Linda felt like a baby. Her entire body rocked while she peacefully slept like a log. She felt the sun burning in her face, while someone hummed a calming tune.
"Hmmm…mom?" She whispered, slightly opening her eyes.
"Sorry, did you say something?" Replied the gentle, calming voice.
Huh, that's weird, I don't remember Mom sounding like that. Almost as if it were the voice of a…
Her blurry vision cleared, finding the face of the swordsman Owen. He was carrying Linda in his arms through a desolate forest.
"Put me down right now! What do you think you're doing?!" She moved around violently, forcing him to lower Linda on the charred field.
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."
"That's hardly the issue here! You, you're Owen right? What happened? Weren't you fighting that jerk with the banda—Oh." On top of Owen's shoulder rested a black-haired man wearing a yellow bandana, his body completely limp. It was that odd man, referred to as Shin-Shin by the strange not-ghost-person.
"You beat him."
"Actually, valiant Lady, it was you who defeated him."
"I did?!" She said poking the head of the unconscious body.
"Yeah, you landed right on top of him, knocking both of you unconscious."
"It sounds less impressive if you put it that way…Wait a minute, I remember now. I fell down to the floor because you decided to throw me up like a maniac!"
"I deeply apologize about that. Situations like those call for me to act carefully to avoid any serious injuries." He replied, bowing deeply.
"Throwing me a hundred feet in the air is you being careful? And the fact that you did that with one arm…Are you even human?"
"Don't worry, valiant lady, you can rest assured with the fact that I'm certain I'm at least seventy percent human."
"That's not a reassuring answer!" Linda sighed, shaking her head.
"But you're right. Because of my careless actions, not only did I put your life in danger, I also made you land right on top of the flowers I gave you. A whole day's worth of work vanished just like that…But what matters now is that you're safe."
"Not thanks to you!" She barked at him, causing him to laugh awkwardly.
"Did you get to see what was inside the top?" He asked her, an expectant glint in his eyes.
"The top…"
Linda recalled those precious seconds admiring the inside of that tree.
"...it was beautiful."
"What a relief! I was afraid my throw hadn't been strong enough for you to reach the top."
"You mean…you threw me so I could see that?"
Linda asked, astonished. Timidly, Owen rubbed his hair, like a kid caught red-handed doing a prank.
"Partially yes, after all not a lot of people get a chance to see it."
"What was that tree?" Owen looked at Linda, his face slightly dubious.
"That…is called a Noctum Oak, the wonderful tree which once filled this forest, though not as grand as that one."
"Wait, are you telling me all of these dead trees…originally looked like that?"
Linda turned, observing all of that dead forest, trying to picture those empty husks blossoming like the interior of that otherworldly tree.
"Then this place must've truly been magical. That's so…"
"Tragic, yeah, it is a true tragedy. But at least that one still stands firm. Even back when the forest was plenish, that particular tree was already considered unusual, which makes it quite poetic for it to be the last of its species."
Subtly, his tone changed, a hint of melancholy in his voice. Though she wanted to ask him about it, she refrained from probing any further. Owen noticed Linda's stare, which prompted him to immediately readjust his demeanor.
"Excuse me, I didn't mean to daze off. I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed it, though I humbly request you to please refrain from telling people about that tree, it's a bit of a secret."
He replied with a warm smile. Linda averted her gaze, unable to meet his turquoise eyes, though this made her notice something far more unsettling.
"Oh, Jesus, your arm!" A bloodstained wound ran alongside his left forearm, with some scabs forming around it.
"Don't worry, it'll be fine, I've had way worse injuries than this." He put his arm behind his back.
"Well, if you say it's gonna be fine then I'll believe you. But don't think you're off the hook! I still haven't forgotten about you scaring me like that, and I must warn you…If there's anything you should know about me is that I'm not the type that easily forgives."
Her stomach growled loudly. She remained still for a moment, and then crouched, lightly blushing.
"B-But if you feed me, I'll consider making an exception."
"Are you hungry?"
Linda slowly nodded, covering her blushing red ears.
"Well, I was heading to Nuhorn City, if you don't mind accompanying me, we could find you something for you to eat."
