An hour later, Iris found herself seated inside a carriage along with Amelia and Chrysanthe. She squirmed on her seat. This wasn't the first time that she was in the company of a darkling, but this darkling was looking at her with interest, something the wolf — Lord Kieran never showed her.
The darkling accompanying them was the same red haired darkling whom Lord Kieran assigned to look after them. It was odd that Iris felt at ease in Lord Kieran's company. The said man was known as a feared and deadly warrior of Asnar, only rivaled in infamy by the Red King and the Black Mage himself.
And yet, Iris felt uncomfortable sitting across this woman.
"Is there something on my face?" She asked the red haired darkling.
"Oh no. I'm merely surprised that a magus like you was able to hide amongst the mortals this long." The red haired darkling said with a small smile. "I'm Ricci Rosebriar by the way, but you can just call me Ricci."
"I see." Iris didn't probe any further.
This only proved her assumption that some darklings were able to tell that she was a magus right off the bat, without her needing to use her magic. She tilted her head slightly, allowing the morning light coming from the window to illuminate her pale blond hair.
Amelia arched her eyebrow towards the darkling named Ricci. "You can tell? How?"
"I'm a faerie. I might not be as strong as Lord Kieran and his three demon generals, but my magic perception isn't that bad."
"You said that they are demons and you are a faerie. Does this mean that there are other races living in Asnar too?" Chrysanthe shifted nervously. Unlike her two friends, she wouldn't be able to protect herself as she wasn't versed in any type of self-defense.
"Of course, there's more. I know that the Kingdom of Dravial speaks lowly of us, Asnarians, but there are things that you may find interesting in our land. We aren't just barbaric, mindless monsters people thought us to be." Riccei sounded amused, as if she wasn't offended by how mortal humans perceived her kind.
She then glanced in Iris's direction.
"I'm not saying that Asnar is a safe place for you humans, but for someone who has a tremendous amount of mana in them, it might be challenging not to attract others' attention."
"You mean, Iris would be in danger?" Amelia asked, and Iris stiffened in her place.
"Not just her. All of you. While it's true that the thirteen demon lords of Asnar are working hard to settle the peace on our land, there are still some who wish to cause trouble not only to our courts, but also to the humans in Dravial, but you don't need to fear me, especially you, Lady Iris. I will not harm any of you unless you pose a threat to our lord."
"I am no lady, Miss Ricci. You can just call me Iris." Iris replied. "You said you are a faerie and yet you serve a demon lord?"
Ricci broke into a smile. Iris thought that faeries had wings. Or was it possible that they could hide them at will?
"I must admit that it's probably confusing for humans like you, Lady Iris. The thirteen demon lords aren't all demons like Lord Kieran. Certain beings that reach enough mana can be considered as a demon lord in Asnar. As for why I'm serving a demon, let's just say that I don't get along with the current Faerie Queen."
Iris said nothing and didn't correct Ricci for calling her a lady again. Ricci might have claimed that there was no need for them to fear her, but Lord Kieran was a different case. He was obviously out of their league and far way more powerful than her. Add to the fact that he was actually a demon lord.
No one said another word and they sat in silence. The sounds made by the creaking carriage and the hooves were the only things that could be heard. The carriage jerked and creaked, but none of them commented on it.
Iris occasionally peeked out the window, but no one was directly riding beside the carriage they rode. Their carriage had long passed the woods near Calaren Town and now they were on their way to reach the mountain range that separated the Kingdom of Dravial and Asnar. All she saw so far were nothing but meadows, trees and the grasslands.
Certainly, there could be other ways to reach Asnar faster than riding a carriage. Iris thought.
'Perhaps it wouldn't be safe for us humans though.' She reasoned out.
When night came, the carriage started to slow down. Only when it pulled to a stop were they allowed to step down from their carriages. They were instructed to wear black coats before they alighted. Once Iris hopped down, she looked around and found three other carriages in front of them, no doubt carrying the rest of the tributes.
Some maidens protested as their stomach grumbled from hunger. The demon lord, Lord Kieran, didn't seem to care if they hadn't eaten throughout the day. Thankfully, Chrysanthe was allowed to bring the pack of biscuits her family handed to her so Iris and Amelia could nibble on something.
Chrysanthe held onto Amelia's arm, her eyes sweeping around them. She could see nothing but the darkness in the woods they just passed.
"Stay close, ladies. We aren't sure what dangers are lurking out here."
Ricci remained to accompany them, but something about how serious her expression was bothered Iris. Lord Kieran and the other two demons accompanying them were nowhere in sight, but it didn't mean that any of the maidens could easily escape, especially in a place like this.
Iris then found it suspicious that Lord Kieran had to come all the way to Calaren Town to pick up the tributes himself, when it had never occurred before. He didn't need to fetch them himself before, so why now?
