Here he was again.

A hill of Corpses lay strewn across the battleground. Women and children weren’t spared. limbs disemboweled from the bodies half-eaten. The victims lay silent as their screams could not be heard again. They couldn’t feel pain anymore. 

The majority came from his father. Who now couldn’t exploit them even in death with his experiments. 

He peered at his own feet. Under him was his own hill. His share of corpses stared sightlessly at him. The crimson liquid that he spilled in order for a war to end engulfing him as he was sinking. The end justified the means. It had to. He shut his eyes and let the hill devour him. 

Eyes opened again but this time in his bedroom. His breath was shaking and his body chilled with the moisture of his sweat. 

He almost ended up amongst them. If it were not for luck. 

Desha never did find that witch. She’d been long gone after everything settled. He looked over all his territories to find her only to come up short. 

Part of him dreaded what the price really was for that deal. He forced the thought out as he went to start his day. He needed to clear his head. 

____________________________

She pulled herself out of bed. Today would be a busy day indeed. The sun had yet to rise before she had awoken. 

She reached across her work table and gathered her items. Wynn accepted jobs in gathering materials in the forest and caverns. The materials weren’t hard to find they just happened to be where the beasts were. It wasn’t an issue if they couldn’t catch her. 

Her outfit had form-fitting black pants and a button-up long black blouse reaching her knees with no sleeves. The pants had pockets to hide her items. Better to do her day-to-day. 

“Time to start.” ——————————————————

Materials in hand with not a scratch on her. She took a break in one of the trees munching on Punica fruit. She’d managed to get it done earlier than she anticipated. It was still morning and the sun had just risen. She would recover some mana and then go on her way. 

The rustling of the bushes alerted her of company. She looked down to see a large hooded figure forging ahead. ‘What do people eat here to grow so big?’ She thought watching them go ahead toward the direction of town. 

In the corner of her eye, she spotted a hell-hound crouching. More of the pack animals were hidden. She spotted them too. Her gut sank on what that meant for the stranger. 

She hurled her fruit at the first hound causing it to sound off in surprise. The figure whirled in the first one’s direction. Their attention diverted caused the other hounds to leap in for an assault. ‘Shit’ 

She could run away. Leaving the other person to fend for themselves didn’t appeal to her though. ‘I just refilled my items too.’ She thought in complaint.

Without a second to lose she grabbed both of her fans inciting her element to do her bidding as it forced the hounds back. Sprinting she reached the back of the person she protected. “Can you run?” She asked.

The hooded figure still faced away from her. A male voice answered. “I can, but why should I?” 

“So you have a death wish?!”

“I can say the same for you.”

“Next time you can handle it then and little ole me will just watch. Incoming!”

She dodged and surprisingly so did the man. He was fast despite his size. Another hound leaped toward her swiping its claws. She concentrated on her leg while dodging and retaliated with a whirlwind kick.

The animal thrown back whined when it crashed. “Sorry!” Guilt was reflected in her tone. 

“You’re apologizing!?” The hooded figure shouted in disbelief. 

“I don’t like hurting cute animals!” She meant it.

“Cute?! Ha! You’re an appetizer to them!” 

Swerving against their calculated attacks she barely had time to recover before they tried ambush with a pincer attack. Meanwhile, her counterpart grabbed one by the neck and threw it towards its brethren. 

As she landed a stone on the ground moved from under her feet causing her to slip backward. She couldn’t recover before one of the hounds leaped towards her jaws open. 

The tall figure blocked the attack with their punch launching the hound back causing it to crash into the tree. The hood slid off. Familiar gray pale skin and black hair greeted her. The king. 

He had gone on a morning walk to clear his head and now he had to deal with another that occupied his thoughts recently.

He could handle the hounds on his own. The unexpected assistance threw him off. He would have been done by now with his lightning. 

