Spring’s bathing took needlessly long. The stream was merely ankle-deep, so she used a cloth to wipe her body clean.
They fear me or my family too much. She drew another conclusion from the way her escorts’ acted. All four men were in their prime, aged twenty to forty, yet they stood at attention, facing her with their backs. They kept a square formation, each of them five or six meters away from her.
Jasmine Sun was allegedly the most beautiful woman in the world, and she had captured Salazar Sun’s heart— Wait, it’s odd the things I remember the clearest are from this period, and not from the centuries which were much closer to the Inferno’s rise. I don’t even recall what exactly is the Inferno, I just remember the war and fires.
“Young M-lady,” Darin started. “We don’t have spare clothes for you, and nothing usable remained in your camp. So, I was thinking we could each offer you a piece of clothing. For example, you could have my cloak.”
“I always pack spare pants,” Terr said with great enthusiasm, and Spring turned to look at his back.
Why would you always pack spare pants? “Thank you.”
“Don’t worry, we will leave your clothes here, and retreat further. Should anything happen, just call for us, we will stay close. Jinn, you are the slimmest. You will give your shirt to Young Miss.”
“Do I have to give her my boots?” Mish asked, his voice tinged with reluctance.
“Our feet are too big. Sorry, Young lady,” Darin tripped on his words again, and Spring could sense the annoyance creeping into the man’s tone. “Mish, you can wash her boots, and we can leave them to dry next to the campfire.”
Heh, it’s funny how he’s trying to give everyone a role to play, so they can all say they contributed to their young miss’s rescue. He’s a meticulous man.
“Just tell us when you’re done bathing, and we will leave our clothes here.” Darin barely closed his mouth before Spring answered.
“I’m done.”
Terr jumped at Spring’s declaration. “Um, my, my spare pants are in my backpack, back at the camp.”
The young man turned left to look at Darin, but then in peripheral vision he caught the pale outline of Spring’s body. He yelped and averted his gaze, shaking from head to toe. “I… A… I saw nothing. Please, mercy!”
They don’t just fear my background, they are terrified. I knew hunters could kill or maim the protected for minor infractions, but he didn’t even lay his eyes on me, and he’s acting like I’m going to kill him. He— No, no, that’s not bad. It’s very good, actually.
“This happened once!” Spring screamed. “I’ll kill whoever looks at me without clothes again!”
“Yes, yes, thank you, Young Miss,” Terr almost shed tears of joy.
Spring saw Darin stiffen from her statement. She was unarmed, and the weakest in the group, yet, if she tried to kill someone, not only could they not stop her. They would have to help her, if she was in danger.
He cleared his throat. “Terr, take off your pants and leave them here. You can put on your spare pair back at the camp. Mish you can wash the Young, um, lady’s boots once she’s dressed. Now, undress and move five steps forward.”
Darin unclasped his hooded cloak and folded it. He left it on the ground in front of himself, then stepped over it.
Others followed his example, Terr nearly falling over because he tried to take his trousers off with his boots still on. The party’s youngest man struggled for a full minute before he disentangled himself and left his pants behind.
Spring showed no hints of amusement and donned the clothes without hesitation. She did not care whether they were clean or soiled, nor what the men had done wearing them.
“I’m decent, and my boots are beside the stream,” Wait. I’m barefooted.
Spring’s confident stride became hesitant. She focused her gaze on the ground, searching for thorns and sharp objects she should avoid. Second-face is resilient, that’s both an advantage and a disadvantage. For now, it’s a disadvantage. Such accumulated minor inconsistencies might alarm Darin that something is off about me.
Mish rushed to clean the boots, while Darin approached Spring. “Are you in pain? Have you seen any bruises? Do your ribs feel tight?”
“I’m fine. Just a bit sleepy. What do we do now?” Spring covered her mouth and spoke through a stifled yawn, paying careful attention to Darin’s eyes and where he was looking.
