A Quest for the Stars

Late evening moonlight greeted the reunited groups as they boisterously celebrated their victory. Alistair filled everyone else in on what happened with the giant that assaulted them, and Mrs. Hunter did the same about the giants that came out of their hiding spots.

“The conga line should break in about ten hours, or until they reach Helix City,” Mrs. Hunter elaborated.

A sweat drop fell from Lenoria as she smiled nervously. “H-hehe, I guess Constable Richards will have a big problem on his hands.”

“Do you think we should make it there before they do and warn him?” asked a concerned Alistair.

“No need.” Lenoria grinned. “The city’s got scouts and soldiers in the outer perimeter. The city will be fine.”

“If that’s the case, then it’s time to get moving.” Mrs. Hunter placed herself in front of Lenoria. “For all we know, there could be more of them coming, and I’d like to be out of here before we get bigger problems on our hands. Quite literally, I must add!”

“Couldn’t agree more.” Lenoria reached out to her former teacher with her hand. “It was nice working with you, ma’am. Even if we have our differences, I’m glad we set them aside long enough to make it all work out.”

Mrs. Hunter didn’t reach out to Lenoria right away. “You know, Starflower was wrong about you. He said you were a savage who only cared about herself. I can see why some of the other instructors didn’t fall in line with his way of thinking. They saw potential in you, girlie, and the bastard was full of hot air.” She reached out to Lenoria’s hand with her own and shook it firmly. “Prove him wrong.”

Lenoria knew it would take more than that for other instructors to change their minds, but for now changing the opinion of someone rough and old-fashioned like Mrs. Hunter was a huge victory in her book.

“As for you, Clara,” the old woman looked at the girl still wearing her dancing outfit, “I personally see potential in you. I don’t ordinarily do this, but I have a letter of recommendation for you.” Mrs. Hunter rummaged through her belongings and grabbed a wooden scroll case. She handed it over to Clara, who accepted after some hesitation.

“What’s this, ma’am?” The elf asked.

“Thule has a bard’s college. Despite the land’s politics and religious zealots regarding the dead, the College of the Wilds is located on neutral grounds where aspiring bards from all over the world gather. The Artificers Guild may be about inventions and magic, but the College is more about expressing your art. Show them the letter I just gave you, plus a lump sum of 100 gold, and they’ll let you start as soon as possible.”

Clara listened intently to Mrs. Hunter, her eyes beaming brightly. “T-thank you! I-I don’t know what to say, or whether or not I should accept it!”

“Just take it. If you want to help your friends, then support them with enchanting melodies.”

Meanwhile, just a couple of yards away, Caesar and his pirates reached out to Alistair.

“I doubt you’ll let us go so easily, so I’ll cut you a deal.” The pirate captain offered his hands. “Arrest me. As captain, I lead this crew as best as I can. But they’re all good men and women, all things considered. Prison colors don’t exactly suit them, you see.”

“Cap’n...” Caesar’s words fueled his crew’s tears. It was hard for Alistair to judge them harshly after seeing the fireworks.

“P-please calm down,” the boy pleaded. “I’m not arresting anyone.” His gaze lowered to the ground. “Everyone played a pivotal role in our survival. Please just head back to the capital and celebrate your victory there.” He then gave Caesar a firm stare. "No more crimes, okay?"

Caesar grinned and lowered his hands. “You’re a good boy, Alistair.” He turned around and snapped his fingers. His pirate gang then formed two lines behind him. “I hope you’re not dead the next time I see you.”

“If I’m being honest here, I’d rather not see you at all.”

A hearty chuckle escaped from Caesar. “Message received.” He nodded to his pirates. “Let’s go to the capital. Drinks are on me tonight.”

Caesar marched in the opposite direction and was about to grab Mrs. Hunter when he noticed one of his own crew stayed behind.

“What’s up, Cecilia?”

Giving Alistair a cold stare, the halfling woman made her way to Alistair. “Something’s been bothering me about you, kiddo.” She took a moment to inspect the boy once she was a mere foot away from him. “You’re a mess. You got blood on your cheek. Hasn't your mother told you to clean after yourself?”

"Don't treat me like a kid. I've always cleaned after myself."

"I can't help it when you look that way."

"I'm nineteen!"

"And yet you've got such a cute baby face." Cecilia beckoned for Alistair to come closer. The lad sighed, irritated as he got closer and bent the knee to get down to her level. She firmly used one hand to turn his head sideways to look at his wound, and then used the other to adjust it back in place. Keeping her hands on him, she finally smiled. "Loosen up a little,” she spoke with a sultry voice. “Not all criminals are bad people. Here’s my show of thanks for getting us out of that bind…”

“P-pardon-” A sharp pain made Alistair flinch when Cecilia pressed her lips on his cheek. The woman was gentle with her touch, but Alistair had not recovered completely from his fight with the giant.