His interference gave her time to reach her pouch. “Hold your breath!” She pulled out dust from her pocket and blew it out of her palm. Using her fan to send it around the surrounding hounds lulling them to sleep. Afterward cleansing the air of the dust around him and herself. 

As he looked onto the surrounding area the sight of the hounds sleeping gave him a glimpse of what happened to the warehouses. 

“Looks like your more useful than you look sylph.”

‘It figures I would run into him even out here’ “I’ll take the compliment.” She replied dryly. A familiar feeling of numbness began to take over her left side. She leaned on one of the trees for support. Her leg gave out on her. ‘Damn why now?’ She used up magic getting her materials and used more with the hounds than she anticipated. Her leg was numb. Time would have to pass before regaining control again. 

“Get moving or are you looking to get eaten when they wake?” He looked her up and down as she supported one side over the other. ‘I didn’t see her get injured’ 

“I’ll be fine in a few. My leg just needs a moment. I’m sure your busy so I’ll catch u-“ her attempt at shooing him away failed. He didn’t let her finish before grabbing her and throwing her over his shoulder. The sudden force to her belly forced air out of her for a few seconds. When she recovered she protested. “Put me down! King this is not necessary!”

“Hold your tongue and wait till we go back to town.” He wasn’t going to argue about her safety and decided to drop her in town when they reached it. 

“Could you at least carry me like a girl and not a sack of potatoes?” 

“Why should I listen to you?” She could practically hear his smirk. 

“Oh I don’t know…, I assumed royalty had manners.”

“We do. We also have the privilege of not using them”

“That explains a lot!” She pushed down her immense desire to kick him with her other leg as he trudged on. She wanted to avoid jail. 

Desha meanwhile was having a bit of fun at her expense. Her lack of composure toward him at the moment was deliciously amusing to him. Her weight on his shoulder was practically nonexistent to him but surprisingly comforting.

She was suddenly very quiet. He pondered if he did go a bit too far. He then mentally brushed it off. ‘She’ll get over it ‘ he thought as he continued forward. 

The nerves on her leg were coming back causing her to try to keep still and stiffen. She squeezed her own arm to stifle herself. A few more moments passed in silence. The prickling subsided bit by bit. 

Finally, her leg was back to normal. Would she ask him to let her down? Nope. As she spotted the trees she saw the morning dews. An idea sparked.

Suddenly there was a grip on his belt but it swiftly vanished along with the weight on his shoulder. It was soon replaced with the water of morning dew splashing him in the face. 

He wiped his eyes as he searched. she wasn’t in sight. Cleaning the remainder off his face he frowned thinking of the next time he’d see her. He’d definitely repay her for that tit-for-tat. 

——————————————————

She waited till they passed a tree with a lot of water in the leaves before she reverse flipped off him also kicking the branches causing them to splash Desha. 

It was more water than she actually intended. She technically didn’t hit him. The water did that for her. She would deal with him later rather than now. 

In the castle, a certain king was having a rough time with paperwork. It wasn’t hard. There was just too much of it for his liking.

The ruler of the underworld had more work thrown on his plate with the recent events of a trafficking ring exposed. the nobles that were responsible were arrested along with the criminals under them. He now had to sentence each and every one of them.

Paperwork was never something he was fond of nonetheless right now he grew tired of it. He set down the paperwork and took a breather.

There was still something nagging at him. Mostly annoyance in a question that alluded him at the moment.

Who was the one to expose this operation and why?

From eyewitness accounts, ONE assailant managed to get passed armed men and freed the victims causing an uprising of escapees. Possibly the same person managed to get incriminating documents that appeared on his desk….ON HIS DESK!

It meant someone snuck unnoticed into his domain without so much as a commotion. He couldn’t really let that one slide.

Sighing in frustration with his usual wide frown he had to wonder even if he knew who did it. What was he gonna do with them? They technically did him, his citizens, and his kingdom a favor.

