Chapter 2: The Mender

More threats are made known along with a friend...or foe.

                     Chapter 2: The Mender

 

             “I have to go back home shortly,” spoke a young girl with a head filled with silky white hair and two cute cat ears that were tucked back against her head as she plopped down on the ground between two boys who were a tiny bit older than she. The one frowned as he sat up in disbelief.

“You just got here…why do you need to go?”

The young girl took her tail into her lap to try and help ease her mind. “Father says it’s a long trip back…and the king will be healed by tonight so there is no more use for us here.” At hearing this, the older of the boys also sat up from his laying down position to look down at her.

“I will ask Father if you can stay for a bit longer. You and your family are always welcome to visit and live here.” The girl smiled up at him sweetly. “Thank you…it’s very kind, Saei.”

“Or how about this?!” The other lad leapt to his feet with excitement and turned to face them with his red ears perked. “We go out and have our own journey, the three of us! Who says we need to stay here in this dull castle? Let’s go see what is out there in the world!”

The young girl blinked in confusion before giggling cutely while Saei merely placed a hand to his forehead at his antics. “…how can you be so absurd, brother?”

“I think it’s a great idea! Don’t you, Fey?” Basil asked down to the other feline who stood up with him, still a bit shorter.

“Yeah! Let’s go to the sea! I’ve never been there before.”

“That’s what I’m talking about! If we run into bandits along the way, Saei and I will pummel them to a pulp like so,” he smirked and demonstrated his abilities with fire forming in his palms to engulf his hands but as soon as he saw magic, Saei narrowed his eyes to stand and roughly grabbed his brother’s wrist to stop the fire from spreading.

“We are not to use magic outside our lessons and you know it,” he warned but Basil huffed and pulled his arm away while Fey just smiled at how close the brothers were.

“I was just showing her.”

“You were showing off.”

“So?! It’s not like I haven’t seen you showing off your sword skills to her,” Basil accused, catching his older brother red handed who choked on his retort to look away with the scales around his cheeks growing a bit pink. Fey shook her head at them as she stepped further into the brothers’ makeshift greenhouse. It was always nice to come here and was her favorite place in the entire kingdom.

“You don’t think I spy on you but I do.”

“You’re not allowed in the armory. Father strictly tells you to focus on your magic, not weaponry.”

“What father doesn’t know won’t hurt him. Don’t tell me you’re all innocent.” She could hear the brothers behind her still bickering harmlessly as she reached a few flowers that were in bloom and were just as tall as her. Where she lived…there was nothing like this…nothing this…pretty…

Her dainty claws reached out to run across one of the petals but her eyes widened when she saw her fingers beginning to glow white. At first, she thought it was the flowers doing somehow but she make a shriek in pain at the sudden rush of energy flowing through her and like a bubble bursting, she was thrown back away from the flowers to hit the grass hard.

“Fey!” Saei was the first to rush down the small hill toward the fallen girl with Basil hot on his heels.

“What in the world happened?!” His brother knelt beside her since Saei had beaten him to lifting up Fey slightly and gently patted her cheeks but her eyes remained opened…yet lifeless.

“Fey! FEY!” He urged and gently shook her but at seeing her not responding, Saei looked to his brother with determined eyes. “Get father right now! Go get some help!” He ordered and he didn’t need to tell Basil twice who was on his feet in the blink of an eye to dart to the exit while Saei remained behind with Fey still in his arms. Worriedly, he shook her again but her eyes shined bright white energy, not looking at him but through him.

“…Fey…come on…” he urged and laid her down on the grass to keep patting her cheeks. “…answer me…do you see me…?”

She still didn’t respond.

“…please wake up,” he moved closer to have his knees brush against her side while practically hovering over her with a few black locks brushing against her arms. “Fey…I’m right here…I promise to not let anything happen to you…” His voice cracked a bit but his pleas for her return went unheard.

 

Such a beautiful day…

Not a single cloud tainted the sky. The sun was beaming down on the feral district, urging those to come out and enjoy the warmth it had to share. Despite the fight that had gone down the other day, it was calm today. She hadn’t seen any signs of guards which gave her a chance to perform for a little extra cash. With her white eyes closed to concentrate, the young feline woman ran the bow string across the small instrument in her lap to allow the beautiful notes to be heard by all who were near. Even if they were in the neighboring street, they should be able to pick up on her melody.

