Richard was floating in a weird space out of time, he couldn't feel many things, he was bathed in a warm and gentle light. He tried moving his hands but he couldn't see them. He closed his eyes, focused on his sensations and felt himself sink deeper into this state when suddenly he felt cold hands on his face. When he opened his eyes he saw Bella, smiling at him, she was radiating light. She pulled him towards her and they both started ascending, the higher they were the faster they were going. She then kissed him and threw him upwards, he was gonna come in contact with the limit of this world, he tried going down towards Isabella but he couldn't move. He braced for impact ... and woke up in sweat from his slumber.

  Richard looked around, he was in a small room barely lit by a candle. There was a mirror, water in a bowl and a small chair. He sat down on the bed, his left arm was bandaged and his right arm was being held in place by a sling made with his own cape. Trying to keep his arm as close as he could, he stood up and started limping towards the bowl. He washed his face with the water that was left in it and looked at his face in the small mirror attached to the wall. " Damn I look dead.. ". His eyes were sunk into his face, his left eyebrow arch was swollen because of the hit to his head and his lip was open. " That will leave me a few scars. ". He then looked at his torso and assessed the damages, a lot of bruises, a few cuts, he guessed he probably had two or three cracked or broken ribs with how painful breathing was. He decided to step out of his room, after a few steps he heard someone walking behind him, when he turned around he discovered Sepu holding a glass of water to him. Richard smiled at him and took the glass.

  " Thank you Sepu, I think I'm not mistaken if I say thank you for saving my life in the nest?"

  Sepu just nodded as an answer. He then made a sign at Richard to follow him. They walked along the house corridors and walked inside the living room where he first met Selena. There she was, sitting in an armchair, drinking some tea and reading a book. When she saw Richard walk in the room she had a sigh of relief.

  " Well well, you sure are resilient my friend, I'm glad you are ok. Please have a sit, Sepu can you make some special tea for him? "

  Sepu simply nodded and exited the room. Richard sat down and let out a groan of pain, his ribs were killing him.

  " Thanks for saving me and fixing me up. How long was I out? "

  " You have been asleep for two days straight, I honestly thought you weren't gonna make it. "

  " I'm one tough bastard ahah ahh! "

  Sadly his laughter got interrupted by a shock of pain followed by coughing. At the same time Sepu came back with a steamy cup of tea and handed it over to Richard. He smelled it and the smell made him wince.

  " What is this? "

  " It's a tea made from medicinal herbs, we have been making you drink this for the past two days."

  Richard looked at the tea again.

  " I think I feel better already, really."

  She had a slight smile.

  " Come on, you killed a zenkab queen and you fear a small cup of tea? Quit acting like a child and drink it already! "

  Richard took a deep breath and chugged the whole cup. He looked at Selena with a disgusted look.

  " Are you trying to finish me off with this woman? Oh my god! I think I'm seeing the creator trying to grab me! "

  " Ahah! Are you an adventurer or a drama artist? Now go back to bed and rest. "

  " You don't have to tell me twice." He got up and started walking towards the door. Before he opened it he turned around. " You don't happen to have a horse I could borrow do you? "

  " I think that if you ask the villagers they would be more than happy to actually give you one. "

  " Also, where are the children? The house seems quiet and it's barely night time. "

  " Well they all went back to their parents, we actively hunted down all the zenkabs and the second the queen died the parasites died too so all the villagers went back to normal. As soon as you were stabilised I went to the village myself to see Solus to make sure everything was fine. "

  Richard simply nodded and waved goodnight at her. As soon as he laid down in his bed he faded into his dreams.

  The next morning Richard tried to dress himself the best he could with only one arm available. Selena had given him back his equipment and his armor was almost completely destroyed. Senob was gonna be mad at him and probably finish what the zenkab queen started. The only thing he really lost was a part of his cape and it could be replaced. When he opened the entrance door he saw Solus waiting for him with a horse. It was a black stallion with a white strand of hair arranged in a braid like his master's hair.

  " Ah my friend! I have a faint memory of you from when I wasn't truly myself. It was as if I could see myself speak and move but couldn't do anything. I'm really sorry you got so hurt because of us. "

  Solus bowed down while apologizing.

  " Please raise your head, you couldn't have known. I already appreciate the horse you are lending me. I will pay you in time and will bring it back to you once I'm healed up. "

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Solus stood up straight and rearranged his braid.

  " This is a gift! We even give you a few bottles of our finest wine with it. You can keep the horse, he is a strong stallion he will carry you far and fast. "

  " I don't know what to say, this is a very precious gift. "

  " Just accept this as a token of our gratitude. "

  Richard gave a firm handshake to Solus.

  " I will cherish it then. "

  A big smile appeared on Solus's face.

  " Let me help you get your things in order."

  Solus helped Richard get on the horse and watched him trot away on his newly acquired mount.

  Almost two weeks had passed since Richard was gone on his mission, Isabella's life had resumed a normal rhythm. Alternating between picking plants, working and reading. She was missing him and hoped he would come back to her quickly. " What if he isn't interested anymore? What if he thought more on it? ". All this thinking was making her more stressed than she already was. A few days ago she noticed footprints around her property, someone was watching her and sometimes following her in the forest. She never saw the person but they were way less discret than Richard. She figured that if they wanted to attack her, they would have done it by now but she could not relax herself. On one afternoon she was tending to the plants of her garden when she heard footsteps behind her. She turned around to discover a scrawny young man, he was dirty and seemed quite hungry. He was wearing a pretty classic shirt and some leather pants. He was shaking a little bit. Isabella stood up and kept a safe distance from him.