“We need to forage for food, prepare provisions for tomorrow, and rest. Starting tomorrow, we will pick our pace, your ride might become more bumpy. I apologize for inconveniencing you.”
Spring shook her head, interrupting Darin. “I will walk.”
“But, Young Miss—”
“Why do you keep calling me Young Miss?” Spring snapped.
Darin hesitated for a moment, his lip twitching and his gaze drifting down, then franticly jumped back up after lingering on Spring’s chest for a split-second. “Because you are the Searing family’s Young Miss, and I must address you as Young Miss.”
Spring furrowed her brows for two heartbeats, then shook her head with a bewildered expression. “I don’t remember.”
Darin shuddered, but did not seem surprised. “Did you suffer head trauma, Young Miss? Do you have any bumps on your head?”
Spring ran her fingers through her hair, feeling her scalp. “No bumps.”
She went silent for a moment, moving her lips without words.
“Um,” she finally spoke. “Why am I here, and who are you?”
Darin sighed through the nose. “Can you tell me what you remember? It will be easier that way.”
“I was in a stinking hole, and then you pulled me out.”
“No, I mean before that.”
“That’s the first thing I remember.”
Darin sucked in a cold breath after hearing that. “I’m sorry. I can’t help you with that. I can’t even awaken old Skitt. The healing graft I have produces a salve which helps heal lacerations and partially stanches grievous wounds. Maybe someone back at the clanhold…”
He mumbled the last few words before drifting off…
He’s acting like he’s thinking about something, but actually doesn’t dare make a claim, fearing I would hold him to his word and blame him if they can’t restore my memories.
“I’ll do whatever I can to help, Young Miss,” Darin continued, after taking several moments to gather his thoughts.
Spring sighed and nodded.
“Thank you,” she replied to his vague promise with a hollow voice. She let the heavy silence of hesitation fill the void until she counted to ten.
“Can you tell me about myself and the clan?” she asked after the quiet grew sufficiently stifling and made Darin desperate to fill it.
“Yes, Young Miss,” Darin explained everything, starting from what a child should know about the world. He spoke impartially and objectively, without going into gossip, or discussing others’ personalities and faults.
Most things Spring knew from before. Humanity believed they survived by fortifying mountains and mountain ranges into fortresses to defend themselves against topiary horrors and monsters roaming the weald.
Darin explained how hunters, the warrior cast, used grafts, and he displayed his basic barkskin, which left Spring unfazed.
She showed no irritation at Darin’s speech about the horrible plants oppressing humanity. The insignificant hunter probably did not know humans had invaded the weald generations ago to exploit its wealth, leaving the safety of their ancestral lands.
Finally, after covering the basics, Darin fed Spring some new information. Two families helmed the Searing Flame clan, the Searings and the Flames. The Searings were famous crystal-workers and an extremely rich family, which allied with the Flames, who were an ancient warrior family. With wealth and might, they funded their clanhold and its mines.
However, in the last two decades, a third family, the Healers, were on the rise. They controlled the clan’s hospital and hunter school. Darin talked on and on, and as days passed, Spring gained enough insight to guess who would be her friends and who would be her enemies.
On the fifth day she walked behind Maar, who carried the still comatose Skitt. Spring’s mind raced as the group descended a modest, forested slope.
This is a good chance. Their vigilance has dropped, and they are mindful of their steps, focusing on their legs. Spring scanned the ground before her until she saw the perfect root, sticking slightly from the ground.
She tripped and fell forward, striking Maar. The burly man toppled over after the sudden push, and together with Spring and Skitt, rolled downhill. Spring grabbed Skitt’s arm and as they tumbled tore her shirt below her neck.
With a bang, the three entwined bodies struck a tree, and Spring screamed. “How dare you? Let go of me!”
As expected, Skitt remained motionless, and even though he had his wind knocked out of him, Maar jumped off of Spring like a scalded cat.
“Young Miss!” the others shouted behind her
“Kill him!” she shrieked, and everyone went silent.
