Hilde pulled her chair closer to mine, her legs pressed against my own. Her uninvited closeness was making me uncomfortable, and I suspected she was doing it exactly because of that. ─ “So, you are a mage? A strong one, too, based on the rumors at least.” ─ She dropped the subject almost lazily, as if she wasn’t even curious about the answer.

  I faced Hilde, already suspecting where this conversation was heading. ─ “Rumors… are they bad?” ─ I asked, unsure what to expect. The Dimhollow family wasn’t exactly known for partaking in the citywide rumor mill.

  Hilde smiled. ─ “It depends on the rumor. Some of them are nice, while others are quite rude. I am surprised you don’t know more about them, since you are quite a hot topic. Well, less so since the dark ones began their new invasion, but that is only to be expected.”

  I nodded to that.

  Hilde leaned even closer to me as she asked eagerly, failing to keep up her mask of disinterest. ─ “Do tell, Selora, is it true that you saved Alita’s life at the gates' defense?”

  I stiffened slightly, being reminded of my most recent dance with death, and my features paled considerably. The memories of suffocating heat, burning flesh, amongst a sea of boiling blood assaulted my memories. The instinctive fear and terror I felt while being surrounded by a storm of fire. The raw panic and helplessness.

  I bit down on my lips. Focusing on the sharp sense of pain that helped me get out of the moment. It was not the first time that happened since that terrifying event, so I was starting to get used to handling it.

  “Selora, are you alright?” ─ Alita’s voice gained my attention, and I looked towards the worried dwarf. I paused for a second, then nodded, offering a gentle smile. ─ “Yeah, it’s just… not my favorite topic.” ─ I turned back towards Hilde, who seemed a bit guilty as I answered. ─ “Ah, but yes, it is true. Still, the full truth would be more along the line of: we saved each other’s lives.” ─ In the end, I added shily. ─ “It is not a story I would like to recall, however.”

  After that, an uncomfortable silence seemed to fall across the table.

  It was eventually broken by Elin. ─ “I guess, it is understandable that almost being killed isn’t exactly a topic you share over tea. I wonder how some particularly thick-skinned individuals fail to realize such clues.” ─ She stated, while giving a pointed glare towards a certain brunette who seemed to grow quite fidgety under said glare.

  Hilde hastily raised her hands in front of herself, showing a wry smile while apologizing profusely. ─ “I… uh, I apologize, I don’t know what got into me, really.”

  Elin snorted. ─ “Oh, believe me, I know. All that gossip started to erode the last vestiges of your common sense.”

  Hilde winced at that, then bowed her head slightly. ─ “Uh… fine, you win, I am really sorry… I wasn’t thinking.”

  I glanced between the two, then nodded. ─ “It’s fine… I know that some people enjoy talking about such things, but it’s still a bit too fresh for that, at least for me.”

  I gave the two women a short glance, then decided to ask after taking a small sip of the tea. It was nice and warm. ─ “What were the two of you doing before we arrived?” ─ I asked.

  Elin chuckled at my question, answering it with ease. ─ “Oh, I guess that is a reasonable question.” ─ She smiled. ─ “We were training, our entire world is facing this threat, we need to prepare as much as possible before another attack slips through the gaps.”

  Hilde perked at that and added in a serious voice, as serious as the nosy girl could make. ─ “Right! We are going to beat them back to where they came! I heard that the King is gathering a force to strike out at the enemy!”

  My eyes widened hearing the news, and I turned towards Alita, asking for confirmation. ─ “Is this true, Alita? Is the King going to charge out into the deep roads?”

  Alita mulled over my question before nodding solemnly. ─ “There is indeed a plan somewhat similar to that. We have received news from several groups of refugees and even some scouts.” ─ She took a deep breath before continuing. ─ “A mid-sized city, one that we have lost communication with several weeks after the initial invasion called Mulbuldor appears to be under siege, surrounded by the enemy forces. The King has declared his intention to create a force large enough to break the siege and reinforce the besieged city.”

  Alita sighed, scratching her face awkwardly. She was clearly uncertain about the validity of said plan. ─ “Most of the King’s advisors and the noble families’ leaders try their best to dissuade the king; they believe that the idea is nothing more than a suicide mission, I have to agree.”

  Elin snorted, while Hilde rolled her eyes in exasperation. She pointed at Alita while saying. ─ “If that is what you think, then why do you take part in our practice session?”

