Julia was glad to be back on the road again. She glanced at Arthur, who was grinning widely. Lily hummed from where she sat on his shoulder. "We'll need to make a stop in Verral" Arthur said. "Okay" Julia responded "why?"

"I need to pick up something" he said. Julia sighed, but didn't ask what. Arthur was an enigma to Julia, and she knew she wasn't going to get an answer.

When they got into town Arthur had disappeared, it was just Lily and Julia. "Does this happen often?" Julia asked Lily as she walked down the street. "No" she grumbled from where she sat on Julia's shoulder. Julia walked silently for a while, searching the town for Arthur. Eventually she got hungry, so she went to the town's tavern to get something to eat. The tavern was nearly deserted, much like the rest of the town. "I've been meaning to ask" Julia said, taking a bite of her bread "how did you meet Arthur?"

Lily, who had been sitting on a wine cork, grinned. "As a sprite, I was extremely mischievous. I was always out wondering or following animals through the forest, much to my family's disliking. One day, I got fed up with my parents and sisters, so I left" she said, and then her gaze dropped to the floor "that's when I got lost in a grim forest, filled with creatures that made my skin crawl."

She shivered a bit, putting her hands on her shoulders. "One day, I was cornered by a strange creature. I was sure I would be devoured, but when the creature lunged at me, Arthur came out of nowhere and stopped it. He protected me, then checked to see if I was okay. I was so touched that someone as big and strong as him would take his time to protect someone as small and weak as me" she said, her cheeks beginning to glow blue, which Julia assumed was her blushing "I was so happy that someone was being nice to me. He offered to take me with him, and promised he'd keep me safe."

"That's so sweet" Julia said. "He also made this dress thing, somehow" Lily added with a twirl "I didn't understand at the time why it mattered if I was naked or not."

Julia giggled at the thought of Arthur doing something like stitching the tiny dress together. There was a commotion from outside. The two of them went to investigate. They found Arthur with the edge of his sword to the throat of small but intimidating man. "Last time I was here, I told you to behave yourself" said Arthur "do you remember what I said would happen if you didn't?”

The man let out a little yelp. "Y-yeah!" He answered "I-I'm sorry."

Arthur grinned as he backed the man up against a wall. "Arthur's been here before?" Julia asked Lily, who shrugged. Arthur punched the wall right next to the man's head, never removing Barringre from his throat. His fist stayed right where it had hit and cracked the wall. "Then don't let me catch you misbehaving again" he said, his smile never leaving his face. "He would be one scary father" Lily commented. He turned around and sheathed Barringre, noticing the two of them. "Oh, hey guys" he said. "Friend of yours?" Joked Lily. "Oh, him?" He replied "that guy was just a local gang leader, I make a point to try to reform them, one way or another."

He began to walk away. "Hey, where are you going!?" Julia and Lily yelled in unison. "I just need to pick up one more thing" he called from over his shoulder "get us a room at the tavern, I'll meet you there."

Arthur came back late, he returned carrying a small arming sword. "Where have you been?" Both Lily and Julia demanded. "Getting this" he said, presenting the sheathed sword "a sword I had hidden in this town last time I visited." He laid it on the bed next to Julia, and then sat on the floor. Julia looked at the weapon with confusion.

"Wha-?"

"It's for you; the Virgo Illumina"

"Wh-why?"

"When I found it, I thought it was too small to be of use. I now know the reason I found it. Journeying with me is dangerous, this way, you can defend yourself"

"But can't you just protect me?"

Arthur looked down at the floor. "I'm not good at protecting people" he said "it's an added defense."

"H-hey, are you okay?" Julia asked. "Yeah, I'm fine" he said with a yawn "just tired."

He closed his eyes and hung his head. "Then go to bed dummy!" Lily snapped. She fluttered off of the bedside table to Arthur. "Ah, he's asleep!" said Lily. Julia envied him, it was like he could fall asleep anytime and anywhere. She unsheathed the sword to take a look at it, and could have sworn she felt a small shock. The blade itself was around fifteen inches, and perfectly balanced. The handle fit perfectly into her hand. She gave it a swing, and then sheathed it. "We might as well go to bed too" Lily said, fluttering onto the bedside table "goodnight Julia."

"Goodnight" Julia replied. With that, she blew out the candle and settled in for the night.

