Feyre

  I was silent and frozen as I heard the conversation outside the carriage. Tyrril was making me out to be some sort of hidden sword-master while Pavolia was acting like that was impossible. I knew how to use a sword due to my past life's hobbies and clubs but I didn't think that translated over and with an insane boost to those said skills. I assumed it was one of the, seemingly many, things the Monotone Cat hadn't told me. The sword had felt natural in my hands when I grasped it, but after what I'd done I couldn't stand to keep it there if only because of my disgust.

  I had thought that, like in action films, that killing someone would be justified with it was either me or him but it didn't work that way. In my head I kept wondering on whether I could have solved that peacefully but I didn't even want to think about what I had done. Someone else, who I recognised but couldn't remember the name of, had walked over in the time it took for me to find the strength to force the thoughts out of my head. They joined in the conversation quite easily and none of the others seemed to mind so I guessed it was someone that the group respected at least a bit.

  "Tha' gal... She aight? I know what de firs' kill feels like as well as any of us an' i' ain' pleasant." He had been quite mean when we had first met but I changed my opinion on him slightly. He was just a very serious guard who came off as rude. "I still dun' know wetha I trus' her bu' you can' fake a reaction like tha' unless you're very good... She hadn' killed no one before..." He carried on for a bit, conversing with Tyrril, Pavolia and Karrlund until the latter shooed them away and walked over to the carriage.

  I got up groggily and went to the carriage door, reaching for it right as he opened it. I tumbled out and before I could scream I was caught and being placed on my feet. I stumbled slightly and looked up at Karrlund. "Oh... Uh... Thanks..." He looked slightly worried and got slightly too close for comfort before shaking his head and backing off.

  "Did you uh... Hear anything?" He looked kind of nervous so I shook my head and smiled to the best of my abilities. I imagine it came off as a grimace. "Oh, I was worried we'd woken you up from your much needed rest. How do you feel?" He looked more nervous now, I guessed that my killing a bandit would definitely be suspicious to him so I looked around and looked at his sword. I started shaking slightly and he quickly turned sideways so I couldn't see it. He is suspicious but kind. How strange.

  "I'm sorry I just... That was the first time that I had killed someone and..." I choked on my words deliberately before carrying on. "I didn't mean to... I just panicked and-" He cut me off and reached into a pouch on his belt, pulling out a handkerchief of sorts. He offered it silently and I took it, playing it off as me wiping my tears and turning away while secretly relaxing my face because the look of distress was tiring.

  "I wish I could say it gets better Feyre... Really I do..." He sighs. "The first time never goes away. Not unless something is seriously wrong with you." He chuckles and I giggle politely, turning back, schooling my expressions back into their proper places. Tyrril walks back over and we both turn to him. "Hey, Tyrril, I wondered if you think we should get going now that Feyre's awake? We have lost a bit of time and you didn't leave a ton of time for delays in your plans." I winced and he turned to me. "Not that I blame you at all of course! We would have stayed put after a Bandit Attack anyway."

  "Well done Karrlund. You are obviously the ladies man of your group." Tyrril deadpanned and I stifled another giggle. He smirked at me and then gestured to a horse. "If you want, and are able to, take my horse to ride instead of the carriage. I assume it holds nothing but bad memories for you at this point." I nod and go over to his horse.

  It was quite docile and I looked back at the two men, who were now turned away and having a hushed conversation, before looking around. Satisfied no one else was looking, I hiked up my skirts before stepping up onto the stirrup and spinning so I was sat sideways, both legs on one side. Usually in this sort of setting a gentleman would have helped me up, either that isn't true here or they're making a point... I sighed and the horse set off at a slight trot, keeping time with the carriage.

  It wasn't the most comfortable of rides, the horse seemed to sway every few steps so I always felt like I was leaning to one side or the other. However, as I had thought, anything beat having to walk through the woods on an empty stomach. I took out a little snack bar from the saddle pocket of the horse and started munching down on it. I'm the epitome of elegance... I'm sure...

  Tyrril

  Feyre was just outside the carriage on the horse. I was originally going to help her onto it, as any gentleman should, but by the time I'd finished talking with Karrlund she was already sitting on it so I could only assume someone helped her up and left. Smiling, I leaned back in my now empty carriage and pulled out my notebook, it wouldn't do for anyone, no matter how innocent they may seem, to see what I was about to write. I felt bad for basically forcing her to use a horse but I needed to write this and it was about her, so I didn't want any misunderstandings to arise if she'd seen what I was scribbling.

  I took out the ink well and my quill before using my Necklace of Storage to get a spill proof lid. I love this invention, Lord Fyrian is truly a genius. The sound of scratching quill on paper filled the carriage and I got lost in my notes. Notes that, if found by the subject, would probably make them extremely distrustful of me and the rest of the group. Notes about inconsistencies and slip-ups that I noticed. Admittedly a lot of these can be attributed to her trying to keep some sort of anonymity in case she's a very famous noble where she's from but it didn't make sense to me that she wouldn't understand the universal etiquette while also being as refined and noble-esque as she was. Furthermore, I had seen her kill a man in cold blood while in a hostage situation and only when he had fallen, did she think it was smart to let go of the weapon.

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  I had agreed earlier, that the reaction to your first kill is extremely hard to replicate and nigh impossible if you don't have acting at a minimum of level 15. Therefore, I had decided that Feyre's reaction to killing the man was genuine. Now I had some doubts. That movement to stab straight through the soft underside of his face was so smooth that if I didn't know any better I'd have said it was a practiced move.