The notes were sweet and gentle like a breeze, calming those who passed by.

Her ears perked up when she heard the jingling of coins and opened her eyes to see an elderly couple stooping down to lay two coins at her feet. The young feline smiled sweetly and dipped her head low while still playing skillfully.

“Thank you so much.”

“Your music is always beautiful, Fey. We’d do more if we could.”

“I know. Just knowing you enjoy it is enough.” It was something she enjoyed, seeing others smile…seeing them laugh. She must had gotten it from her father. He was selfless…helping others…and she would follow in those steps.

The couple bowed to her and left her to continue which she didn’t miss a beat as she made a note last longer with a twitch of her fingers before playing a slower tune. More passed by her, some only giving her a glance while others just passed by her. It mattered not. This relaxed her and made her feel better. This morning, she wasn’t too well and felt like staying in bed but she knew she had to make some sort of money so she pushed through her aches to do what she loved most. Closing her eyes again, she started to hum along with the tune and it didn’t take long to hear more jingling.

Fey’s eyes opened again to see a young male feral placing a single coin at her feet.

“For both your music and your beauty,” he winked but it only made the feline lower her eyes a bit, not comfortable with compliments from outright strangers.

“…I appreciate the kindness,” she replied, wanting to be polite either way and mentally went back to concentrating on her music. She used to love playing for her father…or even for the king himself…way back when. He always pleaded for her music but made sure he never asked for too much to tire her.

Fey loved the attention.

Even the brothers liked her songs…

‘It’s the past, Fey…’ She told herself with a soft frown starting to form her lips and witnessed as a small group of bystanders stayed around to watch her play. Her keen hearing picked up on compliments.

“Isn’t it wonderful?”

“She plays really well.”

“Never heard such melodies before. Must be foreign.”

“Who cares? It’s magnificent.” Their words took the frown away to be replaced with a smile as she put her heart into the next piece which she remembered Saei really enjoyed. It was slower…much softer to the ears…almost like a lullaby. Her eyes slowly shut once more, hearing every so often the soft clang of a coin hitting another coin. It might be enough by now to buy her something small. She hadn’t eaten since yesterday morning and she still had to give most of her share to her caretakers…

Possibly a small pastry would do…and maybe later she could perform more with hopes of getting another meal in?

“What in the hell is going on over here?” An aggravated voice asked from beyond the small crowd she had gathered. Curiously, most of them turned toward the sound as did she, stopping her bow in the process to see a surprise she never thought she’d ever see here.

Humans…a small group of five…

Sure, they shared the same city but they lived in the lap of luxury near the King’s center…and never ventured into where the ferals lived…why would they? Some of the only humans who would tread here were the guards but everyone knew about them so this was an oddity.

“Looks like a gathering of some sort,” one of the men in the group announced. It…didn’t look like they would cause harm but Fey wrinkled her nose when they came a bit closer to mingle into the spectators to smell booze on them. They must had visited a bar…or a brothel…this early though? The ring leader of the group took a brave step forward to be closer than she would had liked, his muddy sandals brushing up against her earned money and the soft blanket she sat on to not dirty her own bright gown.

“Play me something, little cat,” he mocked with his arms crossed over his chest. Fey kept eye contact with him for a second longer with a look that said she would not be intimidated by him in the least before raising her bow again to begin playing but the human ripped the bowstring from her claws to snap it in two over his knee.

“Hey!” She narrowed her eyes while standing fully with the fur on her tail bristling. “What do you think you are doing?!”

“I said to play me something, little kitten…but seems were not in the same page,” his intoxicated breath only grew worse when he got closer but it was far too close. With a small growl, Fey lashed out with her claws to rake them across the man’s face. It was apparent on his friends’ faces…that they were shocked that a timid looking woman harmed their leader and her crowd of ferals also seemed impressed that she stood up for herself.

Blood trickled down from his wound while his eyes slowly narrowed at her and he swiftly swung the back of his fist against her face, getting close to her eye. “Insolent wench! How dare you lay your mangy claws on me! You’re going to pay for that!”

The blow had sent Fey back onto her blanket but it hurt…terribly within her head. Her vision was blurry, splotches decorated her vision and she felt a sticky wetness mangling in with her hair while also coursing down her cheek. With having trouble seeing, Fey tried to regain as much of her senses as she could and tried to use her hearing. The man had stepped closer and she weakly tried to claw at him again but he roughly grabbed her wrist to twist it almost out of its socket.

