Chapter 7

*Jonete*

“So, have you lived your whole life in Zalfari?” the guy named Zared asked, his expression open and friendly.

Jonete took her time swallowing her mouthful before answering. She didn’t know how much she wanted to tell these guys, even though they didn’t seem like a bad group of people. She shook her head. “No, I’ve only been here about a week or so.” 

The girl, Miria, smiled at her. “That’s longer than we’ve been here, though. We just got here today.”

“Yeah, but if we’d followed Miria’s plans we wouldn’t have gotten here until the next century,” the boy called Terrin said, a teasing grin on his face.

Miria glared at him across the table, her eyes sparking dangerously. “And look what almost happened when we went your way, Terrin.”

The two of them started bickering and Jonete laughed, something she hadn’t done in a while. Watching the two of them firing petty insults at each other set her heart at ease. She liked these guys, and she would be sad to part ways with them. 

Terrin scoffed at something Miria said and linked his fingers together behind his head, leaning back in his chair. “Whatever. It’s not like it’ll get us to the Excidium Sect any faster.” 

She froze in her chair, processing his words. These people were looking for the Excidium Sect? She swallowed, the opportunity opening up in front of her against her wishes. One part of her screamed to ask them to let her go with them, while the other part of her tried to coax her into forgetting about her revenge, tempting her with the idea of traveling the country in peace. Her hands balled into fist at her lap, and she clenched her jaw. 

“The Excidium Sect?” she muttered despite herself. The three of them glanced at her, their expressions growing interested. 

“Yeah,” Zared said. “The three of us are traveling up north, where supposedly there’s a fortress that’s teeming with sect members.”

A fortress up north? Well, if she went with them she’d be able to fulfill part of her goal to see Helmfirth, that’s for sure. She shook her head. She had enough on her plate as is, not to mention she didn’t want anyone from the sect to recognize her and return her to her parents. 

She roughly stood up, trying to ignore the quizzical gazes that the three of them gave her. “Thank you very much for treating me to a meal. I wish you luck on your journey.”

She stepped past their table and headed towards the diner’s entrance, quickening her pace when she walked outside. She couldn’t let the Excidium Sect get to her. They’d already done so once in the past. She wouldn’t let them affect her any more.

*Terrin*

Terrin watched Jonete leave, her long blueish black hair swinging with her strides. His eyebrow quirked with intrigue. “Did you guys catch her reaction when we started talking about the Excidium Sect? I bet she’s hiding something.”

He felt a tugging on his ear and he yelped as an annoying ache spread. He looked over to see Miria pulling on his ear, her expression irritated. She let go of his ear at his protest, leaning back in her chair. “Forget it, Mr. Housebreaker. A lot of people have bad history with the sect. If Jonete doesn’t want to talk about her past with them, she doesn’t have to.” 

Terrin rubbed at his ear and narrowed his eyes at Miria, his skin pricking with aggravation. “You know you really should work on your nicknames. They’re not as amusing as you think they are.” 

A humiliated blush flashed across Miria’s face and she opened her mouth to retort something when Zared placed a hand on her shoulder. “Please, not this again.” Miria huffed and crossed her arms, looking away from Terrin as her lips pursed in a pout. He resisted the urge to laugh at her, but her expression was so comical it was hard not to. “Besides, you guys saw how powerful Jonete was. Wouldn’t it be beneficial if she came with us?”

Terrin glanced at Zared in surprise. “You want her to join the group?” He thought about it for a second, recalling the awesome way she’d taken out that group of guys with her magic. “Yeah, that’d certainly be helpful for when we attack the fortress. Especially since we don’t know how fortified the sect’s hideout is, and having a mage with us could really boost our advantage.” 

Miria sighed, resigned to joining the conversation. “If we’re gonna add numbers to this group, then what we really need is a healer. Someone who knows their way around potions, herbs, and anything else about curing wounds. I know a little bit about treating injuries but it’s just the basics, and someday we’re going to need someone who can handle more advanced techniques.”

Zared nodded. “I agree with you, but I still think Jonete would be a good asset to the team. Plus she didn’t seem like she was necessarily a bad person.” 

Terrin eyes narrowed as a mischievous smile played along his lips. “Oh? Zared, are you, perhaps, infatuated with Jonete?”

Zared frowned as a blush darkened his cheeks. “Don’t be foolish, Terrin. Jonete’s not the one�"I mean . . . I’ve only just met her. There’s no possible way I could like her in that way.” 

Terrin’s smile only grew wider, noting the slip of the tongue he’d made. “‘Jonete’s not the one’, you say? So then why don’t you share with the group who ‘that one’ is?”

Miria’s eyes widened and she looked at Zared with excitement. “Zared, you like someone? Tell me, tell me! Is it the store clerk’s daughter from back home? She’s really pretty so I can see how you would like her.”

Terrin suppressed a laugh and Zared clenched his jaw, his eyebrows twitching in frustration. All of a sudden he stood up, pushed back his chair, and left the diner. “Let’s go!” 

Terrin and Miria exchanged a glance and burst into giggles, getting up to follow him out of the building. Miria leaned over to Terrin and placed her hand on the side of her mouth to cup her words like she was telling him a secret. “It’s totally the store clerk’s daughter. Did you see how red he was getting?” Terrin laughed out loud at that, Miria soon joining him as they followed after Zared. They joined him in the square, both of them stifling their giggles as Zared started talking. 