Julia dreamt she was walking peacefully through a forest. She stepped carefully, so that she wouldn't disturb the forest. She gracefully strode through the trees. There was sunlight filtering in through the leaves and birds singing. She watched as a deer leaped across the forest path and hopped away. She took a deep breath of the clean air. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back, her arms outstretched on either side. When she opened her eyes the forest was suddenly on fire, causing her to gasp. She ran through the inferno, trying to escape the flames that had consumed the forest. She was horrified that such a thing could happen to something as beautiful as this. Suddenly a burning tree fell in her way. The flames were closing in all around her. She let out a scream, and-

Julia was woken up by Arthur. "Come on!" He yelled "we need to get out of here!" 

She now noticed the room was on fire. She grabbed her bag and the Virgo Illumina, before Arthur grabbed her hand and drug her swiftly out of the room. The stairs to the lower floor had collapsed and the entrance was blocked. Julia looked at Arthur with despair in her eyes. Arthur looked desperately for a way out. The floor began to collapse beneath them. Arthur yanked Julia's arm, causing her to fall into his arms. He took off running incredibly fast, smashing through the door at the end of the hall and jumping out the window. Julia held on tight as the glass shattered. Arthur landed and allowed her to stand. "You alright?" He asked. "Yeah" she sighed "wait, where's Lily!?”

"Here I am!" She announced, shooting out of Arthur's pocket. "You shouldn't scare people like that!" Julia scolded. "Hey, I'll always be safe as long as I'm with Arthur" Lily remarked, winking and sticking out her tongue. "Now isn't the time for this!" Arthur yelled at them, before running off "there's still people in there!” 

Arthur drew Barringre with unbelievable speed and slashed the door to pieces along with the wood that had been blocking the door. One after the other, people ran out, seven in all. When no one else came out Arthur ran in to search for survivors. Arthur was in the burning inn for a few minutes before it collapsed. Julia was scared, but did nothing but stand and stare. "Julia, look out!" Lily yelled, snapping her back to reality. She saw something hurtling at her out of the corner of her eye. She avoided it by diving to the ground. She got to her feet and saw the attacker, a man adorned in black robes that covered most of his body. The only things Julia could see were his square chin and slim, dry, cracked lips. He was a few inches taller than her, and had extremely broad shoulders. "So you’re the one?" The man’s low voice said. "W-what?" Julia stammered. "C'mon, Julie! Let's get out of here!" Lily said, exasperated. Suddenly there was a loud crash. Julia looked at the burning building to see Arthur standing atop it. He had busted through the roof and now was out of the building. The man launched another boulder at her, strangely without touching it. It moved too fast for her to avoid, Arthur leaped in the way and sliced the boulder in two. "Back off" Arthur warned, pointing his massive blade at the man. "Do you truly believe a lowly warrior could defeat the likes of a mage" the robed man said his voice was deep and somber "an imbecile like you?” "Just because I'm a warrior doesn't mean I'm dumb" Arthur said blocking a barrage of stones. This caught the man off guard. He summoned a torrent of stones to shield his body, but Arthur cut through it. He delivered a punishing punch to the robed man, knocking him down. "How....? How could I be beaten by a warrior" he muttered. "You're not the first mage I've taken down and you won't be the last" Arthur said, sheathing Barringre "I'll let you in on a secret, I could have easily become a mage myself, but I needed my mind free on the battlefield. Mages are to occupied with their spells to strategize. Why do you think tacticians are scholars and generals are soldiers."

"I... I see" the man in robes said. "Now then" said Arthur, putting his sword's sharp edge to the man's throat "you're going to tell me why you attacked my companion."

The man's dry lips formed a smile. "We aim to wipe her filthy curse from this world" he said wryly. "We?" Arthur said, looking over his shoulder. That's when Julia saw something in his eyes that truly terrified her.

"Brunar!" Someone shouted, bringing her to her senses. "We gotta go!" Arthur yelled grabbing Julia's hand and running out of the town. They ran off into the tree line on the edge of town, off into the night.

Julia didn't like roughing it, but by the time they had stopped she was exhausted, and had fallen asleep on the spot. She got off the ground and stretched, causing her back to crack a few times. She glanced over at Arthur, who hadn't moved since they had found this clearing. He watched for any sign of attackers. "Arthur?" Lily yawned "were you up all night?"

"Yeah" he said, standing up "we should get moving." 

"Can we eat first?" Julia asked. "I don't have any food left" he sighed "do you?". "I have bread" Julia announced, producing a loaf wrapped in parchment from her bag. "Wait here, start a fire" Arthur ordered "I'll be back." 

