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The two men we were replacing were happy to be relieved early. They were dead tired and lucky that they had first watch rather than a middle shift. Morrigan and I took our positions facing opposite directions on the road. There was a second night watch on the other side of the small fort but they were out of ear shot, we were alone over here.

"Morrigan, what do you think of Silva so far? Did you get a chance to talk to her before I came to get you?"

"Hmm... We talked a little bit I didn't really learn much. She's only been a slave for about a year, she's only been working as Fae's bodyguard for less than a month. Her father saved her from execution, not sure what for... The time between that was training, she changed the subject when I asked her what kind of training she received."

"Murdering a Noble. I think it might be the main reason Fae can't get herself to trust her."

"Ah..." Morrigan stared into the darkness.

"What... would you think if I considered buying her from Fae?"

There was a long pause. "I don't know. Are you sure that's something you want to do? You won't be able to free her from slavery either..."

"I know..." The road leading onwards to the capital was dark. If it wasn't for my night vision I wouldn't be able to see out here at all. The bright moons that lit the night sky were blocked out by dark clouds.

"What made you start considering this?" Morrigan asked.

I sighed and looked ahead at the empty road, the only thing that could be seen were the wild animals, or perhaps monsters in the distance. "I've been thinking about our fights. My... recklessness in the dungeon and our coordination at the dungeon camp the other day. I don't think I'm strong enough... or skilled enough to hold the front line myself. When Fae was telling me her story I couldn't help but imagine Silva standing next to me like Tarklin and Nora did at the dungeon camp. Our party isn't very balanced, I can't hold the front line on my own..."

"Has Mimi told you her level yet?"

"Fourty-two. A bit higher than mine."

"...Were you thinking of giving her the gold slave token?"

"...Yes."

I looked over and Morrigan was scratching her chin in thought. "I suppose the trade would be worth it... are you sure Fae would be willing to go for it?"

"Yeah... She basically told me directly that she intended to sell her. The memories are too hard for her to handle."

She sighed. "Are you intending on making us vote on this?"

I shook my head. "No. This would have to be unanimous. She would be a party member, with all of us the entire time. All of us need to be able to trust her."

Morrigan let out an irritated huff. "You don't make things easy do you? One of the nice things about being a slave is not having to make so many decisions."

I laughed. "Maybe this is my own kind of training. That way you're able to cope when I manage to free you from slavery one day."

"Yeah yeah, I heard about your oath. I'm not holding my breath on it. Besides... maybe by then we'll have a bond stronger than your oath to free us."

I smiled. "Hopefully."

"Have you asked Bella or Mimi their thoughts on it yet?"

There was a four legged monster with a hunched back sniffing around the road now. It was pretty big, a bit smaller than a horse but its hulking form was intimidating. I was about to ask Morrigan about it before it wandered back off into the dark plains.

I shook my head. "No, I decided to ask you about it first. I suppose I could have talked to Mimi first but I wanted to know how you felt about it. You and your sister have the most experience as adventurers and I wanted to know if you thought it was even a good idea in the first place."

She paused and considered it for a little while. "I'm a tentative yes. We need someone else in the front to support you and none of us are suited for it. One more person, especially some kind of frontline fighter, would probably make all of us considerably safer in combat. If you were a bit more focused on melee fighting then maybe we could get away with it but it's pretty obvious to all of us you have some kind of hybrid build." She lowered her voice a little, "She's not bad to look at either."

I chuckled and nodded in agreement. "That's true. Not sure how she feels about other women though."

Morrigan smirked at me. "I have a feeling she's the type to like both."

"Oh? What makes you say that?"

Morrigan shrugged and looked back over the road. "Just a hunch." After a short pause she continued, "Maybe this could be the first time I ask if I can have someone else join me in my cot."

I laughed. "I don't have any complaints, just make sure to check with Bella first too. Maybe if you can persuade Silva, we can ask her to join the three of us in our cot."

Morrigan nodded with a smile.

After letting the humor die away Morrigan spoke more seriously. "You talk to Bella about it and I'll talk to Tori. I think it would be a good idea to bring another fighter into the group if everyone is on the same page. Is she a martial artist?"

"We don't have to come to a snap decision. We have some time to think about it and get to know her, we're not likely to part ways with Fae until we reach the capital. And yeah, or rather, I'm not sure about her fighting style. Fae said she fought with her bare hands but I don't know if that was by choice or not."

"If she uses a weapon that might help us make a decision. I'll see if I can talk to her about it tomorrow."

"Alright."