“A-ah! Stop!” She yelled in pain, her tail wrapping around his arm to try and pull his grip off her but there was no way she was going to overpower a man. “If anyone tries to interfere, kill them!” The leader told his friends who were already chuckling while bringing out weapons when the bystanders wanted to push through to help Fey but when they were unarmed…except claws and fangs…they would just be sending themselves to their grave.

Their spirits had already been broken by the oppression they had faced for so many years…and despite seeing one of their own being tortured…it only made the reality that much more painful.

“I was only going to have fun with you,” the man sneered as his grip tightened, bringing out another whimper of pain from her. “But you’ve pissed me off too much. No one will miss a dead feral…even one as cute as y-“

Screams erupted from behind him since he was too concentrated on the feline to care about his friends who he thought could handle the situation…but this sounded more panicked.

“What the hell is it?!” He asked them at first before looking over his shoulder to pale at the sight. The small group of ferals had been the ones who had screamed in shock and had backed up to give them ample space…all because one of his friends had a long sword spearing him through his abdomen like he was to be served on a platter. Blood poured from his mouth before the owner of the said sword removed it with force from his friend to send him to the ground to taint the street.

The rest of his gang came back protect him but…he did his best not to show the fear in his eyes.

The swordsman calmly lowered his sword to turn his head toward their small group. Long black waved about his face but most it was held back in a high pony-tail to still cascade down his spine. Two dragon horns curved back over his pointed ears with black scales running down along his neck and some were on his cheeks. From his nose and above was hidden behind a scaled dragon mouth that had fangs curving down to the feral’s lips but all that was discernible were two piercing silver like eyes that read nothing but death for them.

He wore a long flowing black robe that was held together by a sash with a hilt for his sword tied into the mix and a long thick dragon tail laid calmly behind him.

Though her mind was hazy from the blow, Fey was confused as to why everything had just stopped…not that she was complaining. Raising her eyes the best that she could, all she could make out was a large figure a bit away and the group of thugs had come closer.

“What are you doing here, Imperial?!” The leader roughly released her wrist to stand to face this new foe, leaving her to cradle her now bruised joint but did her ears hear right?

An Imperial…? Here…? Why now…? There was just one the other day…why were they…?

Remembering yesterday what the fox Imperial had done, Fey couldn’t help the fact that her heart was pounding in her chest out of fear. Was he going to kill them…? Certainly not her…for…

The feline nervously bit her lower lip.

‘…they finally found me…’ She sadly told herself and lightly touched her nearby instrument. It would be some sort of…weapon. She’d much rather die…than to be taken.

“Answer me, damnit! Why are you here?!” The leader demanded to know once more but the swordsman remained quiet. “You’re supposed to be serving us! Not these bloody animals!”

Instead of speaking, the Imperial slowly assumed an attack stance with his sword raised in the air but it seemed he put more weight onto his right leg for an unknown reason.

“B-boss?” One from his group asked with worry, holding his weapon out while the others did the same.

“Imperial or not, kill the b*****d!” He ordered and roughly pushed two of his men forward to try and take on this new threat. It was clear they were frightened but…they did have numbers. One of the men gulped and charged forward with his comrade right on his heels. With their weapons raised high, they attempted to bring it down on the Imperial. Nothing was felt…

There was no sound of pain…no feeling of a blade sinking into soft flesh. Both men seemed confused since they had made sure to hit the Imperial where he stood…but why then…did they miss and were on either side of him? Both humans peered up at the swordsman in disbelief at whatever trickery he played. One of the two was brave enough to try and swing up at the Imperial’s face…but the same incident happened.

“Hit him!”

“We’re trying!” The other one yelled back in defense and brought down his dagger, again missing. The Imperial had yet to move or advert his gaze from the leader who was still standing close to Fey.

“Curse you…curse you to hell!” The leader brought out a small pistol due to fear of the gaze still being on him and shot right at the swordsman. The bullet whizzed through the air at blinding speeds that no one would be able to dodge but there was a soft clang when the Imperial moved finally to block the bullet with the steel of his sword. His gaze was still on the leader, unwavering in the least.

“…w-w-what...don’t just stand there!” He yelled at the last man he had near him and kicked him forward to go help defend him as he tried to reload his gun. The last member of the group that had been tossed in fearfully rushed forward to try and help his comrades but within a few steps from the Imperial, he came to a dead halt with his eyes widening.

