Aureum found another place to hide. They got luckier this time. It was an actual cave, in between the cliffside of one of the many mountainous ridges they had to circle around and climb over.
It still wasn't the easiest thing to squeeze into, but once they were in, it opened up. The tight entrance made her feel safer, for a moment.
So what if it's hard to get in? They could just camp outside and starve us out.
She hadn't seen or felt any sign of guards coming. But she doubted after how they left the Hidden Manor they'd be allowed to go.
What made sense is that Aureum just couldn't see or hear them, and they were already closer than they appeared. Every moment she felt that the next could be the one where they decided to strike.
Yet it never was.
Her footsteps echoed as she paced through the dark cave. There wasn't any escape route inside it, but they were already caught.
A light flickered into existence. Hiems had started a fire. A tiny thing, but it was warm. Now all of them had that harsh outline of firelight.
"Aureum—
"What?"
"Relax… Ha… Whether you waste your energy or not, you can't change what's going to come."
He pulled himself away from the fire as he spoke.
"That's easy to say! I want to see how relaxed you are—
Aureum turned to look and saw the obvious. Hiems was relaxed, or rather, he sat with his back to the wall as if every breath cost him strength. She crossed her arms.
"I need to be more aware, since I'm the only one who can do anything right now."
"Heh…"
That wasn't Hiems trying to take another breath. It was his attempt at a laugh.
"What! Do you really intend to go and fight anybody in your state?"
"Do you…?"
Of course!
The words Aureum wanted to say caught in her throat.
"Look, as long as it's night, I can't run away either, so…"
Hiems looked up at her. His expressions weren't the easiest to read at times, but she couldn't sense judgment from him. Not even anger.
It made her feel worse. She turned away.
"I don't want you to die for me, Aureum," Hiems said. "This isn't what I had in mind, but if I was going to go back halfway, I wouldn't have started."
"Just forget it. I'm just tired… I'm not saying anything that'll make sense."
"Ha… Let me be clear… Whether it's day or night… if we meet anything, and you can leave, do it, Aureum. Run or fly as fast as you can."
Aureum turned back to look at him. Her face was filled with disgust.
"Stop talking nonsense," she said. "I don't want you to sacrifice yourself for me either."
"Ah… my mistake…"
He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall.
Aureum sat down. Gemmo had fallen asleep a little while ago. He'd been crying on and off all day, despite every effort to shush him.
She was exhausted and hungry. For now, exhaustion was winning out.
Without Hiems talking, it was just her and her worries. She looked back at him.
Seriously? Does he think dying for me is something romantic?
It was a nice change, maybe, compared to Nivis.
But what I really want is…
Someone who can kill every foe I come across…?
That sounded terrifying. Aureum didn't really like the idea of marrying an ascended sorcerer. An ascended was the only person who could deal with someone like Caducus. And he would be old, even if they looked pretty. Was there a single one she'd met that wasn't some kind of snake?
It was a pretty pointless thought. No ascended sorcerer was even offering their hand. But at least this daydream was better than imagining their pursuers. She needed to stay awake. She let herself continue.
Body, face, or background. She felt like Nivis had been the supposed best of all of that for her. And that marriage had been nothing but bitterness.
But… it was about time to admit she wasn't suited for celibacy.
Hiems isn't even a looker, and I've already fallen for him…
If it could be counted. Aureum didn't imagine some star-struck lover even considering abandoning her love.
Then is it just a passing feeling?
He was there. He was reliable. He was constant.
Is that really all I value…?
She couldn't swallow that lie. Dirt "was there." Dirt "was reliable." Dirt "was constant."
Dirt never made her heart rush. There was something there she liked. More than dirt anyways. But she needed more than a passing feeling. She needed to know.
Do I want this to grow into something more? Or am I just allowing it because it's convenient?
She hadn't even considered that until now. Now guilt weighed into her.
No. He didn't do this just for me. He also wanted to escape… Lord Maledic was causing problems for him too.
She hadn't even said it, and it felt like an excuse.
Necessity was one thing, but she wasn't about to drag him to his death.