If he did expose them that could bring them unwanted hostility. Some nobles weren’t happy having their own arrested. Then again that wasn’t his problem.

“Brother? “Desha’s mental rant was interrupted by his sibling. Ouken looked at his brother with concern in his eyes.

“Are you still worried about the kingdom’s unknown hero?”

“We don’t know their intentions in this to call him a hero yet.”

“We could ask Despa to look into it.” Desha scowled at Oukens suggestion.

“Bah, no need to call for his obnoxiousness here. I’ll check the 3 sites and see what I can unearth myself.”

Ouken nodded a bit disappointed. Both his elder brothers always had friction yet it was worse since the rebellion. No matter what Ouken said or did unless absolutely necessary they never contacted one another. He missed having them both without being the middle man.

Whatever the case Ouken was sure the kingdom was in good hands with his family. Come what may.

———————————————————

It had been a full month since she came back here.

If Wynn could hit Livia right now she would…She laid in bed. In the estate, Livia left behind in her will. She felt tricked.

She was only supposed to go to the archives but then somehow instead of leaving her keepsakes to family. Livia put her as family!

What the hell was she supposed to do with all this space?! She’d been used to the nomadic life for so long and carrying only what was necessary she wasn’t used to this.

She thought back to her first few days again…—————————

Wynn had settled in with an elderly couple for the first night.

An elderly woman’s back had gone out and her husband couldn’t carry her. Wynn offered and carried the granny on her back to her house. She used her sash to help keep the woman secure with a couple of breaks in between.

Once they reached their home Wynn had run a couple of errands to pick up what they needed for the day. They were both grateful and welcomed her for dinner. The elders offered her a place for the night so she took it.

The couple Kaiju, and Rema, along with their daughter Izumi resided in this residence. Their daughter had gone to work earlier and they didn’t want to worry her.

By morning the couple seemed worried. Their daughter should have been back by now. Rema looked outside the window every so often waiting on her daughter. She couldn’t sleep till she knew she was home. She never slept the night.

Wynn went over to the mother placing her hand on her shoulder as a comforting gesture “What does she look like? “

Rema answered with exhaustion in her voice “She takes after my husband. Has green skin and has my orange eyes. She also has tiny horns on her head. “

Wynn nodded and headed to the tavern that Izumi worked at. She could start there.

The city held its charm about it. Especially with its architecture. She’d never seen that kind of shape wavy shape in buildings. Construction seemed to be going on in some places still. Her thoughts were stopped upon arriving at her destination.

The tavern brought in its fair share of customers. The waitresses she saw didn’t match Izumi’s description but then again she couldn’t tell with how well they were covered up. They all had white shawls covering themselves.

“Welcome to our establishment would you like a seat Miss?” Wynn glanced at the hostess addressing her.

“No, thank you, but would you happen to know if Miss Izumi is here?”

“No, she isn’t here. Actually, she was supposed to work yesterday evening and she never showed.”

The sylph followed up with a couple more questions and tipped the hostess for her time. She asked a couple of others if they had seen the missing girl. Nothing.

Something was wrong. Time to ask the guards for help.

She made her way to the nearest guard. To her luck it was Dagna and another knight she found. She had asked them if they had seen Izumi but nothing. They told her they would keep an eye out for her and report it.

‘This girl can’t have just disappeared…’ Wynn hoped it wasn’t a possibility but there were whispers through the crowds of missing monsters and humans.

Monsters could be used for parts and potions like any other herb for potency. Humans could be eaten for their meat or used as cattle.

In the corner of her eye, she spotted two kids running past the buildings and out to the forest looking terrified.

Her gut response told her she needed to follow them. So she did. she sped up her pace.

She caught up to them in time to see Vultures about to make them their meal. She pulled out her fans and forced the winds to push them back. While the birds were redirecting Wynn pulled out a powder, and blew it in their direction. the birds knocked out. As she finished making sure the birds were incapacitated she then turned to the two small trembling boys.