“…m-my body…is…it b-burns…” he whispered as his hands trembled to hold the weapon still but his fingers loosened enough to have his dagger hit the ground while the other two standing on either side of the Imperial experienced the same fate. They were quivering in pain while standing up until shadows burst forth from their mouths, ears, nose and even ate away at their eyes to leave them as nothing but screaming corpses.

The screams were chilling, even forcing Fey to have her ears tuck back against her head but it was to no avail. It was cringing…sending bones shaking in terror at all who witnessed such an ugly fate…but the Imperial did not move while keeping his gaze on the leader.

It was then that the man finally broke.

“H-h-hey! I was just messing with this useless feral. I wasn’t disturbing anyone who mattered. You serve the king and you know these ferals are just a waste of the air we breat-“ The man’s words stopped when the sharp end of the Imperial’s sword sliced across his throat before he could even realize what had happened. He gasped for air and clawed at the wound, blood drenching the front of his clothes as the human lifted up his eyes to stare at the Imperial who stood over him.

The drunken man mouthed the word “why” but the swordsman made a quick sweep in the air to rid his sword of the sickening man’s blood before slowly sheathing it in the hilt. With a soft plop of landing in his pool of blood, the leader slowly lost his life while the rest of his gang laid motionless and grotesque.

The remaining ferals, the ones who stayed to witness the terrifying event, were too shocked and filled with fright to move. They stood and watched to see if perhaps…they were next…but the Imperial slowly glanced down at Fey. The coins at her feet were a bit scattered and the remnants of her bow were tucked near her tail. Tiny shards of wood…along with the string that could play any tune…but no longer could.

Still a bit fearful that either this Imperial would be even more reckless to end her life…or capture her, Fey whimpered in pain as she grabbed a hold of her small instrument.

“D-don’t…come closer…” she managed to say but her eyes betrayed her. They were cloudy from the blow still and blood stained her beautiful hair.

What did he plan on doing? What did he want…? More importantly, since he did serve the king…why did he attack humans? Surely…being under someone who thought ferals were nothing but dirt…would be infuriated if he found out one of his own men had slaughtered a few in cold blood. So why…risk it…?

 Fey’s claws shook while they still held onto the only thing that made her feel safe and waited for the swordsman to make…any sort of move.

Slowly, her feline ears swiveled in confusion when the Imperial slowly brought himself down onto his knees before her and removed the lethal sword to place it by his side.

What…was he playing at?

“…do you see me…?” He asked, his voice coming out…much softer than thought belonged to a murderer and it only made chills run down her spine.

“L-leave me alone,” she begged, still unsure why he wasn’t getting to the point and wanted to move back but winced when she pulled on her bruised wrist.

Out of the corner of her eyes, she spotted movement. It was subtle due to her cloudy vision and her muscles went rigid in worry that perhaps this would be it but before she could move even further away, a soft piece of cloth brushed against the injury to her temple.

She froze…and remained perfectly still.

Her ears flattened back against her head and her tail wound around her ankle to try and comfort herself but the cloth kept making gentle passes, wiping away the blood.

Behind the Imperial, there were hushed voices in slight bewilderment as Fey slowly brought her gaze to look up at his masked face. The two silver eyes stared back into hers…but instead of holding death itself within them, they were void of anything now.

“…do you see me?” He asked again and held the cloth now to her temple.

Why was…an Imperial…doing this?

“…i-it’s…fuzzy,” she answered in a whisper, not knowing what to do. Even if she swung her instrument at him, he’d take no damage…especially with his lightning speed to block a bullet.

“It will mend in due time. Remain still,” he ordered and she felt the cloth being removed for a moment only to stiffen again when she felt a new piece of cloth being wrapped carefully over her head to cover the blow and tied at the back of her head. Of course…it only made the Imperial closer and shrunk into herself a bit more as he finished dressing the wound.

“…if I wished for your life…you’d be dead already,” he stated and leaned back to now give his attention to her bruised wrist, bravely prying the hand away from her…so called weapon to wrap it tightly so that her sore muscles wouldn’t jar.

So…did he…not want to cause harm?

“…you are going to capture me then?” She kept her voice low but spat out her question.