 “Anyway,” Zared said, emphasizing the change in conversation, “I still think it’d be helpful for Jonete to join us. And if you guys agree, I’m going to go find her so I can ask her about it.” 

Miria nodded, her mouth twitching in a barely suppressed smile. “Sure, sure. I like her well enough, and there’s no harm done if she doesn’t want to join.”

Terrin voiced his agreement and Zared nodded sharply. “You guys can stay in the square to make it easier to meet up later. Hopefully I’ll be able to find Jonete quickly.” 

*Zared*

As he left the two of them there he heard them burst into giggles, and he forced himself to ignore their laughter as he made his way in the direction he saw Jonete exist the restaurant in. He scoffed, rolling his eyes. He liked Jonete? That was the most ridiculous thing he’d ever heard of, especially since he’d only just met the girl. Sure, she was the kind of pretty that was quite noticeable in a crowd, but he knew next to nothing about her. 

Besides, he thought to himself, they don’t know who I really like.

Miria’s face flashed in his mind and he felt butterflies stir in his gut. He shook his head and frowned. He’d spent way too long thinking about his feelings for Miria. Right now he just needed to forget about that. He exited the square into one of the bigger streets, glancing around him for any clues as to where Jonete could have gone. He saw a guard standing at the intersection between the road and the square, and made his way over to him.

“Excuse me,” Zared started, “I was wondering if you’ve seen a girl with long, dark hair in a ponytail walking this way. She’s about this tall.” He held his hand at the height he remembered her being. Jonete had been slightly taller than Miria, the top of her head reaching his chin. 

The guard’s expression grew thoughtful for a moment before he shook his head. “Nope. Not that I can recall.”

Zared tried again. “She had chainlink armor on her upper body, the kind that most noble people would wear.”

At that the guard’s eyes lit up in recognition. “Oh, yeah, now that you mention that. I remember because her clothes really stood out.” He pointed down the street. “I saw her pass by just now, actually. She took a left into an alley way, I think.” 

Zared nodded. “Thank you.” 

He headed in the direction the guard had pointed, keeping his head turned to the left to see if he could spot her in one of the alleys. After a few minutes of walking he saw her sitting on a wooden crate just in the mouth of the alley, a map laid out on her lap as she studied it. He stepped in front of her and waited for her to notice his presence, not wanting to spook her.

She glanced up at him and her eyebrows rose in surprise. “Zared. What are you doing here?”

Zared walked over to the corner of the wall, getting out of the way of the people on the street. “I came to ask you if you wanted to join our party.” 

Jonete’s eyes clouded at his words, her eyebrows scrunching together as she thought. “I don’t know, Zared. I’m not too sure about encountering the Excidium Sect. I don’t exactly have the best history with them.” 

Zared crouched down next to her so that his eye line was level with hers. “When I was fifteen, the Excidium Sect attacked my village and killed my sister right in front of my eyes.” Her eyes widened at his story. “That was three years ago. Miria also has a reason for chasing after the sect, and I’m assuming Terrin does too. But we’re only three people, and we can’t take them down alone. With your kind of power, we’d be a hell of a lot stronger. What do you say?”

Jonete turned her gaze back to her map, the parchment slightly crinkling as her grip tightened. After a while she turned back to him, determination blazing in her eyes. “Okay. I’ll join you.” 

When they arrived back at the group Zared watched as Terrin and Miria’s expression lit up with delight. Miria ran over to them and took Jonete’s hands in her own, a wide smile on her face. “I’m so happy you’re joining! I have a feeling we’re gonna be really good friends.”

Terrin jerked back, feigning hurt. “You accepted her so readily and yet all but threw me to the curb! I’m heartbroken.”

Miria shot him a glare. “That’s because everything about you irks me.” 

Terrin put his head in his hands, making a big show of faking his sadness. “I can’t believe it. To think that my Lady in Waiting rejects me so completely.” 

Miria bristled. “And stop calling me your Lady in Waiting!” 

Jonete burst out laughing, and Terrin and Miria quickly joined in. Zared watched them laughing and felt a smile pull at his lips, allowing himself a few chuckles. After they’d calmed down they headed over to the center of the square where they found an empty table by the fountain. Miria took out her map and pointed to Zalfari. 

“This is where we are now,” she said, and everyone nodded. She then pointed to Helmfirth, and after that a spot north of the town. “Our next destination is Helmfirth, and finally the Excidium Fortress. We have to make sure we stock up well on supplies before we take them on.” 

“We could also try finding a healer that you were talking about earlier, Miria,” Terrin suggested, his expression serious for once. “I’d certainly sleep better at night knowing that our injuries would be taken care of.” 

Jonete opened her mouth to speak up. “There should be a job searching center in Helmfirth that we can visit to find a healer. The only thing is that it might end up costing us some money to hire them.”

Zared sighed, rubbing his neck as he thought. Having a healer around would be great, but using what little money they had to hire one didn’t appeal to him. “I guess we’ll just have to see when we get there. Who knows? We might just run into a healer by chance.”