He pointed off behind her, where Linda spotted a couple of buildings rising above the barren trees.
"Sounds like a deal." She nodded firmly, making her way to that direction.
"Before we go, valiant Lady, there's one important matter that needs to be addressed."
"What?"
"Would you tell me your name, please?" He asked, lowering his head.
"Oh, right. I'm Linda Thorne, nice to meet you."
"Owen Cadmon, at your service, Lady Thorne." He kneeled, placing one hand at his sword and the other to his chest.
Now that's the noble treatment I was looking for.
She returned the gesture. And the two of them kept on their way.
***
"—and then the no-ghost person told me to not move or she would stab me through my heart!"
She said, walking backwards, in front of Owen, who listened attentively to her story.
"That's quite thrilling, now it's clear why they acted so surprised."
"Oh yeah, why could you see that person?" Owen looked down, thinking.
"There's only one explanation, but to run into the person possessing that in such an unexpected place…"
"Possessing what?"
"It is the stolen Regalis, the Mother-of-Pearl Dagger."
"The…Regalis? What's that?"
Owen frowned at her question.
"You don't know what a Regalis is, Lady Thorne?"
"Ehmm, I do! I am just asking because…I forgot! After the fall, my memory is kinda fuzzy, you see."
She laughed nervously, rubbing her hands together.
"Is that so? Oh lady Thorne, I'm terribly sorry for causing your memory loss!"
He said with a hurried tone, bowing repeatedly which made Shin-Shin's body lightly bounce.
Men, so easy to fool.
"Yeah, you better be sorry. Luckily for you, since I'm such a kind girl, I'll forgive you if you take good care of me and answer all of my questions."
She said, pointing right at him. He straightened his posture.
"Of course, I'll bear the weight of my actions. A Regalis is a weapon forged of pure numen, lady Thorne, in other words magical."
"Magic? That's—Woaaah!"
Linda's feet bumped into something hard, making her stumble backwards. Before she hit the ground, an extended hand held her own. Owen had caught her by the wrist.
"Be mindful of where you step, lady Thorne."
Linda pulled herself up, regaining her balance. They had reached a road neatly paved with stones.
"You could have warned me!"
"Ah, I guess that's true. Sorry about that, I was distracted by you, Lady Thorne."
She tried giving him an angry look, but the way he earnestly apologized as if he truly meant those words, created quite a conflict inside Linda. Her conscience, telling her to stop, clashed with the urge to tease the man even further.
"I guess I'll let this one slide." She said, crossing her arms.
"Help!"
A scream erupted close to them, a bit ahead of them. They both turned to the origin of the sound, then at each other, and proceeded to spring into a jog.
They approached a carriage standing in the middle of the road. Though it was a modest vehicle, the same couldn't be said of the animals harnessed to it—instead of finding horses or donkeys, there were two large yak-like animals, each sporting a pair of fiery orange horns. Unintelligible voices became clear as they reached the carriage's rear.
"—a costly mistake, old man, you'll pay for that."
"Please sir, I have nothing of value, I'm only carrying crops!"
Owen walked out to the front, with Linda lurking right behind him, taking a glimpse. A lanky man grabbed the curls of an elderly man's mustache, pointing a pocket knife to his chest. The thug grunted, catching sight of them.
"Look what you did, now you gathered a crowd!"
Oh, great, another weirdo criminal.
Swiftly, the aged man turned his head, his face brightening.
"Master Owen!"
"Sorry to interrupt, but I'll have to ask you to put down that weapon."
"Eh, is that a threat my ears hear?!"
"Ah, well, you see, I'm an officer from the Concord Army so I thought it would—" Owen held up his palms, lightly shaking them.
"You thought that would scare me, huh? Well let me tell you something, 'officer'. Right now you're standing in my road, and everyone in this road has to follow my orders or else…" With an impish smile, he cut a curl of the man's mustache, making the elder man yelp. Linda's body tensed, Owen's expression, however, seemed completely unfazed.
"And as the king of this road, no meek officer is gonna intimidate me, especially one carrying such a pathetic looking ma—" He jumped back as soon as he examined Shin-Shin's body, his whole face going pale.
"T-That bandana! Y-You…h-how did you beat him?!"