Arthur walked off into the woods. "I'd better keep an eye on him" Lily said, darting after him like a bat out of hell. "I think that he'd be the one keeping an eye on you" Julia said, before setting off to collect firewood.

Now that she was alone, her thoughts returned to last night. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end when she thought about that look in Arthur's normally caring emerald eyes. She shuddered to think about what it would be like to receive such a glare from him. She hoped she never saw him like that again.

Arthur returned with three rabbits. He dropped them on the ground and drew a knife from his belt. Julia sat on the other side of the fire she had built. Arthur began to skin and gut the dead rabbits. Julia took a bite out of a loaf of bread. "Want some?" She asked. "Later" Arthur replied. "What about you?" She asked Lily. "Fairies don't require food" Lily said, putting up her tiny hands. "I could go for a bath right now" Julia said. "There's a small river about forty meters in that direction" Arthur said, pointing to his left. "In that case, I'll go wash up" Julia said.

The water was a clean blue color, Julia watched as her reflection rippled. She stared into her own soft blue eyes. She ran a finger through her shoulder length brown hair, wondering if she should cut it. She took off her blouse followed by her leather shoes and trousers. She noted she was getting a bit tan as she removed her undergarments. She dipped a toe in the water to check the temperature. It was an even temperature, but a little on the cold side. She gingerly stepped into the water. She let out a satisfied sigh and closed her eyes. She listened to the birds singing in the trees, and the water gurgle as it flowed. She heard a sudden kur-plunk, as if someone had thrown a stone into the stream. She opened her eyes to find the source of the noise. Lily resurfaced, her wings vibrating a little as she shook her head. 

"Oh, hello" Julia said to the fairy. "Hiya!" She said with smile "this is quite refreshing."

"Indeed" agreed Julia. Her wings twitched a little and she dove back under. She erupted back out of the water, fluttering her wings and creating a mist. That fairy Julia thought, shaking her head always so full of energy. Once she had settled down she lazily drifted around on a maple leaf. The two of them just sat there enjoying the sounds around them. After a while Julia got out and began to get dressed. She had her undergarments and trousers on when she heard rustling in the bushes. "Arthur?" Julia said "if you're peeping on us, I'm gonna slap you."

"Arthur wouldn't do that!" Lily snapped. "Hello?" Julia said, poking her head into the bushes. A wild dog jumped out of the bushes, knocking Julia back. The dog snarled, and Julia scrambled to her feet. "Hey! Fuzz butt! Over here!" Lily challenged the dog. It barked and rushed recklessly at her. "O, creature of simple mind" Lily said, raising a hand at the mutt with a smug smile on her face "pure or evil, your will is mine." 

There was a sort of sparkle over the dog, and he slowed to a stop in front of Lily. "That's a good boy" Lily praised "now you should probably get out of here." 

The dog turned and lumbered off into the forest. "What did you do?" Julia asked, looking at Lily with amazement. "Fairy magic" said Lily with a wink "it's not very combat useful, but it does come in handy." 

Lily looked Julia up and down. "Are you planning on wearing that back to the camp or are you going to finish getting dressed?" She asked. Julia became red and scrambled to pick up her blouse. "I thought so" Lily chuckled, hovering off into the trees.

When she got back to the camp, the aroma of the cooked meat fumigated the air. The fragrance made Julia realize how hungry she was. "Wow" she said "that smells really good." 

Arthur smiled, and took a bite of the meat he had skewered with a stick. Three other sticks stood by the fire, which kept them warm. Lily lay comfortably on Arthur's head, humming and rocking her head back in forth. He didn't seem to mind, so Julia assumed that she did this often. Julia sat down and picked up one of the sticks. Normally she wasn't a big meat eater, but she took a bite of the tender food. She was surprised at a bit of juice that trickled down her chin. "Oh my" she said, wiping her chin with the back of her hand "this is really good." 

"I'm no chef, but I can cook a damn good slab of meat" Arthur said proudly. "Perhaps I should try cooking for you sometime" Julia suggested "I learned a thing or two back in Nelro." 

"That sounds good" Arthur replied, taking the last bite off of the stick before tossing it over his shoulder. "You ready to go?" He asked. "Let me finish eating" Julia said "and shouldn't you take a nap or something? You didn't sleep at all." 

