Priscilla scrubbed her face with water until it just looked like she had vigorously washed her face rather than she had just bawled her eyes out. The dagger sheath was left behind on the bed because Priscilla didn’t see any reason she’d need it today. She searched once more for the green ribbon and couldn’t find it, so Priscilla reluctantly accepted she lost the damn thing. Though even if she had found it, it’d be a fruitless endeavor since Priscilla only had one hand to work with.

  Priscilla blew a stray strand out of her face as she walked out of Jeroinin’s place, taking in the sight of the village slowly coming to life. Only a few people were moving this early, though it was more than Priscilla had expected after the partying last night. She spotted Allasan with a basket of eggs tucked under arms and several cats twining around her legs and Kayir was wearing what Priscilla could only assume was this world’s version of a beekeeper’s attire; a large brimmed hat with tightly woven net stretching down to tuck into his collar, with long sleeves and pants, and large, bulky gloves. Kayir’s children waddled after him in matching attire, nodding emphatically when their father paused to say something.

  She stood there for a long moment, letting the peacefulness of people going about their daily routines wash over her.

  The urgency to get to Illnyea was still there after the talk with Asha, but logic finally entered Priscilla’s planning process. Illnyea had been traveling to Harosaw City to the west and even if Priscilla left right now, it would take at least three weeks to get there if nothing went wrong, which seemed highly unlikely.

  Of course, that travel time was only possible if Priscilla had a horse, which she currently didn’t as the poor beast had been killed by Azurin.

  It would be better to spend a day or two getting prepared for that type of journey and seeing what her options were rather than flying off the handle. Jeroinin might be able to help workshop some of Priscilla’s current ideas or maybe the information the half-elf would share could turn all of her tentative plans on their head.

  Priscilla couldn’t truly start planning anything until she tracked down the village leader for a nice, private conversation.

  “What are you thinking about so deeply, Priscilla?”

  Priscilla jumped at Sulaiman’s voice as he whispered in her ear and her hair fell into her face. She pushed it out of the way to glare at Sulaiman for startling her and saw that Kavil was standing nearby, poorly hiding his chuckles behind his hand.

  “Sorry,” Kavil said, dimples showing as he stepped forward, “we tried calling out for you but you didn’t answer so I told Sulaiman to see how close he could get before you noticed. You still didn’t notice when he was right behind you so…”

  Kavil giggled again and the annoyance slid right out of Priscilla’s mind at the sound, though she playfully glared at Sulaiman a little more.

  “You’re real fucking lucky I didn’t suckerpunch you when you scared me,” Priscilla said.

  Sulaiman did not look phased by that threat whatsoever. In fact, Sulaiman wasn't even looking at Priscilla’s face, his thoughtful gaze focused slightly to the side of her face.

  Priscilla tilted her head, trying to figure out if she somehow had a bug in her hair or something.

  “Turn around,” Sulaiman said, nay, commanded as he motioned with an imperious hand for her to do so.

  Priscilla did not enjoy his tone and the way he assumed she’d simple do as he bid, saying, “You don’t get to–”

  But Kavil betrayed her with a cheeky grin, grabbing her right arm to twirl her around so her back faced Sulaiman.

  Priscilla was about to keep protesting when she felt Sulaiman’s hands brush against the back of her neck as he gently took her hair into his hands. She was so shocked at that sensation Priscilla went completely still, unsure of what was happening but trying to hide how much she enjoyed someone playing with her hair. It was a guilty pleasure Priscilla rarely got to indulge in and it was different than she was used to with long hair, as she had only ever had a bob in her previous life.

  Kavil’s smile grew but Priscilla could barely pay attention to him as Sulaiman’s long fingers gathered up all her hair, separating it into several parts. It took a moment for to realize what he was doing, but Priscilla kept quiet about the realization Sulaiman decided to randomly start braiding her hair.

  It didn’t take long for Sulaiman to finish, tying off her hair and then placing the braid gently over her left shoulder. When Priscilla glanced down, she saw the very same green ribbon she had been searching for earlier tied off in a bow at the end of what looked like a nearly perfect braid, if you discounted the random strands that were shorter than the rest and poked out.

  Priscilla turned to face Sulaiman, words failing her as she stared at him as he stepped around her injured side.