All Lenoria could see was red, even more when she noticed Alistair’s discomfort. He briefly made eye contact with the young artificer, and immediately pushed Cecilia away.

The halfling woman giggled mischievously. Alistair used a handkerchief he had inside of his suit of armor to wipe his cheek and see if he still had blood on him. Upon inspection, a red blot decorated the sheet, after which Cecilia giggled amusedly.

“You lucky boy. I never kiss on the first date.” Cecilia gave him a wink before catching up with her gang. “When you’re done playing knight in shining armor, come look for me. I’ll take care of you.”

Alistair scratched his head. “Um…thanks?”

Lenoria fell into a state of angered silence, which was suppressed only long enough for her to say goodbye to Mrs. Hunter and the pirates. Once the two groups went their separate ways - Mrs. Hunter to Helix City and Lenoria continuing north - she sulked for some time afterwards.

***

15th of Cobre, 1659 - 11:39pm

~Lenoria~

It was a calm, moonlit evening in Cedar Forest.

The moon and the stars illuminated the night sky, and the forest had grown thick with trees. The hearts of the three adventurers had calmed down somewhat, and the girls shivered from the chilly winds of the evening time. The scent of the cedar trees pierced their nostrils.

“Won’t be long before we reach Hammer’s Reach.” Alistair announced from the driver’s seat. “Please be patient.”

In the back of the wagon, a sulking Lenoria had seated herself on a corner alone. She felt the occasional sting from the giant's attacks from earlier, but witnessing someone else kiss Alistair was a worse pain for her. Feelings of jealousy sizzled like dynamites she had to constantly turn off, and failing to account for even a single one could result into an explosion that could hurt an innocent bystander.

Pearl took a little too much pleasure in this, if her smug look meant anything. "I knew you couldn't trust that boy. He just stood there and took it."

"Pearl, please..." Clara knew it was best to give Lenoria space when she was in a horrible mood. If Lenoria needed a hug or a shoulder to cry on, she would have approached her friend by now.

"I warned her about this. And shame on you for not doing the same."

"Me?" Clara pointed at herself. "Lenoria and I always support each other."

"And look where that got her. Instead of using sound logic, she instead went for a hopeless pursuit."

The two women bickered back and forth, with Apus gripping his talons on Clara's shoulder as he swayed with her movements. Poe, on the other hand, distanced himself from Pearl and stood on Lenoria's head. He preened her hair, which gave the girl a ticklish sensation. The bird had picked up the habit of roosting on the back of her neck and covered himself with her hair once he was done preening, which he then proceeded to do. Normally an uncomfortable feeling for the girl, this was his way of asking for cuddles...something Lenoria graciously accepted this time around.

"Both of you, stop." Despite Lenoria's weakened voice, it was enough to get the two women to stop arguing. "I'm fine."

"Good. Maybe now you'll stop with this nonsense and focus on the task at hand," Pearl said coldly. "We recovered Fornax, and it is up to you to decide what we do with it."

"You're the one who said that the mission, while important, would take ages to finish." Lenoria didn't remember all of Pearl's words, but she was sure she was free to do what she wanted in between missions. "It's only been a week, and we already found two stones."

"Two out of dozens; don't you forget it."

"Yeah, but if it wasn't for Al, those giants would have stayed hidden, and we never would have found it! He was doing the right thing, and he ended up helping your cause in the end!"

Lenoria knew Pearl wanted to say more, but the woman in black elected to back off, instead.

"Giving up so easily?"

"I might as well, since I can't make you see reason. But if your heart breaks just like it did with Carter, don't come crying to me. I won't forgive you if you use the resulting heartbreak as an excuse to neglect our deal."

"Pearl, that's enough!" Clara kept her voice down, but that didn't stop her from making her message clear. "Be mad all you want, but I won't allow you to talk to Lenoria that way!"

"It's okay, Clara. She doesn't understand." Lenoria rose to her feet. "I've only known Alistair for a week, but he's already leagues above Carter! He follows a righteous god, and he hasn't lost favor with him, yet!" Lenoria looked down and twiddled her fingers. "H-he's also selfless, patient, and kind. O-of course he's going to get attention from other girls!" She nodded. "That's why I have to do something and act fast! He's going to be thinking about that pirate girl if I don't."

