A Foreigner Flame

During the entire day, the group traveled silently. Somehow, the silence was more intense than the last day, being interrupted only by the sounds of the nature.

Around eight o'clock of the night, the group set another camp away from the main road and had dinner. Then, everyone prepared to sleep, but someone was missing.

"Where is that assassin?" Raymond asked.

"She walked away some time ago and went to that direction." Sariel pointed towards the vegetation, with nothing but trees to be seen.

"I wonder if she's ok… Isn't the forest dangerous?" Luna asked.

"Yes, I'm fine." Shiina appeared from the direction Sariel pointed out.

"What did you do in the forest?" Raymond asked.

"I was just going for a walk when I found a small pool. Since we're traveling for some days already, I've decided to take a bath."

"Can you tell me exactly where it is? I also would like to bathe before continuing." Luna said.

"You just need to go straight into that direction. There is a lot of vegetation, but you'll find a trail leading to it. Just be careful, the little princess might get hurt." Shiina couldn't resist to provoke Luna.

"Alright, thank you." However, the princess misunderstood it with genuine worry.

"Your High- Luna, I don't think it's a good idea. You might be attacked by wild animals."

"She's an Angel, no animal is her enemy." Sariel said.

"But it's still dangerous, what if there's a criminal hidden in the forest?"

"That's not going to happen, we're close to the Scorched Mountain's capital, and the forest is very dense. Also, few people are allowed to enter the capital, so barely any people come here, and the guards of this kingdom are very competent, different from Fordurn." Shiina said.

"But what if-"

"Let me solve this problem." Sariel interrupted, approached the princess, and offered a stone of five centimeters that was shining in a golden light. "This stone is made of pure Protection Magic. If you are attacked, press the stone and a magical shield will appear around you. This barrier is strong, so ordinary people won't be able to destroy it."

"Thank you, but I cannot accept this. It must be valuable."

"Don't worry, they're more common than you think."

"In that case, I will accept it, thank you." Luna grabbed the Protection Magic with insecurity, almost scared to hold it too hard.

"If you activate the shield, I will notice it, so I will come to help you as fast as possible." Sariel kindly smiled.

"Ok."

The princess began walking to the path that Shiina pointed. When she couldn't be seen anymore, the traveler turned and started walking to the opposite direction she went.

"Where are you going?" Raymond asked.

"I have to investigate something." The traveler didn't elaborate further, and then also disappeared in the forest.

After this, Aegreon discreetly looked at Shiina, who respond with a head shake.

*****

Luna took off her clothes and was inside the pool. She submerged for some seconds to wet her head, and when she emerged again, her image could only be described as divine.

Her beautiful and long white hair covered her back like the veil of a marriage dress and floated on the water, spreading like a silver fan. Her skin slightly reflected the moonlight, making her shine like a fairy.

The place was also beautiful, although it couldn't be comparable to the princess.

The vegetation around was dense, and advanced towards the water. The top of the trees blocked the view to the starry sky, except for the pool, where the trees didn't grow, and the water beautifully reflected the vastness of the cosmos, which made Luna look like she was bathing among the stars.

"A Goddess", that's what anyone would think after seeing her. Her beauty would bring any men to his knees, and the women would mortally envy her.

Luna dived once again and, when she emerged, heard sounds from bushes. When she looked behind, noticed a quadruped creature like a wolf, but it was even bigger than her, and his body was made of a black stone and lava.

Its claws were dark, long and serrated. Its mouth was immense, weird, and vertical, its lips opened to the sides, contrary to almost every animal. The grass where the creature touched burned, and a hot liquid leaked from the mouth.

Luna, although she has never traveled and seen a lot of animals, was surprised and in shock with the appearance of that 'animal', and instinctively knew something was wrong.

"What... What are you? I've never seen anything like you before, do you have a name?" she asked with curiosity and some fear, but the creature kept walking while its head was facing her, which made everything more terrifying by its lack of eyes.

Then, the creature opened its big mouth, revealing terrifyingly long teeth made of lava. The liquid that leaked from the mouth was now clear to be saliva, but, although it looked like lava, it had a slimy and gross aspect, and it dripped from the fangs.

To make everything worse, its throat had several rows of teeth that would, certainly, bring a terrible and painful death.

