She tucked in her stomach and legs and pushed both legs in towards his chest. Cerina launched through the air and grabbed her falling sword and impaled it into another bandit. The last man lugged a huge swing at Cerina¡¯s behind, but the falling sword from the first man altered the sword¡¯s trajectory of his swing slightly. Enough so that Cerina could do a small leap in the air. The blade ran inches from her body. She quickly rolled over her back and clamped her feet in the hilt of the sword impaled in the other guy and flung it at the man above her. The hilt smashed his face in. The resulting impact of the hilt bounced it off his face leaving a trail of blood in the air. But before the sword could touch the ground Cerina grabbed it in reverse and sliced it through the man¡¯s side. Cerina instantly turned towards the woods, towards where the arrows were shot, but no more hints of green were seen. Did that person run away? Well I won¡¯t let them! ?I sing to bring that person who injured me here? *Bam* The side of the carriage rocked a little, I peak my head to the opposite end. I saw a hooded figure with a quiver on his back and an arm through a bow. ¡°So it¡¯s you! Are you ready to experience my wrath!¡± I yelled while crossing my arms! Eh? Unconscious. ¡°Hey, It¡¯s no fun if I don¡¯t see you suffer¡± I hopped out of the carriage and shook the person¡¯s shoulders. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ¡°Where am I?¡± The guy who was going to feel my wrath very soon regained consciousness. The ropes that bound him caused him to panic a little more. I won¡¯t even need my song¡¯s to have fun with him. I eyed the green tipped arrows that we stored within the carriage. ¡°Were still here, but I don¡¯t know how long you will be.¡± I gave my best creepy smile. ¡°Hold on Melody.¡± Frey held a hand in front of me. ¡°We need to know if he works with a group or not.¡± ¡°As if I¡¯ll tell you anything.¡± He spat towards Frey¡¯s foot. ¡°Well I tried¡­. Cerina make it painful.¡± Frey waved his hand. Cerina who was sitting on top of the carriage jumped down and used his shoulder as a step before landing on the ground. ¡°AWWW!¡± He screamed as he looked at his dislocated shoulder. ¡°Talk now and I¡¯ll pop it back for you, if you don¡¯t I¡¯ll still pop it back for you, but I¡¯ll pop it out again.¡± Cerina tried copying my creepy smile. It did look creepy¡­ but in a different way. ¡°I¡¯m a part of the Deadwood Gang. We make a living by having people like you go through checkpoints.¡± *pop* ¡°Awwww!¡± ¡°That wasn¡¯t so hard was it? Is there any more of these checkpoints?¡± Cerina tried to maintain her creepy smile. Gosh its morphing! Hehe. ¡°Yea we have them all over the forest. But I don¡¯t know where! All squads aren¡¯t told in case of this situation!¡± ¡°You expect me to believe that!¡± Cerina vulture gripped his shoulder. ¡°Please! Really I don¡¯t know!¡± ¡°I tried to save you Mr.Shoulder¡± Cerina tightened her grip even more. ¡°Pleasssseeee I doon¡¯t knoooowww!¡± Before Cerina could dislocate his shoulder again Frey stood up, holding a rock. ¡°I think he¡¯s telling the truth. Even if he isn¡¯t I think I could find out where their next ¡®checkpoint¡¯ is.¡± Eh. ¡°huh¡± Cerina loosened her grip. ¡°This rock. If we didn¡¯t go over this, we would not have stopped. Meaning that their ambush would have failed. Leaving something like this to chance seems like a bad business model, so this rock was planted.¡± Frey presented the rock for everyone to see. It was a small white rock the size of a small hand. My hands. ¡°But that seems nowhere big enough of a rock to cause the wheel to break.¡± Cerina interjected. ¡°It isn¡¯t, but what if the rock could grow.¡± ¡°Do rocks grow here¡± I bent my head closer to inspect the white rock. ¡°pff do rocks grow from where you¡¯re from Melody!¡± Cerina brought her hand to her mouth in an effort to cover her laugh. ¡°This rock has lingering traces of magic.¡± I moved my eyes from Cerina to Frey who started pouring magic into the rock. Just like a sponge the rock grew. Frey dropped the rock when it reached the size Gorfon¡¯s belly. ¡°Which means¡­¡± ¡°!¡± Frey immediately darted his gaze to the surrounding area. The dead trees looked no different than they did before. What was he looking for? ¡°Cerina did you encounter a magic user in combat?¡± ¡°No I did not, only sword wielders. Oh and this arrow guy.¡± Cerina kicked his side. ¡°Aw!¡± ¡°Then there¡¯s a mage somewhere. Anyone could supply their own magic from touching this rock, but from a range you¡¯d need a little bit more training. Hey where¡¯s the mage?¡± Frey looked down at the bandit who was still recovering from Cerina¡¯s kick. ¡°Heh¡­ your talking about our leader! The rogue mage!¡± ¡°Who?¡± The three of us said in unison. ¡°You guys don¡¯t know? Well I¡¯ll tell you she is strong beautiful, talented. She can tether a magical connection from great distances. Did I mention she¡¯s beautiful, and strong? She can also tether¡­¡± *Boom* The rock that was placed on the ground glowed red before exploding. But before the wave of the explosion could reach me Cerina¡¯s fast reflexes moved her body in front of me. Her eyes saying ¡®Don¡¯t Worry. I am here¡¯. The blast knocked me and Cerina back a couple feet. I clenched my eyes close before impact to brace myself. The next thing I saw was Cerina on top of me. Her chestnut hair was messed up from the skirmish. It was uneven, but I could see the appeal of her face better. Her large upturned eyes were a nice hazel color. She had a small cut running across her check, her perfectly pink plump lips were panting a little. ¡°Thanks!