Life And Death Decision

I turned around, seeing the girls tossing some seeds into the air, feeding a flock of birds that were flying overhead. "Wow! I"ve never had this many this close before." In a state of shock, all Tyme could do was stare up. They kept tossing seeds, the birds catching them in their beaks or talons. They got through all their seeds within five minutes, some of the birds resting in the back of the cart and allowing the two to pet them.

"She seems better," Baz said to me, eyes still on the road. "I was a bit worried yesterday. I mean, it"s not every day that you watch your family get slaughtered." He dipped his gaze slightly, puffing out some smoke from his nostrils. "I just don"t know what to do in this situation. Is it okay for her to be sad? Is it okay for her to be happy? Usually, we"re the ones killing people, but if this is what happened to those families of the people we killed." He handed me his reins, resting his head in his hands.

"It probably has happened to those families," I spoke bluntly, taking charge of both horses. "But think of all the heartache we prevented by stepping in. The lich, for example, Rennot, Aitog, and the other towns nearby. All of them lost people dear to them, and that suffering would"ve continued had we not intervened." I placed one hand on his shoulder to rea.s.sure him. "It"s a dirty job, but somebody"s gotta do it."

"When are we going to start our training?" Rose stuck her head between Baz"s and mine, eyes excitedly staring at me.

"At lunch. It"s a long way to Aitog, so we"ll train when we stop naturally. Until then, sit still." I spoke, exhaling deeply through my nose as headed to the cart to take a break. Baz leaned back, carefully making his way to the back to take a nap in the cart. With his spot now vacant, Rose carefully sat beside me, wary of the cart"s movement. "Want to stay in front?" She nodded, humming a soft and somber tune.

"Wherever you go, I"ll be watching over you..." She muttered under her breath, cupping her hands as olive-green vines wrapped around her arms. "Beyond the seas, over the mountains, whatever you go through..." The vines slowly began to bud in various places. "We"ll be together...you with me and I with you..." The buds bloomed into cyan flowers, the same as that aura that constantly surrounded her.

That melody brought a chill to my soul. I couldn"t explain why, but it made my arms feel heavier.
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"My sister used to sing that all the time."

"It"s beautiful."

"Mary..." She intertwined her fingers as the vines withered away. It was painful to watch her slouch over.

"Rose. Look at that." I pointed toward the side of the road, toward a small clearing that led to a small cl.u.s.ter of trees. "Do you want to practice now?" She nodded slowly, looking deep into the forest as if she was looking for something.

I steered the cart toward the clearing, tying the horses to a nearby tree. Baz put out a pot, getting some loose twigs for fuel. Tyme and Rose began talking amongst themselves before our archer ran up a tree. She was so fast, kicking up dirt in her wake as she leaped from branch to branch. Rose just stood there with her mouth agape, looking up at Tyme as the adventurer beckoned her to her side. "How did she do that? Let"s see...here goes nothing!" The kid imitated Tyme, leaping and swinging with her arms on the branches until she managed to sit on the branch beside Tyme.

"You did it!" Tyme smiled, shuffling over to get closer. "Wasn"t that fun?"

"What happened to you Tyme?" I found myself muttering as I pulled out our sack of food to start cooking. The usually quiet archer was exuberant whenever she was around her new friend. It was a side of her that Baz and I seldom see, so I was grateful to have Rose bring it out more often. Clearing my thoughts, I moved over to man the pot, starting a stew for the lot of us.

I was envious of them for that lunch. While I was slaving away by the fire, Baz was training on a tree with his sword, slashing and thrusting at it repeatedly while the girls watched him. Rose and Tyme were throwing pebbles at a branch, trying to knock down a target they set up for themselves. Aside from that, the kid repeatedly placed her hands on various parts of her clothing to repair them. Maybe we should get her some clothes...

I finished up the stew, serving bowls to everyone while we sat around the fire.

"What? You really killed a lich?" Rose asked Tyme between spoonfuls of food.

"Of course. But it was so creepy! Crawling with zombies and ghouls, and there was a ghost that nearly took control of Baz. Ugh! I hate the undead, they"re the worst." Tyme squirmed as she recalled our trek through the crypt. The kid listened intently, her eating slowing down as she digested the words more than the food. She still managed to finish her bowl, excusing herself from us to have some privacy in the forest. The moment she was out of sight, Tyme"s expression returned to her usual stoic stare.

"What are you two going to do while we train?" I asked my teammates, finishing my own bowl and gathering Rose"s.