Luna was paralyzed after seeing such sinister image. Despite the obvious danger she was in, she couldn't look away. It was almost like she was hypnotized by that ridiculous number of teeth.

The mysterious animal flexed its hind legs and prepared to jump at the princess.

"Wait! Yo-You don't need to fear me! I'm not-"

However, before she could finish her sentence, the animal jumped at her direction with surprising speed considering its size. The attack was so sudden, that Luna didn't have time to activate the Protection Stone, leaving her totally vulnerable.

The princess looked scared at the creature, whose fangs approached seemly in slow motion. Then, her survival instincts kicked in and she turned, closed her eyes, and flinched, expecting to feel the pain of her flesh being pierced and burned.

However, she didn't feel pain.

When she opened her eyes and turned back, saw Sariel facing her, stepping on the water, and holding the creature from behind by the neck. He was calm, as if the creature's skin wasn't dangerous to touch, despite the intense heat it was emitting.

"You won't be able to speak with this monster, it's not from this world. Are you alright? Did you get hurt?"

Luna noticed that the traveler was keeping his eyes shut while holding the creature.

"I-I'm fine."

Sariel froze the creature in an instant and, with his grip strength, crushed and exploded it in the air. It was reduced to small ice particles, like it was snowing gently, and no drop of blood or lava touched the water of the pool. Its heat also disappeared, leaving only a subtle cold.

"Are you scared?"

"A little bit, but I'm fine now." The princess' voice was shaking a bit.

"Perfect."

Sariel turned and walked back to the land. While he walked, the water froze bellow his feet, right before it touched the surface of the pool.

"You stopped that... thing with your eyes shut?"

"Vision is only one of five senses."

The traveler returned to land, sat down with his legs crossed, facing away from Luna, and kept his eyes closed.

"I will stay here while you finish bathing, you don't have to worry now."

"Ok, but what did you mean about that thing not being from this world?"

"There are other worlds with different lifeforms from what we are used to. That thing is from one of these worlds."

"How did it end up here?"

"Probably it was conjured with Conjuration Magic and escaped from the control of the summoner."

"Are all creatures aggressive like that one?"

"Yes, most are more aggressive than that."

"Isn't our world in danger then?"

"There are few people who do this, nothing the Vigil can't deal with."

"And how did you know I wouldn't be able to speak with it?"

"Own experience."

"I see."

Luna remained silent for some time and didn't notice what the traveler's response implied.

She was still surprised by what happened, not to mention that she just learned about the existence of other worlds.

"Wait, what? You also can speak with the animals?" She finally noticed what Sariel had just said.

"Yes, why are you surprised?"

"I thought only Angels could do this."

"We, humans, also can, despite it being rare."

"And why some people can, and others don't?"

"It's one of the questions that the researchers try to answer but seems like a mystery so far."

"I see." Luna started to think a lot after learning so much. She wanted to know more about the mysteries of the world, and thought the traveler would teach her about then, however things aren't so simple.

'He probably doesn't know the meaning behind my dreams…'

The princess continued to bath in silence when some animals appeared from the forest and approached the pool and Sariel. An owl landed on the traveler's should and rubbed his head against him, asking for cuddles, and he petted its head.

Luna watched both while enjoying the bird's happy face, who kept its eyes shut while it was being petted. A fox appeared, approached, and asked for cuddles, and the traveler used his other hand to pet it.

The fox made a noise that that Luna didn't expect to hear from an animal, it was like a laugh. The princess wondered if it was normal, but she assumed it was common since Sariel didn't react to it.

She continued to look at the fox when she remembered something.

"Did something happen with you and Shiina?"

"Just a small discussion."

"Didn't look like it by judging the way she stared at you during the travel."

"You are pretty keen."

"Anyone would notice."

"She is an assassin trained to be sneaky, I'm sure Raymond didn't notice."

"Anyway, what happened between the two of you?"

"She tried to kill me because I know that Ardos hired her to kill you." Sariel answered in a relaxed way, like it was nothing big.

Luna was silent because of what she just heard, asking herself if she hadn't misheard it.

"What?!" she exclaimed after noticing he was not joking. "But Ardos said he would send the Vigil, why would he hire an assassin? That's not how the Counsil deal with problems."

"We were in a war against a race that almost annihilated us a while ago, it's obvious that Ardos want to avoid another conflict, but you're right, this is not something he, or Clementius would do."