Spring’s bathing took needlessly long. The stream was merely ankle-deep, so she used a cloth to wipe her body clean.
They fear me or my family too much. She drew another conclusion from the way her escorts’ acted. All four men were in their prime, aged twenty to forty, yet they stood at attention, facing her with their backs. They kept a square formation, each of them five or six meters away from her.
Jasmine Sun was allegedly the most beautiful woman in the world, and she had captured Salazar Sun’s heart— Wait, it’s odd the things I remember the clearest are from this period, and not from the centuries which were much closer to the Inferno’s rise. I don’t even recall what exactly is the Inferno, I just remember the war and fires.
“Young M-lady,” Darin started. “We don’t have spare clothes for you, and nothing usable remained in your camp. So, I was thinking we could each offer you a piece of clothing. For example, you could have my cloak.”
“I always pack spare pants,” Terr said with great enthusiasm, and Spring turned to look at his back.
Why would you always pack spare pants? “Thank you.”
“Don’t worry, we will leave your clothes here, and retreat further. Should anything happen, just call for us, we will stay close. Jinn, you are the slimmest. You will give your shirt to Young Miss.”
“Do I have to give her my boots?” Mish asked, his voice tinged with reluctance.
“Our feet are too big. Sorry, Young lady,” Darin tripped on his words again, and Spring could sense the annoyance creeping into the man’s tone. “Mish, you can wash her boots, and we can leave them to dry next to the campfire.”
Heh, it’s funny how he’s trying to give everyone a role to play, so they can all say they contributed to their young miss’s rescue. He’s a meticulous man.
“Just tell us when you’re done bathing, and we will leave our clothes here.” Darin barely closed his mouth before Spring answered.
“I’m done.”
Terr jumped at Spring’s declaration. “Um, my, my spare pants are in my backpack, back at the camp.”
The young man turned left to look at Darin, but then in peripheral vision he caught the pale outline of Spring’s body. He yelped and averted his gaze, shaking from head to toe. “I… A… I saw nothing. Please, mercy!”
They don’t just fear my background, they are terrified. I knew hunters could kill or maim the protected for minor infractions, but he didn’t even lay his eyes on me, and he’s acting like I’m going to kill him. He— No, no, that’s not bad. It’s very good, actually.
“This happened once!” Spring screamed. “I’ll kill whoever looks at me without clothes again!”
“Yes, yes, thank you, Young Miss,” Terr almost shed tears of joy.
Spring saw Darin stiffen from her statement. She was unarmed, and the weakest in the group, yet, if she tried to kill someone, not only could they not stop her. They would have to help her, if she was in danger.
He cleared his throat. “Terr, take off your pants and leave them here. You can put on your spare pair back at the camp. Mish you can wash the Young, um, lady’s boots once she’s dressed. Now, undress and move five steps forward.”
Darin unclasped his hooded cloak and folded it. He left it on the ground in front of himself, then stepped over it.
Others followed his example, Terr nearly falling over because he tried to take his trousers off with his boots still on. The party’s youngest man struggled for a full minute before he disentangled himself and left his pants behind.
Spring showed no hints of amusement and donned the clothes without hesitation. She did not care whether they were clean or soiled, nor what the men had done wearing them.
“I’m decent, and my boots are beside the stream,” Wait. I’m barefooted.
Spring’s confident stride became hesitant. She focused her gaze on the ground, searching for thorns and sharp objects she should avoid. Second-face is resilient, that’s both an advantage and a disadvantage. For now, it’s a disadvantage. Such accumulated minor inconsistencies might alarm Darin that something is off about me.
Mish rushed to clean the boots, while Darin approached Spring. “Are you in pain? Have you seen any bruises? Do your ribs feel tight?”
“I’m fine. Just a bit sleepy. What do we do now?” Spring covered her mouth and spoke through a stifled yawn, paying careful attention to Darin’s eyes and where he was looking.