"Attagirl, Lenoria!" Apus finally made his voice heard. "What do ya plan to do?"

"I...don't know yet." Her newfound confidence quickly left her, but she immediately had an idea. "I got it! Maybe I should just go to the front and sit next to him! Maybe then he'll fall head over heels for me!"

Apus facepalmed. Or was it face'wing'? In any case, the bird-of-paradise was visibly annoyed. "Oh, brother. Why do girls have to make everything so complicated?"

"Hey, I'm trying my best," Lenoria protested.

"And if that's your best, you're going to lose that boy's attention." Apus flew from Clara's shoulder and stood on the wooden floor in front of Lenoria. "You have to be direct with him. Men don't do hints."

Lenoria's eyes sharpened. "What?" The mere thought of being direct scared her. "Can't I just give hints until he finally confesses?"

"No! He'll just think you're being nice to him!" Apus hopped in place. "Direct, Lenoria! Be direct!"

"How could you possibly know about what men like? You're a bird!"

"And in my short time down here, I've learned plenty of things."

"What things?"

"Clara and I have done a lot of reading this past week, and I've noticed a common theme between the romance novels you girls like to read."

Surely, Apus must have seen how great Lenoria's taste for books was. The girl stood ready to answer all criticism as if she was the author for any of those novels and short stories.

"There's a lack of communication in every single one. I mean, really, how many of those stories wouldn't be shorter if people just talked to each other?"

So much for that.

"Well, there's..." Lenoria paused when she couldn't come up with a title right away. "No, not that one. Oh, how about-!" She interrupted herself again. "No, that one also had a lot of padding. Maybe-" And again. "Nope." And again. "Not that one, either." And again.

"See? Think about it, Lenoria. What if Alistair meets some farmer's daughter in the next town, and the two of them hit it off? Or what if he meets a singer in the town after that, and her soothing voice is enough to charm him for life? Or even worse, what if he already has eyes for Clara?"

"M-me?" Clara blushed and hid her face. "I wouldn't betray Lenoria like that!"

"Look, all I'm saying is without you tying him down, he'd have no reason to say no to anyone bold enough to approach him. Or worse, he'd be the one doing the chasing if he meets someone he immediately fancied."

"He wouldn't," the girl said weakly.

"Men love genuine attention if it's from someone they like. There's a good chance he would if you don't act now."

Lenoria wanted to counter, but she knew Apus was right. There was an air of uncertainty in the wagon, and it only dragged on the longer Lenoria kept quiet. Clara raised her hand to say something, but she quickly retracted whatever statement she had in mind. Pearl remained indifferent, making it clear she didn't care what Lenoria did at this point. The blonde was on her own.

Balling her fist with determination, Lenoria moved to the back of the moving wagon. "You're right. Even pivotal moments in history would have been prevented if good men had spoken out in the face of danger. Alistair praised me at the end of that last fight, and I'm not going to let anyone else prevent that from happening again!" Opening the flap of cloth, Lenoria jumped off the wagon. What followed was a loud thud, then a loud "Owie!"

"Alistair, stop the wagon!" Clara's voice was heard loud and clear, and Alistair did as he was asked to do. The elf then ran to the back and jumped off as well.

Pearl crossed her arms nonchalantly. "You realize what you've just done, right?"

Apus smiled at Pearl. "Encouraged a girl in love to jump out of a moving wagon? That takes guts. I'm rooting for her."

"This isn't some romance novel, you know. Sooner or later, she needs to learn to see the line between fantasy and reality."

"I know, but if anyone was gonna get through to her, it had to be someone who could speak her language."

***

"W-where am I?"

Lenoria awakened just as the wagon had resumed its path forward. Her vision was still blurry, but she could feel a pair of strong hands on her. She felt pain across her body, and a stinging burn whenever the hands applied pressure on the parts with most pain. The smell of alcohol lingered in the air.

"Ow! Clara, be gentle!"

"I'm sorry, Lenoria." Alistair's voice nearly made Lenoria jump. Once her vision returned, she watched as the paladin administered to her wounds with the tools from his opened medical kit; he had spent his remaining divine power for the day by healing most of Lenoria's wounds from the earlier fight, and this was his only option. The two of them were alone on the back of the wagon, a detail that made her heart race immediately. She felt a soft blanket beneath her, and by its fluffy touch she knew right away it wasn't her blanket or Clara's. "Miss Clara is driving the wagon. The thought frightened her, but Chestnut likes her." He shook his head with disapproval. "What possessed you to jump out of a moving wagon, anyway? Miss Clara said you hit a branch on your way out and tripped over some sharp rocks on the way down. As you rolled down the road, you hit your head on a rock."