The rest of the watch went by pretty quick. After our initial important conversation we just chatted about less important things, mostly just to help us stay away through the night. Before we split up again Morrigan chanced a quick kiss and quietly slipped back into her room.

***

The next morning came pretty quickly and without incident. Fae was a light sleeper and woke up once I started getting ready for the day. Bella as usual was as heavy a sleeper as always, even in this situation. I gently shook her awake and got back a sweet smile from her. Bella nearly snuck a kiss in but I was worried about kissing in front of our guest. A glance at her showed that she was busy trying to work up her nerves to go outside.

When the three of us finally came out we were stopped by Tarklin waiting by our door. "Lilith, I wanted to talk to you about your uuna shift. Since we've taken on a new passenger it would probably be better for you to take the evening shift on the uuna tonight. Is that alright with you?"

I nodded. "No problem. I take it Fae is going to ride with us today?"

"Actually I want the young miss and her bodyguard to ride closer to me today. From what you told me yesterday it would be today that we would run into any issues if there's going to be any. I take it you have no issue with that young miss?" Fae's face scrunched in indignation for a split second before relaxing again. If I had to guess she had taken 'young miss' as an insult to her position, before remembering her cover story.

"Not a problem at all... sir."

"Great! Find your bodyguard and meet with me in around a bell." He pushed himself off the wall he was leaning up against and started walking away.

Apparently there wasn't any kind of breakfast or anything planned, most people were busy packing everything up again before we headed out. I suppose there was so much down time that everyone except for the uuna riders could eat a ration on the road or just wait for lunch.

We met up with the twins and Silva, Torien handed Mimi back to me and I explained the slight change in what was happening. Fae's shoulders tensed when the rabbit demi-beast was in earshot again but she did her best not to let it show, once again adopting the hard exterior she had yesterday. It was obvious the rabbitkin knew what was happening but she didn't let it bother her, not taking any offence to the way the young girl adopted a persona in order to even deal with her.

I sighed and walked with Bella towards the wagon we had been assigned to yesterday. The coach from yesterday was already waiting, eating a few bites of jerky before we got moving. I helped Bella up into the seat before climbing up myself. Bella yawned and stretched and seemed to be in a good mood today. I looked up at the sky, it was overcast and smelled faintly of rain. I wondered if that was going to be an issue.

In no time at all the uuna were moving again, pulling the carriages and wagons full of rocks and timber. I made sure to take note of which carriage our two new guests were in. They were riding inside the carriage with most of the merchants, hopefully out of sight of anyone that might be looking for them.

About thirty minutes into the trip I indicated to Bella I wanted to chat with her through [Soultouched Connection].

-- "Bella, I want to talk to you about Silva. I already talked to Morrigan about it but I was considering buying her from Fae. I think she would really round out our team and I think she's in an unfair position right now." --

I felt a slight amusement pass through our bond. -- "All morning I had been trying to come up with how I would bring this up to you and you skipped right to the end." --

I shared my own amusement at the situation through the bond. It was like a silent laugh between us. -- "So you're okay with the idea?" --

-- "Yes. Though... I guess for me it was less practical and more... I felt bad for her. She worked so hard to protect Fae and is only hated and feared for it. It's probably not my place to judge Fae, she's just a kid and she went through something horrible... but it still doesn't feel right." --

I mentally nodded. -- "Morrigan is mostly on board but we have a little time before we make a final decision. She said she would talk with Torien about it today. She also... expressed interest in her," the intent of my innuendo bled through the bond. "Morrigan wanted permission so I basically gave her free rein to test the waters, provided you are okay with it too of course." --

Bella suddenly looked a little flustered but she had a small smile that totally gave away her feelings on the matter.

I smirked at her through the bond. -- "You're interested in her too, aren't you?" --

-- "I can't help it. And... in that sense she reminds me of you, how would I be able to not think about it?" --

-- "Me?" -- I was frankly a bit bewildered by the comment.

-- "There's something to her that... gives off a similar kind of confidence that you do. I can't really explain it but the idea of her pushing me against a wall..." --

I didn't miss the way Bella's hands subtly shifted to her lap where she could better hold down the front of her adventuring dress.

"Boy you two are quiet today! You aren't much of morning people ain'cha?"

Bella jumped and only looked more embarrassed when the coachman suddenly started to make conversation.

"I'm just enjoying the scenery, don't mind me."

What I didn't say out loud was the scenery I was talking about was my blushing doe that couldn't help but let her embarrassment and arousal bleed through our connection. I couldn't help but smile while her ears burned red.