Except I might have already done that…
Damn it…
No matter which way her thoughts turned, the night was not that easy for Aureum. When she fell asleep, it was pure exhaustion. She had intended to try and keep watch.
She wasn't even able to do that.
———————————————————
The next morning came like an unfufilled promise.
No yells or shouts. Just the morning, as glorious and unassuming as that was. Gemmo was toddling around. He seemed interested in some rock.
Aureum blew away a strand of hair that was stuck to her face.
Food…
It needed to happen now. She felt all shivery and weak.
How…? Guess I'll just find a squirrel or something.
She was a sorceress. The only thing stopping her from eating the wildlife was a lack of knowing how to skin pelts. And a disgust for the process.
At the dawn of the second day, she was well past disgust.
Aureum went to wake Hiems up but pulled her hand away at the last moment. Instead of leaving Gemmo behind with Mr. Ill, it would be better to take him with her.
Aureum turned back to Gemmo. He was trying to bite the rock.
"Stoppit right now! Let's go."
As soon as she'd decided to find and kill dinner, dinner was easy enough for her to get.
All the life of the forest breathed, and unlike beasts, they had no mana to defend themselves. A rabbit was her quick prize.
She was lucky it was so simple with her weakened state. The worst part would be carrying everything back.
Aureum returned about two hours later. Gemmo was held close like a sack of grain in one arm. Her other hand held a rabbit at arm's length. At least with all her training, she still had the strength for this.
Hiems was up. She saw his eyes shining in the cave's entrance when she came close. She waved. The eyes withdrew into the depths of the cave.
"Can you take Gemmo?" Aureum asked. "I'm too tired to lift him through."
He came back and took Gemmo through the narrow entrance.
"Eyuo Eemo," Gemmo tried to speak.
"Yes, hello Gemmo," Hiems replied.
Then he set Gemmo down inside. When he looked up, Aureum thought she saw sadness in his eyes.
"I should have…"
"Should have what?" Aureum said as she slid through the entrance. She lifted the rabbit. "Oh, this? …I just didn't want to wake you up."
It was so dark in the cave. When she woke up, the little sunlight that entered seemed so bright. Now it wasn't enough to see his face.
"I'll still need your help," Aureum said. "I don't know how to skin it…"
Hiems didn't respond immediately.
"Do we have anything to cook it in?" He finally asked.
Aureum sighed.
"No," she said. "We'll have to buy a house's worth of things when we get to Ariolus."
"…You think we'll make it?"
Aureum could feel it. The weight of last night's question. They were both thinking about it.
"Hiems, I won't abandon you," she said.
"So, you respond with confidence as soon as the sun is up."
He still took his time with his words, and they were ragged, but he wasn't coughing. Yet.
"That's unworthy of you!"
In anger, Aureum found her diction clearer and her back straightening. But her temper vanished as quickly as it came.
"I'll stay… unless it becomes truly hopeless, I'll stay."
It was a worthless promise as far as promises went. Things were already looking hopeless.
"You shouldn't do any of this out of hope for affection. I…don't know if I can give you what you want…"
Aureum crossed her arms and tried to be fierce, but her words were becoming softer and quieter as she went. She finally looked at the ground as she finished.
Hiems looked at her drily in the dim lighting before replying.
"And you'll try to make yourself feel better… without giving me any chance of hope? Isn't that just doing whatever you want?"
"And what's wrong with—
"Arghhh argwagoooh."
Gemmo hadn't made a noise that intense, but both their heads turned to him. He was trying to chew a rock again.
"No—
Crack!
"GEMMO!"
Aureum's mild concern rose into panic at the odd sound they'd heard. She tossed the rabbit to the side and pulled Gemmo close.
She furiously dug into his mouth and pulled out the bits of rock he'd been trying to play with.
"Aaarrgooh—aaaa aaachoo!"
When she finished pulling the bits out, he sneezed.
"Come here, you!"
She grabbed at him as he tried to escape and pulled him to the light. Then she checked each of his little teeth.
"He'll be alright," Hiems said. "He doesn't sound like he's in pain."
"It doesn't look like any teeth are broken," Aureum said.
"Even if he breaks a few, he'll get new ones later. Is this what he had in his mouth?"
