Chapter 31:

Inky blackness had overtaken the cave by the time Eres awoke. She sat up, rubbed her eyes, and blinked a few times; she was unable to tell whether they were open, dark as it was, but for the remaining embers of the fire, its glow dying as the last vestiges of heat dissipated into the darkness, and the faraway twinkle of stars that slipped through the cave’s mouth.

She yawned, stretched, and scratched her belly as she stood. Nature called. She pulled out her wand, summoned a flame to light the way, and stepped over the sleeping body of Leo. 

Even in her previous life, using the bathroom in the woods was a test of courage, and the worst thing she could have met then was a bear. Now? It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say she could encounter anything in the void creeping at the edges of her vision. She felt half-tempted to wake Leo, but didn’t want to bother with his complaints. 

She wasn’t afraid. Definitely not. Eres held absolutely no fear in her heart as she walked, trembling, to a private spot to do her business. Thankfully, she remained undisturbed. She returned to the cave refreshed and relieved. 

Hopefully, the sun would come out soon. Then they’d be nearly done with this damn test! She was sick and tired of roughing it. Maybe they could find some poor monster to beat on before the day was up, relieve some tension. 

Eres piled some wood in the fire pit, lit it with a swish of her wand, and warmed her hands. She looked to her side. Leo and Amira let out soft breaths, the former fidgeting somewhat, and the latter dead still. 

Eres, sufficiently warmed, stepped over and slid down next to Leo. His small face was peaceful when asleep. Innocent. It was easy to forget this child was as old as he was. He was rather adorable like this, like a small puppy. She resisted the urge to ruffle his hair. If he never opened his mouth, one could mistake him for an innocent youth. Eres knew better. 

The little bastard was too smart for his own good, always playing tricks and teasing her! 

He was her mortal enemy!

And her best friend. 

She’d never had a close friend like him in her previous life. She smiled, remembering their dumb pranks, then frowned, remembering Amira’s words.

Was marriage really something to consider between them? Eres wasn’t sure how she fully saw herself, much less him.

She was a girl. She felt like a girl. Those stubborn denials had long since passed, and she no longer felt any great resistance to her body. 

She’d even started to enjoy most aspects of her new gender. When they were younger, they basically treated her the same anyways. As she aged, it was more obvious where the barrier between male and female laid. 

When had it changed? When had her new position become more comfortable than the old? She felt a sudden disquiet. She looked down at her hands, the pale scars lining her fingers, unfamiliar and foreign. Was she really herself? Or did these new feelings come from the form?

Whose hands were these before she arrived? She never knew the stories of those scars. Unlike Leo, who had been born to his new body, Eres was a visitor, perhaps even an invader. What had happened to the previous Eres? Or was there one? 

Did it matter? She was Eres now. She was a girl. A daughter. A friend, a maid. 

She took a deep breath. 

Whatever happened to Eres before didn’t matter now. She was here to stay, and it was her life to live. 

Really, what was the point in worrying about the rest? Marriage? She was only twelve! As if anyone could predict where they’d be in six years. It was her life, and she was determined to live it. 

The rest could come later.

As of now, Leo was her best friend and that was that. 

Eres found herself staring at him closer than she realized when his eyes opened. They fluttered, before snapping apart, pupils landing on Eres’s face. His expression changed to bewilderment, then paled to shock.

Leo jumped back, pressing himself against the wall, holding his hand forward. “W-what were you about do?!”

Eres sat for a moment, stunned. What was with him? “Are you okay?”

Leo’s throat bobbed, and he held his hands up in a cross. “Begone foul demon! Give me Eres back!”

Eres stared at him for a long moment before speaking. “Are you dumb? What are you doing?”

His face froze when she spoke, a bright red creeping up from his neck to his cheeks. He hung his hands on his raised knees, before settling into the wall and sliding down.

“Uh…I had a weird dream.”

“…”

Eres’s lip twitched. A dream had that kind of reaction? Was she a demon?! 

She shook her head. “What could you have possibly dreamt about?”

He turned his head away, expression dire. “It was awful.”

“?”

Leo looked over, shivering. “We were old and married, you kept nagging me, and our kids never came back to visit.”

Eres stood. She walked in front of Leo. 

“Hmm~ so marrying me is a nightmare for you? The man who claimed me as his fiancée in front of hundreds of children is getting cold feet?”