"I"ll go hunting or fishing or something. Get us some more food. Wanna come with me, Tyme?" Baz sighed, getting a second serving for himself. Tyme shrugged, continuing her meal without giving him a reply. "Guess not." We continued to eat for five minutes, Rose still hadn"t returned. I walked into the forest to search for her, finding the remnants of my stew hydrating a bush.

"Rose? Where are you? We"re going to practice right?" I yelled out into the woods, only hearing pained moans from deeper in.

"Sage? I"ll be right there! Don"t come over he-aaahhh!" She shrieked, sending some critters running from her location. My legs moved before my mind as I ran toward the source of the sound. There she was, laying with her head in the dirt and writhing in pain.

I knelt down beside her, using my magic to give her any form of relief. But it didn"t work. No matter what spell I cast, her pain didn"t subside. "I knew it." I hissed as I took her in my arms and began sprinting back to camp. "Guys, pack up, we head to town now!" I leaped into the back of the cart, going through our supplies to find some potions, not like they"d do anything if my magic didn"t have any effect.

Baz took the reins while Tyme untied our horses, the lot of us riding at full gallop toward the next town. "What happened to her?" Both of them asked, Tyme climbing up beside me and placing her hand on Rose"s head. "She"s cold..." I looked at both of them, still wasting all of my spells in a futile attempt to heal her body. I bit my lip, contemplating what to say.

"I don"t know...just get us to the next town!" I moved my hand over Rose"s body, trying a different spell other than my normal heals. Slowly, the aura around her body started to glow brighter as some color returned to her skin. Rose"s pained groans also became less frequent as she pa.s.sed out with her head in my lap. "I think it"s over..." I said, wiping sweat off of my brow as I clenched my fists.

"Thank the G.o.ds." Tyme bent over, embracing Rose tightly. The bond those two had pained me as I felt another presence in the cart.

"You understand now, don"t you Sage?" Her radiance whispered into my ear. All I could do was nod. I had a lot of time to think things over. We arrived in town in the middle of the night, running to the closest inn to get her a room. "What will you do, my child?" I wish I knew.

"I"ll take care of her. You two, can one of you get me another diamond. The most expensive one you can get." I said, clutching Rose"s trembling body in my arms. I told them to use all of the gold we received from the mayor a few days ago since it was that important. I ran into the building, asking for a room for her and running to get her into bed. Then I sat down, staring at her while doing nothing.

There was nothing I could do for her now. My magic didn"t work, our potions were useless, and it seemed like she didn"t even know what happened to her. Thankfully, even though she was still shaking, things seemed to have calmed down. A minute later, even her shuddering stopped, leaving her with that familiar cyan glow and a calm sleeping face. I breathed a sigh of relief, that was one explanation I didn"t want to give at the moment, or ever. I relaxed, leaning back in my chair for a few minutes before the team knocked on the door, I told them to get to bed.

"Where am I?"

"At an inn in Cres, you had us worried there," I said, walking over to sit on the edge of the bed. I looked at her, the cyan light fading with every step I took. She noticed what I was looking at, shrinking down and pulling the covers over her head.

"Do you know now?" She asked. All I did was nod. "I don"t know how it happened. I swear! But if I..."

"Keep quiet!" I said coldly. I saw her shudder, hiding under the covers. I should just end this, it"s my job to do this! So why am I hesitating? She was the ant.i.thesis of everything I stood for, so why did I build rapport with her? I gulped my doubt down my throat, summoning her radiance"s grace in my hand.

"What will you do, Sage?" I could hear her voice as I borrowed her strength, moving my hand towards the child. "Are you certain?" I didn"t reply.

Placing my hand on her head, I sent that divine energy through her body. "AAHHH! It hurts! It hurts!" The searing pain that I used to smite my enemies was now afflicted on this young girl. Her screaming echoed in my head, the blanket falling off to reveal her weary and pained face. "I"m sorry! Please stop!" I heard her plead, her hands frantically gripping onto my body.

"No!" My patron"s voice seemed shocked, taking her power back as the light faded. "I"m sorry!" I felt her leave me, my magic vanishing with her. All I could do was stare down at Rose, the light surrounding her flickering like a candle in the wind. What should I do?

I sat down on the edge of the bed, Rose unmoving and lying down with her head on a pillow. No powers, no direction, nothing I could do; what am I doing? "Sage?" She muttered weakly. "I"m sorry..."

"Oh, you"re still here?" I said, standing up to walk toward the door. I didn"t have the strength of mind to deal with that conversation at the moment, so I reached for the door handle. I did turn back to look at her one last time before I went to bed.

"Sage...I"m sorry. And...Thank you." Those words caused my heart to drop as I bit my lip.