  Alita blinked at that, then answered. ─ “Well, while I am not keen on following a king who is drinking himself to delirium since a third of his lands were lost overnight. I still would prefer to keep my reflexes sharp, since it is much more likely that Mulbuldor will fall in a matter of weeks, then there won’t be another city between us and the enemy forces.”

  Hilde hit the table in a burst of frustration, making the teacups rattle across its metallic surface. ─ “One more reason to charge out and help the city! You are talking about our flesh and blood here, not even mentioning the way you casually insulted our King!”

  Alita snorted at that. ─ “The King is delusional if he thinks we can cross the deep roads without losing half of our forces on the way to Mulbuldor, the dark ones would ambush us at every turn, they wouldn’t let us rest, they would cut our supply lines and make us starve. If by some miracle we would reach the city, our forces would be too drained to fight effectively.” ─ Alita explained, sounding tired of this argument. It was likely that this conversation had happened several times in the past, leading to no different conclusion.

  Elin raised her hands placatingly, seeing how things were starting to get heated. ─ “Now-now, ladies, there is no reason to seed discord among ourselves, especially not in such dire times as these are.” ─ She smiled disarmingly at the arguing parties before saying her own opinions.

  “I agree with Alita’s reasoning that such an operation would turn out costly, but I also have to agree with Hilde’s opinion. I doubt that the Golden company and such would be so easily pinned down by the elven ambushes as our lovely host suggests. Our forces have been fighting the dark ones since ancient times; we know them just as well as they know us. What I am more worried about is their unusual numbers. To think they have the numbers to simultaneously invade the whole length of the wood realm on the surface and do it in the deep as well, is indeed worrying.”

  “It’s not just the dark elves, but orcs and goblins too.” ─ I spoke up, drawing the others’ attention. ─ “That is why they have the numbers. However, while all of those are scary, the real issues are their spellcasters.” ─ I gulped, my throat feeling dry all of a sudden. ─ “I… I have faced one that single-handedly massacred a hundred dwarven soldiers without even dirtying her own hands. She just… forced them to kill each other in cold blood.”

  Elin cursed beside me. ─ “Damn blood mage, I bet she was! Should have put them on the bonfires ages ago. Slippery bastards, the lot of them!”

  A shiver ran over my back, sensing the undistilled hatred Elin was directing towards blood magic. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, remembering how Aria reacted to me being one, at least nobody was holding a knife to my neck right now…

  I reflexively reached to tap the necklace, which was hidden under my dress containing my own blood. It was a really unexpected gesture from Aria to give it back so suddenly. Especially now that I was starting to get a whole picture regarding the way blood magic is treated across the realm, and for the record, I wouldn’t want to end up on a bonfire.

  The thought alone made my skin prickle with goosebumps.

  My right side was poked suddenly, and I yelped, jerking out of my thoughts once again. I was welcomed by warm, bubbling laughter. I quickly glanced around, realizing that I must have gotten lost in my thoughts once again.

  I hung my head and said in a small voice. ─ “Ah… sorry…” ─ I rubbed the side of my ribs gently, massaging away the remaining discomfort.

  “It’s fine!” ─ Hilde placed her arm over my shoulder. ─ “You are a bit of a scatterbrain, aren’t you?”

  My lips thinned into a strict line; this girl was really starting to get under my skin. She just knew how to push my buttons in the wrong way.

  “No. Not usually.” ─ I answered.

  “You sure? Well, fine. I wouldn’t have minded; I am not the sharpest knife in the bunch either.” ─ She rattled on uncaringly.

  Evidently, I noted internally, while pointing a dry stare at the young woman.

  To my complete shock, she flicked my nose, getting another yelp out of me. ─ “Ow! What the fuck!” ─ I shouted, shocked by her shamelessness once again. ─ “What the hell was that for!” ─ I demanded.

  “You were thinking about something rude.” ─ She said simply. ─ “You should say what’s on your mind, there is no need to hide it here, if you haven’t noticed, we are talking freely. There is more than enough posturing in noble society, even among dwarves, but we don’t hide our real thoughts from our own circle, and you are part of this circle from this day onwards.” ─ She winked at me, mischievously.

  I thought about her words, then nodded, accepting it as it is.