  A satisfied smirk tugged at Sulaiman’s face as he looked back.

  “You’ve let your hair fall to the wayside since your injury and it looks like a bird’s nest,” Sulaiman said. “With your hair being so uneven now, a ponytail would slip right out. I’m halfway decent at braiding hair because of Illnyea’s laziness, so I figured I’d help a poor invalid out.”

  Priscilla heard his words, she really did because it was an extremely cute fact about Illnyea and Sulaiman’s friendship, but she was focused on the ribbon still. Maybe because she had spent so much time searching for the damn thing only for it to show up when she least expected it.

  “Where’d you find the ribbon?” Priscilla asked, her voice softer than intended. “I thought I lost it.”

  “I picked it up after the fight,” Sulaiman said, crossing his arms, “along with your dagger. You know, you really should take better care of your things or else they’re going to be ruined, especially if you just leave it lying about on the battlefield to be trampled.”

  Priscilla only had time to blink before Kavil was leaning forward, smirking at Sulaiman.

  “You say that, but you spent a good half an hour last night cleaning that ribbon by hand,” Kavil teased. “You even asked me if I had any good tonics to get blood out of the fabric and I had to trek halfway across the village to get it for you.”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  Sulaiman stiffened. Priscilla was fascinated to see Sulaiman blush as he glared at Kavil.

  “Things done in the privacy of the home aren’t meant to be shared,” Sulaiman hissed.

  “It’s my home you were doing that in!” Kavil protested. “I let you sleep in my bed out of the goodness of my heart, so I think I have the right to share anything that goes on there.”

  Sulaiman let out a noise that was akin to a tea kettle.

  “Now listen here,” Sulaiman began, “you can’t just use a host’s privileges to share your guests’ private life and make insinuations…”

  “When my guest,” Kavil said, speaking over Sulaiman, “has me go off on a quest at 2 in the morning to go get a better cleaning tonic because what I had wasn’t up to his high standards…”

  Priscilla let the sound of their bickering drown out as she fingered the edge of the ribbon. It was far cleaner than when she had last seen it and the green seemed more vibrant in the sunlight, showing off the ivy that had been embroidered in a slightly darker color green thread than the rest of the ribbon that had been nearly invisible until this point. The thought of Sulaiman stopping to pick up her favorite hair ribbon even in all the chaos of battle and fastidiously cleaning it with the best supplies he could find before returning it to her made something soft swell in Priscilla’s heart, though she couldn’t put a name to the emotion.

  “Thank you,” Priscilla said, not raising her voice but it stopped the boy’s bickering in its tracks and they both turned to her. Priscilla tilted her head to show off the braid as she smiled. “For the braid and the ribbon both. You really didn’t have to.”

  Sulaiman looked flustered, said, “It’s not like I wanted–”

  “Just take the compliment,” Kavil chided, taking quite the liberty as he bumped his shoulder against Sulaiman’s. Sulaiman turned a furious glare that was at odds with his flushed cheeks towards Kavil, who seemed unfazed.

  Priscilla laughed and turned her smile to Kavil. “And thank you for sacrificing sleep to help him.”

  Kavil paused in the middle of saying something, and then closed his mouth with an abrupt sound.

  “It wasn’t all that hard,” Kavil said, sounding like he was going for a casual tone even as he fought and lost to keep a smile off his face.

  “Not that hard, huh?” Sulaiman said, leaning forward with a challenging eyebrow and revenge in his eyes. “Who was it that complained his eyes had seen horrors he could never unsee?”

  Kavil whipped his head around and they started bickering again. Priscilla shook her head at them, but let them have their fun. As the boys lost themselves in fighting over the implied nature of secrets, Priscilla let her gaze wander over the village.

  Priscila’s focus sharpened when she saw Jeroinin walking alongside Yarnon’s side, Yarnon’s head ducked down to speak with the half-elf. She wanted to talk to Jeroinin as soon as possible. Before that, however, Priscilla wanted to at least tell Sulaiman and Kavil of her accelerated travel plans instead of springing it on them at the last minute.

  “I actually had something I needed to talk to you about,” Priscilla said, and both their attention returned to her. The atmosphere became a little more serious as Sulaiman took a few deep breaths and Kavil straightened his back, looking suddenly on edge.