¡± I smiled back at her. ¡°Yup!¡± She pulled me up. A bright red flame blocked our vison of the carriage. ¡°Frey!¡± We both rushed towards the emanating red torrent. As we got closer the flame started to die down. We saw Frey knocked to the ground a couple feet away, but a red transparent dome was shielding him. Next to him laid ashes of the man we tied up. Hey someone took my wrath away! Out of the trees emerged a person with a black jacket with huge red jagged stripes diagonally striking it. The person pulled down their furry white hood. A female. She had medium length flare red hair that would go a little past her shoulders. Her hair was carried a little to the right by the wind. Her hair seemed to be a darker shade of red near the roots. She emitted an overwhelming presence that froze Frey, and Cerina in place. I continued walking but Cerina¡¯s hand was locked with mine. ¡°Yup he¡¯s dead¡± The women said stomping on the bound man¡¯s ashes. She walked over to Frey she waved her hand, and the red dome vanished. ¡°I hope you weren¡¯t injured to bad. She offered a hand to Frey. Frey stared at the hand. His eyes were analyzing all the scars on her hand. She abruptly took his hand and pulled him to his feet. ¡°You¡¯re fine.¡± She patted some of the dirt off him. ¡°I am that rogue mage my underling was speaking about. He spoke a little too much. You guys don¡¯t seem to have anything of interest. No spell books, no artifacts.¡± She peaked inside our carriage. She then proceeded walking back into the forest. ¡°Safe travels¡± She gave a backwards wave back. ¡°Frey did you feel that! Her magical aura was insane!¡± Cerina curled her wrist back and gestured her hands downward. ¡°I felt it. She¡¯s stronger then my father. But her eyes held a very sad look. I want to meet her again.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Cerina turned towards him. ¡°Hey Melody can your song¡¯s resurrect the dead? I think Frey has a death wish.¡± ¡°Nope I can¡¯t. If Frey dies. He is G-O-N-E¡± I slowly spoke each syllable. ¡°She could have easily wiped us out, before you could get a word out Melody. I wonder what she¡¯s after? She didn¡¯t even care about her fallen comrades.¡± Frey rubbed his chin. ¡°Nothing we can do about it now, let¡¯s continue the adventure!¡± I marched into the carriage and sang my song to restore the broken wheel. Chapter 15: Of course were going to help! We passed by a number of rocks similar to the one we ran over before, but they were off to the side of the dirt trail. No one was attacking us¡­ I sat at the open edge or the carriage with my legs dangling about. ¡°Hey Cerina was that lady really powerful?¡± ¡°Of course! I can¡¯t believe you didn¡¯t feel it! Unless Melody you have no fear!¡± Cerina brought her hands to her mouth. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s quite like that Cerina. I think Melody is just insanely strong.¡± Frey said as he steered the horses. ¡°Yea yea I know Melody has a unique form of magic that certainly is very strong, but watch!¡± Cerina scooped me from behind. ¡°Hey-mmhmmhm¡± Cerina placed one hand over my mouth. She used the other hand to turn me to the front of the carriage. I balled both of my hands and playfully struggled about. ¡°You see! Melody defeated!¡± Cerina cheerfully smiled. ¡°¡­.¡± Frey silence, and his ¡®wut¡¯ face was all that was needed for Cerina to start laughing. She released me and held her stomach. I didn¡¯t know what was so funny. I had just been forcibly held. And restricted of my songs, but I didn¡¯t feel anger liker I thought I would. I didn¡¯t feel in danger, but rather a sense of joy. ¡°Well What if I do this!¡± ?I Sing to Bind this laughing Idiot in-? My song was interrupted by a lighting fast swirl of chestnuts and silver. ¡°I caught a Melody again!¡± Cerina held me from behind. Her Silver armor was cutting into me a little. ¡°See Frey, Melody isn¡¯t a threat once you know a little bit about her.¡± She tickled me in her embrace. ¡°mmhh! Haahwawha¡± my laughter erupted. ¡°Also she can¡¯t sing if she¡¯s laughing to much!¡± Cerina¡¯s fingers moved faster as she started laughing as well. Cerina I¡¯ll get you! I shifted all my weight backwards and tumbled on top of her. We both breathed heavily from laughing too much. ------------------------------------------- ¡°Hey it looks like that¡¯s the end of the Deadwood!¡± Cerina spotted in the distance. The ominous trees seemed to end up ahead. What was beyond was a big metal fence. ¡°What¡¯s that Frey!¡± I pointed at the gigantic metal wall that stretched for about 3 miles. ¡°That Melody, is Forinch. It¡¯s the midpoint between Cervana and Aperian. It¡¯s apparently the place where the ruler of the city summoned the famed hero. And that hero is a real genius. I was told he could build things that can rival magic.¡± ¡°So There¡¯s Advanced Tech here too! That¡¯s sounds fun let¡¯s go!