  Hilde’s face brightened, noticing my nod, then she asked in an innocent voice. ─ “Great! Now, since you agree to that, would you let me touch your skin? I just can’t help it. Your skin looks so soft and unblemished. Almost like a newborn babe.” ─ She chuckled while her gaze was clearly drawn to my arm, I was wearing a short-sleeved dress this time that left my forearms bare.

  I looked down at my arm too, memories of the numerous gnashes and small cuts covering my skin while we traveled through the deep roads blinked in front of my eyes, but they didn’t leave behind any scar. Apparently, the only injury that my healing magic couldn’t treat without leaving behind a scar was the place on my thigh where I was hit by a crossbow bolt. That one hurt like crazy.

  Anyway, before I got lost in my thoughts for a third time, I sheepishly nodded to Hilde’s request. Letting the dwarven lass’s hands run along my arms several times. She practically giggled the entire time. ─ “Gosh, I think I know why Alita likes you, you elves are built differently, a lot less muscle while being this squishy.”

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  I pulled away my arm, leveling her with a solid stare. ─ “I don’t appreciate being called squishy, and I think you had enough, thank you very much.”

  “Aw!” ─ Hilde mock cried for a second, before jumping back to her energetic self. ─ “Fine then, evil elf, rid me from my only joy! Can I at least touch your ears?”

  I glared at her. ─ “I am not a pet. Keep your hands to yourself.”

  Elin laughed at our antics, her shoulders shaking silently while trying to hold back her laughter. She was evidently fighting a losing battle in the end. ─ “My goodness, these two are quite a pair. What do you say to this Alita?”

  Alita was giving a long glare to Hilde, who seemed to notice the silent challenge and stood up from the chair. ─ “Hah! Do you have something to say, Alita? I have half a mind to steal your elf-maid for myself.”

  “What?” ─ I glanced up, already annoyed by the situation.

  Alita, on the other hand, seemed to rise to Hilde’s challenge. ─ “Are you now?” ─ There was a cruel smirk stretching across her lips. ─ “It’s quite a coincidence, since I was half a mind to kick your butt for being so nosy.”

  Hilde laughed at that. ─ “Big words from a small dwarf.” ─ She said.

  Alita blinked at the insult, giving her a confused look. ─ “You are smaller than me.”

  “Hah, tell me that after I laid you out across the field.” ─ She snickered, and her words seemed to successfully get under Alita's skin, as both of them headed over to the training ground, hurling various insults at each other all the way, while picking up some of the discarded equipment along the way.

  Being left behind, both of us looked after the duo while silently sipping our teas.

  “Are they always like that?” ─ I asked eventually, after seeing Alita successfully dodging one of Hilde’s strikes then hitting her on the butt with the flat side of her sword, only for the other girl to shriek and throw several embarrassed insults at Alita, clearly trying to save face.

  Alita only laughed, adding her own insults to the mix. Amongst other things, she threatened Hilde to split her butt sideways, which I found particularly hilarious.

  As the scuffle continued, I found my attention slowly returning to the table and its surroundings. My attention focused on Elin, who seemed to be absorbed watching the dueling pair. Well, it was not a real duel; they seemed to be having fun more than anything. It was an obscene sort of fun. I would say Alita was leading in the actual duel, but besides a few good comments, she was obviously losing on the vocal side of the fight.

  Hilde had a really dirty mouth; some of her comments could clearly distract her opponent, giving her the right opening to deliver a critical strike. The weapons were naturally dull, and the pair were wearing some armor and using shields, meaning that besides some bruises, they wouldn’t likely suffer any injuries. Even if they did, I could heal them anyway, so I wasn’t worried about that.

  Elin spoke up beside me, her voice holding an unexpected edge. ─ “It’s been a while since Alita allowed herself to rouse to Hilde’s antics. She was a lot more serious and nervous nowadays. Especially since she began her constant arguments with her father.” ─ Elin’s face reluctantly turned towards me, ignoring the fight for now. ─ “I can only think that this unexpected change is thanks to your presence here. I believe your opinion really matter for her, so please consider that in the future.”

  I nodded to that, acknowledging her words.

  Elin smiled at me, but her smile soon wavered, and I noticed her eyes sharply turning to the side and refocusing on something behind me. Her expression was unexpectedly filled with worry and a bit of fear.

  Before I could turn around and look in the same direction, a sharp, enraged shout echoed through the yard.