"But I'm just a normal person! I can't even fight, I would be dead if you hadn't saved me. Also, Aegreon himself said the Counsil has eyes all around the world, so they know I'm weak."

"It's not that easy to predict the actions of the Council. I only know one of them, except for Aegreon, and both are very different, imagine then the other eight members."

"You're right... I'm almost finishing here, I just need to dry myself." Luna prepared to exit the pool when she noticed the situation that she was in. "Don't look, ok?"

"Ouch! Why did you feel the need to tell me this?"

"I'm sorry! I shouldn't suspect you. But-"

"But?"

"Nothing!"

The princess exited the pool and started to dry her body using a towel she brought. She didn't try to be fast, in fact, she wasn't embarrassed like most women would be, since she's an Angel, and lived secluded, so her perception over this matter wasn't the same of a human.

The only reason she was slightly embarrassed, was because her father told her once how a woman shouldn't be undressed near a man, but she didn't quite understand the reason.

After some time, she managed to dry most of her body, but her hair was still a little wet. Then she wore her clothes again and, in the exact moment she finished dressing, the traveler turned at her with the eyes open.

"How did you know?"

"I told you, 'Vision is only one of five senses'. Did you suspect me again?"

"No! I just-"

"Haha! Relax, I'm just joking. But won't you dry off your hair?"

"It can dry itself naturally."

"You might catch a cold."

"Cold doesn't affect me, I would be able to walk around with summer clothes even in a day of intense blizzard."

"Oh, but it's still annoying, right? Let me deal with this."

Sariel approached Luna, and the owl on the traveler's shoulder flew and landed on the princess shoulder.

"Oh, did you get tired of me already?" the traveler complained.

Luna cuddled the bird with a smile, forgetting the recent attack completely.

Sariel approached the princess and looked her playing with the owl. It was impossible to not pet it, since it was acting so needy and lovely.

"They are perfect, don't you think?" Sariel asked.

"They are..." Luna answered while keeping her eyes on the bird.

"Well, let me try something." The traveler stood behind Luna.

"What are you going to do?"

"I will dry it quickly. May I touch it?"

"Sure."

Sariel grabbed gently all the strand of Luna's beautiful white hair. Then, suddenly, all her hair froze, and the ice broke in small particles, leaving the hair dry and untouched.

"Done. Did you feel cold?"

"No, thank you." Luna smiled at Sariel.

"Interesting..."

"What?"

"Nothing. It's just that… If this failed, you would've ended up bald, haha!"

"What?!" Luna almost couldn't believe what she just heard.

"Well, let's go back, the others might become worried." The traveler quickly changed the subject.

"Ah, wait, here's your stone." The princess offered the magic item to Sariel.

"You can have it; it will be useless with me."

"Ok, thanks."

Sariel and Luna walked together back to the camp. During the walk, they walked a lot about trivial things.

When they were close, the owl on Luna's should flew away and disappeared in the forest. After some time, both arrived at the camp.

Raymond noticed Sariel and Luna together, instantly became alert, and approached to question him.

"Why are you with her?" However, Aegreon got on his way and questioned the traveler first. He had his weapon on his hand and a hostile posture.

"Wait! He protected me from a creature. And before you say anything, he didn't see anything, Raymond."

"Did he really did no-"

"I do not allow you to be alone with him! If you do this again, I will kill you!" Aegreon interrupted Raymond and approached Sariel while his scythe burned in a purple flame. His voice was full of anger, nay, hatred, and his eyes seemed to burn like his weapon.

Shiina flinched after noticing the Pilar's anger. She had witnessed his fury before, and knew it was a terrible sight to see.

"Aegreon, calm down, he-"

"Do you understand me?" Aegreon interrupted Luna while keeping his deadly eyes on Sariel.

"What's the problem? Are you jealous?" Sariel remained completely relaxed and provoked the Pillar with a smirk.

"I AM NOT FUCKING JOKING!" Aegreon's scream was like a thunder and paralyzed everyone in fear. Even the forest became silent, as if even the leaves were scared to make any sound.

Raymond, who at the beginning was on alert, was now holding his breath, fearing that he would attract the fury of that demon to himself.

