The sky was still dark when I crept out of my room, bag slung light over one shoulder, holding nothing but a change of clothes, a handful of coins, and a stolen letter carrying the Duke’s seal that I hoped I would never actually need to use.
The corridors were silent, the whole estate still asleep, the only sound the wind rattling faintly against the windows and my own heartbeat thudding somewhere up in my throat. I moved carefully, avoiding the boards I already knew creaked, past the portraits of ancestors who seemed to be watching me leave with the same disapproving expressions they wore for everything else.
Seraphina was already waiting at the side gate near the stables, dressed in plain grey travelling clothes, hair braided back tight, looking less like a noble lady and more like someone who had done this exact thing before.
She smiled the moment she saw me. "You came."
"Said I would."
She handed me the reins of a strong looking brown horse. "This is Storm. Fast, and he does not spook easily."
"You thought of everything."
"I try." She swung up onto her own white mare with an ease that made it look effortless.
We rode out through the gate before the sun had fully cleared the horizon, hooves muffled against the wet grass, the estate shrinking behind us until the hills finally swallowed it whole. I looked back once. Relief and fear tangled together in my chest in roughly equal measure.
"How are you feeling," Seraphina asked, riding easily beside me.
"Scared. Excited. Confused." I laughed under my breath. "The usual, honestly."
"Good," she said. "That means you are alive."
We rode mostly in silence after that, the road stretching long and dusty ahead of us, trees lining both sides, birds calling somewhere overhead. My thoughts kept circling back to Lily. What she would look like now. Whether she would even remember me, or want to.
Seraphina must have caught the drift of it, because she spoke up gently. "It is not your fault, Ethan. You were a child. There was nothing you could have done."
"I could have tried harder."
"You were ten years old," she said, firm. "What exactly could a ten year old have done against the Duke."
I did not have an answer for that, and she did not push further, letting the silence settle back around us, comfortable this time instead of heavy.
We stopped near midday by a small clear stream to rest the horses. Bread and cheese from Seraphina’s bag, simple food that somehow tasted better than anything the estate kitchens had ever produced. She pulled out a folded map, tracing a line across it with one finger.
"We are making good time. At this pace, we reach the convent by tomorrow evening."
"That fast."
"Good horses, clear road." She folded the map back up. "But we should stay alert. There are bandits in these parts sometimes. They target travellers."
I glanced at the thick treeline around us, shadows pooling deep beneath the branches. "Bandits. Great."
She laughed. "Do not worry. I can fight."
"You can fight."
"Of course. Noble ladies are trained in self defense." She pulled a small dagger from her boot, twirling it once before sliding it back. "And I am very good with this one specifically."
I stared at her a moment. "You are full of surprises."
"I like keeping people guessing." 😏
We rode on through the afternoon heat, sweat gathering under my collar, the horse steady beneath me in a way that had started to feel almost natural after only a day. The road wound deeper into forest, tall trees pressing close on either side, sunlight filtering down in scattered gold patches across the dirt.
Then Seraphina slowed, something shifting in her posture.
"Something is wrong," she said quietly.
I stopped beside her. "What."
"Too quiet. The birds stopped." Her eyes swept the treeline. "We are being watched."
My pulse spiked instantly. "Who."
"Bandits. Or worse."
A man stepped out from behind a tree, rough clothes, scarred face, sword already in hand. Then another. Then two more, closing the road in front and behind us until we were fully surrounded.
The leader grinned, missing several teeth. "Well well. What do we have here. Two little nobles out for a ride."
Seraphina’s hand dropped to her boot. "Step aside. We have nothing you want."
"Oh, I think you have plenty." His eyes crawled over her, then the horses. "That necklace looks valuable. Fine animals too."
"Take the horses," I said, forcing steadiness into my voice. "Leave us the road."
He laughed, an ugly sound. "And miss the pleasure of your company. No. I think you two are coming with us."
"This is bad, this is very bad, four of them, one sword between them plus whatever else they’re hiding, and all we have is a dagger, the novel never had bandits, this is not in the story, what do I do, what do I actually do."
Seraphina moved before I could finish the thought, off her horse in one fluid motion, dagger already flashing in her hand. She lunged at the leader, faster than he expected, slashing across his forearm before he could raise his sword properly. He screamed, weapon clattering to the ground.
The other three charged at once. She spun between them like water finding the fastest path downhill, dodging one blade, driving her elbow into a second man’s throat, dropping a third with a kick to the knee that folded him sideways into the dirt. It was less a fight and more a demonstration, brutal and precise, over almost before my brain caught up to what was happening.