Lenoria recalled the incident with embarrassment. She counted herself lucky no one else saw that. "Oh, it's just that I saw a bug, and-"

Direct, Lenoria! Be direct!

The girl remembered Apus's words to her, which brought back her prior conversation with him. She kicked herself in her mind because coming up with an excuse would just be proving Apus's point. Why did he suddenly care for her, though? Surely, he must have noticed how little Lenoria trusted him.

No matter how she felt, she knew he was right in this particular case. She decided to try his method, if only to say 'I told you so' if nothing went as planned. "Actually, Alistair, I jumped out because I had something to tell you."

"You did? You could have just told me through the little window."

"It's...private. I wanted to talk to you face to face. Please listen."

Alistair put away his medical tools and closed the box. He sat upright, and offered a hand when Lenoria rose from her makeshift bed.

"Alistair...are you seeing anyone? Do you like girls?"

The question caught the paladin off-guard, but he was willing to answer. "I'm not seeing anyone. Most layfolk don't see their lives with a paladin unless they follow a fertility god or something, so I'm single. A-and yes, I like girls. Why do you ask?"

Lenoria was hoping Alistair would know where she was getting at, but she had started to see why Apus was telling her to be direct. "Oh my gosh, he's denser than a lump of lead." Her throat tightened, blocking the words she wanted to speak. She balled up the hem of her duster with her fists and gritted her teeth "I..." She closed her eyes tightly. She felt embarrassed, even though she knew she had no reason to be. But like someone leaning on a door, her words burst out when the pathway finally opened for her. "I like you, okay?! Will you go out with me?"

Alistair remained firm in his posture, but Lenoria could tell he wasn't expecting to hear that.

"After you left, I thought I wasn't going to see you again. You focused on saving the wounded, despite the danger at the park. When you found a pulse in me, you stayed by my side and didn't let anyone else touch me." Lenoria's words rushed out like she was a burning building, but once she figured out what to say, she grew calmer, and her speech became more fluid. "You're a hero, Alistair."

"Lenoria..." Alistair shook his head firmly. "I'm no hero. I just didn't want for anyone to suffer if I could help it."

"Even so, you kept Thomas away from me, and your testimony against him helped Gabrielle make the decision to fire the man who had tormented me and even placed those two monsters in jail."

"That Carpathia guy ended up in jail? I-I didn't know. I mean, I heard he was infamous in the Guild, but all I did was misdirect him a little and report what I witnessed to Lady Gabrielle."

"All that says about you is that it took no effort at all. Your heroism comes naturally, then." She gently caressed both of his cheeks, which were a little rough from the stubbles of shaved hair. "The truth of the matter remains clear to me, Alistair. You saved me from Thomas, you saved me from Starflower, and today you kept me safe from the giants. The way I see it, you're my hero. And to top it all off, you're cute! My heart beats just looking at you, but I didn't know how to approach you until now."

"L-Lenoria!" Alistair stumbled in his words, but he showed no signs of resistance.

"I like you, Alistair. Do you like me?"

Alistair sighed. "I m-must admit that I do. And I kind of saw this coming from the way you have been looking at me since this morning. I just didn't want to assume anything." He relaxed his shoulders and let out a deep breath. "And that last fight made me realize just how short life can be. But even with that in mind, I knew it was my given duty to safely escort you to Goodsprings. I didn't want to frighten you with an inappropriate comment, much less after what Lady Gabrielle has told me about you."

"How much did Gabrielle tell him? And how?" Apus's method turned out to be the best move. Had she stuck to giving out hints, Lenoria would never have found out Alistair suspected something. Or at the very least, it would have taken a while for these two to find out anything.

Lenoria wrapped her arms around his shoulders and kept her face just inches away from his. Even in this position, Alistair remained firm, albeit a little nervous. She couldn't blame him; it took everything she had just to stay in the lead. Her arms were weak and noodly, as if they could fall off at any time.

"I am so glad I talked to you now instead of later. I hope we spend more time together from now on."

"S-sounds good. My only request is that we take things slow. Is that okay?"

Hesitating, Lenoria retracted her arms and nodded with a smile. "Sure." Alistair must have asked this for a reason, but for now Lenoria was content for having made the first step. As long as she could be with him, Alistair could take all the time he needed and move at the pace he wanted. Her wishes had been made clear and he hasn't rejected her. That was enough for now.

"Hey, guys!" Clara announced from the driver's seat. "I see a wooden wall up ahead."

"Hammer's Reach." Alistair curved his lips towards one side. "We're finally here."