The sunlight was bright, even lighting the rest of the attic. He blinked his eyes awake. Michael was always a heavy sleeper, especially when he found himself comfortable in his bed. Though he wondered why there was something that blocked his view.
Michael slept on his side and whenever he woke up, he was supposed to be facing the other empty half of the attic. But there was something in his way.
Actually, it was someone that laid next to him.
It was Evelyn, that was right, everything that happened last night wasn't a dream. He smiled to himself. He pulled his hand and ran his thumb along her cheek. Her face was just as soft as whenever she held his hand. She was even pretty in her sleep.
Michael felt the floor shake as the attic hatch pulled itself open. If he wasn't fully snapped awake, then he was now.
Stefan popped his head into view. "Hey, Michael—"
Michael pulled his blanket over his lap, covering Evelyn in the process. He was also incredibly lucky that Mave had given him a bedding made for adults, not for children because he managed to cover all of her body.
"Oh, whoops—" Stefan climbed back down. "I didn't mean to interrupt you, don't mind me."
Michael didn't even know what he was talking about.
"When you're finished, come down and eat your breakfast," he said loudly. "We got an assigned quest to do and you're included."
The hatch on the attic closed shut. Michael thought his breathing was out of control the entire time that situation played out. This was too close, way too close for anyone to know. He flipped over the blanket as Evelyn just woke up.
She stretched around, rubbing her eyes.
"You told me you would turn back into a sword!" Michael sat back. "What were you thinking?!"
She squinted her eyes. He thought she looked adorable doing that.
He sighed in relief. They were so close to being caught. This entire time, nobody had known there was another person secretly living in their home.
Evelyn yawned and pulled the blanket back to cover herself. Was she always like this? After all the times that Michael slept next to her as a sword, she was the one responsible to wake him up. The sword would hum and glow, signaling him to wake up and flash her back into her physical body. Now looking at her, she was way too drowsy for that.
"We can't do this anymore, okay?"
"Really?" she moaned. "I thought you liked holding me."
"I do, but you were supposed to be a sword when I woke up."
"I guess I got a little carried away. Sleeping as a sword feels way different than sleeping in my body."
Michael even felt her arms hugging around him as if she had imprinted that feeling on his body.
She obnoxiously stretched again. "So, I guess this is the last time I get to hold you. I'll be a sword then, every time you want to sleep."
"No, you—" he knew she was teasing him again. "It's fine. You don't have to do that."
"Heh," she half-grinned. "That's what I thought."
Michael pulled away her blanket as she hissed from the cold. Before she could cause any more rumble, he grabbed her hand and flashed her back into a sword. He also decided to ignore some of the teasing remarks she made in his head on how flustered his face was during that night.
He fixed his ruffled hair and strapped on his armor. The sound of Stefan's voice made it seem like they were in a hurry. Michael climbed downstairs and washed his face then walked to the kitchen table.
Mave leaned against a counter, drinking her daily dose of coffee. Ellis was directing all of them into a map he spread across the table as Stefan chewed a slab of meat in his hands. They were going on another quest.
Ellis nodded to Michael. "Morning."
Michael nodded back.
"How long do you think we're staying out for?" Stefan said as he dragged his finger across the map. "If we're going to be this far from Aldoria, are we ever going to come back?"
"Of course we'll come back," Mave sipped her coffee. "Do you really think we'll live someplace else?"
"They're sending us pretty far than usual. No details, no headers, no nothing, just straight direction and command. What type of quest for adventurers throws us completely blind?"
Mave looked concerned. "So, it's that type of quest again."
"We're going to fight against Falden, aren't we?" he scoffed. "Was it really necessary to keep that from us?"
The world Falden bounced around Michael's head. Wasn't that an opposing kingdom from Wilmere that Ellis talked to him about? They were adventurers, not soldiers ordered to fight for a war. Michael imagined an adventure consisting of discovering new treasures and fighting unidentified beasts. Was Wilmere really so desperate for firepower that they decided to send adventurers to fight for them?
"I told you two," Ellis rolled the map back. "The war has already started ages ago, they're just taking small steps to advance. Whether it looks like it or not, each day their councils are planning new ways of attack. It just so happened that we were chosen for that opportunity."
Mave placed her cup aside. "We can't refuse this quest?"
"I believe none of us could if we wanted to. It's almost as if we walked right into their trap."
"Sorry, kid," Stefan said to him. "Not your ideal adventure but I promise that we'll get rich after this."
Michael held onto his sling. "Are we going to fight other people again?"
Ellis sighed. "It's not surprising nobody gets along with each other, Michael. We fight with other people all the time, even our own adventurers. Why do you think Mave has been training you?"
"I just—don't want to kill anyone."
"Alright," Stefan clapped his hands. "We don't want to keep the guild waiting, right? Hurry up and pack, let's go, chop-chop."
Michael stuffed his face with whatever breakfast that Mave cooked up and packed his bags for travel. Aside from extra clothes and essentials, he didn't have much that could last him a while. Stefan said it didn't matter since improvisation was a part of the journey so that sort of lessened Michael's worry.
They left the house and walked to the same Adventuring guild where Michael had first met Stefan and his party. It wasn't exactly a welcoming reunion for the place since nothing had really changed. There were still loud adventurers around them and even some that berated the receptionist serving them. Stefan took them around back to the guild's stables filled with strong horses and spare wagons. Apparently the guild had the consideration to compensate them for the travels and assigned them their own horse.
Stefan patted the horse's mane like he could communicate with them, or because he was just generally happy that it came for free. Paying for travels had to be expensive.
"Your party," the receptionist said. "Stefan Jaegen, Mave Hawke, and Ellis Winslow, correct?"
"You're missing one," Stefan said, pushing Michael to the front. "This kid."
"You have a new party member?"
"I guess I forgot to register him before."
The receptionist looked at Michael. "Your name?"
Michael stood straight. "Michael Velo."
The receptionist scribbled on his list then told them they were free to travel. Stefan hopped in front of the wagon and pulled the rest of them up.
They began to travel to an unknown place outside of Wilmere according to Ellis's direction. It would take them days to reach so they all tried to pack as much as they could and refrained from spending their gold excessively.
The horses moved slowly along the bustling morning of Aldoria. The commoners heading for their work and the children running across the street as Stefan yelled for them to move.
It was just like any ordinary day, Michael thought, but they were going to fight real people instead of defending against magical beasts.
He even imagined watching himself and Evelyn running along the street, laughing just like the same children without any care in the world. Was this really what he wanted to do with his life? Becoming an adventurer? Having his being written down as a hero was any little kid's dream. Everybody wants to be remembered, no matter how much a person wanted to deny that fact.
But for Michael, none of that sounded appealing to him. Becoming stronger was something inevitable if he had to protect Evelyn. He wanted to be happy with her without the worry of someone threatening their bond together.
Was that the real truth of what Michael wanted all along? He knew it sounded selfish, having her spend the rest of her life with him. He wanted to hold her again whenever he slept and feel her soft breaths against his chest. He wanted nobody to stand between them and to achieve that reality, he needed to be strong.
What if he quit being an adventurer? Even if Evelyn was a magical sword that gave him powers, that had never meant for him to use her as a weapon. She could stay human forever, holding his hand in every second of the day. But where would they go? Would Michael just rely on the courtesy of someone else's home? Or sleep in the stables that reeked of manure when they had nowhere else to go?
He didn't want Evelyn to live that life he had as a slave.
Michael wasn't raised smart. Both of his parents were adventurers, they tackled the world no matter how hard it seemed. And for him, that soon passed right back onto him.