¡± I Pointed towards the big steel wall again. While being a Celestial I¡¯ve heard about technological advanced planets. But for both worlds to have both. This sounds interesting! Both fools had confused looks on their faces. I just smiled at them. ¡°There is a problem though. Forinch is extremely weary of outsiders. It is said to have many tools that could do non-human things like magic, but without the cost. It¡¯s no wonder other nations would want to know their secrets. So far no one hasn¡¯t been able to take them over or find out their secrets. I¡¯m very curious about it. But realistically I don¡¯t think we are going to get in.¡± Frey¡¯s face gradually grew glum. ¡°So how are we going to pass!¡¯ Cerina started dangling her legs next to Frey. ¡°Well Forinch is built over a canyon. We can just go around it. We¡¯d have to go through the canyon. It¡¯d be more dangerous, but there really isn¡¯t another option. Frey¡¯s tone held a hint of sadness.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°No I wanna see! Frey Just say you are Aperia-Whatever royalty!¡± I stammered. I started to shake his shoulders from behind. ¡°Stop that Melody! Your agitating the horses!¡± Frey gave the reigns to Cerina, and pulled my arms around his chest and held them. Awww He¡¯s got me! I struggled for a bit. ¡°Melody I don¡¯t think being Ex-Royalty means anything to them. I think that would be more of a reason to keep me out.¡± Frey let go of my arms. ¡°Ouch¡± I stumbled backwards to the carriage. ¡°So who do they let in Frey?¡± Cerina questioned. ¡°I¡¯m not sure¡­ We can always try though.¡± Frey shrugged his shoulders. A couple minutes later we reached the huge metal wall. ¡°¡­¡± Cerina sharply turned her head to the back of the carriage. ¡°Cerina are you ok?¡± Frey stopped the carriage. ¡°uhhh Yea¡­ I got the feeling like someone was watching us.¡± Cerina scanned that dead forest behind us. Once the sceptic Cerina couldn¡¯t find anyone she directed her attention to the guard in front of us. ¡°Well what brings you folk here¡± A man in black armor pushed a few buttons on his arm and a couple of red beams directed themselves across the carriage. ¡°We-we are just travelers looking for safe passage to Aperian.¡± Frey answered truthfully. The guard pushed more buttons and the beams started moving in a sweeping motion. ¡°You don¡¯t appear to have anything out of the ordinary, But I¡¯m sorry we don¡¯t let just travelers enter. You can take the path to the right. It should lead to the canyon. You can make it through there.¡± The guard started moving back to his post. ¡°Wait!¡± I Jumped out from the carriage. ¡°Hm¡­¡± The guard turned back around. I pointed at Frey. ¡°You see this fellow is a merchant¡¯s son, and this person is an excellent knight.¡± I twirled around in front of everybody. ¡°As you can see we are highly capable and of use to For-Pinch¡± ¡°Forinch¡± Frey Nudged me. ¡°Forinch¡± I connected my hands and pulled them down, and looked up at the guard with my bottom lip pulled down a bit. Cerina brought her palm to her face. ¡°Then what are you?¡± The guard gestured at me. I¡¯m happy you asked! ¡°I am the magnificent beautiful Melody!¡± I jumped in the air and raised both of my hands up. Surely you would want to let me in now! Now both of my idiot fools brought their palms to their faces. Why the facepalm! This will surely get us in. ¡°So the canyon entrance is over there.¡± He pointed to his right. WHAT! How Dare he! Frey pulled an angry Melody to the side. ¡°Hey Melody can¡¯t you use your songs to get us in.¡± ¡°My Songs can definitely do something to that guard!¡± I glared at him. Ahh! He shrugged me off! ¡°Calm down Melody. Doing harm to him won¡¯t do any good.¡± Frey massaged my shoulders. ¡°What else can your songs do?¡± ¡° I can teleport us inside.¡± ¡°Teleport! can¡¯t you just get us to Aperian!¡± Frey said in frustrated whisper. ¡°I can¡­ but I wanna see this place.¡± I said weakly pointing my finger at the metal gate. Of course magic is cool and all. But I¡¯ve see that! I want to see something new! Also it¡¯s not like technology has hurt me yet, unlike magic¡­ ¡°Well¡­ I feel like if you were to teleport in there, we¡¯d probably get kicked out really fast-¡± ¡°Hey you two! Move aside we have cargo coming today. Go follow your friend.¡± The guard pointed to Cerina, who was already steering the carriage towards the canyon entrance. ¡°Cerina!¡± Me and Frey ran up to her. ¡°What! He¡¯s not going to let us in.¡± ¡°Ah!¡± Frey tripped over a rock. ¡°Pfffft¡± I held my mouth trying my best to hold in my laughter. ¡°Here let me help.¡± I helped him up. His grey cloak got a little dirty. Frey looked at his hands to see small cuts on them. ¡°Don¡¯t worry your dependable goddess is here!¡± I exclaimed while pointing at his wounds. ? I sing this song to heal the baby wounds of this fool? ¡°Did you really have to call me a fool¡­.¡± Frey slumped over. ¡°I¡¯m just being honest!¡± I smiled back at him. He turned away flustered. HA! He still can¡¯t look at me properly, but sometimes he can? I remembered how he was in the Marnor estate. He took command, and wasn¡¯t teasable at all. I guess he can do it when it counts. Hey When did Cerina get so far! ¡°CERRRINNNAAA WAITTTT!¡± ¡°No your to slooow!¡± She called back. ¡°Hey I need back up! The cargo is under attack by bandits!¡± The guard signaled ¡°Hey you two! You want passage through right? Down the road is a cargo delivery. Hold off the bandits and I¡¯ll see to it that you can pass through.