Shiina, who had stepped back, now looked ready to run for her life. She had seen Aegreon angry, but not at that intensity.

"Aegreon, wait! He saved me! I would be dead if it wasn't for him!" Luna also got scared with Aegreon's sudden rage, but tried to stop him, fearing he would hurt Sariel.

She stood between the Pillar and the traveler, but as his title suggested, Aegreon was so tall, that the princess almost felt like she was facing a giant who could easily throw her away.

"He's manipulating you! You will not trust, neither be alone with this bastard! Do you understand?"

"Well, well. You two aren't even dating and you already want to tell her to who she can talk? You guys from the Council are really arrogant..." Sariel, despite de situation, remained calm and continued to provoke Aegreon.

"If I knew you had a death wish, I would've killed you in Fordurn! I won't make the same mistake again." The Pillar tried to approach the traveler.

"ENOUGH!" Luna shouted the loudest she could to stop the fight, but it sounded like a supplication.

"You shouldn't trust him."

"But he is-"

"Don't worry, Luna. If what he wants is for us to not be alone, then alright." Sariel walked away from the Pillar and the princess and sat down near the campfire that was lit while he was away. "There are other methods that allow us to talk anyways."

"What do you mean by that?" Aegreon pointed his weapon to the traveler.

"I don't know, what do you think?" Sariel smirked at Aegreon.

"I gave you a chance…" The Pillar approached, ready to kill the traveler.

"I said that this is enough! I don't want to see you fighting!" Luna, once again, stood between they both.

Aegreon stopped immediately and stared at the princess with an intrigued expression.

"He is deceiving you! Can't you notice he's doing everything to divide us? This bastard must die!"

"You do understand that I'm the one who contributed the most, right? I've saved Luna twice, and one of them was before you arrived at Fordurn, what about you? You just accuse me, trying to get rid of me."

"You can deceive them, but not me."

"You are so insane that you are believing the lies you create, are you sure you are the Conjuration Pillar and not a madman?"

Sariel kept his debauchery, irritating Aegreon even more. The weapon would have broken by the sheer strength the Pillar was using if it wasn't resistant.

"Get out of my way." Aegreon said to Luna. "I will kill him now."

"Aegreon, I'm tired of this! If you continue, I will leave you and follow Sariel!"

The Pillar hesitated and looked at Luna in the eyes with a troubled expression. His eyes still contained fury, but it had something else in it.

"You heard her." Sariel couldn't help but provoke him again.

After he heard this, Aegreon stared at the traveler with full hatred once again.

"You will regret this." The Pillar turned his back and walked into the forest.

Everyone remained silent after this. Everyone was tense, except for Sariel, who was as relaxed as ever.

Shiina, after noticing that Aegreon was far, was the first to talk.

"You're lucky that the little princess protected you, otherwise, you would have died here."

"Someone from the Council is not a problem for me, except for Ardos."

"Let's see for how long that statement will remain true." The assassin sat down near the campfire, in the opposite direction of Sariel.

Raymond looked briefly to everyone, trying to understand the objectives of each one.

Until now, he believed the three of them were together, but it changed after that discussion. It was way too intense to be an act, and Aegreon's rage could not be false.

Then, he remembered the reason for that discussion.

"Your High- Luna, did he really save you?"

"Yes, and I think you could trust him a little."

"I'm just cautious. Aegreon seem to suspect him a lot."

"He's just being cautious like you, you can trust him. I'm sure none of them want do harm anyone, but they don't trust each other."

Raymond thought for some time in silence.

"I still don't trust you, nor I understand your intentions, but I will tolerate your presence."

"Well, it's some progress at least. Also, it's getting late. I will keep watch again."

"I will stay awake too. After what happened, it will be terrible if only you and Aegreon stay awake." Raymond said.

"You should sleep first; you didn't rest enough. I will wake you up when he returns."

"Alright..." Raymond reluctantly agreed.

The group started to sleep, except for Sariel who was keeping watch again.

Aegreon eventually returned to the camp after an hour, and Sariel, as he promised, woke up Raymond.

During this night, another staring war happened, way more intense than the last one. The Pillar kept the traveler on his sight the whole time, watchful of the smallest movements, and ignored Raymond.

Only Sariel seemed to not care about the situation and stayed calm.

Despite the uncomfortable situation, the sun rose without any incident.