The last man came straight at me, sword raised. I grabbed the only thing within reach, my travel bag, and swung it hard into his face. He staggered back, stunned, and I kicked out blindly, catching him somewhere in the ribs. He went down.
Seraphina finished the leader with one final strike, and then it was quiet again, just heavy breathing and the smell of blood cutting through the clean forest air.
I stared at the men on the ground, stomach turning over slowly.
Seraphina wiped her dagger clean against her dress, breathing hard but composed. "Are you okay."
I nodded, though I was not entirely sure that was true.
She crossed to me, one hand touching my face gently. "It is over. They are gone. We are safe."
"Safe. Right." A shaky laugh escaped me before I could stop it. "You just took down four men in under a minute."
"They would have killed us, or worse." Her eyes were steady, unshaken. "I did what needed doing."
"She’s right, they would have hurt us, she protected us, protected me, and I just stood there swinging a bag like an idiot, what kind of hero does that make me, none, that’s the answer, none at all."
Her expression softened instantly, hearing every word of it. "Ethan. You are not useless. You fought when it mattered. That counts."
"Does not feel like it counts."
"It will," she said. "Give it time."
We mounted back up and rode on as the sun dipped lower, painting the sky in long streaks of orange and red. Neither of us spoke much for a while, the adrenaline slowly draining out of my limbs and leaving something heavier behind in its place.
I kept replaying the fight in my head, the speed of her movements, the calm on her face even mid strike. She was not just a noble lady playing dress up in danger. She had been trained for exactly this, and some part of the story I thought I knew clearly had left that detail out entirely.
We reached a small roadside inn just after dusk, warm lantern light glowing in the windows, a wooden sign creaking gently overhead. We tied the horses and stepped inside, greeted by a heavyset innkeeper with a kind, tired face.
"Room for two?"
"Two rooms," I said quickly, maybe a little too quickly.
He raised an eyebrow but did not argue, sliding two keys across the counter without further comment.
My room was small but clean, a narrow bed, a washbasin, a single window looking out over the dark treeline. I sat on the edge of the bed and just stared at the wall for a while, the events of the day finally catching up to me all at once.
The system flickered quietly in the corner of my vision.
"Journey progress. Day one, completed. Bandit encounter survived. New information unlocked. Seraphina has been trained in combat since childhood. Her family carries more secrets than previously known."
Great. Everyone in this world apparently came with secrets attached, no exceptions.
A soft knock interrupted my thoughts. I opened the door to find Seraphina standing there in a simple nightgown, hair loose around her shoulders, looking smaller somehow than she had all day.
"I could not sleep," she said quietly.
"Neither could I."
She stepped inside and sat on the edge of the bed beside me. "I keep seeing their faces. The bandits. I have fought before, killed before when I had to. It never actually gets easier."
"That is good," I said. "It means you are still human, not just a weapon someone built."
She looked at me, something grateful flickering behind her tired eyes. "Thank you. For saying that."
"I meant it."
We sat quietly for a while, a single candle flickering low on the nightstand, shadows dancing gently across the walls. Then she leaned her head against my shoulder, her breathing slowly evening out.
"Can I stay here a little while," she murmured. "Just until I feel steady again."
"Of course."
She closed her eyes, and within minutes her breathing had slowed into something peaceful, her weight settling comfortably against me. I sat there very still, afraid that any movement might break whatever fragile calm had finally found her.
The system flickered one last time before I let my own eyes close.
"Heroine opinion updated. Seraphina. Current status. TRUSTING. Deep emotional bond forming. She is beginning to rely on you. Do not betray that trust."
I would not. Whatever else happened between here and the Grey Tower, whatever secrets waited for us at the end of this road, that much I was certain of.
I looked down at her, peaceful now, the fear from earlier completely gone from her face, and made a quiet promise to myself, one the system did not need to record for it to matter.
I would protect her. Whatever it cost me.
Tomorrow we would ride further north, closer to the convent, closer to whatever truth had been hidden away with Lily for the past three years. Tomorrow the road would test us again, probably harder than today had.
But tonight, sitting in a small rented room with her weight warm against my shoulder and the candle burning low, none of that mattered yet.
Tonight was just this. Just her, breathing steady beside me, and the quiet, fragile hope that maybe, somehow, we would both come out of this story alive. 🕯️