“No, I—wait, why are you mad?!”

Leo shook as Eres loomed over him. It almost seemed like the flame rose with her anger, the fierce red light illuminating her from behind, painting her as a war god out for the kill. 

“Mad? Me?” Eres laughed, the sound like glass scraping over rock. She reached out and pat the top of Leo’s head. He shivered, the murderous aura biting to his bones. 

She bent down, matching his eyeline. Eres smiled, the sight brilliant and bright and deadly. Her hand reached toward him, fingers curled in anger. “Leo~”

Leo was about to scream when someone in the distance did it for him. Their heads snapped to the cave entrance as the distant sounds of someone screeching washed over the clearing. 

Eres raised an eyebrow, standing up straight. “What was that?”

Leo gulped, wiped the sweat from his brow, and rose with her. “M-maybe we should check it out.”

He walked to the cave entrance, justice and altruism pouring from each step. 

He was stopped short by a small hand clutching the back of his shirt. Eres stood to her tiptoes and whispered to him. 

“We’ll talk about this later~”

***

It wasn’t long before the trio were stomping their way through the woods in a nebulous direction in which the last known information was the horrified hollering of someone in danger. Thinking about it like that, Eres froze for a step before she continued walking.

“Are we sure this isn’t a trap?” Eres asked.

Leo scratched the back of his head. “I mean, probably not.”

Amira stumbled behind them, slightly out of breath. “E-even if someone were in danger, wouldn’t they be rescued by our seniors?”

Eres raised a brow. “She has a point.”

Leo waved a hand. “It’s my duty as the future duke to safeguard my peers.”

Eres narrowed her eyes. It seemed less like helping others, and more like helping himself. She almost felt hurt that Leo would rather fight unknown creatures of the night than suffer her wrath.

…

She didn’t blame him. Eres had picked up more from Lana than she realized. 

They arrived at a section of fallen trees that stood out amongst the surrounding clearing, a ravaged area of shattered wood and shredded bark, of large ditches of displaced dirt clawing through the area. 

“What the hell happened here?” Leo asked.

Eres looked around, shocked. “What could possibly do all this…?”

Amira covered her mouth as her face drained of blood. She walked to one of the claw marks, moved to another, and inspected the various gouges and gashes. She turned to the others with an expression mixed of confusion and worry.

“This…” She paused, gathering her thoughts. “I hope I’m wrong, but this looks like a Malneshian Strider.”

Malnshian Strider? Where had she heard that before? The name sounded familiar…

Leo’s brow furrowed. Eres looked over, pinching his sleeve and giving it a gentle tug. 

“Is that…?”

“Yeah,” Leo said, “That’s where that princess was from. Shiera, I think.”

Amira looked over, surprised. “Eres, Leo, could it be that you’ve met my cousin?”

Eres’s face grew awkward. Earlier, when regaling her with that fake story, she’d never mentioned the princess’s name. To think Amira was her cousin…

“Yeah, Shiera and I met at Celise’s birthday party a few years ago.”

Amira grimaced. “Ugh, she couldn’t sit for a month after that one. I was the only one that visited her when she was in confinement…”

“I’m…sure she’s nice,” Eres said.

“No, not really. But she’s my cousin. I haven’t seen her in a while, though.” 

Amira pulled her glasses off and cleaned the lenses, looking off into space. “And she was the only one that didn’t belittle me for my magic…”

Eres scratched her head and looked around. “What are we dealing with?”

Amira slipped her glasses back on, expression serious. “They’re dangerous. Outside of the Malneshe Kingdom, they’re considered an invasive species. Once they’re rooted, they’re extremely difficult to get rid of, and they clear out most of the wildlife in their territory. If someone brought them here…I wouldn’t be surprised if they were locked away for life.”

Eres’s forehead beaded sweat. Who could do something so crazy?

“Are we in danger?”

Amira nodded. “Just one of them could probably put down most of the beasts in this forest. If there’s more…”

“We need to kill it,” Leo said, “Before it can cause any real damage.”

He slid his wand out, looking the two of them over. 

Eres nodded seriously. “Yes, kill it. And get its points, too.”

The other two looked at her, Leo’s frown weighing on her conscience. Eres turned her head. “A-and to save everyone.”

Leo snorted, but simply turned the direction the tail led. With a forward sprint, they bolted after the beast.