-HIM-

I couldn't believe what I saw until red spots appeared in my vision. The rusty scent of blood was thick in the air, and so was the fear in people's eyes.

"Who could have done this?" I overheard a villager asking the other. "And how come no one noticed this?"

"I think it's the gipsies," Another villager speculated, feeding the fear already plaguing them. I listened keenly, unable to make something out of this. The mention of gipsies sent a new surge of agitation through the crowd.

"We'd have to leave our houses today," A woman cried, "why did they have to do it?"

"I don't think it's the gipsies," Another villager spoke up. It was an elderly woman, "gipsies wouldn't have a good reason to hurt the Royal Troops. I think it was a..." the old woman trailed off, gulping hard. The fear in her eyes spoke of something more terrifying than gipsies.

What could be more dreadful of gipsies? I wondered.

"Who was it?" The villagers urged the woman to speak up.

"I think it was a priestess!" She cried. Her words were the tremor of the seabed that sent devastating waves. The women wailed in dread while the men began discussing migrating plans in panicky tones.

"A priestess," A voice spoke beside me, reminding me of Vittoria's presence. Her eyes were wide, and her face paler than a ghost. I held her arm, snapping her out of the trace due to the sparks.

She looked at me with apprehension. Something had changed about her in that instant, but I couldn't put a finger on it.

"You will be safe as long as you're with me," I assured her, but my words didn't do anything to her. Instead, more and more blood drained out of her face.

"How are you sure that it was a priestess?" I asked the older woman with the wild guess.

"Look there!" She pointed at a peculiar tree on the other side of the lake. It didn't have any leaves, only bare branches. The tree would have looked dead if it weren't for the blood-red flowers oddly blooming on its naked branches. "The Devil's Oak has bloomed, and they bloom only when a grim reaper or a priestess has been near,"

Her words terrified the villagers even more. I tugged Vittoria away from the lake and those villagers to keep her from hearing more terrible things.

"Are you alright?" I asked to break her prolonged silence. As we left the villagers, she glanced over her shoulder as if looking for someone.

"Yes," she answered coldly.

"You don't look alright," I mentioned, but she didn't say anything. I couldn't hit a nail on it, but how she responded to the circumstances felt bizarre. She seemed terrified and disturbed, but not specifically regarding the incident. There appeared to be something else going on in her mind. "Those villagers were talking bluff. I don't see why a priestess would travel so far to kill some royal troops. Just this idea sounds ridiculous to me. I'm betting it must be some rouge warlords who did this," I stated.

"If it were some warlords, they wouldn't have left their involvement a mystery," She said curtly, looking ahead. The fear and the uncertainty had disappeared from her face. I had to admit, she was right.

"So you're saying it was a priestess?" I asked her.

"I never said that," she corrected herself instantly, giving me a frigid stare. The sudden shift in her demeanour disturbed me, spurring something rudimentary inside me. Then it all came crashing down on me. Well, even though it was more evident than the daylight, an enormous part of me had always overlooked it.

She was a stranger.

I knew nothing about her except her name. I wasn't even sure if Vittoria was her real name. I had given her an alias. I might have been using her alias all this time too. I encountered her in different places, pretending to be someone else every time— just like me. She always came to me like air but then disappeared like a ghost, leaving me wondering if she was real to not. She always carried an air of mystery. She spoke like a commoner girl but moved with an air of power.

Who was she? I wondered for the billionth time as I glanced at her. There was something about her that didn't sit quite right with me... I wasn't able to figure it out yet. Though the only answer I had was— she's the one.

"Then who do you think did this?" I questioned.

"An enemy of the throne,"

"Anyone particular in mind?" I pressed.

"I can think of many people... that mutt king, the revolutionaries, one of those families with their nobel titles taken away, a rouge royal, a relative next in line to the throne... it could be anyone,"

"Anyone but a priestess?" I pried.

"You sound incredibly interested in the idea," she told me.