  " Hello young man, are you alright? Do you need anything? "

  The young man didn't answer, he simply looked at her, his eyes full of sadness. Looking at her he started to have tears in his eyes.

  " I can't do it, I don't want to do it, I can't do it, I don't want to do it."

  He kept on repeating these sentences as he was crying more and more. He had obviously been through a lot. Isabella started walking towards him very slowly.

  " Calm down boy, it's ok, no one can hurt you, I can help you. You don't have to do anything you don't want ok? "

  The young boy slightly backed away from her and put his hands behind his back. Isabella kept advancing.

  " I'm Isabella, what's your name? "

  " My brother ... my brother used to call me M-M-M-Moustik .."

  " That's a cute name, it's ok Moustik I won't hurt you. "

  Behind his back, Moustik was clenching his hand on the handle of his knife harder than ever. As he was crying more and more about the thought of having to kill her to avenge his brother he kept repeating the same sentence.

  " I don't want to do it, I can't do it .."

  " It's ok come here, I won't hurt you, everything will be fine. "

  Moustik finally found his courage, he decided to stop looking at her, he needed to hurt the hooded man back, he defended her and killed his group for her. He lost his second family because of her. Still looking at the ground, Moustik took a step forward, then another and another and another. Her boots were now in his field of view, he looked up and fixed his eyes on her emerald eyes. She looked so beautiful up close. He was still holding the knife. Suddenly in his mind the memory of his brother with his throat slit appeared in his mind, he was ready to act. At the second he decided to pull out the knife, something stopped his hand. He looked behind him and was terrified by the sight he had. There he was, the hooded man. His face was bruised and one of his arms was held by a sling but his eyes alone were enough to make Moustik lose all of his will to fight. But against all odds, the man smiled at him.

  " Hey Bella, I see you have met my friend! "

  " Richard! "

  The herborist jumped at him to greet him as he let go of the hand of the boy. She hugged him as if she was worried he was gonna vanish into thin air.

  " Ouch ouch! Bella I didn't have time to tell you but I got hurt Look at me before jumping on me like this! "

  " Oh I'm sorry! " She backed away and looked at his face. " You look even worse than the last time we saw each other."

  Richard turned towards Moustik.

  " Come back with me in the city, we need to talk about our next job. " *

  " Y-Yes! "

  Moustik decided to just go along with whatever the hooded man was saying, he was too afraid to do anything. Isabella started pouting.

  " I thought you were gonna stay! "

  " I'm sorry Bella I just came back to make sure you were alright but I have to deposit my armor to Senob and get my reward from the duchess." He got closer and kissed her, embracing her and pushing her body against his with his left arm. " I will spend as much time as you want with you once everything is done, I swear. "

  Still dazed from the kiss, she was caressing his cheek while smiling at him.

  " Ok, but if you want you can come to heal here also. "

  " I will, don't worry, let's go boy! "

  Richard started walking towards his horse and Moustik followed right after they both got on the horse and departed towards Ciscera. Happy from this kiss and from the promise of having more in the near future, Bella walked back into her home with a big smile on her face.

  It had been twenty minutes since Richard and Moustik were riding on the horse in complete silence. Richard finally decided to speak.

  " I hope things are clear, the only reason you are alive right now is because she was right there. Otherwise, that knife you were holding would have ended up in your guts. Understood? "

  " Yes sir ... "

  Richard took a deep breath.

  " I won't kill you but just to be sure, give me the knife."

  Moustik pulled out his knife and handed it over to Richard.

  " When you hold a weapon, be ready to use it. The reason you end up in these situations is because you hesitate. How have you survived so far and for so long in the forest? "

  Moustik swallowed his saliva and had a long pause before answering.

  " It's humm .. easier to kill animals than humans, and especially the ones that attack first. "

  Richard looked back at the boy, he looked like he went through hell. It was in part because of him but also because of the choices of his brother. But he could not let this boy survive by himself.

  " I will bring you to a friend, you will work there and earn your own money. But first get off the horse, we need to do something. "

  " Why? "

  " I said get off. We are gonna make some rules, and rule number one is to never question back! "

  Moustik dismounted from the horse and Richard did as well. He made a hand sign to tell the boy to follow him away from the path.

  " Stand right there. "

  Moustik stood where Richard told him to.

  " By the way, before I do this, is Moustik really your name or is it a nickname? "

  " It's a nickname ... "

  " So tell me your name boy. "

  " K-Konnor sir. "

  " Well don't call me sir but call me Richard and happy to make your acquaintance Konnor. I look forward to working with you. May the creator grant me the power to quench thirst and bring life to nature : maxima aqua! "

  A ball of water formed above Konnor's head and fell on him, the boy was now drenched in water that was neither hot nor cold.

  " Wh-What the hell was that for?! "

  Richard had a small laugh and started walking back in the direction of the horse.

  " Honestly you deserved a form of punishment for trying to stab the woman I love and also you absolutely reeked! "

  Konnor was crossing his arms while looking at Richard. Richard handed his hand out to help him on the horse.

  " Do you want to stay here boy? Or you just prefer to walk?"

  Konnor had a sigh of annoyance and finally took Richard's hand. " Maybe I should have let him kill me " he thought as they were making their way to the city and he was already regretting getting involved with this man.