Seperated

Stella was moving the carriage back to the front of the gate, Charlotte sitting right beside her as Zac opened the gate for them. As they began riding out, Zac called out to the pair.

"Mr.Charlotte, if you would. Could you please come back in a few days? I'm sure the master would like to speak more to you. He took the news badly, but I am sure he would still love to speak with you." 

Charlotte didn't give an answer, but he gave a nod, and like that, the carriage got further away from the home. Stella looked at Charlotte and sighed.

"You aren't going to visit again, are you? Well, it's more like you can't since you have to attend that school." 

Charlotte nodded, and he turned to look back as they got further from the mansion until it was out of sight.

"I think this is where we split ways as well; I did enjoy the little time we spent together and the comfort you gave me."

He smiled as he got ready to jump out of the carriage; Stella slowly stopped as she grabbed his hand.

"Before you go, I just want to ask you a question. Is whatever you are trying to achieve worth it?"

He chuckled a bit and smiled.

"Of course, although the killing people part was something I didn't wish for."

She shook her head and let him go as he jumped down from the carriage and waved her goodbye.

"Take care of yourself, and I hope you make it. I'm rooting for you!" 

She smiled and took off, the carriage heading down the streets towards the gate. He took a deep breath, and as he looked around, the gazes of people looking at him made him scurry away into an alley.

He had gotten caught up in his moment; now that he was alone, he realized the severity of the situation. He should have asked her for some coin; he didn't think what he had was enough for fo-

he had forgotten to take the food from her carriage; was he stupid?! He shot out from the alley and spread Chi through his body, taking off for the gate to hopefully catch up and get his food back.

He surprised anyone who saw him as he ran faster than a wolf or horse they had seen. He didn't have the time to keep up appearances, especially if he had lost all that sound bear meat.

Luckily, the guards had stopped Stella at the gate for another investigation as he ran up to the front of the carriage. 

"Hey Stella, sorry I might have forgotten my food here." 

He wasn't breathing heavily, which was a surprise, but he was at least sweating.

She looked at him and laughed as she reached into the carriage, pulled out an almost empty sack of meat, and tossed it to him as he caught it.

"Hey, if your goal for the school doesn't work out, come back to Heartwood. I wouldn't mind having a partner help me with my deliveries."

"Thanks, I'll keep it in mind. I might also visit at some point; if I do, I'll see how you are doing." 

The guards move away and let Stella pass. She waves goodbye and leaves him with the guards as they look at Charlotte with envy.

"Lucky bastard, wish I got attention from a beauty like her."

He coughs and blushes a bit before getting angry.

"I'm not a damn kid; the hell is up with people and that comment."

The two guards look at each other, and one laughs.

"You are too short to be an adult, and that hair isn't doing you favors. It hides most of your face. How do you even see with it covering your eyes?"

He had forgotten to bring something to tie his hair, so that was a fair point. But was his face not being visible, making him look so young?

He tried lifting his hair and pulling it back and looked up at the guards.

"Alright, how about now? Is this better?"

One of the guards squinted his eyes and looked at him, while the other tilted his head and looked at his chest.

"What?"

He asked with confusion, as a feeling of wariness slowly grew.

"Definitely not, but close, right?"

"Yeah, weird." 

Charlotte tilted their head and looked at the two; it felt like they were speaking their own language. It also felt like it was at his expense.

"What is it? Stop talking to yourselves?"

The two looked at each other and spoke simultaneously.

"your face makes you look like a girl."

Charlotte visibly recoiled and looked around for something to look at their face with, eventually just deciding to take off the chest plate they wore and use it like a mirror.

He looked the same; nothing was different. He looked deeper and squinted but couldn't see anything different about him.

"Are you guys messing with me, 'cause if you are... I would take it back before I get mad."

He expressed his point by spreading Chi into his fist and punching the chest plate, quickly caving it in with a single blow. They both flinched and stepped back a bit; they didn't notice the chest plate almost subtly moving as it began to fix itself. Their gaze was locked onto Charlotte.

"C-calm down; we aren't trying to mess with you. You look like a girl; the only thing saying otherwise is your body and voice."

The other guards nod, and Charlotte sighs. He looked at the two guards and walked out of the gate. They looked at each other and relaxed the further he got away.

"Scary kid..."

Charlotte heard him and was tempted to run back and scare him again but decided against it. There were a few tears a distance away from the castle; the color of the trees, though, differed from his hometown. But he didn't care; he just needed to find a river to wash himself and live in for the next few days.

He spread Chi through his body and took off; more than half of his Chi remained. His control had grown exponentially, and although he still lost a bit every time he used it, at this point, he could probably have his entire body covered in Chi for minutes.

His only focus now was to increase the storage size as much as possible and try to relax and be well-rested; he had to look his best and feel his best for the coming trial.