Three Days After

She nodded, leading him to the same room she had last night. Pushing open the door, she found her father lying there, in almost the same position as he had earlier. Gently rousing him, she said, "Papa, Kestreel has to speak to you. Do you think you can do that?" Without waiting for an answer, she beckoned him to come nearer, while she backed off, wanting to give them space.
 
He looked at him. He was not going to last the whole trip, and Kestreel knew that. So only one solution left. "Sir, please, I need you to relax." At least, as much as he could. Kestreel closed his eyes as he took a small vial of his pocket. "Dona mihi virtus, magna Cronos." He opened the vial, and with a gentle movement of his hand, the liquid start floating around his fingers. "Quia ego eget nunc." Then the liquid turned into steam and disappeared into the room. "Desine tempus..."


The room made a sudden toss, but nothing fell to the floor, nothing moved, since the shake was in the time not in the space. Kestreel put the empty vial back on his pocket and took a few steps back. The man lay on the bed with his eyes closed, absolutely quiet. Like if he was already dead. "The time in this room is no longer the same that is outside. But the effect won't last forever. We are still in a hurry." Said him peacefully speaking.
 
Aurelia nodded as he told her what he had done, until a pain in her chest caused her to snap out of it. She had been holding her breath. Taking one in, she finally said, "When are we leaving then?" she was itching to leave, wanted to return as soon as she could, so that she could help him. The way he looked, it scared her, and she had to look hard to ascertain to herself that he was alive, and the Kestreel hadn't killed him.
 
He smiled, trying to comfort her. "Grab what you think it's of vital importance for you and let's goo pick up my armor." He walked outside the room. "Then we will go find the mage guild." He sighed, the thought of his teachers brought him memories he wish he didn't had. All the mage hunt, how they burned down the whole place... There was still a mage guild, somewhere. But to find it... It was going to be pretty ticky.
 
She nodded, leaving the room and began gathering her things. In her father's chest in the front room, she took the small dagger, a pendant of her father's, and various other small things that she felt she might need. Tying the necklace around her neck, she turned to him, and said, "I am ready." Her voice shook slightly as she spoke: the idea of going to the mage's guild scared her a little, but she was trying to keep an open mind. Kestreel was kind to her and her family, so it seemed logical to her that other magicians would.
 
With a nod he went out of the house, kindly saying goodbye to her mother and waiting for Aurelia to do the same. It was a hard moment for sure, so he waited as long as they needed to. Once they where ready, they started to walk to the armory, but then Kestreel quickly realized that he didn't really know where it was. "Uhm... Where id the armory?"
 
Aurelia and her mother embraced for a long time before she pulled away, turning around and leaving before either she or her mother began sobbing. It would be the first time being away from her family, and she was feeling both scared and excited. When he asked her where the armory was, she smiled softly before taking him by the wrist and leading him there through the alleys once again. Once they got there, she went inside, trying to find the armorer. He was still asleep in the side room, and she had to shake him awake to rouse him.
 
When they got there he looked again at the place, trying to find his armor. The armorer seemed to be still asleep. Kestreel wondered if his armor had been reinforced or was still the same that it used to be. Anyway, there, they were only losing time so he didn't mind if the work wasn't done, besides, Aurelia had fixed the damages last night, so it would work for a while longer. He sighed, unable to find the armor. He looked at her, trying to wake up the armorer, but didn't interrupt her. In the end, that was also part of her life, a life she was going to be unable to live for a long time.
 
She was unable to wake him, and, figuring him sleeping off a night of drinking, went to the back, where she had left his armor the night before. Glancing at it, she was able to say that it wasn't reinforced. Apologizing, she asked him what he wanted to do, either wait for Ardovini to wake up, or leave now. All the while, she was moving about the armory, gathering the things she had left there days previous to this one.
 
"Don't worry. It's okay as it is." And he took the armor with a smile on his face. Again, he had to take some of the clothing he was wearing in order to put back the armor, showing a little bit of his naked chest in the process. "Come on, we should start moving." Said him as he put all the vials and pouches back to its place. Taking a close look, he looked more like a warlock or a sorcerer, than a magician. Of course, most of the people put all of them in the same bag and called them magicians.
 
"I...guess we better go then..." Aurelia said, suddenly quiet. It was a bittersweet feeling, the leaving of the place where she had grown up in. One one hand, she was finally getting the freedom she had always craved, but on the other, she was leaving her only home. Giving one last look to the armory, she went to the door, leaving, and taking a deep breath before she turned back to Kestreel.
 
He had been thinking how to reach the magicians again, but the only thing he could came with was to return where the old guild was and figure where to go next once there. Feeling again complete with his armor fixed and well put in his chest, he walked outside and took a deep breath. "Well, we are going to need a horse." He looked at her. "Do you know a place where we can get one?" And by get he meant steal.
 
