28 Travelers

"How does it look?" asked the girl twirling on the spot. Helm smiled and nodded, showering her in praises to which the girl blushed. The blonde boy, who by now introduced himself as Asaf, sat next to Anna on the table eating the cold food they stole from the kitchen.

She was fidgeting with the piece of bread on which butter had been spread amateurishly. The lumps of butter made Anna want to drop the food on the floor, but she knew that the kids around her would scold her for that. After all, they were poor children or as Helm had been – a slave.

Anna watched Helm figure approaching the water supply and drinking some water out of it, his dark red hair and fiery eyes added sharpness to the otherwise soft boy. He had been sold by his grandmother to a merchant when he was very young and had since been working as a slave to an inn master.

He was used to starving, used to being abused and yet still managed to smile and warm the people around him with his presence. It would be a waste to let him go, return to his master, and forget about his existence.

"Where are you planning on going from now on, Princess?" asked Asaf. He noticed the quiet stare she had on Helm, but he did not know what to make of it.

"I have to visit someone before returning to the palace. You?"

"I don't know. I was a homeless kid before the church took me in. I have nowhere to go." He replied. He smiled bitterly while eyeing Anna.

'Oh…so that's how it is.' Anna stared at the boy from head to toe and the boy shifted uncomfortably. He realised he had pushed his luck a bit too much, but Anna proved him otherwise.

"Do you want to come with me?" asked Anna knowing what the answer will be.

"Do you really mean that?" inquired the boy. His hopeful gaze, almost blinded Anna, so she turned her head around.

"Of course. Are you questioning the trust of a princess?"

"No-no…I didn't mean that." The boy panicked and grabbed Anna's hand trying to express his desperation. Anna smiled and nodded her head, easing off the atmosphere between them. The boy took her hand and shook it enthusiastically muttering thank you repeatedly.

"What made you so happy?" asked Helm walking towards them with the usual smile on. Anna felt too tired to explain so she let Asaf do all the talking. He talked praises about Anna, of how benevolent she was for taking him under his wing and allowing him to get a roof over his head. She felt like fainting when she heard such preposterous words, but she kept it in, hiding her mood under her poker face.

All along, Helm smiled happily while the girl behind him stared at Anna.

"I want to come with you too!" said the girl in a high voice. She furrowed her brows, jealous that Asaf got a house now, even though they were both homeless. He was no better than her, so if he managed to persuade the Princess to take care of him, she should too.

"What is your name." ignoring her poorly hidden intentions and asked the girl, testing her out.

"Claudia." She said proudly.

"Princess." Said Anna.

"W-what?"

"Am I not a princess? You should address me as such."

"Princess…my name is Claudia, Princess." she gritted her teeth knowing why the princess is doing this. But she had to bear with it to get what she needs; after all, she is the rumoured useless princess, she would be easy to fool if you boosted her ego once.

Even if she is not loved by her family, she is a Princess at the end of the day. If she could stay near her, follow her from behind it did not matter what she did. She could continue being a useless brat, that yelled at the servants for the most minor inconvenience. Anna could continue being insolent and naughty…it did not matter.

If she were to stay behind her, she could reap lots of gifts, from the unwanted dressed and accessories the Princess is rumoured to buy every week to the gifts received from guests and even a good marriage.

Selda was a princess and everyone forgot her uselessness when considering the benefit of marrying a royal or into the Imperial family. There is bound to be immense greed between the nobles since it was very hard to advance in rank. Most chose the easiest way to increase their power by marrying their children to the most suitable candidates.

The princess being on top of the power pyramid would be hunted for by numerous men, especially when she is such a beauty.

Claudia raised her head and glanced at the princess. She was indeed very beautiful, she had to admit she failed in lots of categories compared to her. That is what made her extremely insecure when counting her chances with Helm, but she pretended not to be affected.

Helm smiled at the pair; his eyes glistened with a silently appreciative light. He did not intrude in the conversation and ignored Anna's intense gaze on him. On the side, Asaf stood in silence, no one knew what he was thinking.

"Would you like to come too?" Anna asked Helm. Ignored, the girl smile froze unable to hide her amazement that Anna dared to ignore her.

"I wouldn't dare…" replied Helm.

"No! You must come. He's really smart, he knows how to write and count." Claudia seemed extremely eager about Helm joining Anna, but Anna ignored her pleas and focused on Helm.

"I only know a little I-"

"Where did you learn?" asked Anna, suspiciously. If he knows how to read that must mean he is a noble, or from a rich merchant family, possibly a bastard as he has no magical powers. Then his story was made up, and yet he seemed so sincere when he said it, it can't be right.

"I learned it at the inn, my master, um…the innkeeper taught me." He said.

"We can be of use. I can learn a thing or two, my mom says I'm quick-witted." Claudia was trying hard to convince Anna to take them both, she put aside her pride and begged Anna once again. This time Anna gave in and with a sigh, she nodded. The girl cheered happily while Helm was more contempt and kept his usual expression and thanked Anna for her kindness.

Anna brushed the thanks to the side, while she observed him further. He always had this cheery side to him, even if he was always calm and collected. She understood perfectly well why Claudia likes him, his atmosphere attracts people around him and his voice puts you at rest. His oval face was always accompanied by that smile of his, not too soft but not too lewd, just perfect…almost too perfect.

'What an interesting thing…' thought Anna smiling wickedly. No one seemed to notice her, they were happy to have a house and chatted animatedly to each other.

