“Are you ready?”

After making sure I packed everything I needed, I changed into comfortable clothes and headed to the entrance. Nadya and everyone were already there and, after one last farewell speech from the Mothers, we finally left the elven village. Right now, I am standing next to Nadya a few steps before crossing the barrier.

“Y-yes.”

Clearly nervous, she stumbled to give an answer.

“Did you get everything I told you?”

“Yes, I asked Mother Eva for the materials early in the morning.”

This sure feels like the old days.

“Good, let me go over the route once again. In case we lose each other at some point.”

I started walking while explaining the plan I came up with last night.

“First, we walk straight in this direction until we reach the lake, it should take about five or six hours, it’s the longest path but the road is full of fruit trees and berries. We will take our time and collect everything we need to eat the next three days. Once we reach Lake Gandr, we will camp there for the rest of the day.”

“Why don’t we float above the trees to get there, it should be faster. Also, I think we have enough recovery potions to not worry about food for the next five days.”

“That won’t work, we consume mana faster than we can regenerate it, floating there would leave us exhausted after the first day. Recovery potions only prevent you from passing out and cure your body, you would still feel mentally tired and hungry.”

“You sure know a lot about this.”

That is only because I have made the same mistakes before, but I will keep that to myself for now.

“And there is one more reason to save the potions. Here in the village, we have way too many resources for the small amount of elves that inhabit it, we can literally go outside and grab food if we are hungry. What do you think happens in a massive city like Listeria?”

“Food is not that easy to come by?”

“Exactly, maybe you did not notice it during your trip here, but most human cities should have an economic system. I asked the Hunters once out of curiosity and, whenever they travel, they exchange materials from the sacred forest for whatever currency the human world is using at the moment. Apparently most of the plants here cannot be found anywhere else.”

“I see, these potions must be incredibly expensive then.”

“I hope so.”

I wonder if my relationship with Lada would have ever turned this way. I had forgotten how good it feels to guide and teach someone, like an older sister would.

“That is the plan for the first night. The next day, we will follow the road of Crone Trees uphill from the lake until we reach a big plain where the eichhorns dig their burrows, there we can sleep for the second night. From then on, we will have to figure out the next steps together, as I have never left the sacred forest before.”

However, I did have a plan after we leave the forest. I thought about it a lot last night; as long as we are in the sacred forest, the Mothers can track our every movement and there is no guarantee that they cannot hear us. That, combined with the fact that I do not know how Nadya will react once I tell her the truth, make it very risky to speak with her about it before we cross the forest.

“Once we are outside, we can find the roads leading to Listeria and follow them. Having you here really keeps me from worrying too much.”

Once we leave the grasp of the village, I plan to ask for Nadya’s real identity if I have not discovered it yet, tell her everything and then convince her to return with me to our real world. Depending on how she reacts, we might even have to stay a few days in Listeria so she can clear her mind, but in the best-case scenario, I am prepared to leave right away. Two small bottles of basilisk venom await for that moment inside my purse.

“I do not know why, but it feels like you truly understand me.”

I looked at the fragile figure walking by side and remembered one last thing I thought about last night.

“Is that flower on your dress a solaris?”

“Yes, they grew a lot next to my cabin back in Tagetes.”

“Can I have it?”

Nadya froze and looked at me for a moment, clearly not expecting my question.

“Sure, why not.”

She slowly removed the flower from her shoulder and handed it to me with the upmost care.

“I have been using mana to keep it alive.”

I held it close to my heart for a few minutes and then, using magic, I made the small flower float and disintegrate in the sky. I could not do it yesterday, my final prayer to Lada. I will make sure to carry her memory with me even to the other world.

“What was that?”

“I wanted to say goodbye to someone special. Do you know why they made you participate in the ceremony here?”

“Not exactly, they just told me they did not have enough apprentices in you village.”

“That is technically true. We originally had two apprentices, Lada and me but, when we were nine years old, I forced her into exploring the forest with me out of boredom. That day she was bitten by a basilisk and died in my arms.”

“I am so sorry.”

“It’s okay. Each year I like to bring her a flower, probably I am just trying to ease my guilt.”

“You are so sweet. I never imagined there could be an elf like you.”

“I am nothing special. As Lelyah always said, I just have a crazy mind.”

This is going to be a difficult trip, the feelings of nostalgia and sadness are already overwhelming me and I just want to scream to Nadya that she is not alone. It is probably better if a stay quiet as much as I can.

The following days went by uneventful. I finally put to practice all the things I learned about botany and biology, whenever we encountered a new plant or animal I explained in detail everything I knew about them to Nadya. She was delighted to hear me and, as time went by, she gradually lost her shyness and became talkative and cheerful. Now that I know more about her, I am almost sure she was one of the students with me that day, though it is impossible for me to figure out which one; I was never too close to them to begin with.

The sun is about to rise and I am sitting on the grass watching at the horizon, I could not really sleep last night. We arrived at the eichhorns burrows late and, even though we were already past the sacred forest, I could not find the right opportunity to talk to Nadya.

“Good morning Agafya, you are up early.”

“Yes… good morning.”

“Listeria must be really big if you can see the castle towers from here.”

We were at the highest spot of a small hill, long in the distance a few towers with the royal flag could be seen. Judging from it, it would take us another day to reach the city.

“We survived the hardest part of the trip, from now on we can advance at our own pace.”

“It was all because of you Agafya. I wanted to say this when we arrived at the city but, do you mind if we keep traveling together? I know I would only be slowing you down, but I will try my best to become more dependable in the future.”

“Nadya…”

“To be honest, I am still not sure about what I want to do for the next ten years. The idea of returning to the village is too scary for me right now, but if I become stronger like you, I think I would be able to face that decision with confidence in no time.”

It would be too evil of me if I do not tell her the truth right now.

“There is something I must tell you first.”

I looked directly into her eyes, hopping that she would see how serious I was.

“I know who you are. I know you were in Saint Mary, that you were in that accident twenty years ago, that you woke up in this world keeping all your past memories. I might not be able to explain exactly why that happened, but I know it did. I know your pain, I know what you have lived surrounded by elves up until now. I know that too well, because it happened to me too.”