"I got like, three, four hours of sleep" he chuckled. "Lily, can't you hypnotize him or something" Julia asked. "The spell only works on dumb and weak willed creatures" Lily said with a shrug.

Once Julia finished eating, Arthur stood up, causing Lily to fall off his head. 

"Aaaahhh!" She cried as she fell. 

He caught her with his hand. "Gotchya" Arthur joked. "Idiot" Lily said, her cheeks turning blue. "Shall we?" Arthur asked. "Are you sure you don't want to take a nap?" Julia asked. "Yeah" Arthur said ruffling her hair "but I appreciate your concern." 

"Hey!" Julia protested. Arthur retreated to the edge of the clearing. "If you don't hurry up I'll leave you behind" he teased, before leaping off into the trees with Lily on his shoulder. "Stupid monkey boy" she said, shaking her head. She jogged off after him, a smile on her face and a deep feeling of freedom in her chest.

Julia browsed through the assortment of fruits and vegetables. She glanced back at Arthur, who was following around Lily. Lily darted around the small shop, examining anything that caught her eye. They had stopped in the mid-sized city Semmoran for supplies. They had collected a few apples, a bag of carrots, and two large loafs of bread. A jar of gravy caught her eye and she set it on the counter along with a few potatoes and some spices. She put a handful of silver coins on the counter. "Use em' potatoes quick" the old woman behind the counter said "they won' be good much longer." 

"Thank you ma'am" Julia said graciously, taking the supplies and putting them into her bag. "My name's Vivian" the woman snapped. "Okay, thanks again" Julia said "Vivian."

Julia left the store, followed by Arthur. The streets here were cobblestone, which was new to her. They stood on a small street, connected to the main street by a few arch-shaped cobble bridges. The bridges went over a small river which flowed through the town, supplying it with water. They walked silently for a little, before they noticed a group of soldier looking people marching through town. They were adorned in chainmail covered by white and red tunics. "Who are they?" Julia asked. "The Templar Order" Arthur said, calm and cold "the soldiers of the Alumnia government, religious radicals, they hunt and kill wizards, mages, sorcerers, and magical creatures". Lily yelped and zipped into Arthur's pocket. "Our country, Gavida, has a network of wizards that could be considered our version of the Templar, but they aren't fueled with hate like the Templar are" he continued "they're probably here to cause trouble for the Mage Council". Arthur turned and walked briskly to an alleyway, Julia followed. "So I'm guessing you ran into these guys before" said Julia. "Yeah, unfortunately" Arthur sighed. "Why don't we fight them?" Someone said from behind them. Julia and Arthur spun around, unsheathing their weapons. A person stood behind them wearing a tattered gray cloak with a hood that covered their face. They stood at about four and a half feet. "Put away you're swords" they said "I'm friendly, Arthur". "Do I know you?" Arthur asked. "We met two years ago" they said throwing off their cloak and revealing a person with extremely short blonde hair and strange clothes. "That was a little overly dramatic" Arthur commented under his breath. "You know this boy?" Julia asked. "I'm a girl!" She pouted "c'mon Arthur, please say you remember me". "Y-you can't be..." Arthur gasped "Yuki?” "You do remember me!" She said, jumping on Arthur and hugging him. He clung tight, her feet dangling off the ground. "H-hey!" Lily growled "hands off!". "What's the matter pixy?" Yuki teased "jealous?". "My name is Lily and I'm a fairy!" Lily snapped. Julia felt isolated from the three, had they forgotten she was there? Arthur looked at Julia with a sort of "help me" expression. "Hey guys, can we get back to the matter at hand?" Julia sighed, sheathing Virgo "who are you miss Yuki?". "I'm Yuki, from the town of Sumire" she said jumping off of Arthur. *wasn't that village destroyed? * Julia thought. "Hello, I'm Julia, from the town of Nelro" Julia said with a smile. "Can I ask you a question?" Yuki asked Julia. "It'll have to wait" Arthur interupted, sheathing Barringre "the Templar are headed this way". He fled down the alley, Yuki and Lily right behind him. "Wait!" Julia called, running to catch up "why are we running?!".