“…no.” His answer was brief that only made her more confused as her tail slowly unfurled from her side when he tied off her bandage. Could he be lying just to have her guard down? Even then…it’s not like she could take him on anyway…

What did this Imperial want then?

“…i-if…you’re not here to…capture m-“

“Lower your voice,” he warned but not harshly. It was more along the lines of sounding like advice. “…some ears do not need to hear and do not need to know.”

His answer was proof enough that he knew what she was…and how valuable she was…in the wrong hands…

But…

“…why…?” She whispered with a slight frown. Fey was riddled with confusion but watched through her slightly returning sight that the Imperial man was now plucking up her coins with his claws to place them in a coin pouch before holding it out to her.

“…we will converse in private…for now…obey without question.” The swordsman slowly stood after Fey had taken the pouch with shaky fingers. His robe straightened itself on its own with his dragon tail curled at his feet. “Can you stand?” He asked, not caring who heard now since he knew most of the ferals around them were still in awe that…he was actually helping one of their own.

“…I…think so…” she answered and carefully pushed herself up, though a bit wobbly but after her ordeal it was understandable. With a shaky exhale, Fey tied the pouch onto her sash just as the Imperial placed his sword hilt back onto his belt.

“…follow and bring your instrument,” he instructed, stepping over one of the fallen bodies and a few ferals gave him a bit more space but he slowly came to a halt when he looked back to see Fey trying to take a few steps. It seemed she was still a bit woozy and her eyesight wouldn’t be perfect at this time so the Imperial stepped back over the bloody mess to offer his large arm for her.

The young feline looked up at him in confusion but his mask hid mostly everything as he stood quietly and waited. With a soft sigh, Fey carefully placed her bandaged hand on his muscled arm as he carefully guided her around the blood to lead her away from the scene. No one dared to follow after seeing the extent of his power…which was probably for the best…for Fey wanted answers…

Nervously, she stole a peek of the Imperial. He continued to look forward, taking his slow time to not rush her and remained close to allow her to use him as a support. Even when she felt weariness coming over her and accidentally stumbled over her own feet, the Imperial used his arm to steady her before continuing.

“…u-um…can we…talk no-“

“No…” Again, another short answer but…she was still surprised by everything he did. The fox Imperial she saw yesterday while doing some shopping…nearly killed two men. She knew he was looking for her…so she hid…but when he left…she couldn’t just let them suffer…

So…why was this Imperial different…? Fey supposed she’d have to wait and lowered her eyes with her hand gently holding onto her stringed instrument. Without a bow though…it was useless. A shame really…and a bit depressing…

Most of the money would again be going to her caretakers…so all she had left would be money to eat on. She wouldn’t be able to perform anymore to make more…

Her white eyes saddened a bit as she watched their feet walking slowly down the street but she felt him slow down even more.

“Our destination is up ahead,” he whispered and she raised her eyes curiously to see an inn that she knew. The innkeeper was a kind lady and some residents that called it home were very friendly…but…why an inn…?

“Not many eyes have witnessed me…or know of what I am. Do not speak of it or else we will be followed.”

He made sense…if he walked in stating he was an Imperial, she was sure people would want to be nosey to see what in the world he was doing in their establishment.

“O-okay…so…what do we do?” She cautiously asked.

“We appear as a married couple,” he bluntly stated which made her face flare up and her ears stood as high as they could go.

“M-m-m-married?!” Her voice was a little bit higher than she would had liked, drawing some attention to them but the Imperial glanced down at her to slow their walk to a halt to give her time to calm down.

“Yes…if we were siblings…sharing a room to talk would be odd. As a couple, no one would suspect anything.”

“Why a room though?” It was almost as if she forgot how vicious this man could be but he went along with her question.

“Rooms are private and the information inside will stay like that. I am not telling you to show outward displays of affection if that is what you are implying,” he stated which only made her redder in the face.

“I d-d-d-didn’t think you would.”

“I will do the talking,” he reassured and walked the rest of the small distance to the inn but Fey could had sworn she saw a bit of a smile on the swordsman’s face. Surely a mistake.

The Imperial took the lead as he entered the cozy inn with Fey still using his arm as support and the innkeeper she knew was standing behind her counter dusting off a few knick knacks. The dust rose up as she covered her nose to sneeze quietly.

“My goodness this place…” she muttered under her breath but spotted them approaching her and placed on a wonderful smile.