¡± The guard immediately turned his back to get help. I signaled Cerina, and told her we could get through. ¡°But, Melody if the mage is there I¡¯m not sure we could do anything.¡± Well I could do many things to ¡®even the odds¡¯ but I kind of want to see how things will play out. Ergo always says I should be more of observer, and not an instigator. I tend to do the latter, if observing gets less entertaining. But this is different. I will intervene if any of these fools are in danger. I also want to see what my idiot companions look like when they struggle. ¡°Come on this might be our only shot!¡± ¡°It¡¯s also a lot safer than going the canyon route!¡± Frey chimed in. For someone who is aware of this mage¡¯s power Frey seems deadest on going to Forinch. ¡°Alright but if we see that mage we are running away.¡± ¡°Yup I¡¯ll teleport us away!¡± I jumped up and hugged Cerina. Of course you¡¯ll fight a little won¡¯t you Cerina. Chapter 16: You want me huh? I wonder if the mage will be there? She was there last time. Cerina is the strongest person I know, if she says that another is stronger than her I want to see it in action. But I wonder what makes her magic so strong? Then again I don¡¯t know how the magic system even works here. ¡°Hey Frey, why can¡¯t you use strong magic like that mage we encountered before.¡± ¡°Possibly¡­ with enough practice. Anyone can learn magic. But it takes a lot of patience and discipline.¡± ¡°So what kinda magic did she use?¡± With a sudden shock Frey looked at me. ¡°What magic indeed? Thinking back on it I thought it was fire, or explosion. But our carriage didn¡¯t have any scorch marks on it.¡± That is true. I clearly saw the carriage ablaze, but it wasn¡¯t burnt at all. ¡°But Frey she burned that scum who shot me!¡± Just remembering the bastard who shot me irritates me. I make a clearly annoyed face. ¡°Maybe she didn¡¯t actually kill him, but saved him.¡± I carefully looked at Frey. Is he joking? We clearly saw that scum of a life turn to ash. ¡°Think about it Melody, she is known as the rogue mage. A thief in a sense. Would a thief hold magic that would bring attention to herself?¡± That¡¯s right? Explosions are loud and fire wouldn¡¯t be helpful in a stealth operation. ¡°Hey you know what I realized?¡± Cerina rudely interrupted my thought process. ¡°I¡¯m going to be doing all the fighting, aren¡¯t I?!¡± Cerina through up her hands in a big realization. It is true that Cerina is the only one with combat experience. I would help but, that¡¯s kinda unfair. And Frey is just¡­. I look at Frey. ¡°Hey you better not be thinking I¡¯m useless.¡± As if reading my mind Frey lifted his head above mine. ¡°I¡¯m the strategist of the group I¡¯d say.¡± ¡°Sooooo useless.¡± I roll my eyes up and drop my tongue down at him. ¡°I am! I didn¡¯t see you do anything when the bandits attacked last time!¡± Frey crossed his arms. That¡¯s true, back then I wanted to unleash all of their requiems, but seeing Cerina¡¯s beautiful sword play, I kind of forgot. I guess I can be a little unfair today. Not unfair enough to take lives though. ¡°Hey I think I see the cargo. I¡¯m off!¡± Cerina jumped off in a large arc, and performed a full flip before running off. Was that necessary!This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°I¡¯m going to pull the carriage over here to give us some cover.¡± Frey turned off the road, and parked behind some shrubbery. ¡°Hey where are you going!¡± Frey saw me walking towards the cargo. ¡°I want to participate this time, at least a little.¡± I gestured a small amount with my fingers. I do love watching Cerina swing her sword, but one of them shot me! As I approached the scene, Cerina was already engaged with 3 men. The cargo delivery looked like a huge rectangle with wheels, and a glass frame was protruding out of the head of it. No horses? Considering this cargo delivery belongs to a technological city, it¡¯s safe to say they have engines, at least that¡¯s what I¡¯m implying. A small grin comes across my face. Really getting to see two worlds meet is amazing. And if this hero is what I think it is I can¡¯t wait to meet him. But first let¡¯s take care of business. I notice what appears to be the cargo¡¯s guards on the ground bleeding out. It would look pretty bad if I were to let them die. Guess it¡¯s your lucky day. Cerina glances in my direction, and immediately knew my intention and made wide swings to push the bandits away from the wounded. She really does have good battle sense huh? ? I sing to heal these people who would have failed at their job, if it wasn¡¯t for me? White notes surrounded their bodies, and as if god touched them; their wounds started to close. They were still unconscious though, but breathing. Good. A good deed goes along way is what Ergo always says. Maybe they will add some sweets in Forpinch for us. A mental image of Frey suddenly visualizes. ¡°Forinch!¡± I sigh a little, before getting up from the gaurds. Now to deal with the bandits. ¡°Whaa!