It didn't make sense to Iris. She didn't think that chosen maidens like her held any ounce of importance to the said demon lord for Lord Kieran to come to Calaren town with his generals to pick them up. Not unless there was danger lurking somewhere, just as Ricci said.
Heart pounding, Iris followed Ricci's lead and joined the other maidens that gathered around the small fire for a quick dinner. She nibbled her lower lip, wondering if she should confront Ricci about it. There's so many things she didn't know about Asnar and its residents, so what could she possibly do to help them?
Chrysanthe handed her a piece of bread, which she gladly accepted. As she nibbled on her bread, Iris wondered how much of the rumors about the darklings were true and not. There had to be some truth to the rumors, but she wouldn't be surprised if some details were exaggerated to fit the narrative of the mortal humans who deemed darklings as enemies of their kind.
Suddenly, a gust of wind came and three darklings appeared to join the rest of the group. Iris stiffened next to Amelia when she sensed Lord Kieran's presence. She chose to keep her gaze on the fire in front of her rather than turning her head like the rest to look at the demon lord and his vassals.
Yuri dropped five dead bodies of rabbits on the ground, which made the other maidens shriek in surprise.
"Here. Bread and fruit can't possibly be enough to satiate your hunger." He said, casually giving Iris and her two friends a quick glance, noticing how the three remained calm in the presence of the darklings around them.
Iris lifted her head and met his gaze.
"Can we at least borrow a blade so we can skin it? We can't possibly cook it without cleaning it first." She told him.
"We also need to wash it." Amelia said shortly, meeting Yuri's gaze for the first time. She shivered at the cold intensity of Yuri's gaze upon her and wondered if she'd crossed the line for speaking up.
Aiden laughed behind Yuri and pulled a small dagger from his side, handing it over to Iris.
"Here. Better make sure you don't hurt yourself with it." He said with amusement.
Iris thanked him and started working on the carcass of the rabbits while Amelia and Chrysanthe collected large leaves and twigs that they could use to hold the rabbits over the fire.
Aiden volunteered to accompany them to the nearest river where they could wash their supposed dinner. Some maidens took courage to join them, keeping a distance from the demon as they gave themselves a quick wash of their faces and arms.
When they returned to the camp, the darklings were everywhere, as if they were on a look out, only proving Iris's assumptions that there was something out there that could possibly follow them.
Still, she said nothing and worked with her friends as they took turns to cook the rabbit meat over the fire. She, along with Amelia and Chrysanthe, shared one rabbit while the rest were handed over to the other maidens who were visibly cowering in fear.
Iris found Ricci speaking in low voices to Lord Kieran, a couple of meters away from them. She couldn't quite get what they were talking about and she immediately tore off her gaze when the demon lord suddenly turned his head to look at her. Her cheeks felt warm, feeling ashamed that she was caught eavesdropping on their conversation.
Ricci came back with an ugly expression on her face as she slumped next to Iris. Even when she was dressed heavily with armor, she moved as if it didn't bother her for one bit.
"What's wrong?" Amelia asked as she tore the flesh of meat from its bones, placed it in her mouth and chewed slowly. Despite her current state, Amelia still acts like a noblewoman with the level of propriety expected from her.
Ricci glanced around them, making sure no one was within earshot. She sighed to herself and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"I know that I cannot keep it from you." She sighed then looked at Iris, as if she also knew that the latter had been suspecting her from the start.
Ricci hardened her jaws and whispered to them. "Lord Kieran thinks that we are followed by the Night Critters."
"Night Critters?" Amelia asked. This was the first time they heard about it. "Are those also a type of darklings in Asnar?"
Ricci grimaced and looked away.
"You can say that." She said as if it pained her to say so, "but more like used to be normal darklings. Now, they are nothing but mindless, empty husks being manipulated by someone to terrorize us."
Iris shivered at the thought. "And you think they are following us?"
"Yes." Ricci answered. "Lord Kieran has been patrolling the border and the woods to get rid of them. Night Critters are drawn towards magical beings to feed on their life source, while mortal humans who are bitten by them would immediately die from being exposed to them."
Amelia and Chrysanthe looked at each other while Iris blanched in fear. She was the only one amongst the chosen maidens that had magic. Wouldn't that mean that they were being followed because of her?
"It's not you, Lady Iris." Ricci said as if the faerie knew what she was thinking. "We've been in a standoff battle against the darklings for over a century now. It's just that they are being more active these past years to the point that Lord Kieran needs to see to himself that you will arrive in Asnar without encountering any problems along the way."
Iris then realized that this was the reason she had spotted the white wolf darkling in the woods near their town twice. Lord Kieran couldn't possibly be there because of her. She didn't think she was the reason why more darklings had been spotted near Calaren Town over the past few years.
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