“We need to forage for food, prepare provisions for tomorrow, and rest. Starting tomorrow, we will pick our pace, your ride might become more bumpy. I apologize for inconveniencing you.”
Spring shook her head, interrupting Darin. “I will walk.”
“But, Young Miss—”
“Why do you keep calling me Young Miss?” Spring snapped.
Darin hesitated for a moment, his lip twitching and his gaze drifting down, then franticly jumped back up after lingering on Spring’s chest for a split-second. “Because you are the Searing family’s Young Miss, and I must address you as Young Miss.”
Spring furrowed her brows for two heartbeats, then shook her head with a bewildered expression. “I don’t remember.”
Darin shuddered, but did not seem surprised. “Did you suffer head trauma, Young Miss? Do you have any bumps on your head?”
Spring ran her fingers through her hair, feeling her scalp. “No bumps.”
She went silent for a moment, moving her lips without words.
“Um,” she finally spoke. “Why am I here, and who are you?”
Darin sighed through the nose. “Can you tell me what you remember? It will be easier that way.”
“I was in a stinking hole, and then you pulled me out.”
“No, I mean before that.”
“That’s the first thing I remember.”
Darin sucked in a cold breath after hearing that. “I’m sorry. I can’t help you with that. I can’t even awaken old Skitt. The healing graft I have produces a salve which helps heal lacerations and partially stanches grievous wounds. Maybe someone back at the clanhold…”
He mumbled the last few words before drifting off…
He’s acting like he’s thinking about something, but actually doesn’t dare make a claim, fearing I would hold him to his word and blame him if they can’t restore my memories.
“I’ll do whatever I can to help, Young Miss,” Darin continued, after taking several moments to gather his thoughts.
Spring sighed and nodded.
“Thank you,” she replied to his vague promise with a hollow voice. She let the heavy silence of hesitation fill the void until she counted to ten.
“Can you tell me about myself and the clan?” she asked after the quiet grew sufficiently stifling and made Darin desperate to fill it.
“Yes, Young Miss,” Darin explained everything, starting from what a child should know about the world. He spoke impartially and objectively, without going into gossip, or discussing others’ personalities and faults.
Most things Spring knew from before. Humanity believed they survived by fortifying mountains and mountain ranges into fortresses to defend themselves against topiary horrors and monsters roaming the weald.
Darin explained how hunters, the warrior cast, used grafts, and he displayed his basic barkskin, which left Spring unfazed.
She showed no irritation at Darin’s speech about the horrible plants oppressing humanity. The insignificant hunter probably did not know humans had invaded the weald generations ago to exploit its wealth, leaving the safety of their ancestral lands.
Finally, after covering the basics, Darin fed Spring some new information. Two families helmed the Searing Flame clan, the Searings and the Flames. The Searings were famous crystal-workers and an extremely rich family, which allied with the Flames, who were an ancient warrior family. With wealth and might, they funded their clanhold and its mines.
However, in the last two decades, a third family, the Healers, were on the rise. They controlled the clan’s hospital and hunter school. Darin talked on and on, and as days passed, Spring gained enough insight to guess who would be her friends and who would be her enemies.
On the fifth day she walked behind Maar, who carried the still comatose Skitt. Spring’s mind raced as the group descended a modest, forested slope.
This is a good chance. Their vigilance has dropped, and they are mindful of their steps, focusing on their legs. Spring scanned the ground before her until she saw the perfect root, sticking slightly from the ground.
She tripped and fell forward, striking Maar. The burly man toppled over after the sudden push, and together with Spring and Skitt, rolled downhill. Spring grabbed Skitt’s arm and as they tumbled tore her shirt below her neck.
With a bang, the three entwined bodies struck a tree, and Spring screamed. “How dare you? Let go of me!”
As expected, Skitt remained motionless, and even though he had his wind knocked out of him, Maar jumped off of Spring like a scalded cat.
“Young Miss!” the others shouted behind her
“Kill him!” she shrieked, and everyone went silent.