  “I know that I have to have my arm in a sling for a week,” Priscilla said, “but I would like to leave here either tomorrow or the day after.”

  Sulaiman blinked at her in surprise and Kavil’s normally smiling face was subdued.

  “Why do you want to leave so quickly?” Sulaiman asked, his voice betraying only confusion.

  Priscilla’s fingertips tapped along her thighs, soothing her nerves and reminding herself that Asha was there. She had planned this conversation out and all she had to do was sell it well.

  “I hadn’t planned on staying here very long in the first place,” Priscilla said, keeping her voice steady, “and though the hospitality has been great, I would really fucking love to sleep in my own bed again. There’s a few things on my agenda I need to get done, and unfortunately I can’t get them done here.”

  Sulaiman’s eyes narrowed slightly as he studied Priscilla’s face, but she kept her expression open and honest. She hadn’t spoken a single lie, just omitted some truth. Priscilla had thought about telling Sulaiman that Illnyea was in danger because it’d be a surefire way to get him on her side, but she couldn’t think of a way to tell him that without giving the excuse, “I saw it in a dream.” Yeah, no, that would just make her sound delusional and make Sulaiman suspect she was up to something nefarious.

  “I suppose I can work with that timeline,” Sulaiman said slowly, his foot tapping as he thought.

  “You don’t have a horse, Priscilla,” Kavil said in a small voice, cutting off whatever Sulaiman was about to say next. His gaze didn’t rise from the ground when she looked at him.

  “That’s part of the reason I have to leave so soon,” Priscilla said as gently as she could, “as the journey back is going to be a real bitch on our feet until we reach Grazda and can get another horse.”

  Kavil looked defeated by her answer but he stepped closer, bringing his hand up to rest lightly against her shoulder. A gentle glow surrounded his palms and sank into Priscilla, providing more relief than Kavil probably thought it did, soothing out the worst of the aches Priscilla had gotten from taking the sling off.

  “I hope this helps you reach your goal,” Kavil said, gaze still downcast. “It should help speed along the healing process at least a little.”

  Priscilla didn’t know what she had done wrong, didn’t know which of her words had ruined his mood and made him so despondent. Kavil’s hand began to slip down, having finished healing her. But though Priscilla could be block headed and stubborn and she hated the idea of forcing someone onto a path they didn’t want, Priscilla hated that resigned look on Kavil’s face even more, like what he had feared had come to pass and there was nothing he could do but accept it.

  Priscilla caught Kavil’s hand before it could fall too far and hoped she wouldn’t regret her words.

  “I can’t guarantee what’ll happen, but do you want to come with us? ” Priscilla asked and Kavil’s head snapped up, startled copper eyes blown wide. He blinked a few times uncomprehendingly and just stared without saying a word.

  Priscilla wasn’t sure what to do with that reaction and looked to Sulaiman for help. Sulaiman’s eyebrows had risen high and he looked nearly as startled as Kavil and was absolutely no help at all.

  “I’m not going to force you this on you,” Priscilla said, wishing that she had kept her big fatass mouth shut because now it was babbling to fill the silence that was slowly crushing her, “and things might get crazy, so this entirely your choice, but, should you, you know, maybe be interested–”

  “Yes,” Kavil said, sounding breathless as he clutched her hand and leaned in, “yes, I’ll come with you.”

  Priscilla became aware of just how close he had gotten, her hand held against his chest and his face just inches from hers. Priscilla’s face heated as Kavil stared at her like she hung the sun in the sky just for him.

  “That’s, that’s great,” Priscilla said, skittering her gaze away and taking half a step back, though she didn’t reclaim her hand, “um, so I’m sure Sulaiman will help you figure out what you need to get ready and I just need to go talk with Jeroinin really quickly, if that’s all good with you?”

  Kavil’s grip loosened and Priscilla took that as a yes, sharply nodding her head to him and glaring at Sulaiman, who was still just standing there like a lout, and quickly walked to where Jeroinin had paused to speak with Kayir.

  “Real smooth, master,” Asha whispered as Priscilla tossed the braid over her shoulder.

  “Oh piss off,” Priscilla muttered, “it’s not like you would do any better.”

  Asha’s amusement and judgement was clear as day and didn’t help Priscilla’s blush go away as Jeroinin finally noticed Priscilla was walking towards her.