  “WHAT IS THIS SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!” ─ The voice of a man demanded, and everything froze for several seconds, before the shout repeated a bit closer this time.

  “Alita!” ─ The furious voice shouted. ─ “Explain yourself, girl!”

  Elin sprang to her feet and immediately started to head towards the furious man, smiling politely and doing her best to mitigate the situation. ─ “Ah, it is so good to see you, Lord Smith! What a surprise! We were just preparing for a tea party when you arrived…”

  The man spared a single, annoyed glance at Elin, then dismissed her with a few words. ─ “Tea party? More like rolling in the dirt like common pigs, what would your dead parents think of their daughter’s shameful display if they could live to see the day? Ignorant girl, begone! You are not my concern!”

  He turned back towards the training ground, and I could see the flames of anger reignited in his eyes the moment he laid them on Alita, who was meeting his gaze with similar intensity.

  Sensing that the situation was quickly getting out of control, I decided to stand up. What I didn’t expect was that my sudden movement gained the man’s attention; his eyes bored into me. He was initially surprised, but then, when he noticed my ears, he seemed to lose the rest of his reasoning.

  In a ridiculing manner, the man started laughing. ─ “And what is THIS? You brought an elf to MY house and a wood elf of all things? Have you decided to fraternize with the enemy just to bring more shame upon my head? Don’t you remember how they betrayed and massacred my brother just a few months ago? Then the dark ones claimed your uncle, too, and what for? Just for my foolish child to bring them over to tea?” ─ The man was utterly red in the face by this point, as he shouted towards Alita. ─ “Get that bitch out of my sight, before I put her to the sword!”

  I stepped back, feeling quite shocked by the intensity in his voice. For one reason or another, I didn’t doubt that the man was willing to follow through on his words.

  I had no idea what was going on, but I suspected that this would be an ideal moment to get the hell out of here. I grabbed onto the side of my skirt and was just about to bolt the hell away when Alita’s enraged scream echoed through the yard.

  “What did you just say!?” ─ There was a moment of uncertainty crossing through the man’s expression, sensing the almost primordial rage that radiated from his supposed daughter, but he quickly masked it with a cold fa?ade.

  “Did you, old, senile, ignorant fool, just threaten to attack my guest? Worse even, kill her?” ─ Then she snorted in disgust. ─ “Yet, you dare to talk about bringing shame to our family!”

  Alita was about to rush at her father, and the only thing holding her back was Hilde, the small girl, who was practically hanging on to her arms, doing her best to hold her back.

  Elin was still staring at her feet, silently feeling shocked after the insult that was thrown in her face. She was clearly hurt and lost in her own world.

  I was the only person who wasn’t completely absorbed by the heated argument. It was hard to get insulted by some stranger who clearly mistook me for something else. Well… being threatened with death was definitely stinging, but I was starting to get used to that. I wasn’t exactly terrified by a clearly emotional man after facing down centuries-old sadistic slavers. Honestly, after my recent weeks of practice, I didn’t feel threatened at all, only uncomfortable with the situation. It was starting to revolve around me, even if it was a misunderstanding. I didn’t want to make this conflict any worse than it already was, and well… it was quite bad.

  Perhaps it was just that. Instead of running away, I stopped and attempted to clear the misunderstanding.

  “Ah… I just wanted to say that I am not a wood… “ ─ My words were cut off, with a violent glare and a shout.

  “Shut your mouth your filth, don’t you understand speech? Get out of my sight!” ─ He essentially roared at me. It was starting to irritate my ears.

  My expression tightened considerably after receiving that reaction. Honestly, this day was really getting too long and tiring now. I was being constantly insulted, that bitch Jolga spanked me, then it turned out that I was a completely ignorant fool and essentially painted a target on my back for the whole world, just to get teased constantly, and now there was a barely coherent gorilla wailing at me, threatening to put me to the sword.

  I forced on my best car seller expression as I tried one more time to reason with the man.

  “Kind sir, please calm down and listen to rea-…” ─ The man’s fiery gaze focused on me entirely, and to my disbelief, he actually pulled a sword on me.

  This was something nobody expected, as the air in the backyard seemed to freeze solid.

  I also felt something snap in my mind. A cruel thought, a whisper that I almost entirely forgotten about, being lost and ignored in the back of my mind, resurfaced with overwhelming power.