She understood his meaning almost perfectly, and said, "There are stables nearby, I can take you to them." Heading in the proper direction, she stood across the roadway from it, attempting to seem inconspicuous as she gestured to it. She had never ridden a horse in her life, and honestly the creatures scared her, but she wouldn't tell him that. "Take your pick," she said with a smile and a shrug.
 
He looked at the horses from a distance. There were guards around, so stealing directly may be a bad idea... He Took a step forward and snapped the fingers, catching the attention of one of the loose horses. "Obtempero..." Muttered him, looking directly to the horse. "Obedire quia intra me iacebat potestate venator. Orion." Then he stepped back, by Aurelia side again. He took a deep breath and looked at her. "Don't be afraid and trust me. Ready?" And he barely let her answer when he whistled as hard as anyone could, then the chosen horse whinnied with strength and ran towards them. Kestreel grabbed Aurelia, and as the horse ran next to them, He skillfully got both of them on the horse. "Velocius, meus amicus!" And they escaped out of the city, and from the guards, in a blink of an eye. When Kestreel was sure they were safe he slowed the rhythm, to a slow walk. "Are you okay back there?" Said him, noticing Aurelia strong grip. It looked like she never rode a horse before, thought him.
 
Aurelia was slightly surprised that he had used magic so openly, but she didn't have time to ponder this as Kestreel was already speaking to her. She wasn't prepared for his whistle, and it startled her slightly, but not as much as the horse running straight at them. Not letting her voice her fears, he pulled her onto the horse. Instinctively, her hands wrapped around him tightly and she buried her face in his back, not paying attention to where they were going until he once again spoke to her.

"I-I'm fine," she replied, hoping he didn't notice the shaking to her voice. "Just...s-startled, is all."
 
He chuckled. "You can loose your grip, if you want." He smiled. "I swear it will be very calm from now on." He drove the horse at a gentle speed, trough the woods outside the city. The breeze moved the tree leaves, making a soft sound as the morning sun illuminated the road. The old mage guild was quite far, and probably it would take a couple of weeks to get there. "Are you comfortable back there?"
 
At his prompting, she lessened her hold of him slightly, but was still slightly afraid. As they went on their way, she began taking in the scenery, looking at the trees and birds she saw. When he asked if she was comfortable, she nodded, not wanting to inconvenience him. It was a beautiful day, no clouds in the sky or people on the road. Indeed, if their travels hadn't been for such a desperate cause, it would have been just shy of perfect.
 
They kept going for several hours, and his stomach was starting to ask for food and water. Kestreel started to look for some place to rest for a couple of hours and maybe eat something. Finally, the found a inn in the middle of the woods. The place was really nice, the building was small, made of wood and straw, and there was a small field of vegetables at one side. He got off the horse and helped Aurelia get down. Several men were harassing a woman near the entrance. But to be fair, the woman was provoking them with insults and threats. Kestreel was petting the horse when he looked at Aurelia. Asking with his eyes what would she like to do. They had to past in front of them anyway.
 
As she caught site of the men, Aurelia instinctively moved closer to Kestreel, her breath catching slightly. When he looked to her, her eyes clouded with confusion, and she shook her head, not knowing what to do. She sympathized for the woman, but confrontations made her nervous. However, walking past the men caused her heart to beat rapidly in her chest.

After a few seconds' hesitation, she looked up into his eyes and nodded, trying to tell him what she thought.
 
Kestreel looked at Aurelia. "Stay close." Then he approached to the men. "We are going to rip you apart!" Was yelling one of them. "Oh yeah? Come on, are you afraid of hitting a girl?" Replied the woman. The men were getting brave and more close to the woman. "Enough!" Said Kestreel. "What? Are those your friends?" Said one of the men. "Yeah... You little pathetic friends?" Said other one. "No, dumb ass, I don't know who this people are." The men looked at Kestreel. "Well, We don't believe you, so we are going to give you and your little friends a beating. Come on boys!"


The men attacked. Everything happened pretty fast, but using only their hands, Kestreel and the woman were able to easily take down all the men with no problem. Recovering his breath from the sudden exercise, Kestreel looked at the woman. "Whoa! I didn't had a fight this good since months!" Kestreel chuckled. "I assume you are fine." Said him. "Hell yeah! And you... Where did you learned those movements!? That was some crazy stuff you pulled back there!" Said the woman. Kestreel was not only taught magic, he also learned really advanced combat techniques in the warriors guild. "Come on inside! I invite you and your..." She looked at Aurelia. "Your little friend to a drink. Come on!" Well, we were going inside anyway, thought him looking at Aurelia.
 
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