Someone had to be screwing with him. That was the only explanation Caspian could think of to explain his current situation. It must have been the spirits. They were probably having a laugh at his expense. If he ever managed to get his hands on the spirit that controlled fate, he was going to strangle it.

"Here is your tea, Mistress."

Caspian glared balefully at Erica as Cassidy poured the seductress her tea. It was several minutes after the figurative rug had been pulled out from under his feet, and he was still trying to get over what he'd learned. He was to be her Knight's temporary replacement. Apparently, her Knight, a man named Derek, was ill and bedridden, and she needed someone to take over his duties until he recovered.

"Thank you," Erica picked up the small cup with the grace of a queen. Lifting it to her lips, she took a soft sip, then sighed and set the cup back down. "Tea always soothes the nerves, especially after a battle." She smiled at Caspian. "Wouldn't you agree?"

Caspian's right eye began twitching.

"Here you go, Mr. Sol ."

His baleful stare switched from Erica to Cassidy, who had walked up to him and set down a small cup of black tea on the round table in front of him.

"You didn't tell me your mistress was Erica Angelo."

Under the weight of Caspian's accusing stare, the cute maid could only shrink back.

"Ah!" A gasp. "W-well, that's just... it's because you didn't ask..." When all she received in return for her words was a deadpanned stare, the poor girl tried to hide her face in her bodice. It didn't work out too well, but Caspian had to give her points for trying. "Is Caspian... are you mad at me?"

Caspian stared for a little while longer, then, with a sigh, he slumped in his chair.

"No," he admitted finally, running a tired hand over his face. "I'm not mad. I just wish I had known this sooner. It would have made my life a whole lot easier if I'd been informed of who your mistress was beforehand." Had he known that Cassidy was Erica's maid, he could have followed her after they had retrieved their food and delivered the letter that much sooner. Then he could have avoided... well, maybe he wouldn't have been able to avoid the series of long, drawn out battles with those people, but at least he would have had one less worry on his mind. That had to count for something.

Right?

"Fu fu fu." Caspian felt a shudder run down his spine. He slowly looked up to see Erica staring at him, her lips hidden behind a delicate hand, perfectly manicured fingernails glittering in the sun trickling through the window. He could see the way her eyes crinkled in amusement, the glimmer they held that spoke of her pleasure at his discomfiture. "You know, looking at you now, I have to admit; you're pretty cute, trying to act all angry and tough, you big softy."

Caspian tried to hide his blush. When that didn't work, he settled for crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at the woman.

"W-whatever. Let's just get down to business, starting with those people who attacked the train. I assume they were after you?"

"Ha... you're such a spoilsport," Erica sighed. Caspian's glare became that much more acrimonious, making the woman wave a hand through the air like she was swatting a bug. "Fine, fine. To business, then. Yes, those people were after me. I am pretty sure someone hired them to kill me off, knowing that I would be vulnerable because my poor Derek is bedridden with illness."

"I wouldn't call it an illness exactly."

"Did you say something, maid?"

"N-no Mistress!"

"I thought not. Anyway, it's well-known that a Sorceress is vulnerable without her Knight protecting her. I can only assume that someone who bears a grudge against Sorceresses, or perhaps me personally, hired that mercenary to assassinate me and make it look like I was caught in a normal train robbery."

"Wait. Mercenary? As in just one?"

"Of course," Erica said, "you don't think those other people could possibly be mercenary or even bandit material, do you?"

"Well, no." Caspian frowned. "They looked just like regular peasants."

"Indeed they were. I suspect they were being brainwashed or controlled somehow. I imagine they'll have a major headache when they wake up." Erica took another sip of tea. "But that is neither here nor there right now. The point is, someone has hired a rather skilled mercenary to kill me."

"Right." Caspian tried getting back to the matter at hand, though he was still curious to know about those people he fought. Was it even possible to brainwash someone like this woman was suggesting? "And I take it this is why you asked the academy to send you a... replacement Knight?"

"Temporary replacement," Erica corrected, "and yes, it is."

"I didn't even know you could temporarily replace your Knight." Caspian's brow furrowed, his mind struggling with the concept Erica was presenting to him. "Don't all Sorceresses go through a bonding ceremony that spiritually links them to their Knight?"

"They do, and it is impossible to break short of killing either the Knight or the Sorceress." Erica paused, then added, "or the Knight dying of old age, but that's another matter entirely and not important to this discussion. Regardless, I'm not looking for someone to replace Derek. I merely need a competent warrior who can act as my bodyguard while my Knight is recovering. Basically, you're just going to follow me wherever I go, protecting me with your life, until I no longer require your services. You don't need the telepathic bond granted by the bonding ritual for that."

"I suppose not," Caspian conceded. "So, back to that mercenary. Do you know who he or she is?"

"Possibly. There have been rumors about a mercenary, an elven mercenary, for some time now. I had assumed they were simple rumors, but now..."

"An elf?" Caspian gaped. "You mean to tell me that one of the people we fought was an elf?"

"Of course." Erica looked at Caspian strangely. "Did you not see the one standing several meters away using Spellcasting to attack me?"

"Er... no." Caspian flushed at this admittance. "I was too busy fighting those other two to pay attention to what anyone else was doing."

Erica shook her head. "Clearly. In any case, yes, the one that had been using long-range attacks was an elf. You can tell because of the magic circle he created each time an explosion went off." She then proceeded to give Caspian a look. "You do know about elven magic, don't you?"

