Chapter 27

Isanna kept her party on the outskirts of the towns as they traveled north. She didn't think it would be wise to go through a busy town with a group like this. It would take them longer this way but it was necessary. She kept her training sessions going whenever they stopped, she didn't have to teach any of them most of them had their seniors helping them out like usual. But she liked to keep in touch with the sessions just to get a sense of what kind of talent her subordinates had, and if there was anyone worth keeping an eye on. This was how she had found Vanessa and many others of her top rankers in the battalion. Right now however her eyes were on Ron and Fiona. Ron was her son and had inherited her gift of magic, but he never seemed to like his affinity, he always dreamt of having something rare or showy like fireworks, and she was frustrated at him for thinking so petty. 

There are infinite possibilities with every power, magic is not something to take for granted, she had always understood its potential, for a mana user, physical and mental creativity were both more important. She had thought he was too stuck up with material things to think out of the box and had sent him away because she would get too angry whenever he did something stupid. But today she hadn't just stood there and had thought for once, that winning or losing was a different matter, what was important was he had fought, he had not backed down and produced some results. She hoped this wasn't a one-time thing and so she was going to continue keeping an eye on him.

Then there was Fiona, she was important to Ron, not just because she was his friend's sister. She had been through a tragedy, and when Isanna had told her about her own story, the girl seemed to have pulled herself back up and decided she was going to take her life in her own hands now, which Isanna appreciated. She was also intrigued and wanted to keep her around because of her brother, Ash Blake. Who had somehow managed to convince Derek to accept him as his mentee? So far after keeping a close eye on Fiona, Isanna had sensed that she did have some potential hidden deep inside her, she was not the strength type and didn't seem right working with fewer people than a whole battalion. She had some sort of magic although it was very obscure, she didn't want to test herself, especially in front of others, it might change her perception of others, so she had asked Vanessa to try to figure her affinity out. Vanessa was the right choice, because of her secret, the secret only she knew, Vanessa had experience with more weird and obscure things than the average and she might figure Fiona out. 

Isanna had other things to worry about for now. As they were getting closer to their destination, the questions arose. Derek hadn't contacted her personally yet, which he should have because he knows how she likes to know what she is walking into. Which meant something different was happening, it wasn't going to be a usual mission, she would have to keep her guard up every time. 

Ron and Fiona were visiting a small town in the south, their battalion was deep in the nearby forests, it was sort of a day off, his mother had called a meeting and they were going to spend a bit more time here than usual before making the last part of their journey. So Fiona who had never been to the south wanted to come here. She had been coming up nicely with her training, she was always fit doing a lot of chores and having two brothers. After she had gotten used to the weight of her sword and realized that you don't have to hold it always just direct it sometimes, her own words after she had had that realization. The next day she was given a different sword, cadets with thinner arms were given it was much lighter and Fiona was immediately faster to her delight, and also a little bit annoyed for being manipulated like that. She had gotten a lot more talkative and her eyes had become much brighter. Ron felt more and more lucky every day, he also felt a little guilty because of Ash. He realized now why Ash was so good with looking women in the eye because Fiona was gifted in certain areas like Aria and even more so. Her clothes had changed, from the clothes, most women warriors wore, they were much more form-fitting. She was also a bit reckless and didn't seem to care a lot about her appearance sometimes especially when they were alone together. 

"What are you thinking about?" asked Fiona pulling him out of his thoughts.

"Nothing," he answered.

"Check out this jewelry shop, these are all made out of shells," she said showing him the beaded chain. The south was much more humid because of being close to the sea, the air had a salty smell to it and even the architecture was different. Ron had been this far south only a couple of times, but never to the border where they were going. It was evening, the sun had just set and the lamps were lit. The shopkeeper kept a close eye on Fiona as she checked the different sea-shell necklaces. Ron was annoyed, at first he thought he was just leering at her, but then he realized he was keeping an eye on his products. Something else at another shop caught Fiona's eyes and she bounced away, leaving Ron with the shopkeeper.

"You going to buy something?" asked the shopkeeper giving him an irritated look. 

Ron too flustered bought a small pair of white earrings. 

"Would look good on your girl? but they aren't too strong and usually only last about a month depending upon their care, and it doesn't look like she is the calm type, maybe you should buy another," he said.

"no, thanks, one's fine," said Ron and left. And then as he was heading for Fiona, he noticed a poster on the wall, it was a wanted poster he had sometimes seen in the capital, they usually had sketches of the culprit drawn by an artist, but this one only had a black shadowy figure. The cat burglar it said, was presumably female, and according to the poster, for a month the burglaries had been going on and no one had been able to catch him or her and there was a big price on their head.