¡± Something abruptly grabbed me from behind. A scared hand covered my mouth as I was whisked away into the forest. My eyes screamed towards Cerina who was covering no one anymore. Didn¡¯t you hear my Whaa! Some battle sense! ¡°Stay calm I don¡¯t plan to hurt you. Please be obedient¡± The voice called from behind me. Heh! Who are you! Speaking like you own me! I wiggle my arm and my body in an attempt to shake free. With a sudden push I stumble forward. My assailant then grabs my arm so that I am facing towards her and delivers a punch to my gut. Why am I captured every time! No I refuse to let this underdeveloped body lose consciousness. With shear will power I push up from below, ramming my head to the assailant¡¯s chin. ¡°I will not be captured!¡± My breath clawing onto consciousness. I starred at the flare red hair blowing slightly to the right of the woman with blaring red stripes on her black jacket. Its the rogue mage. Her magic is so powerful Cerina, and Frey were spooked by it. I¡¯m sure she could have destroyed this body by now, but she¡¯s keeping me alive? ¡°What is so interesting about that cargo!¡± I blurted out in curiosity. ¡°heh, not asking who I am and getting right to business. You¡¯re quite a character.¡± She stared deep into my eyes. Her eyes were a nice amethyst purple. Frankly I didn¡¯t care about who she was, but what she was after. I just want to know what kind of tech they have! ¡°Well then¡­ business it is. There is medicine in that cargo. Advanced medicine that my people need. But after seeing a strong healer who can close fatal wounds, we might not need that anymore. As the leader of the Ravint clan we would like you to become our local healer.¡± She bowed her head. I thought you were the deadwood gang? Also being so polite now, after forcibly trying to take me! Who does she think she¡¯s fooling! ¡°Of course I could just continue taking you.¡± A small ring of fire closes off any escape I would potentially go for. Looking at the fire a little more¡­ Shouldn¡¯t it spread? This is deadwood. Looking at the grass underneath the fire¡­ Wait it isn¡¯t burning. Is this related to what Frey was mentioning earlier about how our carriage didn¡¯t catch ablaze? ¡°So are you going to resist?¡± Her hand reaches forward and grabs my arm. Her eyes show a lot of strength, but also small speckles of sadness. Her face isn¡¯t the face of a mean person trying to kidnap me but of a person begging with me. Do I go with her? Chapter 17: A new companion yay? I turn my had back towards Cerina who seemed to run off the bandits. She was now frantically looking around. Probably for me. I stroked my chin in a thinking gesture. My hunch is telling me to go help the less fortunate¡­ ¡°Alright I can come with you, but only for a little!¡± I smacked a fist to my chest. The raging flame circle dissipated as she grabbed my hand. ¡°Your quite odd, you aren¡¯t afraid of fire, and you¡¯re not scared of me.¡± She pulled my face close to hers. Her amethyst eyes were bright and seductive. The longer I starred at them the more I felt myself being pulled into her. She chuckled to herself. ¡°Come, our camp is this way.¡± She pulled me deeper into the forest. ¡°Wait!¡± I struggled with her hand, but her fingers were welded together like steel. The rogue mage stopped. ¡°Right¡­ You must be concerned about your friends.¡± She made a hand gesture that looked like a cone, and suddenly. A loud horn boomed over the forest. ¡°There, all bandits in Deadwood should cease operations for a while.¡± She tilted me a smile. I¡¯m not concerned about them in that way! I¡¯m sure Cerina could wipe the floor with those low lives. I shook my head. ¡°I just want to tell them that I¡¯ll be off for a little bit. It¡¯s a curtesy!¡± I placed my one free hand on my hip. She focused in on my eyes. Probably determining if this was some kind of high level IQ escape plan, even though my kind soul really wants to help. But those deep purple eyes¡­ ¡°I¡¯ll send word to them.¡± She brushed some hair off the side of my face. Is this where I¡¯m supposed to blush? She signaled with a hand and pointed to Cerina. With a torrent of wind, a bow shot out from the darkness. It actually caught Cerina off guard. ¡°Aw!¡± She jumped back with her sword in a defensive stance. ¡°I attached a message to it. Shall we be off.¡± Before I could usher another word I was pulled along into the forest. Her grip was still tight. I must be pretty important huh? We walked for around 10 minutes till we reached a small clearing of all the creepy trees to a big wooden house. ¡°It¡¯s me!¡± My captor said as she pushed opened the front door. Inside was a bunch of circular wooden tables, and a bunch of armed men and women with brown leather armor sitting around talking. There was a bar on the far end where a couple of them were raising their mugs gallantly laughing. Suddenly all eyes locked onto me with a deadly glare. But A reassuring hand came around my shoulder and gripped me close. ¡°She¡¯s going to be our local healer for now on treat her nicely.¡± The stares stopped for now, but I could still sense a murderous aura in the room. We arrived at another building that was connected to the first. Inside was a bunch of sick beds with wounded on them. ¡°How many can you heal at once?¡± Is she trying to gauge my limit? Should I low ball it? Yes. Let¡¯s keep my true power hidden for a bit. ¡°I can only do 3 max, then I have to take a break.¡± Her deep amethyst eyes scanned my eyes for deception. Awwwwwwh please just believe me. ¡°3 it is.¡± She let out a sigh and sat down on a nearby couch. She rolled to her side, and slumped her arms in a really relaxed position. ¡°You can go heal anyone over there. I¡¯m a take a nap. If you need me just call out. You can call me Ria¡­.