“Care to tell me what you two were running from?”

The first boy looked like he didn’t want anything to do with her and the second one was scared.

“None of your business lady!”

“Well it wasn’t my business to help you earlier but I can rectify that with the birds if you’d like that….” Threatening children was not what she had in mind but when it called for it.

The second kid started bawling. ok, now she felt bad…“Brother th-they t-took Kiri. we need help” “we don’t need her!”

“Who did?” “A cou-uple of bad men miss.”She took in all the information the child offered. From his description, she already knew the men in question. After escorting the kids back to the safer part of town Wynn took her leave.

Red and Black. Both assassins and criminal ex mercenaries. She did end up tracking them down. Wynn then followed them to a warehouse. Normally she would go back and hatch a plan. However, time was of the essence for that girl. She decided to scout before her next move and disappeared into the wind.

—-———————————————

Wynn sighed. Did she overdo it a little? yes.

She made sure to get every little piece of evidence to make sure every accomplice got what came to them. Waited a few more days when her stamina came back and dropped the documents in the middle of the night on his majesty’s desk.

she was still drained from the experience. She didn’t have that much stamina, to begin with when it came to fighting and magic. More like she burned thru it. She overused her stealth wind for far more than her normal limit. She also now had to replace all her sleep powders and replace one of her fans that broke.

This was straying away too much from her original set of plans. It made her head hurt.

The original plan had been to pop a visit to the underworld every once in a while and check how the king ruled it. Make sure he didn’t end up homicidal like the last king.

She didn't want to be in charge of an entire estate! This was more responsibility she didn’t sign up for. Funny enough that didn’t stop her from accepting more future projects on top of that.

Kaiju and Rema were happy though. The look on the parent's faces for their daughter was something that gave her a pick me up out of the whole debacle.

They were gracious enough to let her stay over indefinitely and keep her secret under wraps. She had covered her face and wrapped her hair to conceal herself when she raided the warehouse facilities. So the only ones that knew of this escapade were this family. She wanted to keep it that way.

After setting up her affairs and finding the estate she did invite them to live with her. They however declined and said they couldn’t due to it being far from their convenience. So she bade them farewell and stated they were welcome there regardless at any time.

She did make a new roommate. Elenora. There was a lot to unpack there from what that girl went thru. The girl was a mouse but Wynn could see potential in her.

a strong knock on the door caught her attention. ‘Who?’ Not a lot of people knew she lived here yet.

She made her way to the door. Her last working fan on her. She opened the door and to her surprise Ouken, the leader of the order, and a few knights were at her door.

‘Ah crap’

————————————-

King Desha had made his way thru the third final site. A few soldiers trailing behind to block the area.

Site 1 and 2 were similar. Jail cells. Left behind ropes. Most if not all ropes were cut in a single-motion slash. He wasn’t sure how he could explain it but each area felt cleansed of the dirty atmosphere. The air felt clean.

The timing in all this came after the sylph came to his kingdom. His mind wanted to doubt it. The girl came off as the opposite of capable. To be honest she came off as a ditz. He’d have to be an idiot not to consider her a possibility though. If she purified the air around her it would make sense why all 3 of the facilities had the same clean scent.

He really had no other evidence though. This was getting irritating. He sent Ouken to take her in and question her. At best maybe being questioned would loosen her lips at worst she wasn’t the culprit and this experience would sway her against causing trouble in his kingdom anyway. No loss for him.

——————————————————

Ouken took in the young woman’s appearance. Desha was correct in stating she looked unassuming. She looked stunned to see them. The young woman then regained a friendly stance toward her visitors.

“Oh my, to what do I owe this visit? Would you like to come in?” ‘Crap crap crap’ of course she knew why they were there. From what she could remember though she didn’t leave anything behind. Maybe they were just there for something else.

“Actually miss we are requesting you come with us for some questions if you don’t mind.” Nope, she was done for. Before Wynn could accept or decline Elenora, who was behind her, decided to speak up.