They hid in an old abandoned house that Yuki was staying in. "What was that about!?" Julia demanded "why were you three running!?". "Arthur said the Templar kill magical creatures" Lily said "I think that dying would be a little bad for my health". "I'm wanted by the Templar" Yuki sighed and sat down. She was a small girl, and was very thin. She wore a strange, tight, violet vest that was sleeved on the left arm, but sleeveless on the right. The Vest only covered about half of her torso, leaving her stomach exposed. She were leather leggings and pointy high heeled boots. She had two belts on, one to keep her baggy trousers up, while the other had pouches, pockets, and a small sword. On her right forearm was a fishnet bracer. "It's the same for me" Arthur admitted "I'm the Templar's most wanted". Julia's eyes grew wide and she took a step back. "Wh-what did you do?" She gasped. "The Templar are an order driven by the word of there so called 'Divine Creator'" Arthur explained "they believe they are the wrath of their God and will punish those without belief in their God. They want to wipe out magical creatures and kill all magic users. They're leader is also at odds with this country's king because of his support of magic. I had some friends that were magic users, I fought the Templar to keep them safe, that was four years ago. More recently I protected a little girl from them who was in emigrant from Bokoku in the Bokokan town of Sumsire, which now lays in ruins". He turned his gaze to Yuki. "The Templar want to kill me to end my bloodline" Yuki said "I'm the successor of one of ths Four Oni Bloodlines; Kaze Oni, Kasai Oni, Mizu Oni, and the CkiyÅ« Oni. These bloodlines have ancient power, and are said to be the descendant of ancient Bokokan demons. I'm the successor of the Kaze Oni". There was a pause, then Arthur began to speak. "Why did you come here!?" Arthur demanded "you were safe where I left you in Bokoku!” "But Arthur" she cried, her cheeks turning bright red "I graduated at the Ninjitsu school I attended, so I could come back and look for you!". "W-what? Why me?" Arthur said, his gaze dropping to the dusty floorboards "you only knee me for a week, and that was two years ago". "It's because you saved me" she said in a low, solemn voice "the Templar slaughtered everyone I knew and loved, I wouldn't be here without you. Even after you saved me, you cheered me up, and took me safely to my native land, but then you were gone. You're my hero". She and Arthur stared at each other for a while. Arthur finally sighed and sat down. "We'll wait until sundown" he said, and then we're leaving" he said. "A-Arthur?" Yuki said timidly "w-will you please take me with you?” Arthur crossed his arms and closed his eyes, he looked deep in thought. "It's dangerous" he said. "I can hold my own" she countered. "We'll be on the road a lot" he said. "That's no different than what I'm already doing" she countered. "You'll have to..." he said, opening his eyes and pointing at Julia and Lily with his thumb "get along with my companions". Yuki looked over at the two, then back at Arthur. "I myself would let you come, but I'm not the only one in the group" he said, going from sitting to lying down, his arms beneath his head and Barringre lying next to him "you three can discuss it, we leave after sundown". Julia sat down between Arthur and Yuki; Lily came and sat on Julia's shoulder. There was a moment of silence; Julia didn't know what to say. "Hey, about that question I wanted to ask you..." Yuki said to Julia. "What is it?" Julia asked sweetly. "What are you to Arthur?" Yuki said. "Wh-what!?" Julia stammered, her face turning red. "What's your relationship with him?" Yuki said, this time a bit more fierce. "We're, uh, friends...I guess" Julia said. Yuki looked a little relieved, but Julia didn't ask why. "How old are you?" Lily asked. "I'll be eleven soon!" Yuki said, fire in her eyes "what about you guys?” "I just turned sixteen" Julia said, smiling at the younger girl. "I'm seven, in human years. That's about fourteen fairy years" Lily said. "I never asked, but how old are you Arthur?" Julia asked. She was answered with silence, then a soft snore. "He's....asleep....?" Julia said. "When Arthur saved me he told me he was around fifteen, but didn't know exactly when he was born" Yuki said "so I guess he's seventeen". "I never asked him" Lily said "we fairies don't normally care about age". They had once again gone silent.

Soon the sun set and Arthur was awake. The group crept out of the house and through the back streets of the city. Arthur was incredibly light on his feet, even weighed down by Barringre and his armor. Yuki never had made a noise another then when she was speaking. Julia clambered along as quietly as she could, but she was nowhere near as stealthy as the other two. The entire time her heart was beating like drum against her ribcage and her adrenaline was rising. It seemed like it took hours to get out of the city, at least to Julia. Once they were out, they stopped on the river bank to collect themselves. "Now what?" Yuki asked "where are you guys headed?” "The Arcane Waterfall" Arthur said "and at this point, you're coming with us". Yuki's eyes lit up with excitement and she hugged Arthur. "Come on" he said to everyone "let's get moving".