Chapter 13 On The Run Part 2

As Vance continued running, he finally ran into a monster. It was nothing more than a Rabbigoon, but it was at least something to gain some experience points on. He quickly flicked his hand, sending out calming powder all around him before creating a fireball and sending it flying at the rabbigoon in front of him, who did not have time to dodge before being turned to toast. He then spun around and shot off a few more fireballs in different directions at three different targets. The rabbigoons who had just jumped out were soon affected by the calming powder and were unable to dodge once more and were also turned to toast.

Alice, who was on Vance's back, stared dumbly at the situation wondering just how skilled one had to be, to be able to accurately attack rabbigoons in quick succession like this. She did not seem to notice the calming powder. To her, who was not used to the outside world, Vance's quick successive attacks were quite amazing.

Vance did not even stop to loot anything and continued forward. After using magic on the rabbigoons, there was not much worth scavenging anyway. Vance continued on like this and even gained a level as he came to the forest edge. By this time, nighttime was settling in, and Vance was a bit disappointed that he did not get to see if the treant sproutgoon had spawned or not. He would have to check the next time he was in the area. He figured as long as the life quest was finished, he would be able to go back after he bought a house for his parents.

"Why are we stopping here?" Alice asked as she noticed Vance was not moving any further.

"Because your pink hair is a dead giveaway that you are not a commoner," Vance said as he gently set Alice down. "We need to cover your head, but we do not have any cloaks to do that. We will camp here for now. Monsters normally do not roam near the main roads, so it should be somewhat safe. When it's light out, we will move close to town. I will then go in and buy some things and bring them out to you. Our goal is not the town but to get you back to the capital."

"You know who I am, don't you?" Alice bit her lip. It seemed the man who was trying to help her already knew her status.

"Hmmm? You did not say, so I did not expose you. There is no reason for me to go out of my way to do something unnecessary. If you wanted your identity known, you would have said more than just your first name. But I can say this. I will get you to the capital. This I promise." Of course, he would do it even if she was not the princess since it was part of his life quest anyway.

Alice did not know how she should feel about this, but she had to say this young man who was around her age had carried her without complaint, killed many monsters, and made sure she did not get a single scratch on her the entire time. She knew that this young man named Vance was trustworthy.

pA n,dan(-)0ve1.c0m "Thank you…." Alice muttered softly. Vance shrugged and cleared a small spot away from a tree and had Alice sit down before sitting down himself.

The night would be long, and he would need to sleep himself, but he did not have much time for that. Someone had to keep guard. "Sleep. I will keep guard. After we get you a cloak and some other necessities, we will find an inn and get a double room so we can get proper rest."

Alice could only nod. She leaned her head against the tree and closed her eyes. She was tired, very tired. The entire day she had been on the run. Her body ached from head to toe. As she finally started to relax, she did not know when, but she fell into a deep sleep.

Vance watched as Alice's head teetered back and forth a few times before reaching up and pulling it toward his shoulder. He could not understand what it was like to be chased and almost killed, but he was not so cold as not to lend a shoulder to a girl who was sleeping.

If it was not for the moonlight, the world around him would be very dark. He could see both ways on the road, and the spot he had chosen was hidden under the darkness of the tree's shadow. He kept on guard as he looked back and forth, not daring to let anything slip by. If he saw any humans that looked like bandits, he would need to pull Alice into the woods to hide. The main reason he was even on the roadside was, as he said, because monsters rarely came to the road. This was to protect him and her during the night.

As the hours passed, Vance only saw a few people passing by. None of which were anything to worry about. Merchants still traveled the roads at night sometimes if they were in a rush. He saw one large merchant caravan go by and then a few peddlers as well. One could tell who was who based on what they were carrying. A merchant caravan had goods packed all over their wagons, while peddlers normally had large packs with goods hanging off the side.

As first light came around, Vance woke the sleeping girl next to him, causing her eyes to spring open. When she lifted her head and saw that she was using Vance as a pillow, her cheeks turned red. "Sorry!"

"It's fine. You were tired. We have a bit to go, so we will use the forest as cover and find a place near the town to hide you until I get you a cloak." Vance stood up and stretched while letting out a yawn. Alice also stood up and felt bad when she saw the dark circles under Vance's eyes. He had stayed up to keep watch all night while she peacefully slept.

A few hours later, as the sun was half high in the sky, Vance found a hollowed-out tree near the town. After inspecting it, he had Alice climb inside and then put some shrubs on top of the entrance to hide it. Before covering it all up, he handed Alice his dagger and said: "I will be back. Do not leave this tree for any reason, and try not to make any sounds. If a monster somehow gets in, stab it with the knife, I just gave you."

Alice nodded and squatted down at the bottom of the tree. She hated this. She hated how she had to go into hiding all because of her brother. She hoped she could finally rectify all of these things when she reached the capital. She would make her brother pay.

Vance quickly got in line to enter the town after walking through the forest in a roundabout way so that he did not come directly from the spot where he had hidden Alice in. When he got in line he saw a few men who had swords on their sides, covered in dirt with tears on their clothes. They looked like bandits, but Vance could tell by the swords' hilts that they were no bandits. He could summarize that these people were probably the ones who chased after Alice, but he couldn't help but wonder…. Why would the prince hire such weak mercenaries? The weapons had an emblem on the ball of the hilt of their swords, so he was sure they were not mountain bandits, but the fact that Alice was able to run away to the point of making it to the hut he was in showed their inability to be someone trustworthy unless they were just disposable pawns.

Vance kind of wished he paid attention to the storyline more. These men might be from a lower-ranking noble house that the prince promised many things to in order for them to handle the task. He was sure the house would be killed off once they sent word of the good news. But then again, Vance also figured he might be overthinking things as well. These men might just not be involved in any of this. Or so he thought that is until one of them walked up and asked: "Have you seen a girl with pink hair?"

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