“Please don’t take her. It’s my fault“ Elenora trembled along with her words. “She saved me from Atticus. He went to hit her first. she defended me when no one else would. I asked for her help!”

Right, she did forget about that man. He looked like a noble which explained the crowd’s hesitance. She could be getting arrested for that too. This really wasn’t working out well for her.

“Um, would you all like some tea and we can talk about this?” She replied with a nervous chuckle.

Ouken was surprised at Elenora’s reaction. He knew her and her noble family and had never seen her even slightly raise her voice. She’d always been reserved. He regained his composure. “You know what. I’ll take you up on that tea miss uh?”

“It’s Wynn and you must be Sir Ouken.”

“It’s alright if we drop that formality. Now, what’s this about Atticus?”

—————————-

Wynn had been around the market getting food supplies for her now oversized home. While she shouldn’t complain all she could think of was the maintenance of it now. Underworld dust bunnies were really a thing. A voice echoed out and caught her attention.

“Atticus, please just let me go!”

“You belong to me now. we’ll be married soon so there’s no fighting it. Look around there’s nobody that’s gonna help you. So I need you to behave and leave all that childish drivel behind and be a devoted wife to me. That’s all you’ll ever be good for.”

The girl had tears streaming down her eyes and she looked around. Whoever her eyes made contact with they turned and looked away. Until they met Wynns. The eyes of someone asking for help. She’d seen that look before and she wasn’t going to ignore it.

As she began her walk toward them the girl’s eyes widened in surprise.

As she finally neared them. she noticed the man look at her in annoyance as if she was dirt underneath his shoe.

“If this girl wants she can come with me.”

“This isn’t your business walk away” he made a motion of shooing her away. She really wanted to kick him in the face.

“You made it everyone’s business arguing here.”

Wynn then ignored him and faced the girl.

“What’s your name, my dear?” “Elenora”

“Well, Elenora. I know you’re scared and this moose with a mouth is intimidating.” “Hey!”

“If you wish to go, you need to make the first step to me. I know you want to leave otherwise we wouldn’t be here and your eyes wouldn’t be pleading for help but I need you to confirm your decision. Would you like to come with me?”

"She wouldn't dare! She knows her place is by my side. Like it always has been since we were children." 'Ah, so this was an arranged marriage. No matter.'

This girl needed to make a choice on her own before she could truly be her own individual. This man wanted a possession, not a person.

“Remember Elenora it's your choice. Not his nor mine. Yours.”

“Y-yes, I want to go with you!” Wynn Smiling in acknowledgment to her new companion she then went to her side blocking Atticus from her and started leading her away.“Good, then we’re going!”

“No, you aren’t, wench!”

Elenora’s now ex-fiancé didn’t take the rejection well and seized Wynn by her right wrist with his right hand ready to hit her with the other. She turned and grabbed the front of his hand with her left and turns his arm so her right hand is on his forearm while her elbow pins his. She used his momentum leaning forward to fully twist his arm and pin him on the ground.

Wynn whispered in his ear her next set of words. “ if you follow her I will hurt you, if you try to speak to her I will hurt you. If you touch her again I will kill you. Understood? “ she tightened her to hold for good measure causing him pain.

“Ahhh yes yes, I understand! Mercy!”

“Well glad we came to an understanding! Elenora!” The girl flinched by habit. “we’re gonna need more food for tonight can you help me carry stuff? “

“oh y-yes” “yay let’s go” Wynn took Elenora by the hand giving her a reassuring smile. Now she had a less empty house and possibly a friend.

——————————————-

“He may have marks from the ground. He might have been pinned there. That Moose may have even also cried mercy.”

Ouken knew he needed to keep his composure but a smile broke out on his face and before he could help himself laughter rolled out of him.