  It was so unexpected that by the time it happened, the action was already over.

  My arm stretched out towards the man, and my lips parted with a simple command. ─ “Grovel, you filth, so you may learn fear, before I crush that cold heart of yours.”

  I felt that my power reached out and gained hold of his vessel. I could feel the call of blood easily listening to my command, almost eager to be played to a different tune at last. Then, just before my hand closed to commit to my words, I finally snapped out of the short trance. I could feel the blood thundering through my entire being. I realized what I have done. Noticed the previously screaming man being pressed face-first into the ground this time, screaming for an entirely different reason.

  My body froze, my head snapping towards my new companions, all of whom were staring at me with various levels of disbelief.

  Alita stared at me, unsure how to react. She reached out her hand, asking in a calming voice. ─ “Selora? Are you okay? You… you should calm down, I mean… you…” ─ She gulped… ─ “I think you are hurting him… Not that he didn’t deserve it, but…” ─ The rest of it went unsaid.

  Realizing all of a sudden that I was still pressing that full into the ground by the hold of his blood, I swiftly released my control.

  The man finally stopped screaming like a pig and instead stayed on the ground, unmoving. I hoped he didn’t die.

  Alas, we weren’t that lucky in the end. After a few hesitant seconds, the man began to move slowly, but surely, he crawled to his feet, then, after standing up, he shouted in a cold voice. ─ “Guards! Guards!”

  He didn’t have to wait long; likely said guards were already on the way after hearing his previous screams, and perhaps the only reason they didn’t appear sooner was that they suspected the argument between father and daughter was the reason for the screaming.

  Who could tell? It didn’t matter to be sure. In a handful of seconds, at least ten armed guards appeared, half of them protecting the man, while the rest uncertainly pointed their weapons towards us.

  Seeing their hesitation, the man screamed at the top of his lungs. ─ “It’s the elf you fools! That witch! She used blood magic on me! Kill her!”

  Everything seemed to freeze for the third time.

  Some of the guards became fearful and rigid, while others, looking at me, seemed to recognize who I was. These men were participating in the defense of the city not so long ago; they could easily glimpse a sight of me without me noticing or remembering them.

  Some of the soldiers downright refused to follow the command after recognizing who I was. A few even urged the others to stay down.

  This obviously didn’t miss the Lord’s attention either. He paled considerably, coming to a likely different conclusion.

  “AHHH! The witch has taken control of the men!” ─ He flailed around, panicking.

  One of the soldiers grabbed hold of the Lord, attempting to calm him down, but to his surprise, the man attacked him, punching him across the face, then he scrambled away, screaming like a madman, running into the mansion.

  Everyone else stood around feeling shock and disbelief from witnessing what just conspired.

  Hilde all of a sudden burst out in a fit of laughter. An action that hardly fit the scenario, not that she seemed to care.

  I, on the other hand, was pale as a white wall.

  Besides the now half-crazed Lord Smith, I was the only other person who also fully well knew that I indeed used blood magic on him.

  What was worse, if any half-decent mage was brought to investigate the place… I would likely be outed. Well, not that such a thing was a certainty since I didn’t know enough about magic to be certain about it, but risking it sounded like a bad idea.

  Then again, what was I supposed to do now?

  For some reason… I really wanted a way to effectively disappear. Now I could use that spell, that long-distance teleportation I kept lying about to everyone.

  As if on cue, a convenient memory blinked up in my mind of a runic circle created by the runes I so far so easily discarded as useless.

  I blinked, then discarded the idea for now. Lord Axis was once again fucking with my mind; he was clearly annoyed that I didn’t visit his temple even after all this time. Tough luck… I was also annoyed to be neutered and changed into a woman without asking.

  Then… there was another thought crossing my mind, one that made me actually shaken, more so than disappointing a God at least.

  Aria is going to skin me alive when she hears about this…

  I dropped to my knees, hiding my face in my palms.

  “FUUUUUUUUCK!” ─ I cried out. Jerking the guards and my friends out of their stupor.

  “S-Selora? Are you alright?” ─ In a second, Alita was kneeling beside me and giving me a comforting hug; she even patted my back as if I were a particularly disheartened child.

  “Shhhh, shhh… Don’t worry, you won’t get into trouble for this, I promise you that, it was all my fault…”