"Of course I do," Caspian grunted, insulted that she would even ask that. "We do study that in class, you know?"

Elven magic was very different from the type of magic that Sorceresses used. When a Sorceress performed magic, they were summoning a spirit and forming a contract to grant them that spirit's power. They didn't have any magic of their own. When an elf performed magic, they were using their own power.

The difference between elven magic and those performed by a Sorceress was astronomical. Because Sorceresses relied on the power of spirits, an external power source beyond human comprehension, their attacks were much more powerful. Elven magic was a lot weaker, but due to them not needing to rely on incantations, it was also quicker for them to cast. Not to mention, elven magic was more versatile.

Of course, raw power often trumped versatility. It didn't matter if you had a thousand different spells for a thousand situations when the person you were fighting could destroy the entire town you were located in. That was the whole reason humans had won the elven wars one-thousand years ago.

There were three known branches of magic that elves used: Spellcasting, Alchemy and Nature Manipulation. According to what Erica was saying, the one she had fought was an Alchemist. That was the only branch of elven magic that involved the creation of a magic circle.

"Just making sure." A shrug. "You looked a little lost, so I wanted to ensure we were both on the same page."

"Ugh, whatever," Caspian pressed a hand to his face and dragged it down. For some unfathomable reason, he felt like this conversation had caused him to age several decades. Oh, wait. It wasn't unfathomable at all. This woman was just that tiring. "So if the elven mercenary sent after you was a spellcaster, then we can rightly assume they were using magic to control the minds of those people I fought."

"Most likely."

"And I'm guessing that was also why I couldn't see under the hoods of those people he or she brainwashed."

"Very probably."

Caspian sighed as he felt the weight of his actions pushing down on him. He knew there hadn't been much choice, but he didn't like how he'd been forced to fight against innocent people. His job was to protect others, not cause them harm.

A shake of his head dispelled those thoughts, and he focused back on Erica. "I assume you have a plan to deal with this mercenary elf, then?"

Erica smiled. "I do indeed."

"Are you going to tell me what it is?"

"Not at the moment, no." When Caspian gave her an irritated look, Erica giggled. "You really are too cute for your own good. I could just gobble you up."

"Don't say things like that!"

"Fu fu fu."

"And stop laughing!"

***

The sun had crawled behind the canyon. Darkness was cast upon the earth. Despite this, the train continued treading along the tracks. They were half a day behind schedule, and Erica would brook no further delays.

After conversing with the Sorceress some more, Caspian had learned that Erica did not, in fact, have a plan to deal with the elf mercenary. This did not surprise him. From what he'd seen thus far, the woman wasn't really the planning in advance type. How else could she explain getting caught in a situation like this in the first place?

When their discussion had concluded, Erica decided to retire for the night. This left him in a bit of a quandary. Namely, his sleeping arrangements. The compartment he'd been staying in had been totaled during the fight. There was a large gaping hole in the wall. He couldn't be expected to get any sleep like that. Fortunately, Cassidy had offered a solution, even if it was not the most ideal of resolutions.

"I'm really sorry about this, Mr. Sol," Cassidy apologized as Caspian spread out several blankets along the ground. She stood off to the side, watching him. He'd turned down her offer for help, mainly because he didn't want her to feel as if she had to help him out of a misguided sense of obligation.

"It's fine," Caspian wondered if there was a limit to how much one person could sigh. He seemed to be doing it far too often for his liking. "None of this is your fault." He looked up at the young woman to offer her what he really hoped was a kind smile. "I don't blame you for what's happened. I'm actually very grateful to you. It can't be easy letting a strange man you've just met spend the night in your room-uh, compartment."

"Thank you," she said, curtsying to him. "I'm glad you're not upset with me, but I still feel bad about forcing you to sleep in the same room as me."

Caspian didn't know why she felt bad about something like that. Aside from the simple fact that none of this was her fault, he really was appreciative of her gesture. It was very kind of her to let him stay in her compartment. This girl seemed to have a bad habit of blaming herself for things that she had no control over.

Caspian looked down at his bed. It wasn't much; just a few spare sheets that he'd found in a small closet. It definitely wasn't going to be a comfortable sleep, but he'd slept on worse.

"Here," Cassidy held out a pillow for him. He hesitated for a moment before taking the pillow and putting it on the nest of sheets.

"Thank you." Caspian gave her a very slight smile. It was actually more of a grimace, or so he assumed, but it at least got the girl to smile back. She was even blushing. He hoped that meant it wasn't too frightening-Christo always said that his smiles could bring about the apocalypse. "And don't worry about us sharing a room or anything. I have to share a dorm with someone at the academy, and believe me when I say that you are infinitely more pleasant company than he will ever be."

"Ah!" A cute gasp escaped her parted lips. Caspian didn't know why, but he found it to be an endearing sound. "T-thank you," the poor maid stuttered. She then shook her head and stood up, smoothing the nightgown she wore; a white undershirt that went all the way down to her bare feet. That done, she looked back at him. "Well, shall we go to bed?"

"Sounds like a good idea."

Caspian did not hesitate to follow Cassidy's advice and flopped down onto the layer of sheets. It was uncomfortable, especially compared to Erica's bed, which had been heaven on his back. Even so, Caspian was so tired that the moment his head hit the pillow, he was out like a light.

Hopefully, tomorrow would be a brighter day.