"Excuse me sir, is everything fine?"
The thug held up his hand, stepping back.
"No, please, keep that beast away from me!"
"What's the matter with you all of a sudden?"
"Here, this is everything I have right now!" He pleaded while emptying his pant's pockets, dropping before them dozens of coins on the floor.
"Ehm, that's not what we—Wait, sir?!"
"Please don't tell him I called him pathetic looking!"
Before they knew it, the thug had run right past them, getting lost far in the distance. Under his half mustache, the elderly man let out a sigh of relief and turned to face them both with a big smile.
"Thank you so much for saving me, young masters. If it weren't for you, I would've lost the little money I had left!"
"I'd love to take credit for saving you, mister, but I don't even know what just happened." Said Linda, rubbing her head.
"I believe he was referring to this man I'm carrying, Lady Thorne. Probably an old acquaintance of his." Owen said, gesturing with his eyes at Shin-Shin's body.
I can't imagine what this beast did to that thief to get him that terrified.
"Master Owen, it's been a while since you last visited these parts! You haven't changed a day!"
"It's nice to see you again, Tyndel, though I hate to say that I'm not currently on a visit."
"Of course, of course, that hasn't changed about you either! I can see you're as busy as always." Tyndel said with a smile, glancing at Linda. With her hand, she gave him a little wave.
"Oh right! Tyndel, this is Lady Linda Thorne, I'm currently accompanying her to the Sovereign's Residence. She's suffered a regretful accident, so we're in a slight hurry."
"Is that so? If you desire, then I can certainly drive you there."
"For real?" Linda asked, her heart leaping at the prospect of no longer having to walk.
"Of course, anything for one of our lovely Ladies." He replied while giving her a bow. Tyndel made his way to the carriage, climbing up to the driver's seat. "Whenever you're ready, masters."
"Thank you so much, kind mister!"
She hopped right at the back, sitting besides a bunch of vegetable crates. Owen climbed up as well, placing down Shin-Shin's body. He frowned his brow, staring down at the man's arm and then looking outside.
"Is something wrong?" Asked Linda. Owen kept quiet for a few moments, then shook his head.
"It's nothing. We're all set, Tyndel!"
And with a whipping sound, the vehicle started moving down the road. The carriage moved faster than she had expected, hastily leaving behind rows of barren trees behind them.
Taking a handkerchief out of his satchel, Owen crouched beside Shin-Shin and bandaged his wrist. He had concern written all over his face. Linda sighed. She stood up and sat directly across from him.
"Hey, you've been awfully quiet for the last five minutes."
"You're very perceptive, Lady Thorne. I hoped you wouldn't notice my concern."
"You have concern written all over your face, that's not being perceptive at all!"
"It's just that, I don't want to make you any more worried."
Her heart skipped a beat, his response provoking a stir of emotions inside her. His concerned tone warmed her heart, while her guilt over lying to him about her "amnesia" twisted it. She delighted in that thrilling, bittersweet sensation—to a dangerous degree.
"By not telling me what's on your mind, you're only gonna make me more worried. So it's better if you just spit it out." Owen stared at her, faintly smiling.
"I'm not sure what it means but it first started with this." He pointed at Shin-Shin's bandaged wrist. "It was bleeding, coming from an injury that hadn't been there before. The other strange sign was a shadow I thought I saw along the trees, moving as if it were following us, though I haven't seen it since."
"Hmmmm, well, maybe they don't mean anything. Maybe you just totally missed the injury, and that shadow in the dead woods was just an animal. It's really kind of you to worry about my safety, but sometimes, things are not as deep as they seem."
Owen stared at her, and after contemplating her answer, his ever-bright smile finally returned.
"Yes, I see what you mean, Lady Thorne. I shall be more careless moving forward "
"That's not what I meant at all!" Linda sighed as Owen softly chuckled.
"I hope you're enjoying the ride, young masters, because we're nearing our destination!" Screamed Tyndel all the way from the front. Excitedly, Owen stood up.
"Come, you want to take a look at this."
Linda followed him as they made their way to the vehicle's front opening. She stepped outside, gasping by the welcoming sight of houses and buildings surrounding them. After a long journey, she had finally arrived at Nuhorn City.