  In the end I decided that while Feyre was still certainly suspicious she hadn't actually done any harm and had even helped out when needed. This led to me deciding that I should continue treating her cordially and perhaps try to pry some more information off of her if I ever get the chance.

  I sighed and swiped the air, willing the treasures summoned from my necklace be returned and then going back to just looking out the window. Feyre had turned herself so she was properly on my horse and I could see instantly that my steed was playing up, bucking every now and again. Cheeky little... I never finished that thought as I saw Feyre keeping perfectly calm, staying in the saddle and leaning back slightly. She managed to get it to circle before kicking it forward gently, completely nullifying the. Shocked was the only word to describe what I felt at that point and I looked over to the other riders to see if they'd seen what I had. Only Emrik looked surprised but he hid it well.

  We locked eyes and then both turned to Feyre. Emrik had that familiar glint of suspicion in his eyes now. We both distinctly remembered that Feyre had said she'd never ridden a horse before when we first set off again. I added that to the notes.

  Emrik

  I was glad I saw Tyrril looking as suspicious as I felt when Feyre executed the one rein stop. She's sideways. I had thought it was weird that she, a supposed noble, claimed that she couldn't ride a horse. Now I was suspicious of what else she lied about, perhaps she was lying about everything? But I saw how terrible she had looked after killing that guy. She looked genuinely horror struck. That was why I decided that watching from the shadows when possible would be better than prying directly. I knew that if it was me on some sort of spying mission or just stuck in the wilderness alone without the skills to defend myself properly I'd hide my skills too so I attempted to not judge too harshly.

  The only problem with that is that Pavolia didn't seem to be suspicious at all. In fact when we had a quick break stop so that guards could switch she spent the whole time talking about something I didn't even want to know. It led to me just third wheeling for my Fiancee and a random girl we'd met in the forest. I got up in a slight overreaction on my part and stormed off to do really useful things like brood in the shadows. I sat on a tree branch and watched as Feyre seemed so much more relaxed now that I had gone. She smiled so genuinely I almost felt bad for suspecting her but then they started talking proper Girl Stuff and I decided to be a gentleman and let them be and report to Tyrril.

  I sunk into the shadows and appeared near Tyrril. He didn't even flinch, just accepting that I was now right next to him as he walked. "Tyrril... You saw what I saw right? That wasn't rookie stuff... Hey, I still get bucked off by steeds less problematic than yours if I lose focus." Tyrril stared at me and sighed. I took it as a cue to wait until we were alone before continuing. He lead me slightly into the forest and then sighed again, pulling out a notebook.

  "This is everything suspicious I've found... I don't think she's a threat to us Emrik but... Be on the lookout I guess..." I nod and lean against a nearby tree. Tyrril had a good sense for this sort of thing and I trusted him a lot. His notebook was slightly terrifying in that it was so observant and I wondered what my page would be like. I looked up at him as I handed the notebook back. He smiled and sighed yet again. "I don't know what to do... I cannot allow there to be any risk to me or my wares but at the same time... She's just a girl Emrik... Younger than my Niece." He looked torn and I knew that I couldn't help at all.

  "Perhaps you... assign a trusted guard? This would make sure she is safe while also assuring that she mean you and us no harm wouldn't it?" I felt quite proud of myself for that plan and, unlike what I usually ended up doing, I had actually properly introduced it so he couldn't find any faults in my presentation. I waited for his response but... It never came. I waited for a couple minutes as he thought about it before we were interrupted by Karrlund and the Mercenary Captain. They both looked at us and then in the direction of Pavolia and Feyre.

  "So I guess we can't let Pavolia in on our suspicions?" Karrlund spoke first and I turned to him. He must have seen my expression because he amended himself quickly. "I mean at the moment. She obviously likes having another woman around, even if we don't know who she is." He looked at me, and since I had stopped bristling by that point obviously assumed he was on the right track. "If we just assign someone to guard Feyre then no one can say that we were doing anything wrong, since we can just play the, we were worried for her safety, card on Pavolia if she questions us."

  "I dunno 'bout dat one Karrlun'... I reckon the lass is a smar' one an' see i' comin' from an 'mpire away... you know?" He shrugged and Tyrril looked over at us before sighing for what must've been the fourth or fifth time that night. He once again procured his notes and handed them over, showing each and every one of us what he had written down and swore us to secrecy right then and there.

  Lucius

  I was just standing guard near the carriage when seemingly everyone of importance on this trip appeared in front of me in seconds. My Captain looked me dead in the eyes before nodding to Sir Hasstione who walked over to me. He leaned in close before whispering. "We're going to appoint you as a guard to the new girl we met. You're going to guard her and report anything interesting about her to us. She is not our enemy yet, we just want to be sure... anyway-" I stopped listening properly after that. Sir Hasstione always talked way too much in mission briefs. They just wanted me to spy on the new 'Noble' that we'd met. I saluted once he stopped talking and walked off to get ready for VIP guard duty.

  I reached my tent and got a crossbow as well as the necessary ammo and an Alarm scroll. Couldn't be too careful nowadays. Tyrril had looked uncomfortable when I was briefed but I ignored that in favour of my Captain's slightly smug look and Sir Hasstione's resoluteness in his orders. I put my full faced helmet on and walked out of my tent, ready to do my job that I had been given. I would succeed, no matter what happened.

  I hoped you liked the fight with the Greater Wolf in the earlier chapters... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... :] :] :] :) :) :) (Evil laughs)

  We usually write on Saturday and Sunday but it's Mother's day so only Monday's one is written. Chapter 8 isn't coming out until next week, sorry!