“Good morning you two-…Fey?” She asked curiously, tilting her head to have her small bunny ears falling to the side at seeing the young girl she knew…now on the arm of a strong man.

“Good day, Mira,” she put on the best smile that she could even though she knew what was about to come.

“My my…and who is this strapping man?”

“O-oh this? W-well…” She started but the Imperial bowed his head slightly to her, his black locks hooking over his horns.

“My name is Rial and we would like to inquire about a room.”

“Newlyweds? Fey never spoke about seeing a man. This is really interesting,” Mira smiled and removed an empty room key  from her drawer for them. Fey tried to control her nervousness but could only look away as the Imperial continued.

“Yes well…my wife is a very shy woman so I can understand the reasoning behind her acting as if I do not exist.”

Fey nearly choked on her breath at how calm he was taking this situation and made it seem really believable.

“Awww that is awfully sweet. Well I’ll let you guys get settled in. It’s the last room to your left. Would you like some fresh food brought to your room? Our cooks are preparing breakfast now?”

Food? At the mentioning of the very thing she was saving up money for, Fey had to clench her stomach to silence it but a small rumble still escaped. The swordsman merely glanced down at her for a moment before giving his attention back to the innkeeper.

“Perhaps two dishes of whatever meal the cook is serving? I will pay now,” he offered and released Fey’s arm for just a moment to bring out a small coin pouch of his own.

He…really wasn’t thinking about paying…was he? With a soft frown, Fey reached for her coin purse. “I can pay for myself,” she said but the Imperial laid his clawed hand over hers, flaring the blush back onto her face and drawing her eyes up to his.

“I will pay…what type of man would I be to let his darling wife fend for herself?” He asked and though she knew it was all an act…deep down…it still felt like he was telling her to not use her money for this…act or not.

“Aww you two are so sweet. We’ll bring your meals to you later,” Mira explained and took the gold coins from the Imperial. “Enjoy your stay, you two.”

“We appreciate the kindness,” he bowed his head one last time to Mira before taking Fey’s arm once more to help guide her down the hall with the key in hand. She seriously couldn’t wait to get inside to start bombarding him with questions and as soon as he unlocked the door for them, Fey put some distance between them, ignoring the fact that the room was beautiful with a furnished bed and springs to wash up in.

“Alright…now we can talk?”

The Imperial locked the door behind him and made no move forward, giving her the space she wanted.

“You get three questions…”

“Wait…why only three? I have more than that.”

“That counted as one,” he huffed.

“W-wait I didn’t mean it like that,” she miserably tried to defend herself as the swordsman removed his hilt to place it against the wall.

“Matters not…you asked why only three…for you went through an ordeal and your mind needs rest.”

“…do you really think I will be able to sleep here…with you in the room?”

“I will be leaving when you do and your door will be locked…that was your second question.”

Her eyes widened and she whined while plopping down on the edge of the bed at how…infuriating this dragon already was but she slowly exhaled while deep in thought before looking back over at him.

“…who are you…?”

His long ears twitched slightly at the first reasonable question.

“…I am an Imperial under the King…as you have seen.”

“I know that much…but…the last Imperial I saw…was a fox and he…” she lowered her eyes with her ears folding back. “…he was…looking for me.”

“Yhisin? Yes…he was venturing the prior day…searching…” The room grew quiet, awkwardly so. Even though she asked her questions…she could still try and get more out of him as she placed down her instrument.

“…so…you know what I am?”

“You are a mender…possibly the last one…to the king’s knowledge anyway.”

So he did know…

“…why then…?” Her small fingers curled into the sheets as she softly bit her lower lip.

“…I assume you are asking why I am not capturing you…? There is much you do not know…”

“Can you tell me then…?” Her eyes shimmered a bit with held back tears. A moment passed without the Imperial saying anything but he deeply exhaled and pushed away from the locked door to head over to the window. While he did so, Fey noticed he had a slight limp to his left leg and even when he stopped to look outside, he didn’t put weight on it.

“I may be an Imperial…but I have gathered information in secert to possibly aide you in escaping this dreaded city.”

Her face paled and her eyes went wide.

“…e…e-escape…?” She repeated and he turned to face her.

“…you are a mender…a rare caster. While other casters may use fire…ice…water…light…shadow…to damage those posed against them…you are capable of healing the wounded…curing the sick…are you not?”

Fey’s silence was the only answer he needed.