¡± Her voice decrescendoed to slumber. ¡°I can leave you know? Your all-important healer can leave.¡± ¡°ZZzzZZZ¡± Geez! I could you know! But I guess I can be your savor for a little. You certainly are interesting Ms.Ria. ¡°Well that makes 3.¡± I finished my song. ¡°Wow missy your amazing! It¡¯s almost unheard of a healer that can heal serious wounds let alone heal in a matter of seconds!¡± Praise rained down on me from the tree people I decided to grace. The other patients looked jealous as they struggled in pain. Sorry I guess, I¡¯ll try and get you all up and running by the end of the day.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. I never did specify how long I need for my breaks; I guess I¡¯ll go wander around a bit. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m bound here. ¡°My Songs just healed your physical wounds. You should probably let your minds rest a little.¡± I flashed a smile and walked out the room, leaving Ria snoring on the couch. I went back into the other building with the bar. I sat on one of the stools, and ordered a nice class of their finniest. ¡°You got money?¡± I frowned a little. I¡¯m flat broke! I could conjure some money, but that would make me a little suspicious. ¡°I¡¯m just pulling your leg kiddy; the drinks here are on the house to anyone in the Ravint clan.¡± The old men started stroking his long white beard while fetching a mug. ¡°So you¡¯re a healer. I¡¯m glad you came. A nasty flu came in. Thank god we don¡¯t have to rely on Forinch¡¯s medicine anymore.¡± The surprisingly muscular old man placed the mug down in front of me. It was filled with a deep brown liquid with small white bubbles emerging from the top. Medicine? He must mean the cargo that gets delivered to and from Forinch. ¡°Thievery must be tough¡­¡± I sipped from the mug that was clearly bigger then my face. The sweet yet bitter liquid was pulled away from me. ¡°It¡¯s not thievery. It¡¯s justice, we have people dying all over the continent, and Forinch is the only place to get competent medicine, but they don¡¯t share!¡± He returned my mug. That¡¯s still stealing old man¡­ I finished the refreshing drink with a loud ¡°Ahhhh¡±. As I headed back into the other building. ¡°You sure can drink missy.¡± Gramps said as I walked out. ¡°Hey Big Sister!¡± A small girl with a half pony tail tugged on my jacket. Her hair was a dark brown color with glowing lighter brown tips. Cute. I patted her head, and lowered myself to her height. ¡°Hello!¡± I sad with a big smile. ¡°Can you save my papa?¡± Her eyes were an azure blue that were filled with hope. ¡°I sure can!¡± I ruffled her hair. ¡°Uff.¡± She glomped onto me with a warm nuzzle. She guided me to her papa. We reached a man who seemed to be barely clinging to life. His body seemed like it would break from mental thought alone. ¡°Dear Veronica¡­ *cough* You¡¯ve grown. *cough*¡± ¡°Father! Do not worry we have a healer now!¡± ¡°Is that *cough* so?¡± He directed his attention towards me. ¡°Yes I am Melody the ¡­ Temporary Healer.¡± I stated clearly. I can¡¯t go in saying I¡¯m the local healer, when I have a fun journey to go on with my- ¡°My my do I get to see a miracle happen.¡± Ria pulled up a chair and placed it backwards, laying her arms on the back of it. I Thought you were dead asleep! ?I sing this song to heal this girl¡¯s father? !!!!! The father patted around his body frantically. ¡°It doesn¡¯t hurt anymore.¡± ¡°Yea but you should rest and eat properly, my songs can restore your physical body, but you need to take care of it.¡± I smiled ¡°Wow Big sis is so amazing! Father!¡± She glomped onto him with all her might. All this praise is nice. I might forget to go back to Cerina. ¡°I don¡¯t know how I can repay you, the medicine was slowly wearing off. It wasn¡¯t for you I would have¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s ok ¡­Mr¡­. Veronica¡¯s Dad. Your praise was more than enough.¡± ¡°Oh, my eyes didn¡¯t deceive me then, you certainly are a one of kind healer.¡± Ria said putting a hand over her mouth. She was clearly pleased by what she saw. Why wouldn¡¯t she be! ¡°Are healers really not common?¡± ¡°Well it depends what kind of mastery the healer is. Everyone can study magic. Anyone can be a healer. But healing magic is hard, you have to know the human body to the finest detail, and be able to mend the broken parts. A wrong move could be fatal. So seeing you heal fatal wounds, and in this case a terminal illness in so short a time is amazing. I¡¯m so glad you are mine.¡± She bridged her hands together for her chin to rest on. She put a lot of emphasis on ¡®mine¡¯. ¡°Yours! Sorry, but this is just a short detour for me. Just a pit stop!¡± I exclaimed. Ria¡¯s eyes saddened. ¡°Why can¡¯t you stay?¡± ¡°Because I am already on a journey to ¡­ to ¡­ Aperian!¡± ¡°Are you now? What is it you desire. I can get it.¡± Her eyes cut deep into my eyes. Determination. Confidence. Strength. A hint of recklessness. Conviction. ¡°Oh It¡¯s not a thing I want. It¡¯s more like a duty type of thing.¡± *sigh* ¡°I believe it¡¯s better to reward people instead of punish them. To Praise rather than threaten. You get more out of people that way. So I¡¯ll come with you. Let¡¯s get your mission done. Then you are mine.