“Karla! Stand up!”Red commanded with sword in hand,

Karla struggled to get up. She had bruises and cuts all over her body, like a feral beast had his way with her body. They were both alone in an open field. The brass below their feet moved with the breeze that blew through the sunny day. In the background you could see Kings Rose, shining like the kingdom that it was. As Karla stood up, groaning in pain, Red approached her slowly,

“Would you like to stop?” He asked with  are,

“No, let’s keep going!” she replied determined,

Red gave a small smile before raising his sword. He aimed the tip of the blade at her and thrusted the sword, aiming for her chest. Suddenly with lightning speed, Karla clashed her blade with his, changing the blade’s direction to her left side missing her. With na opening she then aimed her blade at his neck and went for the swift strike. As her sword was about to pierce his skin, Red dropped his sword and using both his hands, he grabbed the blade from her sword, stopping it in it’s tracks. Surprised, Karla backed up a little. Red eased the grip he had on the blade and the sword went backed up with Karla,

“Very good. You saw the opening and you went for it. In fact, this is the first time you’ve made me bleed" Red said proud of her work, showing his bloody hands to her,

“Thank you” she panted with exhaustion,

“Well I think that is good enough for today” he told her, raining his right hand with an open palm “Sunless Light!”,

Suddenly a magic crest appeared in his hand. Red’s and Karla’s wounds healed instantly. The spell apart from healing the wounds, also gave them vigour and stamina, stopping Karla’s panting as she felt rested. As she checked herself, looking at the wounds she no longer had, Red withdrew his sword and walked towards her, placing his left hand on here hair and petting her slightly,

“You’re getting much better" he told her with a genuine smile,

Karla wanted to respond but before she could, Red informed,

“Well we better head back, Gália won’t be happy if we don’t get back before lunch",

“Okay”,

Red started walking towards the kingdom and Karla joined him. She looked at his left hand while they walked and without a moments notice, she grabbed his hand with her own. While internally this alarmed Red, he didn’t show it. Instead he placed a smile on his face and kept walking, holding Karla’s hand. From afar it looked like a perfect picture moment, the beautiful grasslands, the sea to their left while the kingdom filled the horizon in front of them, the sun just about to hit midday and the perfect father and daughter imagery,

Red awoke in a small room of the inn. It was simple, the wall made and flooring made from wood. The bed was large and low in height but covered in simple sheets. Beside him was a table stand with a candle burnt out. Looking around he was alone in the room. A small window was to his right while the door was to his left. By the door, a small rocking chair was placed, holding his clothes and sword. He slowly got up, planting his feet on the ground. Red then stretched out his arms with force, clicking every single bone in his upper body. He scratched his head slightly before looking towards the chair. A couple of minutes passed as he got dressed and ready to leave. As he was about to open the door by twisting the knob, loud banging and shouting came from the other side,

“Red wake up! It’s nearly lunch time!”,

Red smiled and opened the door slowly. Karla stood in front of him, but her clothes were very much different from the last time this situation happened. Instead of the maid like clothes, she was wearing adventuring gear. She wore a a dark blue shirt and some grey shorts under the small amounts of armour plating she had placed over her left side shoulder, arm and ribs. She also had armour on her left thigh and calf. On her feet, there were some dark brown boots. He right side however was covered in a bandage like material for minimal protection. On her hip was a sword being held by a belt and buckle. But the biggest surprise was her hair, she had it tied with a beautiful crimson bow. While red was surprised by all the gear, he only cared about the hair,

“You tied your hair?” He asked in surprise,

“Really? Out of everything I have right now, the hair is what surprises you?”,

“Well you never tied it before” he explained himself,

“Well I thought I’d try something new" she replied crossing her arms and looking the other way,

Red gave a small smile before telling her “Looks good on you",

Karla blushed a bit while trying to hide her emotions. Red gave her a small chuckle before leaving the room and closing the door behind him. They both walked down the small hallway of rooms to their right and left, not a single word was exchanged. As they got near the large stairway down to the bar and reception, Red looked down to see Amelia and Maria conversing with Gália. Amelia glanced up to see Red standing there at the top, but ignored his presence,

“Still mad at me, huh?” He quietly said to Karla,

“Yeah… and after the fight yesterday I don’t think she’ll let up soon”,

“Has she said anything to you?”,

“Nothing of concern, but she was heavily interested with why I wanted to be trained by you" Karla told him,

“As she said anything as to what she’ll do now?”,

“Well, she wants to keep travelling to Savanna that’s for sure, but personally, I think that’s a bad idea",

“Yeah, you and me both kiddo…" Red muttered with a sad look,

Maria looked up to see Red and Karla standing at the top of the stairway and gave a small wave with a smile. Karla put on a smile of her own and waved back,

“…But you know what? If she wants to keep going, then I’ll take her there. And besides, I’m s’re if you and Gália come along, it’ll be na easier trip for Maria",

Karla just looked at Red without responding. They both slowly took the stairs down to the bar where Amelia and the others were standing. Red and Karla approached them greeting everyone as they saw each other. Red shook hands with Gália and gave a small smile towards Maria, but Amelia, she looked uncomfortable to be there with him,

“Amelia look-" Red tried to speak,

“Red, I’m sorry" Amelia said while bowing to him “My actions yesterday were wrong and I apologise for what I’ve said or done",

“No, there’s no need for apologies. You merely acted as any mother like figure would protecting their child. I understand what I did may have been overkill, for Maria especially, in fact it was the first time I’ve used magic in a fight before, and for that, I am truly sorry" Red explains while giving a bow of his own “Maria, if I harmed you or scared you in any way, I’m humbly sorry. It was not my intention, I simply lost grasp of my emotions”,

“It’s fine! In fact it was an amazing experience!” Maria said aloud, surprising Red and everyone else around her “The feel of battle, the pain, the terror. I understand where Amelia is coming from, but, isn’t ths the reason were going to Savanna? So we can both grow stronger?”,

“Speaking of which…” Gália cut in, changing the subject “…we'll need to get some gear. While you two may be magic casters so I understand the simple clothes, you’ll need magic items and armour if were to make it to Savanna. As well as that, Red? You left Ighvelia in Kings Rose correct?”,

“Yeah",

“Well, you need to get some armour of your own as well. Karla already has the one I’ve made but she’ll need a bigger sword, don’t you agree Karla?”,

“Yes, this one is quite small compared to the ones I’m used to training with” Karla responded while looking at the blade,

“Gália, I haven’t got any gold on me” Red tells him, stuttering a bit in shame,

“It’s fine, I’ll cover the costs. Take it as the favour I owe you”,

“Favour? Oh you mean… alright, thank you",

The five of them had a drink before leaving the inn and heading towards the market. The mood was completely different but the same in a way. While instead of everyone being gathered, drinking and partying, everyone was working. Stalls and stands were erected all around the town square, Adventurers entering and leaving the town for quests, smoke from forges being worked by blacksmiths, the smell of freshly picked food covered the air from the farmers. The town was back to the normal everyday routine. Red, Amelia and Maria followed Gália and Karla around to different stalls, buying rations, potions, ingredients and many more. About an hour passed before they came to a stop in front of a blacksmith. The building was old, very old in fact. The walls were made of dark brick being supported by wooden beams. The sign outside of a hammer and anvil was aged and tattered. The small steps to the front door looked like they’ve been used immensely. The smoke of a forge came from around the house but peering inside the open front door, the indoors looked clean and maintained. The sound of a hammer striking and metal cooling rapidly can be heard coming from inside along with a very contradicting sweet aroma,

“We'll take care of armour and weapons first" Gália told the others,