Arata listens well to Chive; unlike Captain Morgan or especially Matt, she seemed to fit the bill of a commander much better. Decisive, commanding and a woman of action. She didn’t plan on letting go of Arata any time soon, either.

  Most importantly, she had experience against their foes. She kept Arata in a back-and-forth, exchanging the info Arata had learned in the script with everything else Chive knew.

  The dryads command the less intelligent alraune; the knights function separately of that duo. The Erlking used dryads as a hive mind, the corruption is cast through the Erlking’s mind and can bridge back a connection to his mind. Though I’m still left with just one major question.

  Arata ponders, “If you were getting on my ass for helping Morgan remove her armor back there, why can’t I bathe off in peace?” Arata lets out a sigh, thinking was far too exhausting for the current moment.

  Chive explains, “There's not going to be any rest for you any time soon. Our only solution thus far against the fairy knights is to run away. You have an actual way of killing them. It's not just about winning or losing either… you’ll be the one to put them out of their misery.”

  The fairy tags on, “I don't care to look… unlike you, your eyes clearly sparkled with curiosity, are you secretly a deviant?”

  Arata pauses in shock, “No-no, it's that I didn't know either, I never saw Morgan without her armor. I was curious because nobody knew her gender. I never asked because I thought Morgan had a good reason to keep that a secret.”

  Arata stopped for a second to think about Morgan. She was hiding that… why, and that magic. I've never seen that before either when we fought. I should ask her when I get the chance, she should trust me enough right?

  Arata then begins to hear Lyra’s voice. She speaks out, “Chive, Miss Morgan has woken up, she's looking for your friend Arata.”

  Chive hands Arata a spare uniform of one of the elven soldiers, it looks like repurposed hunting gear, similar to something Rachamah would wear.

  He returns to the rock to see Morgan's face in full now, her eyes glowed emeralds, with it's refined structure, she looked like a princess yet if that was truly the case, her mannerisms would be far too off-putting. To truly realize such a vision, maybe Arata could see it if not for her sitting posture, where she would often rest her elbow on her knee.

  The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Arata decides to speak first, “What’s the matter Morgan? You needed to tell me something?”

  Captain Morgan speaks slowly, trying to figure out how to phrase her words, “I- The reason that…”

  She’s trying to confess something… I shouldn’t force her while she’s recovering. Arata reaches his hand out to grace her shoulder, asking, “Hey-”

  Morgan quickly cuts him off before starting her tangent, “It’s my fault, the demons needed to find me! They came to Basin City to kill me. I could have fought back against Beelzebub, Selena didn’t have to die but I wanted to save myself!”

  She needs to slow down. I have no idea what the hell she’s talking about. “Slow yourself down for a second! Are you ok? Can you talk about it? We’ll start from the beginning. What do you have to do with the demons to wear you think you’re at fault?”

  Morgan goes on to explain, “I carry a certain… regalia of my mother. A doll of the Lost King. It is a key… I don’t know what it leads to. I saw-”

  “Hey Morgan, save your voice for now. The soldiers still need you. I insist you prioritize recovery. I don't know why you're hiding stuff. I don't need a reason to help you keep it. We need to meet back up with the other soldiers, as soon as you can walk, we’ll start moving.” Arata tries his best to reassure her.

  The pain in her body was fierce, yet more manageable than confessing. She immediately stands up, immediately putting back on her helmet.

  She wanted to hide her disappointment, it was a failure in her eyes. She couldn't articulate the truth to Arata whom she trusted more than anyone.

  Arata quickly outstretches his arm, “Hey, I still said you had to recover first-”

  Cutting in Chive points out, “No, she’ll have to make her recovery while we're on the move. The dryad’s eyes span the whole forest. Your men risk being wiped out by waiting for you. Just follow me, Arata.”

  Morgan takes her sword, closely trailing Chive through the woods until they reach the men. Through the forest, a crowd slowly comes into view.

  One of them shoots, “Big boss Arata’s back wooooo!!!”

  The men begin to chant Arata's name much to Arata's surprise. That plan was the opposite of solid. Why would I be the leader here?

  Despite how lucky it was, despite how much help he had borrowed from others. He was happy, for once, even with the odds too far stacked against him, he managed to achieve a result he could be proud of.

  Arata finally had a sense of control when the deck was stacked against him by the world.