¡± She leaned in close and whispered that last part into my ear. That deep sexy smooth voice. Is it normal for human bodies to heat up? ¡°But wait didn¡¯t you punish that guy earlier. You know when we first met. You turned him to ashes.¡± ¡°Ah him. This rule only applies to people in Ravint. He is part of the deadwood gang. I simply use them as tools for scouting out carriages. It also applies to you to if you become my cute little healer.¡± She twirled her finger around my hair. Ignoring that last part. So the deadwood gang is under the Ravint clan. I see. ¡°I also didn¡¯t kill him. I saved him. He may be part of another group doing my dirty work, but its best to keep as many pawns as possible.¡± She looked to her right to see the father lifting his daughter up and swinging her around. A small smile speared on her lips. ¡°What! Do my eyes deceive me! I saw-¡± ¡°Yes they did. I have a talent for light manipulation magic. You only saw what I wanted you to see.¡± Illusions! That¡¯s pretty neat. ¡°Before we go I should formally introduce myself. It¡¯s what my old man would have wanted. Even though if it¡¯s really late.¡± She got up and rubbed the back of her head. ¡°I am Riallete Rosary. Call me Ria. I look forward to gobbling you up.¡± She flirted again. She¡¯s a dangerous one. ¡°I¡¯m just Melody. A fun loving traveler looking for adventure!¡± I struck a pose with my arms out and one of my feet kicked out. ¡°Ha, aren¡¯t you cute. But no family name. Would you like to be part of mine?¡± Her eyes closed in on the lost sheep, as if she was going to take me away forever. ¡°Melody is just fine. I have a family!¡± I pointed at the ceiling. ¡°In the stars, we just don¡¯t have a family name.¡± Ria¡¯s eyes saddened. It looks like she took it the wrong way. Well that¡¯s ok. I¡¯ll let her own assumption cause her distress! ¡°Poor child.¡± She scooped me up in an embrace. ¡°I know how it feels both, of my parents are gone too.¡± Ahh! Being smothered. This isn¡¯t how I imagined things! Chapter 18: A Foolish Friend! ¡°I¡¯ll send some of my men to fetch your party.¡± Ria said as she walked towards the bar. ¡°You and your party can rest in that room, we leave tomorrow.¡± She pointed to one of the many rooms that outlined the big room we were in. This is quite the situation. Did I just volunteer myself to someone? Well it¡¯s not like it matters, after this whole ordeal I think I¡¯ll head back. I will grant you your request though. I¡¯ll heal everyone¡­. Later I¡¯m a bit tired. ¡°Melody it¡¯s you. I¡¯m glad you¡¯re ok.¡± A surprise hug awoke me from my peaceful nap. ¡°I¡¯m also glad you¡¯re ok. But to vanish from both of our eyes. The rogue mage is no joke.¡± Frey stood in a corner all edgy like. He even had some of his black hair over his left eye HA! Are you going through a phase Frey? ¡°How did you get here?¡± I rubbed my sleepy eyes. ¡°Well an arrow came, and a map was attached to it. It led us here.¡± Cerina separated herself from me. A map! Did she know how things would turn out? ¡°So we leave tomorrow. Ria has already informed us on the situation.¡± *Creak* Frey got up from the wall he was leaning on. Ha! Were you leaning to hard! ¡°Yeah! And we can¡¯t go in the normal way. But Ria has connections, and a secret passage!¡± Cerina leaped up in the air. She sure is energetic I wonder why? ¡°Usually Merlin prohibits stuff like this. As a knight it is morally wrong to secretly sneak into a city. It feels so energizing.¡± Cerina grasped the air in front of her in her closing fist. ¡°Merlin¡­ I hope he is ok¡­¡± Cerina slumped back down realizing that her mentor could still be in danger. ----Next Day----- ¡°Ok this seems to be it¡­¡± Ria was using a small lantern to illuminate the disgusting sewage pipe. But Ria¡­ Why did you say that like you were uncertain! If this leads us down a wrong path, I¡¯ll make you feel disgusting for the rest of your life! As if seeing my distain Ria grabbed my hand and pulled me through the sewage. AWK! The rotting smell of ¡­ crap wafted around my nose. Shew! Don¡¯t make my nose your home. I started to wave my free hand in front of my nose. I looked behind to my other party members to see a pale Cerina. Cleary she isn¡¯t faring any better. Frey was carrying a cloth over his mouth, and nose, but other than that it seemed like the smell didn¡¯t faze him. The disgusting sewage pipe finally ended. ¡°BWAHHHH¡± I gasped out for air. Cerina did the same. ¡°Were here!¡± Ria let go of my hand and rose both to display the backside of a building. ¡°This is my friend¡¯s inn! We can stay here for the night, and take the train down to the edge of town tomorrow.¡± Ria marched inside the inn. The inn didn¡¯t look like any of the buildings elsewhere. Instead of wooden exterior, it was metallic, with hints of green paint screeched across the sides. Above it arose a thick black smoke, like the devil was smoking. The Windows were also barred off from the world. Did this look sketch? Yes, it did. But all the more interesting to go! Despite Frey being very observant he was obviously putting up a strong front. He felt the stench drain him just like me and Cerina. Without hesitation we all went into the ¡®inn¡¯.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Inside, we were directed to our rooms, by an attendant. The attendant was wearing an unusual outfit, but all of us were too tired to say anything. ¡°May the male please go into this room, and you two go into this room.