Sylphid's Happiness Revisited

Chapter 4

Ryu breathed a deep sigh of relief. She had spent the last two hours with her hero cautiously making their way through the tiny portion of Knossos. They had hidden under the cloaks that were given to them, every twist and turn sounded like an unknown entity was about to pounce on them. Then it would be eerily quiet for an extended portion of time.

She could hear Bell taking similarly deep breaths. They just stood there and took in great breaths of fresh untainted air. When Ryu's heart had calmed a great deal, she decided to speak. "We should get moving, will you be able to remember where this location is? Looks like an illusion is blocking it from a cursory glance."

Bell looked around, noting the various landmarks. "I believe so, but let's do this as well." Ryu watched as Bell grabbed a couple of handfuls of small rocks in the grassy plane and placed them in a small pile a dozen steps outside the affected area. "This should be good enough," Bell remarked, turning his back to the city and hefting the small pack that Fels had given them.

Ryu nodded in agreement; it was still night. But she guessed the sun would begin to light the sky in an hour. "Right..." she did her best to let out the knot of nervous tension in her heart.

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The pair had been walking for almost eight hours. It was still several hours until night would begin to fall. "I think we should start to get ready to set up camp. I'm not sure about you but I'm starting to get tired." Bell commented, seeing how neither had any sleep since yesterday it made sense.

Ryu wondered if he had noticed her starting to favor her leg, it was much better than his hand but still had been fractured in the deep floors. "I agree, let's go ahead and look for a secluded spot."

The pair moved for almost an hour before finding a small set of low hills that could act as cover. Ryu had a small smile on her face as she let down the bag she had been holding. With a silent exertion, she lowered herself to the ground and sat in relief. She looked and could see Bell moving around their small impromptu camp. Setting up a small ring of stones for a fire, gathering the bedrolls that Fels had forgotten to mention and whatnot. 'He definitely noticed.' Ryu couldn't help but think.

'Why am I so happy and nervous to be alone in the wilderness with him?' Ryu thought as Bell managed to procure some wood from who knows where and place it in the small ring. But he didn't light it, there was no reason. It was still comfortably warm in the sunlight.

Bell noticed her smiling softly and gave a small one in return. "What's up?"

Ryu paused for a second, "Nothing, just feeling a little happy. Being able to spend time together without the risk of a monster attacking us the moment we let our guards down."

Bell paused and sat down about a foot away from her. "I'm glad... glad that I'm not the only one."

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They sat in a comfortable silence until the sun had begun to set, Bell held out his palm towards the ring of stones and wood. "Don't look at the ring, I don't know if this will work."

Ryu agreed and closed her eyes and placed her head facing away. She heard a soft exhalation of "Firebolt." Her eyelids lit up red for a second, followed by the sound of a small explosion. "Should be good. I used the absolute smallest amount of mind I could manage." She opened to see Bell kneeling next to the wood moving several pieces that had been forcefully moved due to the blast.

But a few patches of fire did begin to grow as Bell moved pieces on top and around the growing fire. After ten minutes, they had a respectable source of warmth.