Atticus and his family had been big supporters of Satun but other than politics Atticus was someone he couldn’t stand and hearing about him being put in his place by a stranger was hilarious. Wait till his brother heard about this.

Ah right his brother. He was here to question this young lady. Well, he didn’t necessarily have to take her…just get answers out of her. At least if she wasn’t involved.

He sighed and he began to take an earnest expression.

“While I don’t condone violence you did it out of necessity Miss Wynn. I do recommend holding back next time.”

‘…that was me holding back.’ Wynn thought but just nodded in agreement.

“Please excuse me one moment while I fetch some tea.” She took her chance to leave to the kitchen leaving the Ouken and his company in the living space.

She finally had breathing room. She got some black tea and some crackers. Nothing fancy but that’s what she had at the moment.

Elenora right behind her looked like she wanted to say something. She really needed to give that girl a bell with how well she sneaked up on her. So Wynn was gonna poke and prod her.

“Elenora you alright?”

“I’m sorry. I just wanted to help. But I- I” Elenora was stuck with her words of gratitude and apologies. The words couldn’t form for her. So Wynn helped her out.

“You wanted to help me so you followed what your heart said right?”

Elenora blushed and nodded. Wynn placed her hand on the girl's head patting her affectionately.

“Then I’m thankful. Good job. Okay?”

“Yes!” A smile quickly replaced her worried look.

They returned with the arrangement and offered the spread. Wynn made herself comfortable in the chair across from Ouken.

“Wynn. we’ve had cases of missing people that we haven’t been able to do on our own. The amount of evidence given to us led to multiple arrests. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”

Wynn had heard of the arrests. It did give her comfort to know that the King took his job seriously. Even the nobles involved had the book thrown at them.

“What makes you think I could be involved?”

“A few hunches really. The three bases had cleansed air in all of them and other evidence was obtained.” He was lying about more evidence but she didn’t have to know that part.

Ah. The king had perception magic. She should have been more careful. She’d been in a hurry that she forgot to take him being a magic-user into consideration. It was how he knew what she was when they first met.

“What would you do to an individual involved?”

“Truthfully that’s for my brother to decide. I assure you miss. He is a fair and a just king. That I would stake my life on it. So I will reiterate. You wouldn’t know anything about it or be involved?”

Wynn exhaled her tension. this was the questioning she’d been dreading. Should she keep playing dumb or spill out her involvement? She could omit but she never liked to fabricate lies. It was too much work.

So she chose not to hide.

Flashback

They were so close. They crossed most of the corpses of their comrades and enemies on the battlefield. They’d won so many battles in this war. Their goal was right there. To slay their father. The castle and throne room were moments away. 

It was just unfortunate that when Ouken couldn’t block an enemy because of his own injury, Desha had to make a split decision. His father or Ouken. He chose to save Ouken at the cost of his own while taking down the enemy. The enemy managed to get him in the gut. Damn.

“No no no Brother stay with me! Please! “ Desha would have loved to oblige his brother at that moment if he could take away the agony from Oukens sobbing face. The last of their healers were either dead or too far away. He couldn’t stop the bleeding. Too much of it was coming out. Coldness setting in.

“I’m sorry brother. Please tell Despa that-“

His eyes caught the color of a dark blue cloak speeding its way towards them. Fast. Whoever it was he couldn’t stop them now. 

“I’m not an enemy so don’t waste your last energy on me when you can’t even stand!”

The sound of a woman’s voice could be heard clearly under the hood. The urgency in her voice could be understood. His eyes were starting to go hazy.

“If I can save you can you promise me there won’t be a repeat of your father’s reign? “

“Yes, that goes without saying, witch.” He didn’t have the patience for this even while he was dying. 

“You better keep your word then.” She then moved towards his face and before he could stop it her mouth took his. 

He was weak from the blood loss to fight back. His body felt warm as he let himself be at her mercy. 

The few moments of what felt like an eternity for her. She could feel her body get heavier as her pact was almost complete. Her life span was shortened to one of a human. No loss to her though. 