¡± The attendant pointed. Upon opening the door my eyes focused in on the fluffy paradise that the humans call beds. My soft paradise, embrace me! ¡°Wait Melody!¡± Cerina pulled the color of my inner shirt. ¡°I know your exhausted, I am too. But we need to get rid of this filth!¡± Cerina pulled me into a large white tiled room with metallic handles and tubes overhanging a giant tub. ¡°Wow this really advanced¡­¡± Cerina started to strip me. ¡°Hey!¡± It tickles! ¡°We¡¯re taking a bath right. That might not be that bad. Let¡¯s go.¡± I fumbled around with the handles till water started to fill the tub. The tub was big enough for me and Cerina to comfortably sit, and expand our limbs across the tub. ¡°This feels nice.¡± We said in unison. ¡°So Melody, I¡¯m curious did you use your songs to resemble me?¡± I felt like I answered this before. Maybe I didn¡¯t clarify enough. ¡°Yes, you were the first person I saw on that field. So I choose you.¡± I started to scrub my human body inch by inch with the soapy sponges on the racks. ¡°What? Why? Do you not like you look? I¡¯m sure you look fine.¡± Cerina positioned herself behind me and started scrubbing my back. That feels good. How do I explain this? I don¡¯t think a feeble human mind can understand the 5th dimension, let alone celestials. ¡°I¡¯m not ugly don¡¯t worry!¡± I smiled. ¡°I just think you are very beautiful!¡± Cerina: ¡°¡­¡± ¡°But I think you should have a more suitable hair style though.¡± I started weaving my hands through Cerina¡¯s uneven hair. Now it was clear to distinguish each other apart since Cerina hair has been cut in battle since this body was formed. It looked messy, but had a certain lesser appeal to it. ¡°Should I? I never really cared about it?¡± Cerina looked at her long strands. *splash* I twirled around the tub to position myself behind Cerina. ¡°But, you¡¯d look very cute with a cleaner hair style.¡± ¡°C-C-Cute?!¡± She stuttered. ¡°Of course. I wouldn¡¯t be around someone naturally ugly for so long!¡± ¡°aaa Thanks¡­¡± ¡°Now allow me Melody to give you a new hair style.¡± I could sing her one of my choosing but I wanna try it the human way for once, it has more meaning. I sang into existence a pair of scissors, and conjured a giant mirror in front of the tub. ¡°Awwww.¡± Cerina jumped a little. She positioned her forearms in front of her breasts. ¡°What wrong.¡± I brought my breath to the side of her glowing red ear. ¡°Just¡­ Just seeing myself naked is a bit¡­¡± ¡°is that so¡­¡± ¡°Aww what is this!¡± ¡°well I thought you should be more aware of your beautiful body. So now we have a Melody¡¯s dome of of mirrors!¡± I started snipping away at the uneven parts of her hair. The bath tub soon began to inhabit Cerina¡¯s chestnut hair. ¡°hey why are you covering your eyes!¡± Cerina was blocking her eyes with her hands. ¡°It¡¯s because you made mirrors everywhere! It¡¯s too embarrassing!¡± ¡°How do you change your cloths then¡­ Wait don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t change at all!¡± I started to chuckle a little. I missed teasing this fool. Let press a little further. ¡°I just don¡¯t really pay attention to it. Aww¡± I jabbed a finger into her belly. She immediately pulled her hands to the source of my tickle. ¡°eh¡­¡± Cerina blankly stared at the mirror in front of her. ¡°Me¡­¡± ¡°Yep.¡± I peeked my head around Cerina¡¯s shoulder so that she could see my face in the mirror. The cut I gave was a short hairstyle that curved the bangs inwards to the face. Her bangs were stuck in a position that looked like they were being blown to the right in a swirl motion. It was a breezy hair style, that looked cool, but also a little cute. A fitting hair style for my number one fool! *Splash* Cerina turned to me abruptly. ¡°I can¡¯t believe it.¡± She started to touch her new style, like a child getting a new toy. Toy huh. I touched the place on my chest where my voice emanated from¡­ That reminds me, I was given this too huh¡­ My fingers softly touched my throat. ¡°Hey Melody, What¡¯s wrong. Are you sad about how it turned out?¡± ¡°What¡­ Oh of course not. How could I be sad at something that I made, you look great.¡± My voice trailed downwards. *Glomp* ¡°Thanks Mel. Throughout my whole life I¡¯ve been training to be a knight. I didn¡¯t dislike being it, my family started off well off, but my father got into some debt when I was little, and I was enrolled in the general knight program to help with the expenses. I was basically sold off¡­¡± Cerina squeezed a little tighter. Her elasticity pressed against my own. ¡°It started off as a program, but one day they never returned to pick me up. Apparently the debt was too high, and they ran away. Leaving me behind.¡± Cerina separated from me. Her eyes were the same as mine, but held a sadness that couldn¡¯t be mimicked. ¡°Girls aren¡¯t usually knights; I didn¡¯t have any friends growing up. Rather it was the opposite, I was alone. So Melody if anything¡¯s bothering you, I¡¯m here for you as a friend.¡± Those sad eyes shifted to the right then right back at me, but this time they were uplifting. Friend?... Friends? ¡°Friend?¡± The word filled my body with a certain familiar warmth. ¡°Yes.¡± Cerina nodded and delivered a lighter hug this time. A friend huh? A foolish friend! But my friend.