Hiems went and picked up the scattered rocks.
"Yes. I shouldn't have taken my eyes off him—
"We're both tired," Hiems said.
He pulled the bits of rock to the sun. Then rolled them in his hands. Then pieced them together.
They were shards.
He turned his head to look back at Gemmo.
"I think he'll be fine," he said. "Look at this for a moment."
"What?"
Aureum was still sorting the damage report on the child.
"Just look."
She turned. Hiems took the shards and slotted them together and broke them apart.
"That's not…" Aureum didn't know what to say.
She understood.
"Is it a soft stone?" She asked.
Hiems shook his head.
"I can tell you—
"No, it's better that I don't know," Hiems said. "For now."
Hiems dropped the shards into a corner.
"Let's get the little monster something to eat," Hiems said.
The meal they had wasn't a luxury. It was only meat, skewered over a little fire they made outside the cave. But it was delicious. They devoured it in moments.
They all sat, warm and happy. Of course, Aureum's mind turned back to Hiems.
"Hiems," Aureum said. "Let me try to help your mana."
"It won't be worth the effort," he said.
He was probably right. She wasn't a doctor.
"Just let me check if you're alright!" Aureum said.
He grabbed the hands she tried to reach out to his pearl.
"You don't need to worry about paying me back," he said. "I was always just doing what I wanted too."
Aureum pulled her hands out of his grasp.
"Oh. I see. It's only fine when you do it."
"It's fine when you're honest about it," Hiems said.
I have a feeling you wouldn't believe me even if I was honest, Aureum thought.
But it was enough. She wasn't about to start another fight.
There was another long day ahead of them. The path from the Hidden Manor to Ariolus was a truly bitter one.
A bitter path alone wasn't enough to completely dampen Aureum's mood.
It didn't hurt that every time they came to the point of some especially high tip of whatever craggy path they struggled over, she got to see a brand new view. The horizon was bequeathed in countless different tree lines. Freedom was sweet.
Which made the possibility of being chased and caught all the more harrowing.
I will not let it happen again.
I will not be chased and dragged back.
I will not die for some dumb tyrant's grand agenda!
I am going to Ariolus City!
I am going to eat fresh chicken and their famous eels!
I am going to get a new dress! It will be scandalous! And colorful!
With every thought, she gathered up the mana they left behind them and flung it. Of course she didn't scatter it around recklessly. That would be as bad as announcing where they were by admission of where it wasn't.
But… she could also only fling it so far. Out of sight wasn't out of mind.
They'll be slowed down, but won't this keep them somewhat on point…?
She couldn't just incinerate mana, no. Still. It was better than a single line leading straight to them. All it cost was her concentration.
That wasn't a price.
Aureum needed something else to focus on other than Hiems. They were traveling together all day. Without complete panic to distract her, she was slowly becoming aware of that fact.
Just glancing at him felt like grazing an open wound.
What am I supposed to do?
She just wanted a simple answer from the world for once. Every tiny thing felt like it became the sort of textbook used to kill students during exams.
It should have been simple. She liked him, or she didn't. But it wasn't.
Even if I wanted something permanent like a marriage, this doesn't feel like the right way to start a relationship.
It definitely wasn't a good time.
Even if I like him, I don't know if I can forgive him for his family.
If it was anyone else…! But his father was Caducus. She'd already spent one marriage with a son of that bastard.
Hiems isn't Nivis.
He might turn out to be worse.
She didn't entirely trust everything Hiems had shown her.
Some of what she had seen wasn't worth trusting.
He saved her life. Multiple times. Never actually killed her. He was kind to kids. She'd only ever seen him murder people who would have killed somebody else first. But.
It still felt like a leap to trust he would always be that way.
But I can't… just… leave him hanging like this… at this point.
They might die tomorrow.
They might die today.
He might not get the answer he wanted, but he deserved something.
She couldn't even bring herself to look at him when she thought like this. The guilt felt worse than embarrassment.
And if he abandons us once I don't give him what he wants?
That might be for the best. Things would be simpler, after all.
Aureum tossed more mana upon the winds.
I will buy a pretty dress! I will! And wear it immediately!
Before anything else could go wrong.