He could finally move and the first thing he did was push her away. “You!” 

“You’re certainly spry for a man who was gutted like a fish earlier. “

He looked down. no pain. His armor would need to be replaced however his stomach was good as new along with no wounds just the blood that had been there shown. 

“Can you help him too?” pointing towards Ouken who was staring gratefully at the stranger. 

“Sorry, but I can only do that once.”She looked up at him. Green eyes stared into his onyx ones.

“I’m not a healer and that ritual can only be done once in my lifetime. So please keep your word. “ anguish and pain reflected in her gaze. Eyes glassy trying to hold back tears.

‘Don’t let her death be in vain.’

He nodded his scowl showing irritation at the mere thought of him ruling like his father. 

He turned to Ouken. “Can you stand?” " yes, brother!” Ouken turned to the girl “thank you, miss!” Before attempting to walk again. The first few steps were him limping. Desha went to Ouken’s side and aided him now marching alongside him. They started this together and they would finish it together. 

She stared at the duo as they went to finish their mission. Her part was done for now. She still had a lot to do before she could mourn. She pulled herself up and went on her way. To where? she didn’t know yet. just away from here and away from him for now.

After slaying their father Desha was now officially the successor and rightful ruler. He tried to find the girl but it was like she disappeared. All he could remember was her green eyes. 

————————————

This wasn’t her war. These weren’t her people. This place wasn’t home. She had no stake in this. She didn’t have to be here. She was only here to support her best friend who decided to come back to her homeland to fight. She failed at that.

Wynn was conflicted. she had seen what he’d done to a child of gigantes. Her first instinct was to hate him and call him a monster. However…that meant she was one too.

Yeah I’ll be honest i just made this tumblr account about maybe 2 weeks ago for Desha content. so im still learning how this site works. yes im aware it makes me an old biddy.

By the outskirts of a town a female figure could be seen running with her pursuers not too far along.

They had been annoyingly relentless in following her for 2 months and 3 kingdoms later. That damned noble couldn’t understand the word ‘no’ even when she said it not so nicely. 

A huge pit found itself in her way and she stopped for a moment to face the men trying to apprehend her. 

She could feel the emanating heat of the pits flames on her back. What they call the Gates of Hell. If this went according to plan she wouldn’t have to deal with this issue anymore. It was still a risk though…

The men halted to a stop. surrounding her in the process. seeing their target cornered. In their eyes they had her pinned she couldn’t get past them. She was trapped and their Noble lord would have his prize. 

“Come on girlie. Make this easy on yourself and submit. Our master wouldn’t want his prize all bruised. Be nice and we’ll also be gentle with ya.” He winked while saying this. 

The thought made her ill. She wasn’t a toy and she sure wasn’t going to submit to a life of being one. She wasn’t going to break her promise for such a thing. 

“Tell your galoot of a lord, I’d rather die.” She took a few steps back. One more step and she would descend. 

“Don’t do anything drastic!” She saw the panic in their eyes. Not for her safety but the chance of their merchandise being lost in the flames. 

“Too late!” she took her last bit of nerves as she fell screaming.   

Midway in her fall she redirected the wind currents with magic to direct her landing.

‘I hope that was a convincing performance. If they think I’m dead then they have nothing to chase.’ She thought. 

She HAD been planning on coming to the underworld for quite sometime but this was sooner than what she had in mind.

Wynn swept her white hair out of her eyes. Well she was alive and in one piece. Was she mentally prepared for this…yeah, still no. She was here anyway so she might as well. 

She made her way down the stair case. If she remembered there was poison gas she had to watch out for. 

Ah there it was. She focused on the area around her. The air within her space stayed purified from the toxic mist. Another thing out of the way. 

She kept walking on and faltered when she spotted what seemed to be armored men on steeds. Friend or foe she didn’t know yet.