~

It was a windy morning of winter, the snow that silently fell on the lands last night, froze overnight turning it solid and slippery. The harsh wind picked some snowflakes that did not settle well and flew them to the north. The lands were bare, a white desert wherever you look.

Amidst this storm, four figures walked slowly through the snow, their feet heavy. In front of the group a girl, wearing a fur black coat, lead the others and seemed to be the least affected by the blizzard. The others were suffering but refused to complain as they knew they did not have another chance at surviving besides sticking to the group.

A boy whose crystal blue eyes stared at Anna continuously, afraid that he might lose her trail, warmed his hands under his breath. They took a pinkish-red colour and began to numb, so he moved them continuously.

They had been walking for more than three days, as there were no carriages or towns around them. They had to take shelter in a forest or near the river they had been following since they left the church. It was tiring to walk for days on end only to take shelter when the sun settles, but they were thankful for their chances at surviving.

Following the course of a river was easy and it supplied them with the food they needed to keep themselves alive until now. Anna, their leader, used her magic - her shadows to hunt for fish and gather wood for a fire.

At the start, the group was terrified by Anna's unusual magic, where she could create multiple warrior-like figures. They were a formless black mist, and yet they exist to only listen to Anna's command. The most surprised was Claudia, who upon seeing the figures cried in terror and attracted a group of hunting wolves.

They were so fast no one had time to react and they jumped on Helm. One of them bit the boy, before being slain by the warriors. They died, one after another, their breath was taken ever so easily, both he and Claudia remained petrified.

Helm who had been injured, suffered a deep wound on his right leg and even though he did not lose a lot of blood, it slowed down his pace. Eventually they all had to walk slower to march his pace, but it meant they would take longer to get to their destination. It has been two days since that incident, and they did not know how much more they could keep this up.

Asaf looked behind him, at the boy with auburn hair worriedly. His face was paler than the white snow around him, his veins seemed blue under his skin and his eyes were puffy from the lack of sleep. He looked sickly, almost inhumane like a corpse dug up from the ground but when he met Asaf's eyes he smiled reassuringly.

Asaf turned around and closed his eyes exhausted. He gathered his courage and asked Anna to stop here at least for today.

"Princess…" he whispered through the storm, but he could not be heard. He raised his voice once more, his tone pleading.

"We need to stop." The princess stopped and turned around evading Asaf and looking straight at Helm. She pursed her lips and nodded slowly waving her hand towards the river. They settled near the rushing waters of the river and waited for their fire to be made.

Anna took a piece of cloth from her dress pocket and approached the river. She touched the freezing water and quickly withdrew her hand.

'It there no way of helping him?' Anna asked.

'I told you before. I am a God of darkness and death, not life. We are not made to help people but pass judgement upon them.' Angus said after a brief pause. He knew more than anyone how much Anna wanted to save Helm.

They still had a lot of time until they reached the small town of Gridell, where they could take shelter. Initially, Anna did not plan on stopping until she reached Kertin, but now her plans had to change, and she had to ask Grace to return her favour.

'I did not plan on using the favour like this.' Anna said begrudgingly. She planed on using Grace as she had information she would benefit greatly from. She wanted to make Grace feel in debt and build a friendship from there. More like a partnership, but they would both benefit from the transaction.

Anna planned on offering her protection in exchange for information. No one would suspect a timid girl such as Grace, who owned a mere bookshop. This way she could gather information, make lots of money without anyone assuring her path. She would be settled for life and would not have to worry about money. She will always be a step ahead of everyone and would live in seclusion, away from her father eyes.

'I wonder how she is now that I got rid of that scum.' Anna smiled and decided to stop her babbling. Maybe it was for the best that Helm got hurt and she could win his trust by saving him. Something about him made Anna extremely curious about him, she could not point it out what it was about him yet, but he was more than his outer surface.

Unlike the rest of the group, who were children and could not hide their emotions, Helm was more quiet, thoughtful and his eyes gazed deeper than the rest of them. He paid attention to details and watched his mouth more than Claudia or Asaf.

"Ahh!" a scream woke Anna from her tans. She turned around only to find the worst of her nightmares. Helm, who until now had been quietly recuperating on the side lost consciousness and fell on the snow. Asaf was holding him up, while Claudia was agitatedly fussing around them, crying loudly, and shaking Helm.

Anna ran towards the group and touched Helm's forehead.

'It's burning worse than this morning.' She gently placed the cold cloth on his forehead, tapping it around the face.

"What do we do? Is he going to die?" Claudia panicked and cried louder.

"If it wasn't for you yelling, we would not be in this situation." Snapped Asaf groaning when shifting his body to help Helm in a more comfortable position. Claudia glared indignantly at Asaf but continued crying.

"It is not my fault…not mine. Her shadows…"

"They did nothing but help us. What did you do?" he asked angrily.

"No…Not my fault." She cried louder than before and Asaf yelled at her to stop but she did nothing.

"Stop all of you." Anna's patience reached the bottom and she glared at the pair. They stopped bickering and looked at Anna looking for justice, but she did not have time for this now. She instructed Claudia to wet some clots and with Asaf's help, she lifted Helm, grabbing each on his hands.

'Can I use the shadows to carry him?' Anna asked.

'No…you don't have enough control over them. If I do it would consume too much of your energy. We can't…it's not possible.' Angus refused vehemently.

'Let's do it then.' She said ignoring Anguses excuses.

'No. You will die.'

'We'll make it in time.'