"I wish to meet a priestess someday," I told her. She stopped walking suddenly, and her head snapped towards me with the swiftness of air changing direction. Her dark eyes pierced my skin. I had never seen her look stranger.

"Be careful what you wish for, Nico," she told me in the tone of serving a warning. Something about the way she had said that made me recognise maybe, my wish of meeting a priestess was foolish. After all, the lores did say they weren't a pleasant group.

I thought meeting a priestess wouldn't be such a big deal. I thought those lores were there to make people steer clear of them so they could do their business without anyone bothering them. But now, I had a feeling... maybe, all those things said about them were true. Perhaps, it was sensible to let go of the wish to meet a priestess.

But I didn't want to be sensible here.

"Do you think those lores are true?" I asked her, resuming walking.

"Better to let them stay in the lores than become a reality," she said darkly.

"You sound like you've met a priestess before," I chucked to loosen her up, but it didn't affect her.

"You should be more careful with your words, Nico... especially when you walk the Somirean lands where gipsies live and priestesses walk," She told me.

"Do you believe in them?" I had to ask.

"It's better to have an open mind for such things than to be dead. No one knows everything. I must go now," she announced.

"Go where?" I asked, stepping in front of her.

"Go where I need to go," she answered, "You have to return the gem to me,"

"Not so easily," I reminded her, "I have a deal,"

"I am not interested in doing business with you,"

"No, it's a different kind of a deal," I grinned cunningly.

~

My eyes remained on her the whole time as we set up a camp outside the town. The camp was a mix of my men and the travellers who had come for the festival. I ensured she didn't get an opportunity to slip away.

I could see that she was waiting to leave me again. I knew she would eventually disappear like a ghost, but I wanted to delay it. It was unpredictable when we'd meet again next, and this saddened me to a great extent.

Suddenly, my mind started to race with the ideas of how I could stop her from leaving. I could steal her and take her back with me. The idea was tempting, but it was stupid. It was like trying to hold time in your hand. No matter how hard you clutch your fist, it would flow away like sand.

If I had learned one thing about her all this time, it was this— if I go looking out for her, I'd never find her. In the same way, if I try having her, I might never have her at all.

She had to come to me on her own, just like the wind. All I could do was wait.

I made her stay until after dinner, and everyone had gone to sleep, making her more impatient.

"Are you going to make me stay for the night?" She asked impatiently.

"I wish I could," I said, looking at her expectantly. She glared at me in response, pouring water on my hopes. She had set her mind, and nothing was going to change it.

I'd be empty after she leaves, but it's supposed to be like this. Neither could I make the wind blow nor change the direction it's supposed to blow. The wind blows whenever and wherever she wants to blow. The wind has its own mind.

"The stone," she reminded me. I nodded before leading her to the edge of the camp to make sure we were out of earshot.

"I want you to tell me something, Vittoria," I declared, turning to her. I'm not sure if I imagined it, but there was a sudden change in the night wind when I said her name. I had my back to the woods, and unexpectedly, I had this urge to turn around, but I didn't. My eyes were only on her.

"About what?" She inquired.

"I'm sure you must have heard about Valdemerca's book," I stated. She briefly tore her eyes from mine and looked over my shoulder.

"I've never heard about it," she answered, looking back at me. The urge to turn around got stronger abruptly.

"I'm sure you must know something," I pressed. I was sure she knew about it. It had to be her!

"How are you sure?" She asked, briefly glancing over my shoulder again.

"I believe we keep crossing paths for a reason. You are to aid me in finding things I have been looking for a long time now," I told her, and she gave a dry laugh.

"It's just pure coincidence," She told me, shaking her head.

"You don't get it, Vitt—" I stopped midway saying that name. I had an odd feeling about it suddenly. It just didn't feel good on my tongue. It didn't feel like her name. Come to think of it, I always felt off about the name. It couldn't be her name. "This is not a coincidence," I told her. "We meet because you're my—"

I sank into the darkness with that word lingering on my lips.

_