————————————————

The Guards brought in a woman wearing a teal and blue spaghetti strap dress with a layered skirt and sash on her waste. Her hair a silvery white and eyes green. She had a small nervous smile while she was conversing with the guards as they chaperoned her to the kings chambers. 

“My king we found this young lady in by the pit. she wasn’t harmed by the poison cursed gas” 

The topic of their conversation turned to look at the king. It seemed like his majesty hadn’t really changed all that much the last time she saw him except for the mustache. It had been roughly a half a year since she saw him.  Instead of armor he donned attire more suited for his status. How times changed. 

The king with his usual frown cast a bored look while addressing her. 

“What is a sylph doing here? Hm...Did you get lost? Are you possibly the literal definition of an airhead? Hehehe.”

He was trying to get under her skin. She threw him a obviously fake smile and joked back “ ha, like I have never heard that one before. Unfortunately just bored. Not all who wander are lost. A map would be nice though. “

He sighed in disappointment, how boring. she wasn’t irritated or atleast she didn’t show it. “ then what pray tell are you doing here?”

“Yeah… about that. I’d like to apologize, coming here was more a of a means to an end.“

He raised an eye brow. She had his attention “Go on”

“I’ve been chased by an annoying noble who just couldn’t take no for an answer and kept sending men to take me back to be his mistress. I’ve dodged them countless times but they had persistence. So 3 kingdoms later I’m here. Hopefully they think I passed on from the fire. “

“You are Sylph. you can’t disappear into the air?”

“Unfortunately my lord while you’re right. I am a sylph, but only half. While my skills are still suited for running away however I’m limited in what I can do.”

She wasn’t exactly lying she was limited in a sense but best to play the weak little lady card. 

He ended up sending her on her way to town escorted by a guard. Before telling her ‘good luck’ in a condescending way. All part of his charm apparently. She didn’t remember him being so audacious.

To be fair the last time she saw him he always had a serious demeanor accompanied by an angry scowl. Not something really anyone could help with the war that had been going on. 

———————————————————-

His gaze took in her form. She was shorter than Despa by an inch or so. She by normal human standards had an exotic look to her. Green eyes and white hair with a lithe form. In a sort of tribal looking ensemble. 

Her story wasn’t a stretch in that regard. From what he heard of sylphs none of them ever really entered this region. She was a long distance foreigner. The noble probably wanted her for her looks alone. 

Desha really had no worry about her fitting in. Between the monsters ,demons, and humans she would be fine. 

She also looked weak. He wasn’t going to bother with her much and sent a guard with her as a courtesy. 

Something about her though rang familiar and he couldn’t pinpoint it. This was his first time seeing a sylph. He squashed that feeling without much thought and went back to work. 

—————————————————-

As much as he was a jerk he atleast did her a favor by giving her an escort. With that came some more information gathering. 

Wynn started with some small conversation and learned this guard’s name was Dagna. She served after Ouken formed the underworld force. Dagna and the other knights looked upto Ouken and respected their newly crowned king. 

They talked about the city and streets. Where the different markets, taverns, and other services were located. 

“Do you happen to know Livia?”

The guard stopped and gave her a grim look.  “I knew of her. she passed away around 6 months ago in the civil war. What business do you have with her name?”

“I had hoped her family would have liked a keepsake of hers”

“Unfortunately Miss Livia didn’t have family left but you can see with the archives if they have distant relatives. “

“Thank you I appreciate that. Hey Dagna hold out your hand.” 

A bit confused the guard obliged her. Wynn put something round in her hand. “It’s a candy. Not much, but I wanted to thank you.” Dagna accepted with an appreciative nod and went off to her duties. 

Wynn looked on to the city. It was quite big and getting built bigger. Being here brought an ache to her chest as she felt closer to her friend and more lonely in this moment. 

It was bittersweet. Her best friend whom she loved the most couldn’t be here to show her the home she cherished so much. The home Livia died for.