“The village of menders had been long since lost…or so they say. No one dares travel that far north into the snow fields to find out if they even still exist…but rumors spread of you within the castle…how did you become known…? What gave you away?” It was his turn to ask questions and since he was already giving her so much information…Fey highly doubted it really mattered what she told him.

“It…happened sometime ago…when I was found alone. No one knew what I was at first I think,” she began and touched the bandage on her head. “…they thought I was just some small feral child who had wandered too far away from their parents or who were killed in the war. Two ladies took me in and cared for me…it was nice at first…but…one of them became sick…” She took a small moment but the Imperial finished for her.

“…so you healed her in repayment?”

“Well…I did care for them…I never really hated anyone. Father always told me there was at least an ounce of good in every soul…no matter how dark or twisted it became. I tried to live by those words…so I healed her…and of course they sort of…freaked out,” she smiled a bit fondly before frowning once more.

“…once they knew I was an actual mender…they used me for money…as repayment for staying there and being fed…they’d have friends who’d come by who were sick or injured…and I’d have to heal them. The first few times I accepted…but as days turned into weeks of just day in and day out using my abilities…”

“You grew tired and weak…”

At hearing him knowing a lot about what she was, she peeked back over at him to get an explanation.

“I did my research on your kind. When a mender uses too much at a time…they grow tired…can even become sick themselves. Of course, a mender cannot mend their own wounds…”

Fey lowered her eyes once more with a soft sigh.

“…I’ve been tired…for a very long time…that’s why I was performing…I earn money…and it goes to them. I barely have time to eat…or do anything else…” The Imperial kept quiet for second in thought. “Putting two and two together…I’m certain one of your clients spilled the information about you…and it eventually reached the king.”

“…so he wants to use me for the same thing?” She asked with a hint of anger behind her voice.

“…perhaps…but there are scriptures of old that speak of how a mender could also prolong life…if they so desired it…”

Prolong life? She had never heard of such a thing before. All she knew was that she could heal…but…to make someone live longer…? Now she understood why they wanted her so badly…

It made her mind pound in slight anger and made her close her eyes tiredly.

“…you need rest,” he calmly stated and laid the key on the small table beside the bed. “Lock behind me.”

He was leaving already? Fey forced her eyes open to watch as he gathered his sword. “Before the next three days have passed…you need to leave this city. They will make the searches more aggressive…and I must play my part while being under watch.”

“Why are you telling me this…? Why are you working for the king if you’re trying to help me?” The feline slowly stood with her hand grasping her arm. “…who are you…truly…? You’re a feral as well like us…so…why work for the king…? Is your name really Rial…?”

The Imperial stopped with his hand wrapped around the handle of the door but glanced back at her.

“…all of those questions…I cannot answer…” he truthfully told her but watched as Fey stepped closer with a worried look.

“…how did your leg get injured…?”

“…this question does not pertain to you…” The young woman, to his surprise, had the smallest smile on her lips and her ears were a bit perked. “…I know…but…if you truly wanted to take me back to the king…you could…so…I believe that you are trying to help me…for whatever reason. I won’t delve into it…but…I noticed you’ve been limping…how did it happen?”

The swordsman brought his attention back to the door before him.

“…it happened when I was a boy…a long time ago…it never healed properly…”

“…can I mend it for you…just a tiny bit?” She offered. “…it’s the least I could do for saving me from those thugs.”

With her unable to see his face now, the man couldn’t help the small smile that surfaced.

“…I must pass for I know what becomes of you if you do so.”

“I won’t mind…really.”

“My decision stands,” he said and unlocked the door. “I gave enough gold to pay for a week…but leave within the timeframe I have given. Yhisin will be hunting you shortly. Get out of the city and go as far north as you possibly can. Do not look back. If the innkeeper asks about my absence, explain I had business.”

“I won’t be seeing you again? What if I need help?” She asked worriedly. From her stand point, she noticed his back grow rigid.

“…when I leave this room…I will become an Imperial…that should answer your question. I gave you my advice and warning…” he whispered, making her blood run cold as he opened the door only to have Mira standing on the other side with two trays of hot food.

“Oh hello! I don’t mean to bother you.”

“You were not. I must step out on business but my wife can go ahead and have our meals,” he bowed to the innkeeper quickly before making his way down the hall to vanish outside the entrance, leaving Fey behind even more confused than when she first met him.